Cooper Kupp and AJ Barner Are Super Bowl Champs & Drew Brees Talks Hall of Fame | EP 179

33:43That's right. We had some chicken fingers, some cane sauce all at the party. Goddamn, those things are good. All right. Now, in this week, Canes is hosting a fan event that Seahawks Sam Darnold is going on a Super Bowl quarterback shift at Canes. That's right. He's going to be working at registers, serving box combos in the kitchen, making Cane's sauce. I didn't even know they made that sauce. I thought that sauce was already made. And obviously, he's going to be celebrating a championship with the fans. Well, this is going to be a fun partnership, Cane's does, and we can't wait to see it. Shout out to Todd Graves and shout out to Raising Cane's delicious chicken finger meals.

34:23Well, that wraps up Cooper Cupp's interview. Let's move it on over to our next guest. our next champion man i can't wait that's right guys to meet old barnhouse cleveland boys what up the trap is here come on jason i never met you bro aj good to meet you good to meet you aj always good to meet a fellow northeast ohio guy yes sir we stick together dog just a ball player ball let's go we just play ball rain snow parking lot cement turf super bowl pick the place i'll be there let's fucking go and you got a toddy in the game man needed that needed me yeah needed that well done well done all right we're gonna do an intro and then we're gonna get right to it sounds good sounds good all right 92 percenters we are not done we've got one more world champion seattle seahawk for you our next guest is six foot six tight end from aurora ohio he's won a national title at the university of michigan and now he is a super bowl champion with the seattle seahawks 90 percenters please welcome to the show swag champ aj barnyard barnard ball player yeah baby the tutty in the super bowl dude did you black out before you hit the fucking autumn dog man you know how it is just yes blacked out slow motion everything just becomes slow motion and then just all the boys find you and it's just like it's hard to collect yourself after that and be like all right like let me finish this game and be ready to go make another play dude so epic dog and it was a big time touchdown the only touchdown man oh yeah we had cooper on this thing talking about how he heard the play might have been flipped or there might have been just like a little bit of like a miscommunication on where yeah did you know that that was going on i just caught wind of that and like you got you know how this i heard i heard yada yada why scissors i'm like all right bet i know the play like

36:41i know where to line up you boys line up let's get this damn play called yeah that's so fucking good dog you came through so it's a great fucking play design by the way fucking awesome i'm sure you guys had ran the run to that where you got you're helping out to the the outside zone to it and everything i've ran that play once or twice in my day from the backfield being from the backfield or running a corner the hardest part is getting through the linebacker coming to meet you and you just fucking slid him. Just a little bro. If he fucking wrecked, like if he collisions you, that play is a completely different play.

37:22No doubt. Walk us through it, man. You saw him coming through the fucking hole or what? We got it on tape. Let's play it and then do you want to talk over it if you want, AJ? Let's hear it. Bring out the broadcast and the guy. Let's go, man. Let's see what brings down the tape. I'm about to have this at TEU next year you're gonna be on the fucking drawing board dude facts i was gonna bust your balls a little bit trav i was gonna say man like people people don't say that trav blocks trav does block for sure but some of the dns be working with trav a little bit like i don't know what we're gonna do but they show love a little bit good union work you already know we good good good good yeah you good all right all right but uh so we run out we run the shit out of outside zone this is zorro concept but i'm sure you guys know zorro yeah and like this combination is two tight ends zorro blocking and end big to like usually the corner the safety who's down who's this guy who's down next to the linebacker yep yeah so obviously we're going two for two there we've ran the hell out of it and like Trav said pre-snap like I'm looking over there I guess the formation was messed up and I'm trying to get a peek like all right who am I gonna have to navigate here to get out um and again like it's like I feel like the route is what it is on the paper but it's like all right like how can I get out and just get free get free yeah if you run it just navigate it out of there and as soon as I seen Coop clear I was just off his hip and then could have been a little bit smoother but could have been smoother what are you talking about you got a touchdown in the super bowl now bro are you kidding me no no no for sure maybe could have stayed up but i'll get out of here i'm just like running bro when you got through second level clean were you like i'm open i'm open i'm open bro the way the mind works is just like yeah yeah it's like where's this ball at i'm trying to find it track it i know it's coming and you know how it is too like i'm looking for the quarterback yeah i'm trying to find the quarterback's eyes and like where he's at in the pocket you see it in the air the trajectory of it finally like once you locate the quarterback and then it's just like all right let me go glue this there we go baby and then boom the world stops slow motion yeah but i feel like you live those moments out before they happen like the only reason i wanted to play this back is you guys do such a good job of selling this the backers actually run through right yeah and that's why i want to give uh darnold some props here he stands there and delivers this with he knows he's about to get crushed oh yeah linebacker is coming down right on top of him yeah yeah so it's like right in front of him doesn't bat an eye knows that you're gonna be there sammy's a dog man just well done by both of you guys sammy's a dog physical cat too played linebacker in high school so if you're playing ball for the seahawks you better be able to uh to lower some pads you just spoke to jason's soul when you said he played linebacker in high school damn straight damn straight oh yeah well uh how you feeling bud super bowl champion feeling really good feeling really good uh our team's a little like we got some vets on the team on our offense i'm definitely a young cat swag champ though baby you already know you bring the juice yes sir you bring the juice for the old cats dog you already know got to somebody's got to do it somebody's got to do it i'm gonna enjoy it for sure but quite honestly i'm trying to take it all in i'm so happy for you have you slept yet yeah bro after the game i was honestly just with the fam like we were in san jose like way outside the city um so we got after a little bit but like you guys know how it is too like the peak is that confetti falling down like is the club in san jose day going to do it for me after that like probably not probably not but eventually i'm gonna celebrate in the right way well you better be you're you got a parade tomorrow right for sure you geared up you know what you're wearing i might channel my inner jason on the mic let's go baby can't wait to hear this oh yeah it's gonna be awesome have you thought about what you're gonna say if you're going to get on the mic?

41:43No. Let's let it go. I'm one of the guys to like, let's get Coop on the mic. Let's get Sammy on the mic. I'll vibe with the crowd. I'm going to live life and just enjoy the moment and see where it takes me. Are you more of a beer or liquor guy? What are we going with? Beer, for sure. If I could tell you one advice. North East Ohio, man, Midwest beer. If I could give you one bit of advice, dude, if you stick with the light beer, you're going to be good. You're good. The moment you start pouring the shots down, Everybody's, oh, we want to do, yeah, no. You don't want that. You're going to be bad.

42:14It's a marathon. Yeah, no doubt. You know when the beers are starting to kick. Yes. And the liquor will hit you out of nowhere. Sneaks up on you. Yeah. Give you that right hook. For sure. This guy's won a title before. How does this feel compared to when you won it at Michigan? I just feel like when you have a team, like, the ingredients are there. like y 'all have won championships before like there's a lot of similarities between championship teams and i felt that with this team and i'm a little bit spoiled because like i've had the confetti and reached the pinnacle at that level obviously it's different um but to have the experience just two short years ago um it's been incredible and obviously like the super pool is a whole nother level but like quite frankly i feel like the vibe that you get with this team is like we just kind of expected to be here and now it's happened and it's like holy shit like we did it you know so i think uh it's just going to continue to settle in and be better and better but you know we're going to enjoy it and then shit next year's going to roll around and we'll have a target on our back that's how it goes baby well you'll definitely have the target on your back but that's what you want it's it's good to have the target on your back yeah it's an honor to I have the target on your bat, man.

43:32It's the best shit ever. Facts, bro. Facts. Well, in your first year, do you have a welcome to the NFL moment? I mean, I guess it's winning the Super Bowl. That's a hell of a welcome to the NFL moment. All right, man. I've been saving this story for a great podcast. Let's go! Let's go, please! A big hit here. We need it. Bless us. A big hit here. And I got to look at my guy Rich here because I've been saving this one. and we'll see where it goes but okay so cooper cut mentioned that like i'm like uh you know just so you never know what you're gonna get of course and coop had mentioned to the media this story about me being captain hook so many different directions so many different directions if you know me like i'm gonna have fun always but like i'm always be in control and that's besides the point but but y 'all will figure that out but anyway okay all right week six jaguars away yes yes pull up to the stadium normal routine y 'all know how it is like gotta go to the bathroom before the game and you know that bathroom's got to and you know that bathroom's gonna be a nightmare the longer you wait in multiple ways so i get up in there i get up in there i'm one of the first people to get in the locker room like bet i'm gonna go do my thing whatever yeah man do my thing dude aj you're hilarious get down to the bathroom big big guy big guy y 'all know how it is in the stall i go to like lean forward and sit back crack my head on this hook that's like on the back of this ball bro yeah and it's one of those moments where like you you kick your dresser like something in the house and you're like mother like what yeah i sit down i sit down blood rushing down my my head i'm like yo so i get up don't do my business i get up and like my teammates know me i'm like fuck where's the training room like the fuck i just split my head open bro i'm like looking around the training room bro finally make the training room i get up in there They're obviously like, bro, what just happened?

45:58I'm like trying to elaborate to them. I'm trying to get ready for the game. There's blood rushing on my face. The next thing they hit me with is we're going to have to cut your hair. I'm like, not the lettuce, bro. Anything but the lettuce. I just got it trimmed. Are you kidding me? Yeah, yeah. They cut out this little patch, which I still low-key have a little bald spot. No stitches, thank God. thank god no stitches we put a piece of gauze in it i wear i wear a skull cap i go back to that same stall i finish my business in that stall just to let that stall know it's not gonna have power over me assert my dominance you had to let that stall know who the fuck had to let it know captain hook had to let the stall know the barnyard was there and then uh went out won the game had my season high in receiving yards basically off one catch that and we won the game and i cracked my head open and that's it captain hook captain hook there we go baby crazy that's so crazy dog but y 'all can only imagine like just getting in that frame of mind for the game and next thing you know you just cut your head open and just blood i was like bro like what are we doing so it was epic i've only known one story from that in college we had a guy i won't say his name everybody from the university will know him but he would bash his head through the drywall right before the game we all assimilated in this like one area we all know that one guy yeah and he would bang it and there were just wall holes in all the walls well we go We go to the bowl game in Canada, the International Bowl, and my guy goes to do it again, and he hits a stud, and gags his entire head.

47:56No way. He couldn't play. Couldn't play the game. He didn't play? Couldn't play. Yeah. Dude. I figured that would be the guy that would be like, hey, I'm still playing. I think he wanted to. They didn't let him. He definitely wanted to. he definitely wanted to everyone knows that guy exactly you need one of them on the team and if you're from cleveland you may or may not have been that guy yeah exactly exactly there you go i've been there all right one more one more before we let you go we got to ask about this quote blocking for kenneth walker all right grind meat carry water we get it done in the trenches baby all right now that's a fucking anger right where did this come from this sounds like something out like Keanu Reeves.

48:40This sounds like something like I would have heard in like the replacements or something like that. Bro, like you guys said, like sometimes the boys need a little pick-me-up on offense. I play tight end. I'm next to the O-line. Like I kind of got my cred for being a blocker even though. Okay, you get after it, dude. You know, oh, yeah, I get after in the trenches. And I love my O-line. I love running the rock. And I play to Michigan, and we run the piss out of the ball. Yeah. And when you're wearing on a team, you're grinding freaking meat when it comes down to the end of the game. You need a four-minute drill, grind meat.

49:12So it just became like some of the guys at first, you know how some of the guys are. I'm like, man, let's grind this meat. Grind meat, carry water. So it just became a thing. Like the O-line loves it. For 60 minutes of your life, we're about to fucking grind this goddamn meat. God damn it for the fucking Super Bowl. I love it. We're about to grind meat and just run the piss out of the ball and just, bro, like, yeah, so that's what it became. I feel like everyone knows the saying, like, chop wood, carry water. So it became grind meat, carry water. And that's just the mentality that the Hawks play with.

49:43Like, we play bully ball. We want to get after it in the trenches. And that's what it is. I love it. I love it. I'm stealing it, too. I love it. Grind meat, baby. Grind meat. Dude, AJ, not enough time with your dog, but we're going to let you go, bro. I know you got some celebrating to do, bro. It's such a fucking honor to be able to get you on the pod. you already know northeast ohio ball player bro since i mentioned you i knew you were gonna fucking keep doing great things man so happy for you bro i appreciate that bro we gotta we gotta tap in i just want to pick your brain on some on some ball and obviously you know talk ball and all that so great to meet you too jason appreciate you guys having me on here man it's been an honor and got a lot of love for you guys man honors all ours congratulations brother appreciate you guys Captain Hook.

50:28All right, Captain Hook. Ladies and gentlemen, man. Yes, sir. All righty. Thank you to Cooper Cup and A.J. Barner. Let's hit on some non-football Super Bowl stuff. How about that, Travis? I just fucking love those dudes, man. Both of them A1 people, ball players. God damn, it's got to be a fun fucking team to be on right now. I can't wait to see the parade tomorrow. Oh, it's going to be epic. We got out of the house in San Francisco at the Super Bowl this week. Yes, we did. What was the best party? The fucking New Heights party. It was the best, dude. and i may be biased because new heights is new heights but we had everybody that i could have ever wanted to come through we got to play some fucking arcade games i never get around arcade games enough like i left that play i left that party being like man i wish i could just play a few more games why did they have to just end the night like that you're right everybody that was there there were so many incredible people i don't even want to start listing them just because it's like where do you stop and where do you start but uh it was it was star-studded it was a ton of people that helped put the show on shout out to everyone in the new heights production and with wondery and amazon and it was just it was awesome on every single level and we had a blast oh best place you chugged a beer dude you were all over the place listen i like going to places whenever we get into these cities and checking things out and getting a good feel and doing the tourist thing and had an idea to i'm gonna drink a beer at all these places like that i've always wanted to visit and be at and have a beer at so you know we avoided getting any fines for open containers because i just drink them as fast as possible before the cops could show up and uh then it's you so we're just having a good time all right now this jacket that i wore to the night's party is from a store called love on hate gotta shout them out over in the district of san francisco where the hippie movement basically started with the...

52:19Really? Janis Joplin. Yeah, man. A lot of freaking awesome... Oh, yeah, man. Pretty cool. It's a tie-dye shop. Apparently, we'll always be a tie-dye shop. I love some good tie-dye, man. The thing is epic. San Francisco was an awesome city. Probably drank about 60 to 70 beers throughout the week, so I'm going to recharge it. Had a blast. Did you DJ anywhere? No, I'm not a DJ quite yet, but I am a proud supporter of DJs everywhere. I am a big, big music guy, and I'll go everywhere. I saw two of my favorites over in Loud Luxury at the Tight Ends of Friends party with George and Claire and hung out with the Chainsmokers.

52:55Saw my guy Disco Lines. Did you see Shibuzi? I did. I dapped up Shibuzi. You came over to the hotel. I was like, I was just with your brother. I'm like, oh, okay.

53:06So it was like a drive-by, dap-up, man. Love you. You're the best. And kept it moving, man. But Shibuzi is fucking awesome, dude. Yeah, it was. I felt like that was that's 90 percent of my conversations at the Super Bowl. I never get a fucking good like hang with anybody, even if I've known you my entire life. It's always just like a quick like. How are things? Yeah, great. We got to catch up. I got to keep moving. And it's the worst. There's a lot of. Yeah. But it was it was awesome to see them. And I ended up catching Stapleton live, man. And that was the coolest performance I think I've ever seen at a Super Bowl.

53:43Seeing Stapleton in person in a venue like that, it was very, I don't want to say it was intimate, but whoever's event that was, which I just showed up because it was Chris Stapleton, but whoever's event that was, was fucking, they played it perfectly. Stapleton went up there and fucking rocked the stage as he always does. It was just such a vibe, man. Kylie and I have been to a number of Stapleton shows at this point. I mean, he does not disappoint in any venue, but there is something we saw last year's Super Bowl and it was a similar environment where it's not like small, small, but there's something about it where it's like intimate.

54:18He's like right there and he's just got so much character and feel to his voice and the songs. Well, we got the interview coming up with him that we that we got that we'll be releasing at a later date. But awesome. Chris is the man. Best show I've ever been to still like love going to his shows. Shout out to Stapleton. Shout out to San Francisco. Awesome. Did a great job hosting that Super Bowl. It's the second time I've been to San Fran for a Super Bowl, man, and both of them were so much fun, man. The only negative is how far the stadium is away from the San Francisco city area, like you're driving to go to it.

54:51But most of the stuff throughout the week is centrally located in San Fran, which isn't that bad. We grew up in an era of fandom, and Cleveland did this too. Cleveland had all sporting events in one located area. The Gateway District in Cleveland was that. It was the, you had the tribe, you had Jacobs Field, you have Gundarina, you had, you know what I mean? They kept it all downtown right there. And it was just, it made it easy and it made so much sense in our minds. The owners, they get so much more opportunity getting to the outskirts of the city. And it's just, it's hard to argue with those opportunities.

55:32And we're dealing with it right now in Kansas City. Like we're, we're going over to Kansas, but at the same time, it's like, if you look at that deal in terms of a owner, like that's one of the greatest opportunities you could ever get as an owner. And I think it's going to be unbelievable once it's finally set in stone, but it is going to be kind of heartbreaking knowing that the chiefs are going to move away from Arrowhead and that, that, that side of like the Missouri side of Kansas city. And it's just, it's, it's just a part of the old, you know, professional sports. you know it is a business at the end of the day and i think um a lot of uh circling back to the san fran deal man it was still awesome to be around the city of san francisco feel the culture feel the excitement that was going on all week inside that city um and then it's still a beautiful stadium that uh that they played the super bowl at so well listen i i hear what you're saying and if i was an owner i might feel differently but fuck that keep those stadiums in the cities i I know you guys want to make all your money and you want to have your shows and you want to do all this stuff.

56:38I hear you, man. The fans pay a lot of the money for you guys to have all these things and for the NFL to exist. And I just, I don't like the stadiums moving. I don't like the Cleveland's moving out of Cleveland. I don't like that. Well, the Arrowhead's already outside of Arrowhead, so I don't really care that much whether it's in Missouri or Kansas. But like, I don't know, man. These cities, there's something awesome about going downtown into the heart of Cleveland to go see a Browns game. I hear you. They could figure out a way to build a new stadium downtown. Like, you could build a big, beautiful stadium right down there.

57:09And you can do the same thing in Kansas City. You can do the same thing in all these places. And then it wouldn't be an hour and a half drive out there. I get that these owners want to make money. Yeah. But at the same time, I don't know why I don't like it. I don't like it. I hear you, dude. I hear you. That's all I got. We're both on the same train in that regard. It's just kind of how we're built, man. Once again, Bold Topics is brought to you by Pepsi. Let's move on to some Stamps of the Week. The Extents of the Week is brought to you by Raising Canes. Yeah, buddy. Our friends over at Raising Canes threw a bunch of fucking parties.

57:41I met Todd Graves for the first time. Nice. You actually got to say what's up to him? He's at the New Heights party. Nice, man. I don't need to read any other nominee. I know where I'm going. Stamp of the Week goes to Jeff Stoutland. Listen, Jeff Stoutland resigned from his post with the Philadelphia Eagles. This past week, you know, after 13 years as the offensive line coach, I mean, just coached a ton of incredible players. Jason Peters, Todd Harriman, Evan Mathis, myself, Lane Johnson, Jordan, a lot of turning from a rugby player into an all pro left tackle. Got Cam Juergens to a Pro Bowl last year.

58:16Landon Dickerson to some Pro Bowls. Isaac Sayumalu, like he's just he's done such an incredible job within the Philadelphia Eagles organization. And he's been such a mainstay throughout multiple head coaches at this point. You know, it just sucks to see him go selfishly as an Eagles fan and as somebody who played with them and somebody that I still goes to the, you know, still goes to facility. I still go to NovaCare on a regular basis and I'm not going to be able to see Stout anymore. And that's just, you know, it's frustrating for me. And I think frustrating for a lot of people in that building because he was he was a personality that was, you know, a lot of people gravitated towards.

58:53And, you know, this is the reality of the business. Coach, I love you. I don't know what's next, but whatever it is, whether it's coaching or whatever, I know you're going to be great at it, as you always are. And, you know, I get that the team is trying to move forward and really embrace this new system and, you know, really redesign what this offense is. I wish Stout could have been a part of that, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way. And. anyways love you coach couldn't be more happy to have been coached by and 27 pro bowl linemen were with stout over that 13 years wild you already know man we we got so much respect for him and i he's one of those guys that you meet and cross and crossing just because you were playing for him and or i got to meet and just because you were playing for him and he's one of those guys that you would fucking just know you'd love playing for man and it's across the board anybody that runs into him knows you're going to get everything this guy has and on top of that he's going to be real about it and and we're going to get shit done one of the best ball coaches that that i've known from afar and uh could it be uh could it be more proud to say congrats on on you know everything that your career has gotten to this point coach stop man we uh we love you over there and at the same time if you ever want to come on a podcast and talk some ball with some old has-beens man come on over dude always welcome love that always all right what else do we want to get into who do i want to give a shout out to the quarterback of the super bowl sammy darnold man you get my fucking stamp of the week stamp of the year man we go we're so fucking happy for you man and um the world is happy for you you've weathered the storm perfectly to where everybody's fucking rooting for you and i'm so fucking i'm so just you know ecstatic for you dog stamp of the week because you fucking fought through the bullshit and you're the fucking crown champion man you're at the top of the fucking mountain uh couldn't be happier for you man and that wraps up step of the week brought to you by raising canes get to your raising canes enjoy some chicken and some texas toast toast don't forget the toast thanks to our partner expedia when we travel we like to keep things simple of course we do expedia is the all-in-one travel shop when planning trips flights hotels vacation rentals, cars, activities, you name it.

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1:03:14Not smart. Nothing says professional like shivering on the sideline. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate, North American Insurance Company, and affiliates in Northbrook, Illinois. way. Let's get to the Hall of Fame portion of today's show. That's right. First ballot Hall of Famer, Drew Brees. We had a chance to talk to him over in San Francisco and it did not disappoint. Get ready. Oh, quick shout out to Chase Daniels. Sorry in advance.

1:03:47It was not us. Our guest today is a former walk-on quarterback from Purdue. He is a five-time All-Pro, 13-time Pro Bowl, two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, the second most passing yards in NFL history, Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, and also now officially a first ballot Hall of Famer, please welcome Drew Brees. I made him. Cheers to that, baby. Drew, you're the man, brother. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you. I guess we got to start with the Hall of Fame. It just happened. Yeah. It's fresh. Dan Fouts. That's how you found out. Yeah. Yeah.

1:04:24That knock came about three weeks ago. It was a great setup, too. Supercharger himself. I know. So I share a birthday with my oldest son, Dalen. So he's born on my 30th birthday. So we had a birthday weekend. It's always Martin Luther King weekend. So really the weekend's about him, just doing whatever he wants to do. So then Monday rolls around and my daughter, who's 11, is like the light of my life, just says, dad, I want to take you out to eat. I'm like, oh, this is the greatest. So my wife, my daughter, they're ready to go. Five o 'clock, be ready. We're going to take you out to eat. So I'm ready.

1:04:53And the boys are messing around doing something upstairs. I'm like, boys, let's go. you know rylan wants to take dad out to eat let's go and they're messing around so now i'm starting to get a little fired up i'm like yo rylan said five o 'clock we're leaving the house i'm like about to get in the car and leave and leave them all right and then all of a sudden here's the door and i'm a little i'm like who's knocking the door now we're trying to leave you know my daughter set this up i just want this to be special for her and then there's mr supercharger dan fouts himself in the gold jacket that is incredible welcoming me into the hall of fame so it was, they had me, it was a good setup.

1:05:27What happens when you feel that? Like, do you like think about your career? Like you think about like, I don't, it's, it's gotta be crazy in that moment, right? Yeah. It was, uh, like I said, like my mind was totally elsewhere. So it was such a, it was such a shock. And I mean, obviously cameras, you know, and NFL films and everything too. And then all of a sudden it is, it's the rush of emotion. And, um, just thinking about getting to that moment and just everything that's transpired and I immediately look at my family. I mean, honestly, I played so much longer than I ever thought I would. And in many cases, I did it because I wanted my kids to remember what dad did.

1:06:02So cool, man. And then I'm looking at them and I see their eyes welling up and just lost it. That's awesome, brother. So cool. Beautiful family. Walk on to Hall of Famer, brother. Not many can say that, dog. I only know one that may have a chance. You shut up.

1:06:20so what's the process now have you already thought about like what picture you're going to use for your bust like are you who's going to introduce you i know who's going to introduce me i can't say because i want to make that special but um yeah yeah it's uh you start thinking about those i mean literally each moment since then has has gotten me a little closer to reality you know at that time it's still so surreal and and you just want to pinch yourself and you're not sure if this is just a dream yeah but i'd say yesterday before they announced it at honors uh a couple hours before all our class of hall of famers you know got into a room so larry fitzgerald incredible yeah roger craig they're all yeah trav you got it we're sitting there we got a front row seat to the whole thing yeah and we're we're seeing everybody come out you're the last thing he taps me on the i was like dude this is a great class i'm like yeah jason it's the hall of fame did you expect to not know anyone they were saying but how many first ballot guys like i don't know it does feel like a special i would say this i don't know the last time you actually went and looked at each class of hall of famers it's been a while since they started doing this yeah okay but literally every class it's almost like each one is like whoa that was a great class whoa like that was great i mean every one of them it just makes you realize just how elite it is and And I think the feeling last night after we were called onto the stage and then all the Hall of Famers start matriculating out of the crowd and coming up on stage.

1:07:49Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's like this indoctrination, like, welcome. Yeah. I mean, it's like, wow. Man. So do you go in? I know you retire as a certain franchise usually. Do you go into the Hall of Fame as a specific one? Organization? Yeah. Oh, I mean, it's Saints, obviously. Hey! No question. That was the one thing that was on the ring. You already know. Nothing against Fouts, but that was a little thing that was surprising to me. Is there like a personal connection there? Like why Chargers and not like a former Saint? So he was one of the first guys that I spoke with when I was drafted was Dan Fouts.

1:08:20God. Obviously his legendary status. Did he tell you to just throw to the biggest guy on the field or what, dude? Because he had Calumas O 'Senior, dude. Exactly. He had like the beginning of like this era of tight end. Oh, man. Charlie Joyner and Chandler and they were some dudes. You know, he's been great to me ever since I first signed in the league and obviously a Charger legend. Ironically, that Coriol offense was one that we ran when I was first in San Diego. So there was a connection there too. So that was pretty unique. Give me all the ins and outs, man. That's awesome, dog. You're going in with a division rival, Luke Keekly.

1:08:57Did he give you as many headaches as he did to me trying to figure it out? He was calling out our plays. Like, I'm like, are you stealing this? How are you this good at knowing what we're about to do? I'll be honest. I think, again, and you never know how the class is going to shake out, but especially Larry Fitzgerald and Luke Keekly. Like, I've always had a real special bond with Larry. He's the best, dude. Funny, because, you know, you see each other from afar. I know he was never going to get out of Arizona, and I was certainly never going to leave New Orleans. The only time we had a chance to play together was in Pro Bowls.

1:09:25I mean, how awesome are Pro Bowls? You have a chance to be with these guys that you just have so much respect for. I still remember you calling out the mic at one of my Pro Bowls. I'm just thinking, Drew Brees is on it. Yeah, man. Hey, bro, you're wired, man. I only know one way. We're trying to win, too, right? Yeah, I know. He's like, where are we sliding? I think Jason, just take it easy, man. I got this, bro. You got it. You got it, Jason. Lee, Ray, Lee, let's go over here. Yeah. Hey, we'll get you a double on Aaron Donald over here real quick. That was, so like my first Pro Bowl touchdown pass was Larry Fitzgerald.

1:09:54Nice. We've had a bond our whole career. Oh, that's fucking sweet. And really leaned on each other for a lot of things. And then honestly, Luke Kuechly, best defensive player I've ever played against. Seriously. And he was in the division, obviously. And so when I truly say an iron sharpens iron, guys that just make you better, because you have to be. You knew going into that game, I have to be my absolute best against this dude. And so he just brought out the best in me, in us. And so I really appreciate that about him. Such an unbelievable competitor. But off the field, the most genuine dude.

1:10:26I've spent more time with him over the last 24 hours. Cincinnati. I'm like, dude, I love this guy. Those Ohio ball players, man. There's something about him. Those Ohio ball players. Cincinnati. I like my Ohio ball players and my Texas gunslinger. You already know how it goes. Texas Cabo Ranchers. The biggest surprise with Larry Fitzgerald to me was that he found a pair of corduroy pants that fit him. I mean, he is thick on the bottom half now. I guarantee you he can move to the tight end room right now and still go for fucking a thousand yards. Solid genetics. Solid genetics. No, Larry's the man.

1:10:58I still remember my first college experience was Larry Fitzgerald playing Notre Dame over in Pitt. Yeah, making freakish catches. Watching him in like just like routes on air or pack and go, and I'm just sitting there. I'm like, man, this dude is the fucking man. It was before. Same thing. You could just tell, it was just like, man, this dude's fucking got it. Different, different. But even, honestly, the play that I remember the most from his career, which is stupid that he probably will hate that I say this, the James Harrison interception in the Super Bowl. Oh, the effort. Yes, yes. He is, like, completely out of the play.

1:11:35Yeah. Running out of bounds, like, over woods and tree trunks and doing anything he can to try and make this tackle. I'm just like, dude, that's amazing. Like, that is the effort and, like, what makes somebody different. Like, who is going to give that amount of effort? And not just, like, a special teams guy who has to kind of do that to survive. A Hall of Fame level, like, best receiver of all time. Actually, when the class was announced, I started just reflecting on all the plays that I could remember all these guys making. Obviously, that Super Bowl stood out. And, like, we've all had those moments where, look, you're in a game like that.

1:12:06There's a ton of exceptional players on the field. Yes. But then there's those times where, like, one just rises above the rest. and you're just like for this entire game that is the best player on the field that that game was was was a moment like that yeah where you like that play and then the one where they took the lead at the end before the Steelers went down yeah it's like two man he beats the corner inside on like just a little delay route splits the safeties and gone you're like yeah this dude is the best player on the field seriously right he was still young in his career I mean it's only Like you're five, maybe.

1:12:39Yeah. Right. Oh, eight. Something like that. Yeah. He was young. What a guy, man. So we did have a potential Hall of Famer come out of retirement this year. Oh, was there a call when Bo Nix went down? You had to have had a few. Dude, I would say I've had some conversations. And I've had some moments. Yeah. I've had some moments. Yeah. I would say this. Like my body feels great. My mind sharp as ever. Yeah. Shoulder, wrist. not having it. And like to the point where there was a moment this year where literally I was drinking a tequila and something happened where I thought there might be a chance I would play that week.

1:13:20And I literally switched to water and I started thinking about going to bed early and getting up the next day and like getting my body nice and loose and going out and throwing to see if I could even pull it off. Yeah. And boy, I was like so mentally right and got up, got the body loose, went out there, grabbed the ball. threw a couple. My 13-year-old son was catching for me. Let's go. And it was just like, it's not there. I would have been able to break that glass 10 feet away. You got to take the torrid off first. You forgot the torrid off. The good stuff is not in the system. Yeah, right. The good stuff is not in the system.

1:13:55But no, it's honestly, look, I really think I'd still be playing if the shoulder and the wrist wouldn't have started to let me down. Sure. I just started to lose quite a bit of pop. You know, and it's one of those things where you know where to go with the ball, but can I get it from point A to point B in the amount of time that it needs to get there in order to be effective? And unfortunately, that left. Man, oh man. Dude, you played with some fucking legends in the tight end room. Obviously, Tonio, Jimmy Graham, the years that I was turning into a tight end in college were you and Jimmy just going absolutely nuts, man.

1:14:34and that really changed those years with like gauge Jimmy being those basketball guys and like really being able to be that mismatch and then you obviously Gronk you throw into the fold do you feel that Jimmy I don't know I don't want to say this the wrong way I feel like he's never gotten the true respect that he deserves at the tight end position I want to give Jimmy some love because what he's done to change the game, I don't think it's talked about enough. Okay. I agree. And thousand percent. Jimmy was so rare. I mean, here was a guy who played four years of basketball in Miami, right? Had a fifth year of eligibility.

1:15:11And it was just like, ah, you know, I played a little high school football. I'll go out here and see if I can, you know, run some red zone fates, you know, which I think he called 11 balls, seven tutties is senior, fifth year, senior year. And at that point, look, I credit, I credit Sean. I credit our scouting department. Like those guys had a knack for seeing like some raw talent and but even seeing through that to like this guy once we polish him up and like get him in this system and he's gonna be exceptional so we brought jimmy in as a third round pick in 2011 we had shockey oh yeah that was trans favorite dude you already know man you want to talk about attitude yeah and we were doing some interesting things with shock that that honestly like we did with gates um in in san diego but it was kind of like this at any time, just displace them, split them out to the single receiver side.

1:16:02We had this whole system of signals. We tried to do it in man situations. So we got some favorable matchup and then we just go to town over here, right? Yeah, I can relate. That became Jimmy's thing. But man, Jimmy was just a gazelle. He was a deer at first. It was like, man, he could run. But he had attitude coming out. No, no, no. Yeah, he had an edge. He had something to prove, like chip on his shoulder big time. But it was a great first year opportunity for him because shock he was the guy and then jimmy was kind of like the bring him in in certain situations and just bring him along oh yeah and by the time 2011 came around it was like he was ready and then that was his breakout year we're literally him and gronk bro like going into that last season though that last game we were playing carolina i can't remember who new england was playing but they were fighting for i think it was uh most yards by a tight end and touchdown touchdowns right they both ended up with over 15 that year yeah but literally like from drive to drive it was i'd come over the silent be like where's gron like like oh he's 10 yards ahead okay well let's run this high corner to jimmy right that's a good teammate right there baby unfortunately our game ended first so gron got the record but literally it was one of those like i wonder if they were doing the same thing oh totally yeah you know they're keeping track exactly for sure that's the best way um honestly the the most unfortunate thing and literally when i say like jimmy and i cried on the phone together when we traded him married cried on the phone together um he was with us for five years and could you imagine what five more years would have been like right you know at a point where we were just so like the chemistry was so strong right you guys created a whole new play like there was like the goal line fade and then there was the jimmy graham just fucking throw it to him this dude would literally just go and post up like in the paint and it was it was like it was a fade but it wasn't a fade it was more just like a jump ball we had five different back shoulders That's crazy.

1:17:51It's crazy. It was the DB's here, back shoulder, or I'm just going to stand in front of him and you throw it up. There's the bottom line is if you're 6 '7", 270, there is nobody. A dude could be standing right next to you. There's still a place I can throw the ball to you. Man, my 270 looks way different than that 270. This does bring up something to me that I do want to. I have never understood why. Like, why doesn't every team just have one guy that's a monster that is a guaranteed touchdown? Like, think about, like, the tush push, right? It's a guaranteed first down every time you're a first down.

1:18:19There are so many goal line stands throughout a year that happened inside the five. If you could every time know you got a 6, 10. Just get an NBA guy that wasn't quite good enough in the NBA and just throw him a jump ball. I don't know. Is it harder than that? Am I making this? Yes, it's way harder than what you're making it. Are you kidding me? Okay. Well, that's why I'm asking. I'm asking two guys that would know. I don't think it looks that hard. And maybe have him rush on kick block, too, so he can be, you know, he's got a little special teams value. There you go. That's all you need. Just bring Shaq out of retirement and throw him the ball.

1:18:48he's still going to catch it, right? To your point, I think Gates revolutionized the game in a lot of ways. I mean, really before that, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, right? These kind of basketball guys that came over and applied a lot of that skill set to what they were doing as tight ends. Jimmy was all heart, man, all heart. And I really wish we could have had five, seven more years together. Yeah, I know. I had to show him some love, dog. Yeah. Yeah, appreciate that. So Hall of Fame, but it wasn't always roses, right? It wasn't always the easiest thing. mentioned earlier walk on at Purdue early in your career like a lot of turmoil coming from the Chargers to the Saints what was that like like a lot of people you had the injury and you know what's going on with the shoulder all this stuff what was that like for you at that moment uh the the injury was devastating in San Diego um because I I really there was a moment where I thought I wouldn't play football again um I mean I had been through a lot with the Chargers I got drafted there in the second round to back up Doug Flutie, which was the best thing that ever could have happened to me.

1:19:51Because Doug Flutie was my style of quarterback. We were both undersized, right? He was five, nine and a half, a buck 80, right? But the guy had played 22 years of professional football. Right. Four different leagues. He was Mahomes before Mahomes from the perspective of like the niftiness. Magic. And just making it happen outside. And we would do a lot of under center stuff because it was kind of a bit more pro style, two back, eye backfield, running power, running different weak lead schemes. You got LT. You're going to utilize it. Right. And Lorenzo Neal as our fullback, right? Yes. Low, low.

1:20:21Yeah, man. And Doug Flutie at times would backpedal a seven-step drop from under center. When's the last time you saw that? This is like Fran Tarkenton stuff, you know? But like he was just an old school dude. Yeah. He did push-ups, sit-ups, ran hills, and played basketball. That was his like strength and conditioning program and just threw the ball, just played ball. He was like backyard ball. The hell he is. But he was the epitome of, oh, I got to get the ball out a little bit sooner than normal. Just put a little air under it, right? Throw that little two ball, man, right? A little air time.

1:20:52Just lay it over the wheel in front of the safety to that end cut before he's out of the great. So like his level of timing and anticipation was second to none. So I learned so much just from observation and watching him. Had a chance to compete against him my second year. Won the job. And then he backed me up for three years after that. Now I was benched three times in those three years with Marty Schoenheimer. Yeah. The first one, I deserved it. The second one, kind of. The third one, I didn't think I deserved it. And I was pissed. And had a knockdown, dragout, screaming match with Marty Sean Hammer on the sideline in December in Pittsburgh.

1:21:23And then in the hallway after. And then in his office the next day. Holy cow. At the end of the day, I knew this. Marty was always making decisions that he thought were in the best interest of the team, even if I didn't agree with him. But I love the man. And he developed me in so many ways. Character, leadership. But I love and respect that man so much. But finally kind of got to the point where through those ups and downs and through that adversity, I earned the starting spot, made my first Pro Bowl in 04, kind of team goes to the playoffs. Even though they drafted Phillip Rivers, Flutie was still there.

1:21:54Like I was the guy and I'd kind of established myself. And then last game of the season in 05, going into an off season where I didn't have a contract, but I was hoping to get like that long-term commitment. Yeah. And I go down with a dislocated throwing shoulder, right? Literally arms stuck like this, walking off the field. I get to the sideline, they pop that thing back in and I'm just going, man, I'm probably never going to put a Chargers uniform on again. And it's like, I'm going to play football again. Some doctors told me I had a 25 % chance of coming back and playing again. So like just absolutely devastating.

1:22:23And yet, I mean, tested me in so many ways, but also I think strengthened just my faith and in the unseen and unknown that, uh, you know, God's got a plan for me. And it may not be in San Diego and that's okay. I just have to trust it. And that's, that's how New Orleans, the out new orleans opportunity came along no doubt sailor from there i uh dude you very do you think the the qbs in today's game are are on a real short leash does it feel like that or do you think it's fair still that you know you gotta you gotta show up when when you're called upon i think we do most of them a disservice um i mean look there's high expectations right and i think it's the coaches are on short leashes um you know the the fan bases you know want want a winner now.

1:23:06I mean, you look at Sam Darnold and everything that he's overcome. I think it's a highly inspirational story and journey. And there's a few others like that. Baker Mayfield. Kind of a similar situation. I think there's so much to play in this position, as you know. That's why I got out of there, dude. Former Q. Always ready for the double pass. Always ready for the double pass. Like you said, I don't know if I can get it there anymore, so I'll just ladder over it. I can still pitch at five yards. some good yeah i i think there's in in most cases too these high draft picks are going to teams that obviously have have a lot of holes to fill as well you know i think who was that aikman was saying aikman had a very good quote this year organizations are failing these qbs more than they're they're failing the organization yeah it's true i mean when you play the game long enough you can pinpoint it you can see which ones that are you know maybe getting that disturbance that you're talking about and others that are just you know need to make those strides i would say this yeah i mean look I sat for a year behind Flutie.

1:24:05So valuable for me. Mahomes sat for a year behind Alex Smith. I'm sure so valuable for him. Brady sat for a year behind Bledsoe. Aaron Rodgers sat for three years. Jordan Love sat for three years behind him. There is something to sitting for a period of time because you will glean a ton. And then when it is your time, a little more of like feeling like you've earned it too, you know, and this is my opportunity. I've been preparing for this opportunity here we go as opposed to if you're going to throw a guy in the fire right away man there's going to be ups and downs you just got to be ready for and you got to be patient with it no doubt and i think it's also like when you go into a room with a guy that's been doing it for a long time so many of these guys like the coach is one thing but seeing a player playing the position and how they prepare like i i do remember this vividly when we drafted carson wentz they purposely went and got chase daniels because he was with you in new orleans and like they were doing is like showing Carson how you prepared.

1:25:02He's like, we're going to get in at 6 a.m. We're going to do this. This is how Drew prepared and like all that. Like it's so important to have that perspective of it for some of these young cues as well. I have two theories around when a quarterback is going to be ready. Number one is having a great veteran backup or veteran starter who starts in front of you for a period of time before you then have the opportunity, which is kind of what we just talked about. The second is, I think you need roughly 50 high-level starts before you are really there and ready. Those high-level starts could be college.

1:25:38Plenty of times we've seen this potential drafted, but they only had 15 college starts. Well, if that's the case, it's going to take them three years before they're ready. I'm just telling you. Then start looking at the guys like Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy, a undersized, all these things like 50 college starts at Iowa State. So I can tell you most of the times when they step foot on the field, they were the underdog, right? He was having to play a lot of punch well above their fighting weight. Oklahoma, Texas still in the conference, everything, right? You know what I'm saying? So he comes in and you're like, okay, he's got some experience.

1:26:14Like he's got something to him. Hence why maybe this success happened a little bit quicker. And he's playing for a really good team with some good players, right? There's some other examples of that um but yeah i i think it's the number of starts really has a lot to do with their readiness yeah i think to step into that role too okay i like it what i got chase daniels making a hell of a fucking living in the nfl huh

1:26:38chase lives down the street from me in san diego right now yeah i gotta bust chase balls i think the last stat i saw the most money earned per snap in the nfl than any man in history I heard that same stat. I think it's got to be accurate. Chase, well done. Well done. Hacked it. Hacked the system. Hey, but to his credit, always fucking ready. Always ready. Always prepared. First one in, last one out. Guy. Dude, you talk about like chip on the shoulder. I messed with Chase. I'm like, dude. Him and Mizzou was fucking fun to watch. Him and J-Mac. Yeah. I was like, I've never seen a quarterback in the NFL shaped like high school nose guard, bro.

1:27:12But you did it. No, you did it. You made it. Oh, my God. You're here. You did it. That's great. That is great. Chase is better. I love you, Chase. That's so good. Back to your career. You go from the Chargers and you end up in New Orleans. First of all, how close were you to ending up in Miami Dolphins? Miami, yeah. Close. I mean, on paper, that was an obvious decision. It was Miami all the way. Miami had Nick Saban. They had just come off a 9-7 season where they won the last seven in a row. So they kind of had it figured out. Defense was lights out. Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor. Oh, yeah. They're offensive.

1:27:43Their offense. I loved all their coaching staff. Mike Malarkey was the OC. Jason Garrett, quarterback coach. Hudson Hough was our O-line coach who had been our O-line coach the year before when we had won the division. Loved HUD. They were running the same offense that we were running, like Miami Dolphins. I'm sitting there eating dinner on Wayne Huizinga's yacht. He's there at dinner talking about, hey, we're going to go play golf in Scotland every summer with Dan. I got a helicopter over there. We're just going to hop around. No state income tax. I'm like, dude, this is wallpaper. Miami, here I come.

1:28:16And then on the flip side, you got New Orleans. right? Six months post Katrina, some unknown head coach named Sean Payton, right? Who's this guy? And ironically, five years previous when I was being, when I was being like in the draft, Tom Condon, my agent, I had probably 15 teams that I thought might draft me. And he's like, we're going through that list leading up to draft day. And he's like, man, you got all these great possibilities. He's like, man, you know, honestly, the only one I would really not want you to go to is the New Orleans Saints, like kind of dysfunctional party town, this and that.

1:28:45Like, so I had that ringing in my head as well. Right. So again, on paper, it's like, this is so obvious and I'm not leaving anything to chance. I'm going to go and I'm going to give each one like it's fair opportunity. And like the Miami trip was amazing with the exception of, they put me through the ringer, like six hours of these medical testing. Cause I was only two, like eight weeks post-op on an eight month rehab. So I was nowhere close. I mean, my arm, I'm still kind of in a sling, you know, and I can't do anything. And they're, they do the, you know, the saline solution, the contrast MRI.

1:29:19So I'm like in an MRI too, for two hours, just aching. Right. I get out of that. They stick these big needles in my shoulder to test nerve endings. They're, they're, they're wanting to test everything. So I just, I got this feeling of like doubt, like they don't really. And, and then their doctors were the ones who told Saban, we think he's got a 25 % chance of ever coming back and playing again. And I go to New Orleans and it's like, you are. our guy. Like Sean Payton, Mickey Lemus, you're our guy. We're building this offense around you. They did everything they could to kind of roll out the red carpet despite all the circumstances.

1:29:51I mean, New Orleans was still destroyed. And the epic story is Sean Payton, after this great visit there, gets lost in the Lakeview neighborhood. And we're driving through there and houses are off of foundations, Chevy truck upside down a living room. All of a sudden, car stops. There's a tugboat in the middle of the road. And I'm looking at my wife like, are you seeing what I'm seeing. But it was also one of those moments like, man, this is so much bigger than just football. Right. Like we get to be a part of one of them, you know, the resurrection of one of America's greatest cities. Like this is God's calling in our life.

1:30:20And so that was the determining factor. There's so much beauty down there that got restored through you guys bringing that happiness to a man. Fucking kudos, brother. That's amazing. That's a crazy story, though. You went from literally being like, that's what free agency is like. You get to go on yachts and like get told you get to golf all over the world with everyone to like. sitting in an MRI tube for two hours. That's crazy, man. You end up with Sean Payton. Yeah. What are your first impressions of Sean? What was it like to be coached by him? Yeah, I would say this. There were moments, and look, this stayed true for 15 years, where I thought Bill Parcells was standing in front of us.

1:31:00Really? I would say his biggest influence is John Gruden and Bill Parcells. When he would get up and start installing offensive football, you know it was like john gruden right but then when he would get pissed off and like like go try to go toe-to-toe with somebody or challenge somebody or get confrontational dude it was parcells man yeah it was all parcells yeah like in fact there were those moments where i could tell he would get up in the team meeting i could just watch him walk in i'd be like ah shit he's gonna be one of these i was just i could feel it you know and we were gonna get it you know but it was good i mean it was always just it was wisdom you see uh him and uh bo nix's relationship and see a little bit of the oh yeah there's some fire yeah there's some fire both throws it back at him too dude absolutely and i think sean appreciates that that's what i was gonna i was gonna say the same thing we had a howard mudd early in my career in philly oh yeah and i felt like he used to sometimes just yell at you to see what your response would be and i think that sometimes it's like more even mental like he they want that like fire out of a guy and like if you're willing to answer that.

1:32:06You're willing to stick up for yourself. Like, no coach, I think that this is what you told me. And I'm, you know what I mean? That goes a little bit with those guys. What I appreciated so much about Sean was, um, he had an ability to order the chaos, like to, to, to, to block out all the noise and just give you a very key into a very defined like keys to victory and, and narrow it down to the point where, Hey man, this is our vision. Like this is the path to get there and now let's go execute. He instilled confidence in guys. He had a way to motivate guys through kind of humor. You know, his coaches just have a knack.

1:32:40Like I gave an example. It was like, we had a safety one time who was getting all kinds of interceptions, but he wanted to bust his balls in practice just to kind of keep him honest. So he's like, Hey, you know, DB's like, he's going to intercept it, but we got to block everybody. Cause he's, he's slow. He's slow as molasses. He's deep. They're going to hawk him before he gets to the end zone. So we got to block everybody in order for him to get in. He would just make comments like that. Like just, like just, just in case you started, you know, getting a little bit pretty good about yourself, you know, like he just keep you honest, hold you accountable, you know?

1:33:09So he had a knack for that. And then I would say just like his open and honesty to you. He was always open door policy. Come see me anytime you want. If you want to talk about anything, you may not like what I have to tell you, but I'm always going to be honest with you. So guys come up there. I'm not happy about my playing time or this and that. He's like, okay, well, let me tell you why. But now let me tell you how we can rectify that or how we can fix it, how we can get better than that. And he would give you that path and that vision, and he was amazing at that. That's awesome. Those are the kind of guys you want to play for, man.

1:33:37I got to ask this, too. Very opinionated guy, offensive genius, Sean Payton. Yeah. Hall of Famer, one of the most brilliant minds in the game. Yeah. What was it like game planning with you guys? There's like, who's, are you getting plays? How does that go? Was it full trust or were you throwing in your input on the Mondays and Tuesdays, getting up to the Wednesdays? I'd say, I mean, it was very collaborative. Nice, man. It's funny. I went back and looked at a 2006 call sheet, which was our first year. And this in 2020, I was like, hey, pull up an 06 call sheet. And bro, it was like third grade compared to where we had evolved to in 2020.

1:34:14And a lot of that, though, was because we had been together so long that it's not like you really eliminate. You just kind of like add little layers to everything. Oh, yeah, little wrinkles to everything. It's just little wrinkles. His ability just to walk in and be like, hey, you remember in 2010, we're playing the Eagles, and we're down there in the red zone. And it's like, oh, yeah, coach, it's amazing the recall you have. I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. But I can recall a game 15 years ago in the red zone. I can recall more of the times that it didn't happen, though. So if somebody says, oh, it happened, because those are the ones I sit there and I think about for the next three days on how to defeat it if I get it again.

1:34:51Yeah. So those are the ones that just get like implemented in my brain. Dude, it's trauma. I've thought about this a lot. It's literally like you have these traumatic experiences on game day because it's either something that was like a disappointment that then just lingered and you just like hyper analyzed for the next week. Dude. Right? Or it was kind of like one of those, like a bit of fear and it was like some chemical reaction in your brain that just like seared it. Yeah, exactly. I'm getting goosebumps right now thinking about this. Yeah. Yeah. Seriously. Yeah, for sure. Trauma. I like that.

1:35:19I was staring at the ceiling. why didn't I go left outside release this oh yeah that's it that's all I had to do no but you're right there I wonder what it would be like as a then a young quarterback coming into a system though that was literally like a 15 years worth of you know PhD work to get it to that point right and then all of a sudden it's like kind of having to go back to you know square one right because we did evolve so much and there was such a level of trust like it got to the point where I knew what he was going to call, when, how, why, right? That whole play caller's intent. I mean, we were just so much on the same page.

1:35:53That's awesome. And then the communications on the sideline were awesome. Like fourth down, you got to play you like, hell yeah, coach, I got one. All right, let's go. That's awesome. Hell yeah. It's the best kind of moments, man. Right. We got to ask you this. We've been asking this a little bit. Fill in the blank. People forget that blank was a problem. Kind of like somebody that, like we already kind of did a little bit with Jimmy, but he's not really that forgotten, I guess. Yeah, listen. I'm going to get a plug for my guy, Jory Evans. Jari Evans. Jari Evans. You got to teach us a little something.

1:36:19Guard. A right guard. You don't know who Jari is? I always thought it was Jari Evans, so I'm sorry, Jari, but yes. Future Hall of Famer. He was in the top 15 this year. He was top 15 last year. Yes. Philadelphia native. Philly native, exactly. Five-time All-Pro. I think for a long period of time, best guard in football. It was him and Carl Nix, both of those guys. Absolutely. Having those two dudes. You want to hear a good Carl Nix story? Please. Please. So we draft Kronix out of Nebraska, like fifth round, which was a steal just like, cause he was one of the most giant human beings you've ever seen, right?

1:36:52Like six, four, 360 or something. So we, uh, we have a bunch of injuries. All of a sudden he's starting at left guard. This is 08, his rookie year, like week two or three. So like, dude, he's fish out of water and we're short now at O-line too, cause the guy had gotten hurt. So we're hot practice outside New Orleans and he's taking every rep, first team, second team. So he's like 35 consecutive plays in and And he's just dragging, sucking air. Like it's thick outside. And O-line coach Doug Marone is just on him, on him, on him. And like, I'm stepping up into the huddle again to call a play. And Carl is just kind of bent over, just sucking air.

1:37:28And Marone, just to kind of make a point, he goes into the huddle to grab Nick's to like, you know, stand him up. And I don't know what came over me, but like, I just have a rule that when I step in the huddle, it's my huddle. I want all eyes on me. I'm leading this. Yeah. And so when Marone stepped into huddle, I didn't even think about it. I just reacted. I grabbed Doug Marone and I threw him out of the huddle. Oh my gosh. And I said, I got him. Yeah. And I looked at Nix and I was going to kind of help him up and be like, come on, big fella, let's go. You know, 10 more plays, whatever. And Nix just kind of stood up, like bowed his chest down.

1:38:07He looked at me. He's like, man, nobody's ever going to touch you. like you got my back boy i got you for life awesome holy cow that's great and then four years later highest paid garden football that's right yeah unfortunately one with us it went to the bucks but both of those guys together oh they were they were a problem that's badass we always end it with uh with one question we got to take it back to the early days dog what was your welcome to the nfl moment oh dude i'll tell you the hardest the hardest i've ever been hit was zach thomas 2003 in Miami. Again, one of these like trauma moments.

1:38:41So we run, we run like this, uh, this little fake, uh, counter week play action play. You know, the line is slamming it down. Here comes the guard to kick out the end back, just kind of chipping off the edge on the flat. And then you have some, you know, exotic down the field route concept. And so here's Zach Thomas. He reads this guard pull. So he just kind of comes over here and I come off this play action fake and my eyes are, you know, trying to look down the field. But I see it was like the parting of the Red Sea. And then it's me and Zach Thomas. But he's like 15 yards away. Four running.

1:39:13It's zone. It's zone. Zach, you're supposed to be like deep metal or like hook over here. Right. But it's one of those like, oh, nobody's accounting for me. I see it. And he just starts hauling ass. And it's one of those like, oh, no. I mean, I got time. He's got to take like 15 steps to get to me, right? He closed that gap so fast. and I had to cut this ball loose so much earlier than I wanted to. And I just felt like this is going to be bad. And I threw it and just kind of tried to like spin, turn. He hit me so hard. Like I think I did like a double back flip. Land it on my head. Now they did throw the flag because he did.

1:39:52He hit me square in the side of the head. I under throw the ball by like 15 yards. It gets picked. Sam Madison or Pastor Tan or one of those guys. But they throw the flag so we get the play. But I was just like, oh my God, like, is that how hard these dudes hit? Yeah. That's crazy. That's amazing. Oh, yeah. I do want to ask you. Darren Sproles. Oh, no. We didn't talk about him at all. Oh, yeah. What was Sproles? I mean, one of my all-time favorite teammates. All-time favorites. So first thing I'd say is like, you know, leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. Oh, right now. Hey. Seriously. And that dude did not have to say a word.

1:40:25Right. Like, you just watch the way he works and watch the way he approached his craft. Yeah. Like every rep was a Super Bowl rep, a full speed rep. Like I love that dude so much. He was my workout partner in San Diego forever, like just in the off seasons. And actually the story goes, 2011 is the lockout year. I start to get the feeling as we're working out that off season that Reggie's going to get traded. Right. And we're all on our own. Like we're not back at the facility. So there's a lot of just craziness. And right before the season start, we trade Reggie to the Miami Dolphins. And in the meantime, like I'm calling Sean Payton and I'm like, we have to get Sproles.

1:40:57Like I'm sitting here throwing with him every day. and he was having a little riff with the chargers yeah i was like if we're trading reggie we have to get this guy so sure enough that happens we have him for three years like we were together he was drafted to the san diego chargers in 05 when i was there okay so our running back room was ladenian tomlinson mike the burner turner you remember mike turner big mike t and then and then darren sproles and darren sproles with our little scat back but he um he's a generational player oh yeah i think if you're gonna watch a like a choice route reel like how do you just arc release out of the backfield, set a linebacker up with a vertical stem, and then break out, cross-face hook it up.

1:41:32It used to drive me crazy. Anytime we would get, and this is before they started doing like the five-man fronts with the running zone. Every other time they bit a bare front, it was man covers. I'm like, why the hell are we not just throwing it to Darren Sproles every, I'm dead serious. It used to make me mad. Like nobody's going to guard this dude in space. Just throwing the ball. Who's going to tackle him? Like I just used to, I was furious. Here's my other Spolzy story. We're on a two-minute drive, 2013, against the Niners. The Niners defense was stout, right? So here you are, Navarro Bowman, Patrick Willis, okay?

1:42:03Yes, studs. We're kind of approaching midfield. All we need is a field goal, so they start trying to light us up, right? And I remember at one occasion, I know it's going to be man, and here these two guys are lined up in the A-gaps, and they're going to hit it. And I know I got Jimmy Graham matched up on the matchup I want, but I also know we're going to have to hold up for a second. So I remember just, like, looking over at Sproles, and I'd just be like, it's going to be like, you know, Navarro Bowman. I'm like hey bro just bow up just one time on me here as soon as he gets in there he was an underrated blocker man seriously he was freaking all heart man all heart all effort I love the dude like he would step up and do that whenever you needed he was a stud one of my all time favorites man that's awesome Drew you're the man thank you so much congratulations alright that wraps up another episode of New Heights thank you to Drew Breeze on my life

1:42:56He's so electric. Did not disappoint for one second. It's incredible. Oh, let's also not forget about A.J. Barner and Cooper Cupp, Super Bowl champions. Can't wait to see what you guys do in the big parade tomorrow. Thanks for coming on the show. Reminder, we are off next week, but we will be back with fresh new heights starting February 25th. Make sure you subscribe to the New Heights channel on YouTube and follow New Heights on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights ad-free right now by joining OneGrey Plus in the OneGrey app or on Apple Podcasts.

1:43:27Once again, New Heights, a Wondery show and brought to you by Xfinity. Xfinity's got a crazy five-year plan where you don't got to pay a dollar more throughout the entire five years. It's crazy stuff. You guys should look into it. Follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with one S for fun clips throughout the week. We're going to have a bunch for you after this one. And thanks to new heist production crew for always making us look way better. And thank you guys for going to a hell of a fucking party, hell of a fucking super bowl week. We love you guys. And also the 92 percentage for always tuning in.

1:43:58You guys make this thing possible. So we got a bunch of fun stuff coming up, but I'm going to go get some sleep. I love you guys.