WEBVTT - Neil Reynolds Exclusive Interview with Ryan Fitzpatrick 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:09.760 Practice. What a win for this Miami Dolphin team. Wow, 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:14.600 What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Drive Time Podcast, 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:19.720 part of the Dolphins official podcast network covering your Miami Dolphins. 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:22.959 I am your host, Travis Wingfield, and as always, each 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:25.280 and every day, I am here to bring you your 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:28.639 daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:32.600 Ryan Fitzpatrick spent a day with Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports. 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.080 We're gonna talk to Neil about his time with the 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:38.479 Dolphins quarterback and the launch of his new podcast, The 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:41.440 Neil Reynolds Podcast. All of that and more here on 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:47.960 this Friday, April the third edition of the Drive Time Podcasts. 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.159 And I am very excited to get to this interview 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:55.680 with Neil Reynolds. I think we can all agree that 0:00:55.760 --> 0:00:58.680 Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the most liked players, most 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.840 unique players in the league, and he often gives refreshing 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:05.600 perspective not just about football, but really any topic in life. 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.720 A fifteen year NFL VET, a graduate of Harvard with 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:11.679 a degree in economics tough to find a more well 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:15.360 rounded resume than what Ryan Fitzpatrick offers. So with that, 0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:18.000 let's go ahead and get to my interview with Neil 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:20.920 Reynolds of Sky Sports and The Neil Reynolds Podcast. He 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:23.920 spent an entire day with the Dolphins quarterback chatting about football, 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:27.920 life and everything in between and joining me on the podcast. 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.880 Now is the host of sky Sports TV, the Inside 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:35.000 the Huddle podcast and his newest project, The Neil Reynolds Podcast, 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:38.959 self named Neil. Welcome in, sir, Thank you for having me, Travis, 0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:41.720 thanks for having me on. Yeah, it's been exciting times 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.840 m launching this new podcast, and yeah, I got to 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.640 spend spend a day with a man who's dear to 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:51.720 Dolphins fans hearts. I'm sure he certainly endeared himself to 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.160 us last year with the way he finished out that season. 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:56.360 You even talked about it in the podcast, and we'll 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:58.480 get to the stuff here in just one second. About 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:01.160 him carrying Walt Aikin's of the field after that when 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.640 in New England just really symbolizes and personifies the kind 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:08.080 of man that Ryan Fitzpatrick is. And that's the debut 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.400 subject of Neil's new podcast, The Neil Reynolds Podcast. He's 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:13.920 gonna go one on one with different NFL stars and 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.200 NFL people and get their perspectives and their takes and 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:20.280 who better than Ryan Fitzpatrick. And first, Neil, let's go 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.639 ahead and start here with your your project and talk 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.560 about it. What was the inspiration behind this new podcast 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:27.880 and what can fans expect from these one on one 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:31.040 really intimate interviews. Yeah, and that's what that's what I'm 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:34.600 am me in for. Um. Obviously, I'm I'm four thousand 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.960 miles away from the u S so, um, there's no 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:42.280 point me doing a podcast that's looking at all of 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.239 the ins and outs of the news of the NFL. 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:45.800 And I actually do that to a degree for the 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:50.360 UK audience with inside the Huddle anyway. So this is 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:53.080 a this is a chance for me to use great contacts. 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:56.639 I have great contacts. I pride myself on having very 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:59.760 very good contacts. I just I was texting back and 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:03.040 forth with Fits this afternoon. I've just got off the 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.080 phone with Kurt Warner, So you know, I do have 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:09.839 contacts through quite through the Sky Sports work, also through 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.960 NFL UK. We do NFL UK live stage shows around 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.920 the country and we go to theaters and we tour 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.640 and I've been with a lot of big names and 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:22.840 we don't just get to sort of do one into 0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:25.320 We get to sit on a tour bus for six hours. 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:27.799 As we go from place to place, you really get 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:32.160 to know the person. And so these are stories of 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:35.240 their lives in football. So it's not about the news 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.720 of the day. It's about how they got to where 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:42.400 they are, you know, what makes them tick, what drives them, 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:44.720 what stories can they tell us along the way. So 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.880 really trying to take fans, you know, as you said, intimate. 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.080 I think that's the that's the feel I'm trying to 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:54.080 get with this is um you know, take fans really 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:57.920 in in in that person's life. And and that's why 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.760 with with fits And to start the first one, you know, 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.200 I mentioned to him that I'd like to come out 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:06.160 to see him in the America and could we do 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.280 the interview, and he said, well, yeah, don't just come 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.400 and do the interview. Let's go fishing. We'll go fishing 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:13.960 for the day. So we we went fishing. I'd never 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:16.880 fished before in my life, and then we sat and 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:19.800 did the interview afterwards, and and so you really want 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:23.200 to get that kind of up close field. So it's storytelling. 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:26.159 It's just telling these stories of how people got to 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:28.920 the nfl SO Episode two I recorded the day after 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.320 I spent the day with Fits. I went and spent 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:35.120 an hour or so with Bruce Arians, the head coached 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.920 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it's about his life. It's 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:40.159 not about Jamis Winston. It was actually before they signed 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:44.520 Tom Brady um, but it's more about you know, Bruce 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:47.359 Arians was a bartender who got held up at gunpoint 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:50.120 once he got kicked out of high school. He coached 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.520 Andrew Lucky, coached Peyton Manning Big Ben. It's all It's 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:55.640 all about those stories. It's not really about the headlines 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:58.320 of today. Well, you've certainly found the best characters in 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.240 this big play that we do call the nf Bell 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:02.520 to kick off this podcast, and you guys can find 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:05.240 the Neal Raylands podcast wherever you get your episodes from, 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:08.000 whether it's Apple, Spotify, you can go ahead and download 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:10.440 that podcast. And first, Neil, before we get into this, 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.800 you mentioned Fitzpatrick's upbringing kind of what brought him to 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:15.880 the stage of his career. But before we do that, 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.479 I have to ask you because the promo you guys 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:22.799 shot on those scooters you beat. When you're around Ryan Fitzpatrick, 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.320 you just you just can't help but have a smile 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:27.760 on your face. And I was chuckling as I watched 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.560 that was that little clip rehearsed or was that completely 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.159 off the cuff? Ryan Fitzpatrick and his finest So I 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.799 told him what we were so we it wasn't rehearsed. 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.480 I said, I want you to say welcome to the 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.440 Ryan Fitzpatrick Podcast, and then I'll correct you and then 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:44.960 we'll just go go from there. Said just follow my lead. 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.000 So we did it once. That was one take and 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:49.719 that was it. That was just and I didn't know 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:51.440 he was going to give it the big cell like 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.160 he did. That was that was all him, And there 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.279 was no there was no kind of lines. It was. 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.039 It was kind of a rough idea of what to say, 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:02.440 but that that's just him and and it was. It 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:05.279 was great because we knocked on his front door. We 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:08.520 arrived at his house and straightaway he came out into 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.320 onto the porch and said, we're going to go to 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:12.600 the at the end of the street to do some 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.159 of the filming. So he said, it's about you know, 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:16.920 it's about a quarter of a mile down this way, 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.599 half a mile down this way, And I said, okay. 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:21.120 So he said, we're gonna need to jump in a car. 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:23.080 So I said, okay, we're all going to get in 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.640 one car. And he said, no, No, your producer and 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:27.800 cameraman they can get in a car. Guys, just drive 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:29.640 to the industry. It's right down that way. You can't 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:32.440 miss it. You and here we're going on these and that. 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:35.039 And then he just pulled open his garage and he's like, 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.320 let's get on these. There's like a couple of big kids. 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:39.000 And then he just goes race it off down the 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:40.720 street and I have to catch him up. I've never 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.400 been on an electric scooter in my life. But yeah, 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:45.719 that's just him. He's just a He's one of the 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:50.080 most down to a fun guys, totally unspoiled by fifteen 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.919 years in the NFL. You would you wouldn't think he 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:54.960 was an NFL player. You just think he's a regular guy, 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:56.880 which is why I think so many people loved him. 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:58.880 And I actually have a great story to add for 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.640 the scooter idea here. Neil I was at a game 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:03.920 for the Dolphins and Bengals last year. It was right 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:06.760 before Christmas, and so he had his entire family down 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:08.719 and he had a great game that day, through for 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.560 four touchdowns over four hundred yards. And my wife and 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:14.160 I went down to Los Olas and Fort Lauderdale for 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.720 a dinner that night, and who do we see besides 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:19.400 Ryan Fitzpatrick. And like you mentioned, he's got the beard, 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:21.400 he's got the trucker hat on, the T shirt and 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:23.800 the shorts. Looks like a regular dude. And he was 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:26.760 walking alongside who I think was his mom, and he 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:28.960 looks at one of the bird scooters and I kid 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:30.960 you not, Neil. It's funny you mentioned that, because his 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.320 eyes lit up like a twelve year old child when 0:07:33.320 --> 0:07:35.560 he saw that thing, like I want to ride that, 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:37.600 but he couldn't do it. He didn't do it. He 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.000 passed it by, but he definitely wanted to get on 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.840 that scooter. So I think that's a hilarious segue, hilarious story. 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:45.800 And I wanted to ask you, since you did spend 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:48.080 the day fishing with him, is this the kind of 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:51.240 guy he mentioned in the podcast growing Up with Brothers 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.800 and how the house was full of testosterone and how 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:58.440 every Thanksgiving the biggest competition was the pregame way in 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:00.800 and the post game way in. In terms of the 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:04.440 Thanksgiving meal dinner. So I was curious, does that competitive nature, 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:07.120 that competitive streak that he grew up with, did that 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.480 translate onto the fishing boat and did you guys kind 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:12.640 of go back and forth that way. No, he couldn't 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.560 have actually been more different in maybe he saves the 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:19.800 competitiveness for his brothers. But he was the perfect coach. 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:22.480 And I was terrible, Travis. I've never filmed it. I've 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:25.240 never fished in my life. I've never fished. I couldn't 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:28.560 even cast off to start with. And it was funny 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.800 we were I said to my producers. We were driving 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:35.000 home at the end of the day, back to our hotel, 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:37.720 and we were talking about what a great day it was, 0:08:37.840 --> 0:08:39.480 and I said, you know what, there was a little 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.720 piece there where you could see why he's been so 0:08:42.840 --> 0:08:45.680 loved in every locker room he's been in. So every 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:48.760 time I messed up, he would say, that's my fault. 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:51.760 I didn't teach you properly. So I cast off one point. 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:54.800 I cast off and the hook attached to the rope 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:56.720 at the end of my boat. I didn't even get 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.560 the cast off off the boat, and the hook got 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:01.920 all hooked up and caught up and he was like, 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:03.520 that's my bad. I should have told you to look 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:07.319 out for the rope. Literally, every time I messed up, 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:11.040 it was his fault, and it was he made me 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:16.040 feel so like welcome so at home. So don't worry 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:18.000 if you mess up, you know, if you if you 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:20.600 do something, I mean to be fair. He was giggling 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:23.520 away how bad I was at times. But I also 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.640 did catch a fish and I had no idea what 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:27.400 I was doing, and he talked me through the whole thing. 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:30.560 So yeah, he wasn't competitive, but I got to see 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.959 that that classic you know, it's not your fault, it's 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:36.920 my fault kind of leadership. And it was just interesting 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:39.080 because if he translates that onto the field and into 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.160 the locker room, you can see why he's so love 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:43.320 so when you can't the first And he accept the 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:46.120 credit for that as well. Oh no, but I didn't 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:48.319 want to touch it, so no, no, it was all me, 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:50.560 you know, it was it was giving me the credit, 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.200 but he had to take over because I didn't. I 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.679 didn't want to touch the fish. I'm not not very 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:57.680 good at that kind of thing. I didn't want to 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:00.880 know that. I just wanted to get the fish off 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:02.959 the hook and back in the water as quick as 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.040 we could. But you know, it was one of those 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:07.400 it was one of those days where we were we 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.440 were we we kept everything rolling while we were fishing. Um, 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:15.440 you know, aside from the sit down interview, and I 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.120 think both of us forgot that we had a camera 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.320 on us, that we had microphones on. It was just yeah, 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:22.360 it was just I mean, I've covered the NFL for 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:25.160 a long time and it was one of the one 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:28.760 of the special days and it was It sounds like 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:30.120 you really had a great time with him, Neil, and 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:31.959 it doesn't surprise me at all being around the guy 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.800 just just emanates that energy. And you talked about this 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.000 on the podcast with him coming off the bench and 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:39.880 that Washington game, how he really sparked the offense and 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:42.520 led two touchdown drives and almost one the thing at 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.520 the very end of the contest, and you can kind 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.559 of see that that gravitational pull that he has as 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.440 a quarterback on the football field, Clearly he has that 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:52.800 outside the football field as well. But I wanted to 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:55.199 kind of talk to you here about his draft day 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.720 experience since we are coming up now just three weeks 0:10:57.760 --> 0:10:59.839 away from the draft, and I actually didn't know that 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:02.640 he had an offer from Eastern Washington. I'm a Pacific 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.400 Northwest guy myself, that's like two hours away from where 0:11:05.400 --> 0:11:08.200 I live. Found that very interesting. He talks, of course 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:10.559 about his some of the trash talk in the IVY 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:13.320 league there at Harvard, says, these stories are great. You 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:14.800 guys have to go check them out. On the Neil 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:18.280 Reynolds podcast, he talks with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins quarterback. But 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:22.320 back to the Dolphins aspect and standpoint. You mentioned that 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:24.400 the way he does kind of have that gravitational poll 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:26.480 in the locker room. How much did you really get 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:29.320 from him in terms of just being around him on 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:32.320 an outside the football field, and you mentioned that leadership, 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:34.520 but just the kind of guy that you want to 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:38.120 be around definitely the definitely the kind of guy you 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.360 every fan would want to go and have a beer 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:43.640 with him. Everyone would want to hang out with him, 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:45.400 and I think that's the same in the in the 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:47.800 locker room. And then when we got together to to 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:52.719 talk about his career and we talked during this podcast episode, 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.760 he said it was actually the Dolphins turnaround at the 0:11:56.840 --> 0:12:00.280 end of the season was more about emotion and art 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:04.240 and effort than just XS and os. You know, he 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:06.240 said he felt like he had to bring an energy 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:09.880 and a vibe to the team when he got in 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:11.319 there as a starter, and I thought, well, that actually 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.960 sums him up as well, because you know, along the 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:16.840 way over fifteen years, it's probably not been perfect. I mean, 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:19.160 he talked about in the podcast, he talks about the 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:22.840 impact on his family of having to move eight different times. 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.360 You know, he's got seven children and you know his 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.600 very very supportive wife who kind of leads away whenever 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:31.960 they have to move somewhere else. But you know, it's 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:34.160 not been perfect for him. It's not been fifteen years 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.120 all in one spot. But he's always brought that emotion, 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:40.000 that energy, and that heart. I think that's that that 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.000 you know, if you sum up Ryan Fitzpatrick as a player, 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.160 I'm going to go with the heart. You know, never sliding, 0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:48.160 always dive in my bead first at the end of 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:52.280 a run. That's him and that's why I think fans, players, everyone, 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:54.400 wherever he's been people have loved him. He puts it 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.840 all on the line. He had a quote on your podcast, 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.760 Neil that I think completely summarizes what you just said 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:02.120 per quickly. At this point of his career, what do 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.560 I have to lose? He said, And he also talked 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.240 about having a thirteen and eleven year old boys that 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:10.359 watch every game and they're going to copy his attitude 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.679 with whether it's hanging his head or being you know, upbeaten, encouraging, 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.360 and he sets the right example that way. But going 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.040 back to the idea that he plays with the mentality 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.120 of what do I have to lose? But you also 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:24.280 asked him about kind of this area of sweet spots 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.560 for athletes, the experience and athletic ability both kind of 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:30.400 coming together at the right time. And fitz has told 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:32.079 us He told us last year in training camp that 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.440 he thinks he's playing the best ball of his career. 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:36.080 And I think if you go back to the tape 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.520 last year, that would certainly be the case, just based 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:40.560 on the way he played and kind of dealing with 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:43.040 the circumstances that he had in the situations he dealt with. 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:45.560 Do you think that it's crazy to say that Ryan 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.080 Fitzpatrick at thirty eight years old can be the best 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:52.079 version of himself? No, I think as soon as the 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:54.080 ms of that, and that was kind of why I 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.880 was leading him that way. I think that's clear to 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.640 say what you look at what he did in Tampa, um, 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:01.480 I look of what he did last year with the 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:03.360 Dolphins when he was back in there. I mean, we 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:06.880 had we had the week's seventeen game on Sky Sports 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:10.040 here in the UK live that and we were kind 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:14.240 of watching it, thinking, well, Week seventeen, sometimes there's everything's decided, 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:16.840 so you kind of you kind of just hope that 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.480 the Dolphins can hang around long enough in this game 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:22.720 against the Patriots to make it interesting. So at least 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:24.760 we have an interesting program we can put out to 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.520 the viewers over here. And you know what, I thought, 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:31.200 he had an answer for everything the Patriots defense throughout 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:34.400 him and that was a good defense. And when when 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:36.080 the game was on the line with the last two 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.520 minutes left, he just methodically moved the Dolphins down the 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:43.040 field and fired that strike for the winning touchdown. And 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:46.640 I thought, here's a quarterback now who has all the answers. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:50.720 He's probably seen every defense, and I mean he's he 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:52.840 doesn't play scared, does he? I mean it doesn't play 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.560 He plays like he he plays LuSE. He plays with 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:58.600 it all on the line, and he's not afraid to 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:00.240 make a mistake. And I think that goes back to 0:15:00.320 --> 0:15:01.960 exactly what he said to me, which is what we 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.920 got to lose. This might be something neal that you 0:15:04.920 --> 0:15:06.600 you have to kind of go off the reservation in 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.040 terms of this podcast you did with Fitzpatrick to answer. 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:11.680 But I'm curious because you mentioned the way that he 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:13.800 said that the hardest part about coming to a new 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.400 team because he has bounced around, you know, two years here, 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:18.560 two years there, one year in a spot, time and 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:20.800 time again, and he comes in and has to develop 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:22.880 these new relationships and get to know a whole new 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.240 locker room, a whole new coaching staff, a whole new 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:28.040 training staff, of cooking staff. I mean, the operation of 0:15:28.080 --> 0:15:30.840 an NFL football team is hundreds deep, and he comes 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:32.960 in and finds a way to kind of galvanize this 0:15:33.160 --> 0:15:36.600 entire organization. Have you ever had conversations with teammates of 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:41.239 Ryan Fitzpatrick that can tell you the exact same thing. Um, 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.320 I haven't actually really spoken to many people that have 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:47.720 that have played with him, but I just get that 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:51.880 sense from looking at looking at how fans react to him, 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:53.640 and I saw it. I just I'll just give you 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.880 this It's probably the only way I can really say 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.680 where I've seen it, and you know, he could tell 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:00.640 me it, but I can see it as well in 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.960 terms of fan bases. Is when we went around the 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:07.200 UK and we were touring, and we did four shows 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:11.400 in five nights, various spots around the UK, and we're 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.720 getting on the bus and we're going from city to city, 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:20.000 and literally as I introduced guests onto onto the stage, 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.560 you know, they get a polite round of applause and 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:27.240 fans were jumping out of their seats when when he 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:29.600 walked out, they were singing the you know, the fitz 0:16:29.680 --> 0:16:33.360 Magic songs. We had. We had guys turning up him 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:37.160 with big beards on, some with fake beards on. We 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:40.520 had guys with massive beards who who asked if they 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.240 could come on stage and meet fits and then he 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.200 got them to do a thing here and he and 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:48.600 his linemen do where they rubbed beards on each other. 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:51.360 I mean, he's he really brought into it, But I 0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:54.120 would say I've seen it more from the fans side 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:57.680 as opposed to teammates of his and getting up close 0:16:57.680 --> 0:16:59.720 and personal with that beard, like you mentioned the fitz 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.160 mag beard. You talked to him about does he still 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.240 hide things in his beard? First, let's let's go ahead 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.040 and start there. Actually, Neil, you asked me if he 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:07.960 if he keeps things in his beard, if he mentioned 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:10.840 something about baby carrots, can you kind of can you 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.200 just expand upon that, because I was I was curious 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:15.680 to hear more when I heard the podcast. Yeah, I 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:19.200 think everyone should go and if they google Ryan Fitzpatrick 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.120 baby carrots, then there there is a video there from 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:26.560 nfl UK, an nfl UK Live tour where so we're 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:32.399 we're touring and talking on these nfl UK lives and uh, 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.080 fitz was talking about how he used to stick things 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:38.960 in the beard, pencils and pens, and then he tells 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:43.520 a story about how it was Thanksgiving Day dinner and 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:48.200 he had put a baby carrot into the beard. And 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:51.679 so as as fitz is telling the story, he starts 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.240 talking about how the kids have gone to bed and 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.240 the wines flowing and him and his wife are getting 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:01.000 a little bit romantic, and then he paws is because 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:03.000 he's not quite sure how much more of the story 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.800 to tell, and so then I just said and out 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:08.399 popped your baby carrot, and that was it. Went viral. 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:14.000 Oh my goodness, yes, so, yeah, you can do with 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:15.639 that one what you will. But that was that was 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.439 the story, And I suggest everyone going to look up 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.719 Brian fitzpatrick baby carrot on the internet. How much how 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.199 much attention does he paid it was beard throughout the 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:25.879 course of a day, Like being around him, is he 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:28.520 is he manicuring it? Because that thing is so it's 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:30.760 it's so majestic, Neil, when you and I'm sure you're 0:18:30.760 --> 0:18:32.399 getting up close to it, you had a chance to 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:34.840 kind of see that, like is he kind of tinkering 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:36.960 with the beard all day? Or like what's his activity 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:40.000 with his own facial hair? Now? He leaves it alone? 0:18:40.480 --> 0:18:43.320 He leaves it alone. He um, I think you know, 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.080 I don't think he even I don't think he even 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:48.119 touched it once. When I was saying, it's just like 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:50.199 he lets it run free, you know, let's it do 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.800 whatever it needs to do. I don't think he's I 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:55.520 don't think he's doing a lot of grooming. M Yeah, 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.320 it's just too he's too laid back and chilled out 0:18:58.359 --> 0:19:00.600 for that. I tell you why, so did the only 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:03.320 thing he did about his appearance that day. So we 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.960