Club Shay Shay - Best of NFL News Part 1: Deshaun Watson QB1, Nick Chubb RETIRES, Fernando Mendoza struggles

Episode Date: August 26, 2026

Shannon Sharpe, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, and Joe "King Iso" Johnson bring you the Best of NFL on Nightcap! The crew reacts to Deshaun Watson being named the Browns' starting quarterback and his apology to Cleveland fans, Nick Chubb retiring from the NFL at just 30 years old and much more! Subscribe to Nightcap presented by PrizePicks so you don’t miss out on any new drops! Download the PrizePicks app today and use code SHANNON to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/NI... 0:00 - Deshaun Watson named starting QB for Browns28:20 - Fernando Mendoza vs Texans41:58 - Nick Chubb retires from NFL at age 3056:57 - Falcons haze Rookie (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) #ClubSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Stay for the story. Jalen Johnson, the bearer's outstanding cornerback. He'll be joining us a little bit later. But first, the news of the day, Deshaun Watson has been named the starter for week one versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here's Todd Munkin and the decision and how he arrived at that decision. how Deshawn is going to start against Jacksonville, took in the full body of work over the course of offseason to training camp to the games, the joint practice, and ultimately felt like to start the season on the road. Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and score points.

I mean, that's really what it's about. And felt that way going on in the last game, but wasn't sure. and after we talked as a staff and after we re-looked at everything, we're going to go that direction. Munkin said, Deshaun gave us the best chance to move the ball and the score points. Well, here's the stat line versus the bills.

Five or 12, 36 yards. Zero points, one interceptions. Given Ocho, you felt this way the entire off-season. You said if they don't release Deshaun by June 1st, Deshawn was going to start because that's too much money involved. Guys that make that kind of money don't sit the bench. at least, at least to start the season. And so you've always felt this way.

I felt they should have released him into offseason. And then once I realized, like, hold on, this thing is going to cost them somewhere between $185 and $100 million in dead cap space immediately. I say, nah, he ain't going nowhere. But he starts the season. Todd Monkey says he believes Deshaun gives them the best opportunity to score points on the road and win ball games.

Their first two games, if I'm not mistaken, they start on the road. Ocho, you're not going to be surprised by this decision, but what do you think really went to the decision? He said he and the staff, I don't believe he had any say in this. I think it came above his pay grade, and they made a decision, and he says, okay, me and my staff made this decision. Listen, I told you, obviously the coach, I'm not saying he's a puppet. I'm not saying that, but I knew all along.

I knew all along for one other Joe that Deshaun was going to start, simply because of the money that's owed to him this season. That's it. So understanding that, Todd Munkin is in a tough position. You can't answer the question like he really wants to answer it, you know? You're saying that based on his performance and we feel he gives us our best chance to win, but if you look at the numbers, that's not the person that gives you the best chance to win. You know the call is coming from upstairs.

And I understood that call will come upstairs based on the person that writes that check. You're going to have the person that's making the most money as the starting quarterback for our team. And I said it as soon as before the season started. When they went to training camp, I said it's Deshawn Watson job. lose. It's his job to lose. So they're going to allow him to start, and they had two games on the road. I'm hoping, I'm not sure what's going to happen with those two games, hoping he looks to par. But if he doesn't, that first, their first home game, the third game of the season, if it's not going well, at that point, the change will be made. Mark my words. I haven't been wrong yet since basketball

season. I haven't been wrong yet. Oh, man, here we go. Listen to me to me, Joe. Stay with me. Joe, I know you frustrated because you ain't been right yet, but I'll tell you. I'm not trying to be rude or nothing. If the third game does not go the way it should, a change will be made going into week four. I'm telling you right now ahead of time. So you think a change will become as soon as week three? Don't even give him a chance to...

You're saying, okay, the only way Deshaun can get through this, Ocho, is if he come out there, 2 and Ocho. And guess what? Guess what, game three, they still going to booing. Yes. They still going to be it. Hold on.

One in one. One in one, he ended up clear nine. Yeah. Nah, they're going to boo. I don't care what happened, Ocho. They're going to boo their man. Joe, we don't care about the booing. He can got time to be worried about no booing.

Did you hear his press conference, man? Joe, it's football season. He don't have time to be worried about no booing. You got to go in there and perform. That's it. I agree. I agree. I agree.

They're going to boo, no matter what. But only thing that cures Boing is winning and performing. That's it. And if you perform well, the wins will come. The boing will stop. Hey, if I'm Miles Garrett,

I'm in L.A. with my feet kicked up, got a pin of collada jumping. You hear me? He got that here to heal. I'm so glad to be out this mess, man. I can't, hey, hey, listen. I still can't understand that

Arche, Ocho. I mean, I understand that the guy make a lot of money, but Ty Munkin said he gives them the best chance. to put points on the board. That's a damn lie. That's a lie.

It's a lie, Ocho. He ain't put no point. He didn't put any points on the board. He had an opportunity. That's what I'm trying to say, man. So this preseason is, look up. How many times of a scoring drive has Deshawn scored?

How many points have they scored? It's not like they scored a bunch of the end with, but. So it's kind of, it's kind of hard for me to believe anything that ain't monke and say from here on now. He said it was performance base. Nah. You know what, guys? This strikes me as a decision, Ocho, Joe, as that I'm wrong and I don't want to admit I'm wrong.

So you know what? Let me ride this. Bro, we already gave him $230 million. He has a poison pill in his contract that if he's on their roster, March 13th is $200 million fully guaranteed again, Ocho. It's okay. I love a coach that will admit when he's wrong. He said, you know what? Coach Belichick was notorious for that.

He'll move on off you. Sean Payton says, you know what? I didn't give Russell Wilson this money, but this is not the quarterback for us. I'll admit when I'm wrong. Green Bay says we understand and we appreciate what Aaron Rogers have done for us. Four MVP, a Super Bowl MVP,

and he's going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. There is no question about that. But right now it's time to move on. It seems to me that Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Andrew Barry, they're not ready to move on. The fan base does not want this. The fan base is what pays all the bills. Well, a lot of the bills, not all the bills, a lot of the bills.

They've made it abundantly clear. I wish Deshawn nothing but the best. I hope he can go out there and perform and get some, have some resemblance of himself. I don't see, it's just hard for me to see a guy that's played five years and had 19 games in five years ever getting back to what he once was. And in this league, you can't be half of yourself and be as good as you once were. And so I think it's going to be uphill climb for him.

I agree with you, Joe. It's just going to be hard for Todd Monkin to convince that locker room that this was his decision. I know it sounds like, you know, well, we and the staff got together, but it's just hard for me to believe. Deshaun is a better part of one touchdown drive all season. If I'm not mistaken, that was the first drive. That was the first game they played.

They ended up getting a touchdown on one of the drives that he was the quarterback in. But, hey, if I'm Deshaun, Uncle Ocho, I'm just looking at this. Obviously, I'm taking it one game at a time. But I know this leash I got. I know it's short. You know what I mean? Hey, man, I'm going balls to the wall. I ain't going to lie to you.

You know, when I watched Deshaun played throughout this preseason Uncle Ocho, he hasn't seen, it seemed like every pass that he makes pressure on him. You know what I mean? He don't look like he real comfortable and fluent in their pocket and just, you know what I mean? it's like everything that he does, he's like methodical with it, and it's like he's telegraphing. Man, you got to, hey, you got to open up the floodgates

and get the going, young fella. At least you got an opportunity, bro. That's how I can look at it. And if I'm sure do it, hey, man, you got to keep being patient, home boy. You got to keep being patient. Keep being patient and stay ready. Shoulder time is going to come.

It's going to come, especially if things don't go right. You know, those first three weeks, the first three weeks, that time is going to come sooner, you know, rather sooner than later. For DeShan, I think it's imperative that is supporting cash, play to the best of their abilities. When it comes to those receivers, always been in the right place. Always been in the right place on time,

doing everything within the scheme of the offense, running backs, tight ends. I mean, you know, Fannie going to do his thing. At the receiver position, Concepcion, everyone else that's been looking good in training camp, they have to be on point. Deshawn Watson is only going to be as good as his support cad. Jerry Judy.

Well, he needs you. If there's any time you need to show a resemblance of how you look, when you was that Alabama, it's now. It's now to ensure that your quarterback is on point, because he's only going to go as far as they do. That's, that's it. He can only control so much. So it's up to him, you know, it's up for his supporting cast to go out there and show out

and for Deshaun not to be gun shy. Don't be gun shy. You got to play football. I don't know. Yeah. I agree with Joe. He just had to look comfortable when he's, thrown to football, Ocho.

Everything is just, it doesn't, he doesn't look smooth, he doesn't look like the Deshawn that I'm used to seeing, and I don't know what causes that. Look, I don't think his offensive line is very good, so whomever is back at quarterback is going to be under duress a lot during this season. Those first two games, Jacksonville

in the state of Florida, I don't know, maybe they come home, maybe they stay down there because it's Jacksonville and then right down the road, it's Tampa. So I don't know how they're going to handle that situation, but both of those teams, I think, especially Jacksonville, can get after your quarterback. Tampa, not so much, but they are very, very physically, a very sound fundamental football team on the defensive side of football. Baker is looking to make a name for himself. We're going to see what first. I'm not

concerned about their defense. The defense is the last thing that's on my mind when it comes to Cleveland. But I do know this. If the offense continuously goes three and out, it'll wear that defense down and then the team's offensive teams will have their way with that defense. That's just the way it goes. I'm scouring and looking. I think everybody is shocked by this decision based on how Deshaun is played. I don't think anybody thought that it's like, oh man, this is a great decision.

Deshaun was so much better. And it's like, well, Deshaun, Shador wasn't that much. I just think me, Ocho and Joe, I just think it's really, really hard for someone to show you how much better they are and someone else when we're splitting the reps. Because the one thing, yeah, the football player

as an athlete, you need rhythm. And it's hard to get rhythm, mocho. You go three plays, I go three plays. You go two plays, I go two plays. You get one, I get one. It's just hard for me to get a rhythm like that. I'm used to go in seven, eight plays. And then maybe the last two plays,

the backup comes and get in. It's just hard. I'm going to have to take Todd Monkin at his word, although I don't believe it. But I'll take it. Hey, he says that he and his staff sat down, and this was the decision that they came up with. but and Lord forgive me if I'm wrong.

I really want you to forgive me if I'm wrong. But it's just hard pressed for me to believe that this decision then come from Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Andrew Barry. Hey, I told you it was coming from them. I mean, listen, I wish both all the luck. You know, I would love for Shador to be starting. I would love to see him in there. He's exciting, you know, for that fan base,

for that city in general, the energy that he does bring. the hope, you know, when he is on the center, because you know, you never know what's going to happen. He's going to push that ball down the field, you know, some of those plays. But Deshaun is a starter, and I'm wishing him none but the best either, unless they plan us. You know, that's about it. I know one thing. But whoever's calling the plays, you got to play the Sean's strengths. Whatever those strengths are, I'm not there practice with him.

I'm not able to watch film. Like Unc said, it's hard for him to see him looking like he did five years ago, only playing 19 games in a five-year span. can bring any of those flashes of how he looked when he was in Houston, the Browns are going to be in good hands. If he can't, at least he's going to be real. The leash is already short. So. Of the 50 quarterbacks with at least 15 starts is Deshaun Watson joined the Browns in 2022.

Only Will Levis has a lower QBR. Will Levis is 28. So basically 29. Deshaun Watson is 33.1. Cam Ward is 33.2. Zach Wilson is 34. Davis Mills is 38.6. So only Will Levin.

So that's So that's supposed to improve That's supposed to improve And get better this season, right? Ocho say, I don't know what you want to do, Joe. I'm asking. Oh, Joe, I didn't make the decision. I just told you what the decision

that was going to come down. I just kind of told you what it was going to be. I didn't make the decision. That's it. That's all I can do, Joe. That's all I can do. You know, I'm not saying I'm Ocidamus. I'm not saying I'm Cleo.

I'm not saying I can predict the future because I can predict the future. you know, I give you the lottery number so you can win because I want to bless you in that way and that manner. Okay. I just understand the dynamics and how those folks think up there. That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying. Ari Mirov says part of the thought process behind name of Deshaun Watson,

the Brown starting quarterback, the opening season two road games at Jacksonville and Tampa before returning home week three. That would give Watson two games to prove himself away from a fan base if he struggles. Shoulder could take over in front of a home crowd after the booze, Watson received on Saturday. Albert Breard, the decision for the Browns came down to a full body of work. Deshawn was better and more consistent over time before a tough day Saturday and practice well against the bills on Thursday. The other thing that I've said along is either for Watson and Sanders and other way around. If it doesn't work, Cleveland fans can pivot.

But he was better. Wow, he's more consistent. So why were you posting those stats? Because when we look at the stats, the stats were saying, Shadour had three touchdowns, no interception. When you look at the stats, the stats said,

Shadourd was 16 or 23? So what was the stats flawed? I mean, but you also have to understand. The numbers tell one story. But completely as a whole, based on the way they're evaluating, you know, they're valuating more than just the numbers.

Obviously, they have to be. Because if you're based off the numbers, then, you know, Shadu would be starting if that's it. But there's so many other variables that come into play when it comes to them not just evaluating the quarterback, but there are other things as well. What those other things are, I don't know, because we're not in no time.

Getting the ball out of your hand. Yeah. Throw the very important quarterback. Joe, you wanted to say something? Nah, no, no, I mean. Joe, you seem upset about it. You've been heard about this, man. No, I ain't hurt Arcan Ocho, but I just knew Cleveland's fan base.

I knew they were going to be ticked off behind this, bro. They've been in the uproar behind this. Oh, yeah. And I just feel like if there's ever been pressure on somebody as an athlete, hell, it's on Deshaun right now, bro. Regardless of how you feel about it, Arcan Ocho, he has an opportunity to put up a shut up. Hey, man, I just feel like even if they go back to Cleveland up to O. Oh, that's not coming down.

You asked me too much. It's still going to be bad. I'm just keeping it real. I'm just hypothetically speaking. I think it's still going to be bad. Yeah, I don't see. You're asking a bit much to go back to it. Two and all, Joe, after two row starts.

Now, it couldn't happen. It couldn't happen. Hey, all of a sudden. Hey, let me tell you something, Uncle, Joe. The way the football guys work. Yeah. Football works in general when it comes to teams, nobody is really hitting their full stride.

Nobody's on hitting on all cylinders. I think defenses are a little ahead of the curve when it comes to the beginning of the season because all they have to do is read and react. It takes offenses a little bit more time to get themselves going to find that rhythm, to find that continuity where they're really comfortable, but they're going to know what they're going to do.

So I don't know, man. But if they can, if they could jump out of the gate, 2 and 0. Man, they pressure. They're bringing pressure. because I think most teams don't believe that Cleveland Browns have a competent offensive line and they don't believe either quarterback handles pressure well where we don't get an opportunity to cease your door

unless something unforeseen were to happen to, Deshaun, and we hope that doesn't happen. With that being said, I think Jacksonville pressure. Jacksonville is, and Liam Coley is going to dial it up. Now, he has his work cut out for it because the best part of the Cleveland Brown's team is their defense. Offensively, they leave a lot to be desired. Jacksonville field they're better than what they were.

you know, Travis Hunter comes back healthy. He's going to play one side of the football. Now, obviously, potentially as the season progresses, they will have built-in packages for Trav to do show some of his offensive prowess. But I think right now, I think this is the right thing to do. Ocho, you and I, we always felt this was the right thing to do. Start him at the defensive back and build packages,

not just, okay, you're playing defense, then you come right back, play offense. You play in defense, you play right, come back, and play offense. Let him focus on that side of the ball. Let him match. or something before you try to throw it in and try to do all this stuff. There have been a lot of great athletes to play this game.

Very few. I don't know, especially in the last 40 years, that have played offense and defense consistently and played them at a high elite level. So we're going to see how that plays out. But it's just, hold. There's a video going viral of Deshaun Watson taking QB refs in today's practice. Take a look at this.

Yeah. Somebody missed. I missed the hot. I would get me to say that. Hey, as soon as I seen the ball come out that fast, somebody hit me. Hold on.

So who far was that? Why receiver? You see the guy off the edge come on the blitz? You hide. You run a slam. Or stop, Raup. Hey, matter of fact,

you know what? I shouldn't say that. I shouldn't say that. That might not be, you know what? Go ahead, Ocho. Go ahead. You're going to say.

It's universal. If the man is off, you either run the slam or you run the hitch right away so he can get the ball out of his hand. If he's bump and run, and it's a high route, what you got to,

when it's got a high ride. Take the top off of it. Got to go. So that also could still be on the sign. That could be. I just know somebody screwed up because the guy walked to the edge, that's an extra guy.

They can't block it. So they brought more than you can block. They need a side of jazz. If he's off, you're running to stop. I don't you're saying. If you're off, you're running to stop, the hitch route, smoke.

Yeah. Smoke route or, hey. Yeah. You don't do that because that's universal. So you already know it's already understood. So, Somebody, somebody, the quarterback and the receiver, need to get on the same page.

We can't have that. That's installed. That's day one. Day one, yeah. All I know is when Todd Munkett had his first camp back in March, they put this in. Hold on.

OTA. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. His first practice, because, you know, new coaches get three practices. So this first practice, that had to be installed. So the guys pressed, you're more times than not. you're going to run a go route, the guy's press.

You got to go. And you want to because they bring in pressure. Yeah. I'm not, and you know, somebody said, well, he might have been trying to throw a back shoulder. Unless you or Matthew, Stafford, or Aaron Rogers with Devante, I'm not running no back shoulder. I'm taking the top off.

I don't want a 20-yard completion. I'm going to be honest with you, Ojo and Joe. I don't want a 20-yard completion. I want a 40-yard touchdown. You don't throw back shoulder in that scenario. You got to get that ball at the end. You got a man flying free with nobody blocking that coming around. You ain't got time for that.

Oh, Joe, I'm just trying to give people some scenarios. Like, I don't want to put it all. I don't want to put it all on Deshaun without knowing, okay, what's your concept? I just know the way we ran it, like what you explained it. If the corner was off, it's a stop route. but the problem is a lot of times corners don't want to play off because the ball comes out quick and he face you up he's going to the house because he's going to make you miss

unless you're an exquisite unless you're really, really good at tackling in the open field. And that man got a two-way go. He can go inside and he can go out. Good luck getting him on the ground. That's why they like the pressure. They know more times than not 95% of the time.

Let's go 99% of the time. If he's pressed and the bliss is coming, do you know that ball coming up? Mm-hmm. He knows that ball coming up. Hey, so Jacksonville probably going to play a lot of, they're probably going to send a lot of pressure at Deshaun. Right. Because first of all, I don't think the line is good even if we don't pressure.

Now, there could be a situation, Joe, where they don't pressure because they feel they can get home with a customary four-man rush. And now we leave guys in coverage. But you know what? I don't feel like Deshaun is as athletic as he once was. I think his body has been through a lot with the shoulder injury, the Achilles injury. Yeah, I'm going to take my chances.

I'm going to give him a heavy diet, but I'm going to see how well he handled the pressure. Not only how well he handles the pressure, how well do the receivers be able to get open. That's always been in the case. Because you know, if they're sitting in pressure, you know they're going to have somebody right up, man to man, right in your face.

Yeah. Can you feed me man to man? if you can't beat me man to man and you can't get open, Joe, well, in this junk show the season right now, Joe, if you can't beat man to man, you're either selling cars or coaching. All the coaching staffs are filled up. I don't know any general manager.

They know some general manager that will give them a job as a salesman. So guess what? You out of the league. Yeah. If you cannot beat man coverage as a wide receiver in NFL, there are two choices for you. Selling cards are coaching.

Now, which one do you want to do? Yeah. I mean, they're going to have some plays, Joe, but they, you know, they scheme people open, you know, help them out a little bit, you know. But we're going to see. I'm saying they got some talent over there. I know them guys young as far as Concepcion, Boston,

Fannie. Yes, yes, yes. What's the running back? What's the running back? It's like they got some talent, right? They ain't like they ain't got no talent. Junkins, yeah. But I think the problem is,

where you least talented might be the offensive line, which is where you need the most talent. Because you need to be able to protect Deshaun and you need to be able to create lanes for your running back to run in. So the problem that they might have, Joe, is that where they're least talented is the offensive line, which in turn will cause you the most problem as an offense.

It would have been interesting to know. I just, that ball came out like, I don't know what Deshaun was thinking. I mean, if you got, whatever you got, whatever you got called on. And that blitz comes, it's automatically to adjust. Everybody got it adjusted.

You can't run that same, you can't run that same, right? And the ball came out so quick. It definitely couldn't have been that quick out. No, hell no. I mean, but the ball came out so fast. He hit his hands. He hits, then you let it go. Run that, rewrite that, let's see.

Because that might have been, that ball had to come out. He's in gun. Oh, no, that's, that's, that's, that's, he's in the gun. That's three steps. That's a fade, Joe. You see, he's already in the gun. So he's already, because normally a go route is five step and let the ball go. We threw it 42 and four.

42 yards deep, four yards from the sideline. That play right there, he's already in the gun. That's if you're under center. Five steps, no hitch, let the ball go. In this situation, you're already in the gun. So you're already three yards back, three steps back. And you see Deshaun, he catches the football basically, one, two, boom, balled out.

Well, you might have been trying to back shoulder. That's what I was thinking. But I don't know. And like I said, Ocho, you want a 20-yard completion or 40-yard touchdown? I think I know what you want. Yeah. Yeah. I think I have a pretty good idea of what you want.

It'll be interesting to see. I mean, look, I'm sure that's something they can go back and go back over. It's like, look, we got to be. I've always believed this. If you're mad enough. to bring pressure, I got to be mad enough to punish you for that pressure.

I've got to make you pay the ultimate price for being disrespectful. My receivers, I need you guys locked in. I need you to make these guys pay the price for blitzing us.

If a team blitz you on show, they're telling you they don't really care about, they don't really think much about your receivers. They don't respect you. That's a shot at the receivers. That's a shot at the receivers.

All you got to do is make them pay once, huh? Oh, I'll stop you, yeah. All you got to do is make them pay once. Hey, hold on. Not only make them pay once, not just that game, but hold on. That lets everybody else know, oh, yeah, you know what, we got to be careful. We got to pick and choose when we bliss.

We got to pick and choose when we allow our defense to be vulnerable because they can hurt us. I might not stop them from doing Joe, but I'll break them out of the habit. My grandmother said, well, I can't stop you, but I bet I'll break you to have it. I'll break you that bliss. Hey, they got to come out. Hey, them boys start two or no. I'm ready for the season starting.

Nah, I'm ready to see it. I'm ready to see it. I'm ready to see it. I'm serious, man. Because I feel like Deshaun Watson got a chance now. You know, he really got a chance. Ocho, you was right the whole damn time.

I just couldn't see it, bro. Hey, it's like giving this opportunity. Yeah. Because this might be your last one, bro. You get for real, like, if you, you know what I'm saying? So, hey, man. That boy, got to go balls to the wall, man. I don't see how Joe couldn't see.

He got two eyes. I only got one. Come on, man. Come on, man. You know you can't let it be right. I ain't the only one here. The whole damn Browns community couldn't see a hell.

They pissed off. They are. Everybody seemed to be very upset and very shocked by this decision. Yeah. I think they're very shocked by this decision. I think the thing is that, you know, he says, hey, the most conceit,

he's been more consistent in practice and so forth and so on. I think getting them in and out of the huddle, getting the ball out of his hand. reading the defenses. So look, all we can go by, all we can see is what transpired in the games and the stats that they posted.

But like Ocho said, football is more than stats because I can make the stats to say what I want them to say. Yeah. But Cleveland Browns, your quarterback to start the season is Deshaun Watson. Surprised a lot of people, but Todd Monkings seems to be hell-bent on being able to say he felt very comfortable here.

The staff felt very comfortable based on the entire body of work from OTAs to training to mini-camp, the training camps, to here we are in these preseason games, the joint practices. Hey, I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Encore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry. Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Ely

together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf parades, I'll believe in anything, and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream encore on IHeartRadio, crave, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your for-you page

are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society. The weekly podcast, that's part book club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse. I'm Eli Rallo and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the

conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. I'm obsessed. From bestselling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling characters, then that is a Trojan horse.

Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place. Listen to Pro Society on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast Hollywood Handbook on the Big Money Players Network. Our show is extremely accessible to first-time listeners. Each week, we talk to someone in show business, aka the big.

is and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, not that great. Actually, can you help me shape this? How about we flip it on his head, right? How about we flip this script? What is the surprise woman? Actually, you think is the straight man is actually the one who's acting weird.

Adam Scott. This entire time, You've been expecting Adam Sandler to come to visit the show. I would never expect. I have. I would never set expectations for something like that to happen. If the universe allows for something like that to happen, I'm open to it. I'm always going to accept.

You know, Danny McBride, fine. Yeah, it's all this fragile masculinity exuding. I could smell it walking down the hallway, to be honest with you. I was like, is that weed? Nope. It's fragile masculinity. Mm-hmm. Ben Stiller, no.

Because a lot of times out of context, people don't get it or even know what a circle is. You know what I mean? They're like, oh, what's a state. Everyone's so dumb. And fake. Right, fake and also not interested or just like, oh, I've got my life. I don't care about your life. And a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us.

Oh, and by the way, Will Ferrell told us personally he loves the show and he wants to be a guest on every episode, but he's just so busy. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the new podcast Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinero, and I travel by myself because it's a rare space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word Solitaire.

Trading the pity for possibility. Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people. And they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here. It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies you're sold about it. It can be a time where you push your limits, change your mind, or wake up to a new version of yourself.

So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Hoda Kotbby, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations with fascinating

people. Like when my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody, hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts. You go with it. And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one.

He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is where we are. Beat the Texas 2220. Fernando Mendoza struggled in the second preseason game,

throwing an intercession that he used to return for a touchdown. Mendoza's third pass was overthrown. Wade Woodard would have returned at 80 yards. Mendoza chased him down. But Wood had shoved aside and end up getting into the end zone for 80-yard pick six. Mendoza in the first half, 8 of 15 for 86 yards. me look I understand the interception

and Ocho you know this you can't be laid over the middle you can't be laid outside because those guys that's going to the house every time coming at a high rate of speed every time so he's going to the house with that but he made some throws

that I'll say okay he has it yeah he made some throws that that leads me to believe I'm not overly concerned about him I know it didn't have the best numbers tonight. But he showed me enough in the throes that he did make. I was like, okay.

You know what? And that's what to come down to, Uncle Joe. When you see a young player, Joe, sometimes, most of the time you can see a young play on a court, you know, especially when it's live with some of the veterans trying to make a team and you can see flashes of, okay, you know what? He actually belongs here. Now, what you're also going to see when it comes to a rookie, Joe, you're going to see those mistakes. And that's what you saw from Mendoza tonight.

Obviously, you know, he has the arms. He can make some of the throws. The problem is it comes down to ball placement. It comes down to anticipating those throws and it also comes down to processing and understanding that ball has to get out a step sooner. Yeah. A tad bit sooner. And he will learn that as time goes on and he will speed everything up, you know,

to be able to rectify those situations, I mean, those errors that he had tonight. But he's going to be one of them ones. This is why I'm always against on letting a rookie come in and start, especially on the team that was so bad. they were so bad last year where they were they were they had the ability to get the number one pick unless he lights is unless he's lights above

everyone else at his respective position now if he was Patrick Mahomes you know what boom cool start him as a rookie you know because he has the talent and he has the vision the the ability of the process everything much faster and make the players around him better yeah you know if he was one of them

yes but no yes especially if he has the area if he has the around them to support him. You got to realize even though Patrick Mahomes came in, my home boy didn't start. Yeah. He didn't. No, yeah.

Yeah, Alex. And think about they had Kelsey. They had a reek. Mm-hmm. That was still there. Yeah. So with that being said, I think the thing is,

I agree with you, Ocho. Joe, what you want to say about what you saw from Fernando Mendoza? Man, man, I like Mendoza. You know, okay, Ojo, this is the kind of preseason game where, you know, it's a learning curve for all these rookies, bro. He shows some great throws, but when you look at it, it's a huge contrast from his first preseason game to the second one. See, the first one he played against the Cardinals. They don't have a pass rush, the type of defense that the Houston takes the D boys, he ain't playing.

They're getting right after you. So I think Mendoza is going to be great. I'm like you. After he threw that pick, here, he showed me something because he stepped right back in there and got right back to it, bro. And that's what you want to say. seat from a rookie. I think a pick six is probably one of the worst things that can happen to you as a rookie. Demoralizing, boy. You know why, though? Not only do you throw the pick six, but you get the damn

ball right back. You know what I mean? So you got to get back out there and get right to it, but I thought he showed some promise. The Texans, hey, man, if C.J. Strau can stay upright, fellas, he can give him some just some decent quarterback play. Hey.

Hey, boy, that boy, they're in now. Hey, honestly, Uncle Joe, speaking of the Texas, They have a window. That window was wide open last year. If they could just got some quarterback play, Joe, I think defensively, they might have been ranked second or third in almost every single category.

Every single category, which means all we needed was a little bit of, you know, decency offensively from our quarterback. And boy, if you had had a chance to get to the Super Bowl, you would have been all right. Yeah. Hey. And. Hey, what they, and Joe, that last, that last game in the playoffs, what they had, four, five turnovers?

Yeah. It was bad, what you? We had, like, three in the first half. Woof. It was bad. And what I think, went over the pick six. Yeah, they can't turn the ball over like that. You can't win like that.

It's hard for you to over, it's hard, no matter how great your defense is, no matter how great one side of the ball is. Yeah. If the other side is inept as you are good, it's kind of hard now. Once upon a time, you could, you could have. have a bad offense and an outstanding defense, and you could overcome it. It's always been hard for you to overcome a bad defense,

even if you had a really great offense. Because when you least expect it, you know, somebody, you struggle just a little bit, and you can't stop anybody, and now the opposing team is going up and down the field on you. So it's always kind of been skewed, well, we need to have an outstanding defense, and we can have a marginally.

If we can run the football, play defense behind it, be sounding the key. kicking game will be just fine. That ain't no more. Since they've changed the rules, they don't let you play defense, which an intimidation factor like they once did. That rule no longer holds.

But CJ's going to have to be better. CJ's going into his fourth year. Normally quarterbacks, when they're sure about you going into your fourth year, you know what you get, Joe? 300 million. Yes, sir. The mere fact that he's playing this fourth year and he doesn't, they're not where they need to be on it.

They're like, okay, we like what we saw the first year. We love what we saw the first year. The second year, the third year, like, ugh. Yeah. You got to show us something. You're going to show us something, CJ, in order for us to commit to you, $300 million that you see these other quarterback, the Mahomes, the Josh Allen, the Joe Burroughs, the Trevor Lawrence's.

You're going to have to show, you're going to have to show us. Yeah. That's a lot of, because they got big time commitments. The defense, you know, they paid. Will Anderson. Will Anderson Jr. Yeah. They played the other guy on the other side.

DeNeil Hunter. Yep. They played Stingley. Stingley. They played Lazer to Pete. They paid a lot of guys. Yeah. Hey, he not only got to show something.

He got to show consistency, fellas. Yes. They need consistent, not just, you know, you play great one game and then two games, you off. You know what I mean? Like, they need that consistent quarterback player. I'm talking about to be able to win a Super Bowl. Like they have the defense for it. They just got to get the quarterback play right, bro.

They, hey, Houston serious, bro. Yeah, and they got all the weapon, too. They got all the way. I know they just lost Higgins, you know, to an ACL injury. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not sure if they're bringing another veteran presence to come in there and maybe feel that boy because Higgins was a very strong, number two. He came on really strong towards the end of the season last year.

So, you know, you got Teng Dale back, who's looked good all camp. Obviously, Nico Collins, one of the better receiver. as the NFL. So there really shouldn't be any excuses. You got David Montgomery out there, you know, out there in the backfield now from Detroit to take some of that pressure off for you, you know, being able to run the ball, so you got to sit back there and throw it 60 times a game. So it ain't no excuses.

This is their year. Can you, can you be consistent, not only that, but be consistent when it matters most. Right. All the top quarterbacks, they pay in the big bucks for a reason because when it matters most, they can get us over the hump. Yeah. Hey, you all ain't going to,

uh, yeah, Mendoz's going to be a a, because y'all know he got a decent run game. Y'all ain't going to say nothing about Mike Washington,

Jr. breaking. He had 56 yards, nine carries. He broke it. He played well, yeah. He played well,

the first game. He played well. That number 30? Uh, is he number 30? Uh, is he number 30. Mike, running back.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That boy, that boy, Tony. Why, how you know him,

Joe, what he for Arkansas? Yeah, he's a hog, man. here, Hogg, you know, it ain't but a few of us, Ocho, so we got to keep up with them, make sure they, you know what I mean, doing what they're supposed to be doing, but he has to do anything. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And they got a Rike's brother. That's Rike's a brother. Yeah. That's a brother. Oh, really? Mm-hmm. Okay. But Houston running the football with Woody Marks. You know, as Ocho mentioned, they got David Montgomery. Hunchesson played well for him last year. Played well for him last year. So I'm not overly concerned. concerned about the skill position around CJ. I'm just worried about CJ.

I just need CJ to play like he did his rookie season. But sometimes I think he started reading the press. I think because we hadn't seen a rookie played that well because he was phenomenal. There ain't no ifs and a bust about it, no maybes. He played phenomenal. And I think he started listening to the press, started reading.

We say press clippings, but he started listening to social media. Everybody was telling him how great he was. And he started to feel like he was great. because here he is in this second you're telling, hey, if you need to think, hey, holl at your boy, you know, I got you. Huh? Hey, he thought they had to figure it out. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bro, boy, this game will humble you. Just when you think it's figured out, you got to pick it out. Quick. Okay. Quick. Yeah. Every week is a different challenge, Joe. Every week is a different challenge.

I can imagine, bro. I think especially from being a quarterback because you're going to see so many different cover looks and looks. And you got that. identify them and be able to process them on the fly and be able to make play i know that's tough bro yeah you got a lot on your plate you got a lot on your plate and um because you have the ball on every single play for the most part that nobody really does the wildcat every once in a while they'll bring somebody in there to do a quarterback sneak or something like that but for the most part

of 65 plays you're going to probably have the ball on your hand somewhere between 63 and 64 times the ball game and so the the the light shines the brightest on You, yeah. That's why you make the big bucks. There ain't no, well, I wonder why he makes so much money because he's under the most scrutiny. He's under the most pressure. In office, it's like, you can tell who's in charge.

I can go in the office and I take everything down off the wall. I'm like, oh, he got the biggest office. Whoever's in here, that's who's in charge. Yeah. Okay, who has the ball the most in their hands? that's who has the most responsibility. Yeah. Okay.

This is why they pay him the big bucks. Yeah. Hey, and whoever's in charge and has ball in the hands the most has a better chance to dictate the outcome of games. Absolutely. And that's where they get the big bucks.

Yes, yes. But look, he's heard everything. I mean, he, think about the old Joe, Joe. Man, that man heard, that man heard of knowing so much, that man cut his hair. Yeah.

Thanks. That man cut his hair, Joe. Ocho? Yeah. Cut it. Yeah. I'm surprised he didn't pull a

ocho and cut it all off. No. He might have been going for a new look, you know, cleaning itself up as a face of the franchise, you know,

give him, give him something else to look at. He just needs to play better. I don't care. What your hair looked like? You can have dread. You got a predator dreads.

Hey, hey, mate, me. Okay, I don't know about your hair. It used to be the quarterback he had to present himself and had to look at certain way Ocho,

you know what I'm saying? I don't care nothing about that. Hey. Can you get us in and out of the huddle? Can you process information in a hurry? Can you deliver the football accuracy? Yes. That's all I care about.

All that other stuff, how you look and how you talk and all that. That's going to, you know, if advertisers and sponsors, they might have a problem with that. I don't. That's secondary. That's auxiliary to me. Your number one goal as a quarterback is to help us win football game. Now, if advertisers and endorsers, and sponsors and all that other stuff come along,

bless your heart. But just make sure you get us in and out of the huddle in a timely manner. Make sure you deliver the football in a timely manner. Yes. That's all I care about. I don't care about that. I really don't. But CJ did.

He had one drive. They went down the field, got a touchdown. He got up out of there. David Mills comes in. Davis Mills plays really well. Remember Davis Mills played well when CJ went out. When he went down. He had a good five, six games stretch, boy.

And then Brett Rippin, he ended up a, feeling coming in. He's played before. He was in Denver. I think he went to sit. I don't know where he went after he left Denver. But he played with, he can make some plays. Hopefully I don't have to get to my third. If I got to get to my third quarterback, I'm in trouble, Locho.

Yeah, I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble. Ain't no sense of me holding you. If I have to get to my third quarterback, I'm in trouble. Yeah. Hey, them injuries go to power enough here. You never know, okay, Ocho.

Hey, it's tough, man. Listen, the more those injuries pile up, the more difficult it is on the coaches. Because, you're two and you're three for a reason. Hey, I'm Ruby Carr, the host of the podcast, Oncore. Check out our brand new episodes featuring music from the show that everyone is reheating as we speak. Heated rivalry.

Join me as I go behind the songs that brought Shane and Elia together. I'll tell you the stories of Fice, My Moon, My Man, Wolf forades, I'll believe in anything, and tattoos all the things she said, and how they all became a part of this global phenomenon. Stream encore on IHeart Radio, Crave, or wherever you get your podcasts. If your bookshelf and your For You page are equally important to your personality, welcome home. This is Prose Society, the weekly podcast that's Part Book Club, part group chat for thought daughters, pop culture obsessives, and anyone who thinks Pride and Prejudice and Love Island deserve the same level of discourse.

I'm Eli Rallo and every week we're connecting the dots between books, the internet, and the conversations everyone can't stop having. I'm going to have to look up this story. I'm obsessed. So I'm obsessed. From bestselling authors and your favorite book talk creators to the latest pop culture moments, nothing is off the table. It's like if you can hide some real messages inside compelling care.

and that is a Trojan horse. Whether you're looking for literary deep dives, smart pop culture conversations, or a community of readers who love to think a little too much, you're in the right place. Listen to Pro Society on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you between the pages. On the new podcast Solita, we share the messy reality of traveling alone as a woman. I can wait four hours for the next bus or this random dude is offering me. a ride on his motorcycle. I chose option B. I'm Julie Pinheiro, and I travel by myself because it's a rare

space where I can say yes without asking anyone else first. I'm on a mission to reclaim the word solita, trading the pity for possibility. Every time I tried to be alone, I kept meeting people and they were like, you smiled at us. Not a lot of people smile around here. It's when you're alone that you're most receptive to the world as it is and not the lies you're sold about it. It can be a time where you push your limits, change your mind, or wake up to a new version of yourself. So whether you're a solo travel veteran or you're too nervous to book your first trip, I hope you listen to Solita on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport.

And Sean Clements. We host the podcast Hollywood Handbook on the Big Money Players Network. Our show is extremely accessible to first-time listeners. Each week we talk to someone in show business, aka the biz, and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time,

and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, not that great. Actually, can you help me shape this? How about we flip it on his head? How about we flip the script? What is the surprise woman?

Actually, you think is the straight man is actually the one who's acting weird. Adam Scott This entire time You've been expecting Adam Sandler to come to visit the show I would never expect I have

I would never set expectations for something like that to happen If the universe allows for something like that to happen I'm open to it I'm always going to accept Danny McBride Fine Yeah it's all this fragile masculinity Exuding I could smell it walking on the hallway

To be honest with you I was like, is that weed? Nope. It's fragile masculinity. Ben Stiller, no. Because a lot of times out of context, people don't get it or even know what a circle is. You know what I mean? They're like, oh, it's so stupid.

Everyone's so dumb. And fake. Right, fake and also not interested or just like, oh, I've got my life. I don't care about your life. And a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Oh, and by the way, Will Ferrell told us personally, He loves the show and he wants to be a guest on every episode, but he's just so busy. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Hoda Kotbvi, host of the podcast Joy 101 with Hoda Kotbby. If you know me, you know, I'm always searching for inspiration and useful tools to maximize joy. So this podcast lets us uncover those things together through meaningful conversations with fascinating people. Like one of my friend Henry Winkler offered advice to aspiring actors and really anybody hoping to stand out. You're not hired just to fill time and space. You're hired to fill the space with you. You have something in your guts. You go with it.

And Sean Johnson recalled the moment she realized her now husband, Andrew, was the one. He was just so unapologetically himself and knew nothing of Hollywood. He hadn't been on a plane before without his family. It was so pure. Listen to Joy 101 with Hoda Kotby on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Four-time Pro Bowl running back. Nick Chubb announcing retirement today from the NFL at the age of 30. Chubb had four consecutive 1,000-rard rushing season from 2019 to 2022.

He and Jim Brown are the only players in league history with six plus thousand rushing yards, five-plus yards per carry in his first five season. The 20-23 seasons was when injuries begin to rock. him of his prime years. He tore both his MCL, meniscus, and ACL in 2020. Shit. After a gruesome knee injury in week two that year, Chub returned

to action week seven of 2024 season before suffering another season in the injury in week 15. Chub posting on IG. Going through a devastating knee injury at the age of 19 is a lot different than going through it at 28. You understand

that you have the rest of your life to look forward to, and health is the real wealth. Man. Man, you got to tell me, bro. He had a nice little one. I've had meniscus and MCLs and my knees are telling me, telling on me now.

I haven't torn an ACL. Normally when you have ACLs, you start, they start going to knees, though, Joe. You're going to have arthritic knees. It is what it is. There's a good chance. He's a high candidate. Not saying that he will, but he's a high candidate for knee replacement.

Damn. Hmm. Hey, man, it hurt, bro. When injuries robbed your career, you look at some of the great ones. Hell, I like Chubb. Chil was a hell of a running back, but he was a, yeah, like even in basketball, bro. Like, it robbed some of our best players. Injuries robbed some of our best players of being, of having historic, you know, careers, man.

T. Mac, Brandon Roy. Penny Hardaway. Old and Penny. Yep. Come on, man. Yeah, D. Roads. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. unfortunate it's just it's so common in football though because you know it's such a contact sport you know what I mean so it's not even really surprising when you see these guys go down with these different injuries knee injuries and you see a guy

getting hitting his ankle pointing the other direction oh whee ah nah but the thing is for me that's like man what do you think about I said bro my sister ain't playing no football ball? She doesn't have bilateral hit replacement. She got both of her hips replaced. So what's her excuse? Just the defect done us. She used to cheer? No. That's the only thing I could think of, you know, that she... Hell, no. Yeah, it's tough.

He went to the University of Georgia. Think about it. And you go to a guy like Thomas Davis. Thomas Davis had three ACL tears. Came back and played 15, 16 years. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Chubby had a, maybe he had a nice career. Yeah. I think it could have been better without the injuries. Yes, absolutely. But this was,

this was the hand that he was dealt. Yeah. See, a lot of times people confuse, Ocho, it's like when God say, I want to play the NFL, and God says, I'm going to allow you to play the NFL. He didn't say he's going to allow you to play 15 years. He didn't say he's going to allow you to play injury-free.

Yeah. And so I think sometimes people get that confused. Yes, that's why the NFL career, as long as you get a guy like a Tom Brady and a Peyton Manning and Drew Bledz or Drew Brees that play 18, 19, 20 years. You get most people playing a year, two years, and they don't. Three years, the average career for an NFL player, three. That's it. So when you factor in all those 12s, all those 14s, it gets drugged all the way back down by those guys that don't make it.

And the guys that only play one year. It's the harsh reality. Everybody go to law school, they ain't going to pass the bar. Everybody go to math school, they ain't going to get a medical license. This notion that just because you play or you go try it for the league, that doesn't guarantee it.

It doesn't guarantee that you're going to play in the league. Hello. Just like everybody, everybody to go to Harvard Medical, or Harvard Law or Yale Law or whatever, or go to Stanford and try to get an econ or a finance degree, that doesn't mean they're going to get it. But people,

people would have you believe that only sports that if you try for a sport and you don't make it that you're unsuccessful there are a lot of people that try to get things that are unsuccessful.

It's just not sports. It's just you go to law school and you don't get to, you don't pass the bar, they don't post it. You go to the NFL and you don't make the roster,

guess what? It's going to be in the paper. Yeah. August 3rd. 30th? What's the day? 21st. In nine days, everybody, the Dallas Cowboys, list all the people that didn't

make it for the Cowboys, the Broncos, all the people that didn't make it for the Broncos, the Bengals, all the people. Now, you think they're going to list all the people in California that didn't pass the bar? Are they going to list the people in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, of hell? No.

Just got a transition, bro. Yeah. You know, I said, I was going to be a lot. I don't know what I was going to do. Because my plan was A, my A plan was making the league. My B plan was making it to the league. My C plan was making it to the league. My D plan was making.

Oh, I didn't have nothing else, Ocho. Yeah. I mean, I got a degree because I was already there. I was like, you know what? I might as well just go ahead and get my degree since I'm here. But that was not my option. My option was not to use that degree. Hey, boy, you said something there.

And that was my same plan. I went to school for basketball. Okay, Ocho. I majored in it got me a degree in it and got my ass out of that. Hey, hey, say what you want. Yeah. That was my major. They asked me, what's your major? Eligibility.

The long I can stay here, the better my chances is is the better my chances to get to the NFL if I can stay eligible. That's what I majored in. I don't know what you're majored in. Hey, you got your degree? No. You got yours? so I'm the only oddball and got no damn group

well you better go back and get it I'm going I'm gonna do my online class at FAMU man they already reached out too I gotta do it I gotta walk that stage man Oh you wanna walk you wanna walk the stage and clown No I'm not gonna clown Joe But I just I just wanna you know Do it the right way

You know I know my grandma would be Yes You know she got every degree possible You know doctorate and she's everything I'm like and that's something she always wanted, but I'm like, man, grandma, you know I'm not, listen, I'm not going to college.

I'm not going to be a scholar. That ain't me. That's not what I do. I'm going to play football and hoping I can get to the next level. I'm hoping. He's like, baby, no, you got to have a backup plan. You have to have something to fall back on

if football don't work out. I say, special team player. That was my backup plan. If I was going to be a start, I was going to be a specialty player. That's my backup plan. Something involved football. ball.

But my grab-bye told him, yeah, that boy going to get his paper. That other boy got his paper. He'll get his paper. That's what they call a degree paper. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

They talk. Yeah. Once my brother got, Brian. Man, anything I saw my brother do, I know I could do it. Oh, he got a degree? Yeah.

It can't be that hard. Yeah. He got two degrees. Hey, once I knew I had that potential Uncle Ocho, I'm talking about in high school. I didn't play with it. I was locked in, boy.

I was locked in. Yeah. Yeah. I wasn't playing. Yeah. That's, man, I'm like, whew. It's just tough because, you know,

like he said, when you're 19, at some point, the body just don't respond like it once did. Man, getting out of bed, I don't know how y'all feel, but getting out of the bed hurt for me. Man, I have to sit to this, hey, I have to spin around.

Man, I got to, I can't, hey, Joe, wasn't one of the time. I just pop up. And I got to think about it. Okay. What I'm going to do? what foot I'm gonna I'm like, damn, my knees hurt

Oh yeah my ankles hurt, my back hurt I ain't there nothing Hey, the first day you do when you wake up You gotta assess the body You're like, damn, what's hurting now? Why my ankle biting this morning?

Hell, I ain't even doing it. I'm been asleep. Hey, I wake up in the middle of night Like, damn, my knee hurt. Yeah, I'm waiting on them days. I'm sure they're coming. They ain't yet, boy. You got to stay, stay active, Ocho.

You stay active? I think that's the only thing to say, you know? Yeah, once you stop, it's a rap, bro. Yeah. I'm serious. I was acting, too. Did you know, these old hips and knees slow down. I'm still acting.

Oh, yeah. Not as active. Yeah, yeah. We know you acting. There you go. See what I'm saying? No, no. I just said we know you.

You see what happened? You guys ain't going to left field. Chad. That don't make him no bad brother. But they didn't. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't, I just said, we know, we know. Yeah. Yeah.

Joe, what you drinking? Ain't nothing but a little tea tonight, Ocho, little tea. What you got, you got, got a little tea. No, I ain't got nothing in my throat. I'm just saying, it's a little tea. I'm just drinking a little tea. That's it. Yeah, he got a hair, he got a hair called.

I got old hair for a ball. Hey, I know what that means, drinking tea at one o'clock in the morning, you know? Hey, I'm familiar with your game. Listen, man, we all vibing. I can't vibe with a little tea. Damn, you drink a whole red bull over there, bro. How do you go to sleep after you get off of here? Well, Joe, go right to sleep.

I need this red bull to survive. I don't be up this time of night. It wasn't until we started doing nightcap that my bedtime at 9.30 ending. Yeah. 9.30, Joe, I'm out, and I'm up at 5 in the morning. No longer. That's what I was until LeBron came to the West Coast.

Yeah. Oh, then you got to step and watch the game. I'm like, come on, man. You're killing me. I was on a good routine, Joe, since retirement, too. 9.30, I'm out. I hit the cigar bar around 5 o'clock. Stay in the cigar bar from 5 to 8, 815, come home, hit a little shower, maybe, brush my teeth,

get that cigar smell out, your listerine. Boy, 9.30 hit, I put on that sand for the sun. Boom, 5 o'clock. I'm talking about, Joe, every morning, same. routine. Never miss a beat. That's what my brother was just like, my brother was, uh, uh, my brother was 29 when his career ended

just like that. 94 catch up, 18 touchdown on Joe, Joe, never stepped on the field again. Damn. Made the pro bowl that year. What was his neck? He had something in his neck. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, uncle, you think, do you think the doctor told him he shouldn't play

yeah, right? You think did he, you think he? My brother didn't get us, my, my brother was good at football. My brother didn't love football. He was good at it. No? No. My brother ain't shared one tier when they told him his career was over. Oh, well.

You'd have been hurt, boy, you'd have been down, bending knee. Boy, they better get me a room with some pads in it. Hey, I ain't even in the hole, y'all, man, look bad, please. No, man, no. Uh-uh. And just, you had to, I mean, think about he had the A-Pan. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. He was at the top of his game, boy. He's two years from woo from winning the Triple Crown. There's only been a handful of receivers that received votes for the MVP. He was one of them. Jerry done it several times. Who else got? Cooper Cup and Randy Moss.

Only five receivers have received a vote for the MVP. He's done it twice. And it was over, just like that. So one year has to receive him both for the MVP of the league career done. Damn. He called me up. He was just a matter of fact. Hey, bro.

Man, what going on? Man, what the doctor said? It's over. Hmm. He got hit? Yeah, well, it happened the week before. He ran into his old college teammate. But he said he had been having stingers and his tingling, his hand.

in his feet, but it didn't tell nobody. So he collided with his former teammate Braddell. They're playing the Falcons week 16. And then, you know, lay on it. He was trying to turn himself over. Because I was looking at it. I was like, oh, man, damn. And he couldn't.

Then all of a sudden, the feeling came back. He got up, walked out the field. Next week, they played Tampa. He cooking. Sell, a buck, 24, 2 touchdown. Last catch. Catch the ball. Thomas Eric glazed him.

Crossed the helmet. That was it. That was it. Go to the doctor. He'd go to the doctor. You know, they kept him out of the playoffs. Go to the doctor. I called him to say, man, what the doctor say?

It's over, bro. Man, I started crying. He said, what's you crying for? He said, I got seven years longer than I expected. He said, we're good. He said, now you do, hey, now you carry it on. I took it far as I can take it. It's up to you now.

Oh, Lord. I damn sure wouldn't have been. I wouldn't have been that eating. No. I'd have been in the room smears poop on the wall. I ain't able to tell you. I ain't able to tell nobody anything different. That's what I'd have to be in.

He did have to medicate me. Hey, Joe, I know me. I definitely wouldn't have a like he did. Kyle Pitz had a half a rookie, Falcon's rookie, Zachariah Branch. Several dental checks totally more than 30,000 after the offense went out to eat Check this out you guys Hey get the second one you got well

You got two more young fella that was say I go I go oh oh my god He ain't he got to the season yet y'all don't let him get to the season And you know you got to get that rookie dinner out the way And that day, he did that, Hey, and then he could play No, no, he can go. He got some will. He transferred from USC with the Georgia.

He got some will. With the Georgia. He got some will. Boy, he can go. He's nice. But that's, I remember the days. I tell y'all what. At that time, my little credit card I had,

that little $5,000 limit. Hell, we were going to, we'd have maxed that thing out. You weren't even going to go through. It was going to decline. Hell, they were what. Listen, man, how y'all, how y'all do them phone like that, man? I ain't even had no credit card, Joe. All I had to go by the, I went by the bank, got some money, and they stood me up.

I had the memo and everything. Hey, I remember my rookie dinner. My rookie dinner, it was Ron Dugan's Peter Warwick. Danny Farmer was there at the time. Darnay Scott. Remember Darnay Scott? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Darnie Scott.

From San Diego State, right? Yeah, yeah, Darnay, yeah. Yeah, you went to San Diego State. And yeah, they didn't do me dirty. They didn't do me wrong. Well, I did them wrong. Had dinner. Did you really?

Oh, I hit Clint Porterston and Leslie Lee for $22,000. Damn. What? Yeah, I ain't do that. As a matter of fact, after my rookie dinner, my next year, matter of fact, my whole career, I never did it. I never did it to any other other players. I'm trying to think, did we have a?

I don't even know who we had. my last year in Denver but Portonet was my first year back in Denver Rod Smith and Rob was undrafted free agent. Carswell was a seventh round draft pick so we ain't do them too bad.

I was like, you know what? I'm going to let y'all off the hook but I got to get these stakes for my dogs so. Oh man. You said you ain't doing them that bad and you cost them $2,000. No, I did portals. I did porters and them dirty. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. One thousand percent. Yeah, me.

I get the most expensive, the most expensive. Everybody, we get the most expensive. Yeah. So the lobster, especially that. Lobster, you got to get at least a four-pound lobster. Hey, hey, hey, so what y'all do to the guys who just like, man, damn, man, I ain't paying for that. That's not the option. Huh?

Yeah, that's not an option. Yeah, that don't happen, Joe, because you know coming in, that's a part of, it's a ritual. You go, guess what? You know, it's an unspoken rule, unwritten rule, excuse me. unreaded rules. Because next year, somebody's going to be a rookie and you can return to favor. It used to be really bad, Joe.

Guys would, see, and this would, and this where I had to, like, assert myself, be the, be the door in the room. I'm not going to let you take no, hey, man, my wife family coming in town. I'm going to get, no, you're not. You're not taking them anything. You better stop your ass by McDonald's a Burger King

and get them something, but they ain't getting them. from here and you're not fend to take no $25, no $5,000 dollar a wine home, man. Come on now. Are you? If you, all I said, I said, guys, if you get it, you got to eat it. That's it.

That was the only rule that we had. If you get it, you got to eat it. I'm not going to let you, I'm not going to let you hit these guys up for no $5,000 bottle of wine so you can have it sitting on your thing. But there's some places that do that. Sometimes you just got to, you know, you got to be the door in the room sometimes, Joe,

in Ocho, it's like, nah, we're not fit to do that. Other than that. Right. And Paul, Lillie was a first round pick, Portis was a second round pick. Porter was a second round pick.

Porter's having an outstanding season. Yeah, man, 22,000, that ain't nothing. Damn. It's it. They said 22 bands ain't nothing. That ain't nothing. Ain't nothing.

I mean, it's probably like 18 by the time you leave it like a $4,000 tip. Man, the people been working on us hand and foot, bringing us hot dinner rolls, bringing us all the tea and soda and stuff that we want, they kept the food hot and fresh. That's the least we could do.

Nah, nah, nah. Nah, they ain't it. They ain't it. Boy, sweating bullets calling their financial advisors and all that, man. Yeah. Yeah. What?

You know, Rod and them, they came up a little short. It's like, you know what, man, I'm going to help you all out. Because you know me. I need a limo by myself. I need to navigate a limo. Navigating limo to hold one person. Damn.

Ocho, because when I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go. Oh, you're trying to get out of there. You ain't waiting on everybody else. I'm not going to drive and drop him off, then drop him off, then drop him off, then drop him off. And I'm the last one stuck in the limbo. I'm the last one getting home.

No. Hey, look, I'm with Ark on that. I hate rounding people up. Man, when it's time to go, I'd like to hit the door. Pim, p, pune, pune, I'm in my car gone. I don't want to have to tell 10 people, hey, look, we're about to get ready to go. Now the whole, the whole spot, no, we're about to go.

Hell, I like to be, I'm in now like a robbery. Because guess what happened? When you ride with somebody, man, man, I just got an old girl, man. Give me 10 minutes. Give me 10 minutes. I'll be ready to go. Don't worry about it. Hey, Joe, hey.

Man, man, dang, show up. And then I might be hollering at something and I'm not ready to go. You're ready to go. Yeah. So I'll tell you what. Don't worry about it. Drive your own is.

Drive your own ish. And then we ain't got to worry about it. That's how I am, bro. Am that. Like, but look, the only person, the only person that I would go out with and I would, he could drive, or I would drive was Burns.

Because I know when he's ready, I'm going without him. He's not going without me. So we can rock like that. Yeah. Right. But other than that, I'm not right with none of you guys. Absolutely. And I'm not getting a limo with you guys.

I'm not doing nothing. I got my own limo. But that was fun. That was, but see, that's all a part of it. That's team bonded. That's team building. Yeah. I mean, we're stealing guys' trucks

and driving them way out there and parking them in the field and leaving them running while we're in their place. Oh, yeah. We had to get them, Joe. We had to get it. Well, yeah, and y'all are extreme with it. That's just a little too much.

That's too much. Yeah. But see, the thing is Joe, like, if somebody wants to steal your truck, you end up practicing, you wouldn't know until you got. Just imagine you practicing and you see your truck two miles away

and the lights are on, the doors open. Come on, man. Hey, hey, Joe. Hey, coming out of the parking lot, coming out of the parking lot, in the player's parking lot, and your car's sitting on bricks.

Oh, man. Come on, Joe. Man, and that's the D. Lyman playing like that. That's the D. Limeon. Joe, we used to nail, because, you know, guys always want to be late. We'll nail their locker shut. They can't get their cleats.

We'll have, we'll hit all the hammers. Man, there ain't nobody. Ain't nobody did this for Shaw. Man, Sharp, you play. Bro, why Sharp always got to be behind it? My locker working just fine. This man's saying, they nail your locker shut. Yeah.

Guy rushing in there trying to hear him and get his stuff on for practice. Man. That's cold-blooded there, boy. Hey, hey, hey, hey, because it ain't nothing like seeing a cat run in there. Boy, he know he's about to be late for practice. I'm talking about he. He, he, he, fireballing through that thing. You hear me?

What? I like, I like, dude, one of my favorite moments, man, to see him a rookie defense, a rookie defense to tackle. You know, we all walk out. We all get out of music at the same time. And ain't nobody hanging around after we've been there all day. Walk out in that park a lot,

we all going home and just to see that car sitting on those sitting in bricks. Man, I'd be sick. Boy, you talk about laughter. Oh, we, I go back in there, oh, Joe. Ocho go to the bathroom. You know what? Somebody had been acting up. He's been acting up. Put them pants in the whirlpool

and put them in the refrigerator. Oh. Until they freeze? Frozen solid. Will you see a walking out there with Bronco gear? Oh. Oh, we go get you. Oh, we're going to get you.

Damn. Oh, yeah. That's what you miss, that's what I miss. Yeah. I honestly, yeah, the money is nice. Don't get me wrong. I don't miss playing in front of that and, hey, we do

good. We do good now. I miss the camaraderie. That's what I miss. I miss the bus rides. I miss the locker rooms. Hey, that's what I miss. We never go get that again. You know, you see how we are when we get together? You see how

we are when we get together? Just imagine it's like that with 30, you got 30 people like that. Yeah. Man. So, someone, hold on.

Oh, they got, oh, Des. I think Jerry ended up having to pay Dad's bill.

Yeah. Real? Yeah, Dad didn't pay it. Jerry ended up paying it. Damn. That what I'm talking about. Jerry,

come back. Yeah. Yeah. Boy, there was the, boy, hey, we had a time, though.

We had a time, boy, hey, if y'all are so we had, I can't tell y'all what all was going on in the Steakhouse, but we have a ball. Yeah. We have a ball.

What? Steakhouse jam-packed with people. We had to pay extra. We had to pay extra to keep, you know, keep, hey, y'all are the only ones working in here. Y'all folk just don't get out. Mm.

But we had it going on them. Glad Mike ain't find out about that. the coach social team did tour check this out man they did two to a real dirty today they did oh yeah I saw I saw that I saw that clip on the way he can get that my mouth by my hand hey listen listen one thing about them social teams they have they've gotten very creative uncle a whether it's basketball whether it's football a hockey it doesn't matter I'm not sure who they have behind those those socials but they've been really really really really Somebody that looked like us.

It got to be. Because they're too witty with some of the stuff that they've been doing, some of the stuff they've been saying. And just the creative aspect of some of the things they've been doing is very relatable for the time that we're in. It makes so much sense. You can tell. I don't know what they're going to do.

I don't know what they're going to do at quarterback. But the Falcons. It didn't look. Hey. What you mean? Training camp. They got to put two. You going to be all right?

He got, hey, listen, he got Kyle Pitts, he got Branch, you got Bejohn Robinson. Listen, Bejohn Robinson. They got a lot of people. They got Drake London, yeah, that's why I said. He's going to be all right. Oh, Joe. The thing else, you worry about every time he gets hit, though.

Man, is he going to get up? Yeah, that's part of the game. All right. Hey, I tell you what, if I was a Falcons fan, it showed, hey, it didn't look good. Okay? Yeah, I'll be a little worried. I ain't gonna lie to y'all. I survived nine months in captivity, and I've spent my life exploring how other people survive what should have destroyed them. I'm Elizabeth Smart, and these are the Survivor Files.

Every week, I'm with survivors who live through the unthinkable, abducted, stalked, controlled, and nearly silenced. These are stories about what it takes to make it out alive. Listen to the Survivor Files with Elizabeth Smart on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook. Each week, we talk to someone in show business and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time, and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show.

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