WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 115: Very Las Vegas 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.360 And welcome to what is now an officially off season 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:08.119 edition of The Happy Half Hour. And it's off season 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:10.399 now because they just played that last football game of 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:13.960 the year the other day, So we are now officially 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.880 in that point of the year where we're everything's pointed 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:18.120 to twenty twenty. 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:19.520 Four New year. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:20.960 Everybody zero zero. 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:24.320 Everybody zero zero, and you know what is in Are 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.920 any of us really surprised at how that game worked 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:28.680 out the other day? 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:31.080 You know, we had to do preseason picks, and that 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:33.760 was my preseason super Bowl. I think I did say 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:35.599 the forty nine Ers are going to win, but as 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:37.960 the season went on, we talked about this before you 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:40.520 left for Vegas. I've seen that forty nine Ers team 0:00:40.560 --> 0:00:43.760 lose to that Chiefs team before. Yeah, and that's exactly 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:45.120 how we thought it would. 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:47.279 And that Chiefs team's just going to beat people. I mean, 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:49.800 it's just they've reached that point. As I mentioned, I 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:51.680 got tired of being the guy who was wrong about 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.480 Tom Brady. I'm now officially tired of being the guy 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:57.200 who ever thinks Patrick Mahomes is going to lose again. 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.040 So it'll never just fund him in late in the season. 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:02.440 Or it will happen eventually. 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.080 I mean, they'll go through a run, somebody will get hurt, 0:01:05.760 --> 0:01:09.080 they'll lose their mojo, they'll be coaching changes, something will 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.160 come up that'll you know, it'll be a slight hiccup. 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:14.240 But as long as that guy's play and you know, 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.640 they are going to have a chance. And I don't know, 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.800 I want to ask you about this to see you're 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:25.640 you're young and analytically minded. Right, where did you come 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:27.199 down on coin Flipgate? 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:29.960 I think what stood out to me most about it 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.240 was the fact that the forty nine Ers players admitted 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:36.360 that they didn't know the overtime rules. That's and then 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:40.000 you compare that to the Chiefs who said they spent 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:42.640 two weeks on it all the way back in training 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:45.679 camp and then spend time on it each week in 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:48.560 preparation during the playoffs. That comes down to coaching. 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:50.480 Yeah, and listen. 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:52.440 One of the things I kind of wonder about some 0:01:52.520 --> 0:01:55.760 of that sort of stuff. I think there is something 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:58.919 to be said for compartmentalizing your information. 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:01.720 Four in your backup. 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:03.960 Guard doesn't really need to be well versed on the 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:08.080 nuances of overtime rules changes. I mean, certain people, it's 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.360 like point to the field, go do your job now. 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:13.320 I mean, obviously the head coach needs no quarterback. Those 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:16.280 kind of guys who are involved in the very granular 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:19.680 game management part of it need to know. But I 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:23.240 just I am still I know everybody's beaten up on 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:28.000 Kyle for taking the taking the ball after winning the 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.360 coin toss. I think you're we're beating him up for 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:34.360 the wrong thing. I mean, I think there's still something 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:37.560 to be said for the notion of if you keep 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:41.519 that game tied, having the chance to be in sudden 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:45.440 death position, have that third possession now where Kyle screwed 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.960 up is fourth and fourth and nine, Yeah, and kicking 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:52.600 there rather than going for it there, because you either 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.040 keep the ball, score a touchdown, take the lead, make 0:02:56.160 --> 0:03:00.160 Patrick Mahomes score the touchdown he eventually scored, or you 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:03.440 lead them in such an unenviable field position that that 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.240 punting is an option for them on the next possession. 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.040 I just think that, you know, we're beating him up 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:11.480 for the wrong stuff. I think there is a lane. 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:13.600 You know, we've now got a set of data that 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:17.440 includes one outcome on these rules, and everybody's going to 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:20.079 kill Kyle for taking the ball first I don't even 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:22.880 know that that's the wrong play, but he certainly got 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:25.960 too conservative too early in that situation. 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:28.200 I think he won. He would have been better if 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:29.880 he would have just stuck to the reasoning that a 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.280 lot of people thought he originally took the ball, which 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.480 was to give his defense a break. If he had 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:37.000 just stuck with that reasoning and nobody would have questioned 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.800 him about it. Two, I can understand the thinking of 0:03:40.840 --> 0:03:44.880 wanting that third possession if that second possession went to 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:49.640 anyone besides Patrick Mahomes. Sure, and if you're facing a 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:53.880 different quarterback, who you can I saw an insane staff 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:57.080 this week, Darren. There have been I can't remember the 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:59.480 exact number, but it was, you know, some odd number 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:04.040 of drives in the fourth quarter or overtime of a 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:07.800 Super Bowl that were considered game winning drives. And you 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.600 know what quarterbacks stats were in that drives, you know 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.800 whether they won or lost. Patrick Mahomes and those drives 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.760 in super Bowls, it's like seven or playoffs or something 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:21.000 is like seven of seven. Yeah, you never not put 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:22.800 together a game winning drive when he had to in 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:24.200 a situation like that for a champion. 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:27.240 All of the things that's what Patrick Mahomes does. He 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:29.840 just does all the things all the time. His team's 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.320 gonna always win every game from here on out the 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:32.840 rest of his. 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:36.080 Career, and those little nuances. I totally get your point. 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:37.960 You're right about, like you know your backup left guard 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:39.960 doesn't need to know it. But those are also the 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:42.520 things that I think can come down to you just 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.520 want everyone on the same page. And I remember a 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.039 few years ago there was this like obscure rule that 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.120 came up in a game and even the officials had 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.160 to stop and ask for clarification from New York and 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.840 what the rule meant. And there were all these Patriots 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:59.640 players that got on Twitter during that time and explained 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.000 it because they all said that there is a day 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.279 in training camp where Bill Belichick goes over all of 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:07.400 the obscure rules that no one else knows sure. And 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.600 so I just think there's something to be said too 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:12.360 for everybody being on the same page, because if you're 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:14.159 not on the same page about what the overtime rules 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:15.840 are in the playoffs, you're probably not on the same 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:17.640 page about other things that are going to come up 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:18.039 in a game. 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.440 You can definitely give Kyle a pass for the strategic 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:25.520 if you choose to the operational. He clearly fell short, 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:27.480 and I think he did in a number of ways. 0:05:27.600 --> 0:05:31.120 I think just in watching that game as a civilian, 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:33.919 I was sitting there yelling at the TV. In the 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:38.679 second half, it's like, your two best players are number 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:42.479 twenty three and number seventy one. Tell the little one 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:47.000 to follow the big one around. That was the path forward. 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:48.520 And if you're trying to keep the ball out of 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:50.080 Patrick Mahomes' hands. 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:51.240 That's the way you do it. 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:55.040 You tell Christian McCaffrey get behind Trent Williams and go 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:58.600 where he goes because he's knocking somebody down and that 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:00.960 creates an opening for you to do your thing. And 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.760 you know, Christian had the early fumble and they very 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:08.880 young character. Yeah, uncharacteristic for him, but he was the 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:12.120 guy that they didn't use nearly enough in the second half. 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:14.560 And stop me, if you've heard this one before, Kyle 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.200 Shanahan stopped running when he should have kept running. So 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.440 not everybody wants to believe it, but every now and 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.720 then that's the sound football strategy. 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:26.599 But it was. It was quite a game. Quite a 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:27.920 game thoughts on halftime. 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:34.679 I liked it from the perspective of a millennial. At first, 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:37.839 I kind of knocked it for being too slow At times. 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.600 I think if he had started with the song oh 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:43.440 my God, if he had come out with that song, 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.080 it would have instantly upped the energy of the whole show. 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.680 That being said, there were still the vignettes within it 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.040 that I really really enjoyed. And you know, as soon 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:54.600 as he starts singing like love in this Club and Yeah, 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.159 I could write a thesis Darren on how the song 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:01.159 yeah is the one song in the world that will 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.839 never ever ever get old. You turn it on and 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.960 people instantly perk up and start singing an attempt to 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:12.160 start dancing. And I also think that like the ludicrous 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:15.000 part of it was every you know, millennial girls first 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:17.640 foray and to wrap it, many of us get we 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:18.640 can get at the drop of a hat. 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.840 Well, John and Luda come out and it's like, why 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:22.920 was this not in Atlanta the other year? 0:07:23.160 --> 0:07:24.520 Why did we not do this then? 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.120 And then the whole end of it, like also it 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:29.880 was an entirely Atlanta based crew that put on the 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:34.280 halftime show. That was one of US's request and so yeah, 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:36.560 it definitely should have been Atlanta. I have to ask, 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:39.360 and I'm probably gonna make podcast Matt antsy about whether 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:40.680 or not he has to cut this out. But you 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:43.760 said that Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams are the first 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.840 the second best player on that team. Where do you put. 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:49.400 Rockberty others receiving votes? 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:52.960 I mean, listen, I don't want to go full Cam 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.720 Newton here, and I'm not wearing a hat today, but 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:57.120 use your imagination. 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:58.160 Maybe I am. 0:07:58.680 --> 0:07:59.480 Got a feather in it. 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:04.720 Yeah, it's I mean, Brock Perdy, is Jimmy Garoppolo is 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:07.280 you know, fill in the blank. I mean any number 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:11.000 of guys who've been in that system who aren't that guy, 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:13.960 who aren't him as the kids say, And you know, 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:17.280 there's not necessarily anything wrong with that. I mean, you know, 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.080 Carolina Panthers went to a Super Bowl, and I tease 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:22.160 Jake Delom all the time. I said, when we talk 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:24.520 about you as a player, you know, yeah, you're in 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:26.160 the Hall of Honor, all that kind of stuff. But 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.960 everything seems like a slight when you start talking about 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:31.960 Jake as if you know, he's just some mid quarterback. 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:34.400 I mean, Jake, I always argued when he was playing 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:37.040 in the two thousands, Jake kind of lived in that 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:41.959 band between like the eighth and the fourteenth best quarterback 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:45.080 in the NFL. So if you wanted to be pedanic 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:47.800 and say top ten, could he beat maybe, but you know, 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.480 kind of right there in that window, and Jake's fine 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:52.960 with that. Jake understands that's kind of his place. You 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.040 can still do a lot of damage as a team 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.000 if you've got a quarterback who lives in that neighborhood. 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.920 So you know Brock's line, you know, take him for 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:02.600 what it's worth. 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:06.440 But that's an offense that Nick Mullins wants ran to success. 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:09.120 I mean, this is the Kyle Shanahan circle of life. 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:12.280 You overachieve with a quarterback nobody thinks is any good. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.080 Then people start thinking he's really good, and then people 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.680 slam him for not being as good as everybody thinks 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:19.720 he is, and then you go look for another one. 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.120 So I mean, I figure the shelf life of brock 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:26.079 perty is another about year and a half before people 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:29.360 get itchy again and start wanting to know when are 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:31.600 they going to trade three picks for the next tray lance. 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:34.439 Oh wait, that didn't work the last time, So I 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:39.040 just think that they're in a funny spot. There's still 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:41.240 a talented team. You know, there's going to be some 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:43.679 change this offseason, a lot of guys coming and going. 0:09:44.080 --> 0:09:47.560 But I just think that their position to continue to 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.240 be in that realm for the next little bit because 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:53.400 they are so solid, they can run with anybody. They 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:56.400 do have the kind of personnel on defense, even though 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.520 they've made a change on defense and you know, offered 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:03.000 up our old friend Steve Wilkes fairly or unfairly. That's 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:05.320 one of those things Kyle Shanahan's good at is making 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:08.800 sure everybody knows that's somebody else's fault. 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:11.040 But that was a defense that held Patrick Mahomes out 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:12.800 of the end zone for a lot of that game 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:13.720 until a special team. 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:18.720 Patrick Mahomes scored nineteen points in sixty minutes against that defense, 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:21.320 and one of those touchdowns came on a short field 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:26.040 after the aforementioned fumble. So I just you know Steve's 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.000 treatment aside. I think they are always going to be 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:32.160 positioned because it rosters so deep, so twent and so good. 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:36.400 You know, they're also out there doing it without Dre Greenlaw, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.400 who kind of popped in Achilles waiting to run onto 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.839 the field, so so weird. It was bizarre, It was unusual, 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:45.320 and it was one for the books. 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:45.720 It was. 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:49.160 It was very Las Vegas. It was quite a show. 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.120 All the way around, so it was it was definitely 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:57.720 something to see. Speaking of something to see, the reason 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.760 I was in Las Vegas was to see our old 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.839 friend Julius Peppers get inducted into the Pro Football Hall 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.880 of Fame. And I hope, I hope, if anything we 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:11.120 sent back from Las Vegas last week, I hope the 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:17.480 thing that came through clearly was just how giddy Julius 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:21.040 Peppers truly was at being named to the Hall of Fame. 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.920 He knew going to Las Vegas. He had found out, 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:27.719 you know, when Bruce Smith knocked on his door a 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.440 couple of weeks before, and he held that secret and 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:33.160 he thought about it, and I just loved the fact 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:35.680 when I'm talking to him Thursday night after the honor show, 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.240 he said, I see Barry Sanders in the hotel, and 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:40.400 I can't tell him yet because nobody knows and it's 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:42.960 still a secret. And I'm just sitting there thinking, I'm 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:44.559 in the Hall of Fame with Barry Sanders. 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:46.439 What is this, guys, and. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:50.559 Just seeing the look on Julius's face, we're not accustomed 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.839 to it because Julius is in every way, shape and form, 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:58.680 larger than life. A he's larger, but b because he's 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:02.000 always been up here on this level with the gods 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:06.400 of football, we think he's impervious to human emotion or 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.520 feeling any kind of way about his place in the game. 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:14.120 Gang Julius Peppers was forward when he was walking around 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:18.120 the Merlin Oil some luncheon the next day and Warren 0:12:18.320 --> 0:12:22.360 Sap comes over and hugs him. Julius was just like, dang, 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.839 that's Warren Sap, And you know, Warren's kind of joking 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.800 with him, saying, you know, telling Julius's kids, your dad 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:32.320 was a lot better at this than me. And just 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.360 the grin on Julius Pepper's face, to see that kind 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:40.880 of not childish but child like enthusiasm in his eyes 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:43.640 was really neat to see, for lack of a better word. 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:46.840 And probably surprising for those of us on the outside 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:48.880 looking in, because you know, for so many of us, 0:12:49.280 --> 0:12:51.520 we look at his game tape, we look at his resume, 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:53.839 and of course, how could he not be a Hall 0:12:53.880 --> 0:12:56.199 of Famer and for that matter of first ballot Hall 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:59.440 of Famer, So that just really kind of speaks to 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.360 his humbleness and his personality as well. And that did 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.760 definitely come through and everything that came back from Baster. 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:08.600 And we're gonna have a lot of cool stuff coming 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:11.640 for you over the next six months. I mean, some 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.920 of the stuff we were gathering while we were down there, 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:17.640 you may not see for several months, maybe even beyond 0:13:17.720 --> 0:13:20.240 the entriment, because we've got some special stuff planned with 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.080 Julia's coming up later this year. But it was just 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:27.000 so neat having that window into his personality and his 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:31.600 spirit of being able to just enjoy that moment and 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.640 walking around that luncheon on Friday talking to other Hall 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:36.920 of Famers. It takes all of. 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:39.840 Them a year. To Leroy Butler, who I love, by 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:42.640 the way, love LaRoy Lroy. 0:13:42.440 --> 0:13:45.920 Is amazing, and he was talking about with him. It 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.360 was Drew Pearson and he told this fantastic story, he said, 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:53.920 and Laroy's just great at telling stories, which you know 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.280 from your time in Green Bay. But Larroy talked about 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:58.760 Drew Pearson and he said, when I was a kid, 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.600 Drew Pearson was my guy. I had a Drew Pearson shirt. 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.240 It wasn't a jersey. My sister just drew an eighty 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:06.200 eight on a T shirt because we were in poverty. 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:10.040 That sounds like Leroy, I hear you, Leroy. 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.800 But they all have that guy for them and different guys. 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:17.000 John Randall talked about Alan Page. They all have that 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:21.120 touchstone for their own lives in football that they consider 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:24.640 here's the guy I emulate, here's the guy I consider 0:14:24.720 --> 0:14:26.520 up there at the top of the mountain, and then 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:30.120 to consider that you're suddenly appear takes a second for 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:33.120 all of them, and I think it was cool watching 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:34.960 Julia's process that in real time. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:36.840 For sure, this. 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:40.040 Quick, very quick little side story. You know, you talk 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:42.160 about them having guys. We all have those kind of 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:45.360 moments too, working in this business where we think, Wow, 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:48.040 I'm here, I'm standing here a part of this, and 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.480 I get to be the person to document this. LaRoy 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.880 is probably my moment because it was after he had 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.320 been inducted into the Hall of Fame last year and 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.360 he came back to do to get it Atlanta. If 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:01.880 you're in the Hall of Fame, you get your name 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:06.000 on the stadium, and so they come back to Lambeau 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:09.320 for that ceremony this past year, and it's done at halftime. Leroy, 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.280 for those that don't know, is also who invented the 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:14.360 Lambeau leap. I mean, it's now iconic. Other teams even 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:16.680 do it at their stadiums, but it's it's the Lambo leap, 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.880 and it started with Leroy. And so after he had 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.400 his little ceremony there at halftime, they had him go 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.760 over to the wall to do a Lambo leap. Now 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:27.880 that wall is actually pretty high, it's over six feet high, 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:29.120 so he had to get up on a stool with 0:15:29.200 --> 0:15:31.960 this point to do it. But as he's walking over, 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:33.840 he sees me and he did a lot of stuff 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:35.240 with the paper that I worked for. So he comes 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:36.560 over and he gives me a hug and he's like, 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:38.640 thank you for being down here, and then I kind 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:40.600 of follow him to film it just for our social 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:42.840 He gets up on he gets up on the stool, 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.280 but he does a Lambeau leap in his gold jacket 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.360 and I'm standing there right below it, and I'm like, 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:51.160 this is this is so cool. I'm standing here with 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.800 the guy who invented the Lambeau leap doing it again 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:56.320 in his Hall of Fame jacket, and I'm standing here 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.760 getting to like document this for everybody to remember. That 0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:01.000 was one of my coolest moments. 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:02.040 That that is cool. 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:04.920 I mean, there are moments in this business where you're like, 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:08.840 that's a thing that just happened right there, and that 0:16:08.960 --> 0:16:09.320 had to. 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:11.280 Be one of them. It It is super cool, and 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:12.440 I'm looking forward to it. 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:15.440 And and you know what, honestly, we're going to be 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:17.800 back in Canton probably sooner. 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:18.240 Rather than later. 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:21.960 Not just this year, but uh yeah, we're going to 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:25.000 be back in Canton later this late, later this month, 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.080 next month, what month is it, I don't even know, 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.000 but we'll we'll be back at some point and then 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.600 we'll be back in August obviously. But we're going to 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:36.840 be back in Canton the next couple of years. I 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:40.920 truly believe that. In this year's class. One of the 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:45.760 big takeaways for me, uh was how close this year's 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.320 class puts a couple of former Panthers to being in 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.240 consideration for those same kind of honors. I mean, Patrick 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:56.800 Willis going in this year basically provides the framework for 0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:00.800 Luke Keigley's candidacy when he becomes eligible next year, and 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.800 They're the same guy. If you think Patrick Willis as 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:05.800 a Hall of Famer, you think Luke is one too, 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:10.240 because eight years, seven Pro Bowl, six All Pros, Defensive 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:12.800 Rookie of the Year, boom boom boom, all the same, 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:16.280 the exact same guy. The resumes are identical. The only 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.520 real difference is Luke's got a Defensive Player of the 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:22.720 Year award that Patrick never won. They were both all 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:27.080 decade players. Patrick probably played on better defenses on the 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:30.879 hole during his career in San Francisco, but basically identical 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:35.000 players cut short by injury at just eight years, and 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.040 we all sort of felt like we were robbed of 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.440 extra football when we didn't see those guys anymore. So 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:44.680 I know Luke his personality is not going to be one. 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:47.360 I would be very surprised if he's out there campaigning 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:50.720 or anything like that. But I think his time will 0:17:50.720 --> 0:17:54.400 be sooner rather than later. And I think Andre Johnson 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.679 going in kind of clears the way for us to 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:59.920 consider Steve Smith Canadacy in a different way too, because 0:18:00.840 --> 0:18:03.679 we talked a lot going into that meeting about the 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.240 three wide receivers that were stuck in a nod between 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.040 Andre Tory, Old and Reggie Wayne. We finally broke that 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.560 tie and got Andre through. 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:12.240 Well, guess what. 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:16.159 Andre Johnson's the one most like Steve Smith in that 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:18.680 he didn't have the benefit of playing with a Hall 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.120 of Fame quarterback. He didn't have the benefit of being 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.760 surrounded by stars on offense around him. I mean, no 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:30.200 offense to the Mussin Mohammed's and Stephen Davis's and Deshaun 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:35.960 Foster's of the world. But that's different than Edrin James 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:39.400 and Reggie Wayne and all those guys in Indianapolis who 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.960 got to play with Peyton Manning. And it's different than 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:46.960 Marshall Falk and Isaac Bruce and Kurt Warner. So it's 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:49.560 going to be interesting to see. I feel like I've 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.280 committed those stats to memories. Steve's eighth on the all 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:55.600 time receiving yards Liz ahead of all three of those 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:56.840 guys league. 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.000 Yeah, eighth all time in the league. The only guy 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:00.680 ahead of. 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:03.080 Him who's not in the Hall yet is Larry Fitzgerald, 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:07.640 who's not eligible. So I got a feeling that now 0:19:07.680 --> 0:19:10.359 that we've got one of those receivers pushed through that pipe, 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:14.680 there's an opening for Steve. Hopefully, Hopefully we can get 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.080 to a point where we're discussing Steve in that room 0:19:17.160 --> 0:19:20.439 as a finalist, because I think his resume stacks up 0:19:20.480 --> 0:19:23.800 extremely favorably, you know, especially when you consider what he 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.399 did as a returner early in his career, because he 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.600 was one of the most dynamic players you know, really 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:32.400 that I've ever seen. And going back to the first 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:34.919