Speaker 1: Are you ready for this? Jean Merriman A one hand
Speaker 1: effeck boom boom boom, out go the light. This is
Speaker 1: Lights Out with Sean Merriman. What's up? Guys, were back
Speaker 1: again with another Lights Out podcast with me Shawn Merriman.
Speaker 1: And today we got awesome guests in Marcedes Lewis of
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's funny we've been talking about him coming
Speaker 1: on for a while and a few weeks ago ahead
Speaker 1: Tyron Woodley on which was one of the guys that
Speaker 1: I when my first day of trained m m ay uh,
Speaker 1: he was there, Marcedes Lewis. Believe it or not, man,
Speaker 1: he can go, he can go. Uh. He's trying to
Speaker 1: get all of his belts and even talking about some
Speaker 1: flow grappling. Uh. You know, his transition maybe from just
Speaker 1: leaving uh Jacksonville Jaguars to what he's seeing with the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers now walking in there seeing a rod
Speaker 1: for the first day, just a chain of change of
Speaker 1: m spare uh. Just an incredible story man, and him
Speaker 1: having the opportunity to get a ring, which is which
Speaker 1: is awesome. So we're gonna get into today talks some
Speaker 1: m M A talks in football course and some of
Speaker 1: the things he got going on, and uh, here we go,
Speaker 1: Marcedes Lewis cool, bro, what's going on? Man? How are
Speaker 1: you feeling? Yeah, yeah, I'm feeling good. Man. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: obviously in December, you know, and the best that's when
Speaker 1: of the best football, uh is being played in December?
Speaker 1: And yeah, you know, I'm fortunate enough to be on
Speaker 1: the team with a couple of goats, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean? Should they make it a little easier? Uh?
Speaker 1: You know, I never want to Super Bowl man, trying
Speaker 1: to get that ring, bro. Yo. That's so that's what
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you about. You. You start your
Speaker 1: career off, I think, what twelve years in Jacksonville, right,
Speaker 1: and you get there and I remember playing you got
Speaker 1: I remember when you came in, when you came in,
Speaker 1: and I was like, man, I've worn watching a film
Speaker 1: where you can't really tell how big certain people are
Speaker 1: him until they get on the fire, Like your hold
Speaker 1: on this, dude, Mercedes is on the next level. You
Speaker 1: got the cleats on, it's going to add an answer
Speaker 1: to and then you got the pass on. See you
Speaker 1: out there looking six a six nine. I was like, oh,
Speaker 1: my hands about to before today. Yeah, man, ship, I
Speaker 1: remember the first time we played you guys, um, you know,
Speaker 1: and obviously you shout out, Phillips is over there on
Speaker 1: the other side. Um, you know. Obviously for those of
Speaker 1: you who don't know what it's like when you're preparing
Speaker 1: for a game, right you know, obviously we're scouting the defense, um,
Speaker 1: and I'm watching the film and you know, the whole week,
Speaker 1: my coaches are like, yo, this this guy is a dude,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And when you when you
Speaker 1: think of like in football terms, you have your guys
Speaker 1: and you have your dudes, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And you were a dude. And so normally when you're
Speaker 1: going against guys like yourself, you know, we're trying to
Speaker 1: chip you, making sure we've got four hands on you,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. But it was always, uh,
Speaker 1: always a blessing being able to go against you and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of just making sure that I'm always
Speaker 1: on my best and my best you know, get myself
Speaker 1: better to this. So that was dope. So so let
Speaker 1: me ask somebody ask you about that, because you guys,
Speaker 1: y'all had a bunch of dogs on that team. I mean,
Speaker 1: you know, sometimes the record wasn't good, and because you
Speaker 1: guys didn't have a lot of TV games, I don't
Speaker 1: think the exposure was there for you and and um
Speaker 1: and uh and MG g uh. And you had Greg Jones, right,
Speaker 1: that was on that That was on that team, y'all
Speaker 1: with y'all in a couple of linebackers. I mean, talk
Speaker 1: about that now because now you're in a lot of
Speaker 1: prime time games. And back when you were playing, even
Speaker 1: though y'all had good teams and the record didn't really show,
Speaker 1: how was it different getting that notoriety now than it
Speaker 1: was back then? Well, just like you were saying back then,
Speaker 1: playing in a small market in Jacksonville, obviously, um, you know,
Speaker 1: you knew what you were going to get as far
Speaker 1: as that market was concerned. Um, you know, and at
Speaker 1: the time, you know, when I was there on that offense,
Speaker 1: I was able to play Fred Taylor for three years. Uh,
Speaker 1: and the Maurice Jones Jews there and they were splitting
Speaker 1: time for a little while, and obviously Greg Jones like
Speaker 1: you mentioned, but at one time we had Reggie Williams,
Speaker 1: Matt Jones. Um, you know, our offensive line was crazy,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Um, but because of you know,
Speaker 1: the small market, nobody really knew, right, And so fast
Speaker 1: forward I get to the Packers where we very we
Speaker 1: rarely play if it's not on prime time, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. Like it's all of our games are
Speaker 1: always getting Flix and we're playing at nighttime. So you know,
Speaker 1: I'm always surprised when we we have a neon game,
Speaker 1: you know, and to have the chance at this point
Speaker 1: in my career where I feel like, you know, obviously
Speaker 1: I'm not, I'm not. I've never when I came out.
Speaker 1: You know, four seven guys, that's what you were getting
Speaker 1: out of me with you were getting just all the
Speaker 1: skills that it would take, you know, to be a
Speaker 1: good tight end in this league. And you know, I
Speaker 1: probably myself for just being all around tight end and
Speaker 1: being accountable with my numbers called whether it's catching the
Speaker 1: ball or being able to dominate it the line of streaming.
Speaker 1: So you know, at this point in my career, here
Speaker 1: I am fifteen years and it's crazy because you know,
Speaker 1: obviously you have your loyal fans and know about me
Speaker 1: and follow me. Um at Long Beach Poloty and then
Speaker 1: U C l A uh, and then in Jacksonville. But
Speaker 1: then it's a whole bunch of other fans that are
Speaker 1: are finally starting to figure it out, like wait a minute,
Speaker 1: like what's going on? You know? So um, it's definitely
Speaker 1: been a really good opportunity for not just me with
Speaker 1: my teammates to go out there and put it put
Speaker 1: it down on the field every time. Fifteen years in, Dude,
Speaker 1: I was watching the game, you know, actually when I
Speaker 1: hit you, I think it was a few weeks ago,
Speaker 1: and I was just watching break out of cuts and
Speaker 1: still stopping on point change the directions, and I'm sitting
Speaker 1: on the cow. My knees are hurting, just watching for real, man,
Speaker 1: I was just looking and so what, like, what have
Speaker 1: you've been doing at this point to get where you're at?
Speaker 1: Because I tell young guys all the time, like, as
Speaker 1: soon as you come in, find find out that guy
Speaker 1: is ten plus years in, find out whatever the hell
Speaker 1: they've been doing, eating their massage therapists, whoever they got
Speaker 1: working with them, how much money they spend on their body,
Speaker 1: get with them, Like what what is what has kind
Speaker 1: of been the course of action man over these fifteen years?
Speaker 1: Because that's insane. Well, I think it's twofold. Um. For first,
Speaker 1: it's about you know, obviously your body and making sure
Speaker 1: that you're always gonna be at your best uh come Sundays. Uh.
Speaker 1: And so for me, maybe I think after my third year,
Speaker 1: going into my fourth year, my routine was set. You know,
Speaker 1: so you have to have a routine, uh, making sure
Speaker 1: you're getting your sleep uh and whatever that routine consists of.
Speaker 1: Obviously it's gonna be different for everybody. But for me,
Speaker 1: I gotta get the signer, get that black to aasid
Speaker 1: out after games. Uh, cold tub and hotel contrasts. Gotta
Speaker 1: do that. I'm doing yoga twice a week, plates twice
Speaker 1: a week, just staying functional, right Uh. And then also
Speaker 1: in the off season, you have to have a plan
Speaker 1: in the off season. It kind of mirrors you're playing
Speaker 1: during the season because you don't want to be in shocked.
Speaker 1: You don't want to get to the off season and
Speaker 1: just let it all go. And then here the season
Speaker 1: come back around and you're like, oh my god, I'm soreting. Uh,
Speaker 1: I don't know what to do. My body is breaking down,
Speaker 1: you know, like it has to like coincide with with
Speaker 1: your whatever you do in the off season has to
Speaker 1: match what you're doing, you know during the season. Obviously
Speaker 1: it doesn't have to be as tailored like it is
Speaker 1: during the season. But you know, give your body some care,
Speaker 1: you know, take care of your body because at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, that's all you got. And you know,
Speaker 1: I always wanted to be one of the ones that
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to push me out this money, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. Like, I'm definitely, um, still getting better.
Speaker 1: My mind is still in it. I work. I work
Speaker 1: my mind where than I my body. That was the
Speaker 1: other side of it is you know, making sure that
Speaker 1: your mind is clear and then you just have clarity
Speaker 1: and you understand what's expected of you. Um, you know
Speaker 1: each and every day as you noticed, performance based business
Speaker 1: and you know how to get down. So you know,
Speaker 1: I think that's that's even more important than your body
Speaker 1: is just being mentally um, having the mental aptitude to
Speaker 1: be able to do this day in and day out. Bro, No,
Speaker 1: no doubt, I didn't even check. Did you have you
Speaker 1: got a chance to play your former team that you
Speaker 1: got a chance to play against Jacksonville? Yet yeah, we
Speaker 1: played Jacksonville this this year. How was that feeling? Man?
Speaker 1: Because I remember when I got when I got left
Speaker 1: to Buffalo, and I remember seeing the charges on the schedule.
Speaker 1: Now I'm charging through and through all day long. But
Speaker 1: at that time, I was so vindictive that I was like, man,
Speaker 1: I'm about to have three sacks. I was so pissed
Speaker 1: off on the way I went out. I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have three sacks because these guys just to
Speaker 1: prove a point. Did you did you have that in you?
Speaker 1: And you played against them the way? Okay, So to
Speaker 1: make a long story a little bit shorter, my year
Speaker 1: after I finished my twurth year, came up a really
Speaker 1: good year. Um six touchdowns, thirteen and a half yards
Speaker 1: to catch, still doing my thing, they picked up my option,
Speaker 1: which was my last year on my contract, and I
Speaker 1: was only, do I think three point one, which is
Speaker 1: cheap in grand scheme of things for everything that I
Speaker 1: was given that organization. Right, So they picked up my
Speaker 1: option and and then released me two weeks later. So,
Speaker 1: for those of you out there listening, when they pick
Speaker 1: up your option, that takes you off the market, right,
Speaker 1: So that screws you as far as free agency is concerned,
Speaker 1: because you can't go out and get your work right
Speaker 1: or whatever whatever your market is for you know your
Speaker 1: skill set. You can't go out there and get the
Speaker 1: most the most for your for your bang right. And
Speaker 1: so I find out on ESPN's going across the tempert
Speaker 1: hold on what? Bro? I find out hold on? So
Speaker 1: they did? They never? They never told you they called
Speaker 1: you since you're text to come see you in the office. Nothing, no, bro,
Speaker 1: they text me after I saw it. So look, I wait.
Speaker 1: So I wake up to seven miss calls from my agent,
Speaker 1: and mind you, my agents, Bus Cook, old school BC Sports.
Speaker 1: He don't call me for nothing unless you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, unless he has to call me like that,
Speaker 1: not his deals. He doesn't bother me. Lets me go
Speaker 1: out and do my word. I get seven miss calls
Speaker 1: from Bus and I'm like, just don't just don't feel good,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. So I'm looking at my
Speaker 1: phone like what's going on? I turned on the TV
Speaker 1: on ESPN and then say that Jacksonville Jaguars released tight
Speaker 1: end uh Mercedes Lords after twelve years, and I was like, yo, no,
Speaker 1: yeah bro, And I was I was literally I was
Speaker 1: in shock, you know what I mean, because of everything
Speaker 1: that I put into that organization and not just on
Speaker 1: the field, but off the field, like I still get
Speaker 1: asked to this day, oh, do you miss playing with
Speaker 1: jackson Ville just in the third like yo. I think
Speaker 1: the thing that I missed the most is the relationships
Speaker 1: that I made while I was there, whether it be
Speaker 1: my barber, whether it be uh the two bartenders that
Speaker 1: the chiefe K Factory that I was really cool with,
Speaker 1: you know, just stuff like that, like that's when you
Speaker 1: went for twelve years like so, so from that standpoint,
Speaker 1: it threw me off right fast forward. We I don't
Speaker 1: talk to the GM for like the year, like he
Speaker 1: was texting me like off and on, and I don't
Speaker 1: talk to him for like a year. And then I
Speaker 1: finally like I was like, you know what, like I'm
Speaker 1: really not about this type of energy anyway, and I
Speaker 1: just need to go ahead and like past this. I
Speaker 1: at least have a conversation with him, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I basically just said I understand the business, I understand
Speaker 1: how it works. But just to a man, I felt
Speaker 1: like that we could have went about that better. Um
Speaker 1: I had never I had always tell Jacksonville a high regard. Never, Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I never threw anybody in the press I
Speaker 1: never said, you say nothing bad about him in the media,
Speaker 1: talked bad about anything, never bro And uh so, yeah,
Speaker 1: we kind of hashed that out and everything, and you know,
Speaker 1: here we are, fast forward to Green Bay. I just
Speaker 1: knew in my mind and in my heart that I
Speaker 1: was definitely on the better team. And I was grateful
Speaker 1: for this opportunity to be able to go out there
Speaker 1: and show it, you know what I mean, still after
Speaker 1: I'm in your fifteen, just be able to go out
Speaker 1: there and show it I was. I dominated their d ns.
Speaker 1: Young guys too, dominated their dans. We came away with
Speaker 1: the wind. There was no smack talk, none of that.
Speaker 1: The organization before the game. Everybody came to me up
Speaker 1: and gave me hugs and stuff. And I think that
Speaker 1: was just God working in his way, you know, so
Speaker 1: FA blessing. And I think too, man, because and I
Speaker 1: can say this, at least for myself, that I changed,
Speaker 1: Like if that's something like that happened to me three
Speaker 1: or four years in, I would have went off like
Speaker 1: I would have been on the media f them, you
Speaker 1: know what, I ain't never going back. And I think
Speaker 1: I got to a point man, where you know, I
Speaker 1: was years where I'm I would. I just wasn't gonna
Speaker 1: do that because I think long, long term, it's it's
Speaker 1: not worth it, you know what I'm saying. So so
Speaker 1: we're okay, so fast So fast forward. You you you
Speaker 1: guys played them, you get there, Well, let's fast forward
Speaker 1: before then you go to Green Bay and you you
Speaker 1: walk into locker room. You said you played with a
Speaker 1: couple of goals, And I just know what. I remember
Speaker 1: what it's like. And I first walked in to the
Speaker 1: locker room, I got Lt. Philip Rivers, Lorenz O'Neil, all
Speaker 1: these you know, and you know Tonio Gates, I got
Speaker 1: all these dudes around me. I got a bunch of goats.
Speaker 1: So what was that like, man, that first interaction with
Speaker 1: a rod when you got there? So originally, um, after
Speaker 1: Jacksonville released me, for the first month and a half
Speaker 1: two months, I was considering retiring, right and then you
Speaker 1: know how of that my mom um, holl of that.
Speaker 1: One of my coaches, my tight end coach, his name
Speaker 1: is John didn't breed coach me and U c l
Speaker 1: A coach Tony Gonzalez in Kansas City. He's coaching killer
Speaker 1: right now in San Francisco, Like he's a really good dude.
Speaker 1: He was like, you know how it is in college
Speaker 1: if your position coaches like your stepdad almost you know
Speaker 1: what I mean, Like you see exactly, and so you know,
Speaker 1: I talked to him and he was just like, hey, man,
Speaker 1: you know, you still got a lot of ball left
Speaker 1: in you. And if you feel like He's like, if
Speaker 1: you feel like you could sit at home and watch
Speaker 1: ball and not feel anxious, then go ahead and retire.
Speaker 1: He's like, but if you feel like you can still
Speaker 1: help a team try to get to a championship, then
Speaker 1: you need to get off your soapbucks, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. So after that, the draft was approaching and
Speaker 1: I had maybe like eight teams called I guess eight
Speaker 1: teams called my agent, and my agent hit me up like,
Speaker 1: hey you a song. So it's calling at Green Bays
Speaker 1: called six times in two days, and I remember telling
Speaker 1: him like, man, I don't know if I'm trying to
Speaker 1: go out there in that cold, like you know what
Speaker 1: I mean, like at this point in my career, like
Speaker 1: you know what, Yeah, I mean, it's not and it's
Speaker 1: not like I'm out here and getting a crazy bag
Speaker 1: at this point in my career to go out there
Speaker 1: and playing the coast, so that that takes, like, you
Speaker 1: know that that takes some some mental strength to go
Speaker 1: out there and to come out here and do that too.
Speaker 1: And so anyway, day I talked to Green Bay and
Speaker 1: then a rock called me. When a rock called me,
Speaker 1: I was gonna first flight out at like six am
Speaker 1: in the morning, right, And he called me and basically
Speaker 1: was like, hey man. He was like, you know, I
Speaker 1: followed you and followed you out your out your career,
Speaker 1: throughout your career, and I feel like, you know, you're
Speaker 1: gonna give us a good shot to try to get
Speaker 1: this ring, and you know I'm behind you, like I
Speaker 1: got your back. So I was like, all right, man,
Speaker 1: I'm out of here. So I flew out to Green
Speaker 1: Bay and you know, met, you know, met with everybody
Speaker 1: walking into the locker room, and I guess they were
Speaker 1: like and like obviously in conditioning and doing all that stuff.
Speaker 1: So I walk into the locker room. The first person
Speaker 1: I see it is a Rod for the first time
Speaker 1: meeting him, and then Jimmy Graham because it was Jimmy
Speaker 1: Graham's first year. So those are the first two people
Speaker 1: I see when I walk into the locker room. We
Speaker 1: started chopping it up, and then Davante Adams comes out
Speaker 1: and I'm just like, all right, this is this is
Speaker 1: pretty much no branding, you know what I mean? When
Speaker 1: I leave there, I come, I come back out, get
Speaker 1: to the cap tier, eating my food, and then uh,
Speaker 1: the GM was like, yeah, so you know we want
Speaker 1: to sign you like LA and I was like yeah.
Speaker 1: I talked to my agent. He was like no, no, no,
Speaker 1: we want to sign you before you leave the building,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. He was like, well, they're
Speaker 1: not gonna let you exactly. He was like, no, you're not.
Speaker 1: We're not letting you leave. It's what I'm telling you, right,
Speaker 1: And so I was mind you, this is like a
Speaker 1: three fifteen. My flight left at five to go back
Speaker 1: to l A, right. I guess they were going back
Speaker 1: and forth agent, and I was like, okay, you guys
Speaker 1: can figure that out. I gotta go catch my flight.
Speaker 1: I go to the airport. Bro. They go to the
Speaker 1: airport with the papers. Hold on, bro, they had the
Speaker 1: papers with him. So look, I go to the airport
Speaker 1: and I'm literally about to walk through my gate. They
Speaker 1: called me like, yo, can you come back? You know
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, like, can you come back out like
Speaker 1: the deals done? We just need you to sign it.
Speaker 1: And mind you, if if we were in l a X,
Speaker 1: nowhere has happening. But this airport, you can get to
Speaker 1: the front, to the back of the airport and like
Speaker 1: a minute and a half, right, So I'm like, all right, boom,
Speaker 1: get out, go back, drive back to the stadium, sign
Speaker 1: the papers and then shoot me back. And by the
Speaker 1: time I got back to the airport, we were boarding
Speaker 1: and that and that's the story, and that's the history.
Speaker 1: That's jankster. Wow, that's crazy to me. But okay, so
Speaker 1: so let me let me ask you this though, because
Speaker 1: how they approached it. And I always say it's two
Speaker 1: different levels of organizations. And when I was with the Charges,
Speaker 1: obviously I was playing well, we had great teams and
Speaker 1: stuff like that, so the atmosphere was was always good
Speaker 1: for it because we were winning. When I got to
Speaker 1: Buffalo was different. They wasn't winning at the time, but
Speaker 1: it was something about the organization and the fans and
Speaker 1: something that made me feel like, Okay, I'm home, like
Speaker 1: I can play here. And it was and I end
Speaker 1: up even though I went there in the middle of
Speaker 1: the year, I end up resigned it for two years
Speaker 1: because I just felt like at home. I don't care
Speaker 1: what the record was. I liked the organization and you know,
Speaker 1: the teammates were there and the fans. Was was different
Speaker 1: kind of atmosphere from being in Jacksonville and being out there. Man,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you that's when I first got to Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: It was bar Bro you know what I mean, two
Speaker 1: dozen six, not much to do out there there. Um,
Speaker 1: their outdoor malls that they have now, they did not
Speaker 1: have that. It was a few restaurants that are really good.
Speaker 1: But as far as city life, like I was like, man,
Speaker 1: I thought the NFL is supposed to be different, Like
Speaker 1: this ain't. This city is not what I thought, you know. Um.
Speaker 1: And then year after year they kept building up and
Speaker 1: kept getting better. Right, So Jacksonville towards the end of
Speaker 1: my career, it was a great experience being there. And
Speaker 1: at that time I had already made a name for myself. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, I got Community Service Award like four different times.
Speaker 1: Like I was just out there, like I enjoyed it, um.
Speaker 1: And it was a different change up from l A.
Speaker 1: You know l A and being from there, you're gonna
Speaker 1: get everything you need in the off season in front
Speaker 1: of l a. Right you get to Jacksonville, it's just like, okay, cool,
Speaker 1: we're gonna cool out, We're gonna play ball and relax,
Speaker 1: take the stress off you. You know. So from that
Speaker 1: standpoint helped me become a better man and a better player.
Speaker 1: And then coming to Green Bay, it it is even
Speaker 1: less to do, you know what I mean. Like out here,
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's mom and pop shops, bars, cheese,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Like it's not yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: super gray outside, you know what I mean. Like, it's
Speaker 1: not it's not what you would think, you know, the
Speaker 1: NFL city should be like um, but it's so conducive
Speaker 1: to you being able to play football, man, and be
Speaker 1: at your best. And like, guys buy in because there's
Speaker 1: nothing else to do. Like if you have that guy
Speaker 1: that's on the version of not buying in, he's probably
Speaker 1: gonna buy in because it's not much to do up there.
Speaker 1: And I think that's our advantage. Yeah, I think that's
Speaker 1: what the charges were doing by waving men sending me
Speaker 1: out to Buffalo. They wanted me to calm my as
Speaker 1: you know, you know, but it ultimately though for me
Speaker 1: it became a focused point because you know, playing in
Speaker 1: San Diego and you build all, like you said, those
Speaker 1: relationships there and you got businesses and companies and your
Speaker 1: spots and places you like to go. And for me, Buffalo,
Speaker 1: I just really honed in. I was like practice m
Speaker 1: if I want to get an extra workout, and it
Speaker 1: was always focused time. So I think that at that
Speaker 1: point in my career I probably needed it, especially because
Speaker 1: it was my last couple of years. Man. So it's like,
Speaker 1: so like what now, man? Like because I see you
Speaker 1: and I had the same conversation with Antonio Gates. It's
Speaker 1: probably probably about three years before he retired, and and
Speaker 1: I talked to him. I said, Yo, you still I
Speaker 1: mean you're still moving like you still you still look good,
Speaker 1: You're still getting out of your breaks and people can't
Speaker 1: stay in front of you. And I and I just
Speaker 1: saw you what you crossed over. It was it wasn't
Speaker 1: four hundred receptive, but now you're four one right for one? Like,
Speaker 1: what what do you see happening now? Man? Do you
Speaker 1: say okay, I got one more year two or like
Speaker 1: or you just trying to kind of stay in that
Speaker 1: in that moment. You know what man like I literally
Speaker 1: I'm aware of where I am, um, very aware of
Speaker 1: like you know, timing and position. And I really felt like,
Speaker 1: you know, at this point in my career, I'm just
Speaker 1: taking it one day at a time. UM My day
Speaker 1: will come, you know, and uh, and I'll be ready
Speaker 1: for that and then happy about that. Um. But the
Speaker 1: fact that I, you know, even coming into the league,
Speaker 1: like you know, obviously I've kind of a bunch of
Speaker 1: balls in U c l A, got all the records
Speaker 1: there and all that, and come in, you know, to Jacksonville.
Speaker 1: It's probably the best thing that ever happened to me.
Speaker 1: Because we're a run first, play action past team, take
Speaker 1: our shots when we need them, but we were built
Speaker 1: to run the ball and playsh from pass And so
Speaker 1: guess what that did round in my run game out
Speaker 1: you know what I mean from having the meeting at
Speaker 1: the combine saying, you know, you put some good stuff
Speaker 1: in a run game on film, so we know you're
Speaker 1: a willing blocker, but can you block full time? Can
Speaker 1: you be a full time tight end? Are you just
Speaker 1: just gonna catch the ball and fade out? After like
Speaker 1: seven to eight years, I take that to heart and
Speaker 1: like literally worked on that aspect, as here I am
Speaker 1: now man, like it's I was able to save my
Speaker 1: legs at the beginning of my career because you running
Speaker 1: the ball the whole time for at least the first
Speaker 1: four or five years. Um, you know, I got an
Speaker 1: alternate to the Pro Bowl, and then all proto next
Speaker 1: year and went to the Pro Bowl. And then here
Speaker 1: I am. Now, I still have my legs. My run
Speaker 1: blocking iss out of control, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: And I still get a catch every now and then,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like I couldn't. I couldn't
Speaker 1: be in a better position, you know. And and it's
Speaker 1: crazy because I always said that too. And watch a
Speaker 1: film when you came in. I think it was probably
Speaker 1: about your third or fourth year end, and I was like, man,
Speaker 1: people don't talk because they see you and they automatically say, okay,
Speaker 1: you know basket you know basketball body he can catching receiver.
Speaker 1: But you never really got in my opinion, you never
Speaker 1: really got the full credit of being a blocker. A
Speaker 1: block he wasn't. It's not a lot of cash. You
Speaker 1: see people talking about George Kittle and somebody, oh he
Speaker 1: can blow, I can, you know, and catch the ball
Speaker 1: and stuff. Like that. But I'm like, man, you never
Speaker 1: really got the credit for being just as much of
Speaker 1: a blocker as you was, you know, catching the ball.
Speaker 1: Appreciate that, Yeah, it was, And I was aware, you know,
Speaker 1: I was aware of that, and I think that's what. Naturally,
Speaker 1: I'm very internally motivated. I'm a very process driven person.
Speaker 1: And you know, I understand you know that I my
Speaker 1: process out on that can't nobody slow it down the
Speaker 1: speed of up but me. Right, So, naturally you're gonna
Speaker 1: hear outside noise, But those external forces don't hold no
Speaker 1: weight on you know, the pressure that I put on myself.
Speaker 1: I put so much pressure on myself to be the
Speaker 1: best version of myself every day that no coach or
Speaker 1: no fan or no fake fan could ever tell me,
Speaker 1: you know. And uh, I definitely you know, set the
Speaker 1: ball for myself each day. I get the same feeling
Speaker 1: from games that I do a practice, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1: You know that that that juice, man, you know, and
Speaker 1: that willingness to go out there and just be your best,
Speaker 1: not be perfect, will be consistent and be your best.
Speaker 1: And when something goes wrong, your technique or your hands
Speaker 1: are not tight like this should be, or feed it
Speaker 1: out of nath you if I feel that in practice,
Speaker 1: it feels like if I were to do it in
Speaker 1: the game, you know what I mean, Like, damn, I
Speaker 1: gotta be better on the next series, you know. So
Speaker 1: I think that's what pushes me. Um And yeah, man,
Speaker 1: he's definitely is paid off. So so what's next, man?
Speaker 1: You know, And I want to I want to tell
Speaker 1: people this because I don't know, you know, I don't
Speaker 1: think you put it out there enough about you know,
Speaker 1: your whole m m A and the combat sports and
Speaker 1: stuff you've been working on. I see, you know, you
Speaker 1: post like little screenshots of the glove for the belt
Speaker 1: like here, like you give some bloomin those once in
Speaker 1: a while, man. But I wanted to tell people that
Speaker 1: one of the first times uh And and Tyrone and
Speaker 1: Wholey was on on my podcast, I think it was
Speaker 1: two weeks ago. And yeah, that's right, he was in
Speaker 1: there that day with Jay Glaze when we came in
Speaker 1: there my very first time ever doing anything with m
Speaker 1: m A. You were in there, Tyron Woodley, I think
Speaker 1: it was Richie Incognito and Clay mattew And so for
Speaker 1: the people out they don't know, man, Marcedes can go,
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, And have you not seriously have you
Speaker 1: ever thought about it? Though, I mean not even really
Speaker 1: I would guess competing in the fight, but competing on
Speaker 1: some level because there are you know, you got flow
Speaker 1: grappling out here. You got you know, uh, b J J.
Speaker 1: You know you ever thought about getting into it? You
Speaker 1: just said it. Um. Obviously, well, let's just say this.
Speaker 1: If if I was in the NFL when my career
Speaker 1: ended after year three, then I've probably been in the UFC.
Speaker 1: You know, I probably would have ticket serious and just
Speaker 1: trained and being the UFC right now. But because I've
Speaker 1: been blessing after my day job, He's got me where
Speaker 1: it's gotten me. But I still have love for that sport. Um.
Speaker 1: I want to grab a four time when I'm done. Um,
Speaker 1: and you know, obviously not do more tie, but I
Speaker 1: want to go from my belts, you know, and in
Speaker 1: B J J and see where I get. I think
Speaker 1: this past off season, you know, I got, I got
Speaker 1: my keys and everything when it was gonna start, you know,
Speaker 1: doing my thing, and then Covid head and obviously we
Speaker 1: couldn't be on the mats and so it kind of
Speaker 1: said everything back. But John Lewis, h you from me
Speaker 1: with John Lewis, uh, good friend of mine. He was
Speaker 1: gonna that's what I was gonna get my belts from.
Speaker 1: So I literally talked to him about a month and
Speaker 1: a half ago. And you know that's still on the ticker.
Speaker 1: And you know I've been doing ship. I've been training
Speaker 1: M M A for a year eight off season. I
Speaker 1: say eight off season, so four years really, you know. Um,
Speaker 1: but I look forward to doing that too. I think
Speaker 1: that's gonna be one of my like the base for
Speaker 1: me stand and amazing shape when I'm done. I tell
Speaker 1: I tell everybody and started doing I was doing boxing
Speaker 1: and mul tie and O six and No. Seven, but
Speaker 1: I didn't do anything on the ground to like two
Speaker 1: thousand ten. I just didn't like the ground stuff. Um,
Speaker 1: but I tell anybody that said, man, it's really good
Speaker 1: and it's gonna help you out in football. You're getting
Speaker 1: your hand and leverage, handout, coordination, being able to open
Speaker 1: up your hip. Just things like that. Man. I wish
Speaker 1: that more guys, not even not even a fight on
Speaker 1: the on the serious basis, but just more guys picked
Speaker 1: up the sport because ultimately it's gonna help them out
Speaker 1: and what they're doing. And I'll say this, you know,
Speaker 1: aside from like the things that are to do for
Speaker 1: you physically, mentally, it just puts you in a different
Speaker 1: world running and just puts you in a different world.
Speaker 1: And obviously when you're going to football field, you're gonna
Speaker 1: have a healthy fear of your opponent if you're respectful, right,
Speaker 1: you're gonna have that. Anyway, anybody can get hurt. We
Speaker 1: know what we signed up for it. Once you feel
Speaker 1: what it feels like to wrap them hands and put
Speaker 1: them gloves on, and put that head gear on and
Speaker 1: really strapped it down and knowing it like, Okay, it's
Speaker 1: me or you, and it's damn so you're not gonna
Speaker 1: be me, So let's get after it, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean? Like that mentality is a little crazy, you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. It's different, man, it's different. But
Speaker 1: you know what we are when we play football over
Speaker 1: I tell people on already already I said, we're not
Speaker 1: We're not wrapped too tight in the first place. You
Speaker 1: gotta to go out there and do what we do.
Speaker 1: You know, you're leading up on on a on the
Speaker 1: d N is two eight to nine and he and
Speaker 1: the sixth technique over you and you're doing that sixty
Speaker 1: times a game. That's not normal. Bro, you know that's
Speaker 1: just not normal. And they and they wanted to. Like, Bro,
Speaker 1: there's been plenty of times I've talked about you too,
Speaker 1: you know, just friends in general. And I remember you
Speaker 1: guys came from to Jacksonville, and I remember it may
Speaker 1: have been like oh seven things like maybe my second
Speaker 1: maybe my second or third year in the league, and
Speaker 1: I just remember being like, yo, there's an animal out here,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like I'm supposed to do
Speaker 1: this the whole game, Like like people like you need
Speaker 1: to put it in perspective, like to be in the
Speaker 1: trenches and doing that every every single weekend and like
Speaker 1: knowing that, Okay, this dude over there wants to rip
Speaker 1: my head off and embarrass me, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And to be able to just holding on your technique
Speaker 1: and and you know, fight power and power and shake
Speaker 1: hands at the end, like that's tough. Like I'll watch
Speaker 1: fights with my boys and they're like, man, they kiss
Speaker 1: each other on the cheek and do all of that. Like, Bro,
Speaker 1: you don't understand the anxiety. We're fighting for our minds
Speaker 1: out here, bro, and so like this is afterwards. It's
Speaker 1: the most respectful that you can get to, Bro and
Speaker 1: and and that's just the discipline of it, Bro, because
Speaker 1: we know what we go through to get there. So yeah, man,
Speaker 1: that's a good point. It's it's nothing but love. I'm saying.
Speaker 1: You know, I remember Old seven because that's when Maurice
Speaker 1: came up there and sat me on my ass. It
Speaker 1: was about to get a sack. Yes, But you know
Speaker 1: it's funny about that. See, I tell people all the day,
Speaker 1: I said, uh, because Greg Jones wasn't talked up. I
Speaker 1: used to play rig against Greg Jones when he was
Speaker 1: at Florida State and this was like before the knee
Speaker 1: injuries and stuff. And because I went to Maryland and
Speaker 1: I was like, listen, Greg Jones is one of the
Speaker 1: scariest human beings that you'll ever see in that backfield ever.
Speaker 1: And before he had the before he had the knee injuries,
Speaker 1: and that slowed him down a little bit. And I'm
Speaker 1: sitting there that I think there was there were an
Speaker 1: I set I formation and Greg Jones is coming down
Speaker 1: on me hard and I'm bracing. I'm like, this is great,
Speaker 1: this is too all all just uh, muscle back. So
Speaker 1: I'm gearing up, I'm loading up, and he goes he
Speaker 1: faints me, bluss me and goes out the backfield. And
Speaker 1: then Maurice came in boom, and I'm sitting there. I
Speaker 1: try to get up right because I didn't think nobody's
Speaker 1: seen it. I tried to get up real quick before
Speaker 1: the camera seeing it, but I already heard the crowd
Speaker 1: say oh, and I said, oh, ship, Yeah that was
Speaker 1: that was definitely a a temp one from your standpoint,
Speaker 1: especially if he's coming to Bluffy and then you got
Speaker 1: Maurice a little buff as coming to clean up. Yeah.
Speaker 1: But then it went into the radar. But then the
Speaker 1: touchdown on was to me, you know what I mean. Yeah,
Speaker 1: So that's that's right. So now that's right, you got
Speaker 1: told you. Yeah. So now it's like this thing and
Speaker 1: now everybody's talking about it. If it wasn't even if
Speaker 1: the touchdown went to one of our receivers that nobody
Speaker 1: really knows about, nobody wouldn't it probably wouldn't have been
Speaker 1: a big But because it was, like, you know, I
Speaker 1: still talk to more recently. I've seen him on the
Speaker 1: hike up here. Royan Cairn uh during the right right
Speaker 1: when the pandemic first happened, and I come up and
Speaker 1: grabbed him behind the jars, say, hey man, you better
Speaker 1: I do that ship again, you know, but we laughed
Speaker 1: about it. Man, you gotta. I mean, look, you're gonna
Speaker 1: get yours at something course, ma, but hey man, look
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. Man. Coming on, I ain't gonna take
Speaker 1: up too much time, but good luck this year. I'm
Speaker 1: hoping you get that ring. Dude. Um, that will be like,
Speaker 1: for real, a story that a lot of people want
Speaker 1: to sit back and watch. Man. You spend so much
Speaker 1: time in one organization and you know, regardless of how
Speaker 1: you left or whatever, that had this opportunity you got
Speaker 1: now it's just next level. Appreciate it, bro. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Thanks guys for tuning into another lights Out podcast with me.
Speaker 1: Seawan Merriman. Uh, that was cool. That was cool for
Speaker 1: me multiple occasions. I got a chance to play against
Speaker 1: Marcedes Lewis when he was in Jacksonville, and I'll never
Speaker 1: forget the day we're watching film and he looked big
Speaker 1: on film and you know, I'm not afraid of nobody.
Speaker 1: I'll see anybody, but just dude. When I got on
Speaker 1: the field. I said, oh my god, he is huge.
Speaker 1: You know the police adding an enter two. You got
Speaker 1: to show the past, and hell meant he's looking every
Speaker 1: bit of six eight or six nine out there. And uh,
Speaker 1: just talking about him not getting enough credit as a
Speaker 1: as a blocker. He because he can block his ass off.
Speaker 1: And uh, he was a guy always admired his game
Speaker 1: and look forward to playing him because you had to
Speaker 1: raise the bar. Uh. And does he have mm a
Speaker 1: career after some type of combat sports? You never know.
Speaker 1: I've been talking to about it. I've been trying to
Speaker 1: get him signed up with Lights Out of Extreme Fighting
Speaker 1: as much as I could, and maybe one day we'll
Speaker 1: get it, get to see him, but for now, it's
Speaker 1: just a discipline for him and his base and uh,
Speaker 1: something he loves to do. So again, thank you guys
Speaker 1: for tuning in. I appreciate all the support. We just
Speaker 1: went over a hundred thousand downloads because of you guys.
Speaker 1: Make sure you keep leaving reviews, subscribe, and keep turning in. Man.
Speaker 1: Every week, we're getting better and better and because you guys, man,
Speaker 1: we're going over the top. So thanks again,