WEBVTT - Fatherhood: David Johnson 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:07.720 Welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast, an NFL podcast for 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:13.080 the players, by the players. Here is your host, fourteen 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:23.040 year NFL veteran and Hall of Famer Anius Williams. Hello 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:27.760 and welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast. I'm Tequillo Spikes 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.120 from the Behind the Mass podcast show, sitting in for 0:00:31.400 --> 0:00:36.080 Nius Williams. During COVID nineteen, everyone has had to adapt 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:39.360 their routines and Father's Day, which is coming up, is 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:43.400 no different. Today we have with us David Johnson from 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.960 the Houston, Texas to talk about his family and how 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:52.080 he manages being an NFL player and being a dad 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:57.360 at this unique time. David, Welcome to the show, My brother, welcome, 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:01.640 what's up? Thanks for having me. Hey, it's it's it's 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:03.720 an honor. It's a pleasure to be able to have 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.679 you to come on here. Because at one point of time, 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:09.920 everybody has their lives and they have so many different 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.720 things to do. But we're going through this COVID nineteam 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:17.840 pandemic right now. How are you guys adjusting as a family, 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.959 understanding and knowing that typically throughout this time you would 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:26.960 be training at one of the facilities, you know, it's 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:29.560 been weird. We're adjusting as best as we can, but 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.480 no one was ready for this. We never was prepared 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.399 for this, so we're really just going on the fly 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.959 and figuring things out as we go day to day. Um. 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:44.039 The biggest thing I think is struggling with DJ um 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:46.840 not understanding fully. He's three years old, so he's not 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.520 understanding fully what's going on. And he wants to go 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:53.080 outside and go to the uh you know, museum, go 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:56.600 to the zoo and just go and play with kids. Uh, 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:58.920 And he doesn't have the ability to do that. So 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:04.800 it's really UM being stressed that way the most. Probably, Yeah, 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:08.160 you talked about DJ and also London. I know she 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.560 has a birthday coming up, but you know, when you 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:15.519 look at it, and typically your years have been mapped out, 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:18.840 your months have been mapped out. How do you see 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:22.360 your role now playing a part of your kids life 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:26.520 since you're at home more of the top. It's actually yes, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.960 since I'm at home more, UM doing helping Megan out, 0:02:30.080 --> 0:02:33.280 my wife a lot more of just taking care of 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:37.560 the kids, UM, feeding London, putting her down, helping DJ, 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:40.160 feeding him, playing with him a lot more, getting a 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.640 lot more free time to interact with those guys. And 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:47.120 now DJ is getting older, he's three, like I said, 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:49.400 and so now we're trying to teach him how to write, 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:51.840 you know, how to read, how to count and so on. 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:54.200 There're a lot more to help out that way. Um, 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:58.880 not so busy, like you said, on a normal um 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:02.200 at this time, easily gone into the facility. And so 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:06.280 now I think it's really relieving Megan a lot um 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:10.160 and trying to balance two kids now. And now London's 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.239 at the age of walking, so now she's getting around 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:17.360 and getting into everything and trying to you know, eat everything, 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:19.119 And so I think I can help my wife out 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.919 that way as well. Yeah, and I know football is 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:24.919 a big part of your life, and it's everything that 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:27.560 you do in order to prepare for the season. How 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.480 does football played a major part in their lives right now? 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.880 Throughout this time period. I remember when I wanted to 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:36.800 spend more time with my daughter. Because my daughter is 0:03:36.840 --> 0:03:40.840 now seventeen, she couldn't come see me play all the time. 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:43.560 So I remember when I was training, I used to 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.400 bring her with me that she didn't realize I was training. 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:48.680 She just thought I was doing some fun things outside, 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.200 running around but how has that played a part in 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:55.880 their lives? Right now, that's definitely been what it's been like. 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.840 DJ has been coming out outside. I basically feel like 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.480 in high school again, training, running on the streets, using 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.960 anything that I have in my disposal as an exercise equipment. 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.560 Right now, I'm doing pull us on dj jungle gym 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:14.600 and using his toys for ad rollouts and stuff, you know, 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.040 his toys at wheels on it, and so he just 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:19.239 thinks I'm playing. He'll jump on my back and self 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.000 well and goof around, and so he thinks I think 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:24.080 right now, he just thinks I'm playing and goofing off. 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.120 I'll go out into the field and start running. He'll 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:28.920 start spreading with me, and then he gets a little 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.960 tire sometimes and says he's done. He creates to help 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.200 just sit there and watch. So it's funny because he 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:37.919 thinks that I'm you know, playing all the time, and 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:40.320 I do goof off with him, but he doesn't know 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.800 that I'm actually trying to like get in shape or 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:46.000 get my exercises in so I'm ready for the season 0:04:46.040 --> 0:04:49.640 whenever that does come. I guess you could say that's 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:51.839 what you're doing to keep it fun as well, because 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:54.880 they don't have a clue because they're so young that 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:58.720 this is your profession. But you intertwine the both in 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:01.159 order for them to get they need out of having 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.760 their father and also you get what you need from 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:08.560 training from the football aspect exactly. It's definitely true because 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:12.440 whence the season is here, Um, you know, they barely 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.600 see me, especially you know, when we're traveling and then 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:17.880 we have practice and they don't have the facility long. 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:20.599 I basically only get to see him when he goes 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:24.440 down for his nighttime, going down to bid and so 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:28.440 now I'm here all the time, and I think he's understanding, um, 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:32.600 a little bit that I'm you know, training training himself, 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.680 but like you said, he's not grasping it wholeheartedly. And 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:40.000 you know, for me, it's really just trying to spend 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:44.400 as much time as I can with my family because once, 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:46.960 like I said, once football comes, it's not like I 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:49.080 get a lot of time to hang out with them 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:52.520 and see those special moments of you know, London walking 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:56.080 or saying our first word and stuff. So during the season, 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:59.719 I'm so busy that you know, I unfortunately I'll have 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:02.080 the time I'm doing and I'm loving it now because 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:03.840 I do have the time to see all those special 0:06:03.839 --> 0:06:07.000 things you talked about your oldest it's three years old, 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:12.120 and when you look at it, it's it's relatively new 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.599 for you at three and a one year old, even 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:19.560 though it probably feels longer. But how has that experience been, 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:25.680 just being a father and making that transition, because I remember, um, 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.000 my my situation was a little different. My daughter stayed 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:32.000 in Atlanta and I used to fire up sometimes. But 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.560 now you have the double duty part, you know, of 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:38.719 making sure that you keep that balance on both sides. 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:42.120 So how has that been as far as juggling that 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.440 schedule so far? Right now? It's not too bad, just because, 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:48.279 like I said, with the pandemic going on, um, you 0:06:48.320 --> 0:06:51.480 can't do too much football. We're not at the facility. UM, 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:55.239 We're just doing you know, virtual zoom calls, UM meetings 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:59.000 that way for a couple of hours. And so it's been, uh, 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:02.000 pretty good because I'm sitting here, you know, hanging out 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.760 with DJ in London a lot more than I normally would. 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:08.159 And the balancing, like I said, also hoping out my 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.000 wife um with them too as well, or and just 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:14.840 being a normal family um, as of right now, and 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:19.400 so it's been good, um to say the least. We 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:24.360 all know Father's Day he's coming up, and uh, I remember, 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.760 like we only get one day. That's that's the only 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.400 thing we used to say coming into the locker room. 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:33.040 But I wanted to ask you because since you you 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.520 take so much pride you have a great family, I 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.240 wanted to ask you, like, what impact do you think 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:43.400 your own childhood and upbringing have on you as far 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:47.320 as now you're playing your role as your father. So 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:49.320 when I was growing up, I didn't have a father figure. 0:07:49.360 --> 0:07:51.720 I had an older brother, but I didn't have a 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:55.000 actual father. It was just my mom. And now that 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:56.760 I'm a father, I want to make sure that I'm 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.160 there for everything that I can be there for the 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:05.800 birth I I said, those milestones, rolling over, crawling, walking, talking, speaking. Um, 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.560 you know DJ is starting to safe or he's been 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.800 saying full senses and stuff like that, and I want 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:13.840 to make sure that he knows that I'm there. I 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:15.960 want to make sure that he knows that I'm there 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.720 when he falls, he has an accident. Um, he can 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:21.680 always come to me, he can confide in me. And 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.040 I want to be the father to teach him you know, 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:28.040 life and teach London, you know life lessons that I 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.800 was uh that my mom was having to do both 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:34.520 mother Indian father for um, being the father for her 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:37.240 kids and so um. That's I think the biggest thing 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:40.360 that I've learned from my childhood is just as a father, 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.520 I want to be there for everything. And with being 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:47.040 that old pro dad as you are, you have more 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:51.600 time to implement things that you see it's vitally central 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:55.280 to their growth. What's the one thing since you've been 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:58.640 at home the majority of the time that you've really 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:02.040 enjoyed other thing that you've really learned about yourself that 0:09:02.520 --> 0:09:04.559 that you said, you know what, I like this and 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.400 I look forward to continuing to do it with the kids. 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:10.840 I would say the biggest thing is being active. Especially 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:15.640 in this world today, technology has really I feel hurt 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:20.520 this younger generation. They're so dependent on cell phones, computers, 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:24.600 video games that they don't really go outside and play 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.400 anymore or do activities just being in the grass, running around, 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:32.400 rolling around in the grass, swimming, doing you know what 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.520 I did as a kid growing up. And I think 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:38.040 now that I'm here, um a lot more at home, 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.160 I get to actually, you know, go out there and 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.560 do that stuff from from early morning all the way 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.120 till night and I get to you know, try to 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:50.080 figure out ways to keep Dejay active, keep them excited 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:54.280 about going outside, keep them excited about being, um, being 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:56.640 an active kid. Um. And I think that's one of 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.400 the biggest things that I've learned since this quarantine is that, hey, 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:03.199 since we can't just go out and go to the 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.520 zoo or go to the amusement parks, we can try 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:10.040 to figure out ways to have fun at home in 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:13.960 the backyard or even just in in the house, playing 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:18.240 board games, playing card games. Um. You know, we always 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:20.520 keep playing Hung Hung and Hippo, which was a great 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.280 game for me growing up. And you know, stuff, teaching 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:27.240 DJ that stuff. Um, you know, I can't can't let 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:29.520 him win them all, obviously. You gotta teach them, you know, 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:31.440 how to be able to you know, not a storely 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:32.839 was it. But you gotta teach him that you can't 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.319 win everything, obviously. And so that's the thing I think 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:40.120 I want to continue doing, um once this pandemic is over, 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.600 or once DJ and London gets to his age and 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:46.960 make it over. Yeah, And you do a lot to 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:50.240 pour out into your kids, and when you look at it, 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:54.360 you you can't deny the fact that your other half, 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:59.040 she's helping you tremendously. Talk about the team work that 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.640 you got, you guys have developed in order to create 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:07.400 such a great environment for raising your kids. Your wife, man, Megan, 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:11.760 she has been such a tremendous help And I knew 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:15.959 she did a lot, but once I was done with football, um, 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:17.600 you know, at the end of this season and now 0:11:17.640 --> 0:11:20.920 having two kids, I understand how much she really does, 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:25.040 even from like just getting his food ready, and you know, kids, 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:28.720 they have no patience, and so DJ is like, where's 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:32.120 my where's my I'm hungry, and like her having to 0:11:32.160 --> 0:11:35.080 balance you know, doing that, washing dishes, cleaning the house, 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:37.839 doing laundry, just everything that she's doing. Now that I'm 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:42.640 helping her out, it's it's really amazing to see how 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.079 she works and what she does for this family, keep 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:49.280 this family together as a good strong unit. Um is 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.440 amazing to watch and witness. And now that I get 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:55.079 to help her out and relieve some of all that 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:57.760 stress that she has um of being you know, a 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:01.200 mother and balancing all this life because you know, as 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:04.080 you know, as football players were barely home during the season, 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.200 and so now that I get to see it, um, 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:11.319 you know every day daily is really amazing, and it 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:16.560 really I feel like for me, it really makes me 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:20.320 very proud, you know, to be married to Megan and 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.840 everything that she does for us. Hey, I bet she 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:27.320 had a fabulous Mother's Day. Huh. Yeah, she had a 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:33.080 great time, and her and DJ had big cinnamon rolls homemade, 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:36.640 were amazing cinnamon rolls they made from scratch from the 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:39.280 brig all the way to the icing, and so it 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:41.640 was a good time. Gave her. She said, these are 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:43.440 the best flowers I've ever got her. So, you know, 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:47.000 to this to me, got this big giant arrangement of 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:50.240 flowers because she deserves it. And you know, I had 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:54.680 DJ and London and our dog obviously or not obviously, 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.840 we treat him as our kids, and so we had 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:01.400 had them all trace their hands and write a cool 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.440 Mother's Day car And it was a good day, you know, 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.760 just of us being together, um and enjoying the day. Dave. 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.600 When I hear you talk, man, you take so much 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:14.040 pride into everything that you do, whether or not, if 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.880 it's being a better father, whether or not if it's 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:21.440 being a better husband, acknowledging the fact of your wife, 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:26.440 what she does and how valuable she is. Oftentimes, we 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:31.720 as men, especially in your position being a leader, you 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:36.120 pour so much into other people who are around you, 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.360 and when we come back, we have to refiel to 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.679 get our energy back. What are some of the things 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:47.760 that you do to re feel yourself or should I 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.480 say what motivates? What motivates you to continue to be 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.080 that great dad that you are the biggest things, like 0:13:56.080 --> 0:14:00.520 I said, my upbringing, Um, watching my mom having struggle 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:05.760 to raise six kids with a set of triplets, and UM, 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.240 I think I just wanted to make sure that my 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:11.760 kids have the best life as a child is that 0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:15.200 they can't have. UM, make sure I'm always there, like 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:20.360 I said, and reflecting on my upbringing and um, you know, 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.480 wanting to do everything for my kids so that they, 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:26.720 you know, don't have to struggle as much as I did, 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:32.000 and so that they are becoming respectful, responsible young adults 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:35.920 when they get older. I remember having my teammates he's 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:40.200 one of my close friends now, Uh, Philip Rivers quarterback 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.880 now in Indy. He had a tribe. I want to say, 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.120 he has like ten kids, and he was. It was 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.880 impressive for me to see how he juggles everything from 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.880 the football side and then be a family man to 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.880 the utmost. He was more so like my role model 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:00.320 without him even knowing it. Any other guys who see 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:05.200 who's doing great work that you could just that motivation 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:07.520 would just say, you know what, I respect to grind 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:09.720 I respect the hustle because I know how hard it 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:12.680 is for them to do. I think my thing is um. 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.800 He's actually a former You and I player. He played 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:20.160 long before me. Um. It's Kurt Winner and he has 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.280 seven kids to him and his wife Brenda, and I 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:26.680 talked to him all the time, and just to see 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:31.480 his ability to balance, like you said, the lifestyle football 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.680 and now that he's you know, busy being a commentator, 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:38.600 balancing all that and still having time to hang out 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:41.840 with the family, make sure that his kids are respect 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:44.960 like I said, respectful during their homework, uh and everything 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:48.680 like that. And another guy for me um is Carson Palmer. 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.400 He was a quarterback for us, and just to see 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:55.800 him be a great father off the field with you know, 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:59.600 our Saturday walkthroughs. He's sitting there as a quarterback leading 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.600 the offense. And then he when football is over, he 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:06.040 knows how to transition to being a playing with his kids, 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.480 running around and jogging around and having fun with his family. 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:13.320 And I think I've learned from him. Another big thing 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:17.280 is that when you're in football, being football, but when 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:21.960 you're with your family, don't have don't um have still 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.040 have that if it was a bad game, don't have 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:27.560 that bad attitude toward your family. Um try to just 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.400 be be there with your family and enjoy your time 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:33.920 with your family, um or and you know if I 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:37.240 fumbled or you know, did had a bad game. And 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:41.240 he's taught me that to just you know, think about 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:43.440 it when it comes to the next day when we're 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:47.600 doing corrections, are watching film. Don't think about it while 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.600 you're reading the book to your son, who's you know, 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.760 going to bid or who's playing and you're having a 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.080 bad attitude, because that will affect, you know, the relationship, 0:16:57.120 --> 0:16:59.800 because your son, like my son now, who's three, he 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:03.320 isn't understand, you know, what happened to me in the game, 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:05.520 or he doesn't understand that I had a bad day. 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.399 So he's just trying to have fun and enjoy hanging 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:11.480 hanging out with his father and Carson Palmer. Just to 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.520 witness the way he did that was amazing. Thank you, 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:18.680 thank you for sharing that, because in my mind I'm 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:22.639 thinking like how, like how do is it? Is it 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.360 even possible? How? And what's the why? But you made 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.919 a great point because your kids, they want to make 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:31.920 sure they're in the moment. They don't care about football. 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:34.720 They don't even know that that's your profession. So that's 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.199 a great point to add in for all of the 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.560 guys and all of the listeners to hear, because they 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:43.479 don't know. They only know what they see and what 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:47.040 they wanted at the moment. So thank you for that, David, 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.600 Thank you. I want to talk about something that most 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:56.280 NFL dads have to deal with, and that's changing teams. Now. 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:59.800 I played fifteen years on five different teams, so for 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:04.840 mean it almost became a routine deal to move around. 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.439 I knew how to move around, and I knew when 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.680 I unpacked everything. Okay, this is what I can't take 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:13.120 out too far because I know you just never know 0:18:13.119 --> 0:18:16.240 when how long you may be there. How hard has 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:20.840 it been just from the family life dealing with the change, 0:18:21.359 --> 0:18:24.520 and has it gotten started to the point to where 0:18:24.720 --> 0:18:28.359 you're starting to move things around, so it's been, um, 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:30.560 pretty difficult. I think the biggest thing, though, is the 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.760 uncertainty of if we're gonna have a season, when we're 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:37.560 actually gonna pick up and actually me as a team, Um, 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:40.280 when I'm gonna be able to actually go to Houston 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:44.119 and move everything. So I think that's right now is 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:47.359 the hardest part of being on a new team is 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:49.880 trying to figure out what to move and when we're 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:53.120 gonna be able to move um. Me and Megan, we're 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.800 still right now trying to debate on what we're actually 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:58.760 gonna bring, what essential items. Like you said, you never 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:01.400 know how long you're gonna be on that team once 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:04.200 you start, you know, changing teams, and you don't want 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:06.520 to bring, you know, the whole house. You want to 0:19:06.520 --> 0:19:09.720 bring your essentials. And it's I mean, honestly, I'm gonna 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.320 it's gonna be hard for us to figure out which 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:15.760 one what stuff we need, um when we do go, 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.639 and also just to travel with kids. I read you know, 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:22.520 how we're gonna get everything down there, um, and what 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:25.479 stuff do we take you know first or wait a 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:27.960 little bit. I mean, I don't know. This would be 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:31.680 my first time, So I think you know when once 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:35.800 it actually you know, starts developing and and all that, 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.199 I think it's gonna be that's when the stress is 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:41.159 really gonna come, is trying to figure out how to 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:44.640 get everything down there and when the when to go down. Yeah, 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:48.560 you definitely gotta be safe because you look at it now. 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:51.320 You just even the thought of you taking your kids 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:55.239 on the plane and the recirculation of the air on 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:57.520 the plane. So that's something that you have to think about. 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:00.200 So I would imagine you would get a out of 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:02.840 mileth put on your car because I'm pretty sure you 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:05.200 guys will be driving down whenever they open it back 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:11.000 up exactly exactly, because I don't know. I mean, yeah, dude, 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:13.600 did we find ourselves down there and didn't have someone shopping? 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:15.639 But you don't know you know what to bring, so 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:19.640 you gotta make sure you know how to bring everything. 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:22.120 And then we drive on there. And I heard that's 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:27.320 a long drive. So trying to keep kids, especially DJ 0:20:27.480 --> 0:20:30.480 at three years old, um in a car ride for 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:34.359 that long entertained, it's going to be difficult. David. My 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:37.639 last question I have for you is we see so 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.120 many guys come into the league and the locker room 0:20:40.240 --> 0:20:43.320 is just turning over and over, and you see so 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:47.520 many youngsters that come in. But what would be your advice. 0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:51.800 You're a young father, but you have two kids three 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:55.520 years and coming up with one with the birthday coming soon, 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.680 what would be your advice to those guys to let 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:02.760 them know, hey, these are some of the steps that 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:07.240 you need to take to manage your time and manage 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:09.840 your time on the football side, and also manage your 0:21:09.880 --> 0:21:14.719 time on the family side, so everybody is helped and happy. Yeah, 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:18.080 I think my biggest thing for to managing balancing all 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:21.800 that is once you get into the NFL, so many 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:27.440 people between relatives or marketing or you know, just everyone 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:29.840 coming at you to try to get a piece of 0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:32.480 your fame or try to get a piece of you 0:21:32.640 --> 0:21:36.480 being an NFL player. I think the biggest thing I've 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:39.800 learned and that a lot of veterans have told me, 0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:42.400 coaches as well as that you need to make sure 0:21:42.520 --> 0:21:46.440 you're filtering who is in contact with you. You need 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.840 to make sure you know that the person who is 0:21:50.280 --> 0:21:54.840 uh you're communicating with or interacting with is has the 0:21:54.880 --> 0:21:58.320 best intentions to be with you and be you know, 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:02.439 alongside of you in NFL because everyone will try to 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.560 come at you to get a piece of the NFL life, 0:22:05.760 --> 0:22:08.240 and that could drain you, and that will take time 0:22:08.840 --> 0:22:11.399 important time that you want to find spend with your family. 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:14.800 And with football, especially coming in as a rookie, you're 0:22:14.800 --> 0:22:18.800 gonna football is such a fast pace. It's like you know, 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:22.879 getting pH d in in football, and so you gotta 0:22:23.160 --> 0:22:27.040 have time to study your playbook and be ready to 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:30.439 go because you don't have a rest shirt year to 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:33.800 try to play. They're not gonna let you figure it 0:22:33.840 --> 0:22:35.520 out and then you play. They want you to be 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:38.159 able to play right now. And that's the biggest thing 0:22:38.240 --> 0:22:41.440 is you gotta be able to filter between who's actually 0:22:41.480 --> 0:22:45.679 wanting to have a real um relationship with you and 0:22:45.720 --> 0:22:49.159 who's in it for a different reason um, Because like 0:22:49.240 --> 0:22:52.720 I said, they will drain you, not just you your 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:57.200 It will drain you personally, will drain you energy, and 0:22:57.320 --> 0:23:00.000