Speaker 1: Stramp on the boots and scrape up the knuckles. Hold
Speaker 1: it ahead, he got jacked.
Speaker 2: This is the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford
Speaker 2: and Gilbert Barry's.
Speaker 3: Gonna score touchdown Slim to the ground by Buddha Baker.
Speaker 3: Like a torpedo, he keeps flying into the back deal.
Speaker 2: The Rage is brought to you by santan Ford and
Speaker 2: Gilbert right on the Price right on the corner of
Speaker 2: the Santan two oh two Freeway in bal Vista Seek
Speaker 2: your Ticket to Great Seats, and by Arizona Cardinals Podcast
Speaker 2: visit Azycardinals dot Com Slash podcast.
Speaker 1: A Red Sea is rising up.
Speaker 4: Due you Rising vision Flurry Rage, take it over.
Speaker 5: Here's Paul CALVICI I'm ready. I'm one hundred percent ready.
Speaker 1: I'm telling you I'm ready. And Ron Woolfley. It doesn't
Speaker 1: get any better than that.
Speaker 5: Tis that time of year, twas the night before rookie
Speaker 5: Mini camp, where every draft pick, at least at this
Speaker 5: point is a starter right heck on paper, every pick
Speaker 5: is a pro bowler. The NFL is the oyster, as
Speaker 5: the saying goes, until it isn't until a ten year
Speaker 5: veteran sea otter comes and grabs your oyster and serves you.
Speaker 1: Up for lunch.
Speaker 5: Indeed, ball that is life in the NFL. Eat or
Speaker 5: be eaten. That's the way it works. As we start
Speaker 5: this drive for the final fifty three, the Fight for
Speaker 5: fifty three, it is the Big Red Rage, presented by
Speaker 5: santan Ford and Gilbert Well Santane Ford, and soon enough
Speaker 5: we will be joined by Xavier Thomas, the Cardinals, big
Speaker 5: time rookie out of Clemson. I mean, you talk about
Speaker 5: a guy's resume, there is a lot to talk about
Speaker 5: with and two Xavier Thomas about But first Wolf here
Speaker 5: we are Big Red Rage right this week it's the rookies.
Speaker 5: Next week it's the schedule release. There ain't no such
Speaker 5: thing as a stinking off season. It's always something around
Speaker 5: here in the Big Red Rage.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Paulli, there's no doubt about it right now. But
Speaker 1: I will tell you just the fact the rookies are
Speaker 1: here for the Rookie Mini Camp. It brings back an
Speaker 1: awful lot of memories, Paul.
Speaker 5: Okay, so tell me about that.
Speaker 1: All of them are good.
Speaker 5: Round four Once upon a time pick one oh four, which,
Speaker 5: by the way, I don't know why tip Ryman is
Speaker 5: your favorite player. It should be the Rabbit. It should
Speaker 5: be Dadrean Taylor Demson because he was also picked one
Speaker 5: oh four in round four. We'll get to that a
Speaker 5: little bit later, but tell us about Okay, we heard
Speaker 5: your draft day story, but what about your first arrival
Speaker 5: on NFL soil back in the day.
Speaker 1: Oh, it was so tough, PAULI. Of course I was
Speaker 1: drafted by the then Saint Louis Cardinals. Of course, Bush
Speaker 1: Stadium is where they literally had their locker room and
Speaker 1: where they worked out their weight room, and everything was
Speaker 1: set up in Bush Stadium for the most part right there.
Speaker 1: And I'll never forget back then, Pauli. After you were drafted,
Speaker 1: I would say a week after, two weeks after, some
Speaker 1: somewhere in that window right there, they would bring everybody
Speaker 1: together for a three day mini camp. A three day
Speaker 1: mini camp. That's what you had, was a three day
Speaker 1: mini camp, and then they'd say goodbye to you until
Speaker 1: training camp. That was the off season, now, Pauli. Some
Speaker 1: guys hung out in Saint Louis. Some guys lived in
Speaker 1: Saint Louis, and of course they would work out together
Speaker 1: in Saint Louis because they wanted to live in the
Speaker 1: city in which they played, of course, so it was
Speaker 1: a little bit different back then. But I'll never forget
Speaker 1: my first day walking into that locker room right there,
Speaker 1: and I mean, you're looking at Otis Anderson, You're looking
Speaker 1: at Stump, Mitchell, Neil Lomack's Roy Jetstream Green. You know,
Speaker 1: You're you're looking at some guys that you knew their
Speaker 1: names and you knew how good they were. But I
Speaker 1: walked in there and I was this sheepish rookie from
Speaker 1: West by God, Virginia, And suddenly I had the offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator walk up to me. I had been in the
Speaker 1: locker room maybe seventeen minutes maybe, and I had Dick Jamison,
Speaker 1: the offensive coordinator for the Saint Louis Cardinals, walk up
Speaker 1: to me and said, are you Wolfly? And I said yeah,
Speaker 1: and I shook his hand and he looked at me,
Speaker 1: Paul up and down and said, I thought you were
Speaker 1: bigger than this. Geez. That's what he said to me.
Speaker 1: Can you That was my beginning in the National Football League.
Speaker 5: So that was your welcome to the NFL moment. Yes,
Speaker 5: off the field, and then sure enough you found out
Speaker 5: about on the field. Okay, So there you go. There's
Speaker 5: a moment and I'm going to bring up the following
Speaker 5: because on the most recent Pash Pot the Day Pash podcast,
Speaker 5: Mani Assiboord the GM was the guest. It's known in
Speaker 5: the business as a good get. Okay, we're gonna hear
Speaker 5: from Mani in a moment, But do you know what
Speaker 5: last year's rookie class heard from the general manager one
Speaker 5: or two days after last season. I have it from
Speaker 5: good sources that Mani ausen for it, got his first
Speaker 5: over Arizona Cardinals draft class, and it was a stellar
Speaker 5: draft class. Absolutely let the rooks cook. Nobody got more
Speaker 5: snaps and more starts out of the rookie class in
Speaker 5: the Arizona Cardinals a year ago. In the NFL, he
Speaker 5: got everyone in that room and he said, gentlemen, my
Speaker 5: job as an NFL general manager is to replace every
Speaker 5: one of you. And I'm told you could hear a
Speaker 5: pin drop every one of those guys who thought, Okay,
Speaker 5: I just made it through my rookie year. I've arrived.
Speaker 1: I'm the man.
Speaker 5: I got an NFL career straight ahead, not so fast,
Speaker 5: not so much. None of this is guaranteed. He made
Speaker 5: it clear you're going to have to compete for your
Speaker 5: job every single year, and so I just thought it
Speaker 5: was really interesting because it goes into the culture. Yes,
Speaker 5: does it not going to compete and prove yourself on
Speaker 5: a daily basis?
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Pauali. You know, once again, forget about the
Speaker 1: daily it's just prove it, Paul. That's what it is
Speaker 1: right there. But it does veal the culture the Arizona
Speaker 1: Cardinals have here. Listen, guys, we love you. We drafted you,
Speaker 1: we're bringing you in here. We signed you as a
Speaker 1: free agent, whatever it may be, because we think you
Speaker 1: fit our culture that is here right now. But never
Speaker 1: forget just because we may have signed you as a
Speaker 1: free agent, just because we may have drafted you, never
Speaker 1: forget that you can be replaced. And that is something
Speaker 1: that I remember Ken Wizenhunt when he first started here, Yes,
Speaker 1: go all the way back his first year as a
Speaker 1: head coach man. He made it known this is going
Speaker 1: to be about competition. I don't care what your last
Speaker 1: name is on the back of her jersey. This is
Speaker 1: going to be about competition. I think Manti asen Fort
Speaker 1: believes that, and so does JG.
Speaker 5: Speaking of last names on the back of a jersey,
Speaker 5: it's a good segue.
Speaker 1: Ron wolf Lee, thank you both.
Speaker 5: We saw Marvin Arrison Junior post this week to his
Speaker 5: Instagram account he's going to be number eighteen. Yes, interesting
Speaker 5: because on draft night word was o Jelai was pretty
Speaker 5: shall we say, vested in that number. So some sort
Speaker 5: of serious negotiations we presume happened behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: So what do you think it was, Polly? Honestly, right now,
Speaker 1: it had to be something where Marvin Harrison Junior had
Speaker 1: to walk up and say, you know what, bej how
Speaker 1: much do you want me to donate to your favorite charity?
Speaker 1: How much? Was it?
Speaker 6: Right?
Speaker 1: Sure something happened or charity?
Speaker 5: And what are you going to donate into my garage?
Speaker 5: It's one of the other or both. We'll see. But
Speaker 5: speaking of names, look, he's got everything. He's the son
Speaker 5: of a Hall of Famer, right. Yes, he has a
Speaker 5: production at Ohio State. He was a Heisman finalist bullet
Speaker 5: and a Cough Award winner as a top receiver in
Speaker 5: the country. But to your point, it's more than just
Speaker 5: what you put on film and what you put in
Speaker 5: the box score and Mantia support talked about that in
Speaker 5: regards to Marvin Harrison junior the number four pick overall.
Speaker 1: With Dave Pash.
Speaker 7: One thing that's really unique about Marvin, and it's not
Speaker 7: surprising based on where he's come from and his day
Speaker 7: and seeing his dad, but just the plan that Marvin
Speaker 7: has and the plan that Marvin has had since high
Speaker 7: school and he carried that into college and I know
Speaker 7: he's going to carry it this week when he comes
Speaker 7: in here for the first time on Thursday. Just the
Speaker 7: plan on how to get better and the way he
Speaker 7: takes care of his body, the rehab, the prehab, the
Speaker 7: plan he has for catching extra balls on a jugs machine.
Speaker 7: Marvin's a very talented individual, but Marvin doesn't rest on
Speaker 7: his talent. He's pushing himself. He's working to get better.
Speaker 7: He wants to be great.
Speaker 5: And then Money I'll support added with Dave Pash that
Speaker 5: after the thirty visit, Money could definitely see him in
Speaker 5: an Arizona Cardinals uniform. Yes, And if the Cardinals were
Speaker 5: to stick and pick at number four, he was pretty
Speaker 5: darn convicted Marvin Harrison was worthy of that selection.
Speaker 1: Just absolutely love the draft class. And you know what's amazing, Paul,
Speaker 1: I know you've talked to some of these guys as well,
Speaker 1: these rookies right now, and we're getting some exposure to them,
Speaker 1: whether it was over the phone interviewing them or whether
Speaker 1: it's in person right now. To me, the big takeaway
Speaker 1: I have it doesn't matter if you play corner or
Speaker 1: if you play a free technique on the defensive line,
Speaker 1: you're basically the same guy. They appear to be drafting,
Speaker 1: the same type of personality, the same type of individual,
Speaker 1: and I absolutely not only love it, endorse it one
Speaker 1: hundred percent.
Speaker 5: Is it capsualized in their term all ball all ball,
Speaker 5: that's what it is. They are seeking guys who are
Speaker 5: deadly serious about the game and the business of football.
Speaker 5: And guess what one feeds into another. The new draft
Speaker 5: picks feed into the team. The team sets the culture
Speaker 5: for the picks. In fact, Maniasiford talked to Dave about
Speaker 5: that this week.
Speaker 7: When our new players get here, that's the responsibility of
Speaker 7: them to look around and say, well, this is how
Speaker 7: we work, this is how we meet, this is how
Speaker 7: we practice, this is how we lift, this is how
Speaker 7: we eat. That's when the culture starts running itself. When
Speaker 7: we have the people in the building that are operating
Speaker 7: at a high level and doing it consistently. That's how
Speaker 7: a culture gets to established, and that's how a culture
Speaker 7: gets sustained.
Speaker 5: Or when the veterans are modeling that yah poling, they're
Speaker 5: not just talking about it, but that's their actual behavior,
Speaker 5: and that's what they're doing behind the scenes. And you know,
Speaker 5: we'll first hand when when the veteran guys are holding
Speaker 5: the younger guys accountable to those actions. Oh yeah, then
Speaker 5: all of a sudden, okay, you know, it's turnkey at
Speaker 5: that point.
Speaker 1: It really is. It just makes so much sense right now.
Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons why culture starts with a philosophy.
Speaker 1: It's an idea, it's how you want to do things.
Speaker 1: Now you have to go get human beings who totally
Speaker 1: agree with that and will not only agree with it,
Speaker 1: they'll live it in front of everybody else. And to
Speaker 1: Moni's point, now that you've got guys like that inside
Speaker 1: that locker room here, it is now you're just gonna
Speaker 1: draft more guys who are like minded, draft more guys
Speaker 1: like that and bring them in and they'll just watch
Speaker 1: the other guys and the older guys and how they
Speaker 1: do things because you've already established what it is you
Speaker 1: want your culture to be and now they'll model it
Speaker 1: for everybody else. Just brilliant.
Speaker 5: And when I hear about players like that, I think
Speaker 5: of instant impact. I think they're equipped to come in
Speaker 5: and actually contribute right away. They're not kids, they're professionals.
Speaker 1: I'm still gonna take a prove it rookie mentality, Sorry.
Speaker 5: Paul, Hey be the first among the first to buy
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Speaker 5: is released right now. That's gonna be next Wednesday. Okay,
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Speaker 5: dot com first to buy for all the info. Once again,
Speaker 5: they're gonna send you a link. You could be among
Speaker 5: the first take a look at the schedule. There are
Speaker 5: some stellar matchups coming our way. Azycardinals dot Com slash
Speaker 5: first to buy all right out of high school. He
Speaker 5: was ready to ahead of Micah Parsons. Xavier Thomas's next
Speaker 5: on the big red.
Speaker 4: Rage empty sent for Martello on the third down and
Speaker 4: sad and he gets Thomas. Savior Thomas the first Tiger
Speaker 4: in there. It's the twenty five yard line by Savior.
Speaker 3: Thomas inside the ten and Thomas out of bounds inside.
Speaker 4: The five yard line.
Speaker 8: The thing that stands out with his speed is his
Speaker 8: get off, and he really stresses tackles to have to
Speaker 8: kick to get out to him right. So one thing
Speaker 8: I loved about that his speed brings to his game,
Speaker 8: specifically his pass rush as his ability to win with
Speaker 8: speed and then transition to power.
Speaker 1: For a rookie.
Speaker 8: I thought his pass rush technique was pretty polished up.
Speaker 5: As Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rowless and in a twelve
Speaker 5: player draft class marked by intrigue, I mean just dripping
Speaker 5: with potential and production, athleticism and accomplishments. Ron Wofully, my
Speaker 5: eye keeps going back to one scout and report. I'm
Speaker 5: just wondering about what's under the hood, what's in store.
Speaker 5: And he happens to be our special guest tonight on
Speaker 5: The Big Red Rage presented by sand tan Ford and Gilbert.
Speaker 5: Xavier Thomas guest tonight, And uh, you know, let's just
Speaker 5: start with that. Okay, I've heard XT, We've heard Z.
Speaker 5: What do you like to go by Xavier?
Speaker 1: Definitely?
Speaker 9: Then I got the nickname next once I got to
Speaker 9: college and I just ran with it. That's what the
Speaker 9: Climpton fan base gave me, and teammateson coaches and things
Speaker 9: like that. But I grew up being college but so
Speaker 9: it's really whatever, whatever everybody prefers, I don't really mind whatever.
Speaker 1: So, Jay, I've got to ask you this right now.
Speaker 1: Mid Draft day is always a special day. I played
Speaker 1: ten years of the NFL. I was telling you, I
Speaker 1: think back to that day I got drafted. Man, just
Speaker 1: an incredible experience. Give me your draft experience. What was
Speaker 1: it like? Who were you with?
Speaker 9: That was with all my family and my friends that
Speaker 9: I grew up with. I did in Charlotte, North Carolina,
Speaker 9: because I'm from Florence, South Carolina, and it was the
Speaker 9: most nutrous spot for family and friends to be at
Speaker 9: and just sitting there just waiting to hear my name called.
Speaker 9: It was actually crazy how it happened because I had
Speaker 9: went on Twitter as soon as right before the fifth
Speaker 9: round started, about ten minutes before, I tweeted out come
Speaker 9: get a dog, And ten minutes later that's when I
Speaker 9: got the call for So it was it was a
Speaker 9: crazy time. And I don't know if they saw the
Speaker 9: tweet or what, but it was some crazy time in there.
Speaker 5: If we would ask you before the draft, all right,
Speaker 5: Arizona Cardinals. Did you have a gut feel did you
Speaker 5: think it might have been Arizona.
Speaker 9: I didn't think it was gonna be Arizona. The only
Speaker 9: gut fill I had was Houston. I had a few
Speaker 9: Top thirty visits with and obviously Cardinals was one of them,
Speaker 9: and I knew there was a possibility. But my gut
Speaker 9: feeling was Houston, and because I knew that they had really,
Speaker 9: really wanted me based off the conversation I had with them,
Speaker 9: and that's why I felt like it was going to
Speaker 9: grab me. But then obviously I got the call. I
Speaker 9: saw Arizona under the call log when I was it
Speaker 9: was ringing, and that's the call I got.
Speaker 1: So is that you grew up in South Carolina? Correct? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Where did you go to high school?
Speaker 9: I went to Wilson High School and for my first
Speaker 9: three years of high school, and then I transferred to
Speaker 9: IMG for my senior year. So I went to IMG
Speaker 9: Academy for my senior year just to It was a
Speaker 9: bad coaching situation back in and I wanted to prepare
Speaker 9: myself for college more so that's why I decided to
Speaker 9: go to I MG.
Speaker 1: Okay, did you play any other sports?
Speaker 9: I played base baseball. I was actually my first sport
Speaker 9: growing up. I was a really good baseball player. But
Speaker 9: I stopped playing in my freshman year of high school
Speaker 9: because my high school football coach convinced me to stop
Speaker 9: playing because I started getting recruited football. I wish I
Speaker 9: didn't stop, though, because I was really good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what did you play?
Speaker 9: I was an outfitter in first basement, but especially was
Speaker 9: definitely you tried a little pop saying I was. I
Speaker 9: was home run derby champion for five years in a row.
Speaker 1: Wow, pleasure.
Speaker 5: Hey Cardinals Round five rookie Xavier Thomas, our guest in
Speaker 5: the Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert.
Speaker 5: So the fact that you ended up being the number
Speaker 5: three ranked football prospect in the country by the time
Speaker 5: you were senior in high school, yes, there obviously the
Speaker 5: coach saw something in you. And then you go in
Speaker 5: and you were freshman All American at Clemson. Name some
Speaker 5: of the guys who were on that defensive front your
Speaker 5: first year or two at Clemson.
Speaker 9: Yes, sir, So those those guys that I was in
Speaker 9: front of me, you got Cleveland Farrow Austin Bryant, Dexter, Lawrence,
Speaker 9: Kristen Wilkins, and then watching those guys, watching those guys
Speaker 9: play and just not even play, but the way they
Speaker 9: worked weekend, week out because they have returned that year
Speaker 9: because they wanted to win a national championship, which is
Speaker 9: what we did my freshman year, and being to be
Speaker 9: a part of Being able to be a part of
Speaker 9: that and learn from those guys was just such a blessing.
Speaker 9: Just being able to pick up the things that they
Speaker 9: would teach medium regards to how you prepare for the
Speaker 9: game and how you respect the game, and how you
Speaker 9: respect these opponents each week, and just learning from them
Speaker 9: was definitely a blessing in this guys.
Speaker 1: So zay, how what's your way at right now? You
Speaker 1: want to be? There are two fifty It's okay, Yeah,
Speaker 1: so you're you're in shape right now, You're right where
Speaker 1: you want to be when you're gonna play right How
Speaker 1: would you describe your edge play in the game of football?
Speaker 9: I would say, really, just a relentless effort is what
Speaker 9: I bring to the table. I'll treat every play like
Speaker 9: as my last, and I'm always just being relentless to
Speaker 9: the quarterback, no matter where. If I'm away from the ball,
Speaker 9: if it goes away from me, if it's a screen pass,
Speaker 9: I'm running to it. I'm trying to track it down.
Speaker 9: Just trying to make a play at all times and
Speaker 9: just be an impact, impact player, whether the ball is
Speaker 9: away from me or coming to me.
Speaker 5: Was there anything about your scatter report? You know, there's
Speaker 5: all these scatter reports floating around for months leading up
Speaker 5: to the draft. Anything that irked you? He said, you
Speaker 5: know what, that's not accurate because you're a lot of
Speaker 5: guys say they never forget some of the things that
Speaker 5: were said about them coming out of college and it
Speaker 5: drove them. Was there anything out there that you're like,
Speaker 5: you know what, No, and I'm gonna prove that wrong.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say.
Speaker 9: I mean the number one thing I hated seeing with
Speaker 9: people would say like, oh, he was always injured and
Speaker 9: blah blah blah blah. But I've only had one injury
Speaker 9: and which I suffered in twenty twenty two. Outside of that,
Speaker 9: I was going through different things that I had to
Speaker 9: set out a couple of years. I only played three
Speaker 9: years in college because I was I had a reset
Speaker 9: after that twenty twenty years. So that's part of the
Speaker 9: only thing that I don't like seeing is the injury
Speaker 9: thing because I've only had one injury. Like, I've been
Speaker 9: healthy my whole career outside of those a couple of
Speaker 9: years that I had to sit out, and those were
Speaker 9: due to things I was going through back at home,
Speaker 9: that type of thing, so when I had to reset
Speaker 9: on life. So just coming through out of that and
Speaker 9: then when I hate seeing I guess some people are
Speaker 9: like big on stats and things like that, but they
Speaker 9: don't understand the game of football and high it works
Speaker 9: and how you impact the game as an age rusher.
Speaker 9: So I'm ready to really make my mark and how
Speaker 9: the card Excuse.
Speaker 5: Me, your head coach at Clemson Doabo Sweeney told USA
Speaker 5: Today quote, I'm super proud of xt because he got
Speaker 5: to a place that a lot of people don't recover from,
Speaker 5: but he communicated and sought out help. What's the best
Speaker 5: way to summarize what you went through and then how
Speaker 5: you got out.
Speaker 9: Of it, Yes, sir, so coming out of college, like
Speaker 9: you said, I was a number three recruit. I had
Speaker 9: a lot of success early on as an eighteen nineteen
Speaker 9: year old kid and had a freshman all American win
Speaker 9: a national championship. Sophomore year, we went back to the
Speaker 9: national championship, and then junior year was going to be
Speaker 9: my third year, and everybody was telling me I'm a
Speaker 9: three and out guy, first rounder, all that type of thing,
Speaker 9: and that COVID year hit, which was my third year,
Speaker 9: and we all were sent home and things like that,
Speaker 9: and I had got about I was going through some
Speaker 9: things back home and dealing with some things on my own,
Speaker 9: not really talking to anybody about it, and I isolated
Speaker 9: myself and got about like fifty pounds overweight. So in
Speaker 9: coming out of it that it had it was like
Speaker 9: a disappointment thing to where I didn't know if I
Speaker 9: was gonna play football again because I was so disappointed
Speaker 9: in myself in regards to where I was and what
Speaker 9: I had always That was the real adversity, the first
Speaker 9: real aversity that I ever faced as a young guy,
Speaker 9: like because I had so much success early on, so
Speaker 9: I had to really dial in back to myself and
Speaker 9: get myself back to where I needed to be. That's
Speaker 9: why I had sat out a couple of years and
Speaker 9: to really get myself back to where I needed to
Speaker 9: be to continue playing football and get back to where
Speaker 9: I knew I could be and what I had worked
Speaker 9: my entire life for. So that's what I had did
Speaker 9: come out of that gave my life over the Christ
Speaker 9: in twenty twenty two, and that's where I really talked
Speaker 9: back into my faith in regards to who I was
Speaker 9: as a person and not even just a football player.
Speaker 9: So that's how I got myself back out of that.
Speaker 9: And that's when I first suffered my first career injury,
Speaker 9: which was in twenty twenty two when I broke my foot,
Speaker 9: and that was but I was able to deal with
Speaker 9: that so easily just because of what I dealt with
Speaker 9: in twenty twenty doing that, doing that tough time, with
Speaker 9: facing that adversity that I did face, and being at
Speaker 9: my lords ready to didn't know if I was gonna
Speaker 9: play football again. So I was able to deal with
Speaker 9: that injury pretty easily. In regards to having my faith
Speaker 9: in the right to and things like that.
Speaker 1: Well, that is incredible right there. It really is. I
Speaker 1: share that exact same faith as well, buddy, There's no
Speaker 1: doubt about it. It's I'm glad for you. That's Jesus
Speaker 1: was able to actually bring you out of that that's
Speaker 1: really truly amazing. Let me ask you this right here,
Speaker 1: what is your expectation going into your rookie season. What
Speaker 1: is it?
Speaker 9: We just want to get into respect of my teammates
Speaker 9: and my coaches and come in here and make it
Speaker 9: and be an impact Flayer no matter what it is,
Speaker 9: it as an rotation of pass rusher or as a
Speaker 9: special teams player, whatever I need to do, just come
Speaker 9: here and be an impact with flayir on and off
Speaker 9: the field.
Speaker 1: So you've got no problem playing special team, no problem.
Speaker 1: That's one of the best parts of the game.
Speaker 5: By the way, you're you're looking a guy who went
Speaker 5: to four Pro Bowls as a special teamer. So that's
Speaker 5: that's the essence of that question over there. So I
Speaker 5: mentioned your scutter report. When I see you at the
Speaker 5: fourth fastest forty at the combine of the edge guys
Speaker 5: you know and Chop Robinson, Jared Verse, et cetera. What
Speaker 5: how much do you think you can prove at this level?
Speaker 5: That is still an unknown just because of the way. Look,
Speaker 5: we all know how your career started, but the way
Speaker 5: it ended and maybe you're under the radar to some degree.
Speaker 9: Yeah, one hundred percent, I'm ready to really just elevate
Speaker 9: my game to another level in regards to getting professional
Speaker 9: coaching and really just doing those different things that really
Speaker 9: I can take my pass rush game to the next
Speaker 9: level and really elevate myself. That's what I plan on doing,
Speaker 9: and put my best foot forward and just really having
Speaker 9: a It's gonna be a drastic amount of production based
Speaker 9: off what I have from college to now, for sure.
Speaker 1: So if you were looking at yourself and you were
Speaker 1: scouting yourself, what do you think your strengths are?
Speaker 9: Say, I say my strengths are definitely my speed obviously,
Speaker 9: and then I can translate that to power very well
Speaker 9: in regards to making the tackle kick back, because a
Speaker 9: lot of tackle's gonna play my speed because I'm a
Speaker 9: speed rusher. But I can really translate that into my
Speaker 9: power in regards to having a long arm and throw
Speaker 9: by things like that. So I definitely that and just
Speaker 9: my relentless effort like I was talking about earlier, That's
Speaker 9: what I pride myself on just being because if you
Speaker 9: look at it, obviously guys win at the top of
Speaker 9: the rush and win a pass rush rep. But most
Speaker 9: of the Saxon and NFL you get, you get guys
Speaker 9: to just effort to the ball and just not giving
Speaker 9: up on their pass rush and just keep keep going
Speaker 9: to the quarterback type thing. So that's obviously a credit
Speaker 9: to the back end if they have good coverage and
Speaker 9: things like that. But just pride myself on being relentless
Speaker 9: pass rush.
Speaker 1: Well, I listen to you and I hear a dog.
Speaker 1: That's what I hear. I hear a dog. Take a
Speaker 1: lot of pride in that, don't yes, there, I always have.
Speaker 5: Well, I mean, you're a guy with a master's degree, right,
Speaker 5: so obviously the work ethic is there. Then you go
Speaker 5: to the Shrine Bowl. What do you think he showed
Speaker 5: the Cardinals? What do you think he proved at the
Speaker 5: Shrine Bowl in particular?
Speaker 9: Really did? I'm just a dominant player. I'm going to
Speaker 9: dominate my opponent, and that's what I went out there
Speaker 9: to do. I didn't lose a pass rush, run one
Speaker 9: on one rep out there at all, and I think
Speaker 9: I did about ten out there, So I didn't lose
Speaker 9: a rep out there. Just wanted to and doing the
Speaker 9: team periods of getting sacks and just running to the
Speaker 9: ball in regardless to it was a screen pass. I'm
Speaker 9: running down the field to it. That's just the type
Speaker 9: of player I am. That's what I want to express.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like you have anything to prove at
Speaker 1: this love.
Speaker 9: That's why I can't wait to just ready to get
Speaker 9: my just really elevate my game and ready to take
Speaker 9: it to the next level.
Speaker 5: Is there anything you're curious to find out about when
Speaker 5: it comes to the NFL? Like, is there anything you're saying?
Speaker 5: All right, here, we are on the evil rookie camp.
Speaker 5: It's all beginning, and you won't get extremely realenttal training camp.
Speaker 1: We get that.
Speaker 5: But what are you most curious to find out about
Speaker 5: at football at this level?
Speaker 9: Really just to just to see how it feels. I mean,
Speaker 9: obviously you get to watch it on TV and things
Speaker 9: like that, and I play at the highest level of college,
Speaker 9: but when you get to the NFL, obviously it's different.
Speaker 9: I just want to just excited to see how it
Speaker 9: feels so I can get it under my belt. And
Speaker 9: once I get it under my belt, it's the sky's
Speaker 9: the limit. I'm just ready to go.
Speaker 1: So what do you think is going to be the
Speaker 1: hardest adjustment for you coming into the NFL?
Speaker 9: If see the hardest adjustment I learned and adjusted to
Speaker 9: so much throughout my college career to where I don't
Speaker 9: even think like it would be a big adjustment in
Speaker 9: regards to coming to this level just because of the
Speaker 9: habits I developed over my time at college. Like I
Speaker 9: was a younger guy. If I came out to doing
Speaker 9: that year, like I said, if I was gonna be
Speaker 9: a three and our guy, then I probably would have
Speaker 9: had a hard time adjusting to being able to take
Speaker 9: care of my body like a pro and how to
Speaker 9: eat right and how to really put in extra work,
Speaker 9: extra film and things like that. But I developed those
Speaker 9: over time throughout my time at Clemson, So I really
Speaker 9: don't think it would be a hard adjustment at all
Speaker 9: towards anything, because I know how to take care of
Speaker 9: my body, I know how to eat like a pro,
Speaker 9: I know how to watch extra tape when I know
Speaker 9: how to translate that to the field, and I know
Speaker 9: how to really study a playbook, and I know how
Speaker 9: to correctly watch filmal an opponent. So I don't feel
Speaker 9: like it would be a hard adjustment at all.
Speaker 5: Would you make of this last season at Clemson and
Speaker 5: Xavier Thomas is our guest here Cardinals rookie edge guy
Speaker 5: because you had three and a half sacks, but you
Speaker 5: led the team with forty three pressures, and your defensive
Speaker 5: coordinators saying, look, it's not always about the sacks. It's
Speaker 5: about affecting the quarterback. Sir, So would you make your
Speaker 5: final season at Clemson?
Speaker 9: I would say, really, I just wanted to because I
Speaker 9: was like, this past year was like that was my
Speaker 9: first time playing in maybe three years, like, because I
Speaker 9: had sat out from twenty twenty to twenty twenty two,
Speaker 9: and then twenty twenty two I was fully healthy, ready
Speaker 9: to go. Then I had my first career injury when
Speaker 9: broke my foot. So I really just wanted to get
Speaker 9: a fully healthy season before I went to the next level,
Speaker 9: which is what I really wanted to do. Obviously, you
Speaker 9: say with the stats and things like that, but I
Speaker 9: never really paid attention to it.
Speaker 1: My job on.
Speaker 9: The field was to just relentlessly affect the quarterback, and
Speaker 9: that's what I did, regardless of that was ordered in
Speaker 9: ten sacks, was ordered in ten pressures. That's just what
Speaker 9: I did.
Speaker 1: Can you drop off into coverage.
Speaker 9: Yes, sir, I did a lot of drops at Clemson,
Speaker 9: and coach Rodriguez and I talked with them on thirty
Speaker 9: visits because we do a lot of drops here as
Speaker 9: the outside linebackers here, so it's gonna be translate very well.
Speaker 1: So do you think maybe some interceptions on thezon that's
Speaker 1: what you're saying.
Speaker 9: I grew up as a playing running back and where
Speaker 9: I receive all that, so I'm very athletic person, so
Speaker 9: it'll be easy.
Speaker 5: You're a former wide receiver.
Speaker 1: Really, yes, sir?
Speaker 5: Wow, See that's that's when you know it's the NFL.
Speaker 5: When a guy can run as that sort of athleticism
Speaker 5: is now playing edge. That's all you know it's the NFL.
Speaker 5: And you've been working out here since well most of
Speaker 5: this year, haven't you.
Speaker 1: Yea since January?
Speaker 9: So I came out here because I've been living in
Speaker 9: the South Caroline of my whole life, obviously Isaac Clemson,
Speaker 9: and then I came out here to Phoenix, Arizona. I
Speaker 9: was training the Exos for the combine, so I was
Speaker 9: living out here from January to April. Then I moved
Speaker 9: away for a week right before the draft, and then
Speaker 9: obviously Arizona drafting me.
Speaker 1: So I'm right back.
Speaker 5: Have you run into your first scorpion yet or maybe
Speaker 5: have Alina or anything? Have you had an Arizona encounter
Speaker 5: of any sort?
Speaker 9: I wouldn't say a true Arizona encounter outside.
Speaker 1: Of the dry ear. There you go, man, Sorry, well.
Speaker 5: Zay Man, we are really looking forward to seeing you
Speaker 5: out on that field and uh Wolf. We know there
Speaker 5: are certain positions that can be plugging play in this
Speaker 5: league and getting to the quarterback that can translate immediately.
Speaker 1: Line up on the edge and go get that guy.
Speaker 5: So welcome to Arizona, Xavier, sir, thank you.
Speaker 1: There you go.
Speaker 5: Xavier Thomas is our guest. Will continue and we'll talk
Speaker 5: more about this draft class, the upcoming schedule, and more.
Speaker 5: It is the Big Red Rage presented by santan Port
Speaker 5: and Gilbert. We are santan Port.
Speaker 3: With the eighty.
Speaker 7: Second pick in the twenty twenty four NFL.
Speaker 10: Drop the Arizona Cardinals select Tip prim and tight Ends Illinois.
Speaker 1: You still not believe in birds?
Speaker 5: Now?
Speaker 1: They are cardinals? All right?
Speaker 6: All right, he's a joke. It needs to be contexts.
Speaker 6: He needs to be context He's a joke. I believe
Speaker 6: in birds. I believe in God, He's our creator. There's creation.
Speaker 6: I believe in birds. We'll set the record straight right now.
Speaker 5: Thanks guys, that was a great walk off moment that
Speaker 5: ended his introductory press conference in person with the Arizona media.
Speaker 5: Little mic drop there at the very end. That was
Speaker 5: the final question from Gershman. Yes, final question, because there
Speaker 5: was a story out out there that he obviously just
Speaker 5: set the record straight that he didn't believe in birds.
Speaker 5: It was some sort of conspiracy theory. He said he
Speaker 5: was messing around Tip Ryman. Let me tell you, if
Speaker 5: he can tip the scales in terms of his football
Speaker 5: prowess like he did with his personality with the media,
Speaker 5: then the Cardinals have a fine in Round three, one
Speaker 5: of four Round three picks. Welcome back into the Big
Speaker 5: Red Rage presented by Santan Ford and Gilbert Paul KELBC
Speaker 5: Ron Wolfley Special thanks to Xavier Thomas. In that last segment,
Speaker 5: you just once again all ball. Yes, Xavier Thomas, six
Speaker 5: years of Clemson as his masters. I mean, I just
Speaker 5: I see a class that is ready to contribute from
Speaker 5: top to bottom. And wolf there's no doubt they do
Speaker 5: have a need for a blocking tight end, especially Jeff Swain.
Speaker 5: You know that injury that ended his season last year
Speaker 5: prematurely at the end of his career. Well, here comes
Speaker 5: mister tip Ryman at six five, two seventy plus.
Speaker 1: And Paul, it's not just tip Ryman, it is not
Speaker 1: go ahead and look at the first three picks in
Speaker 1: that third round. That was a statement of purpose as
Speaker 1: far as I'm concerned. Right here. Trey Benson, a big
Speaker 1: running back that can spot James Connor. Of course, Isaiah
Speaker 1: Adams a guy that I think is going to be
Speaker 1: battling for that left guard position. Guy who was a
Speaker 1: tackle of course, but you can kick him inside and playguard.
Speaker 1: And then tip Ryman, tip Ryman, the best blocking tight
Speaker 1: end in the draft. You put those three things together
Speaker 1: in that third round, and what does that say to you? POLLI,
Speaker 1: the Arizona Carter was going to line up in just
Speaker 1: butchers of people.
Speaker 5: Three words, cram a vertical. That's what it says to me.
Speaker 1: That's it.
Speaker 5: That was our phrase last year. If a straight ahead,
Speaker 5: power run game. By the way, tip Ryman, Isaiah Adams
Speaker 5: the roommates right now, according to tip because you know
Speaker 5: they're college teammates. Okay, you have that. If you remember
Speaker 5: Dave Sears last week, the Cardinals assistant GM talking about
Speaker 5: how they're looking for quote grimy offensive lineman grimy guys
Speaker 5: who will quote shove your face in the dirt. So
Speaker 5: so you're you're right, Wolf. I mean, this is the
Speaker 5: kind of guy they're looking for.
Speaker 1: It's a simple game.
Speaker 5: So but once again, these are mature guys, have great personalities.
Speaker 5: None other than Tip Ryman was asked, Hey, Tip, what
Speaker 5: do you do away from football?
Speaker 6: If I've got my pottery wheel with me and do
Speaker 6: pottery throw a lot of pots. That was my Like
Speaker 6: both my sister's wedding gifts was like sets of plates
Speaker 6: and bulls and mugs and all that.
Speaker 1: So I like to do that stuff. My mom.
Speaker 6: She's I say, she's better than Bob Ross at paint
Speaker 6: saying mural. She's crazy. She's crazy. No, no wolves here,
Speaker 6: She's amazing. She's a legend.
Speaker 5: Okay, I was sitting in there, I was among the
Speaker 5: people laughing. But for the first ten seconds, I'm like,
Speaker 5: he's messing with us, right. You got this big, tough,
Speaker 5: assassin type dude. And he brought his pottery wheel to
Speaker 5: rookie mini camp. That was a true no comprendo for
Speaker 5: a moment for me.
Speaker 1: He's deadly serious.
Speaker 5: That's what he does for mental health, that's what he
Speaker 5: does for fun.
Speaker 1: Okay, pots, Well, I told him, I said to him,
Speaker 1: many Okay, so you make pots? Is that your pottery?
Speaker 1: Do you bust them after? Is that what he does?
Speaker 1: Throw him up against the wall, smash him, Paul, something,
Speaker 1: some type of therapy. I have no idea, but I
Speaker 1: can tell you right now, Paul, I this guy. Get
Speaker 1: your antennae up on tip Ryman right now, because this
Speaker 1: might be the best interview in the history of rookie
Speaker 1: class in the NFL.
Speaker 5: You didn't really have the audacity to ask him if
Speaker 5: he busted his pots after he made it.
Speaker 9: I did.
Speaker 5: Back when you were a wedge buster or extraordinaire and
Speaker 5: you used to write poetry, did you tear up your
Speaker 5: poetry when you were done?
Speaker 1: No, I didn't.
Speaker 5: It was your art. It was made with your hands,
Speaker 5: in your mind.
Speaker 1: That's true, Paul, no doubt about it. Man, he's got that,
Speaker 1: he's got that part of him. But he's also he's
Speaker 1: gonna just make this offense a whole different offense going forward.
Speaker 1: You watch.
Speaker 5: Okay, So, speaking of I noticed what the Raiders did,
Speaker 5: because if you look at tip Ryman for everything that
Speaker 5: he is is a blocking tight end. You called him
Speaker 5: the best blocking tight end in the draft, and yes,
Speaker 5: you're you're not wrong in that one at sixty five
Speaker 5: two seventy plus. You look at the analytics, he had
Speaker 5: the best athleticism score of any tight end in the
Speaker 5: draft as well, it was higher than brock Bauers, who
Speaker 5: went number thirteen overall. You take a look at what
Speaker 5: the Raiders have done the last two years, and then
Speaker 5: you take a look what the Cardinals have done. Brock
Speaker 5: Bauer six three, two forty three.
Speaker 1: Very good as well in terms of a blocking tight end.
Speaker 1: Very good.
Speaker 5: Okay, so think about that highly athletic, that body type,
Speaker 5: but he's also a dual tight end. Does that remind
Speaker 5: you a little bit of Trey McBride. Now look at
Speaker 5: the guy they took last year the Raiders in round
Speaker 5: two at number thirty five overall, Michael Mayer out of
Speaker 5: Notre Dame, a big beast of a tight end six
Speaker 5: four two sixty five in those two and with the Raiders,
Speaker 5: I see the two with the Cardinals. That thunder and
Speaker 5: lightning type at tight end.
Speaker 1: That's what it is, Paul, That's exactly what it is,
Speaker 1: and that's what you want to do right now. Twelve
Speaker 1: per and rundown situation. First in ten second and one
Speaker 1: to six, you can attack the line of scrimmage. You
Speaker 1: can run the ball with physicality, and then you can
Speaker 1: throw the ball just as easily, especially if you've got
Speaker 1: a quarterback who's comfortable being under center and now all
Speaker 1: of a sudden ball you can you can attack a
Speaker 1: defense with play action, and Trey McBride is going to
Speaker 1: get off in those situations.
Speaker 5: Like Dave Sears, the assistant GM told us last week,
Speaker 5: the Cardinals led the NFL in thirteen personnel.
Speaker 1: Yes, so there you go. I get ready for twelve personnel.
Speaker 1: Lead the NFL in twelve personnel and rundown.
Speaker 5: Oh see Drew Petsings. So he's got another weapon in
Speaker 5: that tight end room. Now, speaking of the later rounds,
Speaker 5: after you got passed the first round, you ended up
Speaker 5: getting three cornerbacks in this draft, starting with Max Melton
Speaker 5: and number forty three. But remember the Cardinals traded back.
Speaker 5: They went from thirty five to forty three, and then
Speaker 5: there was a run yep on corners in front of
Speaker 5: the Cardinals Cooper de Gene, koul A, McKinstry, Kamari Lass
Speaker 5: went forty two, and that was a question of Max
Speaker 5: Melton when he met the media just about you know,
Speaker 5: those comparisons to the corners who are drafted immediately ahead
Speaker 5: of him.
Speaker 10: You know, everybody's gonna have an opinion. Opinions are like
Speaker 10: Gucci belts. Everybody has one, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 10: So it's actly like everybody's gonna having the pain. Nobody's
Speaker 10: ever going to be one hundred percent on the same page,
Speaker 10: especially when we're talking about millions of fans, you know.
Speaker 10: But I know, come the season, once we get a
Speaker 10: couple of weeks in, I think they'll be happy with
Speaker 10: their pick.
Speaker 1: I got it.
Speaker 5: I have to elevate my drip apparently, Wolf do you
Speaker 5: have a Gucci You got no drip ball? Apparently? Yeah,
Speaker 5: my fit is inadequate.
Speaker 1: I don't.
Speaker 5: I don't have a Gucci belt.
Speaker 1: I have no Gucci belt.
Speaker 5: Just everybody's got one except the two of us.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 5: We got a really favit. Max Melton was great with
Speaker 5: the media, and you know what, he's a fast talker,
Speaker 5: has jim O Mahundro said, Let's hope he plays as
Speaker 5: fast as he talks. But his playing style has been
Speaker 5: described as frenetic and it's interesting the confidence he brought
Speaker 5: with him to that that podium and that microphone, because
Speaker 5: he spent the last four years not just going against
Speaker 5: like Marvin Irrison Junior as a younger guy, went against
Speaker 5: Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson Ohio State. He's been against
Speaker 5: a lot of big time receivers in his college days.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's no doubt about that. Pauli and also too.
Speaker 1: I would just say Max Melton is a guy that
Speaker 1: knows how to play in his zone room. This is
Speaker 1: one of the reasons why I think the Arizona Cardinals
Speaker 1: really targeted Max Melton. Think about it. We play a
Speaker 1: lot of zone, we do, no doubt about it. JG
Speaker 1: is going to play a lot of zone. Nick Rowlis
Speaker 1: as well loves that you need guys you can actually
Speaker 1: go out there and do it. He can walk up
Speaker 1: and play pressman cover all day long. He's got no
Speaker 1: problem doing that. But he even I got the opportunity
Speaker 1: to talk to him, he was even talking about playing
Speaker 1: in his zone room and how much fun that is
Speaker 1: to actually mess with a quarterback, knowing that the quarterback
Speaker 1: is reading his body language, knowing that a quarterback is
Speaker 1: looking to see if he's looking. He knows how to
Speaker 1: disguise that coverage and jump a lot of routes in
Speaker 1: his own room. That to me listening to him talk,
Speaker 1: Max Melton, that really bodes well for not only the
Speaker 1: secondary the Arizona Cardinals, but for this rookie coming in
Speaker 1: and being able to actually make a difference.
Speaker 5: You'll like this. Having gone to four Pro Bowls as
Speaker 5: a special teamer, I ran into some of the Cardinals coaches.
Speaker 5: The first thing they cited on Max Melton the fact
Speaker 5: he had four blocks, and they're like, not just anybody
Speaker 5: can do.
Speaker 1: That, And he said he loves playing in transition. Interesting.
Speaker 5: The other sleeper at corner, by the way, was the
Speaker 5: final round three pick Elijah Jones out of Boston College
Speaker 5: six one and a half yep one five highly skilled
Speaker 5: cover corner. Really intrigued to see what he's all about.
Speaker 5: Hey be among the first to buy Cardinals single game tickets.
Speaker 5: Register now get single game ticket purchase link sent right
Speaker 5: to you next week as the schedule is released. Go
Speaker 5: to Azycardinals dot com slash first to buy Azcardinals dot
Speaker 5: com slash first to buye We continue with a big
Speaker 5: Red Rage presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert.
Speaker 3: Tyler Murray has been magical because we're starting to see
Speaker 3: not just the magic tricks, the sorcery, it's not just
Speaker 3: the wizardry of Kyler Murray gets the throws from the
Speaker 3: pocket that we've seen that have been really impressive.
Speaker 4: When he hit the field, it was like, all right,
Speaker 4: here's the game plan.
Speaker 1: We gotta go play.
Speaker 4: Now it's hey, are you taking the right drop? Are
Speaker 4: your eyes in the right place, or did you feel
Speaker 4: that play the way we want it to be filled?
Speaker 8: You know, I think all of those conversations can happen now.
Speaker 4: So certainly excited about that.
Speaker 5: That's Drew Petsing recently, a Cardinals offensive coordinator, talking about
Speaker 5: the offseason, actually having a full off season with your
Speaker 5: franchise quarterback. Think about what the Cardinals had to do
Speaker 5: last year. Kyler Murray missed the entirety of the offseason.
Speaker 5: He missed training can, he missed the first half of
Speaker 5: the regular season. He just dropped in mid season, had
Speaker 5: to get up to game speed coming off a serious
Speaker 5: knee injury in a brand new offense, requiring him to
Speaker 5: do a whole bunch of brand new things foreign to him,
Speaker 5: learn brand new receips I think it's only now we
Speaker 5: look back and realize the degree of difficulty.
Speaker 1: Think you're right, Paul, as we.
Speaker 5: Say, welcome back into the Big Red Rage, presented by
Speaker 5: santan Ford and Gilbert. We are santan Ford. I mean,
Speaker 5: it's no surprise that he really wasn't at his best
Speaker 5: until the final three or four games of the season
Speaker 5: because it took him a while to assimilate all the
Speaker 5: above we just named.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, and once again for him to overcome
Speaker 1: all this. I remember going into that season where there
Speaker 1: were a lot of people saying that the Arizona Cardinals
Speaker 1: are going to sit him down. They'll sit them down
Speaker 1: the entire year, remember that, Paul, And we're all right,
Speaker 1: oh no, don't do that. That's the one thing you
Speaker 1: can't do. You've got to go ahead and you've get
Speaker 1: how many games he can go out there and play.
Speaker 1: You've got to get him out there on the field.
Speaker 1: You can't sit him down the entire year. And of course,
Speaker 1: as we know, he played eight games three and five
Speaker 1: on the season, right there should have been four and four.
Speaker 1: I just want to say that, but should have, would
Speaker 1: have could of course, the Seattle game drove me nuts,
Speaker 1: just even thinking about it right now, but having said that,
Speaker 1: he got invaluable experience last year in this offense, and Paul,
Speaker 1: you already said it the last four games of the season.
Speaker 1: You're talking about a quarter of the season. The Arizona
Speaker 1: Cardinals in terms of yards per game, number one offense
Speaker 1: in the league. Wow.
Speaker 5: Let that hang in the air for a minute. Back
Speaker 5: Mani also for it Cardinals. GM was on the Day
Speaker 5: Pash podcast and we talk about everything that Kyler had
Speaker 5: to overcome, and here was Mani's take on what Kyler
Speaker 5: did while rehabbing this offseason.
Speaker 7: He can focus on being a great teammate, getting himself ready,
Speaker 7: getting himself more acclimated to the offense. And so, you know,
Speaker 7: I think that's a really maybe overlook part of what
Speaker 7: Kyler did last year, and just the fact that he
Speaker 7: was coming off a major, major knee injury and so
Speaker 7: just to get himself to where he was at physically,
Speaker 7: but then also mentally the challenge that he had to
Speaker 7: learn an entirely new offense with not being able to
Speaker 7: practice it until November.
Speaker 5: I remember it was last year. We Askedrew sitting right
Speaker 5: in that chair, a long time NFL quarterback, former Cardinals quarterback.
Speaker 5: We asked him not having an offseason to get chemistry
Speaker 5: the receivers, big deal, Not a big deal? He said,
Speaker 5: it's a huge deal. It's absolutely critical for every quarterback.
Speaker 5: And so I think we're all even more intrigued by Okay,
Speaker 5: what is this passing game going to look like after
Speaker 5: a full off season?
Speaker 1: No doubt, Paul, what is it going to look like
Speaker 1: right now? But can I just say this as well
Speaker 1: that for me, how this offense evolves is going to
Speaker 1: be based on Kyler Murray and we're going to continue
Speaker 1: to see this offense evolve because Kyler Murray is encouraged.
Speaker 1: You've heard me talk about this, Paul, but it's the truth.
Speaker 1: You can hear the encouragement also, and Manti asen Ford's voice.
Speaker 1: You could hear it in JG's voice when he talks
Speaker 1: about Kyler Murray. You can hear it in Kyler's voice
Speaker 1: when he talks about this offense and what he was
Speaker 1: able to do last year in this offense. You can
Speaker 1: hear the encouragement, and Paul, for every Cardinal fan that
Speaker 1: is out there right now, it should encourage you as well. Well.
Speaker 5: He busted into this studio after the draft exactly Marvin
Speaker 5: Harrison Junior was introduced, he busted in. You could just
Speaker 5: see the enthusiasm within Kyler Murray. So here, here's a
Speaker 5: couple of questions for you. Number One, Am I on
Speaker 5: a line we mentioned off the top of this show,
Speaker 5: how every player on paper right now in the draft
Speaker 5: is a starter, is a Pro bowler?
Speaker 1: Right? Yeah?
Speaker 5: Is it on aline for me to evoke the rookie
Speaker 5: year of Justin Jefferson twenty twenty when it comes to
Speaker 5: Marvin Harrison Junior as a reminder, Justin Jefferson had eighty
Speaker 5: eight catches for fourteen hundred receiving yards even seven touchdowns
Speaker 5: in a Pro Bowl. The next year, Jamar Chase at
Speaker 5: number five overall, he had eighty one grabs for one
Speaker 5: four hundred and fifty five yards, receiving thirteen touchdowns, a
Speaker 5: Pro Bowl and Offensive Rookie of the Year. Marvin Rrison Junior,
Speaker 5: if he's really a generational receiver? Yes, what if you
Speaker 5: got numbers somewhere in the neighborhood of those and plugged
Speaker 5: that into your offense.
Speaker 1: Well, that'd be incredible. And then as soon as I
Speaker 1: think of that, I think of well, tell me the
Speaker 1: numbers for Trey McBride done as well, because you know,
Speaker 1: one feeds off the other, Paul. And to Marvin Harrison Junior,
Speaker 1: there's no doubt about it. His talent is off the
Speaker 1: charts now, Paul. You know me, he's gonna have to
Speaker 1: come in here, he's gonna have to prove it.
Speaker 10: Paul.
Speaker 1: I mean you know as well as anybody, the wide
Speaker 1: receiver position is a dicey proposition in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: You've got to come in and you've got to prove it.
Speaker 1: But I think this offense is really going to give
Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Junior every opportunity to really prove it and
Speaker 1: grow going forward.
Speaker 5: How much different do you think the offense will look
Speaker 5: this year? And by that, I mean how much of
Speaker 5: the run game last year? You were a top five
Speaker 5: run game a year ago. How much of that was
Speaker 5: out of necessity because you started your Josh Dobbs and
Speaker 5: you just had to do what you had to do
Speaker 5: to be able to move the ball. And you have
Speaker 5: a James Connor, Well, we're going to run the ball
Speaker 5: because that's what we do best right now. But with
Speaker 5: Kyler Murray, a two time Pro Bowl quarterback and receiving
Speaker 5: threats and the evolution the emergence of Trey McBride. Do
Speaker 5: you think they run it as much as they did
Speaker 5: a year ago, No.
Speaker 1: Paully, I think chunk throw is what I think of.
Speaker 1: I think of chunk throw. Now, listen, they're gonna run
Speaker 1: the ball, because that's who they are. You have to
Speaker 1: do that. James Connor's back there, you got Trey Benson
Speaker 1: as well, behind a very physical offensive line. You're gonna
Speaker 1: run the ball. Of course you're gonna do that. But
Speaker 1: now all of a sudden, you've got Kyler Murray who's
Speaker 1: looking very comfortable being under center as well. And now
Speaker 1: you're gonna run play action and that's gonna open up
Speaker 1: the middle of the field, and that's gonna open up
Speaker 1: some chunk throws for Kyler Murray. And you've got Trey McBride,
Speaker 1: and now hopefully Marvin Harrison Junior as well will assimilate
Speaker 1: quickly to the NFL game and the pro game. You've
Speaker 1: got chunk throw options that are out there right now
Speaker 1: for Kyler Murray. And that's what I think is really
Speaker 1: going to define this offense going forward because of being
Speaker 1: able to run the ball. Play action is gonna be there,
Speaker 1: especially play action from under center, and that means chunk
Speaker 1: throw to me.
Speaker 5: And you know what, until twenty twenty two, where his
Speaker 5: season was ended prematurely by the knee injury, Kyler was
Speaker 5: among the league's best, if not the best, at downfield accuracy,
Speaker 5: at chunk throws, and so I'm curious to see if
Speaker 5: he can regain that sort of form and that effectiveness.
Speaker 5: But to your point about Trey McBride, I still love
Speaker 5: his joke up on the stage at the Cardinals NFL
Speaker 5: Draft party where he said, Hey, if Marvin Errison wants
Speaker 5: to take some of that double coverage I saw the
Speaker 5: end of last season. That's right, Paul, See my guest,
Speaker 5: all of a sudden, that safety has to shade over
Speaker 5: Marvin Errison Junior, and now you're left with a linebacker
Speaker 5: on Trey McBride. Yeah, game over taste it, Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 5: So we'll see about that. By the way, Zay Jones
Speaker 5: reportedly visited the Cardinals earlier this week. So are they
Speaker 5: in the market for a veteran receiver to add to
Speaker 5: the mix, because there's a lot of youth in that
Speaker 5: room right now. We'll see about that. We'll see if
Speaker 5: maybe they add a veteran corner. A lot more will
Speaker 5: be known after the Rookie Mini Camp see how these
Speaker 5: guys look This weekend special Thanks again is Xavier Thomas
Speaker 5: along with Jim Amahundro, Cody Fincher, Technical Director, Bradley Rowe,
Speaker 5: Ron Wolfley on Paul Calvic. This has been the Big
Speaker 5: Red Rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert. We are
Speaker 5: santan Ford.
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