Speaker 1: Welcome and Commander's family to the Next Man Up Podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Brian cober Junr. And on this episode
Speaker 1: we're talking tight ends. We have Zach Ertz pulling up
Speaker 1: to talk NFC East rivalry games.
Speaker 2: You know he knows something about that.
Speaker 1: Then the legend of the game for this Sunday, Vernon
Speaker 1: Davis pulls up and talks about not only his play
Speaker 1: on the field, but what he's doing outside of the
Speaker 1: field to continue his life journey. And last but not least,
Speaker 1: we had to get a New York radio guy to
Speaker 1: pull up. But I promise you he is a fan
Speaker 1: of the Burgundy and Gold.
Speaker 2: That's right.
Speaker 1: Peter Rosenberg joins the show to talk about why he's
Speaker 1: excited about his Washington Commanders.
Speaker 2: That's all on Next Man Up.
Speaker 3: So nice twice.
Speaker 2: Amanda's family are the Next Man Up.
Speaker 1: He is a three time Pro bowler, Super Bowl champion,
Speaker 1: holds the record for most receptions in a season by
Speaker 1: a tight end. Look at him smiling, my boy, Zach
Speaker 1: hurts value doo yo. Good to see you, man. We
Speaker 1: appreciate you taking the time. Let's get right into it.
Speaker 1: Had your first game back. You had not played since
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three October. Right, you had that much time
Speaker 1: off of the field. Yeah, now you were back, man, You.
Speaker 2: Looked good out there. How did it feel to get
Speaker 2: just back on that field again?
Speaker 4: It felt great? Obviously week one definitely some nerves going
Speaker 4: into it, some butterflies, But I feel like that's a
Speaker 4: good thing. Whenever you lose the butterflies a week one
Speaker 4: and that's probably time to hang them up. So it's
Speaker 4: good that I still got that feeling in me. Felt
Speaker 4: good to get out there around the guys. Obviously, to
Speaker 4: come up short, it was a terrible feeling. But at
Speaker 4: the end of the day, it felt good to get
Speaker 4: out there, good to be with the guys, and I'm
Speaker 4: really looking forward to the rest of the year.
Speaker 1: You said still got it in me, So I got
Speaker 1: to ask, man, when you go through an injury like that,
Speaker 1: you've accomplished so many things already, Right, You're in year twelve.
Speaker 1: You've accomplished so much. You could probably say, you know what,
Speaker 1: I can hang the cleanse up. Yeah, how did you
Speaker 1: get through that and fight through it and say, you
Speaker 1: know what, I still want to play football?
Speaker 4: Well, I think so. Two years ago, twenty twenty two,
Speaker 4: I had the knee injury, and that was a tough
Speaker 4: one to come back from, and I probably came back
Speaker 4: a little too early, and then I had an injury
Speaker 4: that was not very It was not a bad injury
Speaker 4: last year. It was not bad enough to miss that
Speaker 4: many games, But there was a lot of politics involved
Speaker 4: with the situation in Arizona, and so just being able
Speaker 4: to take a deep breath and kind of reset and
Speaker 4: wait for the perfect opportunity was something that I really
Speaker 4: wanted to focus on to get back and feel like myself,
Speaker 4: feel like the player that I knew I could be again.
Speaker 4: And it really just gave me an opportunity to really
Speaker 4: train for essentially nine months straight for the first time
Speaker 4: and forever to have that amount of time to get
Speaker 4: back to where my standards are for myself. And I
Speaker 4: feel like I've had a great offseason because I've been
Speaker 4: able to feel good. I feel healthy, I feel probably
Speaker 4: the best I have in years, So I feel like
Speaker 4: I'm in a really good place.
Speaker 1: Man, you had a great offseason, You're having a great
Speaker 1: start to your season. You've had welcome twins, and Man,
Speaker 1: you and your wife welcomed in twins. Did that give
Speaker 1: you a little extra motivation to be like, you know what,
Speaker 1: I want my twins to see me on that field.
Speaker 1: I want them to be able to see what my
Speaker 1: two year old's been able to see.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, it's such a blessing to have three kids,
Speaker 4: three little boys. Wow, it was like yesterday I had
Speaker 4: no kids, and I woke up today and have three kids.
Speaker 4: So time flies. But it's so fun to be their dad.
Speaker 4: Obviously come home to a full house. It's mayhem at
Speaker 4: times right now, but Julius crushing it. She's an amazing mom.
Speaker 4: She's an amazing athlete, but she's an even better mom.
Speaker 4: So it's fun to see here in this role and
Speaker 4: I'm just excited to be their dad and her husband
Speaker 4: as athletes.
Speaker 2: Do you guys compete a lot?
Speaker 1: Because like my wife, she played basketball, right, she's a coach,
Speaker 1: so like it's competitive for everything.
Speaker 2: Is that how you guys are?
Speaker 4: Like in parenting, It's not like we're over there competing
Speaker 4: of who could change the diaper the fastest or who's
Speaker 4: getting the most diaper changes in the day, But like
Speaker 4: if we're playing cards or something, we'll definitely compete in
Speaker 4: something like that. But now it's a lot of just
Speaker 4: supporting one another to be the best of parents who
Speaker 4: can for these kids. And that's what we're focused on
Speaker 4: for sure.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 1: And last time we spoke, you had just signed pen
Speaker 1: to paper, you had the burgundy suit on. Still, Man,
Speaker 1: how has it been adjusting and just getting into this
Speaker 1: offense as this leader?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's been phenomenal. Honestly, I didn't really
Speaker 4: know what I was getting into. Obviously, I've been in
Speaker 4: this division for a long time, but didn't really know
Speaker 4: about Virginia Northern Virginia. Didn't really know about this organization
Speaker 4: besides what you heard. And I could so I'll say
Speaker 4: I was coming in with eyes wide open and I couldn't.
Speaker 4: It hasn't. I can't really put in toowards how great
Speaker 4: it's been. I've loved living in the d m V.
Speaker 4: I love the greenery, the road just driving out here,
Speaker 4: so green, so lush, and so it's probably my favorite
Speaker 4: like area that I've lived in so far. And then
Speaker 4: just the organization. Man, it's it's blown me away. Dq
Speaker 4: the culture he's building. Obviously, I've loved I loved playing
Speaker 4: for Cliff in Arizona. That's who I wanted to retire
Speaker 4: playing for, and when he got fired in Arizona, I
Speaker 4: was extremely disappointed in that decision, and so I didn't
Speaker 4: even know this was gonna be a possibility. But when
Speaker 4: he got the job as the OC, I jumped at it.
Speaker 4: I was eager to get out here. And then Josh
Speaker 4: Harris has done an amazing job from an ownership standpoint,
Speaker 4: just investing in the players, even no stone unturned to
Speaker 4: be able to provide everything we need to be at
Speaker 4: our best. So from top to Biden, I feel like
Speaker 4: this place is just going to continue to ascend.
Speaker 1: And you said when you got here, you knew you
Speaker 1: were coming in here to be a leader, to be
Speaker 1: a mentor, and to also build chemistry. The young quarterback
Speaker 1: in Jade and Daniels got to do that.
Speaker 2: In week one.
Speaker 1: How has it been just teaching Jaden and helping him
Speaker 1: grow and just watching him be the man that he is.
Speaker 4: I mean, Jaden is going to be an amazing player
Speaker 4: in this league for a very long time. And I
Speaker 4: wouldn't say I'm teaching him a lot. He's come in
Speaker 4: with the vast knowledge of the game, the way he
Speaker 4: understands concepts, the way he understands leverage technique, how I
Speaker 4: run my route. I feel like there was a natural
Speaker 4: chemistry that was built right away. But also he loves
Speaker 4: the game and I love the game. So we talk
Speaker 4: about football consistently. We're texting each other late at night
Speaker 4: after watching the film on our own. What do you
Speaker 4: think I should do against this? What do you want
Speaker 4: to do against this coverage? So we're just constantly trying
Speaker 4: to make sure we're on the same page so we
Speaker 4: could play fast. Because we feel like we're on the
Speaker 4: same page, We're playing fast and no one's gonna be
Speaker 4: able to stop us.
Speaker 1: Sunday will be bulld for your guys's first game playing
Speaker 1: for the Burgundy and Gold at Northwest Stadium. How excited
Speaker 1: are you to be on that side of it? I mean,
Speaker 1: you played against these fans a lot. How excited you
Speaker 1: to get them to cheer fair? I'm excited to not
Speaker 1: get bud.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 4: It's gonna be fun. I'm so excited to be there
Speaker 4: for the for the home opener, to be on this
Speaker 4: side of it, and we got to go out there
Speaker 4: and put our products on the field that they're gonna
Speaker 4: be proud of, that they're gonna be able to support
Speaker 4: and cheer for. And I mean scoring a lot of
Speaker 4: points hopefully, But at the end of the division game,
Speaker 4: the Giants have played a million times and so it's
Speaker 4: going to be a battle.
Speaker 1: And if you said you've played them a million times,
Speaker 1: my last question for you those NFC East battles, No,
Speaker 1: you haven't done it for us, but you've been there before.
Speaker 1: How special of those NFC battles paint that for us?
Speaker 4: It is the best division of football in my opinion,
Speaker 4: just massive Marcus. Massive fan bases, passionate fan bases, honest
Speaker 4: fan basis. And so for me, it's the best division
Speaker 4: in football to play in. And I'm glad I'm backing it.
Speaker 5: Zach.
Speaker 2: We appreciate you, man. Can't wait to see you for
Speaker 2: Week two at the crib. Appreciate you boy. It command
Speaker 2: this family.
Speaker 1: Since we're talking tight ends, we might as well go
Speaker 1: to a legend of the game. A former Washington tight
Speaker 1: end that will be this Sunday's legend of the game.
Speaker 1: Command is family. Our next man up is a legend
Speaker 1: in the game. He's won a Super Bowl, set over
Speaker 1: seventy five hundred yards, receiving sixty three touchdowns in a
Speaker 1: very long and fruitful career, and he ended it here
Speaker 1: in Washington with the Burgundy and Gold welcoming in NFL
Speaker 1: legend and tight end Vernon Davis, Brother, how you.
Speaker 2: Doing, man?
Speaker 5: I appreciate how you doing? Man?
Speaker 1: Oh Man, I can't complay anytime. I'm sitting here hanging
Speaker 1: out with a legend of the game. Man, I'm blessed. Man,
Speaker 1: I got the best job in the world.
Speaker 5: That's what's up. That's what's up. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2: Yes, sir man, so of course I said it earlier.
Speaker 1: You are going to be recognized as a legend of
Speaker 1: the game this Sunday for our forced home game against
Speaker 1: the New York Giants here for this season, which is
Speaker 1: a very very big game. Right Jayden Daniel's debut with
Speaker 1: the Crib, Dan Quinn's debut with the Crib. How special
Speaker 1: is it for you to be honored in such a
Speaker 1: momentus occasion.
Speaker 5: I think it's a great opportunity. Man.
Speaker 6: I just ya, I grew up root for Washington Commanders,
Speaker 6: so to be able to be affiliated with them in
Speaker 6: some kind of way, it's still.
Speaker 5: It's just great.
Speaker 6: It's just it's just awesome to be able to just
Speaker 6: you know, be a part of what they're trying to
Speaker 6: build and I know they're trying to build a championship team.
Speaker 6: And if I can give you know, my time, my
Speaker 6: energy and and just being part of this, And I
Speaker 6: think there's no better way than to be one of
Speaker 6: the legends of the game in which they were able
Speaker 6: to incorporate me for the first home game of the season.
Speaker 5: So that's why it's truly honored.
Speaker 1: Do those kind of things shock you how much the
Speaker 1: fans here revere you? Right, you're only here a few years,
Speaker 1: but the fans love you as if you spent your
Speaker 1: whole career here. And that kind of seems like the
Speaker 1: trend with a lot of the legends that played in
Speaker 1: the Burgundean Goal. How much does it mean to you
Speaker 1: to just be revered like that by this fan base?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean that's why we played the game. We
Speaker 6: played the game. I think it's a young guy coming in.
Speaker 6: It's always we forget the little details about the game
Speaker 6: of football, right, what makes this game? And it's nothing
Speaker 6: more or nothing better than having a group of people
Speaker 6: rallying behind you as a support as your as your
Speaker 6: support system, and your team of people who want to
Speaker 6: see you win, both individually and as a team.
Speaker 5: And it's nothing like it.
Speaker 6: So we when we do anything, like I used to
Speaker 6: say when I was playing football, we do it for
Speaker 6: the fans, we do it for the organization, we do
Speaker 6: it for our family, and we do it for ourselves.
Speaker 1: You've been around, You've seen a few different different regimes
Speaker 1: here in Washington, even when you were with the Niners.
Speaker 2: What's different about this time? What's different about this go around?
Speaker 6: In europeon anytime you can change up things, change is
Speaker 6: always great, especially if it's for the betterment of something.
Speaker 5: And I think right now this is for the betterment
Speaker 5: of the team.
Speaker 6: When they made the change to the upp management and
Speaker 6: the pieces that they were able to put together with
Speaker 6: the with the management team, Tea has been nothing but phenomenal.
Speaker 6: I think Magic Johnson, bringing his experience, his notoriety and
Speaker 6: everything that he's learned from building a team, I think
Speaker 6: it works. And I also think it's refreshing to have
Speaker 6: something new into a new group of people come into
Speaker 6: the city of Washington, d C. With the expectations to
Speaker 6: win a championship.
Speaker 1: And we just spoke to zach Ertz earlier and very
Speaker 1: much like you, when he got here, right he had
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowls he had the Super Bowl, he had
Speaker 1: the numbers and the statistics, but decided to in the
Speaker 1: back of the script, come here to Washington take its
Speaker 1: talents there. You did a very similar thing. Take us
Speaker 1: back to then when you did first get to Washington,
Speaker 1: what you were feeling, because again, you would already proved
Speaker 1: so much. You could have stopped right there, but you
Speaker 1: said you wanted to keep going here in the burguniar gold.
Speaker 5: Why was that yeah to me?
Speaker 6: I mean, like I said, it was a great, great
Speaker 6: opportunity to come back to my hometown team and play
Speaker 6: for them.
Speaker 5: It was.
Speaker 6: I mean, I know, when when you have an opportunity
Speaker 6: to play for a team that you grew up rooting for,
Speaker 6: I know that's free and far between. Doesn't always happen
Speaker 6: like that every single day. So I embraced the opportunity.
Speaker 6: And my friends and family, kids, everyone was here. They
Speaker 6: had an opportunity to see me where that that good
Speaker 6: old uniform that we've been seeing for years.
Speaker 5: But it's you know, I embrace it, man.
Speaker 6: I embraced every single opportunity that I possibly can, especially
Speaker 6: if it's a good one, and just stay positive about it,
Speaker 6: positive about everything.
Speaker 1: Born in DC went to the University of Maryland, came back,
Speaker 1: played for the pray for Washington. Now you're being honored
Speaker 1: at the field, right on the field, Man, is that
Speaker 1: a full circle moment for you? Because I got to imagine,
Speaker 1: like you said, like this is your hometown team. You
Speaker 1: had to have dreamed of this, right, You had to
Speaker 1: have dreamed of one day being on that field, and
Speaker 1: now you're on the back end of it. Have you
Speaker 1: had those moments where you sit there and be like, Man,
Speaker 1: God is good, man.
Speaker 5: God is so good man. I give it all to God.
Speaker 6: Man, everything I do, everything I received, And I know
Speaker 6: life is short.
Speaker 5: We only hit temporarily.
Speaker 6: But to be able to live the life that I've
Speaker 6: lived and continue to just learn how to navigate through
Speaker 6: the ups and downs of life, because our life isn't
Speaker 6: it's not easy.
Speaker 5: It's tough.
Speaker 6: Although we have moments in our life where things can
Speaker 6: be great and then we have those moments where things
Speaker 6: aren't so great and it's dark, it's gloomy. But if
Speaker 6: we continue to just keep keep the fight, stay humble,
Speaker 6: stay just graceful, stay just appreciative of all the little
Speaker 6: things that we receive in life.
Speaker 5: Life, life can be really good.
Speaker 6: Even one there's those down moments in our life, but
Speaker 6: I'm very, very grateful for everything that's to come away and.
Speaker 2: Life has just definitely been a journey for you. Vernon.
Speaker 1: Now, on the next Mental podcast, we talk a little
Speaker 1: ext and those, but we really like to talk about
Speaker 1: the player behind the helmet, and you, sir, have a
Speaker 1: lot of layers. You are somewhat of a renaissance man.
Speaker 1: You act, you do music, You've done so many different things.
Speaker 1: You're a leader of philanthropist. Why is it so important
Speaker 1: for you to continue to be so active even though
Speaker 1: you're technically retired.
Speaker 6: I think, I think every I think it depends on
Speaker 6: your your driven purpose, Like what's your purpose, whatever you
Speaker 6: think your purpose is, or whatever you're living for, whatever's
Speaker 6: going through your soul, through your mind. What do you
Speaker 6: want for yourself? You ask yourself that question, what do
Speaker 6: you want? What does your life look like? What makes
Speaker 6: you happy? And I learned that in order to get
Speaker 6: through life, it's crazy life that we live in, it's
Speaker 6: crazy world that we live in, is to be happy,
Speaker 6: to be inspired, to feel like, uh you can you're
Speaker 6: living for something. Every morning, every night that I go
Speaker 6: to sleep, I'm excited about the next day, Lord willing
Speaker 6: if it comes right.
Speaker 5: I know it's not guaranteed, but I'm hopeful.
Speaker 6: I'm hopeful that I get another opportunity to wake up
Speaker 6: and do something that I love.
Speaker 5: Whatever it is.
Speaker 6: Everybody has different passions and different desires, but whatever it is,
Speaker 6: I get a chance to do it again.
Speaker 5: So I get excited about the future. I get excited
Speaker 5: about right now.
Speaker 6: And I know that you know, everything that I that
Speaker 6: I put in, I'm leaving, but it's going to become
Speaker 6: a part of my legacy, and the legacy outlives you.
Speaker 6: You know, legacy be here for years and years and
Speaker 6: years to come. And that's Evan. Ultimately, that's what you
Speaker 6: want to do. You want to leave behind a legacy.
Speaker 6: And I think that's important for everyone to understand that, Hey,
Speaker 6: the impact that I had, people are going to remember
Speaker 6: me for the rest of my life. I did really good.
Speaker 6: Whether it's big or small, it doesn't matter what stage
Speaker 6: is on. As long as you leave behind something, you
Speaker 6: all got to leave it behind.
Speaker 1: And you said, realizing what your purpose is? What is
Speaker 1: Vernon Davis's purpose?
Speaker 6: I think my purpose is it is to be an example,
Speaker 6: to be a role model, to to create smiles and
Speaker 6: uplift people. I think it all, it all goes by
Speaker 6: Everything in life always goes back to to some right
Speaker 6: you would, because every every day we're impacted or we're
Speaker 6: we're affected by someone. You know, there's someone that can
Speaker 6: that can impact us in either positive or negative way.
Speaker 6: And my thing is to is to give that positivity
Speaker 6: to the world to people that have a chance to
Speaker 6: to cross paths with me and I And that's just
Speaker 6: my purpose. They say that, you know, find out what
Speaker 6: what what makes you tick and what gives you, what
Speaker 6: gives you like the energy to be able to just
Speaker 6: press on each and every day, And for me, it's
Speaker 6: giving back and create smiles.
Speaker 1: And you're giving back in a major way right now
Speaker 1: because you wrote a memoir and there's a lot of
Speaker 1: different stories in there, a lot of different things and
Speaker 1: antidotes that not only NFL players and players can get,
Speaker 1: but just people in general. Talk about what made you
Speaker 1: decide that right now in this point, because you've been
Speaker 1: through a lot, especially this year, Why did you.
Speaker 2: Decide to drop the memoir right now?
Speaker 6: I try to drop the memoir right now because, like
Speaker 6: I said, I just think life is so precious.
Speaker 5: I think life is so precious and life is just
Speaker 5: so short.
Speaker 6: You know, I don't know if I'm gonna be around
Speaker 6: here until I'm sixty seventy years old, So I can't
Speaker 6: wait that long to write it by memoir.
Speaker 5: I got to write it right now.
Speaker 6: I've done more than enough in life to be able
Speaker 6: to inspire people. I remember I was going through panic
Speaker 6: disorder when I was playing in San Francisco. First thing
Speaker 6: I did is pick up find books. I was looking
Speaker 6: for books. I was on line, I was at the library,
Speaker 6: I was, I was in different office spaces and just
Speaker 6: trying to find.
Speaker 5: Books that resonated with what I was going through.
Speaker 6: And I feel like my book, someone's gonna be searching
Speaker 6: for my book one day and they gonna pick up
Speaker 6: my book, and that book is going to give them
Speaker 6: the joy and inspiration they need to be able to
Speaker 6: continue through life. And I think, I think it's those things,
Speaker 6: in those moments that we don't really think about because
Speaker 6: there's so much going on in this life. Everything's fast,
Speaker 6: you know, the cars on the road, but you have
Speaker 6: a political debates, you have different careers and career paths,
Speaker 6: But what about the struggles of life? That's what we're
Speaker 6: supposed to be there for We're supposed to be there
Speaker 6: for people when they're struggling, when when they're on there
Speaker 6: when they're on their downfall, right, because I can I
Speaker 6: can assure you that everyone in life, if they get
Speaker 6: a chance to live long enough, they're going to experience
Speaker 6: some kind of some kind of some kind of health issue,
Speaker 6: some kind of health issue that you know, it's our bodies.
Speaker 5: You know, we have bodies. We have these living bodies.
Speaker 6: This blood it's pumping throughout our body and it's you know,
Speaker 6: it's very it's very sensitive.
Speaker 5: Is we have to handle lit care.
Speaker 6: But there's things that come up, whether it's you know,
Speaker 6: something in your blood or is a is an ailments
Speaker 6: some kind of disease, or or just something you're struggling with,
Speaker 6: something you need to go to the doctor and get better,
Speaker 6: or something you need to fix. Right, and we and
Speaker 6: once we understand that, then we know that people need us.
Speaker 5: We need each other. You know, we got to help
Speaker 5: each other.
Speaker 6: You know, it's just it's just what it is when
Speaker 6: human beings free creatures on earth, and we gotta we
Speaker 6: gotta gotta give and give back and carriage and inspire
Speaker 6: each other to do the right thing, and the right
Speaker 6: thing is living prosperously.
Speaker 5: Through our nutrition, health and well being, wellness.
Speaker 6: And just how we go about our day to day,
Speaker 6: our day to day.
Speaker 5: You know, that's what it's about.
Speaker 1: And Vernon, like I said, you want you We've had
Speaker 1: a year. You lost your brother Vonte tragically, and we
Speaker 1: all deal with grief in different ways. So first things first,
Speaker 1: as a man, because we don't get asked this a lot,
Speaker 1: first question, how are you doing? Second part of that
Speaker 1: question is can you give advice? Because you know you're
Speaker 1: all about giving advice and helping others, right, And just
Speaker 1: like you said, with all health and helf issues, we'll
Speaker 1: all lose a family member at some point. One again,
Speaker 1: how are you doing? And two how do you deal
Speaker 1: with that grief and still perform at such a high
Speaker 1: level in all the things you do?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 6: Yeah, it was tough, man, Probably one of the toughest
Speaker 6: experiences I've ever deal with my life. Because my brother
Speaker 6: was my best friend. He was he was someone I
Speaker 6: talked to every single day. I mean I pretty much
Speaker 6: raised the kid. And watching him go from this kid
Speaker 6: that was just living in Washington, DC to having success,
Speaker 6: it was just like it made me proud. That was
Speaker 6: a proud moment for me the day he got drafted.
Speaker 6: And to watch him, you know, leave the earth just
Speaker 6: like that, it was extremely tough, but look, it gave
Speaker 6: me more perspectives. I'm at a place now where I
Speaker 6: can talk about it smile, and I could just be.
Speaker 5: Thankful for him gracing me with his presence during his time.
Speaker 6: And and look, I'm I'll be with him one day.
Speaker 6: You know, energy, you can't destroy energy, you can't destroy it.
Speaker 6: He's still there somewhere. And if you believe, I think
Speaker 6: if we approach life as if we were going to
Speaker 6: die someday from our human form, then we we do better.
Speaker 6: We live better, we we we take life more serious.
Speaker 6: But I feel like human beings, we feel like we're
Speaker 6: gonna live forever. And there's nothing wrong with feeling like
Speaker 6: you're gonna live forever. But there's a there's a there's
Speaker 6: a big part of you that need to understand that
Speaker 6: there's things that you need to get done before your
Speaker 6: time is up. And the way you get it done,
Speaker 6: it's about living wholesome life and trying your best to
Speaker 6: do the best that you can to while you while
Speaker 6: you're here, and just do a good deed man, just
Speaker 6: be a great.
Speaker 1: Person, and Vernon, you're definitely doing that. Thank you for
Speaker 1: opening up and sharing that with us. I've recently lost
Speaker 1: a family member too, and grievance tough man. Everybody deals
Speaker 1: with it differently, but you know your advice could help
Speaker 1: a lot of people.
Speaker 2: So thank you for that. And let's pivot.
Speaker 1: Let's pivot back to the field, because again, you are
Speaker 1: a legend of the game.
Speaker 2: You're gonna be honored there. You're gonna be there.
Speaker 1: And it's incredible because it's an NFC East matchup, it's
Speaker 1: a rivalry game. You have some familiarity with how tough
Speaker 1: the NFC East can be. What do you expect to
Speaker 1: see on that field Week two Sunday against the New
Speaker 1: York Giants.
Speaker 5: Well, we know about we know about.
Speaker 6: If you're a fan of the Commanders, you know some
Speaker 6: of the moves they were able to make in the draft.
Speaker 6: And Jade Daniels is one guy who I'm really excited about.
Speaker 6: I was looking at his college highlights the other day
Speaker 6: and I was I saw some of the things that
Speaker 6: he were able to do, from passing the ball to
Speaker 6: running the ball. He's definitely a dual threat. I think
Speaker 6: once he figures it out, he gets he's really comfortable,
Speaker 6: he's gonna be forced direction. He's gonna be unstoppable man.
Speaker 6: And when you have a quarterback like that who's so
Speaker 6: that can be both both dangerous in the passing game
Speaker 6: and running game, I mean it's hard to stop. I mean,
Speaker 6: you look at you look at Lamar Jackson. Know what
Speaker 6: he's able to do. I know he hasn't won the championship,
Speaker 6: but he has the potential to win a championship. I'll
Speaker 6: take my chances on a guy like that any day,
Speaker 6: because I know the upside is really hot with his
Speaker 6: with the ability that he's able to bring to the
Speaker 6: game of football.
Speaker 5: But I'm excited.
Speaker 6: I think they did a great job drafting that kid,
Speaker 6: and if we can continue to build the pieces around him,
Speaker 6: both offensively and defensively, I think we have something to
Speaker 6: work with.
Speaker 1: And Vernon, Before I let you go, I gotta ask
Speaker 1: every legend this. The fans love it. What's your favorite
Speaker 1: memory here in Washington? I know tomorrow might end up
Speaker 1: being the new favorite because you're gonna get all that
Speaker 1: love and the fans are gonna be screaming your name.
Speaker 1: But before before Sunday, what's your favorite memory in Washington?
Speaker 6: My favorite memory in Washington, I'm gonna have to say, gosh, man,
Speaker 6: just I feel like every every year that I was
Speaker 6: with the Washington Commanders was one of the They were
Speaker 6: all amazing, man. And I say that because I had
Speaker 6: a chance to. One day, I sat there and I
Speaker 6: started to reflect just on my journey and just how
Speaker 6: I ended up here right, and it made me so
Speaker 6: like just I don't know, man, it just gave me this.
Speaker 6: I felt this energy run through my body because it's
Speaker 6: like I don't have to be here.
Speaker 5: I don't have to be here.
Speaker 6: So every year that I had with the Washington Commanders
Speaker 6: was a highlight every single year because I had a
Speaker 6: chance to walk in that locker room, same locker room
Speaker 6: I saw when I was a kid, and interact with
Speaker 6: new guys every single year and create family. And now
Speaker 6: you know, I have guys that I can go to
Speaker 6: that I played with him, you know, and just just
Speaker 6: be there for them and I know they're gonna be
Speaker 6: there for me. So it's just just awesome.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 5: Every year that I was here, it's amazing.
Speaker 1: And man, we are so happy to have you in
Speaker 1: the fold Man, you deserve being honored. Can't wait to
Speaker 1: see you on that field being the legend that you are.
Speaker 1: Vernon Davis, we appreciate your time, brother, and thank you
Speaker 1: for opening up to us.
Speaker 2: Man. I think that can help a lot of people.
Speaker 5: Out Thank you.
Speaker 1: Now, since we're playing New York, I figured our next
Speaker 1: man up should be somebody that has lived out there
Speaker 1: a long time but has roots in the DMV and
Speaker 1: still represents the Burgundy and Gold everywhere he.
Speaker 2: Goes command his family.
Speaker 1: This next man up is something we'd like to call
Speaker 1: a super fan, not just because he loves the Burgundy
Speaker 1: and Gold, but because he is also a superstar in.
Speaker 2: His own right.
Speaker 1: You've heard him on the radio Hot ninety seven hip
Speaker 1: hop guy, You've seen him in the WWE, a wrestling guy,
Speaker 1: and he just loves sports period.
Speaker 2: He does so many different things.
Speaker 1: Welcoming in our next man up, Peter Rosenberg, Pete, how
Speaker 1: you doing bro.
Speaker 7: Yo, Man?
Speaker 3: I am happy to be here always wrapping that Burgundy
Speaker 3: and gold.
Speaker 7: Thanks for making some time for me.
Speaker 1: Oh of course, man, And you know we're gonna we're
Speaker 1: gonna dress the elephant in the rooms. I know fans
Speaker 1: are listening, like why Are you talking to a guy
Speaker 1: that I hear on a hip hop radio station. What
Speaker 1: is the point of having him as your next man up?
Speaker 1: Explain really your love for the Burgundy and Gold so
Speaker 1: the fan base can get to really know why you're
Speaker 1: a super fan.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean listen. I became a fan of
Speaker 3: football in the late eighties. And you know, the first
Speaker 3: first thing I got exposed to was the eighty five
Speaker 3: Bears when I was a very little kid, like five
Speaker 3: years old, and then that was sort of my intro
Speaker 3: into football. And then I started hanging out with a
Speaker 3: good friend of mine because I don't come from a
Speaker 3: sports family, and a really good friend of mine, he
Speaker 3: and his dad loved the Redskins, always had the games on,
Speaker 3: always watching, and so I all of a sudden started
Speaker 3: watching every week. And then, of course, you know, go
Speaker 3: on and win the Super Bowl in eighty seven, win
Speaker 3: it again in ninety one.
Speaker 7: This is what I just.
Speaker 3: Thought sports was like, you just fall in love with
Speaker 3: a team and they just win championships and dominate the league.
Speaker 7: It was amazing.
Speaker 3: And you know, I was born in Silver Spring, grew
Speaker 3: up in the Bethesda Chevy Chase area, so then went
Speaker 3: to University of Maryland, stayed in the area all the
Speaker 3: way till I was.
Speaker 7: Twenty seven years old.
Speaker 3: So and I was a huge fan from about eight
Speaker 3: years old on. But it probably even got more intense
Speaker 3: after I moved away, because I think sometimes when you're
Speaker 3: not in the city, you know, the Burgundy and Gold
Speaker 3: kind of became my real like connection to home, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, man, oh man, I really liked that man,
Speaker 1: and you're a hometown guy. So I gotta know favorite
Speaker 1: Washington memory off the ricks. I'm gonna tell you right now,
Speaker 1: fans gonna judge you off of your favorite memory. Give
Speaker 1: us your favorite memory as a Washington fan.
Speaker 3: I would say it's it's probably I guess I should
Speaker 3: say the one that just hits me immediately, which is,
Speaker 3: if we're getting very specific and granular on these memories,
Speaker 3: it would be the the Darryl Green breakup on the
Speaker 3: Vikings attempt to try to beat us in the eighty
Speaker 3: seven championship game. It was that moment when Daryl broke
Speaker 3: up that pass that like I realized they were going
Speaker 3: to the Super Bowl. And you know, of course, it's
Speaker 3: hard to even go back into it, Like my eight
Speaker 3: year old brain was operating, like, but I just know
Speaker 3: that moment felt so amazing. And the Super Bowl itself
Speaker 3: obviously was awesome, really rough first quarter, really great second quarter,
Speaker 3: but then by the end of the game, you know,
Speaker 3: we were just cruising to victory, whereas the end of
Speaker 3: the championship game had that drama, you know, that really
Speaker 3: high drama at the end, So that always stood out
Speaker 3: to me even more. And frankly, I always feel that
Speaker 3: championship games sort of have this special thing over super
Speaker 3: Bowls in the sense that super Bowls play in a
Speaker 3: very odd way, like super Bowls don't generally feel like
Speaker 3: regular football games in any way, whereas the championship game
Speaker 3: is like the last regular football game of a season,
Speaker 3: an intense football game, but it still feels like, you know,
Speaker 3: you're not playing in a neutral site, it still has
Speaker 3: that feel of a real game. So, very long way
Speaker 3: of saying that eighty seven championship game.
Speaker 1: I love asking that question because as a fan, your
Speaker 1: team is really what makes you fall in love with
Speaker 1: that sport, right Like, It's not just the sport, it's
Speaker 1: those memories you have with your team. So I appreciate
Speaker 1: you sharing that, And obviously you've seen highs and you've
Speaker 1: seen lows when it comes to Washington, But.
Speaker 2: Now we're in a different era. Things just feel a
Speaker 2: little different.
Speaker 1: Can you explain what it's like for you as a
Speaker 1: fan seeing all the different things that are happening, seeing
Speaker 1: the new co staff, new ownership, all these changes. What
Speaker 1: is it like for you as a fan, especially somebody
Speaker 1: that's removed from the DMV right now?
Speaker 7: Oh No, it's been a great, you know, turn of
Speaker 7: events the last couple of years.
Speaker 3: It's been really nice to turn the right direction and
Speaker 3: turn the page into a new future. And this group
Speaker 3: that now runs the team. I'm very excited just that
Speaker 3: we have new energy. You know, I really didn't think
Speaker 3: it was possible that it would ever happen, and so
Speaker 3: the fact that we actually took that step.
Speaker 7: And turned the page for me is a huge deal. Honestly,
Speaker 7: it was.
Speaker 3: One of the biggest sports things ever in my life,
Speaker 3: was that this change has happened because I did not
Speaker 3: expect it. I have a lot of tough memories from
Speaker 3: you know, the year two thousand through twenty two, twenty three,
Speaker 3: whatever it was, twenty two, you know, a lot of tough,
Speaker 3: tough moments there. Listen, nothing's going to change overnight, as
Speaker 3: we just learned in week one, I certainly had some
Speaker 3: certainly had some moments where I was like, wait a second,
Speaker 3: I don't want to feel this feeling anymore.
Speaker 7: But overall, big.
Speaker 3: Picture, I just like the way we're operating and I
Speaker 3: have a real faith in what's going on right now.
Speaker 1: And you mentioned week one, so let's get right into
Speaker 1: it because we're recording this on a Monday now. So
Speaker 1: you're the first person I've actually got to talk to
Speaker 1: since Postgame Live with Brian Mitchell and Santana Moss. So
Speaker 1: your initial reactions, right you said you had some moments
Speaker 1: that you know.
Speaker 2: Weren't didn't make you feel the best.
Speaker 1: But overall, how did you feel just seeing what this
Speaker 1: new offense can look like, what this new defense can
Speaker 1: look like, what this new coaching.
Speaker 2: Staff can do with the Washington Commanders.
Speaker 7: The offense felt promising.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously I would love to see number seventeen
Speaker 3: get targeted considerably more than he was. But you saw
Speaker 3: the things that Jaden is capable of yesterday. I mean
Speaker 3: it was really a microcosm of everything I've seen of
Speaker 3: JD so far, which is obviously his ability to take
Speaker 3: off when the pocket breaks down is just incredible and special.
Speaker 3: The one thing I worried about in my observations of
Speaker 3: the preseason, we're sort of some basic things not quite
Speaker 3: being there every time yet, like even the first play
Speaker 3: of the game, right, like just a poor screen pass
Speaker 3: that leads to a thirteen yard loss. Like little things
Speaker 3: like that that I want to see him get more
Speaker 3: comfortable with day in day out. But I loved what
Speaker 3: I saw from from Jayden Daniels. That wasn't really my
Speaker 3: concern overall. I would say, let's get it. I'm sure
Speaker 3: this has been talked about already at nauseum in DC.
Speaker 3: Let's get a helmet that fits. Let's let's get that
Speaker 3: squared away. Number one, because your helmet should not be
Speaker 3: popping off twice during game. And number two, let's talk
Speaker 3: about these sliding situation and how we're gonna do that.
Speaker 3: Because the head first tumble that ain't gonna work for me. Bro,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna I need that to get straightened out a
Speaker 3: little bit, because that just worries me.
Speaker 7: That ends up being a separated shoulder some a neck
Speaker 7: thing like.
Speaker 3: But that's me mentioning the negative, the fact that he
Speaker 3: what I loved about what Jayden did in Game one,
Speaker 3: was his patience in the pocket and truly using running
Speaker 3: at the as the last option but doing so effectively
Speaker 3: but offensively.
Speaker 7: Zach Ertz looked great.
Speaker 3: Oh man. I loved what Austin Eckler looked like yesterday.
Speaker 3: A lot of spring in Austin Eckler's step that was fantastic.
Speaker 3: Protection needs to be better, but overall I saw clear
Speaker 3: positives in the offensive game, a lot of growth to
Speaker 3: see from the defense. But honestly, the way this game
Speaker 3: is played now, as you know, like the couple of games,
Speaker 3: it's really seeing a team figure out what they are
Speaker 3: because the preseason has become such a weird halfway preseason,
Speaker 3: but hey man, it's early in the season. The things
Speaker 3: that I hear around league from how people feel about DQ,
Speaker 3: it's always super positive. So certainly some things to grow
Speaker 3: on and also some things that you can feel good
Speaker 3: about from.
Speaker 1: Game one, Peter, I appreciate that hearing you talk, man,
Speaker 1: because it's very obvious you are a true faman and
Speaker 1: you're watching the game very closely, and I've been listening
Speaker 1: to you. I've heard you on JP and be missed
Speaker 1: the show a few times, and you were optimistic this season, right,
Speaker 1: you were reasonably optimistic. You said you expect at least
Speaker 1: eight wins, eight to ten wins. Did that optimism change
Speaker 1: at all after week one? Are you still sticking with that?
Speaker 1: Are you still feeling the optimism you were feeling before
Speaker 1: week one?
Speaker 7: Well?
Speaker 3: It certainly obviously a day like that certainly makes you
Speaker 3: start thinking about eight more than ten, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 7: But that's really about the defense, bro.
Speaker 3: I mean this, if this defense is better than they
Speaker 3: looked yesterday, So if they can tighten things up and
Speaker 3: become a defense that gets you off the field on
Speaker 3: third down, then yeah, I think that by the time
Speaker 3: we get role, I think.
Speaker 7: This offense will be click clacking. I really do. I
Speaker 7: think that scoring will not be a big problem.
Speaker 3: I think the combo of b Rob and Austin Eckler
Speaker 3: super slept on. I loved seeing how spry Ertz looked
Speaker 3: at this point in his career, and obviously have a
Speaker 3: lot of faith in this wide receiver group, who we
Speaker 3: did not see a lot from yesterday. You know, Like
Speaker 3: I listened certainly at times, I don't think the quarterback
Speaker 3: had the time that he needed to watch routes play out.
Speaker 3: But also it's a matter of, you know, people learning
Speaker 3: each other. And we've seen Terry learn a lot of
Speaker 3: different quarterbacks and I think at some point here him
Speaker 3: and the kid will really get on the same page
Speaker 3: and we'll get going. So the offense, I have a
Speaker 3: lot of confidence in the defense gonna it's gonna need
Speaker 3: to do better than it did yesterday for us to
Speaker 3: have a fun season.
Speaker 1: Peter, I got a feeling, you know, I'm an optimistic guy,
Speaker 1: but I got a feeling you're gonna see more from
Speaker 1: that defense.
Speaker 2: I think you look at that game and you look.
Speaker 1: At field positioning too, right, they were not put in
Speaker 1: the best field position, especially early on. So I do
Speaker 1: think we will see some more positives from that defense.
Speaker 1: But I completely agree with you on that offense. And
Speaker 1: you're a New York guy, right, You're out there now,
Speaker 1: you've been in New York for a long time. That
Speaker 1: has become home for you, your household name in that city.
Speaker 1: But you never really straight away from the Burgundy and Gold,
Speaker 1: which I really respect because I'm telling you, the Giants
Speaker 1: fans are the worst fans ever, the worst fan bas ever,
Speaker 1: and you had probably have to deal with them a
Speaker 1: lot and argue with them a lot. What has it
Speaker 1: been like being a Burgundy and Gold fan in New
Speaker 1: York for so long and having to be attached to
Speaker 1: so many Giant fans.
Speaker 7: It's it's challenging.
Speaker 3: It's challenging, particularly as you know, even though the last
Speaker 3: decade has been tough for the Giants. You know that
Speaker 3: run from I came up here in oh seven, So
Speaker 3: that first five to seven years, what could we say?
Speaker 7: I had nothing to say.
Speaker 3: We were nothing but a disaster, and they were nothing
Speaker 3: but winning.
Speaker 7: You know, they found a way, and so you really
Speaker 7: didn't have much to say.
Speaker 3: The last several years, you know, they've been a little quieter,
Speaker 3: to be honest, on account of just how messy that
Speaker 3: team has been.
Speaker 5: Uh.
Speaker 7: You know, that's an.
Speaker 3: Interesting question though, because like, is there really any worse
Speaker 3: fan base than the Cowboys, because the Cowboys fan base
Speaker 3: feels like it's everyone that's let me let me say
Speaker 3: here's what I'll say. Okay, Eagles fans are the meanest.
Speaker 3: Giants fans are the most annoying, boom annoying, and these
Speaker 3: cause the Giants fans love to argue and they're just
Speaker 3: you know, they're just a pain that you know what,
Speaker 3: And and like I said, with the winning that they
Speaker 3: had over that period, it got even more difficult. But
Speaker 3: the Cowboys fans are so irritating on account of they
Speaker 3: just pop up everywhere and you're like, you're.
Speaker 2: A Cowboy fan? Where do you?
Speaker 3: What are you doing here? Why is he around? What
Speaker 3: did you get to how? And they're always on TV.
Speaker 3: They're always so like, oh, this is the year. So
Speaker 3: it's a tough question because I know lots of Giants
Speaker 3: fans who are great, like just living in the area. Obviously,
Speaker 3: I know so many that I know the whole range,
Speaker 3: Like I know the really normal, cool season ticket holding,
Speaker 3: tailgate having lovely like just kind of classy Giant fan.
Speaker 3: Because there is a classy Giant fan. I'm gonna give
Speaker 3: them that. That's something that Jets don't have as much.
Speaker 3: Of the Giants do have a classy segment of their
Speaker 3: It's not all of it, it's not all of it.
Speaker 3: We saw people out there waiting for uh for Daniel
Speaker 3: Jones yesterday yelling Danny Daniel Pennies and yelling at the guy.
Speaker 7: So but yeah, no, man, it's tough. It's tough.
Speaker 3: I mean, I married a woman who's was a Giants fan.
Speaker 3: She knows what time it is. Now, Yeah, we'll see
Speaker 3: how this, We'll see how this Sunday goes. But yeah,
Speaker 3: you know, this is a commander's household.
Speaker 7: Though she knows, she knows the time.
Speaker 2: That's how you handle it.
Speaker 1: I always tell my friends that, man, you gotta make
Speaker 1: your lady a fan of your teams because you're watching
Speaker 1: all those games and she has to be there supporting
Speaker 1: you too. So I respect that a lot. And we're
Speaker 1: gonna let you go, man, because we know you're busy.
Speaker 1: But of course we have to talk about this matchup.
Speaker 1: This Sunday, we will be playing the Giants at home.
Speaker 1: You're gonna pull up, You're gonna make an appearance of
Speaker 1: the game.
Speaker 3: So I thought about going to this game. I'm a wait,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna I'm gonna wait. I did want to be
Speaker 3: there for the first JDH intro, like proper Intro at FedEx,
Speaker 3: I did want to be there for that, the first
Speaker 3: proper JD intro at home.
Speaker 7: It seemed like the adope opportunity. But I'm a wait.
Speaker 3: I just had a lot of stuff going on. I
Speaker 3: think I'm gonna try to make the Dallas game in
Speaker 3: November instead. But I'll tell you, man, I went to
Speaker 3: the Giants game last year. I think I went to
Speaker 3: the Giants game maybe two or three. Bro.
Speaker 7: It's brutal.
Speaker 3: I mean the way that no matter how bad the
Speaker 3: Giants are, like, we get on the field and they
Speaker 3: are a different team.
Speaker 7: Man, it is so irritating.
Speaker 3: So like, I really see next week as a huge
Speaker 3: deal because this Giants team is going to be emotionally
Speaker 3: beaten down. They did not score a touchdown in Week one.
Speaker 3: Their fans were booing them off the field. They do
Speaker 3: not feel good. We have a home game debuting our
Speaker 3: new quarterback. You gotta go win this game. I don't
Speaker 3: care what the history tells.
Speaker 5: You.
Speaker 7: Go beat the Giants. Man.
Speaker 1: I beat this team, and I'm sure every fan is
Speaker 1: feeling that same way. Peter, thank you so much for
Speaker 1: your time. We appreciate you. I hope you're on the
Speaker 1: radio every single day talking about the Commanders and making
Speaker 1: Giants fans feel silly this week and next week after
Speaker 1: we get that w last thing.
Speaker 2: Just tell us what you're working on.
Speaker 1: Tell us where people can follow you find you, because
Speaker 1: I'm sure after this interview you're gonna have a lot
Speaker 1: of Burgundy and Gold fans loving you.
Speaker 7: Oh, I appreciate that, man well.
Speaker 3: For on the sports side of things, I do a
Speaker 3: show on ESPN New York every single afternoon, the Michael
Speaker 3: Ka Show.
Speaker 7: You can listen to it wherever you stream audio.
Speaker 3: Just just you know, you could just say to your Siri
Speaker 3: or your Alexa, play ESPN New York and listen to
Speaker 3: us there. I do a wrestling podcast every week called
Speaker 3: Cheap Heat. That's a lot of fun. You can catch
Speaker 3: me on the WWE as well. And then of course
Speaker 3: Hot ninety seven every morning if you're waking up and
Speaker 3: you're looking for something to talk about. We don't do
Speaker 3: a lot of sports on that side. It's more like
Speaker 3: culture politics things like that. But you can get the
Speaker 3: Hot ninety seven Apple listen to me there every morning,
Speaker 3: or check out the Ebro in the Morning podcast.
Speaker 7: Those are the main places to catch me.
Speaker 1: A very busy man, indeed, Peter, thank you so much
Speaker 1: for your time. Command His family Our next man Up.
Speaker 1: Peter Rosenberg, a super fan of the Burgundy and Gold.
Speaker 1: Appreciate your time, Bro.
Speaker 7: Thanks man Hell.
Speaker 1: Commands family. We hope you have been enjoying The Next
Speaker 1: Man Up. Podcast hearing from your favorite Washington commanders and
Speaker 1: some of your favorite Washington legends. If you want to
Speaker 1: hear more of the Next Man Up podcasts, you can
Speaker 1: subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts, or check
Speaker 1: us out on the Commands YouTube page.