WEBVTT - Pats from the Past, Episode 46: Brian Hoyer 0:00:07.360 --> 0:00:09.440 It's time now for another edition of Pats from the 0:00:09.480 --> 0:00:12.800 Past podcast. Matt Smith, Paul Prolo and please to be 0:00:12.880 --> 0:00:15.200 joined by former Patriot quarterback Brian hoy Or. 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:15.480 Brian. 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:17.759 Thanks for coming by, man, Thanks appreciate you on guys. Yeah, 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:21.560 we asked this of everybody. So I think people who 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.599 are football fans, Patriot fans know, is Brian gonna play? 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:26.599 Is Brian not gonna play? What's what's going on with 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:27.480 Brian Hoyr these days? 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:28.680 Man, I don't know. I think it would take a 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:31.680 great opportunity to come along for me to do that. Obviously, 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:33.839 I was in Las Vegas last year. I know I 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:36.400 can still play because I beat the Patriots last year, 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:38.159 one of the most tooche, one of the most It's 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:40.400 on my list, Brian, one of the Twitter sweet moments 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:42.159 of my career. So we'll talk about that later. But 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:44.680 you know, so I know I can still physically do it. 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:47.920 But at thirty eight years old, my kids are getting older. 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.200 You know, I think it would take a really great 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:52.600 opportunity for me, you know, to come along, for me 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.120 to to kind of look and see. But so I 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:58.640 know I can still do it. Body feels relatively healthy, 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:02.560 and you know, so we'll see. It's always open. People 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:06.440 always say, you know, if someone's offering you an opportunity 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:07.680 to play and you feel like you could do it, 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:10.679 you know, you know, I remember a former teammate saying, 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.960 play till they tell you you can't. So definitely capable 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:15.560 of it. It's just got to be I think, the 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:16.880 right opportunity at this point. 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:19.520 You know, idiots like us sit there and oh, you know, 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:21.600 you can play, or it's time to go, and everything 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:24.399 like that. But I don't think the lay people realize 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.880 what's it like to make that decision as a family. 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:28.920 Yeah, when you have a. 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:33.960 Wife who's supported you cross country trips, taking kids back 0:01:34.000 --> 0:01:37.960 and forth, at some point in time, her decision or 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:42.280 her opinion, while always valued, you got to really listen to. 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:44.200 That's got to be hard, like from a as a 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:46.760 family standpoint, like at what point time do I need 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:48.160 to devote my time to them? 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:48.440 Right? 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:50.640 And that's a huge part of the decision making. So 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:51.920 that's why I said, like, it have to be the 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:56.240 right opportunity and all those things, because you know, deciding 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:58.840 to go to play in Las Vegas last year, it 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:00.680 was not an easy choice. It was an easy choice 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:03.080 because it was Josh in my relationship with him. But 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.160 it wasn't an easy choice in the regards of what 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.720 does this mean for my family? And thankfully we had 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:09.840 a great school here that allowed our kids to kind 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.440 of virtual school with the help of a tutor out there. 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:15.000 But it was rough. It was it was a rough 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:18.440 transition and they were all happy to come back once 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:20.240 the season was over. And so now my son, he's 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.000 going into seventh grade. He got accepted as Avarian brother. 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.000 So you know, those are all things that you have 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:26.639 to take into account, Like I want to watch him 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:28.840 play football at of course he's watched me play for 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:30.640 a long time. So maybe it's times, you know, for 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:31.120 a role. 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:34.359 Reverse when you have when you came out of Michigan State, 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:37.679 I mean, you didn't get drafted, yep, And I don't 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:42.040 know what your expectations were heading in, but to then 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:45.440 have what a fifteen year career off of that, what 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:48.760 were your expectations sort of when you arrived here in 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:50.880 two thousand and nine, what were you hoping for. 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:52.639 I was just talking about this with my son the 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.120 other day and I said, listen, when I didn't get drafted, 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.400 you know, I kind of thought Okay, the Patriots are 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.920 going to sign me. I'll learn for Tom Brady. Obviously, 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:03.959 I grew up I watched Bill coach in Cleveland, so 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:06.040 I always kind of had an affinity to him, and 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.080 obviously him being a great coach, I thought it was 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.400 a great opportunity to go learn. And I thought, you know, 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:12.880 maybe i'll make the practice squad if I get released. 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:15.480 At least I'll learn from these guys. And then sure enough, 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:17.919 I kind of worked my way up the ranks, ended 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.840 up being Tom's backup my rookie year. And you know, 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:22.880 the things that I learned in those first four years 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.200 were so invaluable to me that when I finally got 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:28.800 some opportunities to play, you know, you put those in 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.080 motion and then you just keep stack in years, stack 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.560 in years, and and you know the thing about the 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.600 quarterback position is if you're relatively competent and you're a 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.360 good guy, and you make some connections, you know, you 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.800 just extend your career, extend your career. That's I mean, 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:44.520 when I look at last year, if if Josh isn't 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.240 the head coach in Las Vegas last year, then you know, 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:49.960 maybe my my my career ends there. But you know. 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.080 Luckily for me, I've met a lot of great coaches, 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:54.120 played with a lot of great players, and made a 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.040 lot of great connections which allowed me to do that. 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.520 That's a little bit unorthodox Brian as a rookie, Now 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:01.280 you're back up Brady, who's, by the way, is coming 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.760 off a knee surgery at that point, Tom, and you're 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:06.320 the only backup quarterback your rookie year. That was the 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:08.600 same way in twenty ten, you're the only backup court. Like, 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:11.520 not a lot of teams did that. Well, how did that? 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:14.000 What was your thought process in that? Like you want 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.200 to talk about literally next man up into your one 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:18.360 pitch away, Yeah, you're one pitch away at that point. 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:20.440 I think I was too naive to even understand that 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:22.840 at that point. You know, now looking back, when you realize, 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:26.640 like Tom's coming off of major knee reconstruction, had you know, 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:30.720 some hiccups along the way. Man if I had had 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:32.200 to play that year, I don't know how ready I 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.640 would have been. Obviously, Bill believed in me, and Bill 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:36.920 O'Brien believed to me, and and so I'm sure it 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:38.599 would have you know, worked itself out. We had a 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:40.240 really good team. So I think I would have relied 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:44.880 on those guys around me, But you know, at that point, 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:47.400 you're just I was just thrilled to be an NFL 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:49.920 football player, and now I'm going to a meeting room 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:52.279 every day with Tom Brady and soaking up what I 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:54.440 can I can learn from him. And then you know, 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:56.800 that went for four years and then until I got 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:00.040 released in twenty twelve. So I mean, those years, like you, 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:03.120 those are kind of like, you know, the years you're 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:05.200 building your foundation of your career, and I couldn't have 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:06.240 done it in a better place. 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:07.880 So I wanted to ask you a little bit about 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:12.000 that rookie season. You were part of some really good teams, 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.200 and you know, ultimately you were part of a champion 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.440 in eighteen, but you know, you had that great year 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.440 in twenty ten, twenty eleven, you go to the super 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:23.080 Bowl in two thousand and nine. You probably didn't recognize 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.479 it at the time, it's your rookie year, but do 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:26.960 you kind of look back and say, there was a 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.920 little bit of something amiss in two thousand and nine. 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.360 That's sort of the way it's kind of viewed here. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:35.440 That was kind of a reset year, and we're very 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.240 spoiled because we've been right of a lot of when 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.400 I didn't know any better TENNISI is going to the 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:40.840 playoffs and all that stuff is not. 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:42.560 I thought it was great. I'm like, man, I'm a 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:43.560 great But did you. 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:46.839 Did you sense any like sort of dysfunction at the time, 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:49.120 or you know, maybe looking back at it, do you 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:51.040 feel like that wasn't the same as some of the 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:52.279 better teams that you were on. 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:55.320 Definitely wasn't the same. I think looking back now, knowing 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.040 what I know and being on some great teams, it wasn't. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.919 There was definitely some learning curve, There was some adjusting 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:02.760 to new I mean, that was Bill O'Brien's first year 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:04.800 as a coordinator here, you know, so now I know 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:07.120 how important that is, you know, being a quarterback. When 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.200 you're learning, even if you're keeping somewhat of the system intact, 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:12.719 you're working with someone new and and that was you know, 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:14.719 so those were kind of I guess you call growing pains. 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:16.679 But I thought, like, man, we're going to the playoffs, 0:06:16.720 --> 0:06:18.839 like we're this is I'm on the Patriots. This is 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:22.839 like a Super Bowl organization. Like okay, one year, you know, 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:24.800 we didn't win the Super Bowl and I'm like, oh, 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:26.080 we'll win it next year. I mean, I think that 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.200 that's kind of the expectation you have when you come 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.440 into that organization. And I've always said this, I've always 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:34.599 looked at it. When Tom Brady was the quarterback, I 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:37.120 never went into a game thinking we're not gonna win. Ever, 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.480 there was never And when I've been on other teams, 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.560 whether I was the quarterback or someone else is the quarterback, 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.479 and I'm like, man, I don't know how much a 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.320 chance we have this Sunday. And I can honestly say 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:50.120 every game that I ever played here backing Tom up, 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:53.080 that there was I never had that feeling. And obviously 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.359 a lot of other players around that. But you know, 0:06:55.400 --> 0:06:56.960 when I talk with a lot of my old teammates, 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.160 I think that that feeling was very you know, similar. 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:03.840 Bring it up because it's again that's why I preface 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.760 it by saying we're spoiled. You know, when that's considered 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:10.560 a quote unquote down here. But you know, Bill infamously 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:13.560 said on that documentary, I just can't get these guys. 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:13.800 To play there. 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.840 I was playing in that game at the time, Tom 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.080 standing I'll get rushed by New Orleans Lewins, and I 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:21.880 think I remember thinking to myself, like, wow, I'm playing 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:24.760 in a Monday night football game. You know, like, okay, 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:26.520 one back game, we got crushed, but I'm playing in 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.400 a Monday night football game. That's pretty cool. And you know, 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:31.760 you see that and you really and then having been 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.960 on champion, champion team and teams that went to Super Bowls, 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:37.280 you realize like, we probably didn't have a chance to 0:07:37.320 --> 0:07:38.600 go to the super Bowl that year. 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.160 Right, And then you have that off season, which I 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:44.840 think is a very sort of important offseason. Ye kind 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:48.840 of springboards the second run of the Dynasty. You get Devine, 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.080 you get Gronk, you get Adan Hernandez. Did you sort 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:53.880 of sense like, wow, we're going to be a lot 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.320 better you sort of get into training camp in twenty ten. 0:07:57.520 --> 0:07:59.320 I think what I realized, you know, going into my 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:01.560 second year is Aro is like, wow, we added these 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:05.080 two tight ends. You add Devin who you know clearly 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.280 was a great player run off the batom, he's returning 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.200 kickoffs for touchdowns. You know, a first round pick like 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:13.360 you added, and those are you know, I'm just as 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:14.920 young as them. So it's kind of like, wow, we 0:08:14.960 --> 0:08:16.760 got like some really good players. We had Chung the 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.520 year that I came. Yep, Julian was coming, you know, 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:25.080 kind of creating his way. And I mean, look, I 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.360 whether it was night being naive or I thought I 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.600 was on the greatest team with the greatest quarterback and 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:33.080 the greatest coach, I'm like you were, and I was 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:35.520 you were looking back. I understand like you guys say, 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.559 you're spoiled, But there was kind of a lull in 0:08:37.640 --> 0:08:40.640 the action and having watching the Dynasty myself, you know, 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:42.719 I didn't do a ton of research on the Patriots 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.800 like what was before I came, But it was kind 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.560 of cool for me to see like what happened, you know, 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:51.079 prior to when I was here, and then kind of 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:53.199 see the years that I was here, my first stint 0:08:53.280 --> 0:08:55.920 and then it kind of ends with my second stint 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:57.520 here as kind of the end of that show. But 0:08:57.920 --> 0:08:59.360 it was kind of cool to see some of the 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.280 stuff that I didn't experience, to see you know, tie 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:04.360 log and interviewed and kind of making fun of Tom 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:07.000 and and you know, see these guys and like NuGen 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.400 and stuff, and and so for me that was kind 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:10.839 of cool to kind of see the part that I 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:11.959 didn't really live right. 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.000 You were fourteen and two your second year, Tom was 0:09:14.040 --> 0:09:17.760 the MVP. The backup quarterback's job is to always be 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:21.240 ready because you're one snap away, one play away. And 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:23.720 I assume, but I want to ask you you prepared 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:25.880 as such? I need to be I need to be 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:28.440 ready to go. Was there ever anything in your mind? 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.400 And I understand he's coming off major surgery, need reconstruction. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.000 Was there every time you go? This guy's not missing 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:37.640 any snaps? You know what, They're gonna have to drag 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:41.520 like the bone's gonna have to be visible in order 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:43.240 for me to get in unless there's a blog because 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:44.840 he's not missing snaps. 0:09:44.920 --> 0:09:46.920 Yeah, there was a There was a game my rookie 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:51.040 year down in Miami and on Friday, probably I'll never 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:55.040 forget this. On Friday practice, we're kind of just we're 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.880 winding down like there might be one offensive period left 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:02.120 in practice, and Isaiah Standback was playing scout team gunner 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.199 and he's coming down the sideline and he was a 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:07.400 kind of a quarterback slash receiver and Tom's kind of 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:10.000 messing around, goes to grab him. His finger gets caught 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:11.920 in his jersey and he breaks his middle finger on 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:15.280 Friday with one period to go in practice, and I'm like, 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.120 oh God, like, I'm gonna play this. I'm gonna I 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:19.240 haven't practiced all week. 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:20.080 This is just throw. 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.080 This is throwing him, and I'm gonna have to play 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:25.640 in this game. He broke his middle finger and so 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.280 of course he goes and he sees Alex, and Alex 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:31.520 is working his magic and and he gets a I'm 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:34.400 pretty sure he got like a a block, you know, 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:37.760 like a injection to block so he wouldn't feel it. 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:39.760 He's like, if I don't feel it, my body will 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:42.680 just naturally do what it does. And he throws for 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:46.800 like three hundred and forty yards and I was like 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.080 everyone knew because he had to be added to the 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.040 injurroom sure, and people are like, oh, what is it? What? 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:54.960 His middle finger was broken? Right, And as a rookie like, 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:57.360 I'm you know, I'm nervous because I haven't. It'd be 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.079 one thing if you get a whole week of practice 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:01.240 and you know you're gonna play. It's literally like I 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.160 got like the last drive of practice on Friday, and 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.680 then it was like a constant monitoring process of like 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:08.400 where's he at? Where's he at? And we'd be doing 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.400 I was at BC the other day with Bill O'Brien 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:12.880 watching practice and we were talking about this story. I'm like, 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:14.640 he's like, remember we were going over to call sheet 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:16.600 and Alex is just like working on his finger, working 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.920 on his finger. And I mean that was the point 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:21.400 I realized, like, this guy is. I mean, for all 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.640 we know about him as a great player, the toughness factor, 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:26.840 I mean, the things that you saw that I saw 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:30.080 him play through and the toughness was I mean, it's incredible. 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:31.480 You could do a whole documentary on that. 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.160 Well, talk about like Paul saying, what were spoiled? 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:38.240 I think one of the things that we, you know, 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.679 loosely associated with the organization and fans take for granted 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.520 is it's the line about availability, right, you know, and 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:49.080 you know better than anybody, you know, if you're available 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:52.400 to play, you play. If you can't, you're sort of discarded. Yeah, 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:54.560 and you're out of sight, out of mind. And I 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:58.880 think the fact that he told the line every single week, 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:01.800 regardless of what's going on. Great player and everything like that, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:03.760 But I think that that gets overlooked a lot of 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:06.160 times when you talk about him. Yeah, he stepped up. 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:07.440 He was there, ready to go. 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:09.160 In all the years that I backed him up, I 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:11.320 never had to enter a game for his injury, which 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.400 I mean, that's amazing. I've had to do it multiple 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.240 times other places, oddly enough for two other Patriots guys, 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.240 Jacoby and Jimmy this past year. But in all the 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:22.000 years that I backed him up, all the big hits 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:23.840 that I saw, I remember, I remember him taking a 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.840 hit my rookie year or second year by Elvis Dumerville. 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:29.080 There's a great clip where he's exactly and I'm like, 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.240 my chinstr I mean, he got up, and you know, 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:33.920 he talks about it. He's like, I took pride in 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.720 showing people that they weren't going to hurt me. And 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.840 I mean, you go to the AFC Championship game in 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:42.920 twenty seventeen when his thumb gets all, you know, messed up. 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.320 I'm like, I'm playing this game. There's no way. I 0:12:45.400 --> 0:12:47.880 just saw like his hands split open. There's no way 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.360 he's playing. And sure enough he you know, he wears 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.680 his red gloves out there and we kind of messed 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:54.640 with the media a little bit, but you know, he 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.920 through the work and commitments he had to play. He played, 0:12:59.600 --> 0:12:59.920 you know. 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:02.800 But you mentioned it, so let's bring that up right 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.000 there at that point in time that was Was that 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:06.920 Wednesday of the week or Thursday of the week, was it? 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.880 I mean it was Wednesday because I end up practicing 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:11.800 all day Thursday Friday. 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.520 You're talking about not getting any reps. You had reps 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:16.640 at least mentally at that point time. You wouldn't have 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:18.920 been surprised if if Josh comes up to and goes 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:19.760 by the way you're up. 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.760 I fully expected to play until I would say Sunday morning, 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:27.560 you know. And that was the I had just gotten 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:29.960 back like seven weeks prior to that, you know. And 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:31.800 I remember thinking to myself, well, you were the starting 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:33.599 quarterback in San Francisco at the beginning the year. This is 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:35.480 where you wanted to be. You're a starting quarterback in 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.880 the NFL, Like this was your goal anyway. So and 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:43.120 I'll never forget like that happening, and everybody kind of 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.560 just standing around, and i''m like, all right, come on, 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:47.240 like we gotta we gotta move on, like we got 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:49.480 to I gotta practice. And I was the only quarterback, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:51.160 so I had to do every rep on offense and 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.480 every rep on scout team the remainder of the week, 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.560 and you know, I just remember having so much confidence 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:58.680 in the guys around me that I was like, I 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:02.680 feel good, I know, plan really well, and I'll be 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:05.520 ready to go if need be. But sure enough, Sunday 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.400 morning rolls around and he puts some you know, Canisio 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:10.640 tape on it, and I think the biggest thing was 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.560 could he take a snap? And once he figured out that, 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.640 he was going to, you know, power through that. I mean, 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:18.120 some of the plays he made in that game were incredible. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:19.200 How winning to the. 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.160 One to Amandola down the middle of the field. I 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.520 mean to throw that with the injury that he had 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.200 in his thumb, I don't even know how you physically 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:26.440 do that. 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:28.440 How about the game winner on the back of the 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:30.960 line that there's only one place to balkns right, So 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:34.160 in that situation, Brian, like, at that point time you've 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.240 seen him do all these different things. The Miami gave 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.200 me a rookie year, Are you beyond to mazed at 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:40.400 that point or he just goes, oh yeah, yeah, that's Tom. 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:43.120 I mean, there was there was really three times in 0:14:43.160 --> 0:14:45.000 my career where I felt like that was going to 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:46.640 be the case. So we talked about the two and 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.440 then the one. I think it was in twenty eighteen 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:51.720 after we lost to Tennessee. He hurt his knee at 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.640 the end of that game, and I didn't really know 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:56.520 the extent. It was the week of Thanksgiving, and I 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:58.320 think we had like a longer for whatever reason, we 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.080 had Thanksgiving off, But we practiced on Wednesday, and he 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.040 practiced the whole day Wednesday, and so I'm like, all right, 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.760 he's good. And then I'll never forget, like cooking my 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:09.760 turkey outside. I had like a big green egg. I'm 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.080 smoking the turkey for the first time. He calls me like, hey, babe, 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:14.400 I don't think I'm gona able to I don't think 0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:15.880 I'm gonna be able to place on him. Like what 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:17.880 are you talking about. You just practiced the whole day. 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.040 He's like, yeah, this nee really like swoll up on me. 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.160 And you know, I'm gonna see what Alex can do. 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.800 But you know, he's like it just he's like I'm 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:27.600 as a friend, like I'm just telling you be ready 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:27.800 to go. 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:28.360 It's interesting. 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:30.480 So I remember being like, all right, where's the playbook? 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.760 Like we got to put the extra time in and 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:36.320 that was a Sunday morning where me, Josh and Bill 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.000 are all waiting for Tom to come down to be 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:39.280 like are you are you gonna go? 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:39.840 What is it? 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.960 And in my in my mind, I'm like, if he's 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.040 walking down here, he's gonna say I'm gonna play. But 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:48.360 it's just there was really three times in my career 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:50.600 where I was like, all right, you're probably gonna have 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:52.720 to play, and then sure enough, you know, it came 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:54.400 to the time for him to play, and he was 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:54.760 good to go. 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:55.760 Do you have up the turkey? 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:57.840 It got a probably a little overcooked. 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:04.880 Oh oh yeah, A look, so how about some of 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:06.600 the times that you did you did get to play 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:07.560 some of the memories of that. 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:09.720 Do you remember the first game? I mean, I'm sure 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:11.440 you do. Yeah, first time you got in. 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.760 Well, that was the snow game in October against you know, 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:17.000 the Titans, which they had the oilers uniforms. 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:18.360 I mean, that was one that was one of the 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:19.560 great UNI games of all time. 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:22.280 Yeah, and I had just gotten engaged to my wife 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:24.320 that week and my birthday. It was a few weeks. 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.200 It was a great October was a great month my 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:28.960 rookie year, and you know, so we were killing those 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.040 guys and I got to go in and it was 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:33.680 in the snow. And you know that's for me growing 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.480 up in the in the north, like in Cleveland, when 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:38.280 it snowed, you went outside to play football in the 0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:40.720 backyard because you can get tackled, it's not going to hurt. 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:42.560 And so to me, that was kind of like the 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:45.080 welcome to the NFL moment, Like here I am, I'm 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.840 playing a game, it's snowing. I scored a touchdown on 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:51.800 a quarterback sneak and you know, so I'll never forget that. 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.120 And then really, the next time I really played like 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:56.520 an extending amount of time was the following year. I 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.160 think it was the last game the year against Miami, 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:00.920 who touchdown past Brandon Tate there you go, yeah, and 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:03.360 got crushed. It was it was I got crushed on 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.399 the play. They actually called it rough in the passer play, 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.440 but I was kind of happy. My first touchdown was 0:17:09.480 --> 0:17:10.680 like a bomb, you know what I mean? 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:12.560 Do you show that one to your kids to say, hey, hey, 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:14.479 why don't you look at dad stay in the pocket 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.200 here and get his head kicked in the touchdown pass. 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:19.680 That was one of the routes that we called the 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.719 pistol route that they talked about in The Dynasty with Randy. 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:25.199 When Randy came, he's like, listen, I'm just gonna go 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.760 where the open places. And so you know, I got 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:29.040 to go in and they call a pistol route, and 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.120 it's like you can go either way and you're only 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.000 supposed to make like one cut and then go the opposite. 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:36.640 And Brandon's like boom boom. So I'm like and then 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:38.119 finally I see which way he's going, and I just 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:40.760 I launched it. And you know, that was a pretty 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.120 good feeling to throw, you know, fifty yard touchdown pass 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:45.040 for your first touchdown pass. 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.520 In eleven I think you attempted one pass. 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:49.840 Yeah, it was Gronk's record. 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:51.080 What's the go. 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:52.920 So let's let the fans know about what the story 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:55.960 because I don't I don't necessarily remember that. Maybe that's 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:58.560 just because I'm old and the passage of time. Yeah, 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:00.320 but I don't have to go with the CT no no. 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:02.960 But but like that was a at the time, that 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:03.640 was a big deal. 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:05.960 Yeah, so it was that was the last game of 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:09.080 the season. It was Gronk and Jimmy Graham. I think 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.439 we're kind of battling like for the yardage record right 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:14.840 for tight ends for a season, I think, and they 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.680 were kind of going back and forth and their game ended, 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:19.920 and and I think we realized on the sideline that 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.000 Jimmy Graham had like four yards more than Rob. So 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.920 we go in and I just so I remember going in, 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:29.800 we were just gonna run the clock out, and then 0:18:29.880 --> 0:18:33.280 Bill Grass me He's like, look, Kronk needs like five 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:35.399 yards to break the records. So like we'll just put 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.080 him outside and throw a hitch. Well, like a hitch 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:40.400 is like a five six yard route. Catch the ball, 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:43.840 but we have a conversion if they press you. So 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:45.560 like if the guy comes up and pressed, you really 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:47.879 can't run a hitch. So he runs a fade and 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:49.800 and to be honestly, I kind of forgot that because 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:51.520 I was like, all right, I'm gonna take three step drop, 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:53.080 I'm gonna throw a five yard hitch. I don't even 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.119 know if I looked out there and I dropped back 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:57.120 and I'm like, oh my god, he's running a go route. 0:18:57.600 --> 0:18:59.520 And so I remember lofting the ball up to him. 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:02.080 He gets the record, and then it was kind of 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.119 questionable whether his feet were inbound so we had to 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:05.879 run like a quick play to make sure that it's 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:09.159 it's sat. So that was a pretty cool memory too. 0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:12.040 I love those kinds of things, though, because they're always 0:19:12.119 --> 0:19:14.560 telling us like, oh, that's. 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:15.400 A great well that game. 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:17.159 You know, that game was in the bag, and I 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:20.159 think that mental he obviously Rob, but also to Bill, like, 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.600 that's a huge record to break, and Rob will always 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.040 joke you know, I threw him that pass to break 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:28.240 that record, but I also threw him his first touchdown pass, 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:31.159 although it was in a preseason game in Atlanta that year. 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:34.880 Remember, so yeah, you know he yeah, that's pretty impressive. 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:38.560 Yeah, yeah, I do remember, because I mean, like I 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:40.920 can only imagine what you guys thought on the field. 0:19:41.640 --> 0:19:42.199 Talked about this. 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:46.000 A little bits, no, no, but no, but the fact, 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:48.560 like all of a sudden, these new weapons come in, 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:51.360 we've got to revitalize the offense. We need to do more. 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:54.400 I mean, you guys must have like, oh, my goodness, 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:57.000 they're rookies, they're green and everything like that. But the 0:19:57.080 --> 0:19:59.920 ability to see what these guys could do in the field, yeah, 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:00.840 was certainly eye open. 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:01.160 Funny. 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:04.760 I do remember dragging some guys against the Rams. I think, yeah, 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:07.160 that was here yep into the end, and I remember 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:08.320 thinking that kind of stuff. 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:09.040 I don't remember. 0:20:09.880 --> 0:20:11.560 I think we all I think we all noticed. I 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:14.240 think we all realized like, oh my god, these guys. 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:16.720 I mean, he had never really seen a pair like 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:19.680 this before. And I think Tom realized that early. And 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.280 I know Rob jokes like he thought Tom hated him. 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:26.440 But Tom Tom would have those guys stay after practice 0:20:26.880 --> 0:20:28.800 and we would throw to him, and we would have 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:31.960 Dane Fletcher I don't know if you guys, and like, hey, Dane, 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:33.760 can you come cover these guys because we only just 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:35.760 want to throw routes on air, I mean, and we'd 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.320 be like, all right, Dane, play uh play cover five, 0:20:38.400 --> 0:20:40.280 which is like inside leverage two man, and then we 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.879 just run outbreaking routes to teach them like when you 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:44.680 get this coverage, you got to win your leverage and 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:46.640 and so poor. You know, Dane was like a little 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:48.000 puppy dog. He'd be like, all right, we want to 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:51.120 cover again, and he'd be covering both guys back to back. 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:53.720 But you know, those were you know, moments where I 0:20:53.760 --> 0:20:56.320 looked at like Tom was building chemistry with these young guys. 0:20:56.760 --> 0:20:58.600 And then the season rolled around in it, I think 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:01.919 it showed like I don't think anybody in the league expected, 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:06.760 you know, this matchup nightmare because the reality was and 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:09.760 looking back, I know more now, but as a second 0:21:09.800 --> 0:21:13.119 year player, you don't understand like the matchups that it 0:21:13.240 --> 0:21:15.399 created on teams. It was, you know, usually you put 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:18.280 two tight ends in a game, the defense is gonna 0:21:18.320 --> 0:21:21.760 put three linebackers in the game and four dbs. Well, 0:21:21.960 --> 0:21:24.000 once they realized we were thrown with these guys. Now 0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:26.960 they're putting two linebackers in the game and five dbs, 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:28.920 and we were like, well, screw it. If they do that, 0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:30.919 we're just gonna run the ball because both of them 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:35.240 were great blockers. And it was this constant mismatch, like, okay, 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:37.760 we put that. We called it Detroit personnel. Two tight ends, 0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:40.600 two receivers, and a half back. You put that person 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:42.000 on the field and you just wait to see what 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:44.919 the defense does. All right, did they put regular defense, 0:21:44.960 --> 0:21:47.800 which is like the four down lineman, the three linebackers 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:49.920 and the four dbs. All right, well, now we're gonna 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:51.760 spread them out. We're gonna throw it because one of 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:54.080 those linebackers is gonna have to cover one of these 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.000 tight ends. And so we'd put you know, Rob on 0:21:57.119 --> 0:21:59.560 these seam routes, Aaron would be on these little routes underneath, 0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:02.919 and it became a mismatched nightmare. And then immediately when 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:05.359 they would sub in the nickel defense, they take a 0:22:05.400 --> 0:22:07.600 linebacker out. Now we would just put them down and 0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:11.280 run we called outside zone, you know, with the full 0:22:11.359 --> 0:22:14.760 back slash tight end blocking the extra linebacker which is 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:17.040 now a dB, and they would just block till the 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:19.760 cows came home. And I think that was the unique 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:21.960 part of it was they were both great pass catchers, 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:24.760 but they both could block, I mean, just as well 0:22:24.840 --> 0:22:27.040 as you know, any other tight end in the league. 0:22:27.119 --> 0:22:31.159 Paul, you've historically always talked about the games that the 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:33.000 Patriot should win that they weren't in. But one of 0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:34.800 the great what ifs that I don't think it's a 0:22:34.880 --> 0:22:37.520 lot of attention here in New England is on that 0:22:37.640 --> 0:22:40.879 eleven team, what if Gronkowski doesn't get hurt in the 0:22:40.880 --> 0:22:44.240 AFC Championship game. You know, look, I'm surprised because I 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:46.720 don't think that was no disrespect to great Patriots team, 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:49.719 which stunned that they were actually favored against the Giants 0:22:50.040 --> 0:22:54.199 who beat you in Foxborough that year. But a healthy Gronk, 0:22:54.720 --> 0:22:59.200 with a healthy Welker and a healthy Hernandez that that 0:22:59.320 --> 0:23:02.040 game was so close that a healthy Gronk I think, 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:02.880 don't you think? 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:04.440 Yeah? I totally do. 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:07.000 And to you a point, like all the stuff that 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:10.520 Brian's talking about, offensively was why that team was in 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:12.600 the correct The Super Bowl was one of the weaker 0:23:13.160 --> 0:23:16.840 Patriots defenses, yes, certainly of any of the Super Bowl era, right, 0:23:17.760 --> 0:23:21.000 And you have to think if if you have Gronk 0:23:21.160 --> 0:23:23.480 and it took the Giants a little while to figure 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:25.840 out he wasn't himself, right, you know, I think you 0:23:25.960 --> 0:23:27.440 even hear that in one of the one of the 0:23:27.520 --> 0:23:30.160 micd ups. You know, he's just a decoy out there. 0:23:30.800 --> 0:23:32.960 If Rob is healthy, you know, how does that? How 0:23:33.119 --> 0:23:33.840 how different does that? 0:23:34.080 --> 0:23:36.720 I mean I look at Rob as clearly you know, 0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:39.560 to me, having played with them, maybe I'm a little biased, 0:23:39.560 --> 0:23:41.400 but the greatest tight end of all time, not only 0:23:41.480 --> 0:23:45.240 because of his size, speed and when you think of 0:23:45.280 --> 0:23:47.760 tight end's ability to run routes and catch, but because 0:23:47.800 --> 0:23:49.800 he was such a great blocker. The teams had to 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:52.560 honor that. And I think that's what made him so dynamic. 0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:56.160 Was you know, we look at Travis Kelcey today, phenomenal 0:23:56.240 --> 0:23:59.760 tight end, but clearly Travis isn't blocking anything. Rob would 0:23:59.760 --> 0:24:02.440 blow like he was the right tackle, and so that 0:24:02.600 --> 0:24:05.920 allowed you to do so many things that you could 0:24:05.920 --> 0:24:08.240 put eleven personnel in the game, but really it was like, 0:24:09.040 --> 0:24:11.480 you know, and eleven personnel is one tight end through 0:24:11.480 --> 0:24:14.480 receivers and a half back, but really you're still kind 0:24:14.480 --> 0:24:18.280 of in you know, a full back mentality, tight end 0:24:18.320 --> 0:24:21.000 mentality blocking and you could run which a lot of 0:24:21.040 --> 0:24:22.600 back then a lot of teams weren't running the ball 0:24:22.640 --> 0:24:26.000 from those formations. And so Rob, I mean really changed 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:29.320 the game in that matter because he was aligneman who 0:24:29.480 --> 0:24:32.040 was the premier pass catcher at the same time. So 0:24:32.720 --> 0:24:34.880 you know, him being healthy in that game and being 0:24:34.920 --> 0:24:38.600 able to threaten their defense with the vertical passing game, 0:24:38.800 --> 0:24:41.320 you know, probably would have helped. I never liked to 0:24:41.400 --> 0:24:43.840 look back and say what if, because there's you know, 0:24:43.960 --> 0:24:45.879 so many plays in a game, so many players playing, 0:24:45.920 --> 0:24:48.800 but Rob obviously was you know, a critical part of 0:24:48.880 --> 0:24:49.240 that team. 0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:49.600 Question. 0:24:49.960 --> 0:24:52.960 So you go to Cleveland in twelve, right, yep? 0:24:53.160 --> 0:24:54.480 Thirteen, Uh, okay, yep. 0:24:56.240 --> 0:24:59.320 At some point time as you're apprenticing under Tom, you're 0:24:59.400 --> 0:25:01.400 learning all this, it's got to be in your mind. 0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:03.880 It's time for me to see if I can start. Sure, 0:25:04.080 --> 0:25:06.800 here gets your opportunity to do that. We're talking about 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:08.199 what is and should have and stuff like that, as 0:25:08.200 --> 0:25:12.600 far as we'll h in that Super Bowl? Do you 0:25:12.760 --> 0:25:14.680 think at all about what is and should is? You 0:25:14.720 --> 0:25:17.160 guys are rolling a little bit before the Pittsburgh game. Yep, 0:25:17.560 --> 0:25:19.679 you know, does that one come to you know, if 0:25:19.720 --> 0:25:20.400 I don't get hurt? 0:25:20.520 --> 0:25:22.040 Ye, I wonder if. 0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:24.200 Yeah, that's that's probably when I look back at my 0:25:24.440 --> 0:25:28.119 career and even more so being a Cleveland kid who 0:25:28.160 --> 0:25:31.480 grew up and getting finally a chance, you know, like 0:25:31.560 --> 0:25:34.399 you said, back up, Tom for three years, go to 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:36.399 a super Bowl, don't win the Super Bowl, you know, 0:25:36.640 --> 0:25:38.800 get released the next year, out of football for ten weeks, 0:25:39.080 --> 0:25:41.680 and then now here I am on my hometown team, 0:25:42.240 --> 0:25:44.879 get a chance to start, win two games. There's a 0:25:44.960 --> 0:25:47.200 night game, big game, you know, there's a lot of 0:25:47.240 --> 0:25:50.239 hype and tear my aco. I think that's probably if 0:25:50.280 --> 0:25:51.879 I look at back at like if I could say, 0:25:51.920 --> 0:25:55.280 there's one huge what if? Now, granted I end up 0:25:55.359 --> 0:25:57.280 rehabiting and coming back and being the starter again, there 0:25:57.320 --> 0:25:59.399 the next year, but you know, you just remember, like 0:25:59.480 --> 0:26:01.520 our coaches got fired after that year because we didn't 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:05.320 win another game. And you know, so for me, that's 0:26:05.400 --> 0:26:08.119 probably like when I look back, like you know, we 0:26:08.240 --> 0:26:11.639 talk about like branch realities and multiverse and all that stuff, 0:26:11.680 --> 0:26:14.840 like maybe somewhere in some you know, reality, I didn't 0:26:14.840 --> 0:26:16.840 get hurt and end up staying there and maybe don't 0:26:17.160 --> 0:26:21.119 go to nine different teams. But you know, if everything 0:26:21.160 --> 0:26:23.159 works out for a reason, if I was still playing there, 0:26:23.160 --> 0:26:24.760 then I went and came back here in seventeen and 0:26:25.119 --> 0:26:25.800 won a Super Bowl. 0:26:25.920 --> 0:26:29.480 So what do you consider your best season? 0:26:30.560 --> 0:26:34.800 Oddly enough of me playing you know, when statistically looking 0:26:34.840 --> 0:26:36.639 you probably look at Houston as my best year. It 0:26:36.800 --> 0:26:39.360 was that I only ended up playing like nine full 0:26:39.440 --> 0:26:41.000 games due to injury and actually. 0:26:40.720 --> 0:26:42.160 Getting benched nineteen touchdowns. 0:26:42.280 --> 0:26:43.800 Yeah, and so that was great. But I look at 0:26:43.880 --> 0:26:47.680 the stretch I had in Chicago, and that was with 0:26:47.840 --> 0:26:51.160 a guy offensive coordinator, Dallala Loggins, who had a little 0:26:51.240 --> 0:26:54.399 influence from this tree, the Patriots tree, but also he 0:26:54.560 --> 0:26:56.280 was with me in Cleveland with Kyle Shannan, and he 0:26:56.400 --> 0:26:59.119 kind of melded those two systems together. And I think 0:26:59.160 --> 0:27:00.680 I had four or five games in a row, three 0:27:00.720 --> 0:27:03.120 hundred yards passing at least two touchdowns in every game, 0:27:03.560 --> 0:27:06.040 and then of course again of what if break break 0:27:06.119 --> 0:27:08.160 my forum on a Thursday night game. Those those Thursday 0:27:08.240 --> 0:27:09.920 night games weren't very very. 0:27:10.800 --> 0:27:14.560 There's no injury problem here. We're going to change the kickoff, Matt. 0:27:15.960 --> 0:27:18.560 So you know, that was probably my best stretch, I 0:27:18.600 --> 0:27:22.560 think statistically. You know, Houston was a crazy year because 0:27:22.560 --> 0:27:26.680 I start Week one and then somehow after, you know, 0:27:26.800 --> 0:27:29.399 battling for the job on hard knocks, you know, I 0:27:29.440 --> 0:27:32.359 get bench for a Ryan Mallet and then it doesn't 0:27:32.359 --> 0:27:33.920 work out with him. I come back in, we go 0:27:34.000 --> 0:27:36.520 to the playoffs and then self admittedly play like the 0:27:36.560 --> 0:27:39.040 worst game in my entire athletic career, going back to 0:27:39.160 --> 0:27:41.040 like first grade. You know, it was just one of 0:27:41.080 --> 0:27:44.000 those days things weren't working and then that was it. 0:27:44.240 --> 0:27:46.320 And I think that's the reality of like a guy 0:27:46.440 --> 0:27:48.720 like me in the NFL. You come in undrafted, you 0:27:48.800 --> 0:27:51.240 don't have a lot of hype behind you, and anytime 0:27:51.280 --> 0:27:53.560 you falter, they're like, well that's why, that's why. And 0:27:53.680 --> 0:27:55.760 so I'm thankful that I was able to have the 0:27:55.840 --> 0:27:58.040 career I have, But you know, if you're a first 0:27:58.119 --> 0:28:01.440 round pick, you're gonna get multip opportunities because that's why 0:28:01.680 --> 0:28:03.880 you were a first round pick. So I mean, that's 0:28:03.920 --> 0:28:06.119 just the way the cookie crumbles and you learn how 0:28:06.160 --> 0:28:09.240 to work the business side of it. But yeah, probably 0:28:09.280 --> 0:28:11.840 Houston was probably my best year, which that was reuniting 0:28:11.880 --> 0:28:14.280 with Bill O'Brien in this system and knowing you know, 0:28:14.440 --> 0:28:14.840 kind of that. 0:28:15.600 --> 0:28:19.520 Brian you talk about you talked earlier about parent your 0:28:19.600 --> 0:28:22.760 son's in seventh grade, you know, maybe has a little 0:28:22.760 --> 0:28:25.080 bit more of a realization about what it was that 0:28:25.160 --> 0:28:27.640 you were doing, what you were going through, just from 0:28:27.680 --> 0:28:30.399 a parenting and a teaching standpoint, the fact that you 0:28:30.520 --> 0:28:36.399 were in Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Francisco, Chicago, three tours with 0:28:36.480 --> 0:28:39.520 New England, Like, is that a good teachable moment for 0:28:39.600 --> 0:28:41.160 your kids? Like, who knows what they're gonna do, But 0:28:41.320 --> 0:28:43.280 you know what that'd be resilient in. 0:28:43.320 --> 0:28:44.320 Life, Babe, Yeah, I know. 0:28:44.440 --> 0:28:45.880 That's the thing. Is what I try to relate to 0:28:45.920 --> 0:28:52.480 them is you know, you said resiliency, you know, dealing 0:28:52.520 --> 0:28:55.720 with adversity, and look, I know I'm talking about playing 0:28:55.720 --> 0:28:57.400 in the NFL. I know that people have a lot 0:28:57.480 --> 0:28:59.600 of different you know, things that they deal with, but 0:28:59.680 --> 0:29:01.920 those are Mary Pratz, right, those are yeah, but my kids, 0:29:01.960 --> 0:29:06.600 I mean they've lived in the military, right, so but 0:29:06.680 --> 0:29:08.640 I think, you know, it teaches you that, you know, 0:29:08.760 --> 0:29:10.520 things aren't always going to go your way in life, 0:29:10.520 --> 0:29:12.280 and you have to figure out how to you know, 0:29:12.400 --> 0:29:15.160 work your way through those times. And you know, I 0:29:15.320 --> 0:29:17.600 was always grateful that I always had the opportunity to 0:29:17.640 --> 0:29:20.360 come back here because after being in all those places, 0:29:20.440 --> 0:29:23.120 I craved the culture of New England. I craved the 0:29:24.040 --> 0:29:26.040 tough we're gonna make We're gonna do everything we can 0:29:26.120 --> 0:29:28.840 to win. And sure were there days that were miserable 0:29:28.880 --> 0:29:31.240 that we all kind of came in after practice and 0:29:31.360 --> 0:29:33.840 was like like I don't want to go to this meeting. Yeah, 0:29:33.920 --> 0:29:36.400 But I also after being on teams that you know, 0:29:36.480 --> 0:29:38.560 it was fun on Wednesday, it was fun on Thursday, 0:29:38.800 --> 0:29:40.800 it was fun on Friday, but Sunday rolled around and 0:29:41.080 --> 0:29:44.160 you got your butt kicked. Like I was thankful to 0:29:44.240 --> 0:29:46.280 come back to this culture and be around guys that 0:29:46.720 --> 0:29:48.920 you know, I kind of started my career with, and 0:29:49.040 --> 0:29:50.840 now they had become like the leaders of the team, 0:29:50.960 --> 0:29:53.920 like the mccordy's. Obviously Tom was still here, but you know, 0:29:54.080 --> 0:29:58.160 Julian high Tower, you know, guys like that, David Andrews, 0:29:58.240 --> 0:30:00.640 you know the guys who you know, they got it 0:30:00.840 --> 0:30:03.240 and it was I was excited to be back. So 0:30:03.680 --> 0:30:05.520 you know, you never know what path you're going to take. 0:30:05.720 --> 0:30:08.560 And you know, everyone always jokes like success is kind 0:30:08.560 --> 0:30:10.560 of like always upward. It's it's up and it's down, 0:30:10.680 --> 0:30:12.920 and you know, so just like my career, there's highs 0:30:12.960 --> 0:30:15.239 and lows, and you know, I wouldn't change a thing. 0:30:15.320 --> 0:30:17.480 I think along the way. I always tell my agent this, Like, 0:30:18.160 --> 0:30:19.800 you know, at every fork in the road, I always 0:30:19.800 --> 0:30:21.080 felt like we made the right decision. 0:30:21.480 --> 0:30:21.920 That's great. 0:30:22.560 --> 0:30:24.239 I hope I am not screwing this up. One more 0:30:24.320 --> 0:30:29.440 kid question. When you were traded back here was that Halloween? 0:30:29.720 --> 0:30:31.440 It was Halloween night. I remember being there. 0:30:31.560 --> 0:30:33.960 You got this isn't I mean? We want to talk 0:30:34.000 --> 0:30:36.720 about we're dad's you know, you remember going out trick 0:30:36.800 --> 0:30:39.240 or treating with your kids. Okay, he's in the NFL. 0:30:39.280 --> 0:30:40.760 It's a little bit different, but at the end of 0:30:40.800 --> 0:30:43.760 the day, still a dad. You're traded back to Hey, 0:30:43.880 --> 0:30:44.920 we're going back to New England. 0:30:44.960 --> 0:30:46.480 This is great. Tell us a story. 0:30:46.800 --> 0:30:51.720 So I remember leaving the facilities in San Francisco that 0:30:51.800 --> 0:30:53.760 day and I was like, all right, see tomorrow, Kyle, 0:30:53.840 --> 0:30:56.680 See tomorrow. And I think might have been the day 0:30:56.720 --> 0:30:58.560 before Halloween because we had to go get the costume. 0:30:58.600 --> 0:31:00.440 And so I got home, took my son to like 0:31:00.520 --> 0:31:03.320 the Spear Halloween store, get his costume, get to the 0:31:03.400 --> 0:31:06.200 checkout line, get to the car, and Kyle calls me 0:31:06.320 --> 0:31:09.800 back and he's like, Hey, we're going to trade you 0:31:09.880 --> 0:31:12.440 back to New England. And I was like what He's like, Yeah, 0:31:12.960 --> 0:31:15.800 they offered to trade us, Jimmy, and as part of 0:31:15.840 --> 0:31:18.800 the deal, like they need a backup quarterback, so like, 0:31:19.440 --> 0:31:21.200 you know, we're going to trade you back to New England. 0:31:21.560 --> 0:31:24.320 And I just remember being in shock because you know, 0:31:24.360 --> 0:31:25.720 I thought i'd seen it all at that point, but 0:31:25.760 --> 0:31:28.960 I'd never been a part of a trade. And the 0:31:29.000 --> 0:31:31.840 way it worked out, it wasn't like they agreed to 0:31:31.880 --> 0:31:33.720 release me and I could sign here and because of 0:31:34.240 --> 0:31:36.520 comp picks and things like that. But I remember having 0:31:36.520 --> 0:31:37.920 to like go home and like break that to my 0:31:38.040 --> 0:31:40.800 wife because we had moved, but we had never moved 0:31:40.840 --> 0:31:42.640 in the middle of this season, and I was like, 0:31:42.640 --> 0:31:44.120 all right, so I'm gonna have to go to New 0:31:44.160 --> 0:31:47.400 England on Tuesday night, and then I remember it was 0:31:47.480 --> 0:31:50.160 the bye week here, so I practiced, stayed an extra day, 0:31:50.200 --> 0:31:52.320 met with Jerry Schaplinsky, who was the quarterback coach, met 0:31:52.360 --> 0:31:53.920 with Josh a little bit. All the players went to 0:31:54.040 --> 0:31:56.120 their you know whatever they were doing for the bye week. 0:31:56.440 --> 0:31:59.800 I flew back to California. We got the biggest suitcase 0:31:59.800 --> 0:32:02.120 I because, by the way, Bill's like, hey, We're playing 0:32:02.120 --> 0:32:04.080 in Mexico City in two weeks, so I hope you 0:32:04.160 --> 0:32:07.480 have a passport, and did you Yeah? I did, And 0:32:07.680 --> 0:32:10.120 so I packed as much stuff as I could, took 0:32:10.120 --> 0:32:12.400 the red Is on Saturday night, came home or came 0:32:12.440 --> 0:32:15.840 here Sunday, landed Sunday morning, went and saw three different houses, 0:32:16.240 --> 0:32:19.000 picked one, went to her to school and being the 0:32:19.000 --> 0:32:21.240 school that my kids still go to this day. And 0:32:22.160 --> 0:32:23.760 you know, it was a whirlwind, you know week. But 0:32:23.880 --> 0:32:26.280 that's I mean, look, like I said, I know that 0:32:26.720 --> 0:32:29.480 we're privileged. This is the NFL, so not comparing it 0:32:29.520 --> 0:32:31.520 to other people's situations, but that was a week that 0:32:31.680 --> 0:32:33.680 took a huge toll in my family and my wife 0:32:33.720 --> 0:32:37.000 and and you know, I couldn't have done the career 0:32:37.320 --> 0:32:40.080 that I had without her and her support, and thankfully 0:32:40.160 --> 0:32:41.520 we were you know, we met when we were in 0:32:41.640 --> 0:32:44.120 high school, so we had a strong foundation and and 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:46.600 you know, but in a way it made our kids, 0:32:47.400 --> 0:32:50.160 you know, kind of mature and deal. And so my 0:32:50.320 --> 0:32:51.800 son we went out to Vegas last year and he 0:32:51.840 --> 0:32:53.520 goes to baseball practice with a bunch of kids that 0:32:53.600 --> 0:32:55.680 he doesn't know, and by the end they're all laughing 0:32:55.760 --> 0:32:58.000 and he's he's immediately so he knows how to adapt. 0:32:58.080 --> 0:33:01.320 And so there's positives andatives to all sides of it. 0:33:01.440 --> 0:33:02.480 Did you get to trick or treat? 0:33:02.920 --> 0:33:03.760 No? No. 0:33:04.160 --> 0:33:06.640 Well, I remember being like waiting for the deal to 0:33:06.720 --> 0:33:08.240 be worked out and Bill calls me. He's like, look, 0:33:08.280 --> 0:33:10.320 are are you gonna get here or what. I'm like, Bill, 0:33:10.360 --> 0:33:12.280 I'm just waiting for like the airline ticket. I got 0:33:12.360 --> 0:33:14.560 a bagpock in my car. I was at the kids 0:33:14.600 --> 0:33:17.080 like Halloween party at school, and I'm like, I'm just 0:33:17.120 --> 0:33:18.520 waiting for like the ticket. 0:33:20.840 --> 0:33:22.880 That's so I'm not going to ask you the question 0:33:22.960 --> 0:33:25.880 about the Eagles Super Bowl in seventeen. 0:33:26.240 --> 0:33:28.240 We'll gloss over that not only anyone knows anyways. 0:33:28.400 --> 0:33:32.680 Okay, so in twenty eighteen, obviously you're part of your 0:33:32.960 --> 0:33:37.160 championship season. For you, I want to go before that 0:33:37.400 --> 0:33:40.120 to the Kansas City game in the AFC Championship game 0:33:40.800 --> 0:33:42.800 and just what it was like. Because for Matt and I, 0:33:43.720 --> 0:33:46.360 you know, again there's you know, that same theme of 0:33:46.480 --> 0:33:48.600 us being around. Sure, we've both been around for all 0:33:48.640 --> 0:33:51.040 of these Super Bowls, so we've gotten a chance. That 0:33:51.200 --> 0:33:53.920 one stands out for us. That Kansas City AFC Championship 0:33:53.960 --> 0:33:56.520 game was one of the greatest games that I've seen, 0:33:56.760 --> 0:33:57.960 and I just want to know what it was like 0:33:58.040 --> 0:34:01.000 from your perspective watching that overtime drive. 0:34:01.240 --> 0:34:03.720 Yeah, I mean me, I think that's my favorite game 0:34:03.760 --> 0:34:06.640 as a Patriot ever. Love to hear that because in 0:34:06.800 --> 0:34:10.040 a way, looking back, that really was the Super Bowl 0:34:10.160 --> 0:34:12.759 in my in my opinion, I know, we had to 0:34:12.800 --> 0:34:14.360 go the next week and beat the Rams, and the 0:34:14.440 --> 0:34:17.680 defense played an incredible game, but to go into Kansas City, 0:34:17.800 --> 0:34:21.160 it's like, you know, minus five degrees, no one's given 0:34:21.239 --> 0:34:24.640 us a chance to win. And the effort that everybody 0:34:24.760 --> 0:34:27.640 put in that week to that game to then get, 0:34:27.719 --> 0:34:30.160 like you said, get to this overtime win, I think, 0:34:30.680 --> 0:34:32.840 and you see it on our faces running on the field. 0:34:32.920 --> 0:34:34.960 I think it was kind of a true, Like we're 0:34:35.000 --> 0:34:37.480 getting goosebumps talking about it like a true like us 0:34:37.560 --> 0:34:40.400 against the world moment. No one was there to support 0:34:40.520 --> 0:34:42.879 us other than the guys on that sideline. No one 0:34:42.960 --> 0:34:44.960 in this everyone in the stands, you know, wanted us 0:34:45.000 --> 0:34:47.560 to lose. Really, everybody kind of wanted this changing of 0:34:47.600 --> 0:34:50.239 the guard. Here's Mahomes, you know they're going to beat 0:34:50.239 --> 0:34:52.839 the Patriots, and it was kind of like against all 0:34:52.880 --> 0:34:55.960 odds type thing, and so fittingly comes down to this 0:34:56.000 --> 0:34:59.200 two minute drive where here's Tom and the famous you 0:34:59.239 --> 0:35:02.719 know Julian quote or too old at his age, and 0:35:03.320 --> 0:35:06.720 you know, methodically drives us down and win with a touchdown. 0:35:06.760 --> 0:35:10.520 I mean, it's to me, it was like the ultimate 0:35:10.680 --> 0:35:13.759 team win. And when I always think of my time 0:35:13.800 --> 0:35:15.680 with the Patriots, it was always the best teams that 0:35:15.760 --> 0:35:17.560 I've been on. And I'm not just saying because we 0:35:17.680 --> 0:35:20.000 were the most talented or had the best coaching staff. 0:35:20.160 --> 0:35:21.759 I'm talking about the group of men that were in 0:35:22.320 --> 0:35:26.160 the room, and we were so close knit as a team. 0:35:26.680 --> 0:35:28.080 And like I said, I think you see that when 0:35:28.080 --> 0:35:29.680 you see on the field, and I think it's I'm 0:35:29.760 --> 0:35:32.480 right behind Kyle van Noy and Tom's jumping into Kyle's arms, 0:35:32.520 --> 0:35:34.360 and it was like it was like this moment, like 0:35:34.520 --> 0:35:36.920 this is this is we have to go win the 0:35:37.000 --> 0:35:40.719 next week because this game was so important and so 0:35:41.280 --> 0:35:44.320 critical to that and the belief that it gave I 0:35:44.360 --> 0:35:46.000 think everybody in that team and. 0:35:46.200 --> 0:35:50.279 Look fortunately for the rules and everything like that coin toss. 0:35:50.560 --> 0:35:53.480 You win, you know you're getting the ball as you're 0:35:53.520 --> 0:35:56.040 sitting there and you're seeing you know, the personnel, everything 0:35:56.120 --> 0:35:58.040 like that, Is there any doubt in your mind? You 0:35:58.040 --> 0:35:59.120 guys are going down and scoring. 0:35:59.120 --> 0:36:01.480 At that point in time, it was kind of like 0:36:01.560 --> 0:36:03.200 a member. It was kind of like a back and forth. 0:36:03.960 --> 0:36:05.440 You were just hoping you got the ball. And I 0:36:05.520 --> 0:36:08.880 think at that point it was like the thing that 0:36:08.920 --> 0:36:11.560 always I always looked back was they I couldn't imagine. 0:36:11.600 --> 0:36:13.759 I couldn't believe that they couldn't cover Julian because really 0:36:13.800 --> 0:36:15.960 we ran the same play from both sides and we 0:36:16.040 --> 0:36:18.160 had this little motion and kind of and you were 0:36:18.239 --> 0:36:20.239 like when they when he hit those two plays, you're like, man, 0:36:20.760 --> 0:36:22.400 we're in the driver's seat. We just got to go 0:36:22.520 --> 0:36:25.080 and not make any mistakes. And you know we had 0:36:25.280 --> 0:36:27.400 I think we had running with Rex. 0:36:27.400 --> 0:36:30.400 Ye a touchdown, so but three third and tens right, and. 0:36:32.239 --> 0:36:34.200 You know it was a play called China, and it 0:36:34.320 --> 0:36:37.040 meant like a shoot and an inn the ch for 0:36:37.160 --> 0:36:40.440 shooting and in and and I'm like, all right, well 0:36:40.600 --> 0:36:43.160 it worked once and usually sometimes as a quarterback you 0:36:43.320 --> 0:36:44.880 kind of like get to the point where like, all right, 0:36:44.920 --> 0:36:47.319 we just ran that play like there's no way it's 0:36:47.320 --> 0:36:49.640 going to work again. And you know that was just 0:36:49.760 --> 0:36:53.160 Tom basically, you know, dropping back seeing the coverage and 0:36:53.239 --> 0:36:56.040 here comes Julian. You know, several times I think, I 0:36:56.040 --> 0:36:57.960 don't know if Hogan had a great catch on that drive, 0:36:58.080 --> 0:37:01.640 but had right regulation, Yeah, it was kind of a 0:37:01.680 --> 0:37:04.880 similar play. But clearly, you know, this is the greatness 0:37:04.960 --> 0:37:06.959 of Tom and Josh and all those guys working together. 0:37:07.040 --> 0:37:08.960 They were having trouble cover in the middle of the 0:37:09.000 --> 0:37:12.200 field and so just continue to expose it until they 0:37:12.239 --> 0:37:14.480 fix it. And you know they didn't fix it in time, 0:37:14.560 --> 0:37:16.759 and luckily for us, you know, I was able to 0:37:17.080 --> 0:37:18.640 take us down and win that game. 0:37:19.040 --> 0:37:21.640 So Paul brings up and I think a lot of 0:37:21.680 --> 0:37:26.320 Patriot fans would agree, spoiled, Yes, first world problems. 0:37:26.400 --> 0:37:27.200 What's the best game? 0:37:27.680 --> 0:37:29.319 Interesting to hear that you say that, but you got 0:37:29.400 --> 0:37:31.880 to go when you got to beat the Rams in Atlanta, 0:37:32.760 --> 0:37:36.439 and I'm not sure that fans quite know the role 0:37:36.560 --> 0:37:40.480 that you played that week and your experience with McVeigh 0:37:41.040 --> 0:37:44.040 and that system. Talk a little bit about what how 0:37:44.200 --> 0:37:46.440 you saw your role that week as getting ready to 0:37:46.480 --> 0:37:47.040 play the Rams. 0:37:47.160 --> 0:37:49.600 Yeah, I mean as a backup quarterback, you always prepare 0:37:49.640 --> 0:37:52.600 to play. We talked about that earlier. But the reality is, like, 0:37:52.800 --> 0:37:54.680 you know, Tom's healthy. I mean, could something happen in 0:37:54.719 --> 0:37:56.920 the game, yes, But you know, for me, I always 0:37:57.040 --> 0:38:00.160 think like how can I you know, especially at this this, 0:38:00.680 --> 0:38:02.880 you know, the last game of the year of the 0:38:02.880 --> 0:38:04.160 Super Bowl, Like what am I going to do to 0:38:04.239 --> 0:38:07.560 contribute to the team to help them win? And because 0:38:07.600 --> 0:38:09.719 I was a veteran guy as a backup and had 0:38:09.760 --> 0:38:11.600 played in a lot of places, I always had great 0:38:11.600 --> 0:38:15.520 conversations with Devin and Jason and high Tower and Gilmore, 0:38:15.640 --> 0:38:17.279 And you know, when I would we would play a 0:38:17.320 --> 0:38:19.239 team that maybe it was a system that I was 0:38:19.320 --> 0:38:21.640 in and I'm running the scout team, I'm like, hey, listen, 0:38:21.719 --> 0:38:23.520 this is how they're teaching these quarterbacks, this is what 0:38:23.560 --> 0:38:26.520 they're looking at. And I'll never forget, like get into 0:38:26.600 --> 0:38:29.400 the hotel in Atlanta and you know, you practice a 0:38:29.400 --> 0:38:31.080 week before you travel, and I'm like, all right, some 0:38:31.200 --> 0:38:33.120 of these plays are similar to what I ran with Kyle, 0:38:33.520 --> 0:38:37.920 who obviously influenced Sean. And I remember, you know, being 0:38:37.960 --> 0:38:39.480 in the hotel room. I'm like, cause you have to 0:38:39.560 --> 0:38:41.719 have an off day, even though you're traveling there for 0:38:41.760 --> 0:38:43.279 the super Bowl, it's an off day and you know 0:38:43.360 --> 0:38:45.040 your family's not there yet, and so you kind of 0:38:45.080 --> 0:38:48.120 hunkered out in the hotel. And I saw a thing 0:38:48.160 --> 0:38:51.560 on like Yahoo. It's like here's and it's like kind 0:38:51.560 --> 0:38:52.920 of they did like a hard Knock show, but it 0:38:53.000 --> 0:38:55.640 was on Amazon, and here's like some clips from the 0:38:55.800 --> 0:38:58.040 year that the Rams did, you know, miked up and 0:38:58.520 --> 0:39:00.880 and I'm listening to like the play call that they 0:39:00.960 --> 0:39:03.520 have on these clips from training camp, and I'm like, well, 0:39:03.560 --> 0:39:05.920 I know that play. I run that play before. And 0:39:06.680 --> 0:39:08.440 as the week went on, I kept watching more and 0:39:08.520 --> 0:39:10.239 more of their film and being like, I know the 0:39:10.360 --> 0:39:12.879 offense that they're gonna run and having meetings with Bill 0:39:13.080 --> 0:39:15.440 and Map and was Matt still there or was it 0:39:15.560 --> 0:39:18.880 Flow Flow Yeah, and being like listen, I know, you know, 0:39:19.239 --> 0:39:21.040 they don't really have an answer for this. They don't 0:39:21.040 --> 0:39:23.960 really have you know, if you bring this pressure. You know, 0:39:24.000 --> 0:39:27.600 they have to throw hot things like that, and you know, 0:39:27.680 --> 0:39:28.920 so I took a lot of pride in that. And 0:39:29.120 --> 0:39:31.040 one of the like my prodest moments was after the 0:39:31.080 --> 0:39:33.120 Super Bowl Devin and Jason kind of talking that to 0:39:33.200 --> 0:39:35.320 the media and being like we were on it. We 0:39:35.480 --> 0:39:37.520 we had a great feeling because Brian gave us a 0:39:37.560 --> 0:39:39.800 great look. He sat there and talked about, you know, 0:39:39.920 --> 0:39:42.400 their their offensive system, and you know, that was a 0:39:42.480 --> 0:39:44.320 way for me to feel like I actually contributed in 0:39:44.360 --> 0:39:46.400 some way because I never stepped on the field, but 0:39:46.960 --> 0:39:48.480 you know, you got to do whatever you can to 0:39:49.000 --> 0:39:51.840 help the team win. So, you know, something that I 0:39:51.960 --> 0:39:54.720 was proud of and fortunate of having been in those systems. 0:39:54.800 --> 0:39:56.120 I could relate that to those guys. 0:39:56.280 --> 0:39:58.319 So when you show your kids your Super Bowl ring, Yeah, 0:39:58.360 --> 0:39:59.840 any kid goes, oh, that's a nice RNK deb But 0:39:59.880 --> 0:40:02.680 you didn't play. Well, hold on for a second, you're right, 0:40:02.719 --> 0:40:03.399 I didn't play. 0:40:03.520 --> 0:40:05.239 That's the one I came up with a defensive game plan. 0:40:05.400 --> 0:40:10.719 However, however, and like that's that's the power of team, right, 0:40:10.880 --> 0:40:11.160 isn't it. 0:40:11.320 --> 0:40:13.200 Yeah, And that's what I would always say about the Patriots. 0:40:13.239 --> 0:40:16.399 We always had the best team, and I'm talking about 0:40:16.520 --> 0:40:21.800 the relationships closeness. There's nothing ever been comparable to the 0:40:21.880 --> 0:40:24.520 locker room that I had, especially as I got older. 0:40:24.520 --> 0:40:26.279 I mean it was great as a young guy, but 0:40:26.560 --> 0:40:30.719 as an older player, you appreciated even more. And you know, 0:40:31.760 --> 0:40:34.960 they did a great job. In seventeen eighteen nineteen, we 0:40:35.120 --> 0:40:36.719 did these things in the offseason called like the team 0:40:36.800 --> 0:40:38.279 of Teams, and it was a way for you to 0:40:38.400 --> 0:40:40.719 bond with other players on the team. And so there'd 0:40:40.760 --> 0:40:44.239 be like two offensive players, two defensive players, maybe a 0:40:44.280 --> 0:40:47.879 special teams player, a coach, a trainer, a football ops guy. 0:40:48.160 --> 0:40:49.880 And we did these like challenges. So like we'd have 0:40:50.000 --> 0:40:51.640 field day out on the out on the field and 0:40:51.800 --> 0:40:53.880 be like the egg toss or the frisbee throw or 0:40:54.440 --> 0:40:56.040 you know, a sack race, or one day we went 0:40:56.040 --> 0:40:58.400 down to Fenway. I remember we did this great like 0:40:58.520 --> 0:41:01.719 baseball challenge and one day we'd paintballing And it was 0:41:01.800 --> 0:41:04.279 a way for you to connect with guys that you're 0:41:04.320 --> 0:41:06.840 not always sitting there every day with in the meetings. 0:41:06.920 --> 0:41:08.840 And that's where I felt like you had this closeness. 0:41:09.239 --> 0:41:11.400 You know, I go in and sit with the DBS 0:41:11.440 --> 0:41:13.040 at lunch one day, and the next day I'd sit 0:41:13.120 --> 0:41:15.959 with the linemen, and you had these relationships with guys 0:41:16.000 --> 0:41:18.200 where in all, honestly, it was almost closer than some 0:41:18.320 --> 0:41:21.000 of the college's college teams, where you're spending all this 0:41:21.120 --> 0:41:22.560 time with these guys because we all go home to 0:41:22.640 --> 0:41:25.000 our families, but when you came in here, it was 0:41:25.040 --> 0:41:27.600 like your second family in true you know, And I'm 0:41:27.640 --> 0:41:29.759 not just saying that like as clichey. 0:41:29.840 --> 0:41:31.440 See he glossed over that. Do you see what he 0:41:31.480 --> 0:41:35.480 did there before? The whole thing. Bill doesn't deserve the credit. 0:41:35.280 --> 0:41:38.040 For that, right right, right right that he gets right right, 0:41:38.280 --> 0:41:41.959 this guy right right When you came back again third 0:41:42.080 --> 0:41:47.279 time in twenty twenty, was there a hint of disappointment 0:41:47.480 --> 0:41:49.720 when they end up signing Cam, Yeah, definitely. 0:41:49.760 --> 0:41:53.480 I mean, well, that whole scenario is so in twenty nineteen, 0:41:54.239 --> 0:41:56.080 you know, Bill comes to me obviously that was Sidham's 0:41:56.120 --> 0:41:58.560 rookie year, and he says, look like, we got to 0:41:58.640 --> 0:41:59.680 manage this roster. 0:41:59.480 --> 0:41:59.920 A little bit. 0:42:00.800 --> 0:42:02.480 Are you okay with like kind of waiting you know, 0:42:02.880 --> 0:42:04.560 we'll let you go and we'll resign you after the 0:42:04.640 --> 0:42:07.000 first week. And I was like, sure, like you know, 0:42:07.080 --> 0:42:09.120 I love you know, being a part of this organization 0:42:09.920 --> 0:42:12.880 and and all of a sudden, my agent calls me. 0:42:12.920 --> 0:42:15.040 He's like, hey, Indianapolis is offering you a great deal. 0:42:15.640 --> 0:42:17.759 And I was like, I felt torn, but it was 0:42:18.000 --> 0:42:19.319 an opportunity that I looked at like. 0:42:19.320 --> 0:42:20.960 In the long run, this will pretty good money. 0:42:21.040 --> 0:42:24.200 Yeah, yeah, great, it was a great deal. And so 0:42:24.280 --> 0:42:25.920 in a way, I kind of thought like I never 0:42:26.040 --> 0:42:28.239 really left, you know, so like Thirdston, I was gone 0:42:28.280 --> 0:42:30.520 for four months and then I was right back, and 0:42:31.120 --> 0:42:34.319 with Tom moving on, I'm like, wow, this is my opportunity. 0:42:34.400 --> 0:42:36.560 And so I remember training like the hardest, and this 0:42:36.640 --> 0:42:39.200 was during COVID and and trying to train on your 0:42:39.239 --> 0:42:41.239 own and trying to be as prepared as I could. 0:42:41.880 --> 0:42:45.759 And you know, so obviously I was disappointed when they 0:42:45.840 --> 0:42:48.960 signed Cam because that was like something I had always 0:42:49.040 --> 0:42:50.840 dreamt of. You know, I had started for all these 0:42:50.880 --> 0:42:53.320 other teams, but I had never really played for the Patriots, 0:42:53.360 --> 0:42:55.680 the one team that I kind of considered myself that 0:42:55.880 --> 0:42:59.480 was the team that was my team. So it was 0:42:59.760 --> 0:43:01.719 it was disappointing, but like I said, you know, it's 0:43:01.800 --> 0:43:03.800 not something that I had never lived through before, and 0:43:03.920 --> 0:43:05.440 you try to navigate it the best you can. 0:43:06.320 --> 0:43:09.239 I mean, obviously people will look at when Tom left 0:43:09.320 --> 0:43:15.040 and there's clearly a void on the field. You saw 0:43:15.200 --> 0:43:17.440 some of the ups and downs that happened after that. 0:43:18.800 --> 0:43:22.160 It wasn't just on the field where that void was felt. 0:43:22.320 --> 0:43:24.239 I assume that that was felt in the locker room, 0:43:24.680 --> 0:43:28.400 and it probably was difficult and challenging for someone like you. 0:43:28.719 --> 0:43:31.640 By Paul mentioned this earlier, you saw when things were 0:43:31.680 --> 0:43:34.439 going really well, so a Devin, So it Matt. People 0:43:34.560 --> 0:43:37.879 like that when things aren't going well and you guys 0:43:37.920 --> 0:43:40.160 are some of the leaders and everything, like how do 0:43:40.239 --> 0:43:43.600 you try to sit there and recapture what you know is. 0:43:43.640 --> 0:43:44.799 The right way to do things? 0:43:44.920 --> 0:43:48.279 You know what winning football is, and yet that's not 0:43:48.480 --> 0:43:50.719 happening on the field. Yeah, that had to be just 0:43:50.840 --> 0:43:51.880 tremendously frustrating. 0:43:52.000 --> 0:43:53.640 It was, And I think twenty twenty was such a 0:43:53.760 --> 0:43:56.480 unique situation because of the COVID year, because of like 0:43:56.600 --> 0:43:59.799 what you were allowed to do. Obviously, you know, cam 0:44:00.280 --> 0:44:03.600 in late and there's no real training camp, and it 0:44:03.719 --> 0:44:05.480 was just it was a it was an odd year 0:44:05.520 --> 0:44:07.719 all the way around. And so you know, next year 0:44:07.760 --> 0:44:09.360 it was like, Okay, we're getting back to like what 0:44:10.160 --> 0:44:13.200 you know, at least to me, felt similar to what 0:44:13.280 --> 0:44:16.640 it was obviously was different with our team routine routine, 0:44:16.760 --> 0:44:20.239 and and then Matt comes in and I remember thinking, like, God, 0:44:20.320 --> 0:44:22.319 they have to be like telling the guy, like where 0:44:22.560 --> 0:44:24.200 what to do out here a practice because he was 0:44:24.320 --> 0:44:27.200 learning so quickly that I was like, I've never seen 0:44:27.360 --> 0:44:30.080 a rookie pick up a system like this. And it 0:44:30.200 --> 0:44:32.600 became pretty apparent that he was going to be the starter. 0:44:32.719 --> 0:44:35.400 And I truly, you know, my time with Cam was 0:44:35.680 --> 0:44:37.879 was great. I came to you know, really know him 0:44:37.920 --> 0:44:40.160 and appreciate him for what he was, and he was 0:44:40.239 --> 0:44:42.640 hilarious and he was great in meetings and and so 0:44:42.760 --> 0:44:45.320 I know like his time here was kind of you know, 0:44:45.400 --> 0:44:48.200 looked at like it wasn't really you know, a success, 0:44:48.320 --> 0:44:50.960 but he he impacted a lot of guys and we 0:44:51.000 --> 0:44:53.160 would there was things that Cam did and sayings that 0:44:53.200 --> 0:44:55.759 he would say that carried with us after even he 0:44:55.960 --> 0:44:58.600 was not here anymore. And so, you know, I really 0:44:58.719 --> 0:45:00.759 enjoyed and I've had a lot of experiences like that, 0:45:00.960 --> 0:45:04.200 like kind of these polarizing figures, you know, Cam Newton, 0:45:04.320 --> 0:45:06.040 or when I was in Chicago with Jay Cutler, people 0:45:06.040 --> 0:45:07.400 were always like, well, what was that like? And I 0:45:07.480 --> 0:45:09.680 was like I really enjoyed it because you got to 0:45:09.719 --> 0:45:12.520 see a personality of someone who from Afar you don't 0:45:12.520 --> 0:45:14.960 really know, like what's the deal. And so being in 0:45:15.040 --> 0:45:16.680 a room with Cam for a year and a half 0:45:16.840 --> 0:45:19.480 really it was always made me smile. So it was 0:45:19.640 --> 0:45:21.840 it was that was kind of cool opportunity about that. 0:45:21.960 --> 0:45:24.279 But you know, you get to twenty twenty one where 0:45:25.040 --> 0:45:27.160 you know, Mac ends up winning the job and and 0:45:27.280 --> 0:45:29.359 you kind of get back to like what I thought 0:45:29.480 --> 0:45:31.840 was really, you know what we had always done the 0:45:31.920 --> 0:45:34.839 Patriot way, and I mean, for lack of a better term, 0:45:35.000 --> 0:45:37.560 but but there was also a new energy with some 0:45:37.680 --> 0:45:41.879 of the newer guys like Kendrick Bourne, Judaon Mills, Hunter 0:45:42.000 --> 0:45:44.000 Henry and so it kind of was a new flavor. 0:45:44.040 --> 0:45:46.759 And really that was one of my more enjoyable years 0:45:46.800 --> 0:45:49.160 playing here because it was kind of like in a 0:45:49.239 --> 0:45:51.239 sense of changing of the guard, but we were still 0:45:51.680 --> 0:45:52.560 playing good football. 0:45:53.719 --> 0:45:55.759 So Cam was great with us, by the way, Yeah 0:45:55.760 --> 0:45:55.880 he was. 0:45:55.920 --> 0:45:58.560 Also he was it was you know, on field obviously 0:45:58.680 --> 0:46:01.080 probably not up to you know what he had become 0:46:01.120 --> 0:46:01.680 accustomed to. 0:46:01.920 --> 0:46:03.000 It seemed like a good teammate. 0:46:03.080 --> 0:46:03.960 Yeah, well he was great. 0:46:03.960 --> 0:46:05.759 Gat It was great to deal with and we all 0:46:05.880 --> 0:46:08.120 joke about like the nicknames and stuff, and like some 0:46:08.200 --> 0:46:10.880 of those nicknames lasted with guys well passed fantastic when 0:46:10.960 --> 0:46:12.840 Cam was gone. He was a great to night and 0:46:12.920 --> 0:46:13.839 a great, a great guy. 0:46:13.960 --> 0:46:17.560 So you got a chance to play again the following year. 0:46:17.600 --> 0:46:20.360 I was at twenty two when I got twenty against 0:46:21.040 --> 0:46:23.920 So again it's like this kind of blessing curse at 0:46:23.960 --> 0:46:26.560 the same time, great career and every time you sort 0:46:26.600 --> 0:46:28.920 of get a chance to get it in the spotlight, 0:46:29.000 --> 0:46:29.640 something happens. 0:46:29.680 --> 0:46:31.200 It just has to be we did. 0:46:31.360 --> 0:46:34.399 That was rushed. I mean I remember being emotional about 0:46:34.440 --> 0:46:36.319 that one because it was like, you know, I got 0:46:36.400 --> 0:46:38.360 to play, a chance to play in twenty twenty, but 0:46:38.480 --> 0:46:39.440 that was the whole. 0:46:39.360 --> 0:46:40.960 Like co COVID, that was a mess. 0:46:41.000 --> 0:46:43.440 We found out on Saturday, then the game got plays 0:46:44.040 --> 0:46:46.920 flew in on the day of and not making excuses, 0:46:47.080 --> 0:46:48.640 it was just it was odd. It was one of 0:46:48.680 --> 0:46:51.440 the most odd experiences I ever had. And so this 0:46:51.719 --> 0:46:54.520 time in twenty twenty two, you know, here it is 0:46:54.680 --> 0:46:57.240 like Max Hurt. You're gonna play, full week of practice, 0:46:57.560 --> 0:46:59.879 have a really good drive to start the game, things 0:47:00.120 --> 0:47:03.120 going well, and then boom, you're out and that was 0:47:03.239 --> 0:47:05.640 to me was like, man, that was probably my last 0:47:05.719 --> 0:47:07.879 chance to really play for the team that I love, 0:47:08.400 --> 0:47:10.400 and so that was that was a a tough. 0:47:10.239 --> 0:47:13.160 One, last one for me here, Brian. Is I hear 0:47:13.200 --> 0:47:15.279 you say that the team that I love, and we 0:47:15.400 --> 0:47:16.960 talked about, you know a little bit about some of 0:47:17.000 --> 0:47:19.320 the other places you want and everything like that. We 0:47:19.480 --> 0:47:21.800 call this the Patch from the Past podcast. Do you 0:47:21.880 --> 0:47:23.080 identify as a Patriot? 0:47:23.239 --> 0:47:25.120 Yeah, one hundred percent. I was kind of thinking, I 0:47:25.200 --> 0:47:27.280 figured you'd ask me this on and so I was thinking, 0:47:27.600 --> 0:47:29.920 you know, I was here some former fashion ten years 0:47:30.000 --> 0:47:32.360 out of my fifteen, which is kind of crazy to 0:47:32.400 --> 0:47:33.920 think when you hear like, oh he was on this 0:47:34.080 --> 0:47:37.440 many teams, but you know, nine to twelve and a 0:47:37.520 --> 0:47:40.319 training camp and then seventeen eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty one, 0:47:40.400 --> 0:47:43.719 twenty two. I mean, so my kids are from here. 0:47:44.560 --> 0:47:46.840 You know, we've kind of made this our home. And 0:47:47.960 --> 0:47:50.040 you know, when I look at my career, although I 0:47:50.200 --> 0:47:53.239 played the least on this team, I also kind of 0:47:53.280 --> 0:47:55.600 look at myself like this is that's who I am. 0:47:55.880 --> 0:47:58.800 And I had a lot of great memories other places, 0:47:58.880 --> 0:48:00.239 but I've had the best memories here. 0:48:00.520 --> 0:48:03.239 So I do want to ask you about coming off 0:48:03.280 --> 0:48:06.279 the bench last year, you know, in Vegas, and what 0:48:06.400 --> 0:48:09.120 that was like too. So to rally the troops after 0:48:09.200 --> 0:48:10.040 Jimmy went down. 0:48:10.160 --> 0:48:13.520 Yeah, that was a I'm thinking to myself, of all 0:48:13.560 --> 0:48:16.200 the times to get thrust into a game, this is 0:48:16.280 --> 0:48:20.080 the one. And and Jimmy got hurt, like right before 0:48:20.120 --> 0:48:21.799 halftime and kind of toughed it out a little bit, 0:48:22.480 --> 0:48:25.799 and I'm like, oh, kind of similar, like he got hurt, 0:48:25.840 --> 0:48:27.160 but then he went back out. He played a few 0:48:27.160 --> 0:48:29.480 snaps like oh, he's probably okay, and then they take 0:48:29.560 --> 0:48:30.839 him in They're like, listen, we got to tame him 0:48:30.840 --> 0:48:32.840 the hospital. I'm like, all right, here we go. And 0:48:33.120 --> 0:48:35.279 and you know, of all teams to go against, I'm like, well, 0:48:35.320 --> 0:48:38.080 I know this team, I know this defense, and I 0:48:38.239 --> 0:48:39.399 know our offense really well. 0:48:39.960 --> 0:48:41.319 And so I was like, all right, I'm just gonna 0:48:41.320 --> 0:48:42.719 go out there and I'm throwing a bomb. 0:48:42.880 --> 0:48:47.319 Well, that play we developed against our defense in training 0:48:47.320 --> 0:48:48.759 camp a few years because there was a lot of 0:48:48.840 --> 0:48:51.440 times where we call play and Devin had seen it 0:48:51.520 --> 0:48:53.680 so many times that they would teach him to rob 0:48:54.200 --> 0:48:56.600 the guy who which was Julian at the time, our 0:48:56.680 --> 0:48:59.400 number three receiver, running a speedo and so I'm like, 0:48:59.440 --> 0:49:01.080 oh God, here we go. This is the play. And 0:49:01.160 --> 0:49:03.279 we made adjustment to put the outside guy on a 0:49:03.320 --> 0:49:05.480 deep route in case they did that. So I remember 0:49:05.560 --> 0:49:08.400 getting the snap. I kind of knew that down a 0:49:08.480 --> 0:49:11.279 distance it could be that defense, and all I watched 0:49:11.400 --> 0:49:13.800 was Peppers, and as soon as he went down, I 0:49:13.840 --> 0:49:15.800 don't even know if I looked to Trey, who I 0:49:15.880 --> 0:49:17.320 was throwing the ball to, I'm like, I know that 0:49:17.440 --> 0:49:20.759 area of the field is exposed, and sure enough, that 0:49:20.840 --> 0:49:22.920 kind of got the jitters out, and then you just 0:49:22.960 --> 0:49:25.320 go play football. And then you know, as the game's 0:49:25.360 --> 0:49:27.920 going on, I'm realizing, like, just don't screw it up, 0:49:28.120 --> 0:49:31.239 you know. I mean, we're winning, we're kicking some field goals, 0:49:31.280 --> 0:49:34.760 that our defense is doing pretty well. But I remember 0:49:35.400 --> 0:49:38.320 the feeling I had after that game of like just 0:49:38.440 --> 0:49:40.640 bittersweet because I remember going up to my team and 0:49:40.719 --> 0:49:42.680 the guys that I love, the guys that I consider brothers, 0:49:42.719 --> 0:49:44.560 and I could just see how dejected they were. I know, 0:49:44.760 --> 0:49:47.120 I knew, you know, based on staying in touch with them, 0:49:47.160 --> 0:49:50.120 how tough of a year it was. And so I 0:49:50.320 --> 0:49:53.400 was elated because it was kind of vindication for me 0:49:54.080 --> 0:49:56.399 to come back and beat the team after being told 0:49:56.480 --> 0:49:59.480 basically to go retire, and I felt great, but I 0:49:59.560 --> 0:50:03.200 also it hurt my heart to see these like I'll 0:50:03.239 --> 0:50:07.120 never forget David Andrews just being like exhausted and you know, 0:50:07.239 --> 0:50:10.040 beaten down or Slater and and all those guys, and 0:50:10.160 --> 0:50:11.839 so it was kind of like a mix of mixed 0:50:11.880 --> 0:50:14.200 emotions and looking back, I should have just you know, 0:50:14.360 --> 0:50:15.920 been done after that game and been like, all right, 0:50:16.080 --> 0:50:18.320 you know, I did my part, you know, because the 0:50:18.360 --> 0:50:20.120 rest of the year for us was it was downhill. 0:50:20.560 --> 0:50:24.080 But it's something that you know, it goes down as 0:50:24.120 --> 0:50:26.560 like a as a great memory, but also like a 0:50:26.600 --> 0:50:27.480 bittersweet one too. 0:50:27.800 --> 0:50:31.239 I mean, he said it. We're professional athletes. I'm not 0:50:31.280 --> 0:50:33.840 looking for anything specially anything like that. But let's not 0:50:33.960 --> 0:50:35.440 forget they're. 0:50:35.280 --> 0:50:37.799 Human beings too. Yeah, they're human beings, and. 0:50:37.840 --> 0:50:40.400 To and to hear like, wow, this is great for 0:50:40.480 --> 0:50:43.880 me individually. Oh shoot, you know, these are my guys 0:50:44.400 --> 0:50:46.840 and they're going through a tough time and I just 0:50:46.960 --> 0:50:48.400 helped extend that tough time. 0:50:49.120 --> 0:50:49.279 You know. 0:50:49.680 --> 0:50:50.240 Really interesting. 0:50:50.400 --> 0:50:51.160 Fran, Thanks for the time. 0:50:51.320 --> 0:50:56.720 Great, Thank you for downloading this podcast. Subscribe on Apple, 0:50:56.840 --> 0:50:59.839 google Play, and everywhere else you listen. Like the show, 0:51:00.000 --> 0:51:03.399 please rate and review us. 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