WEBVTT - The Dave Pasch Podcast - Steve Levy And Brian Griese 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:08.200 Hey everybody, it's time for another edition of the Dave 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:12.320 Pash Podcast. I'm your host Dave Pash, long time ESPN 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.800 play by play announcer and voice of the Arizona Cardinals. 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.960 We are presented by bet MGM, the official sports betting 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:24.440 partner of the Arizona Cardinals and Hila River Hotels and Casinos. 0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:29.640 You can also follow us on Twitter at Pash pod Well. 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:32.479 Today we get a national take on the Arizona Cardinals 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:35.479 and the upcoming NFL season as we sit down with 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.640 two members of the ESPN Monday Night Football crew. Longtime 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:43.839 SportsCenter anchor and play by play announcer Steve Levy and 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.960 also former NFL quarterback Brian Greasy, who won a National 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:51.279 championship when he played at Michigan also spent more than 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:53.960 a decade as a quarterback in the NFL, including winning 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.560 a Super Bowl playing behind John Elway with the Denver Broncos. 0:00:58.200 --> 0:00:59.920 Stephen Brian are going to talk about what it's like 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.520 to call Monday Night football games, also what it's like 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.680 working with Lewis Riddick, the third member of their booth. 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:09.680 They're going to discuss the games they're looking forward to 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.320 most in twenty twenty one, they'll talk Arizona Cardinals and 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:17.440 in particular their thoughts on Kyler Murray. So I worked 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.200 for four years with Greasy calling college football games. I 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:23.520 could not have been happier when he got the call 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:26.640 the promotion to do Monday Night Football, which certainly is 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.760 one of the premier jobs in all of sports broadcasting. 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.199 He Steve and Lewis had a tremendous year one under 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:38.319 very challenging circumstances in twenty twenty, and I looked very 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:42.040 much forward to their telecasts here in year two. So, 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:46.119 without further ado from ESPN's Monday Night Football, Steve Levy 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:52.880 and Brian Greasy, well, fellas, I appreciate you guys doing this, 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:55.360 first of all, and I'm not just saying this because 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:57.600 you're sitting here, because I believe I told you both 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.440 last year. You guys are awesome. I really enjoyed the 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:02.800 broadcast last year. I thought you two guys, and Lewis 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:08.040 and Lisa, considering especially everything going on in the world, 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:13.519 I got to imagine been very difficult testing every single game, 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.320 doing all the meetings via Zoom, which we were doing 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.960 for other sports as well. What was the biggest challenge 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:22.440 for you guys last year in year one, kind of 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:26.680 dealing with all the COVID protocols, not just for you guys, 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:30.200 but for the teams, the coaches and the players. Yeah, 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:33.160 so there's, uh, it's complicated to unpack, right, there's so 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:36.320 much and and and couple that with the fact of 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:38.360 all the attention that had been on the Monday night 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:41.359 football booth, right, so we're trying to get all the 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:43.640 attention off the booth and get it onto the field 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.000 and let's focus on the game. And you know, Greece 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:48.680 and I had worked together doing the college games together 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.120 for four years, so we had that rapport. But you know, 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:53.240 Lewis and Lisa didn't really know how we were going 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:55.280 to fit in with that. And we couldn't hang out. 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.320 I mean, there was no time that we were allowed 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:01.519 to hang out. People are shocked, like, whatever hotel is 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:03.560 ten minutes away from the stadium, we have to travel 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:08.120 hotel to stadium separately, which is really weird. Weren't allowed 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:11.880 on the field. We did not have a single drink 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.840 or meal together. The four on air and the producer 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.239 director and knew as well. Really Lisa Salters was the 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.000 only one who'd done it on a regular basis, So 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:23.760 there were a lot of things. There are a lot 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.560 of challenges. I was really fortunate that I wasn't starting 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:28.760 from scratch with Bryan too, like, you know, that might 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.280 have been too much, right, new producer, new director. Three 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.440 in the booth, which can be tricky, has its own 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:36.920 sort of issues. But in a year where you're not 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:40.760 laying out for crowd noise, that was the season to 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:43.760 have three voices. Hey guys, let's fill some clock here. 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:47.000 You know, after there's a touchdown, we need some people 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:50.160 to start talking because there's no crowd shots. And so 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:53.120 those are a handful of things, and you know, we 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:54.840 tried to make it as good as possible, and we 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.680 knew we knew we were going to be judged by 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:01.840 whatever was coming through the television screen and the speakers. 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:03.880 People didn't care that we didn't hang out right. People 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.920 didn't care we came separately. They just want to enjoy 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.040 their Monday night football at home. And we were comfortable 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.640 being judged by that. It was the season of no excuses. 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:15.640 You know, there was a lot of reasons that we 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:18.680 could have put not as good of a product onto 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.720 the air, but none of us approached it with, hey, 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:23.360 you know, we're going to use this as an excuse. 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:27.400 We wanted to overcome what challenges there were and get 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:30.120 better every week. To Steve's point, you know, we had 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:31.440 to get to know each other a little bit. And 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:34.000 how we operated on the Air's a lot of air 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.760 traffic control with three people in the booth and Lisa 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.360 on the field and John Perry as well working from home, 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:43.440 which was a challenge every time there was an officiating 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:47.480 question to bring John and from his basement of his house. 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:50.840 So there was a lot going on. But I was 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:53.400 really proud of the way that we came together and 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.880 in the most important year to bring the game home 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.560 to fans because they weren't in the stands to do 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:01.680 it in a I was professional. And the other thing is, 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:05.480 so this might be two inside, but we replaced people 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:09.159 in the booth with monitors. Okay, because in an effort 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:13.800 to keep your six feet distance, no spotter standing next 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:15.320 to us, there was a monitor in the spot it 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.640 was in another booth, no statistician. Instead of statistician, we 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:21.159 had another monitor in front of us. And so in essence, 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:23.200 you know, you got to see the manicure of whoever 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:25.680 was pointing to a place on the booth with their 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.680 own camera. So it was a bizarre but we didn't 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:29.960 know what to go off, right. It was our first 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:33.479 year doing Monday night football together when I was still, 0:05:33.600 --> 0:05:35.880 you know, ready to jump out into space. I was 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.599 so excited about it. I would have done it into 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:41.240 a tape recorder myself. Well, I've always felt when people 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:42.960 asked me, you know, what are the keys to a 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:47.680 good broadcast? Chemistry is at the top of the list. Well, 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:49.960 how do you build chemistry? You spend time together. And 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:52.880 if you can't spend time together, especially when you're away 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:55.120 from the production meetings, you're you're not sitting there watching 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.120 take together. You're just having dinner, having a glass of wine. 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:00.760 If it's greasy, smoking a cigar. I don't know if 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.160 Levi you're in that group too. Or Cracker Barrel. We 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:06.679 had pregame at Cracker Barrel. See Steve doesn't eat before 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:10.800 the game, so you don't know, So passion, we had 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:13.480 a pregame meal every single week and we'd always go 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.040 to Cracker Barrel because we're in Tuscaloosa or we're in 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:20.240 you know, Mississippi, somewhere it's Starkville. The only place to 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.040 eat is Cracker Barrel, so that's where we would go 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.400 have our pregame meal. Did a lot of eleven am 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:28.080 Local games, eleven am Central game, so you know, it's 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.560 six thirty in the morning and our suits at Cracker Barrel. 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:36.840 But didn't stick out. But the time, because you've mentioned, 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.159 didn't really had that time. But you obviously worked together 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.279 for four years, right because you went with Steve. When 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.960 Steve you came to college football, Spielman left for Fox, 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:48.280 McElroy came with me, so it was four years. So 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.600 you guys had four years together. But I don't know 0:06:50.640 --> 0:06:53.240 if you guys knew Lewis. I mean obviously you know, 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.200 watching respected Lewis. He's great on the air. But now 0:06:56.279 --> 0:06:58.760 you're working with a third person and you don't get 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.520 that time together. How do you guys make up for 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:04.360 that lost time to because it felt like you guys 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.240 were like when I watched and listened, the chemistry was 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:09.520 good with the three of you. I it seemed as 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:11.880 if you were spending time together the way it came 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:13.760 off on the air. Lewis hates you. First of all, 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.880 he was wondering where his invite is by the way, okay, 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.680 justosure here we go full disclosure. First of all, he 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:25.280 couldn't care less, but I did email him several months ago, 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:31.040 just him yeah before so Lewis will come on a 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:33.480 future show, but we're not. But I figured, you know, 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:35.320 I probably we're gonna spend the fourth quarter of the 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.280 game talking about this. By the way, if I didn't 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:41.280 get you guys now between Levy, you know, not answering 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.720 his phone, greasy, not returning text, I figure, if I 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:46.720 don't get these two guys now when they're here, it's 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:50.000 never gonna We're in the communication business, as as you know. 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.360 The key of that is no. So um, my experience 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:55.640 with Lewis has been Sports Center. I'd been on the 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.200 road a little bit with Lewis, you know, we do 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.160 the Sports Center at the Super Bowl all week and 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:02.680 done segments with him. But again not so so. It 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:05.040 takes some time. It takes some time to figure out 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.840 like we I mean as small as you know, can 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:09.920 I call you lou kind of thing? Like no, he 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:12.320 wants to be Lewis, Like you know, that's little stuff. 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.440 We don't know. It's not really a nickname there and 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:17.560 and the first you know, I just wanted to get 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:19.640 him smiling, right, I wanted to get him cracking up, 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.560 and uh, one of the highlights of the season. This 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:25.120 is ridiculous, by the way, because it has nothing to 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:28.280 do with the game. It's week three. We have Kansas 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:31.200 City in Baltimore, which was when the schedule comes out 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:34.319 of April. Yeah right, I'm sure you know Fox and 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:37.280 NBC and say, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on there? 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:39.880 How did we get that game? So we get that 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.640 game and Lewis is Pat Mahomes, Pat Mahomes, Pat Mahomes, 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:47.600 and Missus Mahomes winds up tweeting out something his name 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:50.959 is Patrick in essence his mom. Yeah, yeah, sorry, yeah man, yeah, 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:55.560 Missus Mahomes. Yeah, well here's another Missus Mahomes. Ok, he's married. Okay, fine, 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:57.679 so I knew what he was talking about. I just 0:08:57.760 --> 0:08:59.640 want to make sure the fans at home. No, apparently 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:01.400 he might have been his fiancee at the time. I 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:03.160 don't know anyway, you knew what I meant. But that's 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.840 that's what he does. See four years of it, so exactly, 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.240 maybe there's a shelf life to him, right, it's a 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:11.920 four years self life we're on six now, but go 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.559 ahead anyway. So, uh so we're in the break and 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.160 and and it's being revealed to us to hey a 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:21.520 Twitter social media. Patrick's mom is saying all this stuff, 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:23.240 and I'm like, guys, we gotta throw it up on 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.160 the screen. And you know, some people didn't want to 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:28.200 do it. Hey, we're not making fun. Anyway, we wound 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:31.400 up doing it. Lewis got hysterical, one of the maybe 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.360 our best early moment of the season week three, and 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:37.280 we loosened everybody up. We cracked up, and I remember saying, 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:40.079 you know, hey, you want him to be uh he 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:41.599 wants to be called Patrick or you want to be 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.920 called Lewis, Right, nobody's calling you. So he was lou 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:48.280 for the rest of the year. So so it's but 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:51.800 it's moments like that. You can't fake the stuff. You can't. 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:54.680 It has to happen organically. We didn't have any preseason 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:56.439 games as well, but I thought that was a really 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:58.199 good jumping off point for the three of us in 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:00.400 the booth. Yeah, and I think that Lewis and I 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:03.719 had no interaction or experience with Lewis prior to to 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.200 last year other than playing against him. On the field. 0:10:06.520 --> 0:10:10.160 But I think that he brought a different perspective, obviously 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.719 a defensive perspective and a general manager's perspective or not, 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:17.840 or a front office perspective. I should say that was different. 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:22.760 That was useful that in certain points in the game, 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:24.960 it gave us an opportunity to go back and forth 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:27.360 on a point, So maybe we peel the onion back 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:29.280 a little bit deeper than we would normally if it 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:31.600 was just the two of us up there. I can 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:35.079 give an offensive perspective, he can give a defensive perspective, 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:37.280 or in a game that was not a close game 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:39.240 in the second half, like we had a game of 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.719 Seattle in Philadelphia or the New England a game later 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:45.959 in the year where we can dive in in the 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.679 third and fourth quarters into some front office conversations the 0:10:49.800 --> 0:10:52.160 future of a team, how they should be built, you know, 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.840 looking forward. Just conversations that went deeper than they would 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.160 have otherwise had we only had two guys in the booth. 0:10:58.480 --> 0:10:59.760 What are some of the games as you look at 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:03.839 this schedule for this year that you're excited about. I'm 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:05.360 sure you're excited about all of them, but are there 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.600 any particular to stick out You're like, man, I cannot 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.600 wait for that. Or Steve, you brought up last year. Yeah, 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.920 you guys were surprised you got Baltimore, Kansas City any 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:15.880 on this schedu You're like, oh man, we got this one. 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:20.559 I think overall the schedule is better than it was 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:22.520 a year ago. But I don't think there is the 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:26.280 one bam stand out game. We've got a lot of 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:30.520 really good, high end games, especially in the NFC West. 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.760 I think, right, we've got Rams Cardinals, Rams Cardinals, and 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:36.079 then we Rams forty nine ers like two weeks later 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:38.400 or something like that. So so I think we're really 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:41.240 strong in what is probably the best division in football. 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:44.000 You know, little argument there, but so those are some 0:11:44.080 --> 0:11:46.800 of the games that jump out. I was really excited 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.559 about Indie at Baltimore early on. I thought that was 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:51.800 a sneaky, really good game, and now we have to 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.439 see what happens. You know. I think Bill's Titans. I 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.160 think it's Week three, maybe five. I think that's five 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:01.679 or six. Week five is Baltimore Colts, Philly Dallas is 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.839 week three? What was the one you just said, Bill's Titans? 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:06.280 Maybe Tweks that's Week six. Yeah, so Bills Titans. I 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.400 think that's gonna be a great game too. Obviously, playoff 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:11.640 teams from a year ago and they're gonna be right 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:15.360 back at their again this season. And um so yeah, 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.520 there's a and then there's some really late, good late 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.160 divisional games, like you said, in the NFC West, and 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:22.680 we get to jump into the Flex for the first 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.000 time every week. So we get a week eighteen and 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.280 we have been you know, guarantee, we get two games, doubleheader, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.240 and we've never been in the Flex game before. It's 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:33.600 kind of cool find out six days before we'll get 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:35.079 a day game in a night game, I think on 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.600 that Saturday, Yeah, Saturday. Yeah, So that's really cool. That's 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:42.199 good for the network. Everybody back home at ESPN is 0:12:42.240 --> 0:12:44.240 really excited about that two hours of a week. Yep. 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:49.480 So you guys were at practice, and you guys follow 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:52.679 the Cardinals closely last year, do you feel like this 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:56.480 team's better? Last year they were six and three and 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:58.800 they missed the playoffs. I said, this is my twentieth year, 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:01.240 and I said, in nineteen years of doing this, that 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:05.800 was the most disappointed I've ever been. And that's I mean, look, 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.120 there were teams here, they weren't good, weren't competitive, and 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.160 then there were teams like the team that went to 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:14.160 the Super Bowl that exceeded expectations. Last year, through nine games, 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:17.199 Kyler Murray was an MVP candidate. The Cardinals seemed to 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:19.679 have the the it factor with the Hail Mary to 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:21.880 beat a really good Buffalo team here, and then at 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:23.480 the end of the season they just ran out of gas. 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.480 It's injuries, obviously, but just fell apart the home loss 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:28.480 to the forty nine ers, which I missed because of COVID, 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:31.760 and then the loss at the Rams, Kyler gets hurt, 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:35.120 and it just was an extremely disappointing way to end 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:37.839 the year. But they were a playoff team for most 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:40.679 of the year and didn't make the playoffs. Do you 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.960 guys see them as a playoff team in twenty twenty one? 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:46.480 I do, and I you know, we just talked with 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.080 Kyler Murray and I asked them about how the last 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:52.559 two games and how they went down felt and what 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:55.839 it meant and how it informed how the off season 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.680 was going to play out. And he said it was miserable, 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:02.400 and that's that you want to hear from your quarterback. 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:04.800 And he was right off the tip of his tongue. Listen, 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:07.319 you can't lose to you know, two division opponents that 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:09.839 are playing back up in third string quarterbacks with the 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:13.600 playoffs on the line. If you lose like that, that's 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:16.240 going to leave a mark. That's gonna leave a stain, 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:20.040 and it should on this organization. And I think there's 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:23.200 a bigger sense of urgency this year because of that. 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.200 I think you see them going out and trying to 0:14:26.280 --> 0:14:31.000 find free agent players that bring leadership. Obviously, JJ Watt 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:32.600 is at the top of that food chain, one of 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.440 the best players to ever play the game and one 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.240 of the best leaders to ever be a part of 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.920 the National Football League. And we talked with him as 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:43.400 well and in his attitude, his approach for one second, 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.840 take on the field, stuff away with JJ okay, and 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:49.680 let's just talk about how he's going to impact this 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.000 team off the field. I don't think that you can 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.640 measure that. I don't think that you can measure the 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:59.440 way that he interacts with guys, you know, like Zavan Collins, 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:04.120 like Kyler Murray, young wide receivers, Rondeo Moore. I mean, 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:06.760 you can't put a value on that, and I think 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.120 this team needs that. I think that they wilted down 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.320 the stretch a year ago, and we can there's a 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:15.080 number of reasons why, lack of a consistent running game, 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:18.880 Kyler's nicked up, so on and so forth. Defense, But 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:21.760 I think what they've done in the offseason as at 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:25.320 least give themselves a chance to create the right chemistry. 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:28.240 So there's no complacency in the first half of the 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:30.120 season when you go six and three and you think 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.320 that you've arrived and made it, and all of a 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:34.600 sudden you don't work as hard maybe in the second 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:38.120 half of the season. The leadership piece of it on 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.040 both sides of the ball. You bring in a guy 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:43.600 like Rodney Hudson, unbelievable player at the center position, is 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:45.840 still a top five center in the league, and he's 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.680 interacting day to day with Kyler Murray and taking stuff 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.960 off of Kyler's play from a protection standpoint, taking care 0:15:53.000 --> 0:15:55.600 of the entire offensive line. I mean, so you asked me, 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:57.640 are they better? I do think they're better, But at 0:15:57.680 --> 0:15:59.760 the end of the day, they're in the toughest division football. 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:01.920 You have to have a quarterback that's going to take 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.680 that next step. And what is that next step for Kyler? 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.040 We know he's athletic, he can throw the football, he 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:09.760 can run. It's getting to the playoffs. It's being able 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:14.080 to grind through adversity, is being able to be detail 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.840 oriented and lead. Now that Larry Fitzgerald is gone, he 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:20.520 has to take that vacuum and run with it and 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.800 be the leader on this team when the time is tough. 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:26.840 Not just when things are going well, but when there's adversity, 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.400 which is the thing he hasn't faced in his life 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.280 in high school or college. He's now facing it now. 0:16:32.840 --> 0:16:34.600 Good thing this is a podcast, because this is a 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:36.920 game broadcast. The other team would half the ball by 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.080 Now there's four and a half minute in these preseason 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:41.000 games were good. We're good with that. Eat some clock. 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:43.680 Let's go down to Lisa Salters. Let's talk to some 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.560 of the fans that stands listen. I think that veteran 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.720 leadership is very important. I remember seeing, you know, all 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:53.880 the offseason transactions like the Cardinal stool, these big name 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.600 household household names. Now, how much do they have left 0:16:57.640 --> 0:16:59.640 in the tank? How much you know? Will they perform 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:02.880 the field is one thing, but you get all these 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:05.000 in I thought the Cardinals were going to dominate the 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:08.040 national TV schedule. I thought they'd be in primetime even 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:11.200 more than they actually are because of that. There's a 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:14.520 star studded roster, it really is so so I think 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:18.200 the veteran leadership will help this team through the through 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.920 the rough patches, which are inevitable for every team around 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:23.920 the league. It sounds silly to say that health is 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:26.320 such a factor because also that's you know, that's league 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.879 wide as well. But you know, if Kyler's one hundred 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:30.320 percent at the end of the season last year, they're 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:32.920 probably in the playoffs, probably are a playoff team. So 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:37.399 maybe that offensive line improvements will help his protection, actually 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:39.840 protect him physically, not pass protect, you know, I mean, 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:42.560 keep him, keep him healthy. We'll see how much he's 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:45.800 gonna run explosive wide receivers. I think the running game 0:17:45.840 --> 0:17:48.360 remains a question mark as well. But I think we're 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:50.840 gonna find out something about the Cardinals this year, and 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:53.240 if it's not a playoff team, Bud, I think this 0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:56.200 team could look very, very different the following season. Sure, 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:59.600 I think coach coach Kingsbury knows this is a big year. 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.119 The team him is not one he hasn't won. By 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:04.120 the way, I think he's got five years dating back 0:18:04.119 --> 0:18:07.000 to you know, Texas Tech without a winning season. So 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:09.000 I think this is kind of a proven year for 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:11.679 the Cardinals. And that goes for Kyler too. He's got 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:13.600 to step out now. He's not just a kid anymore. 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:15.960 Right now, It's time year three to step up and 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:17.680 show everybody, and you can do it for the whole season. 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.120 So Cliff was on this podcast and I asked him, 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:22.520 you know, this is an important year for everybody in 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:25.520 the organization. How do you handle those expectations? And he 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.200 told us. I thought it was a great answer. He said, 0:18:27.200 --> 0:18:29.720 you know, looking back, and Cliff's always been very humble, 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.080 and actually brought up a time I think you and 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:35.400 I were doing the game when Johnny Manziel was playing 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:37.120 at B and M and he was the offensive coordinator, 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:38.600 and you walked out of the meeting with Cliff and 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:41.640 you're like, that guy's a head coach. Like his presence, 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.800 how intelligent he is, but also just his humility. And 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:48.760 he told me during our interview for the podcast that 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:52.320 getting fired at Texas Tech was the best thing that 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:55.720 happened to him because and when you get fired at 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:58.879 a place where you played and you're from Texas and 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:02.440 everybody knows you there, so there's no escape, there's no hiding. Yeah, 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:04.680 you have to deal with it every day for a while. 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.719 He said that helped him become better and be prepared 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:10.600 for an NFL job. I thought that was a really 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:14.800 interesting answer. You guys brought up Kyler Murray, and look, 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:18.200 we all know how talented Kyler is. He said, he 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.000 needs to grow and mature as a leader, and he's 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:23.040 going to get that opportunity. Larry Fitzgerald is in here, 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:25.520 at least not right now. One thing that a couple 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:27.120 of players have brought up to me that I thought 0:19:27.160 --> 0:19:28.520 was interesting And I don't know if you can tell 0:19:28.560 --> 0:19:31.080 when you watch him and from your standpoint, Brian, it 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:33.119 may not even matter based on our history together and 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:36.040 hearing what you think about quarterback play. But they said, 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.320