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Speaker 1: I never lowed anybody get me off the graham, so

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Speaker 1: I was like super just obsessive, ain'tal about that, Like

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Speaker 1: I know, if I was gonna work out or I'm

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Speaker 1: on the field, I get up myself, like, don't put

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Speaker 1: your hand out there, because you're gonna think I'm an asshole.

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Speaker 1: Like I'm not gonna take it. But I just don't.

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Speaker 1: I don't. Nobody gets me off the ground with me.

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Speaker 1: If I'm gonna beat thirty something years old playing football,

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Speaker 1: I gotta get my own butt off the ground. And

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Speaker 1: I realize I signed up for this time. My name

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Speaker 1: is Andrew Whitworth, and I'm hoping to one day finish

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Speaker 1: in the top twenty in American century.

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Speaker 2: Hi, folks, it's that time again for what you might

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Speaker 2: ask for another episode of Off the Beat. This is

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Speaker 2: Brian BOMGARTNERI the season, my friends, ho ho ho, or

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Speaker 2: well just about the season, and yes I do mean

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Speaker 2: the most wonderful time of the year. That's right, it's

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Speaker 2: football season. Dun dun, dun, dun. You could call me Santa,

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Speaker 2: because today I have a present for you, A giant present,

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Speaker 2: by the way, six foot seven inch three thirty Andrew

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Speaker 2: Whitworth joins the program today. Former offensive lineman Andrew retired

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Speaker 2: last year after sixteen seasons battling in the trenches in

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Speaker 2: the NFL, first with the Cincinnati Bengals, last with the

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Speaker 2: LA Rams. And well, when I tell you his exit

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Speaker 2: from the game was like a movie, Well it was

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Speaker 2: picture this Andrew. He's in his sixteenth year in the game.

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Speaker 2: He's forty years old, the oldest tackle in NFL history.

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Speaker 2: His team, the Rams, make it to the Super Bowl,

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Speaker 2: which just so happens to be hosted in their very

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Speaker 2: own hometown of Los Angeles. The opponent is none other

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Speaker 2: than his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals. It's a close game,

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Speaker 2: both teams leading, falling behind. Anyone could win until the

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Speaker 2: last two minutes. The Rams score one more touchdown and

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Speaker 2: Andrew wins his first Super Bowl in the very last

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Speaker 2: game of his career. Okay, I need to write the screenplay. Nowadays,

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Speaker 2: you can catch Andrew Fantastic pregame, halftime and postgame show

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Speaker 2: on Thursday Night Football Amazon Prime. The crew is fantastic.

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Speaker 2: Andrew is fantastic, or sometimes you can find him on

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Speaker 2: the golf course with me, more at home with his

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Speaker 2: family and actually don't catch him at home with his family.

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Speaker 2: That's creepy. But you can listen to him with me

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Speaker 2: right now here. He is my old pal Andrew Whitworth.

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Speaker 2: Bubble and Squeak.

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Speaker 1: I love it.

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Speaker 2: Bubble and squeak, gonna.

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Speaker 1: Bubble and squeak, I cook get every moleft over from

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Speaker 1: the nine before.

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Speaker 2: What what's up? But I'm in. How's it going?

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Speaker 1: Oh, it's going just chaos as usual.

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Speaker 2: How are you enjoying retirement?

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Speaker 1: Uh, you know what, It's been great. I actually had

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Speaker 1: this conversation yesterday with Ryan Clark. I feel like I'm

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Speaker 1: insanely busier now than when I played. I think you

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Speaker 1: think of being busy because you have the structure and

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Speaker 1: you're there all day. But this is just organized chaos

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Speaker 1: every day. It's like, you know, a kid needs this,

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Speaker 1: so they got to be at that. You know, I'm

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Speaker 1: an uber driver who doesn't get paid. And then on

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Speaker 1: top of that kind of getting into the media world

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Speaker 1: and doing stuff with you know, Thursday Football, and then

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Speaker 1: also still kind of doing some stuff here in LA

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Speaker 1: with the rams and things like that. It's been a

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Speaker 1: lot of fun. But it feels like I start weeks

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Speaker 1: with like, oh man, it's gonna be a pretty slow week.

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Speaker 1: And then the next thing I know, it's like I

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Speaker 1: don't have a free minute this week.

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Speaker 2: I don't know how this happen right right, Well, I

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Speaker 2: should have said retirement from football. We are going to

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Speaker 2: talk about your media standing for Thursday Night Football, which

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Speaker 2: is absolutely blown up with you guys last year, thanks

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Speaker 2: in large part to your edition. But this time of year,

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Speaker 2: I have to ask you. You know we're here in August.

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Speaker 2: Do you miss hitting guys on the field. Do you

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Speaker 2: have any like feeling of, oh, this is what I

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Speaker 2: should be doing right now, or I miss it or

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Speaker 2: I'm really glad I'm not. Is there any of those

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Speaker 2: feelings happening now that training camps are in full swing.

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you what. Last year I went to the

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Speaker 1: I just retired in March. I go to like the

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Speaker 1: third fourth day in training camp for the Rams. Kevin

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Speaker 1: Demoff and Shane kind of reached out, you need to

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Speaker 1: come down, just be around and hang out, be around

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Speaker 1: the guys. I go. I made a big mistake. I

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Speaker 1: decided I would go down you know the Rams practice

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Speaker 1: at U See Irvine. I'm like, you know what, I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna go down there and get a nice hotel. I'm

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Speaker 1: gonna go buy rams practice, just enjoy two days to

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Speaker 1: myself down there. Give me nice can I get away?

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Speaker 1: I stay at the Montage Laguna, I check in, I

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Speaker 1: go over to practice, probably fifteen to twenty minute ride.

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Speaker 1: I probably see them warm up in full pads. Maybe

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Speaker 1: five minutes into this practice. I'm standing there and I'm like,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna go back to the Mintage. I literally watched

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Speaker 1: them like break individual. I've been there ten minutes. I

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Speaker 1: shake Kevin dem Off's hand. I'm like, it was great, man.

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Speaker 1: I hope you guys every great year. I'm going back

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Speaker 1: to the hotel. Literally like took off, never came back,

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Speaker 1: and it was I just had that feeling like, you

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Speaker 1: know what, I don't miss this at all. I wanted

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Speaker 1: to sit by the pool like hang out. And then

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Speaker 1: this year I went to three days of camp and

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Speaker 1: kind of a similar feeling. I was able to actually

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Speaker 1: stay there because I've been you know, out long enough

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Speaker 1: that it didn't just make me completely grossed out to

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Speaker 1: watch everybody sweating in pads and just think, oh man,

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Speaker 1: what it would feel like to hit somebody right now.

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Speaker 1: I'd be miserable but I actually stayed a couple of days.

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Speaker 1: Was great. But I don't miss that part of the

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Speaker 1: game at all. I mean obviously for alive, and it's different,

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Speaker 1: like you know, we we kind of we weren't scoring

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Speaker 1: touchdowns or throwing passes or getting applauded for you know,

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Speaker 1: a sack or interception. We were kind of in the trenches,

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Speaker 1: just digging it out every day. And the only time

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Speaker 1: you're gonna hear about us is if we messed up.

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Speaker 1: So I don't miss that that part at all.

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Speaker 2: Right, you mentioned doing some work with the ramp. Are

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Speaker 2: you're actively working with the Rams currently?

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't say that. I think it's more of you know,

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Speaker 1: I have such a great relationship with Sean. Him and

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Speaker 1: I are best friends, and uh, you know, really spent

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Speaker 1: a lot of time together in the off seasons throughout

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Speaker 1: my times as Los Angeles RAM, and then still now

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Speaker 1: talk a couple of times a week every week, and

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Speaker 1: so we just philosophy a lot and talk about culture

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Speaker 1: and team in the NFL and where it's headed that.

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Speaker 1: You know, he's a great resource for me now and

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Speaker 1: what I'm doing. And then also I thank me for

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Speaker 1: him just kind of things out here and feelings we

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Speaker 1: both have about the game. We've always been that way

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Speaker 1: since he was the coach of the Rams. We've spent

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Speaker 1: a lot of time together around that stuff. So I

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Speaker 1: just kind of I call it a friend of the program.

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Speaker 1: But it's one of those things, like, you know, I

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Speaker 1: still have a real lot of really close friends there

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Speaker 1: and all that staff you know in the building, from

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Speaker 1: the trainers and equipment guys and coaches in front office.

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Speaker 1: So I spent a lot of time with them and

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Speaker 1: just help where I can. If they got a question,

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Speaker 1: I'll go up there and do my best to help

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Speaker 1: out anyway I can spread some knowledge. Like this year

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Speaker 1: at camp I did, they had a scouting deal where

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Speaker 1: I went and talked to all the scouts at their

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Speaker 1: little summit about offensive line play and d line play

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Speaker 1: and kind of what I see.

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Speaker 2: So it makes that makes a lot of sense. I.

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Speaker 2: You know, it is surprising to me always that organizations

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Speaker 2: and coaches don't that they don't take advantage as much

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Speaker 2: as they should. It feels like everybody kind of stays

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Speaker 2: in their lane a little bit. And having a resource

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Speaker 2: like you as an offensive lineman, it seems to me

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Speaker 2: that you would be an incredible resource for the defense

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Speaker 2: and for the defensive line play because nobody sees and

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Speaker 2: understands what those guys are doing across from you in

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Speaker 2: some ways better than you.

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Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, I always explained that I actually talked about

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Speaker 1: it the scouting deal. I mean, for me as an

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Speaker 1: offensive lineman, you know, you got to think like I'm

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Speaker 1: studying the best rushers. I'm studying the best players in

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Speaker 1: the NFL each and every week and breaking down how

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Speaker 1: I could stop them. So I can tell you from

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Speaker 1: my perspective, like, yeah, maybe maybe I didn't play the position,

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Speaker 1: but I can tell you, well, I know what move

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Speaker 1: works and I know what doesn't for this guy, and

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Speaker 1: then based off his body type, what rushes really seen

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Speaker 1: to work for those body types, And those guys gave

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Speaker 1: me the most trouble because they were able to do X,

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Speaker 1: Y and Z, and the guys who tried to do

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Speaker 1: this or that it didn't work, and that never was

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Speaker 1: something that I really feared or thought was useful. So

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Speaker 1: I could give you a lot of feedback on all

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Speaker 1: the different body types they're looking at, tall, smaller, faster, twitchier, power,

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Speaker 1: all that, and then kind of who I thought was

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Speaker 1: really the best and who did it the best. And hey,

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Speaker 1: even from a coaching perspective of if you're teaching a

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Speaker 1: guy that has a very similar body to an Elvis

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Speaker 1: Duomerville or a James Harrison or a Dwight Freeney, I

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Speaker 1: can tell you the things that those guys who play

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Speaker 1: with the shorter lever, what they did that was effective

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Speaker 1: and maybe some ways they should watch tape to study

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Speaker 1: some of those things. Or if it's Chandler Jones or

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Speaker 1: Miles Garrett or somebody you'd see as like a longer,

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Speaker 1: taller player, what they did that was effective. And I

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Speaker 1: think that feedback's very useful. But I think to your point,

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Speaker 1: the crazy part is is, I don't know. I talked

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Speaker 1: to so many guys that just would love to share

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Speaker 1: that information, but it's just not used as much as

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Speaker 1: you would think.

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Speaker 2: You know, I wonder why that. I mean, I had

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Speaker 2: not planned to have this discussion, But there is a

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Speaker 2: lot of parallels I think, you know, in my business,

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Speaker 2: particularly when you get to the network level, where there

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Speaker 2: seems to be this like ownership or this like taking

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Speaker 2: credit for even if it's not even if it's not

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Speaker 2: forefront in their mind, Like you know, I want to

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Speaker 2: put my stamp on things as opposed to this sort

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Speaker 2: of overall team culture of let's just let's just make

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Speaker 2: it the best, Like you know, and if you got

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Speaker 2: Andrew Whitworth on the offensive line and you've got some

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Speaker 2: questions as a defensive line coach or defensive lineman, yet

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Speaker 2: it just it makes so much sense to me.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's one of the things that's in

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Speaker 1: every business, I think a little bit, especially you know,

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Speaker 1: like you're parallel and it's it's kind of like, is

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Speaker 1: it an ego decision, like, hey, I don't want to

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Speaker 1: ask somebody who may know more than me about it,

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Speaker 1: or is it kind of a I don't want to

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Speaker 1: owe you something if I ask you a favor to

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Speaker 1: kind of share, you know. It's just funny. It's like, man,

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Speaker 1: I think sometimes it's like why not just have this

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Speaker 1: conversation and find out? And I think that's what most

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Speaker 1: guys that I've talked to. It's not really whether you'd

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Speaker 1: use it or not. It's like, dude, stop treating it

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Speaker 1: like it's unapproachable to discuss, Like, let's talk about it.

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Speaker 1: There's a way I can help you. I'd love to

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Speaker 1: I'd love to come back to the team I played

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Speaker 1: for and help them in some way find the next

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Speaker 1: good player, a great player for them.

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Speaker 2: Right. All right, let's go back in time for you

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Speaker 2: a little bit. You grew up there in Monroe, Louisiana.

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Speaker 2: What was your life like as a kid down on

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Speaker 2: the Bayou Funrow Monroe.

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Speaker 1: You know, you know, it's quiet in Monroe, Louisiana. Not

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Speaker 1: not the big, big city that I live in now

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Speaker 1: in LA that's for sure. I you know, for me, honestly,

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Speaker 1: it was great. You know, I had, you know, a

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Speaker 1: great family, great great life living there with a small

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Speaker 1: town very different than what I've experienced as an adult

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Speaker 1: to an athlete. But I really got the blessing of

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Speaker 1: being around some great football I mean I played against,

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Speaker 1: I played with some really special players there in Monroe,

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Speaker 1: and you know, I got to be part of a

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Speaker 1: really cool high school program. We were fifty eight and

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Speaker 1: two when I was in high school and football and played.

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Speaker 1: We played people in Mississippi and Texas and you know,

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Speaker 1: the five A state champion in Mississippi and Texas my

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Speaker 1: senior year and went undefeated. And you know, we played

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Speaker 1: against Midland Lee and Cedric Benson and Eric Winston when

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Speaker 1: they were at Middle of Lee Texas and played John

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Speaker 1: Tyler Texas. We played Moss Pointe, Mississippi, and Demarius Bilbo

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Speaker 1: and some of those great players that were in that program.

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Speaker 1: So I got to experience some really cool things. Kyle

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Speaker 1: Williams who played forever for the Buffalo Bills and was

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Speaker 1: an amazing golfer. Him and I were high school rivals

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Speaker 1: our two high schools, so we grew up playing each

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Speaker 1: other forever, became college roommates. Hated each other's scuts in

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Speaker 1: high school though, you know, so I had a lot

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Speaker 1: of great sports memories living in that town. It was,

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Speaker 1: It was amazing for me. My parents were always a

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Speaker 1: part of that, and my older sister Emily, and so

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Speaker 1: I can't complain at all about my childhood.

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Speaker 2: Were was your family into football like when you were

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Speaker 2: growing up? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: I think my family has always kind of been into

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Speaker 1: sports in general. I mean, you know, I can remember

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Speaker 1: my grandfather and my grandmother's probably my grandmother Kathleen and

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Speaker 1: Baste of Louisiana probably had the biggest influence on me.

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Speaker 1: And I could remember from when I was really tiny

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Speaker 1: either watching golf or football or baseball. I think probably

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Speaker 1: when I was younger. They all thought I'd be a

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Speaker 1: baseball player, and so that was kind of what everyone

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Speaker 1: was their biggest passion. And then obviously I was, you

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Speaker 1: know in that area in North Louisiana, you're you were

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Speaker 1: a Dallas Cowboy at that time. That was long before

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Speaker 1: the Saints were the Aints with trash bags on their

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Speaker 1: heads back home.

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Speaker 2: I was, I was going to ask you that. So

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Speaker 2: you were a Cowboys fan?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, time I mean North Louisiana where I'm from.

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Speaker 1: I mean, you're only three hours from Dallas. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's probably five hours to New Orleans. So, uh, most

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Speaker 1: people up in that area that was when the Saints

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Speaker 1: were pretty bad and growing up, so everybody were Dallas

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Speaker 1: Cowboys fans. Eigman Jersey and the Went Smith Jersey, Michael Irvan, Uh,

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Speaker 1: you know that was that was my squad.

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Speaker 2: Now you you say your family thought you were going

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Speaker 2: to play baseball, When did you grow So I was.

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Speaker 1: More of a you gotta imagine high school, like, I

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Speaker 1: was a tight end for the majority of my time

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Speaker 1: until until my senior year. So I was probably six

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Speaker 1: seven to twenty or something. My freshman or sophomore year

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Speaker 1: in high school. I mean I was tall and lean and.

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Speaker 2: It just six seven. Yeah, I was. I was.

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Speaker 1: I was probably six four in eighth grade, and then

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Speaker 1: my freshman year in high school, I grew like three

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Speaker 1: inches and then that kind of topped out my height

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Speaker 1: and then I just kind of put it on the

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Speaker 1: way from there and became alignment. But you know, I

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Speaker 1: was a basketball player. I loved hoops. That was my

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Speaker 1: favorite sport. And I was a baseball I was left

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Speaker 1: I'm left handed, so I was a left handed pitcher.

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Speaker 1: I played it all growing up. I mean I played tennis, soccer, baseball, football,

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Speaker 1: you name it. So baseball and football were probably the

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Speaker 1: two things that I got the most, Like, man, you're

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Speaker 1: really gonna have a chance at this. Basketball is something

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Speaker 1: I just love to do. I've always had a passion

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Speaker 1: for it, even when I played in the league. In

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Speaker 1: the off seasons, I played little men's pick up leagues

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Speaker 1: and stuff like that, just because it was something I

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Speaker 1: always loved to do.

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Speaker 2: It's surprising you were highly recruited coming out of high

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Speaker 2: school at being at the program that you were. It's

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Speaker 2: surprising to me that you didn't go to a real

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Speaker 2: school like the University of Georgia. You settled for LSU.

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Speaker 2: Talk to me a little bit about that decision to

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Speaker 2: go to LSU.

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Speaker 1: Well, what's wilder and even better is that I actually

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Speaker 1: originally committed to the University of Florida and I was

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Speaker 1: going to be a Florida Gator, which I know, it

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Speaker 1: really fires.

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Speaker 2: Me up now, that would be worse.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And so I was going to be a Florida Gator.

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Speaker 1: Steve Spurrier was there. You know, they were really good.

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Speaker 1: Fred Taylor and Danny Wirfel and those guys. And yeah,

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Speaker 1: this guy, a little old dude from the north named

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Speaker 1: Nick Saban took the LSU head coaching job and came

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Speaker 1: to my living room with my family and convinced me

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Speaker 1: that I needed to be an LSU Tiger because it

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Speaker 1: wasn't going to be a four year decision. He was

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Speaker 1: going to be a forty year decision. It was going

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Speaker 1: to change my life for the rest of my time

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Speaker 1: in the state of Louisiana and lo and behold, I

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Speaker 1: mean he was right. I mean, he was probably the

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Speaker 1: only coach to always go back to this when I

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Speaker 1: was when I was coming up, I really wanted to

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Speaker 1: be a tight end. So Houston up was at Arkansas,

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Speaker 1: Steve Spurry was in Florida. Both played really big tight ends,

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Speaker 1: like Sean Andrews played the umevers of Arkansas big right

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Speaker 1: tackle there. Well, the guy who played beside him was

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Speaker 1: Jason Peters, who's one of the best left tackles ever

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Speaker 1: played in the NFL. He was a tight end at Arkansas.

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Speaker 1: So I wanted to go be a big tight end there.

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Speaker 1: That was kind of this tween yer tackle tight end guy,

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Speaker 1: and so I was trying to kind of choose in

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Speaker 1: schools that played with bigger tight ends. Nick Saban sat

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Speaker 1: me down in my living room and he's like, listen,

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Speaker 1: the sooner you give up your dream to play tight end,

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Speaker 1: you're going to head towards your future of having an

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Speaker 1: amazing football career. And I was just like, wow, this

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Speaker 1: dude just walked in my living room and told me

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Speaker 1: that I'm not gonna to be my dream, like I'm

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Speaker 1: not reaching my dream. But really he was started telling

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Speaker 1: what my dream should be, right, and sure enough he

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Speaker 1: was right. I mean, I moved to tackle my senior

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Speaker 1: year because of him. I decided I'd move inside and

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Speaker 1: play tackle at my senior year at West Monroe and

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Speaker 1: then the rest is history. I went on to go

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Speaker 1: to LSU and break the all time start record NCAA history,

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Speaker 1: and win a national championship.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, did he mention that left tackles make more money

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Speaker 2: than tight ends.

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Speaker 1: I'm just curious he could have got He could have

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Speaker 1: easily just started with that, but you know, he decided

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Speaker 1: to kind of come in strong and like, hey man,

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Speaker 1: I'm just gonna be really upfront with you, like you're

355
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Speaker 1: gonna play left tackle for the LSU Tigers if you

356
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Speaker 1: come here and you're gonna have an amazing career.

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Speaker 2: You were red shirted your freshman year. There was that

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Speaker 2: frustrating for you.

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Speaker 1: It was there was a number of us in my

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Speaker 1: class that you know, we had, I guess five all

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Speaker 1: Americans that I played with that I signed with, Marcus Spears,

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Speaker 1: Michael Clayton, Marquise Hill, and Ben Wilkerson and we all

363
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Speaker 1: signed the same class. Some of us read shirt or

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Speaker 1: some ups didn't, and it was, you know, kind of

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Speaker 1: one of those things that they knew they weren't going

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Speaker 1: to be. Probably, you know, you got to think when

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Speaker 1: you take over a guy like Nick who's got kind

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Speaker 1: of a plan for the future, you don't know who's

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Speaker 1: gonna really help them that year and whether they'd actually

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Speaker 1: be that good. But we knew in the coming years

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Speaker 1: we had a chance to be really special, so he

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Speaker 1: tried his best to keep most of us. I unfortunately

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Speaker 1: has always say had the worst Red shirt experience you

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Speaker 1: can have, because he always thought like, you're one play

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Speaker 1: for me, putting you in there and being the left tackle.

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Speaker 1: So I had to dress out preparing to start every

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Speaker 1: single week. Never once touched the field like taped up

378
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Speaker 1: ready to roll, you know, all my freshman buddies or

379
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Speaker 1: in tiger Land upside down, you know, taking shots at everclear.

380
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Speaker 1: You're sending me text messages and calls and everything else,

381
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Speaker 1: and believe it or not, there I don't think you

382
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,080
Speaker 1: could photo message at that time, so I wasn't getting

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Speaker 1: any photos. But they were, you know, filling me in

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Speaker 1: on what their antics were, and I'm just sitting there, like, man,

385
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Speaker 1: I got to go to the game and I'm gonna

386
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Speaker 1: stand there. I wasn't that happy, I'll say it that way.

387
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Speaker 1: My freshman fall was a frustrating fall.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you were ranked six and perspective offensive lineman going

389
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Speaker 2: into college, you you go there, you get red shirted.

390
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Speaker 2: But obviously you believe King Saban that you have a

391
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Speaker 2: long future ahead of you. Are you at this point

392
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Speaker 2: are you all in on what your future is going

393
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Speaker 2: to be. Do you have a plan B there at

394
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,080
Speaker 2: LSU or you just we're going to do this and

395
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Speaker 2: we're going to go to the NFL. No.

396
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Speaker 1: I don't think I was somebody that dreamed that big.

397
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Speaker 1: I mean, I you know, I grew up with My

398
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,440
Speaker 1: mom was a school teacher for thirty seven years. My

399
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Speaker 1: dad's a computer programmer, like back in the day if

400
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Speaker 1: like you know, the black screen with a little dots

401
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,440
Speaker 1: on it, and he sat in an office with no windows.

402
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Speaker 1: And my mom was a you know, school teacher and

403
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Speaker 1: ended up being like the school librarian at the end

404
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Speaker 1: of her career. We were very simple, and you know,

405
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Speaker 1: it's not like I never liked, man, I didn't have

406
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Speaker 1: stuff on the table or anything. But I lived a

407
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,919
Speaker 1: very simple life and you know, never really dreamed of

408
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Speaker 1: anything bigger than that. So when I was in school, honestly,

409
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Speaker 1: it was like, man, I'm just trying to be really,

410
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,359
Speaker 1: I was real competitive, Like I wanted to start. I

411
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,080
Speaker 1: wanted to play on the football team, and I wanted

412
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Speaker 1: to be really good, and I love to like get

413
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Speaker 1: after it. I wanted to always like punish myself and

414
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Speaker 1: work some hard and fight and tussle with people like

415
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Speaker 1: I love that. But I never really had a dream

416
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Speaker 1: of like what does that mean after this? And so

417
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,040
Speaker 1: for me, it was always like, man if I fail

418
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,000
Speaker 1: at this, I'll go coach or teach or do something

419
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:40,920
Speaker 1: like that, just because I love people and I love

420
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,399
Speaker 1: pouring into people and I've always been relational that way,

421
00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:48,240
Speaker 1: and so I really didn't have any dreams bigger than

422
00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,359
Speaker 1: just trying to make it, you know, out on the

423
00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:53,520
Speaker 1: football field and be a starter for LSU Tigers. That

424
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:53,960
Speaker 1: was that was it?

425
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Speaker 2: Well I did I did read here that to your

426
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:05,280
Speaker 2: point in your LSU career, you missed one practice, which

427
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,560
Speaker 2: was to attend your own graduation. So I would say

428
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:13,840
Speaker 2: that's that's pretty committed. You stayed out of the well

429
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Speaker 2: the ever clear dens. There you go from red shirting

430
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Speaker 2: your freshman year, you end up being a second round

431
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,239
Speaker 2: draft pick going into the NFL. At what point do

432
00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,880
Speaker 2: you realize that's going to happen? You don't have dreams

433
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Speaker 2: of it, You're being simple, but like, at what point

434
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,440
Speaker 2: do you go oh, okay, we're gonna do this thing.

435
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,080
Speaker 1: After we won the national championship, my red shirt sophomore year,

436
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:41,960
Speaker 1: there's my second year starting. Nick Saban brings me in

437
00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:43,959
Speaker 1: his office, and I'll never forget this because it's it's

438
00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:45,760
Speaker 1: kind of those things you always go back to, like,

439
00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:47,440
Speaker 1: you know, I'm sure you did it, like a decision

440
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:49,280
Speaker 1: where you're like, you take a job or you don't,

441
00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:50,879
Speaker 1: or you make a decision you don't. You're like, man,

442
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,560
Speaker 1: I wonder where I would have ended up had I

443
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,440
Speaker 1: decided to do that, or maybe said no or yes,

444
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:58,680
Speaker 1: you know, And so that for me, that's that moment

445
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,120
Speaker 1: he brings me in his office. Never even thought really

446
00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,320
Speaker 1: about the NFL. I thought of the NFL as like wow,

447
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,360
Speaker 1: that's insane level of football and not like, oh man,

448
00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:09,680
Speaker 1: I'm going to get there, right And I go into

449
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,880
Speaker 1: his office and he's like, hey, man, you've played two years,

450
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,240
Speaker 1: you red shirted. You know you could explore the draft

451
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,720
Speaker 1: if you wanted, you know, you know, I think you

452
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,359
Speaker 1: should submit your papers and get like, you know, people

453
00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:23,160
Speaker 1: that don't know that you can submit to the league

454
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:24,920
Speaker 1: and the scouts give you a score where they think

455
00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,520
Speaker 1: you'll be drafted and that's what helps kids make their decision.

456
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,479
Speaker 1: And so I got mine back and it was like

457
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,000
Speaker 1: a second or third round rating, and he's like, you

458
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:36,639
Speaker 1: do what you want to do, but I wanted you

459
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 1: to get this. And I've always thought it was like

460
00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:41,440
Speaker 1: I couldn't understand if he like didn't like me or

461
00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,119
Speaker 1: like what's going on, because it's like it seemed like

462
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:44,919
Speaker 1: we loved each other, you know, he loved me in

463
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:46,440
Speaker 1: the player, I was just like, are you trying to

464
00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:48,679
Speaker 1: push me out the door? And I think he like

465
00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,520
Speaker 1: honestly wanted me to explore, like, hey man, you need

466
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,920
Speaker 1: to realize how good you are at this, and like

467
00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:58,199
Speaker 1: it needs to become something you're thinking about. And I

468
00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,880
Speaker 1: appreciate that, but I decided I wanted to stay, and

469
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,920
Speaker 1: I stay, and we don't have as good a year.

470
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:07,879
Speaker 1: We have a solid year Nick kind of playing. You know,

471
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:09,560
Speaker 1: we kind of know the writings on the wall. He's

472
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,560
Speaker 1: gonna leave and go to the Dolphins after that year.

473
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:15,320
Speaker 1: So I don't have a great experience that year, and

474
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:16,920
Speaker 1: I had a couple of games that kind of I

475
00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:18,600
Speaker 1: didn't think I played as well as I should have

476
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 1: unless Miles comes in and I'm like, you know, what.

477
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,199
Speaker 1: I've always had this feeling in me that I'm like,

478
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,200
Speaker 1: you know, for whatever reason, I always feel like I'm

479
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,159
Speaker 1: responsible for people, and so I felt like in that moment,

480
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,560
Speaker 1: a change, a head coach, a program that didn't perform

481
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,560
Speaker 1: as good as it did, we just want an actual championship.

482
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:38,680
Speaker 1: I got a lot of senior buddies that are coming back.

483
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:41,240
Speaker 1: I don't even want to talk about leaving. So I

484
00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:43,600
Speaker 1: didn't even explore leaving the next year as a rich

485
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,000
Speaker 1: Ard junior because I'm like, I had to come back.

486
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,520
Speaker 1: I remember giving a speech Nick Saban that kind of

487
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,960
Speaker 1: tells the guys formerly after our Iowa game and we

488
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,720
Speaker 1: lose my junior year, he's gone, and I remember standing

489
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,439
Speaker 1: up being like, I'm going to be back here. You know,

490
00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,560
Speaker 1: we're gonna get after it and do what we're supposed

491
00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 1: to dolah blah blah. And I just felt compelled to

492
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,520
Speaker 1: do it in the moment, with no real reasoning for

493
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,280
Speaker 1: the decision. And I came back and played in another year.

494
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,440
Speaker 1: So I ended up playing all five years at LSU

495
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,040
Speaker 1: and becoming a second round pick. So it's crazy how

496
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,080
Speaker 1: it worked out, and I still go back sometimes to

497
00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:17,800
Speaker 1: that day in his office and think like what if

498
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,240
Speaker 1: I just decided to leave because my rating didn't really

499
00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,600
Speaker 1: change it those two years, how different would my career

500
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,280
Speaker 1: look or where would've ended up. But I've been mature

501
00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:27,959
Speaker 1: enough to handle the league all those questions.

502
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 2: That's so interesting. I've never heard that before of a

503
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:38,080
Speaker 2: coach pulling you in and actually encouraging you to go

504
00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:41,200
Speaker 2: because it seems you know, you know, I mean, let's

505
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,320
Speaker 2: just be real, like you're a good player, You're obviously

506
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,199
Speaker 2: going to help him do what he wants to do,

507
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 2: which is when that's a that's a great story, that's

508
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:51,920
Speaker 2: really really important.

509
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:53,560
Speaker 1: I think if you think about it, it's a little

510
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,400
Speaker 1: bit you look at what he does in Alabama. Now,

511
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,080
Speaker 1: how fast those kids get in and out. I think

512
00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:00,199
Speaker 1: it's a little bit of a vision of the more

513
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,720
Speaker 1: kids I graduate come here to play, are successful and

514
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,439
Speaker 1: end up in the NFL, the easier it is for

515
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,479
Speaker 1: me to tell the next kid that's what his future

516
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,000
Speaker 1: looks like. And so I think that's why he kind of,

517
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,440
Speaker 1: you know, plays that line a little bit of like, hey,

518
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:16,640
Speaker 1: when I got really special ones that I may need

519
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 1: to get into the league and be able to show

520
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,919
Speaker 1: this example, I'll recruit the next one based off of

521
00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,040
Speaker 1: this guy, and I think that's kind of the vision

522
00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,200
Speaker 1: he's always had for its to keep those guys coming

523
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:25,640
Speaker 1: in and out.

524
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,919
Speaker 2: Two thousand and six NFL Draft. After five years at LSU,

525
00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,879
Speaker 2: you get drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. Talk to me

526
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 2: a little bit about the experience for you of the draft.

527
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,040
Speaker 2: Is this like my dream has come true?

528
00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,800
Speaker 1: It was? The problem was I was going through a

529
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: lot of tourmal personally, so you know, I end up

530
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 1: senior year at LSU kind of you know, been in

531
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,119
Speaker 1: a relationship the majority of the back half of my

532
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,200
Speaker 1: college career with a girl and we get married. End

533
00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 1: up not a good idea for either one of us,

534
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 1: not going well. I think it lasted all of maybe

535
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,040
Speaker 1: I don't know, five months of actually being married. Maybe

536
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,959
Speaker 1: that that might be a stretch, and so things are

537
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,520
Speaker 1: not good. There, go through the draft experience together or whatever,

538
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,960
Speaker 1: but still not that great. I'm two weeks after I

539
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,200
Speaker 1: get drafted the Cincinnati Bengals, excited as heck to be there.

540
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,320
Speaker 1: I still love the story that the secretary and there

541
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,359
Speaker 1: called me like the day after I got drafted and

542
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,639
Speaker 1: she's like, hey, next Friday, we got to have you

543
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,360
Speaker 1: here whatever. And I'm like, well, I get it on Thursday.

544
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:50,159
Speaker 1: She's like, what do you mean you get on Thursday.

545
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,080
Speaker 1: I'm like, well I already. I just booked my own

546
00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:55,880
Speaker 1: personal flight, like I'm coming in on Thursday. And she's like, okay,

547
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,320
Speaker 1: you're excited to get to work. You didn't even wait

548
00:26:58,359 --> 00:26:59,680
Speaker 1: for us to tell you when you can come. I

549
00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:01,720
Speaker 1: love it. But that was like my eagerness to get

550
00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 1: there and get going. And so two weeks after I

551
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:07,159
Speaker 1: get drafted, I met Marvin Lewis's event. He had a

552
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,360
Speaker 1: found he has a great foundation in Cincinnati. My phone's

553
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 1: blowing up and I'm like, man, I don't know who's

554
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,320
Speaker 1: calling me so much tonight. So I finally walk out

555
00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,520
Speaker 1: of the event, get on my phone and it's one

556
00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,160
Speaker 1: of my best friends of life, Michael Peterson, and he says, hey, man,

557
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:22,199
Speaker 1: And as you go somewhere and he talked to me

558
00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:26,040
Speaker 1: and said what's up, He's like it's Lee, and I'm like, okay,

559
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,199
Speaker 1: what's going on. He's like he was killed. And so

560
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:35,760
Speaker 1: my close friend in college, roommate, Lee Deal, was serving

561
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:39,640
Speaker 1: the Navy, was a met doc for a special recon team.

562
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,239
Speaker 1: He was killed in action two weeks to the day

563
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,280
Speaker 1: after I was drafted, almost and crazy experience in life.

564
00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:48,520
Speaker 1: I always say it's been one of those things is

565
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:50,479
Speaker 1: horrific and never want to go through again. But it's

566
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:52,520
Speaker 1: also been something I think that saved my entire career

567
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,639
Speaker 1: because where I was at in life, I think I

568
00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:57,800
Speaker 1: took a lot of things for granted in general, and

569
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,040
Speaker 1: so I spent my entire NFL career from that moment on.

570
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:03,920
Speaker 1: I've always said, if you find a national anthem that

571
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,600
Speaker 1: I'm on the video, there's tears in my eyes and

572
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,280
Speaker 1: most of the time my tear dropping down my face.

573
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 1: And it's not really something to do as much about

574
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: the anthem as much as there was always this moment

575
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,480
Speaker 1: I'd see the flag, I'd hear the anthem, and able

576
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,320
Speaker 1: to remind me, boy, there's a lot of things through

577
00:28:19,359 --> 00:28:21,879
Speaker 1: the week that I stress out about and think about,

578
00:28:22,560 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 1: and man, I get to stand here today because of

579
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,719
Speaker 1: one of my best friends in life sacrifice, the ultimate

580
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 1: sacrifice for me to get to have this freedom to

581
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,480
Speaker 1: do what I'm doing right now. So it gave me

582
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:35,639
Speaker 1: a constant reminder for sixteen years how special what it

583
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:37,200
Speaker 1: is I get to do each and every Sunday.

584
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 2: That's incredible. God, what a crazy story, and what a

585
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 2: gift for you. That's great. It is, man, Yeah, it is.

586
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,080
Speaker 1: I had the unique honor one of the coolest things

587
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,320
Speaker 1: I have for my NFL playing career, and that includes everything,

588
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:58,320
Speaker 1: the trophy, you name it. I have actually a framed

589
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: picture of that led to Michael Dangoons to come Seals.

590
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,800
Speaker 1: Years down the road, the Seals are training in Kentucky

591
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 1: and I find out about it and invite them to

592
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:13,280
Speaker 1: a Steelers Bengals game, get them a suite at the

593
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:15,560
Speaker 1: stadium to work through the Bengals, get them a sweet

594
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,360
Speaker 1: just happens to be Jim Bayner's. There a lot of

595
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,000
Speaker 1: like political folks are in town. They go visit them,

596
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:24,160
Speaker 1: kind of make this awesome experience for them. Well, these

597
00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:28,240
Speaker 1: guys take this Bengals flag they gave them and flew

598
00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,719
Speaker 1: it on their next deployment and took pictures with all

599
00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,400
Speaker 1: their machinery and everything and their guns and name it.

600
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 1: Pulled the flag up and got it framed and gave

601
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 1: me their American flag that went with them and the

602
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 1: Bengal flag that we gave them, and framed it up

603
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,840
Speaker 1: for me, and I kept it. I took the frame

604
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:46,320
Speaker 1: and I actually put it as the back of my

605
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,560
Speaker 1: locker in Cincinnati. That was the back side of my locker,

606
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:51,560
Speaker 1: so every day I could look at it. But it's

607
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:54,520
Speaker 1: still one of the coolest things that I've ever received

608
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 1: playing NFL football.

609
00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:03,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a lot of talk around the league about

610
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 2: a lack of support given from the Bengals organization to

611
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:15,640
Speaker 2: their players in terms of facilities support in that way.

612
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,160
Speaker 2: Is that fair or is that not fair criticism?

613
00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 1: You know, I think what's tough about it is obviously

614
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,480
Speaker 1: I think it's a lot harder for your smaller families

615
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,600
Speaker 1: that kind of that's their only business in the NFL

616
00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 1: to operate financially in the NFL model, because a lot

617
00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:34,040
Speaker 1: of people you know who don't realize it, but you know,

618
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,400
Speaker 1: you're Jerry Jones or Crownkeys, you know, some of these

619
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:38,680
Speaker 1: guys in the world to have these other massive businesses

620
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,240
Speaker 1: that have really led to their worth and really how

621
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,600
Speaker 1: they're able to operate so freely in the world of

622
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,320
Speaker 1: using the NFL's money to make the team as good

623
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 1: as possible. I think it is a lot harder, but

624
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 1: it's not that it couldn't be done and so I

625
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:57,160
Speaker 1: think at times, really the critique when I got to Cincinnati, obviously,

626
00:30:57,320 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 1: you know, that's one of the things I think people

627
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,000
Speaker 1: don't get marvel Lewis enough credit for us when he

628
00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,560
Speaker 1: took over that team. I mean, you know, zero real

629
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,960
Speaker 1: scouting department, structure, not many facility things that anybody would

630
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,960
Speaker 1: want to play there for other than moving into the

631
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,800
Speaker 1: stadium they were in. But I mean, my entire career there,

632
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:16,240
Speaker 1: we never had an indoor. We never had any of

633
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:18,760
Speaker 1: those things. So our indoor was to go inside the stadium,

634
00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,560
Speaker 1: which is open air, and practicing the snow on the turf,

635
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 1: which I don't know why we did that because it

636
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,320
Speaker 1: only the turf's only harder when it's cold, so it

637
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,720
Speaker 1: didn't make a lot of sense, but it sounded good,

638
00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:33,520
Speaker 1: we're going inside today. But yeah, I mean, when I

639
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,840
Speaker 1: first got there, we ate our meals out of what

640
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:39,680
Speaker 1: used to be like a closet. They literally just rolled

641
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,720
Speaker 1: in trays of food and you'd walk through there, and

642
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:45,000
Speaker 1: then you'd sit in the basketball gym and that's literally

643
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:48,440
Speaker 1: where you ate, and it was just way different than

644
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,040
Speaker 1: what they experience now. But I think it is a

645
00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:53,400
Speaker 1: fair criticism to say you wish they were more aggressive.

646
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,719
Speaker 1: I know, I've always been critical in the sense of

647
00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:58,720
Speaker 1: I think they did a wonderful job of putting together

648
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,240
Speaker 1: teams and stuff. When I was there, were really successful.

649
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,080
Speaker 1: We didn't find a way to win a playoff game.

650
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:05,160
Speaker 1: But I mean, shoot, we went to the playoffs six

651
00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 1: times while I was there, won a bunch of division championships.

652
00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:12,920
Speaker 1: But I always thought in twenty eleven to fifteen, when

653
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,560
Speaker 1: we really had our run with Andy Dawton and AJ Green,

654
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:18,680
Speaker 1: the Geno Atkins and those guys, I was always critical

655
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 1: of here you are with all this self. You know,

656
00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,040
Speaker 1: you drafted them talent and not bringing in guys from

657
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,840
Speaker 1: other places. You drafted all these guys, so they're all

658
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,520
Speaker 1: draft picks and they're all slotted in the draft. You've

659
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,120
Speaker 1: had all success, You're this could like, why is there

660
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:36,080
Speaker 1: no investment to like one free agent or one trade

661
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:38,880
Speaker 1: to just like, all right, we keep getting there, like

662
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: almost winning, Like we're that good, then why not just

663
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 1: some kind of like investment to say, let's be even better.

664
00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:48,680
Speaker 1: I think that's one of the things that Joe Burrow

665
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,400
Speaker 1: really changed.

666
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 2: You know.

667
00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:53,040
Speaker 1: I think his attitude going there in the draft and

668
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,640
Speaker 1: who he is you can see that their mindset's changed

669
00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:58,320
Speaker 1: in the last three years. I mean, they've probably signed

670
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,160
Speaker 1: more free agents than they signed entire eleven years I

671
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:05,360
Speaker 1: was there. So it's interesting to see that it really

672
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 1: looks like they've completely changed under this new era with

673
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase and Joe Burrow and T Higgins and those guys.

674
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,200
Speaker 1: But they never would have gone and gotten to Trey Hendrickson,

675
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,480
Speaker 1: you know, or a DJ Reader or any of those

676
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:20,680
Speaker 1: guys when I when I was there, that just wasn't

677
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:23,720
Speaker 1: something they did. And so that was always my point.

678
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:25,760
Speaker 1: It's like, man, I understand y'all need to be tight

679
00:33:25,800 --> 00:33:28,480
Speaker 1: with things, but why isn't there like a buy in

680
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,800
Speaker 1: we are successful to say, what if we just took

681
00:33:31,840 --> 00:33:35,240
Speaker 1: that next leap? I think you'd all benefit financially and

682
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:36,000
Speaker 1: everything else.

683
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,680
Speaker 2: Right, talk to me about a little bit about stepping

684
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 2: on the field for the first time in the NFL.

685
00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:46,400
Speaker 2: Was this like my dream has come true?

686
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,880
Speaker 1: You know? I think it would have been except for

687
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,400
Speaker 1: for me my first time, you know, I played left

688
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:59,040
Speaker 1: tackle at LSU, and my first real experience starting I

689
00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,320
Speaker 1: played against the Cleveland Browns as a guard, which is

690
00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,960
Speaker 1: a little easier from the sense of you're in a

691
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,400
Speaker 1: little box and you don't feel as exposed as you

692
00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:09,239
Speaker 1: are as a tackle. So that part wasn't is bad.

693
00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,560
Speaker 1: But I remember my first left tackle snap, which is

694
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,560
Speaker 1: what I really call living on that island like a corner.

695
00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,360
Speaker 1: And notice in the made to man corner. We're playing

696
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:23,239
Speaker 1: in Tampa, Levi Jones is our left tackle, and I'm

697
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,040
Speaker 1: at the game. You know, I'm not starting anything that week,

698
00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,880
Speaker 1: and I'd only started against Cleveland because somebody was injured.

699
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:30,640
Speaker 1: And so this is like week four or five, and

700
00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: Levi goes down in the first quarter and so it's

701
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,560
Speaker 1: a it's a TV time out for his injury. My

702
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:39,719
Speaker 1: coach yells at me, you know, get get out there,

703
00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 1: and so I run out there, and I get in

704
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:44,600
Speaker 1: the huddle at left guard and I moved to left

705
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 1: guard to left tackle because that's how we played against Cleveland.

706
00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 1: And I'm like, no way, He's putting me on the edge,

707
00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:53,760
Speaker 1: like that's Simmey and Rice over there. And so he's

708
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:56,360
Speaker 1: like I can see my coach is like frantically making

709
00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 1: all these arm gestures like he's like pissed off, and

710
00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:01,960
Speaker 1: I'm like, what is going on? And kind of see

711
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:03,880
Speaker 1: him on this iseline. I'm trying to like halp ignore

712
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:08,240
Speaker 1: him and like lock in. I'm starting now. I'm playing

713
00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:11,240
Speaker 1: in this game to meet something. And then finally Carson

714
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,600
Speaker 1: Palmer or quarterback over the headset like somebody's telling him

715
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 1: some of the headset. He's like with like move like

716
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:20,360
Speaker 1: you're playing left tackle, and I'm like, what, huh? Like me.

717
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:23,719
Speaker 1: So I literally look over there at Paul Alexander, my

718
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:25,520
Speaker 1: line coach. I like point at my chest, like me,

719
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,439
Speaker 1: move over to left tackle, and He's like, yes, move over,

720
00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:31,359
Speaker 1: and so I move over there, and I'm like, oh boy,

721
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,600
Speaker 1: let's go me and Rice is going to be a blast.

722
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,120
Speaker 1: And I have no idea how bad I couldn't go.

723
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:40,080
Speaker 1: Look at that one. It probably was really ugly. I

724
00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:41,879
Speaker 1: didn't give up a sack, and I did a pretty

725
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,480
Speaker 1: good job, so I was very content. But the next

726
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,920
Speaker 1: week it didn't get any easier. I faced Julius Peppers

727
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,359
Speaker 1: and Mike Rutger, who at that time I think led

728
00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:52,480
Speaker 1: the NFL and sacks, and from then on I was

729
00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,399
Speaker 1: playing left tackle, and the challenge each and every week

730
00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:56,879
Speaker 1: could be at A rookie left tackle in the league

731
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,759
Speaker 1: ended up starting ten games that year, and he was insane, man,

732
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:02,279
Speaker 1: crazy experience. I can remember in my mind like being

733
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:05,959
Speaker 1: on the field with Brett Farr and Ray Lewis and guys.

734
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:08,560
Speaker 1: So I'm like, man, highlyze this guy, Like how am

735
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,359
Speaker 1: I standing on the field with treil Owen's and all

736
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:13,080
Speaker 1: these guys. It was like every week you get over

737
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:14,760
Speaker 1: the bench and kind of look over at the offense.

738
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:17,319
Speaker 1: It's on the field and you're like, man, wait, oh

739
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:18,879
Speaker 1: my god, I'm on the same field as that guy.

740
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 1: Like this is crazy, Like we're in the same place,

741
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,720
Speaker 1: we had the same job. It's unbelievable.

742
00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:29,120
Speaker 2: Well, I know in twenty fourteen you're still facing a

743
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:33,200
Speaker 2: lot of those guys and others. You allowed zero sacks

744
00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:40,120
Speaker 2: and only one quarterback hit on Andy Dalton name second

745
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:44,120
Speaker 2: team ap NFL All Pro. Is that is that your

746
00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:49,440
Speaker 2: greatest accomplishment? I mean, zero sacks and one hit from

747
00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:50,520
Speaker 2: the left hack the position.

748
00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:54,560
Speaker 1: Good year. It was a really good year. I'll say that.

749
00:36:55,440 --> 00:36:58,120
Speaker 1: You know what's wild is that kind of led to

750
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:03,440
Speaker 1: me becoming a Los Angeles ram It's insane to think

751
00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:06,279
Speaker 1: like that's how it all worked out. But yeah, it

752
00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:08,360
Speaker 1: was a great year, and it was a year that

753
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,239
Speaker 1: I was so committed to I think I finally hit

754
00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:13,200
Speaker 1: this point, you know when people say, hey, you know,

755
00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:16,560
Speaker 1: years down the road, I placed be the first ever

756
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:19,759
Speaker 1: aligneman to start a game at forty years old, as

757
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,520
Speaker 1: I start and left tackle. It started from that moment

758
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:25,160
Speaker 1: because I'd really committed that offseason, like, you know what,

759
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:27,480
Speaker 1: I feel really good and I think I could do

760
00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:30,400
Speaker 1: this for a long time if I just keep this

761
00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,600
Speaker 1: exact regimen, And that kind of started it off. That year.

762
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:36,279
Speaker 1: I was fired up to make a difference and do

763
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:39,239
Speaker 1: something different. Hugh Jackson I was coming in as our

764
00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:42,359
Speaker 1: offensive coordinator, and Hugh and I always hit it off,

765
00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:44,920
Speaker 1: and we were both firing guys, and so we kind

766
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,440
Speaker 1: of got each other going every week. And man, I

767
00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:49,920
Speaker 1: had a lot of fun playing football all year, much

768
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,400
Speaker 1: less of success, and it really kind of, I think,

769
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,959
Speaker 1: you know, shot me on the direction to what would

770
00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:58,080
Speaker 1: lead to an insane finish.

771
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,920
Speaker 2: To my career. We talked about your near perfect attendance

772
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,759
Speaker 2: record in college. You played one hundred and sixty eight

773
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:08,960
Speaker 2: out of one hundred and seventy six games. In your

774
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,920
Speaker 2: eleventh seasons with the Bengals, you don't take tailand all.

775
00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:17,080
Speaker 2: Is that is that true?

776
00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:20,800
Speaker 1: Yeah? You know what, happened is like you're five or six,

777
00:38:22,120 --> 00:38:25,640
Speaker 1: you know, you're sitting there, Brian, and you're like bored

778
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:28,400
Speaker 1: in the offseason, and I'm watching Roadhouse for like the

779
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,239
Speaker 1: one hundred and seventy eighth time, and not just for

780
00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,440
Speaker 1: the scene of Angelis when he picks her up in

781
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:39,040
Speaker 1: the room, but also because you know, I love Roadhouse

782
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:42,719
Speaker 1: and I love like the mentality that you know he

783
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:46,279
Speaker 1: took on in that. And so the scene where she's

784
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:49,919
Speaker 1: stapling him in the hospital and he's like like, pain

785
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:53,040
Speaker 1: is just pain, Like you gotta get used to it, right,

786
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,839
Speaker 1: and just kind of unflinching. So I was in my

787
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,120
Speaker 1: fifth six year in the league and I was like, man,

788
00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:01,759
Speaker 1: I'm watching guys line up in for toward All shots,

789
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:05,279
Speaker 1: ordering toward All online and taking it throughout the week

790
00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,520
Speaker 1: and just crushing every anti inflammatory and pain pill and

791
00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,759
Speaker 1: you name it. And I was like, man, I just

792
00:39:12,160 --> 00:39:16,279
Speaker 1: I feel like I see all these guys develop a

793
00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:18,480
Speaker 1: need like they have to to be able to function

794
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,839
Speaker 1: every day, they have to have all this stuff. Why

795
00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:22,040
Speaker 1: can't it work the other way?

796
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:22,800
Speaker 2: Right?

797
00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:25,279
Speaker 1: And I was like, I was watching that show and

798
00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:26,560
Speaker 1: I got done watching it, and I was like, you

799
00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:28,239
Speaker 1: know what, Like what if I just took a year

800
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:32,880
Speaker 1: and said, no, I'm not taking anything, no medicine, nothing,

801
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,600
Speaker 1: just like Patrick Swayzey says it, like no meds, no pills, nothing,

802
00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:40,040
Speaker 1: And I'm like, let's do it. And so I did it,

803
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:43,960
Speaker 1: and I saw a drastic difference and just how I

804
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,200
Speaker 1: was able to kind of understand my body and feel

805
00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:48,160
Speaker 1: things I needed to work on and feel things that

806
00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:51,239
Speaker 1: I needed to get worked on per se. And so

807
00:39:52,760 --> 00:39:54,880
Speaker 1: it just became a thing. And so after that, it

808
00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:57,200
Speaker 1: was like everywhere I went, no matter what the entry was,

809
00:39:57,280 --> 00:39:59,200
Speaker 1: I'd be like, look, man, unless you're telling me that,

810
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:02,799
Speaker 1: like I can't get on the field next week, I'm out.

811
00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,880
Speaker 1: And so like, yeah, was there an occasion like you know,

812
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,640
Speaker 1: they give you the pregnic zone or something like that

813
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:09,080
Speaker 1: if you've got some significant injury and they don't know

814
00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:12,040
Speaker 1: if you're to recover in time. I mean, yeah, I've

815
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:17,640
Speaker 1: done that before. But no weekly, daily stuff. Actually, until

816
00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:21,320
Speaker 1: my last two years in LA, I basically took nothing

817
00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:23,920
Speaker 1: for about seven years and my last two years in

818
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:25,600
Speaker 1: LA just because at my age it was a lot

819
00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:29,319
Speaker 1: harder to do that. On actual game day, I would

820
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,680
Speaker 1: take like two tile and all just to kind of

821
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:33,320
Speaker 1: take the edge off a little bit in the morning,

822
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:35,440
Speaker 1: you know, because the thing was when you're thirty nine

823
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,239
Speaker 1: and forty showing up on the field, Like I always say,

824
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:40,719
Speaker 1: it's like a box of chocolates. Every Sunday, I have

825
00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:43,360
Speaker 1: no idea what I'm gonna wake up and feel like

826
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:47,480
Speaker 1: that morning it's like, oh rap, it's one of those days.

827
00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:49,520
Speaker 1: You know, Daddy's not in the mood today. I got

828
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,560
Speaker 1: to find it somehow, so he takes some talle on

829
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:53,200
Speaker 1: and get going.

830
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:56,080
Speaker 2: I took torn off for the first time this year.

831
00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:02,480
Speaker 2: Can I tell you in Tahoe? I yeah, And I'll

832
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:04,680
Speaker 2: tell you I'd never heard of it. I didn't know

833
00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:07,439
Speaker 2: what I mean. I heard it and really not ever

834
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:10,520
Speaker 2: understood what it was. It's for those of you who

835
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,239
Speaker 2: don't know, and you were like me until like two

836
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:19,480
Speaker 2: months ago. It's basically an anti inflammatory. I'd be profen

837
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 2: like on steroids, which is yeah, it's a weird Actually

838
00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:25,680
Speaker 2: you shouldn't say steroids, I guess, but it's a very big,

839
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:30,960
Speaker 2: powerful anti inflammatory. And I'll tell you what. My back

840
00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:36,440
Speaker 2: didn't hurt playing golf six d six rounds in six days.

841
00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:40,360
Speaker 2: I felt pretty good. Yeah, yeah, that's.

842
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,279
Speaker 1: How that's kind of really part of it for me

843
00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,080
Speaker 1: is that I wanted to get to a point where

844
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:46,720
Speaker 1: if I ever actually needed it, or I actually needed

845
00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:49,040
Speaker 1: some time at all, I wanted to have a drastic

846
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:49,640
Speaker 1: effect on me.

847
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:51,360
Speaker 2: Oh right, that makes sense.

848
00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:53,680
Speaker 1: And so that's really where it was. It's like, man,

849
00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:55,239
Speaker 1: you get injured one week and it's whether or not

850
00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:56,839
Speaker 1: you play the next week. I want to be able

851
00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:00,080
Speaker 1: to feel like man, that as a drastic effect. And

852
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:03,120
Speaker 1: and so you know, that's really where it started. And

853
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:04,960
Speaker 1: then it became just kind of stubborn, like you know,

854
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,160
Speaker 1: and then obviously also you know, I was also as

855
00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,560
Speaker 1: o line and guys would tell you like I never

856
00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:12,440
Speaker 1: lied aybout getting off the ground. So I was like

857
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:16,239
Speaker 1: super just obsessive, ain't aal about that. Like I know,

858
00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,040
Speaker 1: if I was gonna workout or I'm on the field,

859
00:42:18,200 --> 00:42:21,080
Speaker 1: I get up myself, like don't put your hand out there,

860
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:22,960
Speaker 1: because you're gonna think I'm an asshole. Like I'm not

861
00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:26,560
Speaker 1: gonna take it, but I just don't. I don't nobody

862
00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:28,160
Speaker 1: gets me off the ground with me. If I'm gonna

863
00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:30,759
Speaker 1: be thirty something years old playing football, I gotta get

864
00:42:30,800 --> 00:42:33,759
Speaker 1: my own butt off the ground. And I realized I

865
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,480
Speaker 1: signed up for this. That's a great transition to being

866
00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:38,040
Speaker 1: a RAM. That's part of what it was.

867
00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:42,120
Speaker 2: About twenty seventeen. You signed with the Rams and your

868
00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:45,600
Speaker 2: buddy Sean McVay, You move out west. Was it difficult

869
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:46,600
Speaker 2: for you to leave Cincy?

870
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:50,560
Speaker 1: Crazy? You know, I don't know how much we've really

871
00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:52,920
Speaker 1: even talked about it, but that, you know, Melissa and

872
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:56,319
Speaker 1: I over the time, but it's we signed. I guess

873
00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,760
Speaker 1: it was like March tenth, not somewhere in there. April second,

874
00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:03,000
Speaker 1: my family had sold the house, moved out of Cincinnati.

875
00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:05,759
Speaker 1: We lived in a house that we were renting in California.

876
00:43:05,880 --> 00:43:09,160
Speaker 1: In one month and basically three and a half weeks

877
00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:11,760
Speaker 1: something like that, my wife she flew home. The crazy

878
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:13,840
Speaker 1: part of that story is I signed the contract, we

879
00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:15,640
Speaker 1: flew out of my wife and three kids. And when

880
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:17,839
Speaker 1: you're an offensive lineman, Brian, I don't get like they

881
00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:19,719
Speaker 1: don't send the g for or to pick you up. Okay,

882
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:24,360
Speaker 1: you know I was. Actually that was me. Yeah, me

883
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:26,640
Speaker 1: and Melissa's favorite moment ever. I think I think it's

884
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:30,320
Speaker 1: Sean mcvay's favorite story ever. But since we won the

885
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:32,920
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. But I'm on the flight in the very

886
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:36,200
Speaker 1: back row, my wife and my three kids. The toilets

887
00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:39,000
Speaker 1: just you know, I'm getting all the fumes the whole flight.

888
00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:42,840
Speaker 1: We connect through Salt Lake City to to La and

889
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:45,799
Speaker 1: I am it's one of those bumpy winter flights where

890
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:47,880
Speaker 1: you know, the flight tents can't even get up and

891
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:49,640
Speaker 1: I'm just sitting on here in this back round. My

892
00:43:49,719 --> 00:43:52,680
Speaker 1: kids are crying. I'm like, what are we do we

893
00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,960
Speaker 1: this is the dumbest thing ever. Let's go back to

894
00:43:56,040 --> 00:43:58,880
Speaker 1: fourth Thomas, right, you know, get these kids on a

895
00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:02,640
Speaker 1: play set, like you know, we're fine, And I tell

896
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:05,200
Speaker 1: my wife, I'm like, listen, you need to buckle up

897
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,920
Speaker 1: and understand, we've given up super Bowl hopes. Like it's over.

898
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:11,400
Speaker 1: We're leaving Cincinnati where we'd gone on the playoffs a

899
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,000
Speaker 1: bunch of times. This team hasn't had a winning season

900
00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:17,680
Speaker 1: in fifteen years, Like super Bowl's over. This is about

901
00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:21,040
Speaker 1: us going there and changing a culture, you know, being

902
00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:24,080
Speaker 1: willing to help the wives, help the players, like this

903
00:44:24,280 --> 00:44:27,759
Speaker 1: is all this is about, and us going there and

904
00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:30,399
Speaker 1: being servants to this organization. And that's what they're really

905
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:32,600
Speaker 1: paying me to do. Come play good football and teach

906
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:35,120
Speaker 1: these guys how to play good football and change the

907
00:44:35,200 --> 00:44:38,120
Speaker 1: culture of what's going on there. And Melissa told Sean

908
00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:40,200
Speaker 1: that story when we first got to LA and so

909
00:44:40,320 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: he has never let me live it down since we

910
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:46,120
Speaker 1: went to two Super Bowls in one one. But it's

911
00:44:46,239 --> 00:44:49,759
Speaker 1: the truth of how I signed there. It was very like, Man,

912
00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:52,000
Speaker 1: I'm going here. This isn't about me, this is about

913
00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:56,880
Speaker 1: this place. And I never left. So I signed the contract.

914
00:44:57,280 --> 00:44:59,399
Speaker 1: I said, Melissa, this is one of those moments where

915
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:01,600
Speaker 1: you go, just forgive me on this. I can't leave.

916
00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:03,640
Speaker 1: I can't go back. Cincinnati means too much to me.

917
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:06,560
Speaker 1: It would hurt my heart too much to fly back

918
00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:10,040
Speaker 1: there now. I just I need you this month. If

919
00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:12,160
Speaker 1: we could just do this, like let's go all in together.

920
00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:14,480
Speaker 1: If you can go back to Cincinnati, I'll get your

921
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:16,920
Speaker 1: parents up there, whoever you need to help you move

922
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:18,800
Speaker 1: us oute of the house and take care of the kids.

923
00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:22,439
Speaker 1: I'm gonna stay here. So I never left LA after

924
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:26,640
Speaker 1: a hour. And last year I called the Bengals Rams

925
00:45:26,719 --> 00:45:30,000
Speaker 1: game in the preseason as a retired Super Bowl champion.

926
00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:33,360
Speaker 1: It was the first time I stepped back in Cincinnati,

927
00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:39,160
Speaker 1: Ohio since I signed my contract. Really, yeah, pretty well,

928
00:45:39,719 --> 00:45:41,480
Speaker 1: it was a pretty emotional game. I played it off,

929
00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:43,239
Speaker 1: but if it's a pretty emotional day to be there

930
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:45,840
Speaker 1: last year, it's just crazy for me. Man, I invested

931
00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:48,920
Speaker 1: everything I had in that place. You know, I just

932
00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:49,640
Speaker 1: couldn't go back.

933
00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:09,080
Speaker 2: Are you a Bengal or a Ram?

934
00:46:10,920 --> 00:46:13,160
Speaker 1: I'm both. I mean, I'm too invested in both places

935
00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:13,840
Speaker 1: to not be.

936
00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:17,760
Speaker 2: But what a what a weeny answer? God?

937
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:20,479
Speaker 1: No, right, I've been around longer than You're not gonna

938
00:46:20,520 --> 00:46:20,960
Speaker 1: get that.

939
00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:30,160
Speaker 2: You said it too. Super Bowls with the Rams, including

940
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:35,640
Speaker 2: your very last game. I mean you're playing, you're playing

941
00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:40,240
Speaker 2: against twenty somethings, you're in your in your late thirties,

942
00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:46,680
Speaker 2: forty before you retired. Are you feeling that age difference?

943
00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:50,520
Speaker 2: And do you consider it an advantage at all for you?

944
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:54,560
Speaker 1: I do think from a preparation and experience standpoint, it's

945
00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:58,719
Speaker 1: definitely advantage. But body wise no, I mean, you know, right,

946
00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:03,640
Speaker 1: my last five was literally about finding ways to recreate myself,

947
00:47:03,800 --> 00:47:05,600
Speaker 1: to recreate being. I know what I needed to do

948
00:47:05,719 --> 00:47:07,840
Speaker 1: to get the job done. But you know, you start

949
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:10,000
Speaker 1: to lose the ability. And I think that's what people

950
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:11,960
Speaker 1: don't understand when we say I make guys falling off,

951
00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,800
Speaker 1: is it's not necessarily that like if you tested me

952
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:16,640
Speaker 1: in the forty your pinch press or whatever, that the

953
00:47:16,719 --> 00:47:19,239
Speaker 1: numbers would be that different. It's that you start to

954
00:47:19,320 --> 00:47:22,240
Speaker 1: lose the ability for your brain to make your body

955
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:24,719
Speaker 1: do exactly what you feel in the moment. And so

956
00:47:25,400 --> 00:47:27,600
Speaker 1: I started to lose the explosion to get off the

957
00:47:27,640 --> 00:47:29,719
Speaker 1: line as a left tackling in my set and like,

958
00:47:29,880 --> 00:47:31,560
Speaker 1: oh man, I want to put my hand here, but

959
00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:34,600
Speaker 1: like for whatever reason, I just seemed to have lost

960
00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:36,440
Speaker 1: the ability to put it exactly where I want to,

961
00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:38,040
Speaker 1: and I'm just slow and I can see, like when

962
00:47:38,040 --> 00:47:40,200
Speaker 1: I watch a fight or I watch MMA or anything

963
00:47:40,239 --> 00:47:43,680
Speaker 1: like older fighters when they're struggling, like I know exactly

964
00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:46,480
Speaker 1: what's going on because I know the feeling of like

965
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:50,799
Speaker 1: what becomes the challenge And so it's that your body

966
00:47:50,840 --> 00:47:52,360
Speaker 1: doesn't listen to you as well as it used to.

967
00:47:52,520 --> 00:47:54,440
Speaker 1: You might know what you need to do, but you

968
00:47:54,600 --> 00:47:57,480
Speaker 1: can't get it to do it, and so that started

969
00:47:57,520 --> 00:47:59,480
Speaker 1: to become a challenge. And so for me, it was

970
00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:01,439
Speaker 1: like I got lighter. I tried to play the really

971
00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:04,560
Speaker 1: likely way less weight than I played earlier in my career,

972
00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:07,040
Speaker 1: so I can move a little better and more efficiently.

973
00:48:07,800 --> 00:48:08,760
Speaker 1: But I'll never forget.

974
00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:09,000
Speaker 2: You know.

975
00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:10,920
Speaker 1: Part of my get up store on your own is

976
00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:14,160
Speaker 1: I signed my deal two months later. I'm an OTA.

977
00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:18,560
Speaker 1: Is the very first OTA practice. Aaron Kromer is my

978
00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:22,400
Speaker 1: online coach, a hilarious guy, passionate dude about football and

979
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:25,320
Speaker 1: a great coach. And I get the tight end beside

980
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:27,759
Speaker 1: me goes the wrong way on our first play and

981
00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:30,560
Speaker 1: just completely rolls me up, and I mean it, freaking

982
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:33,279
Speaker 1: it hurts so bad. I'm rolling around on the dirt

983
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:37,080
Speaker 1: like on my knee, and all I hear from the

984
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:39,759
Speaker 1: back where all the coaches and players stand is you

985
00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:43,279
Speaker 1: signed the damn contract. Get up off the ground. And

986
00:48:43,400 --> 00:48:46,759
Speaker 1: I knew it was Aaron Kromer, and I was like this,

987
00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:48,680
Speaker 1: you know, you just with him, know enough, like a

988
00:48:48,719 --> 00:48:50,480
Speaker 1: new producer or something, you know, Like I know how

989
00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:52,520
Speaker 1: he is. He's kind of a guy, likes to push buttons.

990
00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:55,600
Speaker 1: So I'm like half pissed off and laughing at the

991
00:48:55,640 --> 00:48:58,600
Speaker 1: same time. All right, all right, dude, like shut up,

992
00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:01,120
Speaker 1: and I'm I want to get up, you know. So

993
00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:03,640
Speaker 1: I got a dusting myself off in him and I

994
00:49:03,719 --> 00:49:05,759
Speaker 1: laughed about this day. But that's how it started. He

995
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:08,680
Speaker 1: was like, you know what I'm here. I did sign

996
00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:11,319
Speaker 1: that contract, and so I got to give my time

997
00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:13,520
Speaker 1: and energy to it. And I love hearing these stories

998
00:49:13,719 --> 00:49:17,439
Speaker 1: right now currently about Aaron Rogers being in New York

999
00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:19,719
Speaker 1: and sitting at a different table every day and what

1000
00:49:19,800 --> 00:49:22,120
Speaker 1: he's doing, because that was the big thing I always said.

1001
00:49:22,120 --> 00:49:25,080
Speaker 1: I always thought the biggest difference for me is that

1002
00:49:25,160 --> 00:49:27,040
Speaker 1: when I got there, that was my moo. I was

1003
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:29,960
Speaker 1: every day I'm sitting with a different position group. I'm

1004
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:32,680
Speaker 1: walking in this place, not as the eleven year vet

1005
00:49:32,760 --> 00:49:35,160
Speaker 1: has been to Pro Bowls and all pro blah blah blah.

1006
00:49:35,480 --> 00:49:38,080
Speaker 1: I'm walking in as I'm here to help this team win.

1007
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:40,640
Speaker 1: And so every day I try to spend time with

1008
00:49:40,719 --> 00:49:42,680
Speaker 1: those groups. And that's why I still have some really

1009
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:45,880
Speaker 1: crazy cool bonds from that time. And I'll never forget

1010
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:48,800
Speaker 1: Sean holding the meeting and letting the guys vote and

1011
00:49:48,960 --> 00:49:52,759
Speaker 1: being voted a captain that year, and thinking to myself, like,

1012
00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:55,080
Speaker 1: what a cool moment you know, to to thirty six

1013
00:49:55,160 --> 00:49:57,920
Speaker 1: years old to change teams become a leader of a

1014
00:49:58,000 --> 00:50:01,040
Speaker 1: place that fast. But more importantly, like just developed this

1015
00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:04,240
Speaker 1: culture of all of us being on the same page

1016
00:50:04,360 --> 00:50:06,440
Speaker 1: from what wasn't that way before? We got there and

1017
00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:10,040
Speaker 1: it was really special and it led to really you know,

1018
00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:11,520
Speaker 1: where my career would go from then.

1019
00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:17,680
Speaker 2: All after eleven seasons, obviously, your first year with the Rams,

1020
00:50:17,760 --> 00:50:20,160
Speaker 2: you go to the super Bowl. Should you have won?

1021
00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:23,440
Speaker 1: You know, that was my actually my second season. So

1022
00:50:23,480 --> 00:50:26,600
Speaker 1: the first season, oh second eleven, Yes, first season, we

1023
00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:30,080
Speaker 1: win the division, go eleven and five, and then lose

1024
00:50:30,719 --> 00:50:33,719
Speaker 1: to the Falcons in the playoffs, and at that time,

1025
00:50:34,840 --> 00:50:38,600
Speaker 1: I became the uh, the NFL player with the worst

1026
00:50:38,640 --> 00:50:42,560
Speaker 1: record in the playoffs in NFL history. I was I

1027
00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:44,080
Speaker 1: think it was oh and eight or oh and seven

1028
00:50:44,160 --> 00:50:46,560
Speaker 1: in the playoffs at that time, and that was the

1029
00:50:46,640 --> 00:50:51,400
Speaker 1: record for a player, so really awesome, uh, great thing

1030
00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:54,080
Speaker 1: to be known for. But the next year, we have

1031
00:50:54,440 --> 00:50:59,440
Speaker 1: a great year, Kyt Gurley goes crazy again and we

1032
00:50:59,560 --> 00:51:03,760
Speaker 1: end up in the playoffs, win my first ever playoff

1033
00:51:03,800 --> 00:51:06,480
Speaker 1: game against the Dallas Cowboys. I'll never forget it, which

1034
00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:08,120
Speaker 1: is also kind of crazy just think about it now,

1035
00:51:08,239 --> 00:51:10,920
Speaker 1: my team growing up first every time to win the

1036
00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:14,480
Speaker 1: playoff game, but end up in the super Bowl and

1037
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:16,959
Speaker 1: lose to the New England Patriots. And probably the worst

1038
00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:21,040
Speaker 1: game we played all season long, just a bad performance

1039
00:51:21,080 --> 00:51:24,359
Speaker 1: for who we were offensively and everything else. Defense played

1040
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:26,160
Speaker 1: great and we just let them down. It was a

1041
00:51:26,239 --> 00:51:28,280
Speaker 1: tough thing to swallow because at that point, I'm thirty

1042
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:32,759
Speaker 1: eight going on thirty nine, and every single person, you know,

1043
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:35,279
Speaker 1: super Bowl Week's insane with media and everything else. Every

1044
00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:37,680
Speaker 1: question is like what do you think about to spend

1045
00:51:37,719 --> 00:51:40,200
Speaker 1: your last game? Everter like, everyone just was like assumed

1046
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:43,120
Speaker 1: like this was it. So when I walked off that field,

1047
00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:48,080
Speaker 1: I was, Okay, if it is it, you know what,

1048
00:51:48,320 --> 00:51:50,880
Speaker 1: it's been an insane run. I don't feel like it's it,

1049
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:54,840
Speaker 1: but maybe the rams make that decision for me. And

1050
00:51:55,360 --> 00:51:59,040
Speaker 1: what leads to one of the coolest sports moments when

1051
00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:02,239
Speaker 1: people say, what's your sports moment? You know, walking off

1052
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:05,200
Speaker 1: that field and looking up at my at that time,

1053
00:52:05,280 --> 00:52:08,080
Speaker 1: I guess he was seven eight years old, Michael, my

1054
00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:12,120
Speaker 1: middle son, and he's crying in his mama's lap because

1055
00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:14,719
Speaker 1: he didn't think we'd lose either. And I never knew

1056
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,320
Speaker 1: NFL Films had the audio and a video camera on

1057
00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:20,000
Speaker 1: me because I wasn't miked up. I don't remember being

1058
00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:23,200
Speaker 1: miked up, but maybe I was. And I literally looked

1059
00:52:23,280 --> 00:52:25,880
Speaker 1: up and find where they're sitting, and he's sitting in

1060
00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:27,759
Speaker 1: her lap and he's crying. The only way I knew

1061
00:52:27,760 --> 00:52:29,200
Speaker 1: how to make an eight year old like try to

1062
00:52:29,239 --> 00:52:30,960
Speaker 1: put a smile on that moment he can't hear me

1063
00:52:31,480 --> 00:52:33,279
Speaker 1: was to flex my muscles at him and make him

1064
00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:36,359
Speaker 1: flex his back. And still gives me chills to think

1065
00:52:36,360 --> 00:52:39,160
Speaker 1: about it. So he like bawl and crying, like trying

1066
00:52:39,280 --> 00:52:42,520
Speaker 1: to like half get a smile out, you know, And

1067
00:52:43,719 --> 00:52:46,520
Speaker 1: he smile comes out, and he's crying, he's flexing his muscles,

1068
00:52:46,640 --> 00:52:48,479
Speaker 1: and I just told him, like, we're gonna be okay, buddy,

1069
00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:50,120
Speaker 1: like this ain't the end of the world for us.

1070
00:52:50,360 --> 00:52:52,800
Speaker 1: And I go off and I have the quote of

1071
00:52:52,800 --> 00:52:56,439
Speaker 1: the year, which is still idiot. I've been around media

1072
00:52:56,520 --> 00:52:58,560
Speaker 1: long enough to know not to talk emotionally because they're

1073
00:52:58,560 --> 00:53:00,640
Speaker 1: going to dissect it. But at the end of the day,

1074
00:53:00,960 --> 00:53:03,880
Speaker 1: we're all gonna die, and I'll never forget that literally

1075
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,279
Speaker 1: went everywhere, and I'm like, you know what, that's not

1076
00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:09,880
Speaker 1: what I said, but it is what I said. I

1077
00:53:10,120 --> 00:53:13,680
Speaker 1: asked me how you go forward from this moment, you know,

1078
00:53:13,880 --> 00:53:16,520
Speaker 1: having lost the Super Bowl and ending your career basically,

1079
00:53:16,800 --> 00:53:19,120
Speaker 1: and I'm kind of like one insulted, like this ain't

1080
00:53:19,120 --> 00:53:20,279
Speaker 1: the end of my career. Who said the end of

1081
00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:23,640
Speaker 1: my career two, I'm like, bro, listen, I care a

1082
00:53:23,719 --> 00:53:27,600
Speaker 1: lot about football, love it. It's a passion of mine.

1083
00:53:27,840 --> 00:53:30,200
Speaker 1: This ain't the end all be all of life parts.

1084
00:53:30,680 --> 00:53:32,680
Speaker 1: So let me explain to you who I am. So

1085
00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:37,160
Speaker 1: I said the actual whole quote was, I don't care

1086
00:53:37,239 --> 00:53:39,560
Speaker 1: if you've won twenty Super Bowls, been to one hundred

1087
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:43,240
Speaker 1: Pro Bowls, whatever it was, you know the exact numbers.

1088
00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:45,680
Speaker 1: But at the end of the day, we're all gonna die.

1089
00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:48,600
Speaker 1: And what's gonna matter to me ain't gonna be some

1090
00:53:48,719 --> 00:53:51,200
Speaker 1: trophy sitting on a wall or some Pro Bowl that

1091
00:53:51,239 --> 00:53:53,959
Speaker 1: I've been to. What's gonna matter is if Sarah Leice,

1092
00:53:54,800 --> 00:53:58,840
Speaker 1: Drew Andrew James Junior, Michael Lee Whitworth, and Katherine Whitworth

1093
00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,120
Speaker 1: love people, care about people, and treat people the same

1094
00:54:02,160 --> 00:54:04,080
Speaker 1: way they'd want to be treated, regardless of where they

1095
00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:07,759
Speaker 1: come from, their economic status, or skin color or anything else.

1096
00:54:07,880 --> 00:54:11,879
Speaker 1: If they are quality human beings who love and treat

1097
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:14,279
Speaker 1: people the way they should and get the fulfillment of

1098
00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:18,239
Speaker 1: life through that, I don't give a crap about a

1099
00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:20,400
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, right, Like that's going to matter to me.

1100
00:54:20,920 --> 00:54:23,000
Speaker 1: And so that's what I said, but of course the

1101
00:54:23,040 --> 00:54:24,360
Speaker 1: only thing I quoted it is saying is the end

1102
00:54:24,360 --> 00:54:27,600
Speaker 1: of the day, we're all going to die, which is

1103
00:54:27,680 --> 00:54:30,360
Speaker 1: way more entertaining. I agree. I mean it's a lot funnier.

1104
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,799
Speaker 1: So anyways, have that great moment, and I'll still never

1105
00:54:33,880 --> 00:54:35,520
Speaker 1: live that way. I think my wife quotes me that

1106
00:54:35,840 --> 00:54:38,439
Speaker 1: Dumpty's mad at me, like, hey, you want to drop

1107
00:54:38,520 --> 00:54:40,719
Speaker 1: another quote, end of the day, we're all going to die?

1108
00:54:43,560 --> 00:54:49,600
Speaker 2: Well, you don't retire spoiler alert and twenty twenty two. Yeah,

1109
00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:54,399
Speaker 2: I mean it's like this perfect symbolic I don't even

1110
00:54:54,480 --> 00:54:56,759
Speaker 2: I can't even say the words, but basically, you play

1111
00:54:56,800 --> 00:54:59,239
Speaker 2: the Bengals, and you beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl,

1112
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:02,560
Speaker 2: you win your or Super Bowl, and then you right

1113
00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:05,360
Speaker 2: off into the sunset talk to me about it.

1114
00:55:05,440 --> 00:55:08,160
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I And the close of that is you

1115
00:55:08,239 --> 00:55:10,960
Speaker 1: know that week, you know, life comes full circle at you.

1116
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:13,279
Speaker 1: I shared the lead deals story about Lee Dyne and

1117
00:55:14,120 --> 00:55:16,200
Speaker 1: the thankfuls half of that. Well, that led and then

1118
00:55:16,200 --> 00:55:18,959
Speaker 1: also getting divorced, and that led to me being really lonely.

1119
00:55:19,040 --> 00:55:21,360
Speaker 1: When I was in Cincinnati as a rookie, and I

1120
00:55:21,480 --> 00:55:24,200
Speaker 1: started going to the local Boys and Girls club and

1121
00:55:24,320 --> 00:55:27,759
Speaker 1: developing a relationship with a kid named Derek Barnes, and

1122
00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:31,120
Speaker 1: I that week, I'm playing in the Super Bowl against

1123
00:55:31,200 --> 00:55:34,360
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Bengals, which is just insane. I mean, I

1124
00:55:34,440 --> 00:55:36,320
Speaker 1: don't claim to have a movie there, but there is

1125
00:55:36,400 --> 00:55:39,800
Speaker 1: kind of a movie there. I'm playing against the Cincinnati Bengals,

1126
00:55:40,760 --> 00:55:45,000
Speaker 1: and I win Walter Payton Mann of the Year, and

1127
00:55:45,120 --> 00:55:47,319
Speaker 1: I decided when they asked me what I wanted to say,

1128
00:55:47,400 --> 00:55:51,160
Speaker 1: that I wanted to talk about Derek Barnes. And that season,

1129
00:55:51,600 --> 00:55:56,839
Speaker 1: Derek Barnes played middle linebacker for the Detroit Lions. Unbeknounced

1130
00:55:56,840 --> 00:56:00,320
Speaker 1: to me and after the game runs up me and

1131
00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:03,160
Speaker 1: he's like, big wit, Like it's me. You're not going

1132
00:56:03,239 --> 00:56:06,640
Speaker 1: to remember me. I'm Derek Barnes. You and I used

1133
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:08,680
Speaker 1: to hang out when I was a little kid, like six, seven,

1134
00:56:08,680 --> 00:56:11,719
Speaker 1: eight years old at the Boys and Girls Club in Cincinnati.

1135
00:56:11,760 --> 00:56:13,960
Speaker 1: You throw the football and hang out and talk about life.

1136
00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:16,919
Speaker 1: And like, I've been waiting this entire season for this game,

1137
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:20,120
Speaker 1: and I hope you'd be healthy and like playing because

1138
00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:22,320
Speaker 1: I just couldn't wait to tell you I made it.

1139
00:56:23,040 --> 00:56:26,440
Speaker 1: And I remember just what I blacked out. It was

1140
00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:29,120
Speaker 1: such an insane moment, like that I was like, wow.

1141
00:56:29,440 --> 00:56:32,960
Speaker 1: And then fast forward that game that season to the

1142
00:56:33,040 --> 00:56:35,279
Speaker 1: Super Bowl a week and win wat's Patman of the

1143
00:56:35,360 --> 00:56:37,759
Speaker 1: Year and they find out I'm going to talk about

1144
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:39,239
Speaker 1: this because you have to send in what you're going

1145
00:56:39,320 --> 00:56:42,680
Speaker 1: to talk about, and they fly to Derek Barnes there

1146
00:56:42,680 --> 00:56:45,200
Speaker 1: and he's in the crowd for the watch Pagman of

1147
00:56:45,239 --> 00:56:47,040
Speaker 1: the Year and I win it and I get to

1148
00:56:47,080 --> 00:56:49,840
Speaker 1: get this speech and talk about it and what a

1149
00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:55,120
Speaker 1: just insane moment, crazy, crazy emotional moment. And then three

1150
00:56:55,200 --> 00:56:57,160
Speaker 1: days later, you play in the Super Bowl against the

1151
00:56:57,160 --> 00:56:59,239
Speaker 1: team that you gave your heart and soul to you

1152
00:56:59,480 --> 00:57:02,600
Speaker 1: win it. And to close that story, I ran and

1153
00:57:02,760 --> 00:57:06,000
Speaker 1: gave Joe Burrow a hug, Zach Taylor, and I ran

1154
00:57:06,200 --> 00:57:09,680
Speaker 1: to look up at my family just to make eye

1155
00:57:09,719 --> 00:57:12,840
Speaker 1: contact with him until I love them. And Michael Lee Whitworth,

1156
00:57:13,040 --> 00:57:15,600
Speaker 1: who was crying at his mama's lap in twenty eighteen,

1157
00:57:16,240 --> 00:57:19,040
Speaker 1: is standing at the front of the Raptors, both arms up,

1158
00:57:19,680 --> 00:57:23,000
Speaker 1: biceps flexed up, you know, ten years old, and thinks

1159
00:57:23,040 --> 00:57:26,680
Speaker 1: he runs the world now with a massive smile. And

1160
00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:30,280
Speaker 1: it's still one of the coolest moments for me. I'll

1161
00:57:30,320 --> 00:57:32,680
Speaker 1: never forget the image of one him crying in the

1162
00:57:32,720 --> 00:57:35,720
Speaker 1: first one and two him standing there making eye contact

1163
00:57:35,920 --> 00:57:37,880
Speaker 1: with me. And the second one that it hit home.

1164
00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:41,640
Speaker 1: He couldn't wait, you know, for redemption and what a

1165
00:57:41,720 --> 00:57:42,360
Speaker 1: special moment.

1166
00:57:42,920 --> 00:57:47,240
Speaker 2: That's awesome. God, that's just so I mean, yeah, it

1167
00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:51,000
Speaker 2: is like a movie because it's crazy. Yeah, it's yeah,

1168
00:57:51,080 --> 00:57:54,920
Speaker 2: you can't you can't imagine it. And I know how

1169
00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:58,000
Speaker 2: much the being I mean, clearly, it's so clear here

1170
00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:01,800
Speaker 2: how much the Bengals organization means to you. And you know,

1171
00:58:01,960 --> 00:58:05,800
Speaker 2: hopefully they are on a path now that brings them success.

1172
00:58:05,960 --> 00:58:08,640
Speaker 2: It certainly looks like they will over the next few years.

1173
00:58:10,080 --> 00:58:12,800
Speaker 2: I got to talk about your foundation, Big Wit seventy

1174
00:58:12,880 --> 00:58:17,120
Speaker 2: seven foundation, not only the winner of the twenty twenty

1175
00:58:17,200 --> 00:58:19,880
Speaker 2: one Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which many

1176
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:24,400
Speaker 2: consider to be the most prestigious award given to an

1177
00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:28,080
Speaker 2: NFL player every year. Also in twenty nineteen you win

1178
00:58:28,160 --> 00:58:32,640
Speaker 2: the Allen Page Community Award winner because you leave Fort Thomas, Kentucky,

1179
00:58:32,800 --> 00:58:35,880
Speaker 2: and you come to LA and immediately make an impact

1180
00:58:36,040 --> 00:58:39,720
Speaker 2: here giving money and helping and made an impression here.

1181
00:58:40,520 --> 00:58:43,120
Speaker 2: You're still in Los Angeles now, I know you're working

1182
00:58:43,480 --> 00:58:48,280
Speaker 2: for Thursday Night Football tell people how they can become

1183
00:58:48,360 --> 00:58:51,280
Speaker 2: involved or what Big Wit seventy seven Foundation is doing.

1184
00:58:51,400 --> 00:58:53,680
Speaker 1: Now. Yeah, you know, I think for us, when we

1185
00:58:53,840 --> 00:58:56,600
Speaker 1: lived in Louisiana and played in Cincinnati, we kind of

1186
00:58:56,640 --> 00:58:58,680
Speaker 1: created a foundation to help us do stuff when the

1187
00:58:58,800 --> 00:59:01,760
Speaker 1: Louisiana and then much less I do here in LA.

1188
00:59:02,640 --> 00:59:05,040
Speaker 1: We just kind of personally served in Cincinnati, whether it

1189
00:59:05,120 --> 00:59:07,480
Speaker 1: be different foundations to the Boys and Girls Club and

1190
00:59:08,080 --> 00:59:11,680
Speaker 1: Big Brothers, Big Sisters, you name it, really all kinds

1191
00:59:11,720 --> 00:59:13,520
Speaker 1: of foundations in Cincinnati that we got to be a

1192
00:59:13,600 --> 00:59:16,000
Speaker 1: part of. It was great and an amazing experience being

1193
00:59:16,040 --> 00:59:18,160
Speaker 1: part of that community. And then we created some of

1194
00:59:18,200 --> 00:59:20,240
Speaker 1: our own little things that we would do Christmas time

1195
00:59:20,320 --> 00:59:23,360
Speaker 1: and things like that. But then I got to be

1196
00:59:23,400 --> 00:59:25,440
Speaker 1: a part of our and Lewis's Foundation, which did a

1197
00:59:25,480 --> 00:59:29,080
Speaker 1: lot of stuff in schools and helping develop education for

1198
00:59:29,240 --> 00:59:30,800
Speaker 1: kids and those things. So I had a lot of

1199
00:59:30,840 --> 00:59:32,480
Speaker 1: things that I could take with me when I came

1200
00:59:32,520 --> 00:59:34,040
Speaker 1: to LA and I was like, man, I want to

1201
00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:37,360
Speaker 1: do some stuff. The Rams, you know, had just moved

1202
00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:40,320
Speaker 1: there a year before I got there, so they'd only

1203
00:59:40,360 --> 00:59:42,400
Speaker 1: been there one year moving back from Saint Louis, so

1204
00:59:42,600 --> 00:59:44,720
Speaker 1: they didn't really have a lot of things in the

1205
00:59:44,800 --> 00:59:46,760
Speaker 1: ground doing that kind of stuff yet and then trying

1206
00:59:46,840 --> 00:59:49,080
Speaker 1: and getting it going. So it was a great timing

1207
00:59:49,160 --> 00:59:51,760
Speaker 1: for me to get involved and already have a background

1208
00:59:52,040 --> 00:59:53,560
Speaker 1: things that have worked for me and things that had

1209
00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:57,160
Speaker 1: so in LA it's been insane. I mean, one of

1210
00:59:57,200 --> 00:59:59,480
Speaker 1: the coolest moments of that year winning Waltz Payton was

1211
00:59:59,520 --> 01:00:02,360
Speaker 1: when I actually got told I was nominated again, I think,

1212
01:00:02,440 --> 01:00:06,080
Speaker 1: which was my fifth time being nominated. They had created

1213
01:00:06,160 --> 01:00:10,800
Speaker 1: a board that you could literally press the buttons like

1214
01:00:10,840 --> 01:00:14,000
Speaker 1: an app and it'd show you whatever area that was

1215
01:00:14,080 --> 01:00:16,600
Speaker 1: and whatever I had done, whatever I'd done in that community.

1216
01:00:16,920 --> 01:00:18,960
Speaker 1: They'd have somebody who was speaking and they'd kind of

1217
01:00:19,000 --> 01:00:21,680
Speaker 1: tell you what, you know, their appreciation was for what

1218
01:00:21,800 --> 01:00:24,440
Speaker 1: you've done, and maybe tell the story. And so there

1219
01:00:24,560 --> 01:00:27,000
Speaker 1: was like I forget the number. It was like forty

1220
01:00:27,160 --> 01:00:31,240
Speaker 1: something spots all over Los Angeles and it literally like

1221
01:00:31,480 --> 01:00:34,240
Speaker 1: was so cool because it mapped like all over the city.

1222
01:00:34,280 --> 01:00:36,360
Speaker 1: It was so wide range. It was just insane to

1223
01:00:36,440 --> 01:00:38,000
Speaker 1: look at it and go back and think of the

1224
01:00:38,080 --> 01:00:41,240
Speaker 1: five years that there's been that many places You've had

1225
01:00:41,240 --> 01:00:43,240
Speaker 1: an impact and got to do something be a part

1226
01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:45,560
Speaker 1: of whether it was through social justice stuff, like I'd

1227
01:00:45,600 --> 01:00:48,720
Speaker 1: created a fund with the Rams myself that I matched

1228
01:00:48,760 --> 01:00:52,000
Speaker 1: every dollar that the players and coaches gave. You know,

1229
01:00:52,120 --> 01:00:54,479
Speaker 1: I had created two STEM labs. I built two STEM

1230
01:00:54,560 --> 01:00:58,200
Speaker 1: labs in schools, done a lot of school visits and

1231
01:00:58,280 --> 01:01:00,760
Speaker 1: things like that, and so it was an I experience,

1232
01:01:00,880 --> 01:01:03,120
Speaker 1: you know, really being a part of all that. So

1233
01:01:03,200 --> 01:01:05,240
Speaker 1: I think the best thing to me that people can

1234
01:01:05,320 --> 01:01:08,200
Speaker 1: do is it's really not about me, just finding ways

1235
01:01:08,280 --> 01:01:10,840
Speaker 1: man to make people's day. As I've always said, like

1236
01:01:10,920 --> 01:01:13,120
Speaker 1: I don't care if you're in college and you're struggling,

1237
01:01:13,280 --> 01:01:17,560
Speaker 1: Like open the door for somebody, see somebody drop their backpack,

1238
01:01:17,720 --> 01:01:20,320
Speaker 1: like help them pick it up. You know, like those

1239
01:01:20,400 --> 01:01:23,640
Speaker 1: little things matter a lot more than people think. So

1240
01:01:23,800 --> 01:01:25,840
Speaker 1: to me, like it's not about a dollar amount somebody

1241
01:01:25,840 --> 01:01:28,320
Speaker 1: can give me or do for me, But man, look

1242
01:01:28,360 --> 01:01:30,840
Speaker 1: for ways that you can make life about more than

1243
01:01:31,000 --> 01:01:33,760
Speaker 1: just you, and I bet you'll find out you'll be

1244
01:01:33,800 --> 01:01:35,880
Speaker 1: a whole lot happier. So I think for me, that's

1245
01:01:35,920 --> 01:01:38,280
Speaker 1: really what it's all been about. There's no one mission,

1246
01:01:38,880 --> 01:01:42,760
Speaker 1: there's no one foundation. It's like, man, tell me somewhere

1247
01:01:42,800 --> 01:01:44,760
Speaker 1: that I can like put my hand out and help

1248
01:01:44,840 --> 01:01:45,400
Speaker 1: somebody up.

1249
01:01:46,080 --> 01:01:49,400
Speaker 2: I'm all in it takes just as much energy to

1250
01:01:49,480 --> 01:01:51,120
Speaker 2: be nice as it does to be an asshole.

1251
01:01:51,800 --> 01:01:52,400
Speaker 1: That's the truth.

1252
01:01:52,840 --> 01:01:57,520
Speaker 2: That's my philosophy. You're at on Thursday night football. You

1253
01:01:57,600 --> 01:02:01,840
Speaker 2: guys got a ton of press, really really entertaining, a

1254
01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:08,200
Speaker 2: new I would say, fun kind of pre and post

1255
01:02:08,360 --> 01:02:12,560
Speaker 2: and a halftime show. There you having fun doing it.

1256
01:02:13,480 --> 01:02:16,720
Speaker 1: It's been a blast. I never thought I would do it.

1257
01:02:16,800 --> 01:02:20,160
Speaker 1: I mean, throughout my entire career, I avoided all media stuff,

1258
01:02:21,360 --> 01:02:24,000
Speaker 1: never really wanted to have a social presence, like social media,

1259
01:02:24,000 --> 01:02:25,840
Speaker 1: any of that type stuff really for the most part.

1260
01:02:25,880 --> 01:02:28,720
Speaker 1: I mean, but I got into it because I just

1261
01:02:28,840 --> 01:02:30,840
Speaker 1: got I was like, man, how can it? When I retired,

1262
01:02:30,920 --> 01:02:32,560
Speaker 1: it was like all these things were thrown at me.

1263
01:02:33,240 --> 01:02:35,960
Speaker 1: There was a lot of insanely cool offers to like

1264
01:02:36,040 --> 01:02:38,000
Speaker 1: stay involved in the game of football, whether it be

1265
01:02:38,040 --> 01:02:40,240
Speaker 1: in the front office somewhere or anything, just because people

1266
01:02:40,320 --> 01:02:42,120
Speaker 1: kind of knew my passion for that kind of stuff.

1267
01:02:42,560 --> 01:02:44,480
Speaker 1: But I just felt like that wasn't what I wanted

1268
01:02:44,520 --> 01:02:46,520
Speaker 1: to do to still have all the family time I wanted.

1269
01:02:46,640 --> 01:02:48,800
Speaker 1: So I kept trying to explore what's another option to

1270
01:02:48,800 --> 01:02:51,880
Speaker 1: stay involved in this game? Talk about this game, talk

1271
01:02:51,920 --> 01:02:54,840
Speaker 1: about something I love that's changed my life, and that

1272
01:02:55,040 --> 01:02:57,320
Speaker 1: became like, hey, well you could always do this. And

1273
01:02:58,080 --> 01:03:00,600
Speaker 1: at that point, as you know, in tea and everything else,

1274
01:03:00,640 --> 01:03:02,440
Speaker 1: like I am so like we're talking about six months

1275
01:03:02,480 --> 01:03:05,240
Speaker 1: from now, like you're so behind eight ball, like buddy,

1276
01:03:05,280 --> 01:03:08,040
Speaker 1: they've given those jobs out a long time ago, and

1277
01:03:08,240 --> 01:03:12,720
Speaker 1: so I literally like just start bugging the crap out

1278
01:03:12,760 --> 01:03:14,680
Speaker 1: of people like I'm like, you give me. I've always

1279
01:03:14,720 --> 01:03:16,040
Speaker 1: been that kind of person, like I got to tell

1280
01:03:16,080 --> 01:03:19,000
Speaker 1: people like, hey, I'll never forget, like sitting down with

1281
01:03:19,080 --> 01:03:21,160
Speaker 1: Josh Pye at the first time and he's just like, well, man,

1282
01:03:21,200 --> 01:03:23,880
Speaker 1: that's these decisions are like kind of made pretty good

1283
01:03:24,080 --> 01:03:26,000
Speaker 1: while back, like I don't know what we do from here,

1284
01:03:26,640 --> 01:03:29,440
Speaker 1: and I'm like, man, listen, Josh, put me in the room.

1285
01:03:29,760 --> 01:03:31,560
Speaker 1: I'll do the rest, Like that's all I want. You

1286
01:03:31,600 --> 01:03:33,680
Speaker 1: give me in that room, I'll handle the rest. Or

1287
01:03:33,760 --> 01:03:35,360
Speaker 1: give me a chance to speak to somebody on the phone,

1288
01:03:36,200 --> 01:03:38,640
Speaker 1: like that's how much I care. Like and if people

1289
01:03:38,760 --> 01:03:40,840
Speaker 1: care and they like me, then ready to work. If

1290
01:03:40,880 --> 01:03:43,800
Speaker 1: it doesn't, oh well, And so you know, we went

1291
01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:46,960
Speaker 1: through that process and it was crazy and I had

1292
01:03:47,040 --> 01:03:51,000
Speaker 1: no idea where I'd end up. And Thursday nights sounded

1293
01:03:51,080 --> 01:03:53,479
Speaker 1: really cool to be able to like coach my kids

1294
01:03:53,560 --> 01:03:55,880
Speaker 1: throughout the week, go somewhere and do a game and

1295
01:03:55,920 --> 01:03:57,880
Speaker 1: talk about a game, and then be back Saturdays for

1296
01:03:58,000 --> 01:04:01,000
Speaker 1: their games. I was like, man, this this would be awesome.

1297
01:04:01,720 --> 01:04:04,720
Speaker 1: And sure enough I got an opportunity to be a contributor.

1298
01:04:05,440 --> 01:04:07,800
Speaker 1: One thing led to another and you get an opt

1299
01:04:07,880 --> 01:04:09,720
Speaker 1: to sit on the desk one week and they're like,

1300
01:04:10,680 --> 01:04:14,440
Speaker 1: we liked it, come back, and then you know, you

1301
01:04:14,600 --> 01:04:18,080
Speaker 1: go from being a contributor to like, you know, hey,

1302
01:04:18,280 --> 01:04:19,640
Speaker 1: we're gonna have you sit up there every week and

1303
01:04:19,680 --> 01:04:21,520
Speaker 1: you'll be part of this team. And so it was

1304
01:04:22,000 --> 01:04:26,840
Speaker 1: an insane, crazy, so much fun, such a humbling experience

1305
01:04:26,960 --> 01:04:28,520
Speaker 1: to get to be up there every week. I mean,

1306
01:04:28,640 --> 01:04:32,920
Speaker 1: Richard Shearon, Ron Kitzpatrick, Carrissa, Tony Gonzalez, I mean insane.

1307
01:04:32,960 --> 01:04:35,959
Speaker 1: It'stead at that desk with some awesome iconic people. Really

1308
01:04:37,120 --> 01:04:39,680
Speaker 1: and then you add Michael Smith and Taylor Rooks and man,

1309
01:04:39,760 --> 01:04:42,200
Speaker 1: I mean what a cool I mean, what a insane crew.

1310
01:04:42,240 --> 01:04:44,240
Speaker 1: And then by the way, it's Al Michael's and Kirk

1311
01:04:44,280 --> 01:04:47,120
Speaker 1: Kirk Street calling the game and Kaylee Hardcom is an

1312
01:04:47,200 --> 01:04:51,440
Speaker 1: LSU Tiger, you know, a lover and I've known Kayley forever. Honestly,

1313
01:04:51,480 --> 01:04:53,479
Speaker 1: it couldn't have been more of a family from the jump.

1314
01:04:53,520 --> 01:04:55,360
Speaker 1: And I always tell people to me, that's what sticks

1315
01:04:55,400 --> 01:04:57,760
Speaker 1: out for folks. I mean, I don't really go back

1316
01:04:57,800 --> 01:05:00,800
Speaker 1: and watch our stuff. I can't do that well, but

1317
01:05:01,440 --> 01:05:04,200
Speaker 1: I do know what we're like the way I can't.

1318
01:05:04,640 --> 01:05:08,760
Speaker 1: So that's that's the weirdest thing ever. Yeah, but it

1319
01:05:08,880 --> 01:05:11,120
Speaker 1: sticks out when we go somewhere on the road, everyone

1320
01:05:11,240 --> 01:05:14,640
Speaker 1: meets up, everyone's at dinner, everyone's together in the hotel

1321
01:05:14,840 --> 01:05:16,800
Speaker 1: and the lobby. You know, it's like you can hardly

1322
01:05:17,000 --> 01:05:19,640
Speaker 1: work out or function or do anything because it's like

1323
01:05:19,680 --> 01:05:21,720
Speaker 1: we all have to be together every five seconds. And

1324
01:05:21,840 --> 01:05:24,600
Speaker 1: so you can just tell that they put a really

1325
01:05:24,720 --> 01:05:27,880
Speaker 1: unique group of just we're a family from the jump,

1326
01:05:27,920 --> 01:05:29,120
Speaker 1: and it's it's been a lot of fun.

1327
01:05:29,680 --> 01:05:32,840
Speaker 2: That's awesome. Best team in the AFC this year is.

1328
01:05:34,920 --> 01:05:37,200
Speaker 1: Oh man. I mean, I don't know that you ever

1329
01:05:37,640 --> 01:05:40,120
Speaker 1: go against what passion my homes pulled off last year.

1330
01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:42,520
Speaker 1: I mean, I learned my lesson. I was the person

1331
01:05:42,680 --> 01:05:46,120
Speaker 1: right there with everybody else. Tyreek Hill's gone, you know,

1332
01:05:46,360 --> 01:05:49,960
Speaker 1: they're not going to be as good. I'm just I'm

1333
01:05:50,240 --> 01:05:52,960
Speaker 1: biting the hole cheese. You know, look, I love Patrick.

1334
01:05:52,960 --> 01:05:54,840
Speaker 1: I think he's amazing on so much he can do.

1335
01:05:56,560 --> 01:05:58,760
Speaker 1: I was an idiot right there with everybody else at

1336
01:05:58,760 --> 01:06:01,280
Speaker 1: the end of the day. So you know, I'll never

1337
01:06:01,360 --> 01:06:05,160
Speaker 1: pick against Patrick and until somebody else proves me different.

1338
01:06:05,240 --> 01:06:07,560
Speaker 1: So I'm going Kansaity Chiefs again. I will say this,

1339
01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:10,640
Speaker 1: I think there's some really intriguing teams, like I got

1340
01:06:10,720 --> 01:06:15,000
Speaker 1: this sneaky like I just feel like Baltimore or Pittsburgh. No,

1341
01:06:15,120 --> 01:06:17,440
Speaker 1: I feel like people aren't respecting those two teams and

1342
01:06:17,520 --> 01:06:20,760
Speaker 1: how talented they really are. Pittsburgh, you know what, Mike

1343
01:06:20,840 --> 01:06:24,160
Speaker 1: Tomlin's a dog man. I mean that dude every year

1344
01:06:24,280 --> 01:06:26,720
Speaker 1: finds a way to win. And this year. You go

1345
01:06:26,920 --> 01:06:29,280
Speaker 1: look at Mike Tomlind's history. When they're good on D

1346
01:06:29,480 --> 01:06:32,600
Speaker 1: line and O line, they're pretty special. They have pretty

1347
01:06:32,640 --> 01:06:35,320
Speaker 1: good years because it's just the way that dude coaches football.

1348
01:06:35,520 --> 01:06:37,760
Speaker 1: And so I think they're gonna be pretty good up

1349
01:06:37,760 --> 01:06:40,280
Speaker 1: front on most sides, and I think it's gonna be

1350
01:06:40,360 --> 01:06:42,080
Speaker 1: interesting to see where that team ends up. And then

1351
01:06:42,080 --> 01:06:44,560
Speaker 1: I think Baltimore is like that team nobody's talking about.

1352
01:06:45,000 --> 01:06:48,680
Speaker 1: It really has the roster to end up in pre

1353
01:06:48,880 --> 01:06:50,320
Speaker 1: dag I'm good at the end of the year. So

1354
01:06:50,680 --> 01:06:52,520
Speaker 1: I think there's some sneaky teams that are gonna be

1355
01:06:52,560 --> 01:06:56,400
Speaker 1: interesting to see. The Jets, obviously, with Aaron Rodgers, are

1356
01:06:56,440 --> 01:06:59,640
Speaker 1: going to be insanely good. I think to me, it's

1357
01:06:59,720 --> 01:07:02,840
Speaker 1: really right now as I sit here, it's New York

1358
01:07:02,920 --> 01:07:05,680
Speaker 1: Jets or Kansas City Chiefs. Is the two best teams.

1359
01:07:05,800 --> 01:07:08,360
Speaker 1: Just because you look at the Jets last year when

1360
01:07:08,400 --> 01:07:12,840
Speaker 1: they had half decent quarterback play, they won with Aaron

1361
01:07:12,840 --> 01:07:15,480
Speaker 1: and how special he is man, that team should be

1362
01:07:16,440 --> 01:07:18,840
Speaker 1: really really good. I think the Jets is gonna be

1363
01:07:18,840 --> 01:07:20,800
Speaker 1: an interesting that way. You kind of see that as

1364
01:07:20,840 --> 01:07:22,960
Speaker 1: they start to gel all of a sudden become really

1365
01:07:23,040 --> 01:07:23,600
Speaker 1: really special.

1366
01:07:24,480 --> 01:07:28,120
Speaker 2: NFC. Who's the best team in the NFC? The I mean, the.

1367
01:07:28,160 --> 01:07:31,320
Speaker 1: Eagles are are right there and the Niners is just

1368
01:07:31,880 --> 01:07:35,080
Speaker 1: can Brock party back it up? I mean the Niners roster,

1369
01:07:36,200 --> 01:07:38,600
Speaker 1: I mean Javon Hargrave moving over there from the Eagles.

1370
01:07:38,640 --> 01:07:40,640
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't think people understand how good he

1371
01:07:40,880 --> 01:07:43,920
Speaker 1: was last year. I think to me, that's the eagles

1372
01:07:43,960 --> 01:07:46,360
Speaker 1: biggest question mark is losing somebody like him at the

1373
01:07:46,400 --> 01:07:49,120
Speaker 1: production that he had. It's one of those things that

1374
01:07:49,480 --> 01:07:51,880
Speaker 1: you know it's gonna be tougher for those Eagles guys

1375
01:07:51,960 --> 01:07:54,840
Speaker 1: to win on the edge without somebody's specials. He was

1376
01:07:55,000 --> 01:07:57,880
Speaker 1: an interior rusher. And when he goes to San Francisco,

1377
01:07:58,080 --> 01:07:59,760
Speaker 1: Nick Bos is gonna be the happiest dude on the

1378
01:07:59,760 --> 01:08:03,480
Speaker 1: play because now when teams say we're gonna double him

1379
01:08:04,240 --> 01:08:06,280
Speaker 1: or we're gonna take extra attention, he's got a guy

1380
01:08:06,280 --> 01:08:08,520
Speaker 1: who's gonna win beside him, and they can't always do that.

1381
01:08:08,840 --> 01:08:12,560
Speaker 1: So I think San Francisco is going to be crazy special.

1382
01:08:12,720 --> 01:08:15,720
Speaker 1: I just don't know. Can Rock Party take the next

1383
01:08:15,760 --> 01:08:17,760
Speaker 1: step as he continued to be that guy or was

1384
01:08:17,840 --> 01:08:21,360
Speaker 1: that just a crazy good streak he had. We'll find out.

1385
01:08:21,400 --> 01:08:23,639
Speaker 1: It's much like what we didn't know about Jalen Hurts

1386
01:08:23,720 --> 01:08:24,200
Speaker 1: last year.

1387
01:08:25,360 --> 01:08:29,920
Speaker 2: Good luck with the season, always entertaining. Always good to

1388
01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:32,880
Speaker 2: see you have so much fun on Thursday nights. Know this,

1389
01:08:33,160 --> 01:08:36,000
Speaker 2: I'll be watching for sure. And thanks for coming and

1390
01:08:36,080 --> 01:08:36,479
Speaker 2: talking to.

1391
01:08:36,560 --> 01:08:38,840
Speaker 1: Me, man. I appreciate the owner. Man. It was a

1392
01:08:38,880 --> 01:08:40,519
Speaker 1: lot of fun, and I can't wait for the year. Man,

1393
01:08:40,520 --> 01:08:42,559
Speaker 1: it's gonna be excited year two in the new career.

1394
01:08:42,640 --> 01:08:46,000
Speaker 1: The next year, go go, Let's go.

1395
01:08:58,640 --> 01:09:01,720
Speaker 2: Thanks so much, my friend. That was a great time.

1396
01:09:02,000 --> 01:09:05,840
Speaker 2: You are awesome. Thanks for your perspective. I know if

1397
01:09:06,000 --> 01:09:08,920
Speaker 2: no one else here is. I am excited for the

1398
01:09:08,960 --> 01:09:13,600
Speaker 2: football season to begin. Thanks for coming on here. Listeners,

1399
01:09:14,040 --> 01:09:17,920
Speaker 2: Thank you for what you do listen in the case

1400
01:09:17,960 --> 01:09:20,080
Speaker 2: of this podcast. But you know what, you can also

1401
01:09:20,200 --> 01:09:22,080
Speaker 2: be so much more than a listener. You could be

1402
01:09:22,120 --> 01:09:27,160
Speaker 2: a subscriber ooh by subscribing to this podcast. You could

1403
01:09:27,160 --> 01:09:30,320
Speaker 2: be a reviewer by leaving us a review. Or you

1404
01:09:30,400 --> 01:09:34,720
Speaker 2: could be a follower by following us at Off the

1405
01:09:34,840 --> 01:09:38,000
Speaker 2: Beat on Instagram. Whatever you want to be, you be,

1406
01:09:38,439 --> 01:09:40,080
Speaker 2: and you know where to find me. It is right

1407
01:09:40,160 --> 01:09:43,559
Speaker 2: here every Tuesday. So have a great week and enjoy

1408
01:09:44,240 --> 01:09:55,600
Speaker 2: the NFL opening week. Off the Beat is hosted and

1409
01:09:55,680 --> 01:10:00,439
Speaker 2: executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer

1410
01:10:00,640 --> 01:10:04,680
Speaker 2: Lang Lee. Our senior producer is Diego Tapia. Our producers

1411
01:10:04,720 --> 01:10:08,400
Speaker 2: are Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our talent

1412
01:10:08,479 --> 01:10:12,519
Speaker 2: producer is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is Ali

1413
01:10:12,640 --> 01:10:17,120
Speaker 2: Amir Sahied. Our theme song Bubble and Squeak, performed by

1414
01:10:17,479 --> 01:10:19,439
Speaker 2: the one and only Creed Bratton