WEBVTT - Drive Time: Remembering Zach Thomas’ Career with Andy Cohen 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:04.720 You are listening to the Miami Dolphins Podcast Network. 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:07.600 This is Drive Time with Travis Wingfield. 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.640 Pract to throw to a looking clips about. 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:17.000 A wide Dolphen touchdown, Tyrickquel uncelievable, just blue. 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.400 Fire for a second time. Don't knew where he was 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:22.520 going right away. I want to hit that man. I'm 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:24.279 gonna help you. Someone stup on his man. 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:28.320 Away Wattle Wattle to a shotgun back to throw looking 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:33.560 at them's up Myers touchdown man, It's Waddle his sixth touchdown, 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:39.000 Parados the King. Drive Time with Travis Wingfield begins. 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.320 Now let me check your pulse if you're not. 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:44.080 What is up? 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.440 Dolph fans and welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, part 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:50.760 of the Mimi Dolphins Podcast Network, covering your team, your 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:52.760 Miami Dolphins. How's it going? 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:53.279 Everybody? 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:56.360 I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's episode, 0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:59.560 no practice but Zach Thomas goes into the Hall of Fame. 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:02.320 On We're gonna go ahead and play my interview with 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.600 Andy Cohen, who covered Zach during his entire career, plus 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.640 some more audio sound bites from his media availability on 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.759 Sunday here at the Baptist Health Training Complex. From that place, 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.720 From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:19.840 This is the Draft Time Podcast, Maggie Geffish Fish. 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:23.840 Let's go ahead and get to my interview with Andy Cohen, 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:25.320 and then we're gonna go ahead and play those sound 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:27.240 bites last time we hear of me on the podcast. 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:30.440 Right now, Here's Andy Cohen and joining the Draft Time 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:33.480 Podcast now. Is the legendary man behind Dolphins Digest, more 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.760 than forty years of covering the Miami Dolphins and the 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.760 author of the column on Miami Dolphins dot com covering 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:42.679 the career of Hall of Fame linebackers Zach Thomas. He's 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:45.319 Andy Cohen. Andy, it's been a long time, my friend. 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:45.959 How are you doing. 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:48.680 It's been too long, Travis. I'm doing wonderful. How are 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:49.080 you doing. 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:51.360 I'm doing really well. A lost change to you and 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:52.080 I last spoke. 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:54.080 I think I think I had a second kid along 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.840 the timeline there, and so life comes at you fast, 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.480 and you know, we were exchanging emails putting this podcast together, 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:02.680 and you said something Andy that was very flattering about 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:04.720 doing a podcast with me, and I just wanted to 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:06.840 put it on the air here and just tell you that, 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:09.560 you know, The first time we met was the first 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:12.440 game that I ever covered for part of that you know, 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:15.239 fan site covering games and coming down being part of 0:02:15.280 --> 0:02:18.320 the whole process that Jason Jenkins put together, the Great 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:21.320 Light Jason Jenkins, and you sat in front of me, 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:23.760 and you were so gracious with your time and answered 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.639 every question I had, And I was so nervous that day. 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:27.600 I just wanted to tell you. 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:30.320 For you to say that in the email about coming 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:32.600 onto my podcast, I just wanted to put it back 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.560 to you and tell you how much that day meant 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:36.079 to me and how you treated me that day, sir. 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:38.200 Actually what I said was it was on my bucket 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:42.000 list to be on your podcast. And you know, it's 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.360 so easy for me to treat people that way because 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:46.720 I was you at one point in my career. 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:47.880 I started covering the. 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.320 Dolphins in nineteen eighty and Edwin Pope was calm mist 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:53.560 of the Miami Herald then, and he was a legend, 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.640 and he treated me like I meant something. And I 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.440 learned a lot from that, because if somebody like Edwin 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:03.079 Pope in his position in the sports world can treat 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:07.120 a young aspiring writer the way he treated me, well, 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:10.600 that's a pretty good lesson to learn. And once I 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.320 can tell that somebody cares, and once I can tell 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:17.200 that somebody is talented, it's no problem at all being 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:18.840 nice to them and answering their questions. 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.040 And you certainly fit in that category, Travis. 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:23.680 Well, I really appreciate that, and I hope that someday 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:25.360 down the line, someone says, I'll say thing about me, 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:27.400 because that's the highest praise that they can give somebody. 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.239 And, like I said, really appreciate it. 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:29.600 Andy. 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:31.519 So I'm happy to have you on here. I'm excited 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:33.840 to read the story. First of all, do you have 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:35.040 a title for the piece yet? 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.960 I don't. I send it to the Dolphins. 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:44.920 I suggested Tackling greatness, because that because that has two meanings. 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:49.200 And he was the best tackler, the best peer tackler 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:53.040 I've ever seen. And the way he tackled greatness was 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.240 working harder than anyone else, studying harder than anyone else, 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.720 preparing harder than anyone else. When when he came to 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:04.560 a game on a Sunday, Travis, he was so prepared 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:09.120 for that game it boggled my mind some weeks. Some 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:13.040 of the tendencies, formations he picked up by staying late 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:14.720 at night at home and just studying. 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.039 It's I think I've mentioned this in the podcast a 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.280 few times. It's my favorite type of football player, and 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.599 it's why I gravitate towards certain guys and like, for instance, 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:25.160 I think our quarterback to a tongue about low is 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:26.760 the same way right now. So that's why I'm such 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:28.560 a big fan of his game. And it's been that 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:30.679 way for a long long time. And you know, Andy, 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:32.520 before he came on the air here, I asked you 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:34.000 how you've been and you mentioned been writing a lot, 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:36.240 not necessarily about football, but just writing in general, and 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:38.360 writers are going to write, right, and. 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:39.280 I was curious. 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:41.760 I wanted to hear your process about how you put 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:45.039 this piece together, because I'm sure you know, when you 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.880 take on a piece of this magnitude and someone that 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:49.960 you just know so much about and there's so many 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.440 anecdotes you can drop in, I have to imagine there 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.039 was just thoughts and ideas and stories of times with 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:57.520 Zach flowing through you as you prepped for this piece. 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:00.920 You know, there was I covered every he played home 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:04.320 and away playoffs, and it was atriad just like it 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:06.760 was to cover every game Dan Marino played and Jason 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:11.719 Taylor ever played. But the thing about Zach that really 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:15.520 amazed me is that I went through his plays and 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:18.480 a lot of his great plays, and the thing about 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:22.479 Zach is that greatness was his norm. It wasn't like 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:26.480 you can single out five plays and say this was 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:30.560 by far the most remarkable plays of his career. He 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:33.919 did that every Sunday, Travis. It was crazy. You know, 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:37.160 I would look at game books and you know, sure 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:40.160 you can point out two thousand and one September he 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:45.440 intercepted Neil O'Donnell Tennessee, returned to thirty four yards and 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:48.800 somersaulted into the end zone, which was the first time 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.599 I'd ever seen him summrsault. And as I wrote in 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:53.880 my story, he got a perfect ten on the summersault, 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:59.240 as you would imagine. But there aren't a lot of plays. 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:00.839 I mean, there are a lot of plays where he 0:06:00.920 --> 0:06:04.280 did remarkable things, but it was an every week occurrence. 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:07.800 It's so hard to say this was the best of 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.880 Zach because really, every Sunday we got the best of Zach. 0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:16.120 And because of that, it's not like you can signal 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:19.040 out a great Marino to duper or Marino to Clayton 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.760 pass or just a remarkable game turning moment. 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:25.360 Zach Thomas was there every week. 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.720 They lost to Baltimore in the playoffs at the end 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:31.160 of that two thousand and one season twenty to three. 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:33.280 I believe he had twenty two tackles in that game. 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:35.800 That was an all time They lost twenty to three, 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:38.120 and he had twenty two tackles in that game. And 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:41.520 I remember interviewing after the game and he said, doesn't 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:44.320 matter what I do. I mean, he was so distraught. 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:48.359 But this was the internal makeup of Zach. It's so 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:51.280 hard to pick out the great plays because there were 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.320 great plays every Sunday. 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.040 In the longevity too, right, Because like I've had this, 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:58.120 I've asked this question to you know, Set and Oj 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:00.360 for the Fish Tank, or various people that have been 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:02.680 around Zach for a long time, and I always go 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:04.840 back to two thousand and five, and this goes back 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:06.200 to what you said about the way he prepped and 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:08.160 how he got ready his first year in a new 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:10.320 defense under Nick Saban and really a change from a 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:11.520 four to three to a three to four. 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:13.200 And it's the opening day. 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.320 Of two thousand and five and he is basically three 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.680 of four stops on a goal line stand against Denver Broncos. 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:20.440 You know, ten years into his career at that point. 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.360 So he just did it from the day he showed 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:23.559 up until the day he left. 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:26.960 My other thing, one of the things, Travis, that really 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:31.080 set him apart was his first step. So many great 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:35.000 athletes don't take the right first step and have to 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:39.880 overcome that with their quickness, with their thinking. Jack Thomas 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.240 was remarkable how many first steps he took that were 0:07:43.280 --> 0:07:45.640 the right first step, and that put him in a 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:48.800 you know, I counted, I went through some of his highlights. 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:53.400 He must have deflected twenty passes, twenty five passes in 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.880 his career. Several of them were intercepted. Well, that's not 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.480 a fluke him deflecting passes. That's a guy that pairs, 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.280 that knows where the ball is going, and that takes 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.320 that first step and makes it the right one. And 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.960 to me, that first step is what made Zach Thomas 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:10.840 such a great player. 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:13.679 Yeah, no false steps for the linebacker, right. He definitely 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:15.720 personified that to a t That's why he's going to 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:19.040 Canton And another part of getting that, you know, resume 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:21.720 for the Gold jacket is what a player does away 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:23.520 from the football field. You have to be a certain, 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:26.200 you know, a certain level of man to earn that honor. 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:28.559 I'm curious what you think it is about Zach's character 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:30.600 that makes him a gold Jacket honoree. 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:34.800 He was just he cared so much. You know, he 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.400 lived his life as an underdog. He was the eighteenth 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.760 linebacker taken in the in the and in the fifth 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:44.199 round of the nineteen ninety six draft. It's crazy when 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:49.000 you think about how many teams pass on Zach Thomas. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:53.240 But he used that as a motivating force, and he 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.319 was a humble man. He would have a great game 0:08:56.559 --> 0:09:01.040 and make some remarkable plays and I would approach him 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:02.800 by his locker after the game and he would look 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:04.640 at me and say, Andy, but you didn't see the 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.400 ones I missed. And there were three or four plays 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:10.040 I left there out there on the field, and I've 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:10.880 really got. 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:12.480 And I'm telling you, he was remarkable. 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.200 And they won the game, and he was everywhere, and 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:19.120 he still was that hard on himself. And I think 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.880 that critical nature is what drove him to be a 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:25.839 great player. And year after year and game after game, 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.480 you know, I said, he didn't earn the Hall of. 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:32.160 Fame on one play for one game. 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:35.240 He earned the Hall of Fame for every play, for 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:37.360 every Sunday, for every game. 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:42.040 And that's that's to me was what made him such 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:45.000 a deserving person in the Hall of Fame. 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:48.040 You know, as I was telling you before this interview, 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:50.880 when the game's over, there are certain go to players 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:52.199 you always want to go to in. 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:52.760 The locker room. 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.080 Zach Thomas was one of those players because he had 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.160 a way of framing a game that was that was 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:03.520 remarkably unique and on and I would never cover a 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:06.360 game without going to Zach Thomas's locker after the game. 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:07.640 You know, you ask him. 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:11.240 About a play and he would start talking complexities like 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:13.800 way over your head, and then he would say who 0:10:13.800 --> 0:10:14.480 am I talking to? 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:16.560 What am I saying? And then he would simplify it. 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.320 And when he was and when he simplified it, even 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.680 a person like me said, wow, I totally understand what 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.320 he did and why he did it on that play. 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:28.680 So there were so many different tentacles to what Mack 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:33.040 made Zach Thomas special. The person he was off the field, 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:35.080 the person he was on the field, the person in 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:37.200 the locker room, the person he was at home and 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.640 the person behind the scenes who would be up until 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.360 two o'clock in the morning studying Peyton Manning's tendencies the 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.200 line of swimmers, like anyone could figure that out. And 0:10:46.280 --> 0:10:49.640 Peyton Manning later in his career spoke about Zach and 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:51.800 I have this in my column about how he would 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:54.199 line up in the line of scrimmage and Zach Thomas 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.240 is calling out the play based on the formation, and 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.680 Peyton Manning, who's no dummy himself, would look at it 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:02.480 and say, how does this guy do that? And the 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:04.480 way he does it is that he works harder than 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.240 anybody else when everybody else is asleep. 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:09.199 He was up studying film. 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.160 And attracts too, because if you go back and look 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.320 at Peyton Manning's numbers versus everybody else and the Miami Dolphins, 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.480 it was a big, big valley of his performance when 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:19.440 he would play against Zach and this Dolphins defense. So 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.120 attracts that Zach was all in that playbook and knew 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:23.920 what he was doing. And when you say that, like 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.240 about how he prepared and how it was, so you know, 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.120 critical of his own performance in the three or four 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.679 plays that didn't go his way. I just think about 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.280 all the greats and they all kind of shared that trait, right, 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:36.440 Like I think about Kobe Bryant going to the gym 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:38.280 at four am to go get you know, three hours 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:39.840 of shooting him before the rest of the team rolls 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:41.880 in for practice. It kind of reminds me of that, 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.160 and you know, it's what an honor it must have 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.200 been to be around a guy like that every single day. 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:49.120 And I want to conclude with this question for you here, Andy, Okay, 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:50.199 who do you think. 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:51.600 Zach Thomas was to the Miami Dolphins. 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:53.600 I know it's a kind of a broad question, but 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:56.960 if you could, maybe in your best writer speak, tell 0:11:57.040 --> 0:11:59.960 us in general, who was Zach Thomas or the Miami Dolphin. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.360 He was everything to the Miami Dolphins. He was a leader, 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:11.040 he was the heart, he was the brains. He showed 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:15.280 so many young players the right way to prepare. He 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.480 was just every way you looked at him, Travis, he 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:21.280 was just a class act, a good person, and somebody 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:25.120 who at five foot ten and you know they list 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:27.199 his weight is two thirty five. You know, I'm not 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:30.080 sure he was ever two more more than in his 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:32.520 two twenties, but in any event, he was five to ten. 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:36.920 For him to accomplish the things he did says so 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:40.440 much about the fabric of the person and the desire 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:45.200 of him. It really is remarkable and a lot of 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:48.160 people will be happy when Zach Thomas is inducted into 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.480 the Hall of Fame, but know this, he is so 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:52.720 deserving and that's where he belongs. 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:54.560 Well, I can't wait to watch his speech. 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.080 I cannot wait to read your article up on Miami 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.880 Dolphins dot com title TBD. 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:01.280 Will see what turns out to be. 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:03.360 But Andy Cohen, Andy, thank you so much for your 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:06.120 time today and your daily generosity. Again, cannot wait to 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:07.560 read the story and glad to see you doing well. 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:10.200 My friend Travis, I can check this off my bucket list. 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:11.160 Have a wonderful day. 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:13.000 You're too kind, Thanks Andy. 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:30.960 Okay, for sure, it's been an awesome process that you know. 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:36.080 It's humbling, you know, especially even come back in this 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:37.160 building right now. 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:37.400 Just to. 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:43.360 Be there to represent everybody here in the whole building, 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:48.160 all you guys, because you know, I know every one 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:50.520 of you guys, you know, and it's I know every 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:52.280 one of you who are supporting us, even when you're 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:56.439 asking tough questions seriously, and even now, I know you're 0:13:56.480 --> 0:14:00.080 supporting this team, you want this team to win, and 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:04.160 for me, I finally got that win. You know what 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:09.439 I'm saying when it comes to being a Hall of Famer, because. 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.120 That's all I played for was for the wins. 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:15.400 It wasn't it wasn't for the accolades any of that stuff. 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:20.080 It was always just about the wins. And and and 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:23.120 this is this is definitely a win, you know. And 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:27.000 I'm very proud, you know. And it's good to see 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.640 everybody in here, man, just to be part of it. 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:31.520 It's pretty cool. 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:32.280 Zach. 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:36.040 Did it get to a point where like maybe dang 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:38.960 finally happened about that day time? 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:41.320 Oh? 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:44.840 Man, I don't think I ever got to that point, 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:51.160 you know, because, uh, looking back at it, I just 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:53.880 always looked back when I was done playing. I was 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:56.560 just always grateful that I played a game for so long, 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.320 twenty eight years of football, man, and and it was 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:03.920 so good to me. And and uh and I always 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.080 just look back anytime I ever thought that, man, a 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.200 game knows me nothing. I remember when I was eight 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.480 years old with big dreams from a small town. It 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:12.760 was a small town country boy. 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:13.000 Man. 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:18.800 And for me to ever be like, oh, man, be. 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:22.400 Negative about something that's not me man, and and and 0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:28.160 I know that in this game, Uh, you got to 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.600 rely on so many different things and got a little 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:34.680 lucky along the way with health, with players around me, 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:38.200 great coaches, a. 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:39.480 Great high school coach. 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.280 Crazy, how he taught me to read on a napkin, 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:50.280 and it got me labeled instinctive and smart. Crazy man. 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.000 I mean you guys you laugh at that because you 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:56.840 know me. I'm not not the smartest guy in the 0:15:56.920 --> 0:15:57.680 room right now. 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:02.640 But uh, it's wild how I played out. 0:16:02.320 --> 0:16:04.880 And the timing was perfect when it come to that, 0:16:05.120 --> 0:16:07.280 I never really thought of it because there's when the 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.480 guy's going in, you respect so many the Hall of famers, 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:13.960 even going in before you. I think Jason Taylor being 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:18.200 so dominant, you know what I'm saying. I wasn't going 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:20.480 to go in right after Jason. You know what I'm saying. 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:22.760 He was so good at. 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:27.320 His game that yeah, he probably you know, they pushed 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:31.280 me back a little bit, right so, but I'm proud 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.440 to represent our teammates. 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:36.160 Yeah. 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:41.120 It definitely just makes me proud, you know, because everything 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:41.800 we fought for. 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:42.960 Was the championship. 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:45.560 I'm not gonna lie, man, And I feel like, if 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:48.240 you get that championship, it makes your road a lot easier. 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:49.400 So you had to do. 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.240 Something right if you didn't get the championship. And I 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:56.000 feel like I played the game right and didn't never 0:16:56.000 --> 0:17:00.800 get the championship, and you know, look back at it, 0:17:01.760 --> 0:17:04.160 I wouldn't want to change a thing, but I wanted 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:08.000 to win for you guys. I wanted to win for 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.159 the fans. They deserve it. 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:13.400 Here's Zach touching on one of the most important moments 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:14.840 he can recall back in his career. 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:16.320 That opening national anthem. 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:17.880 Was there a moment. 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:21.920 I think, and I go back to it, and I've 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:27.399 said it before, like that national anthem and we're making 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:31.520 me choke up, Dave, But that national anthem, that first game. 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.960 Special, I think that was. 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:39.280 All right. 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:42.320 Let me see her. I've been trying to read tips. 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:47.439 I'm not crying when it comes to the induction, and 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:49.800 so if I look at your feet and I look 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:56.640 at your eyes, forgive me. But I know when I'm 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:59.440 talking about my family, I'm gonna be looking at feet. 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:02.400 You know what I'm saying, even Jimmy. But I think 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:07.240 that moment is the National Anthem was the time I 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.080 knew I had to start and chance and I wasn't 0:18:10.080 --> 0:18:11.720 gonna let it go. So I feel like that was 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:22.800 the moment that I knew, all right, let me drink water. 0:18:25.680 --> 0:18:30.320 You know, it's You're right, that's what I don't want. 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:34.320 I'm going first, and I don't want to take away 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:38.200 from any of the inductees behind me, because you want 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.639 to respect them in their time. And I got twenty 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:45.520 eight years of football to think. Everybody in twelve minutes, 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:47.800 it's not happening, man. But the thing is is I 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:51.080 want to make it under twelve and even if I 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:56.520 have to fumble through it or stumble through it, cry 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.960 through it, I'm gonna make it happen because you know, 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:04.240 you got to respect these guys time. And I'll get 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:06.200 my points in. I'm not I'm going to miss a 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:10.520 lot of people to think, which is it's tough because 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:13.480 you know, like I said, twenty years of football, so 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:18.760 many people impacted me. It's it's tough to take thank everybody, 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:22.000 and so I might have to do some riding, call 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:25.320 people up. I'll thank Harvey right now because I don't 0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:26.240 have any my speech. 0:19:29.240 --> 0:19:31.720 Zach was asked which part of the process of getting 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:33.720 fit for the Hall of Fame, getting the bus done, 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:34.800 getting the jacket fitted. 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:36.320 What was your favorite part so far. 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.119 Opening up the jacket, when it came to the house 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:41.680 with the kids. Man, that was special. 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:42.240 Kids. 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:48.480 You know, they didn't they didn't see me play. 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:51.400 Which which was good because that's just. 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:56.720 Talking about timing. I wouldn't have any time to be 0:19:56.800 --> 0:20:02.760