1
00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 1: Welcome to episode three of NFL Daily's twenty five Players

2
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,760
Speaker 1: in twenty five Years. Yes, we are talking about the

3
00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 1: best players of this century, and there is no one

4
00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:22,200
Speaker 1: I would rather talk to than Brian Baldinger of NFL Network. Baldy,

5
00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,639
Speaker 1: you've been covering the league this whole time. I'm going

6
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:27,800
Speaker 1: back and watching some of the highlights. You're on the

7
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,120
Speaker 1: Fox calls for some of these guys, and of course

8
00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,280
Speaker 1: you've been with us at the network, so a great

9
00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,440
Speaker 1: perspective that I know you'll give. And I had to

10
00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,680
Speaker 1: get you on a show where there will be an

11
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,600
Speaker 1: offensive lineman. No spoilers yet, but there will be an

12
00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:41,920
Speaker 1: offensive lineman on this one.

13
00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,400
Speaker 2: All right, well, well done. You can't have a list

14
00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,319
Speaker 2: without a few offensive linemen on. I know that.

15
00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:48,360
Speaker 3: Let's just get right to it.

16
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,680
Speaker 1: We're not starting with the lineman, but we are starting

17
00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,640
Speaker 1: with someone that I loved watching when I was starting

18
00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:54,040
Speaker 1: my career.

19
00:00:54,120 --> 00:01:02,320
Speaker 3: Out number fifteen, Ladanian Tomlinson. And the hand off to

20
00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,680
Speaker 3: Thomlinson left sun and he will.

21
00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:09,240
Speaker 2: Gallop into the unzone, charger fans or witnesses to history.

22
00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,800
Speaker 3: The kid from Rosebud, Texas get done good.

23
00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,160
Speaker 2: I want to thank you for allowing us.

24
00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:17,920
Speaker 3: To witness your greatness. Wow, what a player, what a

25
00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:22,160
Speaker 3: person we want to bring?

26
00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:23,000
Speaker 2: Y'all want to be?

27
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:24,560
Speaker 4: Jimps, What y'all want to be?

28
00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,880
Speaker 5: Joe from the left hatch on second and four, A

29
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:29,000
Speaker 5: little pitch pack to LT.

30
00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,000
Speaker 3: He's looking at Crow George the enzone. Gates got it

31
00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:33,440
Speaker 3: cut down.

32
00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:37,560
Speaker 4: That's why you're the greatest.

33
00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:38,680
Speaker 2: That's why you're the greatest.

34
00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,479
Speaker 1: Ladaian Thomasson one of the best to ever do it.

35
00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,640
Speaker 1: He could run, he could catch, and heck you get

36
00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,280
Speaker 1: him on the move. He could throw a little bit

37
00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:52,120
Speaker 1: right there to Antonio Gates. Just an incredible career. There

38
00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,720
Speaker 1: was a six year stretch Baldy where he goes three

39
00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,919
Speaker 1: first team All Pros and three second team All Pros

40
00:01:58,200 --> 00:01:59,120
Speaker 1: mixed in there.

41
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,000
Speaker 3: And during that stretch he played.

42
00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,720
Speaker 1: The running back position about as high a level as

43
00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:06,280
Speaker 1: I've ever seen anyone play it.

44
00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,160
Speaker 2: Well, you know, we've all got a chance to work

45
00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:10,960
Speaker 2: with them, Greg, so we know what kind of person is.

46
00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,400
Speaker 2: So you got to factor that into because just you

47
00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,160
Speaker 2: know the person, the quality of person, the team, ate

48
00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,000
Speaker 2: all that, but to get the god given talent, I mean,

49
00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,720
Speaker 2: there's so many flashback memories I remember Greg doing the

50
00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,760
Speaker 2: Senior Bowl his year coming out of TCU, And I

51
00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,600
Speaker 2: remember we were going to practice and I'm doing the

52
00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,120
Speaker 2: game for TNT. I'm walking down to practice with all

53
00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,320
Speaker 2: the guys, and the first person I see is number five.

54
00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,200
Speaker 2: It's Ladani and Thompson. I'll never forget it, Like he

55
00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:44,360
Speaker 2: just moved differently than everybody. So that like that was

56
00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,680
Speaker 2: my first memory visually of watching LT. Then I remember,

57
00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,200
Speaker 2: you know, Marty Schottenheimer was his coach for a while

58
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,880
Speaker 2: with the Chargers, and I remember, you know, back when

59
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,640
Speaker 2: veteran players, even star players used to play in the preseason. Greg,

60
00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,080
Speaker 2: I'll never forget like the first play of the game

61
00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,359
Speaker 2: of a Chargers preseason game, they flipped it to LT

62
00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:07,800
Speaker 2: and you know it was a touchback. You get the

63
00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,520
Speaker 2: ball to twenty yard line. He goes eighty yards off

64
00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,440
Speaker 2: right side, like literally eighty yards. Nobody touches them. He

65
00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,080
Speaker 2: lays the ball on the ground. Marty Schottenheimer waves them

66
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:19,399
Speaker 2: over to the sideline says, you're done, not just done

67
00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,919
Speaker 2: for the day, but you're done for preseason. Eighty yards

68
00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,520
Speaker 2: one play. We've seen enough. Let's get ready for the season,

69
00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:28,640
Speaker 2: you know, I mean he's had a year. We had

70
00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:31,320
Speaker 2: one hundred catches in the season you mentioned, you know,

71
00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:35,080
Speaker 2: those first seven or eight years, Greg, he averaged four

72
00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,520
Speaker 2: hundred touches a year. Like you give any back in

73
00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,200
Speaker 2: this league over the last twenty five years, four hundred touches.

74
00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,520
Speaker 2: They were done the next year, Jamal Anderson, Sean Alexander

75
00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:48,960
Speaker 2: Duce mccows. So you go through a list of guys

76
00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:54,120
Speaker 2: four hundred touches, it like it really really breaks a

77
00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:59,320
Speaker 2: running back. LT just thrived on the volume of work

78
00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,160
Speaker 2: that he got, especially those first eight years.

79
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,920
Speaker 1: Right, So the stats are crazy, and his first nine

80
00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:11,320
Speaker 1: seasons he scores nineteen more touchdowns than any player in

81
00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,880
Speaker 1: NFL history. And so that's the meat of a guy's career.

82
00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,320
Speaker 1: And even if you look at the whole career touchdowns

83
00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,120
Speaker 1: per game, only Jim Brown goes better than him. And

84
00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,400
Speaker 1: you're absolutely right about saying that he did it year

85
00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,360
Speaker 1: after year after year. I have to point it out

86
00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,320
Speaker 1: because I was in the industry at the time. He's

87
00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,560
Speaker 1: got to be the fantasy football go I actually went

88
00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,920
Speaker 1: and checked some stats and he had to be. Like

89
00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,600
Speaker 1: of this era, if you're giving points per reception, he

90
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,000
Speaker 1: has the most fantasy points per reception of any of

91
00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:43,400
Speaker 1: these running backs by so much. It's ridiculous because you're

92
00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,960
Speaker 1: absolutely right, Like, usually you have a season like that

93
00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:49,280
Speaker 1: MVP season he had, and you mentioned what a great

94
00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,520
Speaker 1: person he was. He won the Walter Payton Man of

95
00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:53,760
Speaker 1: the Year and the MVP in the same season, and

96
00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,839
Speaker 1: you expect some sort of fall off the next year,

97
00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,039
Speaker 1: and then it's just like, nope, I'll just go for

98
00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:00,760
Speaker 1: another two thousand arts from scrimmage.

99
00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:02,160
Speaker 3: He did that three different times.

100
00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,840
Speaker 1: So it was the consistency and the complete game that

101
00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:05,720
Speaker 1: he had, There's no.

102
00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:07,920
Speaker 2: Question about it. And you know, just the way that

103
00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,840
Speaker 2: they used him. And and then you got to talk

104
00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:12,880
Speaker 2: about how he played in the postseason, whether with the

105
00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,800
Speaker 2: Chargers or the Jets. He played very well in the postseason.

106
00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,479
Speaker 2: Even after all that that that stuff isn't even mentioned

107
00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,800
Speaker 2: when you just look at the regular season stats. But uh,

108
00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,159
Speaker 2: you know, I just think that he had this. You know,

109
00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:30,280
Speaker 2: I think all of the very great athletes have a

110
00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:34,119
Speaker 2: different level of stamina than everybody else. Like I've played

111
00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:36,640
Speaker 2: my share of Hall of Fame players and they just

112
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,840
Speaker 2: didn't get fatigued. And you know, to see a guy

113
00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,440
Speaker 2: like LT we could talk about all the stats. We

114
00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:46,200
Speaker 2: can all read him, greg Andr, and he's worthy of

115
00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,280
Speaker 2: all of those. But then you know, he didn't miss games,

116
00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:51,960
Speaker 2: and he came back to next week, and he didn't

117
00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,599
Speaker 2: get tired out there, you know, in September out there

118
00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,960
Speaker 2: in San Diego, whatever the temperature was. All of those

119
00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:02,960
Speaker 2: kind of things mixed in as well, and then like, look,

120
00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:04,880
Speaker 2: he was the focal point of the offense. Okay, if

121
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:06,800
Speaker 2: you want to stop a running back, go stop him. Well,

122
00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,440
Speaker 2: everybody had a hard time even with that was the

123
00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:13,400
Speaker 2: focal point of stopping him because the way that he

124
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,720
Speaker 2: was built was a big part of his success. I mean,

125
00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,120
Speaker 2: the size of his body from the waist down, it's

126
00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,880
Speaker 2: it's enormous, Like he could handle the punishment. But then

127
00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,680
Speaker 2: at the same time, he was built, you know, almost

128
00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,000
Speaker 2: like an offensive guard from the waist down on a

129
00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:33,599
Speaker 2: five ft ten frame. But then he had incredible elusiveness

130
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,159
Speaker 2: and ability to stop and start and make people miss.

131
00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:39,440
Speaker 2: Like that was the other part. He could truck you,

132
00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,520
Speaker 2: but he basically made you miss and then he outran you.

133
00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:44,560
Speaker 1: I love that you brought that up in sort of

134
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,960
Speaker 1: how you first saw him move at TCU, because I

135
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,440
Speaker 1: do think of the contact balance like he was very

136
00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,880
Speaker 1: tough to get on the ground. And I found a

137
00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:58,000
Speaker 1: quote while researching this from Marshall Folk, who I would

138
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,400
Speaker 1: put right there, maybe even a little above lt And

139
00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,279
Speaker 1: the reason he's not on this list we're cutting it

140
00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,279
Speaker 1: off at two thousand. Some of his best years were

141
00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,440
Speaker 1: before two thousand, and otherwise he would be on this list.

142
00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:10,880
Speaker 1: Ladanian Tomlinson, by the way, it is the highest running

143
00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:12,920
Speaker 1: back on this list. But what Fox said that was

144
00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,200
Speaker 1: so interesting to me was Ladanian can do everything that

145
00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,640
Speaker 1: I do just as well. But the difference is if

146
00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,200
Speaker 1: you want to give him the ball on the inside

147
00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,280
Speaker 1: on the goal line situation just to run over someone,

148
00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,440
Speaker 1: he's even a little better than me at doing that.

149
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,160
Speaker 1: And look, Marshall Falk believes in his greatness because he

150
00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:34,800
Speaker 1: was one of the greatest players of all time. So

151
00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,160
Speaker 1: for him to say that about Ladanian Tomlinson, who was

152
00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:39,840
Speaker 1: a big play waiting to happen when he got in

153
00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,440
Speaker 1: the open field and was so not crafty but so

154
00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,280
Speaker 1: precise as a receiver, for him to say that, yeah,

155
00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:48,240
Speaker 1: he had all that, but he had a little more

156
00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:49,360
Speaker 1: even with the power game.

157
00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,000
Speaker 3: That really speaks volumes to me.

158
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,680
Speaker 2: Well, what's interesting, Greg is I remember, you know, his

159
00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,400
Speaker 2: signature move at the goal line was to leap over everybody.

160
00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,120
Speaker 2: And he learned that he watched Walter Payton, you know,

161
00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,200
Speaker 2: so Walterver Payton is the one that went up and over.

162
00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:07,720
Speaker 2: He would protect the ball, he would go backwards over

163
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,400
Speaker 2: and like I remember one day we were doing you

164
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,640
Speaker 2: know something out in Culver City on his leap and

165
00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 2: we had like these high pitch, like these high jump

166
00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,920
Speaker 2: pits out there for him to kind of emulate it

167
00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,280
Speaker 2: the whole thing. But his thing was, you know a

168
00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,200
Speaker 2: lot of guys are afraid to do that dive over

169
00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,000
Speaker 2: a pile at the goal line because he gets the

170
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:30,120
Speaker 2: ball knocked out. Well, he strapped the ball to his

171
00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,160
Speaker 2: chest the way Walter Payton did. And you know that

172
00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,840
Speaker 2: year when he scored thirty one touchdowns, I forget the

173
00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:42,240
Speaker 2: number of runs that were touchdowns were from two yards in,

174
00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,360
Speaker 2: but he literally could take off every bit from the

175
00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:47,880
Speaker 2: three yard line and go over the top to score.

176
00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, and obviously a very smart player. But everyone on

177
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,080
Speaker 1: this list. It's funny because you could basically say this bout,

178
00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:54,840
Speaker 1: You're not going to get this far unless you're an

179
00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,280
Speaker 1: incredibly hard worker and incredibly intelligent, but he had that

180
00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:01,720
Speaker 1: feel of man. He would get on the defenders so quickly,

181
00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:03,959
Speaker 1: he would eat up that open space. And then when

182
00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,079
Speaker 1: he would get in the space, he could make you

183
00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,439
Speaker 1: move and make you miss in tight quarters. So Lorenzo

184
00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,000
Speaker 1: Neils spoke about that, his longtime full back, that they

185
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,600
Speaker 1: don't they don't really play football Baldy like they did

186
00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,120
Speaker 1: back with Marty Schottenheimer and those Chargers teams.

187
00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,679
Speaker 2: Lo' neil never cared. He never cared if he ever

188
00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:23,760
Speaker 2: cared a ball one time in a season. He was

189
00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:26,560
Speaker 2: the eyes of LG so many great backs in the

190
00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,199
Speaker 2: history of this game. But you know those that run

191
00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:31,959
Speaker 2: with him, I mean they're still best friends, as you

192
00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,920
Speaker 2: can imagine. But I mean that run of those two guys,

193
00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:38,440
Speaker 2: you know, I formation, you know, lead back, all that

194
00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:40,920
Speaker 2: kind of stuff that we all kind of you know,

195
00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:43,600
Speaker 2: went through. We all, I mean, I played in a

196
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,760
Speaker 2: number of those type of systems. You know, we don't

197
00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:47,520
Speaker 2: see much of that anymore, unfortunately.

198
00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:52,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, the Chargers that that team and aj Smith had

199
00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,520
Speaker 1: put together with Marty, and then even after Marty, one

200
00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,280
Speaker 1: of the great teams that didn't get over for the

201
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,480
Speaker 1: top like Ladanian Tomlinson would do at the goal line,

202
00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,200
Speaker 1: didn't quite break through because of some of those Patriots teams.

203
00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,199
Speaker 3: I'm glad he had that time with the Jets.

204
00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,040
Speaker 1: He really enjoyed it, said that was one of the

205
00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,040
Speaker 1: best moves he ever made in his career. Really enjoyed

206
00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,360
Speaker 1: the back half of his career with the Jets, so

207
00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:16,360
Speaker 1: salute to him.

208
00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:17,920
Speaker 3: He was a tough man to take down.

209
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:20,839
Speaker 1: One of the few players I guess historically that I

210
00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,359
Speaker 1: can imagine actually being able to tackle la Danian Tomlinson

211
00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:28,239
Speaker 1: in the open field. Is our next player, number fourteen,

212
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:36,240
Speaker 1: Luke Keikley top ten, third five, right side Aje.

213
00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:40,800
Speaker 2: Lou Chick.

214
00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,880
Speaker 3: Very quiet, he goes onto the field, flips switch, won't

215
00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:45,160
Speaker 3: it tech?

216
00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:45,600
Speaker 2: All right?

217
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,199
Speaker 3: I'm all over him. We gotta go now, hut.

218
00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:54,040
Speaker 2: Anybody know you?

219
00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:56,800
Speaker 3: Third and three?

220
00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,679
Speaker 4: Here the comments kick Lee who catched the Manning back

221
00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:04,280
Speaker 4: at the favorite blitz fit in these linebackers up inside

222
00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:06,200
Speaker 4: and Luke Keithhley just so fast.

223
00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:07,280
Speaker 3: Luke Keith Cleck.

224
00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:08,840
Speaker 2: He reminds me of Peyton Manning.

225
00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,040
Speaker 3: Guy that is totally prepared, that is going to know

226
00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,040
Speaker 3: what's gonna happen before it takes place because he has

227
00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:16,240
Speaker 3: studied so much on.

228
00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,079
Speaker 2: Second down, Rombo looking to throw has time, sings it

229
00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:20,920
Speaker 2: and it's intercepted at.

230
00:11:20,800 --> 00:11:22,920
Speaker 3: The thirty eight yard line. Keith Lee has it.

231
00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,720
Speaker 2: He's gonna go into the house. It's the second pick

232
00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,000
Speaker 2: six of the game for the Carolina Panthers.

233
00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,000
Speaker 3: Luke Kickley, he was a problem.

234
00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:36,240
Speaker 1: And Baldy, I know you're joining this series midway through,

235
00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,080
Speaker 1: but I wanted to let you know I wasn't thinking

236
00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:44,200
Speaker 1: about guys who accumulated stats over a long stretch. I

237
00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,400
Speaker 1: wanted to pick the guys who I thought were the

238
00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,079
Speaker 1: absolute greatest at what they did when they did it

239
00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,319
Speaker 1: at their very best. And to me, Luke Keighley defines

240
00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,880
Speaker 1: that it's not gonna take him off this list. To

241
00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,720
Speaker 1: me that he retired when he was twenty eight years

242
00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:00,760
Speaker 1: old because every single day he was in the field

243
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,720
Speaker 1: in the NFL, he was one of maybe the best

244
00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,080
Speaker 1: linebacker off ball that I've ever seen.

245
00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,800
Speaker 2: At what he did, well, let me just put it

246
00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,240
Speaker 2: in a nutshow for you, Greg, Like if you didn't

247
00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:14,760
Speaker 2: block Luke Keickley, he made every tackle. It was just

248
00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,800
Speaker 2: that simple, Like he literally took the right angle diagnosed

249
00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,440
Speaker 2: to play. It was as if he stood in the

250
00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,240
Speaker 2: offensive huddle, heard the play call, heard the quarterback explain

251
00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:26,760
Speaker 2: the play to all ten other players, and then he

252
00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,640
Speaker 2: went and defended the play. That's that's literally how it looked.

253
00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:34,040
Speaker 2: I remember, uh, I mean his last year in Carolina.

254
00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,200
Speaker 2: I remember his final game he didn't play is the

255
00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,160
Speaker 2: final game of the season was against the Saints. I'll

256
00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,240
Speaker 2: never forget. And I was announcing the game and I

257
00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:43,240
Speaker 2: saw him and I wasn't sure if he was playing

258
00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,560
Speaker 2: not playing, But you know, he had the injuries, and

259
00:12:45,679 --> 00:12:48,480
Speaker 2: you know, you know, certainly they curtailed his career. But

260
00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:51,760
Speaker 2: all I wanted. I had a show called Film Sessions

261
00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,160
Speaker 2: that NFL Films produced, and all I wanted was Luke

262
00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,079
Speaker 2: to come into the film room with me and explain

263
00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,120
Speaker 2: the game. Because when you sit down with him, I

264
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,520
Speaker 2: don't know that anybody can explain the game better than Luke.

265
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,360
Speaker 2: And what he sees, what he studied, how he immersed

266
00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,160
Speaker 2: himself in it, what he gleamed from it. I Mean,

267
00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,240
Speaker 2: there's an old saying that linebackers. Two old sayings that

268
00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:17,720
Speaker 2: are always true to a great linebacker. One, if you

269
00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,800
Speaker 2: know the formation, you know the play. So he knew

270
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,520
Speaker 2: the formation. He basically knew the play and then it's

271
00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:25,880
Speaker 2: always slow to you know, all right, so that you

272
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,640
Speaker 2: can prevent the cutback and the reverses and some of

273
00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,400
Speaker 2: the other things. But I mean he was very difficult

274
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,200
Speaker 2: to fool, and he was very difficult to block. I mean,

275
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:36,760
Speaker 2: if you're a guard trying to cut him off of

276
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,120
Speaker 2: the backside, I mean you did have any chance. So

277
00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,080
Speaker 2: then he ruined your run game. And so then you

278
00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:43,439
Speaker 2: had to figure out, well, how are we going to

279
00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:45,360
Speaker 2: move them? How are we going to block them? Like

280
00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:47,760
Speaker 2: do we go straight at him? Because he was two

281
00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,200
Speaker 2: hundred and forty five pounds, he knew how to take

282
00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,960
Speaker 2: on a block, a lead block from a full back

283
00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:54,720
Speaker 2: or a guard, so knew how to take it on

284
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:56,720
Speaker 2: and shed it, you know, and he was very good

285
00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:57,760
Speaker 2: at that part of it as well.

286
00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, in a way, he almost like broke the game

287
00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:03,640
Speaker 1: because I loved that having that Tony dungee clip in

288
00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:06,800
Speaker 1: there by the way, our producers Eric Roberts, Chris Bobona

289
00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:08,920
Speaker 1: just killing it and Chris has the biggest smile on

290
00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,080
Speaker 1: his face listening to Utac ball to keep it up, Baldy.

291
00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,240
Speaker 3: It's awesome. But he was such I mean.

292
00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,000
Speaker 1: He wasn't like a lightweight guy, but you know, under

293
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,640
Speaker 1: two hundred and forty pounds. That's the only reason why

294
00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,080
Speaker 1: he didn't go even higher in the draft. And some

295
00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,920
Speaker 1: people I remember at the time, were surprised they took

296
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,720
Speaker 1: Keighley that high. They said, why would you take Luke

297
00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,720
Speaker 1: Keighley that high when you have John Beeson who was

298
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,120
Speaker 1: a fantastic player at middle linebacker, and you had Thomas

299
00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,000
Speaker 1: Davis who had an awesome career like an all time

300
00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,560
Speaker 1: Carolina Panther on the weak side, and they just knew

301
00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,880
Speaker 1: this guy was too good. And Beeson made the mistake

302
00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,040
Speaker 1: of he got injured during his rookie year. Kickley's on

303
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,640
Speaker 1: the outside and they put him on the inside, and he.

304
00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:47,800
Speaker 3: Never moved his entire career.

305
00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:52,120
Speaker 1: Baldi every single year he was either a first team

306
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,360
Speaker 1: All Pro, a second team All Pro, or the defensive

307
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,240
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year. Because yeah, that first season he

308
00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,440
Speaker 1: got Defensive Rookie of the Year and the next he

309
00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:01,880
Speaker 1: gets Defensive Player of the Year.

310
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,800
Speaker 3: That was twenty thirteen. I don't even think that was

311
00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:04,360
Speaker 3: his best year.

312
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,880
Speaker 1: The best year I thought was when they went to

313
00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:08,840
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl and you heard the call at the

314
00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,400
Speaker 1: very beginning of him making that pick six in the

315
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,520
Speaker 1: NFC Championship Game of him sacking Peyton Manny. In the

316
00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:16,440
Speaker 1: Super Bowl, I know they didn't win it, but it

317
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:20,320
Speaker 1: wasn't because of that defense. That defense led by Luke Keigley,

318
00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:22,760
Speaker 1: to me, was an all time defense that just happened

319
00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,480
Speaker 1: to go against another all time defense in that Super

320
00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:26,800
Speaker 1: Bowl against the Broncos.

321
00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:28,880
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, I think they were fifteen to one

322
00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,960
Speaker 2: that year. You know, Cam was the MVP. I've had

323
00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,680
Speaker 2: a fantastic season, but I remember going to training camp

324
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,040
Speaker 2: I think it was that year, and they trained at

325
00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,280
Speaker 2: Watford College, Okay in South Carolina, so you know it's

326
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:45,800
Speaker 2: you know, it's one hundred degree day out there, but

327
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:50,000
Speaker 2: they've got Ron Rivera's got a pretty significant offense defense

328
00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,640
Speaker 2: scrimmage lined up for so I could wait him out

329
00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:57,120
Speaker 2: there and watching practice. I mean, to watch Keithley go

330
00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,680
Speaker 2: at it with Cam, you would have thought it was

331
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,040
Speaker 2: Sunday like it was game the way that they went

332
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,160
Speaker 2: at it like it just there's something about the competitive

333
00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,360
Speaker 2: fire of that practice that I've never forgotten. And kick

334
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:10,920
Speaker 2: Ley drove it on defense. He was you know, you

335
00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,200
Speaker 2: saw you know, guys talking about him flipping a switch.

336
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,920
Speaker 2: You know, a game day, and that's true because you

337
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,520
Speaker 2: get them, you know, an hour after practice and he

338
00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,600
Speaker 2: was back to being it's just very reserved, very thoughtful,

339
00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:26,000
Speaker 2: insightful individual. But on the field the emotions ran hot.

340
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:28,880
Speaker 2: But you know, to him, game day was the test

341
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:31,640
Speaker 2: that you study all week, you do all this film study,

342
00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,560
Speaker 2: you take all these notes, and then Sunday was the test,

343
00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,120
Speaker 2: like let's go do something about let's go you know,

344
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,200
Speaker 2: let's sho shut this run game down. But it's way

345
00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,479
Speaker 2: more than that. I mean, his ability to read route combinations,

346
00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,520
Speaker 2: to know what's going on behind him, you know, in

347
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,360
Speaker 2: the passing game and you get into those passing lanes.

348
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:53,920
Speaker 2: He might be as good, you know. I mean, there's

349
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,760
Speaker 2: there's Ray Lewis, there's a bunch of guys, but I

350
00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,680
Speaker 2: mean he might be as good as anybody from that

351
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:02,360
Speaker 2: department of under standing the passing game from the inside

352
00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:04,119
Speaker 2: linebacker spot as we see.

353
00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:06,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm glad you said that, because look, he led

354
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,359
Speaker 1: the league in tackles while he was in the league

355
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,520
Speaker 1: by far. He was the leader who second tackles for

356
00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:13,320
Speaker 1: loss while he was in the league. But his his

357
00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:15,280
Speaker 1: play and coverage, how he could adapt to how the

358
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:16,240
Speaker 1: NFL was changing.

359
00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:18,879
Speaker 3: Was so awesome. I actually have a clip.

360
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:23,320
Speaker 1: Let's play when he had two interceptions against Romo in

361
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:25,720
Speaker 1: back to back plays. The second one is just amazing.

362
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,920
Speaker 3: Second and thirteen Romo. I can see you from He's

363
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:33,359
Speaker 3: on something by Keithley. He clean signed the twenty to

364
00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:34,120
Speaker 3: the ten.

365
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:38,720
Speaker 2: And city end zone for another Panther defensive touchdown.

366
00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:42,920
Speaker 4: It's a defense that forced five turnovers against the Redskins.

367
00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,760
Speaker 2: Thinking right up before they left off Sunday, first down

368
00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:48,680
Speaker 2: row and.

369
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,439
Speaker 3: Can't play right back with another one. Can you believe it?

370
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:54,800
Speaker 3: Back to back plays?

371
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, if you're watching on YouTube, you could see Luke

372
00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:00,879
Speaker 1: Keithley what do they call in the poll, you know,

373
00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:03,760
Speaker 1: sticking with Jason Witten, a tight end running up the

374
00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:06,600
Speaker 1: seam and catching a pass over his shoulder. And if

375
00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,160
Speaker 1: you're looking at the time, Baldy, it's the exact same

376
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,600
Speaker 1: time that ends one play, two thirty six left in

377
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:13,960
Speaker 1: the second quarter, and the exact same time that starts

378
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,960
Speaker 1: the next play. And Luke Kickley's does end in the

379
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:17,320
Speaker 1: game for the Carolina Panthers.

380
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,159
Speaker 2: Well, he's there's a Tampa two defense. The safeties are

381
00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,960
Speaker 2: widening and he's got you know, number three down down

382
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,560
Speaker 2: the seam, it happens to be witting. And you know,

383
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,879
Speaker 2: Romo had a great relationship with Witten and most most

384
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,879
Speaker 2: middle linebackers. I mean, you pick a great one, Brian Urlacker.

385
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:35,080
Speaker 2: A lot of guys are running that defense. But you know,

386
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,840
Speaker 2: but for him to get his head around, and you

387
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,040
Speaker 2: see that most guys don't get their head around. They

388
00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:44,000
Speaker 2: play the play blind. They run the ball if it's

389
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,240
Speaker 2: being thrown, they're looking at the eyes of the receiver

390
00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,120
Speaker 2: and then they're defending it when the receiver goes to play.

391
00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,200
Speaker 2: But he got his head around and then got his

392
00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,640
Speaker 2: eyes on the ball before he took it away. That's

393
00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:58,280
Speaker 2: that shows you the level of coordination and athletic ability

394
00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:01,560
Speaker 2: that it took, because not guys can make that play. No.

395
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,600
Speaker 1: And yeah, like I mentioned, he got that Defensive Player

396
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,639
Speaker 1: of the Year early in his career twenty thirteen. Actually

397
00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:09,879
Speaker 1: when it wasn't there wasn't like an obvious pick, and

398
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:10,960
Speaker 1: I think everyone just looked around.

399
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,040
Speaker 3: It's like Luke Keegley is the best defensive player.

400
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,040
Speaker 1: In the league right now, even though he wasn't getting

401
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,080
Speaker 1: like sacks or any like a ton of sacks. Although

402
00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:20,040
Speaker 1: he wasn't like a sneaky good blitzer when they asked

403
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:21,440
Speaker 1: him to do that as well.

404
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:25,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember Greg Carolina went out to play the

405
00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,000
Speaker 2: forty nine ers. Kyle Shanahan had gotten into San Francisco.

406
00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:30,280
Speaker 2: He's running his offense with all the priest and at

407
00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,080
Speaker 2: motions and shifts and all that, and they ran the

408
00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,560
Speaker 2: ball down Carolina's throw and so it was, it was.

409
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:38,960
Speaker 2: It was eye opening. It was what it was. And

410
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,320
Speaker 2: because there was like three or four plays where they

411
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,280
Speaker 2: didn't block Keekley and he didn't make the play and

412
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,760
Speaker 2: they literally took him out of the play with the

413
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,600
Speaker 2: motions and the shifts, and so I broke it all down,

414
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,480
Speaker 2: and so it's like Monday, I break it down. I

415
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,560
Speaker 2: actually posted it right, and how good San Francisco was

416
00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,719
Speaker 2: in the motions and how they moved Keekley. And so

417
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,720
Speaker 2: I get a call on TUESDA and I don't recognize

418
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:05,880
Speaker 2: the number, but it's Ron Rivera and he's like, you know, Baldi,

419
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,080
Speaker 2: I don't usually watch your stuff, but my wife does.

420
00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:10,840
Speaker 2: And I think her name is Judy, but I might

421
00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:13,119
Speaker 2: be wrong. But anyways, he goes. My wife was watching it.

422
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,440
Speaker 2: She showed it to me and she said, you should

423
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,640
Speaker 2: take a look at this, you know. Ron. So Ron

424
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,439
Speaker 2: watches it and he's like he's like he's starting to

425
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,480
Speaker 2: pick my brain because Kickley never gets moved like that,

426
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,719
Speaker 2: like that he's looking at it like Ron himself a linebacker.

427
00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,960
Speaker 2: He's looking at it through linebacker's eyes and he's now

428
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,040
Speaker 2: picking my brain. What did you see that we didn't see? Like?

429
00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,359
Speaker 2: How did they what? What? Because he's like any coach, like,

430
00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,320
Speaker 2: how do we make sure this to prevent this from

431
00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:44,760
Speaker 2: ever happening again? It was so rare that literally Ron

432
00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:46,760
Speaker 2: it was forced to pick up the phone and called me,

433
00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:49,200
Speaker 2: asked me what I what I saw in the game.

434
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:51,919
Speaker 1: Ah, that's that's an amazing story and it's true, like

435
00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,800
Speaker 1: seeing that would just absolutely stun you. And it's a

436
00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,520
Speaker 1: credit to Kyle Sannyon because I love what Tony Dundee

437
00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,840
Speaker 1: said that he was like a quarterback. I think he

438
00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:03,760
Speaker 1: buying the physical ability because I mean, let's not sleep

439
00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,040
Speaker 1: on he was just a physical beast. I mean he

440
00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:08,520
Speaker 1: had all the speed and the power when he was

441
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:10,360
Speaker 1: tackling that you would ever want. He had twenty four

442
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,919
Speaker 1: tackles in a single game, and Panthers coaches swear it

443
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,440
Speaker 1: should have been twenty six because that was the record

444
00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,240
Speaker 1: at the time. They said, we got him down for

445
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,439
Speaker 1: twenty six, but they had him for twenty four. It

446
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:22,439
Speaker 1: became such a thing, Baldy. I don't know if you remember,

447
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,800
Speaker 1: like watching these games, whenever anyone would make a tackle

448
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,840
Speaker 1: for the Panthers, the crowd would just go lou But

449
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,720
Speaker 1: it wasn't even Luke. It was just sometimes it was

450
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,880
Speaker 1: Thomas Davis. Sometimes it was just like pick your other

451
00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,080
Speaker 1: white guy. It was just like they just assume Luke

452
00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,399
Speaker 1: Keigley made a tackle every single time.

453
00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:43,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I mean it's easily done. Although you know

454
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,720
Speaker 2: him and Thomas Davis, there was a pretty significant competition, yes,

455
00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:51,159
Speaker 2: about getting to that tackle and claiming that tackle. So

456
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:52,399
Speaker 2: there was a race to the ball.

457
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,880
Speaker 1: One of the best duos of my lifetime. And yeah,

458
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,480
Speaker 1: all these players, of course, the very best of the best.

459
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,159
Speaker 1: As Baldy is, let's take a quick we will be

460
00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:15,479
Speaker 1: back with number thirteen, back on NFL Daily's top twenty

461
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,200
Speaker 1: five players of the last twenty five years. This is

462
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,800
Speaker 1: a man who initially was in my top ten. I

463
00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,600
Speaker 1: moved him up, I moved him down. No matter where

464
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,359
Speaker 1: you put him, you gotta recognize he has the best

465
00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,920
Speaker 1: nickname of anyone in the top twenty five.

466
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,520
Speaker 3: Number thirteen, Calvin Johnson.

467
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,640
Speaker 2: He left looking deep, grow into the end zone, wants

468
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:38,840
Speaker 2: Calvin well covered.

469
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,159
Speaker 3: He goes up, He makes the cats. Why do you

470
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,240
Speaker 3: kidding me? Come back?

471
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:43,840
Speaker 2: A drovia?

472
00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:44,720
Speaker 4: Did it again?

473
00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:50,400
Speaker 2: Touchdown the true Lyons, fab Worths three Bengals. Drake got

474
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,960
Speaker 2: him and Calvin went up and hauling.

475
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:58,240
Speaker 3: In fifty yards in a score. Jill Realms four yards away,

476
00:22:58,520 --> 00:22:59,760
Speaker 3: Johnson Stafford.

477
00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,920
Speaker 2: Try into the record books a single season, all the

478
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:10,560
Speaker 2: time NFL receiving yardy to prefer I've never.

479
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,719
Speaker 5: Met a humbler, harder working after Kisley.

480
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:17,359
Speaker 4: Outstanding player than you're sure.

481
00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:23,280
Speaker 1: Book Calvin Johnson aka Megatron, a guy where if you

482
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,240
Speaker 1: just start adding up the All pros, you know, three

483
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,479
Speaker 1: first team AP pros one second. Maybe not as much

484
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:30,959
Speaker 1: as some of the other guys atop this list, but

485
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,560
Speaker 1: when I thought about greatness, kind of like Keikley, even

486
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:38,080
Speaker 1: though the career was shorter, what could you possibly do

487
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,120
Speaker 1: with this man six five, two hundred and thirty nine

488
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,480
Speaker 1: pounds and ran a four to three five. To me,

489
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,000
Speaker 1: he's the definition of one in one, So I could

490
00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 1: have put him any lower than this. What do you

491
00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,480
Speaker 1: remember most about Calvin Johnson's career, Baldy Well, I mean, just.

492
00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,560
Speaker 2: The uniqueness of what you described. We've never seen a

493
00:23:54,600 --> 00:24:00,119
Speaker 2: guy that size, weight, uh forty times leaping ability, I've

494
00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,119
Speaker 2: seen a guy with that those many that that many

495
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,120
Speaker 2: identifiable features, okay, and then the passion for the game,

496
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,240
Speaker 2: the hands, everything that goes with it. So that's the

497
00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:15,200
Speaker 2: first thing. He led the league, if I'm not mistaken here,

498
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,360
Speaker 2: He has led the league in I mean he had

499
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:20,360
Speaker 2: over two hundred targets in the season, you know, when

500
00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:21,840
Speaker 2: he had caught one hundred and twenty two pass He

501
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 2: led the league in targets, receptions, He's led the league

502
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,840
Speaker 2: in yards obviously almost two thousand, led the league in touchdowns.

503
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:31,240
Speaker 2: He led the league in every department at one point

504
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,640
Speaker 2: or another in one year or another. But I mean

505
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:37,520
Speaker 2: he just compacted, you know. I mean he retired in

506
00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:40,600
Speaker 2: league thirty, and you know he did all this before

507
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,840
Speaker 2: basically aged thirty. But I remember his rookie year and

508
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:47,880
Speaker 2: I don't know, I guess I was announced the game

509
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,800
Speaker 2: for Fox and there was that Lincoln Financial field and

510
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:53,520
Speaker 2: he went up for a ball. This is the only

511
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:55,639
Speaker 2: time he was ever I ever saw him injured. He

512
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:57,840
Speaker 2: went up for a ball. I don't know who the

513
00:24:57,840 --> 00:24:59,840
Speaker 2: corner was, Sidney Brown. I'm not sure who it was,

514
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,399
Speaker 2: Sheldon Brown maybe, but regardless, he goes up for the ball,

515
00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:07,520
Speaker 2: and I mean he came down right on his back,

516
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,680
Speaker 2: and I mean he just laid there and I think

517
00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,359
Speaker 2: he only played like ten games that year, but I

518
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,040
Speaker 2: don't know how many times while he was laying down

519
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,080
Speaker 2: we showed the highlight. There wasn't a single person on

520
00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:19,960
Speaker 2: the planet that could have gone up as high as

521
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,440
Speaker 2: he went up to go get that ball. And unfortunately,

522
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,160
Speaker 2: when you're that big and you could jump that high,

523
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,760
Speaker 2: sometimes those falls hurt. They kind of took, you know,

524
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,200
Speaker 2: took a pounding on him. But you know his ability,

525
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:34,280
Speaker 2: just like the play against Cincinnati and your b roll

526
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:36,600
Speaker 2: right there, I mean just to out jump three defenders

527
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,000
Speaker 2: right there to get the ball. There's a lot of

528
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 2: those catches throughout his career where literally you could just

529
00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 2: throw it up and let him go get it, and

530
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,520
Speaker 2: he could have taken that Moniker you know, always never

531
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 2: never covered that could just call Megatron mat.

532
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,359
Speaker 1: Yeah, It's just like there was nothing you could do

533
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:57,359
Speaker 1: with it. And you mentioned that that injury, and it

534
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,720
Speaker 1: did slow him down his rookie but for the most

535
00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,000
Speaker 1: part in his career he was durable. He missed a

536
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:04,879
Speaker 1: couple games here and there towards the back end, but

537
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: by the end, you know, he basically was playing every

538
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,879
Speaker 1: game every season and he went out on top. That

539
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:11,879
Speaker 1: does mean something to me. I'm not gonna knock a

540
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,720
Speaker 1: guy that he didn't have his thirties when he was

541
00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,240
Speaker 1: the second youngest Hall of Fame player ever, when he's

542
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,680
Speaker 1: racking up yards play after play. You mentioned that there

543
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:24,320
Speaker 1: were plays that he could just make that no one

544
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,280
Speaker 1: else could in the Yeah, he's jumping over guys in

545
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:26,920
Speaker 1: triple coverage.

546
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,120
Speaker 3: Let's actually watch another play.

547
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,719
Speaker 1: This is gonna be against the Green Bay Packers in

548
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:34,240
Speaker 1: twenty fifteen.

549
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:38,119
Speaker 3: Roun the seventeen.

550
00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:44,680
Speaker 5: Tring and it's a touchdown right over Sam Shields.

551
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 3: How about the jump he gets the left toe win.

552
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:54,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, Watch what he does to get that left foot

553
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:55,800
Speaker 4: down holding onto the football.

554
00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:57,960
Speaker 3: Yeah, you got that other hand back on it. That

555
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,960
Speaker 3: would have been look at him control by the nose.

556
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,639
Speaker 1: That's incredible because he just he made other NFL players

557
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: just look like regular mortals, like he was an adult

558
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:09,320
Speaker 1: playing with a bunch of kids.

559
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,520
Speaker 2: He's megatronic. He's megatronzed from another planet, right, I mean

560
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,920
Speaker 2: that he literally was and and so great nickname. It's

561
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,679
Speaker 2: a great talent. You know, like the other Hall of

562
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,040
Speaker 2: Famer walk In Hall of Famer and Barry Sanders. I

563
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,160
Speaker 2: mean their careers were short, but in those compressed period

564
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,399
Speaker 2: of time, ten for very, nine for Calvin, they were

565
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,520
Speaker 2: the best player at their positions. It was hard to

566
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,000
Speaker 2: argue that. And so over that period of time, that

567
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,200
Speaker 2: was the most lethal receiver in the game. And look,

568
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,160
Speaker 2: I mean Randy Moss was, you know, was that guy.

569
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 2: But you know Randy was at six y five, you know,

570
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:48,919
Speaker 2: two forty. You know, he was certainly a freak athlete

571
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,919
Speaker 2: in his own right. But I thought, you know, Calvin

572
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,719
Speaker 2: Johnson's ability to take a five yard shallow cross and

573
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 2: turn it into a touchdown or a long run afterwards,

574
00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,520
Speaker 2: and that stride of his was just you know, there's

575
00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,600
Speaker 2: something graceful. You know, it's like watching Secretariat run. You know,

576
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 2: it's just something graceful about the athlete that he was

577
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,439
Speaker 2: and how smooth and easy he made everything.

578
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,080
Speaker 1: Look, yeah, that's a great It's a great comp for

579
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,560
Speaker 1: him because I don't know what else it would be,

580
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,679
Speaker 1: but at that size, Yeah, it was just kind of

581
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:21,960
Speaker 1: a beautiful thing to watch. And those those three straight

582
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,639
Speaker 1: first team All pros, and he had a second one

583
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 1: in there too. Was actually towards the back end of

584
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:27,560
Speaker 1: his career. And you mentioned the record breaking season, but

585
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,320
Speaker 1: I'll spell it out. It was nineteen hundred and sixty

586
00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,639
Speaker 1: four yards still the all time record for receiving yards

587
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 1: in a single season. He had one hundred and twenty

588
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:39,479
Speaker 1: two catches that season, and he just made things that

589
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: felt a little impossible feel possible.

590
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:43,320
Speaker 3: So Baldy, it.

591
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: Wasn't even in that season that he had his three

592
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,600
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty nine yard game against the Cowboys. That

593
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,160
Speaker 1: game had fourteen catches, and that to me was a

594
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,719
Speaker 1: symbolic of what that era was like for the Lions.

595
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:57,840
Speaker 1: They won that game thirty one to thirty. So all

596
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,720
Speaker 1: these catches that he's making, they needed every single one

597
00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 1: of those three hundred and twenty nine yards because the

598
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,520
Speaker 1: defense usually wasn't there for them, and he had Matthew

599
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,719
Speaker 1: Stafford helping him out along the way, so it's not

600
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 1: like he was in a bad spot that the organization

601
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,200
Speaker 1: let him down a little bit. But he did everything

602
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:17,320
Speaker 1: that he could absolutely do to lift them up, no.

603
00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,320
Speaker 2: Question about it, no question. I mean, there was not

604
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,040
Speaker 2: I mean, I remember Matt Millan was there as you know,

605
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,680
Speaker 2: the general manager, and you know, they went through some

606
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 2: quirky head coaches and all that. I mean, he survived

607
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:30,440
Speaker 2: all of that, and he was like, look, if you

608
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 2: wanted to defend Detroit, you had to defend Calvin Johnson.

609
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:37,160
Speaker 2: And so that's that's what the game plan was for defense.

610
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,160
Speaker 2: How do we not take Calvin Johnson out? How do

611
00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:42,520
Speaker 2: we how do we slow how do we like at

612
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:45,920
Speaker 2: least limit him and could try to contain him because

613
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,040
Speaker 2: we always going to get catches and we always going

614
00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,440
Speaker 2: to make some big catches and he's going to force

615
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,280
Speaker 2: all kinds of pass interference calls and all that stuff,

616
00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 2: you know, But how do we, you know, how do

617
00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,720
Speaker 2: we take care of everybody else because we know he's probably.

618
00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:03,240
Speaker 1: Going to get most his right, there's this famous screenshot

619
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,560
Speaker 1: of forget who it was, whether it was the Packers

620
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,200
Speaker 1: just putting three guys on him in the in the

621
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,040
Speaker 1: red zone. They just were like, you can do whatever

622
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,680
Speaker 1: you want, you can, but like even before the snap,

623
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 1: putting three guys on him before the snap, that you're

624
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,040
Speaker 1: not gonna you're not gonna score on us. How did

625
00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:19,920
Speaker 1: you think he was like as a route runner and

626
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 1: as a technician, Like there was there a part of

627
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:24,840
Speaker 1: his game that you thought was underrated in terms of

628
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,280
Speaker 1: that one but or was it more just he physically

629
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,000
Speaker 1: just kind of overwhelmed everyone.

630
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,720
Speaker 2: I think he physically just overwhelmed people. I mean, there's

631
00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,800
Speaker 2: better route runners than Calvin Johnson, but that's okay when

632
00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 2: you have that kind of size and you can still

633
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:39,800
Speaker 2: come out of your brakes the way he came out

634
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:41,840
Speaker 2: of his bracey, you know, I mean, when you can

635
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:44,920
Speaker 2: still move like that, it doesn't really matter if you

636
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:48,680
Speaker 2: can turn guys around, because ultimately there was always separation

637
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,040
Speaker 2: because of his size and his leaping ability. And you know,

638
00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:54,840
Speaker 2: some guys have to be great route runners because you know,

639
00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:58,160
Speaker 2: they don't have the gifted size that Calvin had or

640
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,960
Speaker 2: that Randy Moss had, and so you know, he just

641
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,480
Speaker 2: by lining up wherever they put him, because they moved

642
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,640
Speaker 2: him everywhere. But just by lining up, you know, he

643
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,400
Speaker 2: had people in their backpedal, you know, before the ball

644
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,440
Speaker 2: was snapped, because last thing you wanted was to get

645
00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:15,800
Speaker 2: beat deep by Calvin Johnson. You give him a lot

646
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,840
Speaker 2: of stuff underneath, maybe try to tackle the catch, but

647
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,000
Speaker 2: you didn't want to be on the highlight reel on

648
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,480
Speaker 2: Sunday night or Monday morning with Calvin Johnson, you know,

649
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 2: going over the top of you.

650
00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, and some of it to me is just these

651
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,640
Speaker 1: It's not just the numbers, but just the physical feats

652
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,640
Speaker 1: that few people could do. He has the most career

653
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:36,960
Speaker 1: games of two hundred plus receiving yards, the only one

654
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,720
Speaker 1: that ties him his Lance all Worth. So like it's

655
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:44,800
Speaker 1: almost like like a different generation of players. Calvin Johnson

656
00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,800
Speaker 1: just felt like he came from another planet. And yeah,

657
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:51,640
Speaker 1: maybe not as many all pros. It's like it Antonio Brown,

658
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,560
Speaker 1: who's not on this list, or too who we've already

659
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,600
Speaker 1: done on this list, but when he was at his

660
00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,640
Speaker 1: absolute best, he also has a consecutive one hundred yard

661
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:03,160
Speaker 1: you know game streak that no one else has. To me,

662
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: he's he's one of one. He's Calvin Johnson. And yes

663
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,560
Speaker 1: he is number thirteen on the list. Our last guy

664
00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:13,840
Speaker 1: we will talk about with you today. Baldy is coming up.

665
00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:15,320
Speaker 3: Next, number twelve.

666
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,680
Speaker 4: Joe Thomas, with the third pick in the two thousand

667
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:25,800
Speaker 4: and seven NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select left tackle

668
00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:27,360
Speaker 4: Joe Thomas, Wisconsin.

669
00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,960
Speaker 5: Ten three hundred and sixty three. That's how many consecutive

670
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:39,840
Speaker 5: snaps I had.

671
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:40,600
Speaker 2: During my career.

672
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:44,240
Speaker 5: That number ten thousand, three hundred and sixty three is

673
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:46,640
Speaker 5: special to me in a lot of ways, and not

674
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:50,000
Speaker 5: just because it's an NFL record, but because it shows

675
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,320
Speaker 5: that I was there for my brothers ten three hundred

676
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,000
Speaker 5: and sixty three times in a row. Being an offensive

677
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,800
Speaker 5: lineman is all about being a servant and showing up

678
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:03,400
Speaker 5: for everybody else. Loyalty, consistency, doing something bigger than yourself,

679
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,160
Speaker 5: showing up for the man next to you. Those are

680
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,040
Speaker 5: the values that I learned at an early age, and

681
00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:10,600
Speaker 5: those are the values that I took on.

682
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:11,480
Speaker 2: To the football field.

683
00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,440
Speaker 1: Joe Thomas with one of the most handsome busts there

684
00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:16,520
Speaker 1: in the Hall of Fame.

685
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:17,920
Speaker 3: They did a great job with that one.

686
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:22,160
Speaker 1: The hairs on point and a player who won an

687
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:26,840
Speaker 1: All Pro eight times, six times First Team, another two

688
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,520
Speaker 1: times second team, was the All twenty tens All Decade

689
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,680
Speaker 1: team for the Hall of Fame and for Pro Football Reference,

690
00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,320
Speaker 1: and that snap streak, Baldy, I think helps to fight him.

691
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,600
Speaker 1: Not just that he stayed on the field, but that

692
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 1: the repetitiveness and you can explain this as an offensive

693
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:48,240
Speaker 1: lineman to be excellent in so similar snap after snap

694
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:50,440
Speaker 1: and the discipline that that takes.

695
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,560
Speaker 3: What impresses you the most about Joe Thomas?

696
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,200
Speaker 2: Well, before I get to the question, one of my

697
00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:01,280
Speaker 2: great regrets in life is I was offered an opportunity

698
00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,000
Speaker 2: that the shot you have of Joe there on the boat,

699
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:07,959
Speaker 2: that's where he went draft day. He went fishing with

700
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:13,160
Speaker 2: his dad, and they offered me a chance to be

701
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:17,719
Speaker 2: with Joe on the boat fishing Draft Day with Joe.

702
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:19,600
Speaker 2: And they didn't know he was going to be a

703
00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:21,880
Speaker 2: top ten pick. We didn't know which number whatever. He

704
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:23,960
Speaker 2: was a third pick. But like I could have been

705
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:24,520
Speaker 2: there with Joe.

706
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:26,759
Speaker 3: You got to be there, Baldy went. Where were you?

707
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:27,480
Speaker 3: What were you doing?

708
00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:30,920
Speaker 2: You know? I mean, fishing just isn't one of my

709
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,920
Speaker 2: high priorities, Greg, Like, I don't know, like it could

710
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,239
Speaker 2: be really boring if the fish aren't jumping in the boat.

711
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,799
Speaker 1: Just like swimming with sharks, Baldy, you gotta eat more

712
00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 1: action starts.

713
00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:44,279
Speaker 2: So anyways, I passed up that opportunity. I regretted it.

714
00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:48,719
Speaker 2: All the things that Joe said speaks to a brotherhood

715
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,600
Speaker 2: that really offensive linemen understand the good ones and the

716
00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:55,719
Speaker 2: great offensive lines. As a group, they all understand how

717
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 2: important that number was because on a lot of those teams,

718
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:02,440
Speaker 2: they were a bad team, and they were amongst the

719
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,200
Speaker 2: worst teams for a much of Joe's career, And it

720
00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:08,200
Speaker 2: would have been very easy to say, Okay, you know this,

721
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,359
Speaker 2: this elbow is popping out of his joint right now,

722
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:13,279
Speaker 2: I can take the Sunday off, or I could go

723
00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:16,040
Speaker 2: back to for my brotherhood. Like he'll never tell you

724
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:18,880
Speaker 2: how many injuries he played through or played with in

725
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,560
Speaker 2: order to keep that streak alive. That's number one. But

726
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:26,680
Speaker 2: the consistency is what everybody strives. That's what repetition is

727
00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:32,759
Speaker 2: all about. So that when you it's you know, you

728
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:36,560
Speaker 2: want to have that muscle memory, so that regardless of

729
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:40,440
Speaker 2: who you're playing against, you're gonna your technique is going

730
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,040
Speaker 2: to be the same play in and play out, no

731
00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:45,719
Speaker 2: matter what happens on the play, Like you just flush it,

732
00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:47,840
Speaker 2: you go to the next play. You do a consistently

733
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,160
Speaker 2: great job, and you string together seventy great plays during

734
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:53,600
Speaker 2: the course of the game, and that's that's the goal

735
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,680
Speaker 2: of every offensive lineman. You could have sixty nine great plays,

736
00:35:57,920 --> 00:36:00,640
Speaker 2: but the one play where you give up the quarterback

737
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:02,640
Speaker 2: sack or the quarterback hit or a hold on a

738
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:05,600
Speaker 2: big play, that's all you think about the whole night

739
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,840
Speaker 2: into the next day, is that one bad play. And

740
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 2: I think Joe took that just sitting down in the

741
00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:15,879
Speaker 2: film room with him and watching him talk through techniques.

742
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 2: You think you know the game, you think you understand

743
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 2: the game like a lot of us do, and we

744
00:36:21,719 --> 00:36:23,839
Speaker 2: work out it, we all work at it. But when

745
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:28,400
Speaker 2: Joe explains the game to you, it goes to another

746
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,560
Speaker 2: level now, and things that you might just take for granted,

747
00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,799
Speaker 2: to set the hands, the hand placement, you know, in

748
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:38,960
Speaker 2: the run block, they aiming point. All these things that

749
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 2: kind of just sort of looked like they run together.

750
00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:45,279
Speaker 2: They never just ran together. To Joe, there was ultimately

751
00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:49,279
Speaker 2: a purpose and a reason behind everything he did on

752
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,640
Speaker 2: the field, even though so much of the game is

753
00:36:52,719 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 2: kind of random and kind of just okay, let's just

754
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,400
Speaker 2: play the play like you can't control it, but so

755
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,480
Speaker 2: much of it was what happened to or practice to

756
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:03,960
Speaker 2: prepare for those moments.

757
00:37:04,360 --> 00:37:09,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's something too about a guy who comes into

758
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,799
Speaker 1: the league they actually have some success right off the

759
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:15,640
Speaker 1: bat with Derek Anderson, that team that went ten and six,

760
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:20,000
Speaker 1: and then after that it's just brutal. It's an incompetently

761
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:25,040
Speaker 1: run franchise who happened to make an absolutely great pick

762
00:37:25,040 --> 00:37:27,200
Speaker 1: at number three. That was a great draft, and they

763
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,840
Speaker 1: made the great choice there with Joe Thomas, but just

764
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:33,760
Speaker 1: made mistake after mistake and it got worse and worse.

765
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:35,800
Speaker 3: And to show up, Baldy.

766
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,759
Speaker 1: And You've been in a lot of different NFL locker room,

767
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:40,359
Speaker 1: some great ones, I'm sure you were in some bad ones.

768
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:44,000
Speaker 1: I don't know, but like speak to I guess what

769
00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:46,880
Speaker 1: it meant for a guy like Joe Thomas to be

770
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:52,279
Speaker 1: there for everyone that came through that organization over the

771
00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,200
Speaker 1: ten years that he's there, and have it as an

772
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,520
Speaker 1: example of how to how to do something the right way,

773
00:37:58,640 --> 00:38:01,680
Speaker 1: no matter how much they're blowing it from above in

774
00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,280
Speaker 1: terms of how they're running the team.

775
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:05,239
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll look to Greg. I played on one to

776
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:09,799
Speaker 2: fifteen Indianapolis Colt season miserable, but I try to do

777
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:12,680
Speaker 2: what Joe did. What happens with the guy like Joe

778
00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:16,040
Speaker 2: is It's very easy when you're you know, one to

779
00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:18,799
Speaker 2: ten and you're just playing out the straight, it's very

780
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:25,480
Speaker 2: easy to cut every single thing short. All week long practice, treatment, lifting,

781
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,799
Speaker 2: you know, extra studying, well, it's very easy to cut

782
00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,120
Speaker 2: all that stuff short, or when the wheels fall off

783
00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:35,480
Speaker 2: during the game, to just start looking at the clock.

784
00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:38,840
Speaker 2: And I think Joe just never did any of that.

785
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,640
Speaker 2: I think Joe prepared the exact thing to saying as

786
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,160
Speaker 2: if they instead of being three and thirteen, they were

787
00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:46,960
Speaker 2: thirteen and three and they're going to the playoffs. I

788
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,319
Speaker 2: don't think the preparation ever changed. And so if you're

789
00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,279
Speaker 2: a teammate of Joe, a young Joe Platonio, you know

790
00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,239
Speaker 2: some of these guys that came through Cleveland, you know,

791
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 2: with with Joe, like at least you got to see

792
00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,400
Speaker 2: what a real pro looks like and what it's supposed

793
00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:05,520
Speaker 2: to look like, and and maybe that maybe that guy

794
00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:08,279
Speaker 2: that might shut it down or not go at it

795
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 2: quite as hard, and watching Joe, maybe that makes you

796
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,439
Speaker 2: want to emulate him even that much more.

797
00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:18,759
Speaker 1: I love that you mentioned that, because Thomas's legacy to

798
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,680
Speaker 1: me was a part of my thought. He's the highest

799
00:39:21,719 --> 00:39:24,879
Speaker 1: offensive lineman on this list, and you could you could

800
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:26,800
Speaker 1: pick a lot of players. There's so many great players,

801
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 1: but Buttonio, I'm forgetting about who else was there that

802
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:31,880
Speaker 1: was really great? I'll think of it in a second.

803
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,200
Speaker 1: But it also struck me. Miles Garrett talked about it.

804
00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:36,680
Speaker 1: He's on this list, he's at the back end, and

805
00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:40,320
Speaker 1: he's a guy whose first season was ZHO to sixteen

806
00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:44,000
Speaker 1: and he he saw what Joe Thomas was doing in

807
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:46,839
Speaker 1: that season and as an example. So that's in terms

808
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,440
Speaker 1: of the way he played in Cleveland. But do you

809
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 1: think he's had an impact Joe Thomas, that is as

810
00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:56,000
Speaker 1: a technician to the to the players and the position

811
00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:57,600
Speaker 1: that came after him.

812
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:00,959
Speaker 2: Oh, no question, no question. When I did a film

813
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:02,880
Speaker 2: study with him, we went back. You know, he was

814
00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:06,760
Speaker 2: a shot putter in high school and you know his

815
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:10,239
Speaker 2: his his kick start was basically what a shot putter does,

816
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,640
Speaker 2: and he just basically took the physics of throwing a

817
00:40:13,680 --> 00:40:16,680
Speaker 2: shot put. You know, both hands were rest, are were

818
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,680
Speaker 2: braced on the inside knee, his right knee, his left

819
00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,160
Speaker 2: foot was back, and it was just like he was.

820
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:28,960
Speaker 2: We did an NFL films where we basically shot him

821
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:32,200
Speaker 2: shooting a shot put and then dropping back to you know,

822
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,440
Speaker 2: I saw, you know, one of the clips that he

823
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:36,520
Speaker 2: had was against you know, Terrell Suggs is one of

824
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:39,000
Speaker 2: the great pass rushers and one of the great matchups.

825
00:40:39,239 --> 00:40:42,360
Speaker 2: During his tenure as a left tackle, going against Suggs,

826
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,160
Speaker 2: you know, twice a year, So there was a carryover

827
00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:49,800
Speaker 2: from shot putting to what he developed as a left tackle.

828
00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:53,719
Speaker 2: But I mean Lane Johnson has copied him that same

829
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,000
Speaker 2: start that Lane has and his strive to be as

830
00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:01,760
Speaker 2: consistent with that start he did that Jason Peters learned

831
00:41:01,760 --> 00:41:04,920
Speaker 2: that from from there. Jordan Mylotta. Now in Philadelphia, I've

832
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:08,120
Speaker 2: all basically watched Joe Thomas in the copy and that's

833
00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:10,879
Speaker 2: just a couple guys. I'm just around those guys more

834
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:14,399
Speaker 2: frequently in Philadelphia, so I know how hard they studied him.

835
00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:17,319
Speaker 2: But I would tell anybody that if you wanted, because

836
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,480
Speaker 2: I you know, you get ready for the draft, greg,

837
00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:22,000
Speaker 2: you start watching these kids and studying them like I

838
00:41:22,040 --> 00:41:24,920
Speaker 2: did Joe Thomas coming out of Wisconsin. But you know,

839
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:29,040
Speaker 2: what you're looking for at any level is consistency. And

840
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,760
Speaker 2: so what I'll say that if a young tackle asked

841
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,439
Speaker 2: me what I think, I go, Man, your your set

842
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 2: has to be more consistent, like it's are changing up

843
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,840
Speaker 2: all the time, you're laying you're you're not hitting the

844
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:42,719
Speaker 2: right mark. Like you could literally put a blindfold on

845
00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:46,440
Speaker 2: Joe Thomas and he would be able to hit that

846
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:50,120
Speaker 2: mark his hands, his punch, where his hands landed, what

847
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,120
Speaker 2: the mark, what the aiming point was, like he rarely

848
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:55,520
Speaker 2: ever missed. And that was a big part in the

849
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,239
Speaker 2: past game and the run Dame. It's interesting like he

850
00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:01,680
Speaker 2: had this thing greg where if he was on the ground,

851
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:04,120
Speaker 2: nobody was allowed to pick him up off the ground.

852
00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:06,839
Speaker 2: Like he couldn't get up off the ground. He had

853
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:10,040
Speaker 2: to off his back, so he had to roll over

854
00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:13,720
Speaker 2: onto his numbach and then push himself up off the ground.

855
00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:16,360
Speaker 2: But you go and see it like he talked about

856
00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:19,200
Speaker 2: it and joking like he would never let anybody pick

857
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,440
Speaker 2: him up off the ground, you know, like gods just

858
00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:23,480
Speaker 2: helping my guy up, like that, come up off, go

859
00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:26,880
Speaker 2: Li You're you're diving in somebody's legs and you're cutting

860
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:29,760
Speaker 2: him whatever. Like he that was one of his little

861
00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:32,400
Speaker 2: pet peeves, like nobody's picking me up off the ground.

862
00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:34,160
Speaker 2: I'm getting myself up off the ground.

863
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:35,280
Speaker 3: That's amazing.

864
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:37,480
Speaker 1: And yeah, to me, he's the ultimate example of a

865
00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:41,360
Speaker 1: guy who he's talked about it for offensive lineman, he

866
00:42:41,719 --> 00:42:44,600
Speaker 1: had to eat so much, and he was he he

867
00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:47,440
Speaker 1: focused so much on his career that his study habits

868
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:49,960
Speaker 1: of all the pass rushers and studying everything was mean.

869
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,080
Speaker 1: But he talked about how how much he had to

870
00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:54,520
Speaker 1: eat and that it was it was unnatural for him,

871
00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:56,319
Speaker 1: and he was He's the He's the guy who the

872
00:42:56,360 --> 00:43:00,239
Speaker 1: second his career ended, suddenly three months later he he

873
00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,960
Speaker 1: lost like fifty pounds and he looks like a totally different, amazing,

874
00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:05,239
Speaker 1: crazy human being.

875
00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:08,880
Speaker 2: Well, that happens to a lot of guys. You can

876
00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:11,160
Speaker 2: go one or two ways. Either lose the weight or

877
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:13,359
Speaker 2: you gain it. But most of the guys that lose

878
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:17,399
Speaker 2: it like he did, they lose it quickly because all

879
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,080
Speaker 2: the things that you know, trying to cram ten twelve

880
00:43:20,120 --> 00:43:23,040
Speaker 2: thousand calories into your body, like you got so tired

881
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:26,279
Speaker 2: of doing it and making sure that otherwise the weight,

882
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:29,040
Speaker 2: especially in training camp where you're in two days. Back

883
00:43:29,080 --> 00:43:31,560
Speaker 2: in those days, you know the weight would fall off

884
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,279
Speaker 2: if you didn't gram ten thousand calories. So the first

885
00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:36,320
Speaker 2: thing you do is, man, thank god, I don't have

886
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:38,719
Speaker 2: to overread anymore. And so just the fact that you're

887
00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:42,680
Speaker 2: not just doubling twelve thousand calories into your body on

888
00:43:42,680 --> 00:43:45,640
Speaker 2: a daily basis, your weight just naturally starts to go

889
00:43:45,719 --> 00:43:48,480
Speaker 2: back to where it should be normally. So it happens

890
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,640
Speaker 2: to a lot of guys, and I didn't think Joe's

891
00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:53,200
Speaker 2: going to be any different than those guys.

892
00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:57,120
Speaker 1: So only six players in the history of the NFL

893
00:43:57,160 --> 00:43:58,440
Speaker 1: made the Pro Bow. By the way that each of

894
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:01,440
Speaker 1: their first ten seasons. It's a wild list. It's Aaron Donald,

895
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:05,479
Speaker 1: Joe Thomas, Barry Sanders, Lawrence Taylor, and then we're going

896
00:44:05,640 --> 00:44:09,640
Speaker 1: way back to mel Renfro and Merlin Olsen back in

897
00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:11,880
Speaker 1: the sixties. So that's a hell of a list to

898
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:16,120
Speaker 1: be on, and so is this one. I felt a

899
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,520
Speaker 1: little out of my depth with the offensive lineman, so

900
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:20,600
Speaker 1: I hope I did you guys proud I got Walter

901
00:44:20,719 --> 00:44:22,719
Speaker 1: Jones at the back end of the list. I have

902
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:24,719
Speaker 1: Zach Martin because I thought we needed to get an

903
00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:28,040
Speaker 1: interior guy, and he, in terms of him compared to

904
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:31,239
Speaker 1: other guards, felt so ahead of the game. So he's

905
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:34,680
Speaker 1: in there around seventeen. So many other great players could

906
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:36,839
Speaker 1: have made the list, whether it's Tyron Smith. They thought

907
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,680
Speaker 1: about Trent Williams, your guy Lane Johnson. They all would

908
00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:42,719
Speaker 1: have been worthy too. So I hope I did your

909
00:44:42,760 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 1: position proud Baldy, and that you're okay with my selections.

910
00:44:46,680 --> 00:44:50,360
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm okay with it. Yeah, I'm more than fine

911
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,640
Speaker 2: with it. Mean, you know there is you know, one

912
00:44:53,680 --> 00:44:56,279
Speaker 2: particular left tackle with Baltimore Greg that you might want

913
00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,200
Speaker 2: to consider. I'm going to drafted. I know he's drafted

914
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:02,480
Speaker 2: in ninety six. To know if that qualifies. You know

915
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:04,640
Speaker 2: the fact that you know we spent the early part

916
00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:07,520
Speaker 2: of his years before the twenty five year cutoff right.

917
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:12,640
Speaker 1: There, Jonathan Ogden had such an amazing career even after

918
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,440
Speaker 1: two thousand that he did get strong consideration. And if

919
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:18,959
Speaker 1: you were counting him from ninety six on, he would

920
00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:21,319
Speaker 1: probably be first. I would give him to you. But

921
00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:23,759
Speaker 1: he is someone who came into the league. He was

922
00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:26,919
Speaker 1: so good right off the bat, like maybe the best

923
00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:29,080
Speaker 1: part of his career was his first five six years.

924
00:45:29,080 --> 00:45:32,600
Speaker 1: Although he was he was something I I it helped

925
00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:34,920
Speaker 1: me take the easy way out ball these sometimes when

926
00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:37,200
Speaker 1: they had such great years before two thousand, because it

927
00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:40,160
Speaker 1: was painful. It was like picking between children. Here to

928
00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:42,800
Speaker 1: knock these guys off. So that helped me take Ogden

929
00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:44,319
Speaker 1: off because I was like, let's give it to the

930
00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:47,239
Speaker 1: guys who were almost entirely in this center.

931
00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:50,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, about Joe and what you mentioned about the consecutive

932
00:45:50,719 --> 00:45:53,799
Speaker 2: streak of you know, Pro Bowls for him and that

933
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,919
Speaker 2: rarely you know that list that you mentioned of six

934
00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:00,520
Speaker 2: of five other guys, you know, I'm I'm not saying

935
00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:03,560
Speaker 2: that the voting is always, you know, a popularity contest,

936
00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:05,960
Speaker 2: but it's kind of easy just you know, who's the

937
00:46:06,280 --> 00:46:08,600
Speaker 2: who's the best left tackle on the best team? Like

938
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:11,400
Speaker 2: you kind of go in that direction sometimes and you know,

939
00:46:11,840 --> 00:46:13,879
Speaker 2: you're O sixteen, You're really going to put the left

940
00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:16,399
Speaker 2: tackle on an old sixteen team in the Pro Bowl.

941
00:46:16,719 --> 00:46:20,200
Speaker 2: A lot of players wouldn't vote like that, But that's

942
00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:23,520
Speaker 2: the respect that he garnered. Even we know that the

943
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:27,400
Speaker 2: team and the organization was poor for long stretches of

944
00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:31,959
Speaker 2: his career, Yet the attention that he still received consistency

945
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,120
Speaker 2: they played at is still a sign of great respect

946
00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:37,920
Speaker 2: from from his peers and from the fans that vote,

947
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,160
Speaker 2: and the coaches and personnel people that all involved with voting.

948
00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:43,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I tried to put a little more weight

949
00:46:43,239 --> 00:46:45,000
Speaker 1: on the on the All pros, and he dominated with

950
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:48,560
Speaker 1: that and actually pff, which you know it's not perfect,

951
00:46:48,560 --> 00:46:52,279
Speaker 1: but it's interesting because they're certainly not caring about what

952
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:56,239
Speaker 1: the record is or anything like that. And two of

953
00:46:56,280 --> 00:47:00,680
Speaker 1: their best four seasons of all time just by by

954
00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:04,160
Speaker 1: their total score from a tackle. Two of their best

955
00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:09,160
Speaker 1: four seasons ever any player, any season. We're by Joe Thomas,

956
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:13,279
Speaker 1: just just shutting people down in a great division, by

957
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:16,560
Speaker 1: the way, four pass rushers, So I feel good about him.

958
00:47:16,600 --> 00:47:19,759
Speaker 1: We're about halfway through this list. It's gonna be tough

959
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:22,120
Speaker 1: to top you, Baldy, Like I would just like to

960
00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:24,680
Speaker 1: spin the dial and just here, like press a button

961
00:47:24,719 --> 00:47:27,440
Speaker 1: and hear baldyse stories on all twenty five of these guys.

962
00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:30,680
Speaker 2: Well, you know, you sort of like to stuff over years,

963
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:32,120
Speaker 2: but you know a lot of these things that just

964
00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:35,640
Speaker 2: get triggered by the conversation. Rig So I'm I'm happy

965
00:47:35,640 --> 00:47:38,000
Speaker 2: that you invited me in, got a chance to talk about,

966
00:47:38,239 --> 00:47:40,120
Speaker 2: you know, for of these great players, many of the

967
00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:42,560
Speaker 2: players I'd studied, you know, a week in, week out

968
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:45,000
Speaker 2: on film, so they're pretty still pretty fresh in the

969
00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:45,600
Speaker 2: memory bank.

970
00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:48,920
Speaker 1: Appreciate Brian Baldinger and Yeah, he'll be all over the

971
00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:53,160
Speaker 1: airwaves for NFL Network in his podcasts in the upcoming season.

972
00:47:53,200 --> 00:47:56,480
Speaker 3: Our next episode will be our fourth edition of.

973
00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:00,720
Speaker 1: NFL daili's Top twenty five players in the last twenty

974
00:48:00,760 --> 00:48:02,719
Speaker 1: five years. We're going to be joined by Yacht whose

975
00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:07,240
Speaker 1: sports NFL analyst Nate Tice. There might be a certain

976
00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:09,799
Speaker 1: player that he was a ball boy for coming up

977
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:10,840
Speaker 1: on that episode.

978
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:11,480
Speaker 3: We'll see you then,