Matthew Stafford on Staying in LA, Aaron Donald’s Insane Workouts and Girl Dad Advice | Ep 128

24:25He was a monster. Dude, Megatron, man. Yeah, just a creative player. He didn't say much, you know, and I wish I was. I wish I would have got, obviously, more time with him. Anytime you got a great player like that, you're like, man, I wish I had more time to play with that guy. But I just think about, like, plug and play him in the system we're in right now, and I'm like, oh, my God. Oh, boy. Would have been scary. That's a guy you can plug into any system. No doubt. I mean, the guy was playing at Georgia Tech. Yeah, exactly. He was literally playing. Wow. Yeah, put him out there. Yeah, he can figure it out.

24:52But he is an incredible player. I've been lucky to play with a bunch of talented receivers, all kind of different styles and body types and all that kind of stuff, but he is, I mean, it was crazy. Throwing balls to him, it feels like you're throwing to a D end. I mean, that's what he looked like out there. It was crazy. I mean, you have two, so Cooper in what year was that, 20? 21 for Coop. 21? Yeah. And then Calvin in 12? 12. I mean, two of the top five receiving seasons of anybody in the history of the game. Yeah. And they have you as a person throwing. What does that mean? Like, do you remind them that you're the person?

25:26I just send a yearly text. You're welcome. No, it's cool. It's something that, you know, I feel like lucky to be a part of. You know what I mean? I'm sure. It was incredible watching both those guys do it in completely different ways. You know, Cooper, like, majority from the slot, just unbelievable, finding his way through, catch and run guy, and then Calvin just lined him up on the outside and let him go to work on people. It was cool to be a part of both. I definitely am proud of it and that we got that done. It's a special thing, I guess. I guess I can get that number one guy the ball a lot if he's getting open.

26:10Schwartzy used to tell me that you guys would run a goal line play where Calvin would be singled up, four to the other side. We used to call it diamond. It's like quarterback draw if it's a light box. Calvin if he's got the one-on-one we're taking it and if you've got numbers there you've got the screen and he's like you could not be right it was like a cheat code it was and then we would get to the point where I would it was hard down there in the goal line to see leverage sure you know for me like was the guy playing inside you or outside you or whatever so I got to a point where like Calvin and I would just have he would just signal to me whether he wanted the fade or the glance kind of and he would just go open hand closed hand on the inside hand he just closed hand I'm on the fade Sneaky son of a bitch.

26:49Open hand. Biggest dude on the field. Sneaky though. Just one hand open. I'm like, ooh, here comes this one right here. But yeah, I mean, it was crazy. And then we went and played the Saints and they ended up vicing him, you know, down like pump pro. Pump return, yeah. And then the next year, on their free, we're playing at Arizona and like the first third down of the game, he's in the slot and we're running like 525 F post swing, like, you know, and he's viced on third down. Third down. Third down from like our minus 20, you know, like opening possession. We're not letting them ruin the game.

27:23I'm like, geez, guys, relax. I mean, listen, that's why we treated Aaron Donna. We viced him all game. Yeah, I get it. I can completely relate. And I threw it to like Pettigrew and we didn't get the first down or something. And I come back and I'm like, how was it? He's like, I still got open. And I'm like, fuck. Of course he would get open. Of course. We're going to cancel him out since there's two guys vicing him. Still won. I'm like, God, he was crazy. I was going to take it back, man. How does a Texas gunslinger like yourself end up in Georgia? Yeah. Well, both my parents went to Florida State, so I wasn't like a Texas kid growing up.

28:02I wasn't like Longhorns or Aggies or any of that kind of stuff. But your whole life you grew up in Texas. I did, but I loved Florida State. I wanted to go to Florida State. I ended up getting an offer from him, but the offensive coordinator at Florida State for a long time was Mark Richt. He then became the head coach at Georgia. So I started watching Georgia. And my sister went there the year before me. And really the couple years before I went to Georgia, they were like second and fifth in the country. They had a really good program. And I frankly wanted to be doing what I'm doing right now, playing pro football as fast as I could.

28:34I went there, took a visit. It was like a pro-style offense. Felt like I had a chance to play early. And I don't know. I wasn't like a huge – I wasn't like in love with the recruiting process. and it's so different back then than it is now anyways. I can't imagine what the shit is right now. So I just was like, let me get into where I fit in and keep it moving. And I loved my time there. It was great. Got to play with NoSean, a bunch of talented players. AJ Green, some of those guys. So I was never in love with University of Texas football. So I know all my buddies wanted me to go there. I was about to say, even the day and age you're coming out.

29:09Our intern right here, Brandon, is the biggest Texas Longhorn fan you'll ever see. I'm sorry. Well, you know what I didn't know? Because I went to Texas. I sat down with Greg Davis, who was the offensive coordinator. First mistake. Yeah. He pulls up tape of the game the year before. It's Vince Young versus Oklahoma State. That's what I'm saying. You're in, like, the heart of, like, prime Texas football. But it was like, hey, this is four-verts concept here. This is, like, they had some crazy comeback at the end of the game. And the second half, Vince went crazy. And he was like, we were running four-verts.

29:38And he's like, this is beater box. And then we check it down. We say, beater box back. That's, like, seam outside go to the back, right? sounds like a texas fucking officer he goes well when vince is quarterback we just say vanderbox and run and i'm like yeah right well i ain't gonna run bro like show me some major apple white tape that's what i need you know like find me here and he just showed me vince stuff and i'm like i i'm not gonna hurdle the middle linebacker do this shit so can you just like find me here and it just it didn't it didn't fit um but uh yeah that's amazing that was my story texas i was like i don't know i don't know what to tell you that's that's not my skill set so good man it was fun though so you go from georgia you drafted in the first round first pick yeah what at what point did you know you were going number one it was like uh it was like a couple nights before maybe maybe a night or two before yeah um back when they kind of did that you know and like figure out contracts and all that kind of stuff so yeah i uh i was in new york already so it was you know doing the whole draft thing and yeah and they uh yeah they kind of called my agent told him you know we're gonna do it i was like all right sweet this was kind of nice nice walking into the green room not any stress yeah any stress at all knowing this will be a short sit and uh it was you know just kind of sat down popped back up and and kept it moving it was uh it was a whirlwind it was crazy i look think back on that i'm like man what i didn't know right like so much but it was uh it was a blast did you immediately jump on a jet to detroit or did you yeah the next morning um so I like when that's not immediate yeah I had a bunch of college buddies there and and so my family was there too so we went and had a good time kicked it I had to pick my number the next morning the team president calls me early in the morning oh yeah and uh he's like what number do you want I'm like seven you know that's what it was in college he's like well Dutch Clark 1932 Detroit it lying yeah his number retired and i was like oh shit and they were like we can call his family and see if you would unretire before i'm like no no no all good yeah rifling through the numbers like my dad's in the room a buddy of mine's in the room and i'm like hey guys what number should i be nice nice and i'm like rifling through these like ah you don't want that one or you don't want that one i was like all right i'll just go with nine is nine available they're like yeah nine works i'm like cool and in my head i'm like great i don't have to change my signature much and like Like the seven just goes to a nine.

32:00There we go. I'm good, right? This is easy. So, yeah, after that, proceeded to hop on a jet and fly to Detroit. Love it. Before the two days before when they called you, were there any other teams that you thought, oh, I might end up there? How was the process, I guess, before the draft? I took a couple of those 30 visits you were talking about. I took one to Detroit. I took one to the Jets. And then I took one to San Fran. Okay. And so the Jets, when I left there, they were like, we're moving up to five to pick somebody if you're not there. And they ended up taking Sanchez at five. They moved up to five to take him.

32:37And then the 49ers was a different deal. They had the 10th pick. They ended up taking Crabtree. But at the Combine, there had been some stuff going on in an interview, right? I sat down with Peter King afterwards, and he was like, hey, what's the craziest thing that happened at the Combine in the meetings, right? Sure. and that was kind of back when they would ask you stuff you can't say now or ask ask now okay and so i'm like well sam franz deal it was uh singletary was the head coach yeah and it was um it was like a shrink like a oh yeah you know like a psychologist psychologist psychiatrist lady yeah she's talking to me about all these different things and it's like uh tell me about your parents i'm like my parents got divorced you know when i was in high school and okay do you want to talk about i'm like not really like they're cool like it's okay yeah so Peter King's like what's the strangest thing I'm like well my 12 minutes with the Niners at that point was you know it was like uh I wanted to know how much of the prorated hour I owed him after my 12 minutes you know and I said that and he wrote that and I was like and so Mike got all pissed off and was like he's not you know ready to be a quarterback and he got mad so I had to fly out there and like just kind of like shake hands and be like listen man I didn't mean anything by it yeah supposed to be a joke but uh yeah yeah It was a complete waste of my time.

33:53Dude, I fly out to San Fran. I fly out to San Fran. I'm on the East Coast. I'm in Atlanta at the time. I fly out to San Fran. I go there. I meet with Mike. This is awesome. He's getting a Bowflex put in his office. As I'm walking in, I'm like, hell yeah. He's getting the Chucky's. He's putting it in. I'm like, dude, of course. He got scanned by the commercial. God damn it. Been there before. That shit. And I'm like, this is awesome. But it was honestly a great meeting with him, the whole deal. and so you know I'm meeting with them they're like hey you're not going to be there at 10 we're not going to get a chance to take you had a slim flask milkshake next to him doing topo

34:34oh gosh it was short lived the league has changed quite a bit yes it has yes it has oh man good old Mike alright well God damn, that was good. What do you think the biggest change in the league has been? Besides both flexes and coaches? Exactly. Golly, I mean, it has changed a ton, right? I feel like the X's and O's parts of it is so cyclical. When I first got in the league, it was all Tampa 2. What were y 'all's first years? I was 11. 13. Okay, yeah. So it was like all Tampa 2. Chicago Bears. Chicago Bears, Tampa 2. They're bringing the mic and the nickel, playing three-week wear. they're bringing the free safety and Urlacher's cutting and picking four week and taking him to the house right it's like the pressures were all these like zone dog 100 that's all it was right and then it went to like okay Seattle we're playing three deep four under we got the like weak hook player carrying three vertical all that stuff yeah and then it's you know a lot of what you guys are doing I think is great you know and whatever so I think scheme wise it's uh you know it's really it's really been like cyclical I think the way they can hit players now has changed so much i mean i used to get just absolutely dumped by dudes just you've got some iconic just like getting crushed face mask going in all sorts of different directions yeah there's been some tough some lean some lean moments there so good you'll catch them now just some good memes nowadays no yeah it's not the same i remember at one off season i was in nfc north for forever and Julius Peppers, who was with Chicago at the time.

36:11We kind of just talked to you and sounded too many. Jared Allen. Julius Peppers. North Carolina. Are you out of like an action movie? What the fuck are you doing on this football field? But Pep and Jared Allen were both free agents. In Minnesota and Chicago. I'm like, good, get the fuck out of here. And they just fucking switched. Damn it. Julius is in Green Bay and Jared's in Chicago and I'm like, God, I can't get rid of these guys. But no, it was different times back then. I mean, really all aspects of the game, I feel like. But I mean, none of the guys were doing this, so this is a different part of it as well, which is kind of cool.

36:51I'm not like ultra dialed into the podcast thing. My wife does the morning after and time after. Yeah, KB, she does a couple podcasts and she rocks it. I'm not super dialed in. Cooper and I did a little nine and dime for the team kind of thing, which was a lot of fun. But yeah, I mean, just having the ability and the platform to kind of get out there and talk a little bit is cool. I know it's fun for everybody to get to know you guys too. That's cool. We have fun doing it. Especially when we get guys like this, man. I appreciate you. We got to talk about something that Tom Brady said, though. He's saying that college isn't developing these quarterbacks like they used to.

37:26Do you kind of see that as well? Like, do you see some of these young guys that come in that just are – it doesn't seem like they're as ingrained in, like, maybe the X's and O's or their mechanics as much? Well, yeah, and I think maybe kind of what he was thinking about, too, when he was talking about that is just, you know, the ability to move and do all that. You don't get time in a system, right? Like, think about if you just changed offensive coordinators every single year. You'd be like, man, I don't know – I know a lot, but I don't know if I, like, mastered anything. Got everything out of that.

37:56You know what I mean? And got everything out of that. and so I mean because for me it's like hard to argue I mean what Jaden Daniels did this year as a rookie I'm like pretty solid you know and I think yeah all those guys that are coming out like the rookies actually impress me you know just the way that they can go out there and operate and play it at a high level at a young age but I do know what he means by that like you know you're just kind of bouncing around bouncing through college it's a different feel like we're you know I went to a school you guys went to a school and you're like feel good about that school try to learn everything there is to learn about that system and then and go from there You know, I think it's an individual case, like each player.

38:30But I am impressed by a lot of the guys that come out. And I'm like, I'm a fan of, I want those guys to have success. Like, I don't want the guys to come into the league. And I'm not the old guy that's like, no, you can't take, you know, don't have my job. You know, like I want you to fail. I'm like, man, I want the game to continue to be great. And I want those young guys to play well. So I was impressed by them. Awesome. Awesome. I think also it goes back to what you were saying. It's just a different game. 100%. When you come into the league nowadays, I just feel like, and this might be me being older thinking about this, but it feels like it's a younger game.

38:58Oh, yeah. It doesn't, like, I don't see the Ray Lewis's at linebacker where it's like intimidation. Yeah. You gotta be able to move. Where you're under center and you just, you're staring at Ray Lewis and you're like, okay, here we go. I know you're coming. 100%. Yeah, the game has changed. Yeah. They gotta be able to cover and do more in the passing game. Don't worry about Ray Lewis would probably still be good in today's NFL. Yeah, no doubt. Right. You know, Bobby Wagner. Yeah. You know, I mean, I think, um, But yeah, as the game changes, so do the positions. Yeah, there's not a million dudes doing what I do, like sitting in the pocket and throwing anymore.

39:32A lot of guys are moving around and making plays, and I'm jealous. I'm watching tape, and they're like, I know they just see man coverage, and they're like, I'm just going to run. I'm just going to run. And I'm like, that's an awful idea if I try to do that. Everybody's back is going to be turned. It's going to be second to 11. It's not good for us if I do that. So guys, get open. Do you ever watch the combine, any of the college games? I mean, I'll flip the combine on a little bit here and there. I watch some of the college games. I'm not like a huge college football guy. When it gets to the playoffs and the really good games, sure, I'll flick it on.

40:01But I'm not following a guy throughout the year. Now, I do watch those guys when they get into the league, like C.J. Stroud. I thought he had an unbelievable rookie year. A great rookie year. And I still think he had a tough year this year, but they had a ton of injuries around him and all that kind of stuff. Ruffins a lot of struggled. Yeah, and so they have – but I like watching the young guys play because it kind of like revitalizes me and invigorates me a little bit. Like, golly, these guys are out there just playing carefree, ripping it. But, you know, sometimes when you have, you know, a bunch of years of experience, you got some scars, too, right?

40:29I mean, these guys are just letting it rip into this coverage. And I'm like, I remember CJ threw a touchdown. I think it was a preseason game. He threw like a bang eight into like into three buzz right over the safety's head. And I was like, I saw him that year we played him or something or practice against him. I was like, what are you doing ripping the skate right there in the rotation for a touchdown? He's like, hey, man, they didn't play it right. and I'm like, shit, just to be carefree enough to be like, you know what, shoot it in there and score. I'm like, man, I'd have been going that way.

40:58You know, probably been second, six. We'd have been happy with the four-yard completion, but my man's dropping off the field with a touchdown. That is real. I mean, I noticed that even just for me, like you get resistant to something sometimes just because you've been burned on the floor. 100%. You're like, I don't really try. And then you'll watch somebody else do it, and all of a sudden it like works out. You're like, man, am I wrong in this? I know, I know. Like what's going on here? I mean, it sounds like yours is pretty black and white. but like the further you go no I'm with you the further you get in your career you got to fight that sometimes right for sure man like I know how they should be playing that defense yeah and they're not playing it right but like I went over here and this was open even though I shouldn't be you know what I mean you're like the teams that are really ultra like undisciplined on defense or don't want to give away any secrets but those are tough ones to play sometimes right because you're like you know you may get a freebie and score or whatever but um a lot of times man you you're passing something because you know the coverage and it's wide open because they blew it.

41:51Yeah, right. It's tough. It's tough when Calvin Johnson's double covered because you're like, man, he's double, but fuck, it is Calvin. Do you see anything when you're watching a young quarterback where like, oh man, he's got it? Or like, I guess, what would you see out of a trait in a guy that you like to see out of a quarterback? Yeah, I mean, I think poise is a huge one, right? Because I think that helps withstand time. I think quarterbacks, so much of it is longevity. How often can you do it? How many years in a row can you just go out there and be that player? And there's going to be times where things around you or you are battling something or wherever, and it may not be as good, but what are you when times are good, when times are bad?

42:35Also in-game, like, hey, it's fourth quarter, we need you. What does that look like? I think that's something to me that helps predict and project what guys are going to be like down the road because that's what they're all looking for. They don't want a guy to be really good for one year. They want him to be good for a long time. That's something to me that you look at what Jaden Daniels is able to do. Those guys, they proved it both through longevity of a season but also in-game, in big moments, being able to come up for the team is pretty cool. I forget. There was like 11 wins or something like that at the last drive.

43:08Yeah. I mean, there's all sorts of them, right? I mean, you had the massive Hail Mary that everybody remembers, but there were a bunch of other ones too that were great plays. Yeah. I got to ask this before we get to this next segment. Yeah. You played with two of the best D tackles in this decade plus of football, Aaron Donald and Dominic and Sue. Yeah. Who frightens you more as a quarterback? You know, spent more. I probably played more. I don't know. It might be kind of close. I was going to say I played more games against Aaron Donald than I did Sue, but I played quite a few against Sue there kind of at the end.

43:42I would say having, you know, experience with both ADs, it was a different deal. I agree. Because there was like the get off was crazy. I mean, he just wrecked practices. Sue was that way too in a lot of instances and was a great player for us in Detroit. And then, you know, bounced around and had some unbelievable seasons at other places too. but AD was something different. Just watching him go about his job every single day. I remember the third practice I was there in training camp, we have no pads on, and we're in a quick game. I'm throwing a hitch to the field, and I smash my thumb on his helmet, and I'm like, yo, I just caught the ball.

44:19It's like catch, throw, bang. And I'm like, and next thing you know, everybody had the guardian caps on. They're like, next time or something. But he was crazy in his ability. and I would say the respect that he got from offensive lines and other defenses was something I've never seen before. Yeah, I would agree with that. I mean, we treated him differently than any other defensive tackle that we ever played. And Sue was, I think Sue was like almost, he like wanted to kill somebody. Where AD wanted to kill somebody too, but it was like a different level of intensity. I agree. AD, though, his like motor, it was every single snap, every single play, you could not take a playoff.

44:57He never took a playoff. I don't know how he had that kind of conditioning to this day. The combinedness of his athleticism is explosive in strength. And he's a smart player, too. Yeah, he's a smart player. I mean, he knew. You talk to him. I get in the cafeteria, and you sit down, and you talk to him. And he's like, yeah, I knew if I wasn't doubled. If the center didn't come to me, it's run away. Yeah. Because the center comes to me every pass play. Yeah. And if the center comes to me, it's pass or it's run two. Yeah. Center goes away. Like, you're not blocking me with two. so he knew it was run away and then he's shooting a backside gap i mean like he was just like could make decisions and go like that that quickly for sure it was uh it was impressive to be around him and and watch him work i mean the way he worked out we had a uh um i'll never forget and he's crazy in the weight room oh i like the rock came in and worked out with him one time and they're freaking just fighting yeah i mean he's like he's a maniac in the weight room right and uh i'll never forget this was 21 or 22 maybe yeah we had like a make a wish kid who had like a year before had been like hey i want to my dream is to go like be with aaron novel for a day kind of thing and thankfully this kid at that point had kind of beaten the odds and had beaten the cancer that he had i believe and like was really on the mend and it was really cool like he came in and you're like oh man this guy's like doing good right high school kid like bigger kid uh like love to play football and ad was like cool come work out with me right and i'm like i'm walking by i'm like yo what is about to go down yeah right and i look over and like i'm over there doing like banded something like 30 minutes in and ad's just ripping curls out and this and this next thing you know this kid is puking in the trash can you please like have a little understanding like you got what he wanted you want to be a d you want to be a d it was unbelievable for months i'm like god can we just relax on the bicep curls for a little bit it's like how many do we do till we throw up you know what i mean just like unbelievable i was like this guy has no i mean the motor just never stops it was incredible i remember it was my first time I'm playing in L.A.

47:08against the Rams, and it was a preseason game. And I'm number three closest to the line. We're running all-go special. It's cover two, or at least I see two high. And I'm thinking I'm just right up the hash. And I take off, and I'm like, man, I'm just going to fucking dig for my first, like, five to ten yards. And by the time I got to the, like, five yards downfield, I felt something throw me to the numbers. And I got out of that play, like, fucking, like, little dazed. I'm like, what in the fuck was that? and I watched it on film and it was AD coming from the backside B gap and just fucking smoked me.

47:42Oh, I believe there was a blitz from the other side and I was just like, what the fuck? I had never felt like more of like, like the lightest thing. I had never moved that fast before ever in my life by anybody. I remember we were, I was in Detroit. We're playing a game against the Rams and there was St. Louis still at that point. Jim Bob was our coordinator and And I drop back to pass late in the game. We need to play. And Aaron, I have two hands on the ball, right, like this. And Aaron just comes up from behind me and just rips both my biceps apart. The ball falls down the ground. And I'm looking at him, and I'm like, I come over to the sideline.

48:17I'm like, I mean, I'm pissed. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm supposed to do there. He's like, you've got to find a way to hold on to it. I'm like, go fuck yourself, man. I'm like, you think I'm going to be able to hold on to this? This monster just jumped on. He just went like this and kindly separated my arms. He's like, I'll take the ball. And I was just like, what do I do? Oh, is that what I was supposed to do? Hold on to it. Got it. That's how this works. I was with Jim Bob. I'll never forget when he came up. We will probably cut this. Gotta tell it though. Tell it anyways. So I'm sitting there.

48:48We had just hired Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen and Jim Bob was on the staff. I had never met Jim Bob. Oh yeah. I didn't know about him in Detroit really. He comes up and he says, hey Jason, my name's Jim Bob Cooter. And I fucking laugh.

49:05like audibly like a giggle yeah and i'm like oh oh that's fucking real

49:15awesome fucking dude he's a great dude all-time name it caught me just so off guard like i was like what the are we like in varsity blues right now 100 % 100 % You know he's got like The name matches I think his like His childhood home Backed up to the Jack Daniels distillery Like as it should Of course it did With a name like Jim Bob Cooter It better Are you kidding me? Back up to Jack Daniels So yeah he's He's one of a kind Alright let's get into This last segment brother We gotta ask Yeah we gotta ask You can tell us to fuck off You don't gotta answer Okay But yeah we always Wrap it up with With you We got to ask, but you don't have to answer.

49:58Oh, fuck. We got to ask is brought to you by Mentos Gum. Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, ah. Why are you trying to? Because you're doing the same note. No, it's not. You're doing the same note. I'm doing a different note. Do your note. No. Ah. Ah. See? Yeah, you were different that time. It sounded terrible. That time you were different. Because I did the same note that time. Ah. Ah. Go high.

50:30That was close. That was it. That was it. I'm done. All right. Yeah, no, this would be easy. This would be easy. Rapid fire, too. You don't even got to think about it. Am I elaborating on these answers? Am I just one-wording? Yeah, you can listen. No, whatever feels right. Just hit me with the question. Let's fucking go. Yeah, that's right. As of 2024, the only remaining active players in the NFL from 2009 draft class are you and Jets punter Thomas Morstead. Morstead. Morstead. Yes. The E-A-D can be It's a tough one Read, read, you know what I'm saying 100 % My first grade daughter Hunter is doing those words right now C-C, read, read 100 % it's a real deal bro I don't know who created this fucking language Do you plan to do whatever it takes to outlast Morstia?

51:19I've been waiting for him to just wither away at some point but he just keeps going He's a machine We actually played the Jets this year. It's funny you say this. We played the Jets this year. I was unaware that Thomas was an 09 draft pick. Did he fucking challenge you? Post game, he fucking came up to me. He was like, yo, can I get a picture? We're like the only two guys still doing it. So yeah, it was nice to get a picture with my guy. It'll be the last one. Yeah, right? Don't ever ask me for a picture again.

51:51I love it. But no, I mean, he's got a gig that promotes longevity. so we'll see. I don't know if I can keep going but he probably can. Yeah, he can keep going forever. I don't like my odds. Do you have a favorite throw? One is tough to come up with. I mean like throwing a fade to Cooper to win the Super Bowl was pretty awesome. The play earlier in that drive to throw the in-breaker I had where I kind of looked him off was another good one. Those are the two that come to mind and then weirdly enough the three that hit me first were all to him but the the one in tampa in the divisional round when they brought the zero pressure on the two minute drive and i just he's running like a vertical push to clear out for a dagger yeah and i like caught it backside safety whenever i was like oh my god this is zero and just boom launch that one fade away um those three are pretty good ones because they were like high leverage high leverage moments right like there's some cool ones that you know you're getting blown out or you're winning big but those were high leverage moments and and uh was able to make it happen alright now you have a submission from Andrew Whitworth recently told a story big win oh great he said one time you threw a bomb to Van Jefferson against Arizona I don't know if you remember this play okay where you said you said fucking die as you threw it yeah that was a good one that was a good one that too was a good one you like called like nothing but net yeah Kobe it was a good one yeah it came out of the hand good and I was like Oh, this is going to be sweet.

53:22And I'll never forget. J.J. Watt was on the sideline. He wasn't playing that game. He was hurt. And I, like, threw it and kind of, like, spun around. And, like, for some reason, you know, I'm kind of cruising down their sideline. And I, like, lock eyes to, like, see him. And I'm like, oh, got him. And I was like, also, thank God you're not playing. Would not have been able to get that one off. Would have been way harder with you in front of me. But, yeah, that was a good one. Van, when he got that one, that was kind of like a cool, like, play action half boot that we had put in maybe that week or week before and hit it.

53:51It was sweet. That's awesome. Yeah, it was a cool one. Who put in the fake spike? In Dallas? Yeah. Oh, my God, that was not put in, Coach. That wasn't? No. That was just you just swinging a spike? Yes. Well, I was like, so we throw a seam ball to Calvin in the play before, and I thought he got in. Everybody thought he got in. Riley Reif was our left tackle at the moment, and he's celebrating like WWE style on the 50, like, oh. His back is to me. I'm screaming high-pitched like a girl, like, get over here yeah and so everybody's kind of waiting for riley to get back from his celebration and uh so i'm standing at the line of scrimmage and i've got time to kind of like look yeah there's like 12 seconds left on the clock and the d line's just like chilling in a stance yeah sean lee was kind of just chilling at mike linebacker which is very unlike him because he was very much what a monster oh my god he's good super smart me too he was tough but uh so i had time to kind of see it happening and i'm like fuck it i'm just gonna go like i'm not gonna let them call another play yeah we had you know just a spike or a kill it whatever you want to call it we had that called and then i just decided to go for it myself and thank god it worked out all right that would have been a tough one yeah all-time fail had it not worked well it did yes was your return to detroit the wildest atmosphere you've ever played in um yeah i i would say so i think yeah both times really like uh the playoff game was crazy that was that was wild because we ran out for pre-game warm-ups and the place was just packed and just booing the shit out of me and which is whatever but um but yeah it was uh that was a loud loud game um and then we came back you know for the opener the next year and it was crazy loud again they uh they support when they're rolling they support man it's it's wild they're not fucking around no it's especially dome city too Oh, man.

55:39Yes. They were rocking and rolling. That shit gets rowdy. Yeah. Both of those were, you know, night games, so had ample time to, you know - Look her up. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Get ready to rock and roll, so they were - We're going to remove any type of barrier we have to congenialness. What the fuck did you just say? All right. I'm going to stop talking. All right. I knew where you were going. To being nice. Yes. There we go. What do we got? You're a father of four girls. Yes. As I am about to be. Yes. You got any advice? buckle up no it's uh it's a blast man you know we saw each other not too long ago and was talking about it it's uh it's a blast man my seven year olds will soon be eight uh six and a four so we're like rocking and rolling we're in leotards all the time doing gymnastics around the house it's crazy so um i don't know man i at this point i'm like i don't even know what i would do with a boy like i don't even i can't even wrap my head around it so i'm just like i'm all in on the girls throw on that pigskin.

56:38I'm slinging, man. It's me. I'm not going to figure it out. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. I don't really know, though. You can definitely figure it out, but I mean, changing a diaper with a nut sack there just feels like it would be weird. Agreed. Agreed. Yeah, like wiping shit up a nut sack. Like, I don't want to be a part of that. I'm with you. I'm with you 100%. You got to shine those nuts, man. You got to shine those things, man. Where are we at? Baby nut sacks, I think, is where we left out. Yeah, I think that's where we stopped. We're on baby nut sacks. We'll back on the nut sacks. I don't know why that's in the rundown.

57:07No, I'm kidding. Your former offensive coordinator, Kevin O 'Connell, told a story about a game before he was head coach where QB fell down a skinny staircase at Lambeau? Do you recall this? Yeah, well, that. Was that QBU? No? No. Oh, shit. We've narrowed down the suspects. That was the guy before me. Oh, shit. That was JG. Oh, no. I guess that's why I was obviously not there for it, but allegedly he had a. monster spill down those you know those like fuck yeah oh yeah that's old school yeah yeah he uh i guess he took a spill i don't know i wasn't there for it but that's not a fun way to start your day at lambo it's gonna be tough enough already yeah he's bounced back yeah yeah he's great do you feel you've gotten you haven't gotten enough credit for uh the no look passes coming common in the nfl uh you know i don't i don't care too much I'm not keep a credit meter if whether I'm getting enough or not.

58:05But no, that for me, those started when I played with Calvin because everybody in the building knew I was trying to throw him the ball. And so I was like, all right, how do I get all these guys off my scent a little bit? And so I'm trying to move backers and when they're like just sending all the zone coverage right there and I'm trying to like maneuver it. So it kind of started then. Sure. Like, all right, how do I still get this guy the ball? and so you know it obviously evolved into more tactical use of spreading it around a little bit but I don't ever think about it it just kind of happens organically I mean I know you know Pat does them and and it's not at least for me like I'm not like talking about it you know you just kind of feel it and you're playing the game and uh sometimes you feel like you need to move somebody and uh you move them yeah there you go I'm with you it's that easy just don't look where you're throwing the ball yeah it just freezes everybody for a second yeah exactly right well we got you here the first time we met you yeah was out in georgia yeah the lake yes dude what was your first impression of a guy like jason kelsey jesus christ you know i remember i feel like and shout out to the air force boys yeah man they know how to go you let those guys out and look out yes they'd be like we've been just doing pt for the last six months haven't seen anything and they walk out and it's like, chicks in the bikinis in a boat.

59:23It's like, oh. I was like, whoa. We gotta back up. But these dudes were, they were rocking and rolling, man. They were fun. But it was, those were great times, simpler times. Dude, it was so fun. South Lake Lanier, man. Yeah, man. We gotta do another trip. They were trying to run it back at some point. I'm like, golly, man. It would be hard now. It's gonna take a lot out of me. Yeah. You know what I mean? But it was 10 years straight they did that. 10 years. I think I was there for nine of them or ten of them. Started on like a Mastercraft wakeboard boat and then graduated into a giant houseboat.

59:56Full on triple decker houseboat. Jesus. Before we get out of here, I got to have you read this from my former teammate and one of my favorite teammates of all time, Darius Slay. Oh, love Slay. He said, I guess you were known to pick on DBs occasionally. And this is a quote from Darius after the Eagles-Rams playoff game. I got you. That one. I'm not that old. I have good eyes. You don't have to zoom in here. So sorry. It was fun as hell until he started trying me the last two drives. Like, God damn, staff. Like, damn. Calm the fuck down. Like shit. This is so slay. This is so on brand. That's why.

1:00:37I know you've been slinging this motherfucker. Sling that motherfucker somewhere else. Well, Darius, I'm sorry. I just had to do something. I was trying to fight back, man. You guys were kicking our ass. So it was, I love playing against him. I played against him, you know, quite a few times since, you know, we've both been gone from Detroit. And he is, what a great teammate. What a stud. You know, wish him nothing but the best. I love getting to, you know, compete against him. He's a man. That's it. That's We Gotta Ask. And that was brought to you by Mento's Gum. I think that's all we got, brother.

1:01:07I appreciate it. No, thank you, brother. No, you guys are the fucking great. I appreciate it. 92 % of Matthew Stafford. Yeah, baby. Let's go, baby. Appreciate you coming through, brother. You got it, man. Best of luck this year. Appreciate it. Thank you. All right. All right. All right. Now let's wrap this episode up with some, uh, no dumb questions. No dumb questions is brought to you by American express. That's right. Only doing one of these today. Uh, since we had a, a good interview, we're just going to pick what, uh, sounds interesting. And we are brothers. We didn't really prank each other growing up, but, um, that's the topic for this one.

1:01:40Hey guys, it's Willis in South Carolina. Hey Willie. And I'm not a parent, but I do have two younger brothers. I'm in college. They're in middle school. And I'm babysitting them for about a week and a half coming up in like a month. And I want to pull some pranks on them. But I don't know what to do because I'm not a very good pranker. But I want to get better at it because, you know, let's have some fun. I don't want to do anything too cruel. Like, I don't want to traumatize them. But also, like, let's have some fun. So what are your favorite pranks to pull on like a middle school age boy? Thank you so much.

1:02:14Sorry. Willow, let me tell you about a game called Poop Dollar, all right? Here's what you're going to want to do. Poop Dollar is a great one. You're going to want to get... It's not cool at all. You're going to want to get their middle school. I feel like a dollar works still for a middle schooler, right? What? 100%. Yeah. Take a dollar. A$5 would get them excited, but they actually, they still might keep the dollar. Yeah, if you really want to, like, really get them,$20 bill. Yeah. That'll for sure work. It's going to take some dirty work, though, so you want to go get some hospital gloves. Get some gloves.

1:02:42Glove up for this. hopefully you have a pet that's easiest case scenario if not just go to the park yeah or you can do it yourself but I'm gonna guess we've never gone that far yeah we haven't done that yet you're gonna want to take a$20 bill fold it in like a u shape roam your backyard for some type of dropping of excrement of some kind take the u shape so the bill only not your hand will bill only But you got gloves just in case. You smush it right in the middle of the bill. Now you have it in the middle of the bill. Fold that puppy over on top of each other. Set it down where the boys are going to be.

1:03:20You know they're going to wander by. They're going to pass by. Yep. It's going to be enticing. You got to be around, though. So you got to camp out. You got to hide out. You have to be there while they pick it up or you're not going to be as satisfied. Yes. And you're going to want to leave it so that they discover it, pick it up, and then find out that lo and behold there's poop inside of it and you scream poop dollar so that'll work that's a good one that's a great one for middle school boys or really boys of any age yeah um men grow men that gets them too i would say another one that we we knew about that we didn't really partake in as much um but um icy hot in the jock strap always works so you can go icy hot in the it's Kind of cruel, but it takes about an hour to wear off.

1:04:08Chris Pessick got me in ice hockey. There you go. Yeah, of course I do. So the freshmen used to have to unload the buses or something like that. And we had like a loss or something like that. And I was trying to get the hell out of there. Didn't unload the bus. Came back the next day. Put my jock strap on. Went out on the ice. Not a fun day. Yeah. Both icy and hot. Just as it. Nothing icy about it. It was pure hot. Zero ice to it. Yeah, it can feel a little cruel. And if they don't wear jock straps, I mean, just the boxers work. Yep. Boxers work just as good. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't do that. That's too far to me, Willow.

1:04:45But what are some other good ones? We're just not great pranksters. We didn't do a lot of pranking. If you have one of those, like, hoses that, like, you got to squish on the, squeeze, like, on the sink. Put a little rubber band around that so that when they turn the faucet on, it just sprays them right in the face. It's a good one. What are some other good pranks? You can booby trap them. You can always booby trap them. Get a balloon full of whipped cream or something like that. They open a door, all of a sudden smacks them right in the face. That takes some good work. You got to be kind of handy with a tool in your hand.

1:05:22Where's she from? South Carolina. South Carolina. Are there alligators in South Carolina? I'm sure they ventured up there. I mean if it's a pool day get an alligator duct tape its mouth closed and throw it in the pool yeah well good luck with that they're not that strong at opening their mouth they're only strong at closing it so it's duct tape will hold it you'll be good yeah that sounds terrifying it'll be very scary though wait for them to be around their friends and then just pants them yeah yeah Yeah, got nothing for you other than they will hate you forever. Please let us know what you ended up doing.

1:06:04We can't wait to hear how you pranked these little twin fuckers in middle school. Yeah. So that does it for No Dumb Questions brought to you by American Express. All right, and that wraps up another episode of New Heights. Thank you to Matthew Stafford for joining the show. What an awesome conversation that was. So much fun. Awesome to relink after all these years. Hell yeah. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube to the New Heights channel and follow New Heights on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

1:06:36Don't you forget to hit up Wondery on the Wondery app, baby. Once again, New Heights, a Wondery show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment and brought to you by Nike. When the world says you can't win, Nike says, so win. Follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with one ask for fun clips throughout the weeks. and thanks to our production and crew and thank you to the 92 percenters as always we will see you next week peace

1:07:12can we get a harmonization what are you going to start off do do do do do do you want me to go down lower Yeah, go lower. I can't do that one. Where you at? I either got to go real low. Where you at?

1:07:37All right, so I'm up there. All right, go. Wait, hold on. Now you're doing the whole thing? Yeah, I'm going to try and... All right. Where's my ending note again? Well, now you're higher. All right, fuck this. I can't find where you're at. You got to go, Jason. I have no idea where you're at. You're all over the place. I'm not a, this is why I don't do music.