Games with Names - 2021 NFC Championship with Cooper Kupp | 49ers vs. Rams

Episode Date: May 21, 2024

Cooper Kupp is in studio! We're breaking down the 2021 NFC Championship and Cooper's incredible Triple Crown season en route to the Rams Super Bowl win. Cooper joins us on the couch (2:47). We go back to January of 2022 (40:49). We get into the Rams and 49ers rosters (57:48). We dive into the game (1:15:48). We score it (1:20:11). We wrap it up by hitting the hotline (1:32:24). Support the show: http://www.gameswithnames.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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On today's episode, we have the Triple Crown winner, the stud, the Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, Cooper Cup talking 2021 NFC Championship between the San Francisco 49ers and his Los Angeles Rams. It's a great win against a terrible opponent that they've had a number for a few years. And this is kind of the turning point of that. It's tipped. It's intercepted.

I remember looking up at the score and being like, gosh, I'm so glad it's not 28-3. I remember being like, gosh, I'm so glad it's not 28-3. I want to talk about something. What i i want to talk about something what do you want to talk about the shirt that you're wearing what's this oh this shirt this whole thing oh this whole thing games with names is a production of iheart radio welcome to games with names i'm julian edelman they're jack and kyler and we're on the mission to find the greatest game of all time. On today's episode, we have Cooper Cup talking the monkey off the bat game.

That's right. 2021 NFC Championship between the San Francisco 49ers and his Los Angeles Rams. He he's a super bowl mvp triple crown winner wide receiver he doesn't need any credentials no beast numbers galore numbers galore there's barbecues galore that store and then there's coop cup with numbers galore stat sheet stuffer and just a student of the game he is he really is i mean we get in right we dive into that we dive into the san francisco la rivalry we we dive we we dive into how everyone um compares us why is that i don't know find out find out we'll find out

what do you what do you think ah we'll find out we'll out. We'll find out. What do you think? Nah, we'll find out. We'll find out. We'll find out. And we also, what it's like starting a coffee company. Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur. He's a beansman. This is an entrepreneur. Huh?

He's a beansman. He's a beansman. He knows those beans. DodoCoffee.co. And we got some content coming afterwards where, I mean, he's got a particular way of making his coffee. He's a coffee connoisseur. We were busy roasting Tom Brady. He's busy roasting some Ethiopian beans.

No. These were Guatemalan beans. Oh, Guatemalan. Pardon my. These are Guatemalan beans. And then the road to his first Super Bowl where he balled out and had an MVP type game. And you lost $50,000. And you lost $50,000.

And I lost $50,000. Light work, light work. Light work. And then we'll wrap it up with hitting the old hotline. It'll be fun. Check it out. Let's go. January 30th, 2022.

SoFi Stadium, Englewood, California. The Los Angeles Rams trailed the San Francisco Winers 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter. But with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, do Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp have another back in them. This is the 2021 NFC Championship Game. Welcome to Games with Names. Today we have a very special guest. We have the Triple Crown winner, the the super bowl champion super bowl mvp

cooper cup in studio in the nut house today welcome to studio bro thank you thank you that's jack that's kyler and uh why you picked this game bubs i think this is a good one this is a good one i know you've gone over um some games, you know, that year. Whitworth, that one's covered. I mean, this is a good one. It's a great win against, you know, a terrible opponent that, you know, you just love to, you know, be able to pull one up. Let's be fair. They've had our number for a few years.

And this is kind of the turning point of that. Yeah. I mean, that was like, that was, you know, we won the one that was meaningful, the one that we needed to win um we got it done so so hard to beat a team three times in one year yeah so hard have you done it before i think we did it a couple times okay but then we also lost a couple times where we smoked the jets twice and then week when we were 14 and two and then in the like we blew them out like two weeks before and then we go first round of the playoffs they the can't wait game fucking bart scott can't wait they beat us in foxborough that

shit sucks yeah yeah because that was similar we had them the last game of the year that yeah and that was we were playing for the division um division title end up losing that game uh in overtime but winning the division. Talk about weird, like, conflicted feelings. I hate that shit. It was – Whenever – like, we've had a couple of those where we were in Miami, and we lose the game, and you're pissed off,

but they pass out the hat and T-shirt because someone else won. You're like – It gives you the hang of throwing the hat in your bag. I don't want to see this thing right now. It's tough. It's a tough feeling. It's a great feeling to have hand. You throw the hat in your bag. I don't want to see this thing right now. Oh, it's tough. It's a tough feeling. It's a great feeling to have though.

If you're in that situation, coop, cause a lot of people have never been in that even situation. Like, Oh yeah. No. Yeah. I mean,

you got, you appreciate it, but it's just in that moment, like you just went through, you just lay it all on the line to go win a game. Yeah. Especially a division opponent. Exactly.

It's the worst. In overtime, heading into the playoffs it was and you guys have had you guys had that thing where like hey kyle shanahan owned us for a while is the whole mcveigh shanahan thing i mean i'm in media so we we talk about it nauseam yes did i use that word right that was really good really good i've been working on my thesaurus um how's off season been going it's been really good yeah yeahsaurus. How's off-season been going? It's been really good. Yeah.

Yeah, it was probably my first off-season. Having a full off-season and being healthy out the gate where I can go and just train how I want to, really since, you know, the end of 2020 going into 21 was the last time I had a full off-season. And so having that's been great. Yeah yeah yeah i mean you just can't you can't put enough value on just that amount that time and the preparation it takes to get your body right to go make this push um yeah well people to put in context what people don't realize is when you're banged up in an off season you're not getting better you're trying to get to

where you were at and the league is so smart that you have to reinvent yourself semi every off season because there's film of how you've played the year before so it really takes a hamper in like your off season gains yes when you're hurt because you're trying to get this you're trying to get to zero yep you know what i mean you mean? You're not putting anything on top. Oh, yeah. So I've spent the last four years training with the same group, had the same trainer who actually this offseason was hired by Atlanta. So thanks to Raheem for taking my trainer who can no longer program for me.

He's playing level 501 ball over there in Atlanta. I mean, draft analyst might say something different, but we can move past that. We're going to talk about that right now. They took them over Bill. Yeah, they did. Crazy. But when I was touching on it, it was the offseason.

We're getting off. We're getting on these rabbit trails. Offseason. I've been training with these guys for four years. When you get to the end of the season, you go back and you hit your baseline that first week, right? And it's like you don't realize how much your body breaks down the course of a season where that offseason you start so far from where you went into the season. Because there's just no way.

Like you try to maintain things as you go. It's dang near impossible. You play these long seasons and your body is so broken down. There's so much just to build up, like you said, just to get back to where you were physically. And then all the armor you got to put on to prepare yourself, all the conditioning,

the things you got to do to put, you know, create some change in your body to be able to take the adaptation from this off season, going into OTAs and say, okay, now we're, we're going to,

you know, grind through OTAs. Then you get one month to basically gear up for training camp in a 17-game season plus playoffs. And so it is a big deal. But, yeah, man, I feel really good. That's awesome. Now what are some of the point of emphasis you have going into this offseason

to your game now that you're healthy, you can self-scout, you can check out what you need to work on? What's some of the things that you are trying to get better at yeah i mean i think i think the same mantra into every every year it's bigger faster stronger um i think the mobility side of things have been a huge piece just being like coming off of the ankle surgery a couple years ago um things that come out of that i mean i think you get hurt especially something as low to the ground as an ankle, how it affects things up the chain. You start compensating, and once your body starts compensating,

things start tightening, things start loosening. There's just a, you know, you want to keep your body back into balance and moving the way it's supposed to because I think professional athletes, we are professional at compensating and working through injury. When you do that, your body's that's not optimum right so it leaves you vulnerable exactly and so it's pulling back and finding what that optimum is again that's been the big focus just in terms of how my body how i want my

body to work and then um you know in terms of you know skill wise you're moving through into like you know the technical side of the game there's so much that you want to you watch film and like every year you look back you're like oh man there's so much that you want to you watch film and like every year you look back you're like oh man there's just so much you can do better so many things so many details that you can press yourself on and like you know what what kind of what kind of tools can add to your tool belt as counters to what worked like what worked how are people going to stop it how do i counter that yeah and you're in the point of your career where you could watch film and you can go practice off a specific look of how it may not have went your way and you could put that and play

that game in your mind and and you're probably at the point where you're running routes oh yeah oh yeah exactly i mean you get better playing football playing football yep exactly i think there's there's a few different steps that just like the visualization side of things of where you're like you know i'm i know my wife knows that i'm laying in bed and suddenly i'll just be like wow flinch out i was like okay what were you doing there like what was happening yeah i got here i was running this route of safety was driving down you know like it's like it's real it's like you get to this point where you're visualizing things to the point where your body is like reacting to it and you're going. You take the next step, and now with OTAs, we're running routes on air.

And we don't run routes on air just to run routes on air. There's an intent behind what you're doing. You're seeing, hey, this is how this DB is playing us. Let's run this route. I'm talking to Matthew. Hey, this is three carry. It's a tight carry outside. How do we want to run this route on this one?

What angles are we coming out at? So now you you're running routes on there and you're visualizing these things so now when it does come time that you're competing you've seen that you've seen it you visualize it you've felt all those steps you're going to take you've seen how he's going to play and react to each move you're going to do at that point once you're playing the game it's like man i've taken this rep over and over and over again already. We used to call that deja vu. You practice so much, once you're doing the game, it's like deja vu. That's a great feeling too. It is.

You know, people don't realize the amount of reps you put into a play for it to work because there's like 20 different looks you can have. And when you practice it and you rep it over and over and over with intent, like Cooper said, and you use those reps, once you get to game day, it's in your subconscious. So once you can react faster and you get to use your athleticism more. Exactly. Because once you know what's coming, then that's when techniques and your superpowers get to come out.

Exactly. When your mind's on, your body's off a lot of time, right? When you can get to the point where your mind's seeing it so much that that's now subconscious. Sean McVay calls it unconscious competence. Unconscious competence. Unconscious competence. I bet you he's got some sayings.

What other sayings does he have? He's got some fucking sayings. I know him. He's all riled up all day. You got to let him come natural. I can't just start pulling him out of things like that. Yeah, we got to just keep it in the back of the head. So we had this rep right here.

Keep that in your subconscious. If something comes along in this next part of the interview, pop it. I'll flag it. Flag it. Cooper, did you say that you would wake up dreaming about reps? Oh, yeah. No, this isn't just about this is like uh full-on like like i'm awake laying in bed and i'm just visual like it's it's playing so clearly in

my head what's happening that my body is reacting to what's happening in those moments and it's it's it's it's become it's honestly become a problem to the point where it's like gosh if if like if we're like my wife's like laying on me and so and i'm daydreaming or something like that like she can get like like boom i move and she like her head's popping up off my shoulder it's it's a problem so we've had to we've had to figure out how to like you know balance those things a little bit so that we're not hurting each other. I was going to say, illegal hands to the face. Illegal hands to the face right there. Easy.

I mean, that's pretty plugged in. Have you ever been that plugged in? You're dreaming about it? You're thinking about it when you're lying down? Well, I never had a wife, so. I couldn't tell you that, but I mean, you definitely, when you're walking down the hallways, you're working releases, you know, you see one of your teammates in the hallway, you're passing by a fucking guy,

you're using hands. I mean, you're on all day long. That's what people don't realize. You don't become the triple crown winner, a fucking Super Bowl MVP, and have the numbers that this guy had without doing shit like that. That's like some Jerry Rice shit. Like, on God. That's crazy.

Who are you throwing with right now? You throwing with anyone? Matt? Matthew. Any Jimmy Guwop? Yeah. You throwing with Jimmy Guwop? Throw with Jimmy a little bit.

How's Jimmy been doing? He's been good. Is it awkward now that he's with you guys? No, we don't touch on it too much. We just let him be what it is. He's a fun teammate. He is. No, he is.

He's been great. It's been really fun throwing with him. He's grabbing the offense. There's so much new terminology. As close as Shanahan and McVay are with some of the offenses, it's a lot of the same stuff. But terminology is completely different. So the details details all that stuff

he's just got a lot going through his head right now but i mean he's good he was out there you know running the offense the other day and doing good awesome all right here we go it's cam jordan from new orleans saints here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast off the edge with me cam jordan can't stop it you know what's gonna happen can't stop that's right catching new episodes every wednesday all season long that's what you look for year 14 to do more and i'll have my friends who happen to be some of the nfl's biggest stars join me on the pod we'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it.

Ha! Yeah! Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psych! You'll have to tune in to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football.

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engaging and memorable way with Kids Bible Stories podcast. Listen to Kids Bible Stories podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, I swear, was I, we used to throw back when you threw with golf. Yes. And we threw, was I there the first day you were with Matthew? I wasn't there with, no, when you were, I threw with golf yes and we threw the was i there the first day you were with matthew or i wasn't there with no when you were i threw it yeah i wasn't there with you for that one i could have sworn you were there what was that like that whole situation when you went like do you have any matthew stories are you matthew stories yeah yeah when he came in like how was that because when you when you you had a starting quarterback you go to the super bowl and then all of a sudden it's gone yeah uh you probably have relationships in the national football league players and coaches leave every year but it's it's hard because

it is hard um i think coming in that first so that first otas coming off of going into 2021 season uh okay he's got pushed back we're coming off of going into the 2021 season, OTAs got pushed back. We're coming off of COVID stuff. OTAs, I don't think we show up until May. Matthew had just come off thumb surgery, I believe, when he had gotten traded to us. So first week of OTAs, we show up.

He's at this point only thrown like the squishy Nerf ball, like a tiny kid's squishy Nerf ball nerf balls like all he's done and that first day of otas sean's like all right here we go like let's get some routes and i think it was kind of everyone i think it was kind of like well he's not like technically he's not ready for that yet like we're supposed to kind of we gotta wait but you know matthew is like competitive competitive he's new team coach is saying he has to go throw routes he's like all right let's go throw routes and he couldn't have thrown i mean we we go through a full session with everyone you know he throws whatever 75 balls and i don't know if a single one touches the ground like it's just in your chest everything we just call and that's like when we when it started we just call them

long handoffs now when he gets when he gets going it's like you know you're throwing 25 yard deep outs to the field and it's well that's just a long handoff now which people think like oh pro quarterback pro receiver routes on air should always be a hundred percent we've been over at that going west with some quarterbacks where you're 28 for 37. Like, what are we doing, bubs? But I remember I threw with Matthew that day, one of those days. And we hadn't even met each other. I think he just got off the plane. I think we went like 45 or 45.

And he could judge you in the air. Because that's where you can miss a guy is on a deep ball. He's just unbelievable but this is the thing with him is i think his like one of the best arm talents i mean there's just yeah there's very few that throw the ball i would dare say there's no one throws the ball the way matthew does and i think what separates him is obviously you know the arm angles you know all different stuff no, being able to throw on any platform, whatever. But he can truly – he's making his decision. As the ball's coming out of his hand, like, he hasn't – he's making adjustments until –

Ball's out. Like, the ball – he's dialed into it where he knows all that stuff, right? Every point of his, you know, throwing motion, that ball, his adjustments, right until that thing comes off his pointer finger. So that's his superpower. I think that's his – he's got a lot. He's got a lot that he's got going for him. Obviously, like the ability to process is phenomenal.

And not just pre-snap process, but being able to post-snap, know what's happening, move, make throws. I think that is why he's been able to post snap know what's happening move make throws i think that's that is why he's being able to do what he's done is because of his ability he's not an athlete as much as he wants to tell you like he was an athlete he's not an athlete but he knows how to move in that pocket so well and be able to buy you know a split second of time here there and he sits he sits in there and will take a shot, but he was going to get that ball exactly where he wants to go.

Yeah, and he's tough. He's tough. He's tough. You remember when we used to throw together? I do. What year were you in there? That was, I believe, that was going into 19 maybe, 19 or 20.

I was old. Yeah, you had just really gotten into yoga. Was I telling you about yoga yeah we talked a lot about yoga you do yoga um i wouldn't say i do yoga now jesus didn't didn't touch the right spot i guess yeah old enough well no yeah what else do we talk about no i'm telling you we talked about yoga a lot a lot there's a lot of yoga but no we did we did touch on some stuff you know i think one of the things that we talk about? No, I'm telling you, we talked about yoga a lot. A lot. There's a lot of yoga. But no, we did touch on some stuff. You know, I think one of the things that we talked about was, and there's a time for this. I feel like it's more for like a certain kind of receiver that can do it. But you would do a lot of the almost jump stop routes.

Like we talked a lot about how you get up to 10, and you guys would run stuff where you'd run the basic 10-yard in or the 10-yard out, and then you'd have the 10-yard basic to the corner. Yeah. And you talked a lot about being able to change your tempo at the top of routes. You'll do that stuff. And a lot of the stuff you're doing with your feet square,

which for me is a new thing where I get to routes, and I never wanted to be – like my feet – I didn't want my feet on a surfboard. I wanted to always be staggered in some capacity. I was always different. I ran unorthodox. That was because of Wes. Wes used to do that where you get on their toes and you just pop.

And you just explode to whatever they don't do. So you're reacting. You know what I mean? And by then, because of reaction, you create separation. Yeah. And really to me, so like I'll... A certain body type. You know what I mean? And by then, because of reaction, you create separation. Yeah. And really, to me, so like I'll – A certain body type. You know what I mean?

Body type. Yeah, exactly. Well, because it is because I think there's – it lends itself – I'm not saying you're small. In the NFL, you're a smaller receiver, right? So like that body – like those guys that are – you know your super power is quicker. You're quicker than whoever's going to be guarding you.

Yeah. Getting to the point where you can have both feet in the ground and have power off both feet. At the last scrimmage, I use a come to balance release all the time where I bring both feet, boom, immediately right to come to balance. So now it's just like playing basketball. Now I can go either way I want to, react off of. As soon as I make that sudden move, like, bang, both feet are together,

DB's going to react. And now I got both feet to go. Go two-way. Two-way go. You're doing the same thing, except you're doing it at the top of the route. Yeah. Right? But there's an emphasis now on the fact that you are now in a sequence of the route.

Your quarterback is now hitched, and you've got to make that decision now and go because that next hitch, the ball's out. So there's, like, when it happens early early i can now adjust it through my route i'm like okay i took too much time at the last scrimmage i gotta speed up here yeah you're making that decision at the top of the route there's like you've got to be right yeah and you and wes obviously were the best at doing that made a living on it you don't but it also it would change that only be a man covered draw yeah so tom was always good at reading us and the countless steps or reps that we had in the offseason he knew which way we were gonna go you know what i mean just through the technique of what the guy's giving me yes so like that's

that's that chemistry that i'm sure you have to have clearly you and matthew you're on yeah where you guys are finishing each other's sentences. It takes time. It takes time. When you guys would do routes on air, right, how would you, what would a routes on air session look like for you guys? Would you guys just do the route tree, or was it more,

because I know like, you know, No. Peyton was more like, we're doing three routes today. No. Tom was a two-minute drill. He would go, when I come out here to la he he would

work me to death all right and he would be like all right sub personnel you're that so sub personnel zero slot fiend ride 134 f bow ice i had a 20-yard bow all right you're the z now rangers rangers rangers uh two flood slot you know we go all the way down the field and we'd be in the red area we'd do red areas of mulch mulch mulch mulch mulch and then i'd score and i'd be dying because it'd be like eight straight routes he wanted he wanted to work and he wanted to see me when i was tired and he wanted to see me think when i was tired and so then i'd be i'd be dying and he'd be like all right offsides offsides he made me come back and do more shit like he was like a full coach out there yeah but it it made you think while you were tired

and you were processing. And then sometimes if I was in the slot, he'd be like, we'll be safe in the middle of his drop. You want to see if I break? Yes. He was constantly making me think. Giving you cues and doing a dynamic session.

I love that. I've never done one like that before outside of like, we've done that before for strictly conditioning like hey we're gonna go eight play drive here as fast as we can right and usually that's just like hey matthew we're gonna i missed my conditioning today we're gonna do it like at the end of the routes let's get like some quick ones as fast as we can matthew's more of a route tree guy. He wants to get all of his throws in.

Every once in a while, he lets me choose some of the stuff and be like, hey, I want – because I really like going like, hey, we're going to run a corner route today, but I want it against every look we're going to get. So undercutting over the top and dip break. Exactly. I want cover four, cover three, cover two man, one help lurk. I want to know, hey, he's playing – like, yeah, it it's man you didn't win at the top he's squeezing you it's

gonna come flat like all those things so now then we're like we can dial in every look that we want and no for this route is not it can look so many different ways and we've talked through all those things so that that was how i really liked doing routes because there's intent behind it. We would do those. So that was more of like in the off season where he was trying to get throws and he was conditioning his arm and he was trying to run me and I was young.

You know what I mean? We would go post-practice and do a lot of that stuff. So like we'd work safe routes, back shoulder throws because back shoulder throws, such a trust throw, but you still need to be zipping at 10 yards. And you can't dictate it.

You can't show it. And so we'd work those a lot, and then we'd also work the flag routes, bow routes, where you want to lean on the guy. He's undercutting, throw you upfield. We did a lot of that specialized stuff too. Everything with tom that's that was what the greats do you guys are clearly on a great path you know i mean that's why you guys are great is because you guys practice with a purpose yeah it's not just going out there to work hard no you can't you can't prove just going out and working

hard and just you know what i mean yes you got to find out what you need to work and work hard at that and that's how you improve yes and so we designed we made the show for this type of conversation so just keep having it it's amazing loving the talking shop baby yeah yeah yeah i i i want to talk with someone what do you want to talk about this shirt that you're wearing what's this oh this shirt this whole thing oh this whole thing what is this thing that's an old one it's very old greatest show on turf here yes that one's really old our listening audience it's a super 36 shirt patriots versus the ram it just felt like a little bit of a set like you didn't want to go all the way and wear the one that i know you wanted to wear but the producers were like hey i don't know if you should wear that one no you want to know it was the only shirt i had that had patriots rams so 47 brand they've been

sending this stuff and uh shout out and they sent this one over and i was like what am i wearing for coop you know he's probably gonna be a little swag dad he's gonna have some sweet sweet kicks on some like little surfer hoodie thing going with his beard all done. How do I make it kosher between us? Yeah. And so I picked this out. Nice. You know what?

I know you've got another shirt. Well, I have the Super Bowl victory shirt. Yeah, I have that one. They give you after the game, but I don't have like. That's the one. Somewhere here. Oh, yeah. Okay. Good.. They give you after the game, but I don't have, like... That's the one. Somewhere here. Oh, yeah. Okay.

Good. It's buried deep. That's good. Well, I mean, I think it's under my other two. Got him. Yeah, that's good. Now, the internet likes to compare us for some reason. Well, it's because we're so similar.

Why are we so similar, even though you're 6'1", 6'2", 5'10"? What do you think these reasons are? I couldn't for the life of me. We just went into a whole deep dive of how our routes

are completely different. I think it's a beard thing. It's a beard? It's a beard thing. Maybe our pigment? I never thought that once. Our pigment? Every white guy

is the same fucking receiver? You know what? You know what it is, though? So, yeah. No, that is what it is. That's what it is. He's got long speed. I never had long speed like that.

I don't have the... I don't have a really long speed like that. For five years, I did. So, I was compared... So, who were you compared to coming into the league? This guy, Wes Welker. Okay, yeah. So, I was Jordy Nelson.

You were? You were? I played against Jordy. Yeah. You guy, Wes Welker? Yeah. So I was Jordy Nelson. You were? You were. I played against Jordy. Yeah. You're better in the slot, though. Way better. He was fast. We couldn't be more different.

Yeah. He was a big guy. Jordy's game was vertical. Yeah. That's not my game. No, but you can still run vertical routes. Yeah, but that wasn't like, that's not how I've made my, that's not how I've made my game.

You made it on that slant and that comeback. But now I've seen it full circle now because guess who any receiver gets, like any white receiver becomes compared to me. So it's kind of like a full circle thing now of like. So Berrios is just like those two now? Who else? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. There's the, exactly.

It's okay. At some point, all the draft people will get some creativity, and they'll actually start, like, seeing the game. And it'll be like – They got to watch the game with you. I mean, Coach Coop. Coach Coop got the – you got the analyst, bro. Yeah, that's the word, analyst.

It is the word. Analysis. Analysis. There we go. What's up with this? How's Puka? He's been a cool addition? He has been.

He has been. Pretty sweet. Pretty cool. Obviously, great story coming from a fifth-round pick. Yeah. Doing what he did. I don't know how people didn't see whatever. Yeah.

You see someone play ball and you just gotta know someone can play ball um kudos to us though for for getting him um yeah but he's been he's been awesome yeah i mean he's a sponge he wants to know he wants to talk football he wants to know the game um he's got really pretty good iq like we we came from the kind of the same coaching tree yeah where his his coach at udub when he was there was my receiver coach at eastern washington oh shit yeah so we kind of have the same thing i've actually been in the same coaching tree since high school so my my high school receiver coach was really best friends with my college receiver coach who coached my next receiver coach and coach yarbs from with now

coach junior adams who was my coach in college jeez so i've been doing the same i've had the same tree for for well since 2008 that can that consistency help your game i think there i think it did but it also it did help me because there's that there's a lot of similar thinking but then the other side of is i'm like i have to go find something new like it forced me to go out and find tools and talk to people and find other drills find other stuff that i want to incorporate into my game because i'm like i know i'm getting the same stuff from yarbs that i got from coach adams that i got from coach edwards i've gotten from coach do another perspective exactly i wanted to have another product because receiver is an art form yeah no one doesn't you do it different

this goes back to the same conversation it's like you know there's there's picasso name another artist matisse michelangelo donatello rafael there's all these different ways to do it yeah right and so i'm like i don't want to get stuck just knowing one way i want to have some other stuff stuff I can do and force me to kind of go and learn from people. I remember before the 20, my second year, before the 2018 season, it's Friday before we report on Tuesday for training camp. And I'm with Curtis Conway. Yeah.

Who's that? The receiver? Yeah. From what team? Bears. Bears. So what year yeah i think so but look at the point i'm with conway and we're we show up on i show up on friday like we're gonna take me through some girls i just want to get you know perspective i want to see someone else take me through stuff a lot

of times i go with someone and i might spend a few days working out with someone and be like i grabbed one thing that i want to take with me. Sometimes there's nothing. Sometimes it's like, man, there's just a treasure trove of stuff that I want to use here. Yeah, we were there with Curtis Conway, and we ran a curl route for an hour straight. An hour straight of a curl route, three days before training camp.

My toes were – I pulled my cleats off, toes bloodied. Gone. Every year. Yeah, gone. training camp my toes were black pulled my cleats off toes bloodied like gone every year yeah gone you know so you go but i want to go hear from someone i want to hear someone different and what was his technique how was it different you know he attacked the leverage guy or was he just go straight up in the back we did attack we did more attack the leverage stuff in terms of like the stems and things like that but i don't even remember if it was from him that i like pulled this but it was kind of a beginning of this idea of like as a receiver i never want to think of myself as as slowing down i want to decelerate right i want to always be thinking i'm accelerating so even when i get to the top of a route i want to accelerate

down into the ground, right? Like what's the, what, one of the best stoppers in the world? A javelin, right? Javelin comes down, bing, stops, right? So I want to be like a javelin when I'm running. I want that angle. I want to accelerate down at 45. And when I'm accelerating, put my foot down,

you know what Newton says? Energy, potential. Yes. He also says every force has an equal and opposite reaction, right? So if I accelerate down into the ground, right, the ground's going to stop me, push back against me. It's got to go somewhere. And now as a DB, you see me accelerating.

I'm accelerating down towards the ground. You're backing up, right? But I'm stopping. Yeah. But you have to have your technique in, right? In your body, your angles. All that stuff. Oh, there's so much.

I'm saying like there, running curls for an hour, getting my feet bloodied. Like, yeah, I probably didn't grab a whole lot of stuff from it. But it was like the beginning of this thought, like, man, how do I want to stop? How do I want to learn how to like cue myself to how I'm going to run routes to the top? Yeah.

And it's developed and grown to this place where now I've got these cues of how I want that stuff to look. And it's a one-hour session five years ago that's developed into kind of a basis of how I do my stuff now. Yeah. Got to give a little shine to Coach Curtis Conway here. First, seventh overall pick in the 93 draft. Geez.

Out of USC. Yeah, USC. To the Bears. Played from 93 to 04. Finished his career with the Niners. El Camino Junior College guy before USC. El Camino, where's that? Torrance.

Oh, Torrance. Right out the road. Shout out to Coach Curtis Conway. What other guys did you look up to when you were younger running routes? When I was younger? I played running back. Yeah. So. when you were younger running routes? When I was younger? I played running back. Yeah. So.

You were looking at running backs. So I was looking at running backs. Running backs. Reggie. Reggie Bush. We had him on here. We talked about the 5-0-5 game. Against Fresno State.

We had 505 yards against Fresno State. Remember that where you cut back against the whole team? We pulled the ball back. Yeah. Yeah. He's a monster. Yeah. What other receivers in the league right now are you,

do you study any of the guys? Because I used to study guys all the time. Yeah. So I used to. I'd be like, why the fuck is he catching 120 balls? I'd look at every catch he had. I said, what is he doing? So I loved watching Keenan Allen.

Keenan Allen release game. Keenan Allen, like, these last few years especially because he had some injury stuff come up, right? Isn't like – he's never been a – A burner. A burner, right? Yeah. He's later in, like, later in his career.

He slowed down. He slowed down. But he's still playing at a very high level. And I want to know, like, how is he creating separation? And then I started watching the tape, and guess what they never tell Keenan Allen to run? It's a go route. very high level and i want to know like how is he creating separation and i watched i watched the tape and guess what they never tell keenan allen to run it's a go route so now you're not moving great you weren't a burner in the first place and your team doesn't let you run vertical how are you going to get open and his ability to snap down to like get close to get open

is unbelievable he would run he'd run hitch routes against press and you get open is unbelievable. He would run hitch routes against press, and he'd get open, even though they never threw a goal ball. As a DB, if you study tape and you never see your guy go vertical, you're just going to sit on every route. And he, over and over again, is able to get open, make a ton of catches. His ability in and out of breaks, how quick he is. He runs that little Colorado route, which I think they let him run it on an option. He's either running the shallow if he's got it or he's, you know, bursting back out.

Yeah. He's made a killing on that. You guys don't have any of those two-way goes? The read it routes you see ours? We just run the read it. But we don't do it like that. We don't do it off of like the shallow. We don't do it.

We do it off cross routes. Yeah. So 6, 15 15 and you're you're either crossing you're either going across the 24 or you're bringing it out to the bow read her out what do you have on the back side go go it's just for you to get open and fucking win third you know if you knew you were getting man coverage you can get it protected you knew you if they weren't thieving or robbing you, that's where you go. Or you put a deep stopper on one side that converts.

So if they robber it, you can hit that stopper because you know you got one on one. It's a true one-man show, basically. One-man show. 53 yards to get open. Just throw me the ball, coach. You got to get McVay in there. Come on. That's just not how we

operate, really. We don't do that. What? It's got to fit the system. Yeah, but if you have a man... You guys don't play man teams, though. No, we play man teams. What man team have you played right now? Who's the man team? You're just saying that because you came from the Patriots who play...

You just play a ton of man to man. We didn't play man against you guys in the Super Bowl. On third down, you did. Well, third down is always man coverage. Not always, but yeah. Most of the time is always man coverage. It comes down to man coverage on third down. We all know you did in the Super Bowl.

We changed it up. You guys did your 6-1. You weren't there, though. That's why they lost. I was there. I was watching the whole thing. Third down, double Robert Woods. Gilmore on BC.

You know what's the sweet play from that? I don't know if you guys the whole thing. Third down, double Robert Woods. Gilmore on BC. You want, you know, it's a sweet play from that. I don't know if you guys, when you guys produce this, if you can put it in there, but Robert Woods ran a sail route on third down on our sideline, going from our sideline, looking right to left against a double team. That was unbelievable. Unbelievable catch on the sideline. What, he sold it in?

Did he bring it in? Sold it in. Sold it in, kind of stuck it, flattened it out. He had the outside leverage guy and just shaved underneath the outside leverage guy, throw to the sideline. I bet you that DB got murdered on the sideline by Bill. Don't lose your leverage. Just keep your leverage.

We're double teaming them. Yeah, I'm sure he did. But it was a freaking it was a sweet route did B Cooks give you guys any info going into that game yeah no I don't remember

them doing a ton this is tough it's a tough thing when you got teams like everyone thinks like with all the players it's too hard it's too much stuff

putting on a defense and an offense are always thinking about so much stuff yeah and then you guys came out anyways and did something you'd never done in

anyways. So it's like the worst thing about the Super Bowl is you get two weeks to overthink everything. Overthink everything and over prepare for anything. So you prepare based on the film because why would you prepare for something you haven't seen before? Prepare for the film for two weeks. They're going to do what they do team guys and then they show

up and you guys did uh you guys did the uh it was chicago what the defense you guys ran it was it was it was it was it was zero it was zero and they were dropping people no fangio had done it earlier that year with chicago i wasn't in on the defensive meetings. You guys got to watch that. Pay attention to what your eyes are doing. 100%. I just saw there was interceptions by Gilmore when third down and it was needed. I was sitting there on the sideline like, that's for the keeper coach.

Let's go. When McCourty ran out there and knocked it off. Knocked that one out. Oh, my goodness. So that play wasn't even in. That play was not a part. You guys talked about it on the sideline. Yeah, that was a play that talked about it on the sideline. Yeah.

That was a play that we drew up on the sideline. We had run before, but it was not part of the game plan. We were like, we've got to get this thing in there. It seemed like Coach was a little starstruck, though, with Belichick at first. I wasn't starstruck. I love Coach. We played against each other in college. I love Coach McVay.

That's my dog. The Mac, baby. We've gone and got hammered together and stuff. But, you know, he... He wasn't starstruck. Little. No, I don't think that's what it was. He saw Darth Vader for the first time.

He's like, oh, my... You watching any of these young guys? You watching any of these young guys coming out? Harrison or... Are there receivers coming out? Yeah. You watch young guys? Are you watching any young guys coming out? Harrison? Or the receivers coming out? Yeah. You watch young guys? I watch just as much as you watch college football.

I'm not pulling up guys' film and scouting them. I watch highlights. You don't really get anything out of the highlight. Yeah, because you see the catch at the end. Well, you see what his best is, and then you can assume what his shitty is. But you get to see the whole route a lot of time you know that's the thing that kills me is a lot of times like okay i saw you get off the line and then you disappeared and then you caught it yeah usually they just go routes in college four verticals yeah i'm excited to see

it though i've heard there's some really good like some good guys coming out so i just gotta ask one thing what's up with this red turf at eastern washington what's up with that dude the inferno just on fire it's literally on fire it's does it get hot it gets pretty hot it does and then um how is it does it mess with your eyes no honestly when you're when you're playing on it all the time it's not so it's home field advantage for real then it's 100 home field advantage because guys are tripping when they go on there yes for sure an adjustment period you're used to it but like because i go back and watch if i see a highlight or whatever of the red turf now it's like whoa i was like blinding my eyes but the but when you're on it all we practice on it every day

it was just i I was home. Yeah. We'll be right back after this quick break. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints. Here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it.

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We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psyche! You'll have to tune in to find out.

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Let's go back to January 30th, 2022. We go over pop culture, what was going on. It wasn't that long ago, but the number one movie was Spider-Man, No Way Home. Just watched it with my daughter. She loves it. Every time we do this, it's always Spider-Man. Spider-Man No Way Home. Just watched it with my daughter. She loves it. Every time we do this. It's always Spider-Man.

Spider-Man has been on. We've done 50 of these shows now. 50. Everyone from Terry Bradshaw in the 70s to new guys. And Spider-Man's been on like seven of them. Just keep going. You go all the way back to, what was the OG? You guys consider the OG the Tobey Maguire? Me, that's the OG. That's the OG. toby mcguire i like you that's the og

that's the og that's og so from then on how many spider-man movies have there been i think four crunching numbers was a lot i think it's like it's like seven or eight there's some weird licensing thing i won't bore you with that sony has i know sony has it they have to do it they have we counting animated we count animated right yeah yeah oh the animated ones are great you know the new ones are good. You like Spider-Man? Yeah. Are you an action figure guy?

No, but my boys are really big into superheroes. What's their favorite? Batman is probably the favorite. Batman is definitely the favorite. He's real. He's real tools he's using. Jules always tells us how he's more of a robin man than a batman man just as rapid you have a picture of danny

the number one song was easy on me by adele we like adele i like adele do you see that you see here at the sphere you see you've been to vegas see the sphere i You seen her at the sphere? You been to Vegas, see the sphere? I saw the sphere being built. I've been to Vegas one time. You're not missing much. Dan Campbell finishes his first season as head coach of the Detroit Lions with a 3-13-1 record. I liked him at the beginning. You don't like him anymore?

I like him. I like Dan Campbell But there's a fine line between reckless and aggressive And he's tinkering on that Reckless side way too much He's tinkering on what you perceive No As like

I've done what he's trying to do You coached The Detroit Lions? No, I've been part part championship teams you have too your team never went forward on like fourth and five under 30 yeah those ones what are we doing bro he's buying kneecaps man we gotta like him to death i i go to bat for him all the time but we gotta we gotta i really like what he's got going on over there yeah players are super bought into their stuff it's it sounds like a great place a really fun place to play i bet there's a lot of they got a lot of juice right now they got some

a lot of nfl there's a lot of excitement with that that's a cool that'd be a cool place to uh to win in detroit yeah you know they love their fans scream licorice pizza and the matrix resurrections were all popping off in the box office. I didn't like the Matrix that much. You like it? No. The Matrix one was great. You like Matrix? I've seen the OGs.

I don't know. Resurrections. Scream? Was this a new Scream? Yeah, there was a new one. Again, didn't really cross my desk very hard. What's Licorice Pizza? That's like an indie movie.

Paul Thomas Anderson? Great one. Big fan, big hard. What's licorice pizza? That's like an indie movie. Paul Thomas Anderson? Great one. I'm a big fan. Who's in that? Tyler doesn't seem to feel the same way. He doesn't like late era PTA, which I like. I don't like most things. He's pretty miserable.

I've been working with him for 10 years. Going through life, just pretty much not liking anything. Nothing. Bob Saget, R.I. Bob Saget, RIP. Dude, RIP. Dainty Tanner. Man, loved him on Full House. That's how old I am.

Raised me, bro. I was raised on the reruns, but still. TBS after school. What's going on in the sports world? Wait, we got to give some shine to Kevin James, bro. This is when Home Team dropped. Home Team. He was playing Sean Payton, man. Sean Payton. All right, we got to give some shine to Kevin James, bro. This is when Home Team dropped. He was playing Sean Payton, man.

Sean Payton. All right, we got to ask the question. Who would play Sean McVay in a movie? Who would play Sean McVay? Who would? If Kevin James plays Sean Payton in this movie. So you're saying the standard's real low. Yeah.

I like Kevin James. I like Kevin James, but that is funny. I'm saying the standard's real low in terms of how alike they need to look. I'm not saying I don't like Kevin James. I'm just saying. No, I'm saying standard is real low in terms of how alike they need to look. I'm not saying that I don't like Kevin James. I'm just saying the standard was not like his acting. It was a bad movie, yes. Objectively. The standard wasn't like his acting.

I haven't seen it. Who's playing Sean McVay? I'm struggling here. Nobody really comes to mind. I know. I know. I know he's going to want me to say someone that he has a ton of respect for. I think he's actually referenced someone.

I think the Rams actually referenced someone playing Sean. Who? I can't remember who it was. It was in the draft house. One of the draft houses. They had him there. What movie has he been in? I don't know. I can't remember. It's been so long. Glenn Powell.

That'd be pretty good. Yeah, right, McVay? Ain't that good looking? I just want him on the show. You just want him on the show, Jules. Who would play Bill? Who would play Bill? Danny DeVito.

Be a fun Bill. That'd be good. It'd be a fun Bill. You could do something fun with that. Danny DeVito as Bill Belichick. That'd be awesome. You could be a fun bill. You could do something fun with that. Danny DeVito as Bill Belichick. That'd be awesome. You could do some good stuff with that. I'd love the trailer now.

Let's go back into sports world. Super Bowl champions, LA Rams. You guys won it. Hats off. That was pretty cool to watch. Stafford come over day one, win a Super Bowl. NFL MVP, Aaron Rodgers. His corduroy suit. I remember Bowl. NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers. His corduroy suit, I remember it.

Anti-wide receiver bias. Yeah, you should have been an MVP, 100%. Thanks, Julian. Bro, you almost had it. Receivers got to stick together on this thing. Amen. You had an insane year. Didn't you break like six records?

I don't know. We were close to a few. I think we were actually, you know, were actually 18 yards off of Calvin's. But it was the extra game. We did have the extra game that year. Still. And actually, you know what we had? We had the last drive of that game.

That's the last game of the season, right? The last drive of the season, second to last. We had a fly sweep that went for 18 yards but we handed it oh he gave it a little pitch you imagine if it was just you know just a little matthew come on would they have gave it to him if he would have beat the record i think you have to i think you you'd have to have it asked yeah but it's like going forward from now though it has to be asterisk as like a 17 game like from 17 game thing going forward i mean was asterisk as like a 17-game thing going forward. I mean, was Aaron Rodgers' number that great?

I think they were pretty good. 4,115 yards, 37 TDs, only four picks. Yeah, that was pretty good. 111.9 passer rating. But he's got those laying around his house. Laying. That's nothing compared to 145 catches. Almost 2,000 yards. 16 receiving touchdowns.

It was a pretty good season. That was a fucking monster season. Pretty good season. National champions was Georgia. This old Georgia thing. They go back to back this year? This was the first of the two. Let me double check.

Bryce Young was the Heisman Trophy winner. Man, he's been in a bad situation. Yeah. I feel bad for him in a bad situation. Yeah. I feel bad for him. It was tough. That whole thing. It was tough. Winter Olympics kickoff in China, which was god-awful, I heard.

I mean, people were dying of, I think, breathing problems with the pollution. All right, Joe. And then I think, didn't they not have enough snow? I remember. Yeah, it was a mess. They had no snow? I remember. Yeah, it was a mess. They had no snow. It was a mess. It was a mess.

There's problems. First NFL season to consist of 17 regular season games. What were your thoughts on that? That's hard. It's hard. It is hard. You know when it's the hardest is when you finish your 16th game. You're like, we should really be in the playoffs right now.

We got to go do another game. These young guys don't even have that feeling. I know. But that's the thing. If you're ignorant to the fact that it used to be 16 or that it used to be 14 and that it's going to be 18. We want the health and safety of the players to be in our mind. It's all about the health and safety of the players. It really is. It's the health and safety of the players to be in our mind. It's all about the health and safety of the players.

It really is. It's the health and safety of the players. That's why we're going to add one more violent car crash to their life. Yes. One more game of violent car crashes. Car crashes. So I've heard people, I'm not going to name names, people have thrown out the idea of what if you did took out otas i haven't even started yet

sloppy football right no exactly so that's that that is the fear right and innovation you lose innovation if you have otas you take out otas maybe you split part of otas put it to training camp but you cut training camp so you you end up with a similar-ish time where there's a buildup of OTAs into training camp. So OTAs, how OTAs starts, just workouts and meetings, then just routes on air and meetings and lifting, and then eventually training camp. If you were to do it like that,

but you were to say you were going to go like 21 games so you add games shorten the overall season of work for a for players i'm not saying i'm advocating for 21 games because that sounds it's a lot and then you've got playoffs on top of that i'm saying that someone has thrown this idea out is what would revenue look like if you were to get to that place and say as players you're going to get once the season's over you're not coming back to work until you know late july yeah i mean that's that's the problem with our union and us as players they throw this little bullshit in front of us like hey guys look we're gonna shorten your practice we're gonna do this we're do this. And they slide in seven other games,

and they take all the revenues for all the goddamn playoffs. No, it's the same. It is the same thing. I mean, at the end of the day, you get to, like, the safety of the game. And the players, they're doing things. I'm glad I'm not playing defense because I understand the challenges of playing defense in this league now. Yeah. I'm not playing defense because I understand the challenges of playing defense in this league now.

But when you add in all the player safety concerns, the things that are being negotiated by players that we don't want to do, that then it's like, well, we don't want to. You know what? Don't test me for drugs for a few more weeks, but you can add the game on. Yeah. There's like the things that like everything we give up, we're also like, or everything we get, we're also giving something up.

Yeah, but they're like laughing. The owners are saying, oh, that doesn't make any. It doesn't make any difference. Well, you know, I don't think they really care about that. No. But the thing is, what will happen if they were to try to do that? The product would get so shitty because it's already been sloppy these last couple years as far as if you look at offensive line play. At the beginning of each year, I'm on TV.

We talk about, oh, the offensive line play for this team, that team, that team, this team is terrible. Why is that? You get 14 padded practices in the regular season. You get, what, five to seven in training camp. And that's like an art for these guys. They have to have live reps in order to be able to communicate and do their job and get the situations that they're going to have in games. So if you do this, the product is going to continually get watered down

and you're going to lose fanship. So it's one of those things where they better not get too fat. Oh, yeah. There is. What is it? Something like that? Hungry pigs get slaughtered or something? Something like that.

Hungry pigs get slaughtered. I don't know how that applies exactly. It does because the league thinks they're so good where they're just going to keep on generating more and more revenues, but they're going to see. Oh, gotcha. Gotcha. They're the hungry pigs.

Yeah. Gotcha. I completely agree with you. You have to protect the product of the game. And I think that also comes down to a responsibility on players who want less and less practice, who already, I think, relative to when maybe you started in the league, what practice looked like versus now.

You're ignorant to what football used to look like right because you never knew it like this is like the rookies coming in now this is the nfl they're gonna know forever forever right the nfl that you knew is much different from when you started to where it ended there's a responsibility on players to do something in the offseason to prepare yourself to get ready to go but we've been seeing through statistics that that responsibility has not been getting taken by the player because injuries are through a fucking roof we had 14 backup quarterbacks last year this is where i think there there is a 100 i don't want to i just wish that more guys showed up ready to go.

And that's why I think I understand this in terms of the issues between the league and the players, and the product needs to be good. And obviously the union is always going to argue for less work. The league is always going to argue for more games. There's a middle ground here. We've got to come together and figure out what's the way we put our best product forward even the product's good the money's going to be good for the league which means money's going to be good for the players it's all going to go full circle but we got to figure out where that middle ground is there is a responsibility on players to show up ready to work i think and that's what i think

some of this stuff could happen where guys in the summer take – I'm like, if you don't want to be ready for OTAs, I'm fine with that. But the guys that leave all summer don't do anything all summer and then show up for training camp. That summer, you get five weeks from OTAs to the camp. Take your break and then get ready to work because it's in your best interest as a player to show up ready to go. Protect yourself.

Protect your teammates. Be ready to put your best foot forward. If you don't show up to training camp ready to go, I have a hard time when guys get hurt or guys do stuff or guys aren't ready or guys are getting talked to by coaches about potentially getting released. I saw you were in the Caribbean for three weeks. It's professional football, Ken. It's professional football, Ken.

It's professional football. Guys used to back in 1960s and 70s that played this goddamn game were mechanics in the offseason because they didn't get paid. It's professional football. We're going to pay a hell of good money. Get your ass in the gym on the field, get right, and let's go. Yeah. It's too Belichick-y.

Jack, let's segue this in let's start getting into these game hey before we get into these games and these teams real quick 2021 2022 prior to this season we had some very notable retirements in the nfl drew breeze leshawn mccoy philip rivers adam venetieri demarius thomas jason witten and yours truly julian edelman i didn't retire this year that's right. I had to give you a little shine there, brother. Should we get into these teams? Tough year.

Sorry. San Francisco 49ers. Let's hear this. Niner gang. Unbelievable team that I grew up loving. All right, let's run through these guys. Grew up loving this team. It's better than me wearing a San Francisco shirt.

That would have been disrespectful. Yeah, but I grew up. This was my team, bro. my dog's name was dwight and montana i had two dogs tim dwight and joe montana they're my dogs yeah dwight jerry wright's daughter you know i'm part of that franchise kind of yeah no you're not but you know yeah i i understand like you've got your've got your... You keep saying your dog's Tim Dwight, but it's Dwight Clark now. Or Dwight Clark. Yeah.

Tim Dwight, that's Patriot. You played with him. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. You have your allegiance. When you're growing up, you have your allegiance, but eventually you're a Patriot. Yeah, I'm a full-on Patriot.

Were you a Seahawks guy growing up, Coop? What's that? Were you a Seahawks guy or what? No, I'm from Washington, so I grew up Seattle. Seahawks were or what? No, I'm from Washington. So, yeah, I grew up Seattle. Seahawks were kind of the team. And then it got to a point where bedtime was when the game was over. So I was rooting for overtime always. I got that.

Yeah. And then there's also a point where Hasselbeck had his moment. And then… Sean Alexander. Sean Alexander kind of like started just… He was just kind of done, I think. He got paid. He was on cover of Madden.

He was never the same. And it just wasn't really the same. And that's when I really had a tough… I'm like, you know what? I just want to see good football. And so I kind of transitioned. I just wanted to… I didn't want to see good football teams, good football players.

You mentioned the Seahawks. You guys both played a lot like Steve Largent. Loved Largent. He's the godfather. Even though we don't play anything alike, but just being a white dude that got up and went down that sideline, jumped and got it. Loved him.

Loved him. All in favor. He's like a congressman now. Yeah. I got to look that up. Yeah. He's fucking sharp. Damn.

Shout out, Steve. All right. So this Niners team, this was the fifth year of the Shanahan-Lynch era. Bounced back from a 6-10 season the year prior. Started this year 3-5. Had to go 7-9 to make the playoffs. In that last week of the season, it was win and get in against the Rams,

as Coop mentioned earlier. Top 10 in total offense, top 10 in total defense. Pretty well put together on both sides of the ball. This was the fifth season of the Jimmy G era in San Francisco, which is kind of crazy. And this was the year that they traded up to make that Trey Lance pick. Third overall.

How's that one working out? But they also got Brock Purdy, right? That's good. In that same draft. No. Next year? Next year. Next year.

And then Pro Bowlers Kyle Juszczyk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Alex Mack, Nick Bosa, and Lakin Tomlinson. Alex Mack was really good for a long time. he's probably the best center for our generation he can do the splits no way yeah he's like really flexible damn i didn't know that should we hit these rams real quick coop jump in anytime this is your squad brother uh cooper cup became the first player to win the triple crown since steve smith in 2005 that was the big headline of this season. It's also Stafford's first year in LA. That was huge.

He had a banner year, career high in touchdowns, in completion percentage, as we noted with our former guest, Andrew Whitworth. This was his 16th and final season in the NFL. He went out on top like a beast. Love that. And then OBJ joined the squad in week 10. Came over from Cleveland after his dad

made those comments. He put it together. Highlight film. It's like a Bill highlight film. It's a low light right there, bro. Bill Toop. Bill Toop. And then Pro Bowlers, we got Cooper Cupp, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and kicker Matt Gay. What a squad. A lot less Pro

Bowlers on that compared to the team up north. A lot of it mattered was at the end. What's that mean? The team up north has got a bunch of names. You guys are underdogs always. They're north of us. 12-5 team won the NFC West, by the way. Sean McVay, head coach.

And a lot of we had Kevin O'Connell, O.C., right? He was, yep. K.O.C. How do you like K.O.C.? He's a man. I really like him. I played with him. That's so wild.

That's right. Yeah. My rookie year. You treat him well? He was cool. I mean, I was a rookie. He was a second-year guy. Oh, gotcha.

So you treat you well. Yeah, we hung out a bunch there's like a slapdick group oh he was part he was part of that group well we were just guys that you know that weren't starters you know they were the patriots then they already had like it just came off of two years ago they almost went undefeated three super bowls and shit so like there's a group there's like socioeconomic statuses in the locker room you understand that no we don't do that how was the share of receivers room with odell it was great he was honestly he came in um energy energy and he's he's he is himself he's going to be who he is um i think anytime you i i imagine i've been with her i've

been lucky enough to be with the rams for you know going on eight years now so i don't know what it's like going to a new team either you yeah but so i would imagine you come in like you're trying you're in a new place around surrounded by a bunch of new people trying to get a feel for what the room's about how we do things and i think there was probably like a one week period where it was like an adjustment period of like uh we don't we don't do that here but it wasn't ever anything like yeah nothing nothing egregious or anything but it's like there was a growth and then it was like man he's just a part of the team and he was such an incredible teammate brought so much energy to everything that we did and um obviously was a huge part of that that. He's got an aura. You know what I mean?

When you got Odell, it's kind of like when Tebow joined our team. Like, he came in, and he had an aura about him. So it's always fun to hear about how they are in the room. Yeah. How was that with Tebow? Oh, man, I've talked about it so much on this podcast. Oh, really?

What makes Sean andVay so special? Oh, my goodness. Yeah, quick transition to... Okay. What makes Sean McVay so special? In all honesty, let's get serious for a second. He does, he commands the room better than anyone I've ever been around.

Right? Like, comes in, his ability to communicate to people, get a message across, is A1. I think for any coach,

if you can't, if you're not a good communicator, you're going to make everyone's life miserable. And so for him, as from the very top, you're getting a good communicator, you're going to make everyone's life miserable. And so for him, from the very top, you're getting clear, concise communication that trickles down through everything. When we had Wit on, he said he walked in on McVay

watching game tape of himself giving speeches to the team, trying to break down his own stuff. Why did he pause after he said he walked in on McVay? Dramatic effect. I was like like doing what how to let it linger for a second yeah no yeah well because i think that was a super important thing for him coming he was i mean he was my age when he was head coach of the la right so weird as you're you're stepping in you're my age going in like i can understand being critical and wanting to learn from all this. This is your first time leading a team meeting.

As players, we get an opportunity to watch ourselves and learn. And, you know, I think he wanted to learn and be the best that he could be for us. You know, I think that's – he takes that mentality. He is very critical of himself and wants to be – he doesn't want to let people down. And, you know, that's kind of his heart for people, and I think that's kind of what drives a lot of the things that he does.

I love that. He, like, just outside looking in. And, I mean, I've gone to practices, but I'm not there, but you could just tell he's got just leadership qualities. He's a leader of men. And the communication thing is so important in this generation. Yeah. You know what I mean?

Yep. And he knows how to do it. He seems like he knows how to be a chameleon with each guy to make them get their best. Yeah, exactly. Find ways to motivate people and connect with them. I think he does a really good job of that. Yeah, he does.

Now, one guy you're probably going to be missing that was on this team, Aaron Donald. I mean, that's – how, like, special is it just to watch him in practice? Yeah, he's – I mean, there's nothing like what he was able to do. Yeah. The chances that – it was really like his ability to choose when to take risks and take his shot was unbelievable because of his preparation, because of his preparation going into games.

And then it was when he did take his shot and it wasn't there, his ability to then counter and close gaps still. He'd play out of his gap more than probably anyone ever, but he would make sure that he was doing his job and closing it if it was an issue you know like yeah but he wasn't he'd two gap but he'd straight up he'd run around you he's so fast so quick like it's like i'm gonna get past you and i'm gonna make things right on the other side now was he a guy that like lived in the weight room he was oh he's ridiculous i think so ad's thing like he secretly wants to be like uh like he wants to be dwayne johnson

like that's where that's where his yeah he wants to be that he wants to be the rock and he so he spends so much time lifting and it's not even like like functional lift sometimes you know it's i've actually worked out with him i went and worked out with him one time so i was like hey the off season let's like get a workout together tells me the time show up an hour and a half straight of arms an hour and a half you know how many muscles you have in your arms not there's not a lot like seven yeah that's what i'm saying like biceicep, tricep. Yeah. Shoulder, maybe if you count that as part of your arm. And then forearms for an hour and a half.

I mean, he looked like it. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You don't need to be doing arms for an hour and a half. No, but when you're baby rhino, you do. That dude looked like a straight rhino. He is unbelievably strong. And then obviously all the things on top of it that you have as a football player where there's like he just loves working out loves lifting and it just was an extra little

part on top of the fact that he is you know i think the best defensive player of all time and the skills and all the stuff stuff that he had going for him in that regard how many d tackles in the history of the nfl have had abs It's not a lot. Not a lot. Who's the unsung hero of this game, though, before we get into the game? Unsung hero of this game? Or the team. Or the team.

It's hard to say. There were so many guys that made plays throughout that entire game. I'm not sure if I can choose one person. I think it was just a full team win. Yeah. Everyone did their job. And it was good when they needed to be.

They were able to make plays. Definitely. I don't have anything. I like that, though. I like that. When you win against a team, I mean, they were your kryptonite for a while, bro. They were. That's big to do in the NFC Championship after losing them twice in the same year.

There's a lot to prove. Everyone had to do their fucking job to get that win. Yep. To go to the next game and play the last game of the year. The best game of the year. Yep. Amen. Leach game lead up?

Yeah, let's talk about how we got to this game. It was pretty decent. Amen. The Niners come in as the sixth seed. The Rams come in as the fourth seed. The path to get there, the Niners had to win at Dallas and at Lambeau in the snow. That's like a 90s playoff. I remember that.

It was crazy. It was crazy. MVP? Jimmy G? Jimmy G takes out the MVP, baby. Come on, man. What are we doing? Rodgers jokes.

And the Rams, their path was pretty crazy as well. Easy win on the road in Arizona, won 34-11. And then the crazy game down in Tampa, taking out Brady. Oh, my gosh. Cooper coming through huge at the end. That's got to be – Is that blade zero? January 23rd, that was cover zero, yeah.

January 23rd might be the best day in history for football. Because you guys remember the game that was after that? What? That was the Chiefs-Bills game. That's right. Oh, my God. That was like right after that game. Holy smokes.

Divisional round, always crazy. That's a fun weekend. When you get out and you start to enjoy this, you're in it. So you're still in it. Like, oh, my God, divisional. But nothing like championship Saturday is awesome, too. Yeah. Dude, I think Coop just brought up a point.

We got to do that as an episode. That day. Like a grand finale, the greatest day in football in recent history. It would be competitive that day. That is insane. Those are two of the wildest games. Because I thought that obviously both different too like one of them were just a story of two different halves and then you know

that game which was just back and forth back and forth um creative overtime role about it that tampa bay game i think at one point was the game 27 to 3 i believe we were up at one point we were up we were up a lot and we turned the ball over right before halftime too. I didn't have money on them beating you guys. I had money them going to the Super Bowl. On Tampa? Yeah. What did you lose?

50K. We were cursing your name a little bit. That's what we're going to do. We're going to play with zero. Not cover the Triple Crown winner. Let's put a safety on the Triple Crown winner, folks. Let's put the safety on the Triple Crown winner.

$50,000! Kid's going to junior college now. No, you are right. You are right, Cooper. 27-3. I remember looking up at the score and being like, gosh, I'm so glad it's not 28-3.

I remember being like, gosh, I'm so glad it's not 28-3. Oh, my God. That's the quote of the episode. Yeah, with seven minutes left, y'all went up in the third quarter. Yeah. Man. I remember that being a thing. I was like, gosh.

Let's jump back into the game lead. Yeah. All right. Back to the lead up of the game at hand here. The Niners, as we mentioned before, had won both regular season matchups. Kyle Shanahan kind of had Coach McVay's number one six in a row against him coming into this one, which is crazy. And the Niners' front was insane this playoff run.

Five sacks in both the wild card and divisional round games for him um that was crazy and also that Niners playoff run against the Cowboys that was the first meeting since 94 rekindling the old Niners Cowboys rivalry which you remember growing up Jules hated the Cowboys um and then crazy this game at hand we're talking about today the title game Michael Buffer did the opening kickoff let's get ready to rumble guy I do remember that

wild what was up with this era of guys like LA was it LA yeah LA they bring out they bring out the stars

the Rock opened up a game and then the Rock opened up the Super Bowl Super Bowl the Niners roster yeah this they went on a run here at one point over the last three years Opened up a game. And then the Rock opened up the Super Bowl. Next week. To pull up the Niners roster. Yeah. They went on a run here.

At one point over the last three years, I think we counted, there were like seven first-rounders on the defensive line. Oh, yeah. The front was pretty good. They had like two number one overall picks or something. Yeah. That's insane. Now, you guys played in going into the postseason you played them twice did you guys really watch those games to prepare or we did so this first actually this first i

think this first touchdown here in the second quarter the uh 16-yard pass yep was it was in the flag yep it was it was yes but it was it was the cover two corner route that we ran. And we'd actually seen the way that they were playing some stuff to the backside in the last game of the year. They were getting lazy at safety, covering what felt like a backside route. And so we put this really similar concept up but kept to put to the front side let matthew kind of mess with that safety where you can look eyes away hold it i can put a little bit extra on the corner route and then matthew was able to just dart that thing in

there and the running back goes out to the flat to yeah try to get hold this hold the guy down so corner we had we had a few things actually koc I believe, was the one that had kind of caught that and installed that play for us. Now, on your second touchdown pass, were you supposed to break out and then go, and then you just beat him and just went? So the second one was against Kwon, right? So that's a man play that we had called.

And I'm not sure what happened. Something got messed up. I don't know if clock was running down or what. And we called. We had a second play on it. We were like, hey, if we get man running, if we don't, if we got zoned, get out of the play. But we snapped the ball, and they're in cover four.

So we're in a packed formation. We're in a tight bunch. And packed uh formation right yeah tight bunch right and normally yes i'm supposed to like wheel this thing out and like really it's like a stutter it's really a play that we ran later on uh or a really a similar play we ran in the end of the the at the end of the season against jimmy warms a little little stutter go there's a little stutter fade yeah that's what it really is like clear everything out and let me kind of stutter fade uh from the slot they go they go cover four and like shoot okay now this this changes this route now i'll cover four if you got someone

quick to the flat i can disappear because if i know if that corner attaches to this you know this little um short post route that's coming right if If I get that corner attaches and I out-leverage the flat player, there's a chance that you can kind of like get up and down, right, back behind him. So I kind of sped it up to kind of basically kind of get lost outside of Kawan Williams and try to wheel up to the front of the pylon. And as I know where Matthew just did a great job getting that ball. I mean, Kawan's like looking this way,

and the ball's behind his head on the other side other side just happened to be a good spot by uh matthew but yeah one of those ones where it's not exactly what you're calling it for but you find a way to kind of make it we used to have a play like that called repump that was specifically for cover four because once you go out and you run it out that guy's gonna go and then you have the you have the post that's gonna collect the you just to make sure you grab that corner. But you got to make sure you grab the linebacker and make him – you got to be patient with it. Oh, you're saying you.

Yeah, I'm saying – Yes, the corner. If the outside guy doesn't grab the corner – So your first read is that if the corner lets him go, you bang. Yep, exactly. Corner's off, and then if that corner attaches, you're trying to like high-low. And you high-low. It's also a good cover six beater, which is cover three.

Cover six is not cover three we will we use well for people out there cover six is to the strength of the defense when you bring the safety to the tight end that's what we used to call cover six sixty six six cover three is if you went away from oh really yeah so if the safety went away from the passing strength. You guys call it six. That was cover three. Six was a version of three. Well, it's a version of three. It's just the guy goes a different side.

Yeah. But it's the same. We had the same. They had the same responsibility. Interesting. Jack, give me a quick rundown. Quick rundown of this game. Scoreless first quarter.

We remember that tough interception on the second drive of the game. Yes. For the Rams. Staff were doing the red area. That was tough. But the the second drive of the game for the Rams. Stafford threw in the red area. That was tough. But the Rams bounced back with the touchdown we talked about earlier, 97-yard TD drive. Cooper got his first TD.

San Francisco answered with a long Debo touchdown, 44-yarder. Then Matt Gay misses a 54-yard field goal just before the half. San Francisco leads 10-7 at the half. The Rams are held scoreless in the third. George Kittle TD late puts them up 10. So the Rams go into the fourth quarter here trailing 17-7. The comeback starts when Koop gets his second touchdown in the game, an 11-yarder.

Matt Gay then bangs in two field goals. And with about 9-47, I believe it was, left in the fourth, there was a brutal, brutal drop by San Francisco safety Jaqueski Tart that would have kind of maybe sealed this thing for the Rams. There was, what, six left? Like nine-something left, and they were up three. We would have been in a precarious situation. Yeah, it would have been brutal because they would have had the ball on their over the 50.

He drops it. The Rams stay alive ends up uh it's obj next play in the soft spot cover too right i believe so and then line matt gay bangs one in with a minute 46 left still give jimmy g a minute 46 on the clock he throws a pick on that third down and long that was it taking. Taking the 20-17 Rams win. We're going to the Super Bowl, but just we're staying home. First off, I got a question. What's McVay like in the halftime when you guys are down?

Is he like rah-rah guy? No, it's pretty. Al Pacino, New Game Sunday. You usually don't see. No, it's usually not like the coaches. Once you get into the locker room, all the coaches go back. Five minutes to make the adjustments, talk about whatever they want to make. So it's once you get into the locker room, all the coaches go back, right? Five minutes to – To, like, do – like, make the adjustments, talk about whatever they want to make.

So it's just the players in the locker room, right? Cool down. Yep, yep. Motions. It's usually pretty quiet. There's a few conversations happening on, like, stuff that they're seeing. Guys are, like, with their, you know, respective – Line guys are with line guys.

QBs are talking to pass catchers, maybe. Yep, exactly. Some, like, we're communicating, figuring out our stuff. Coach comes down, it's kind of like hey it's almost always like first half's over here's here's the plan going forward right it's like very direct it's quick halftime is pretty quick so he's pretty dialed in like hey this is the stuff that we're going to do this stuff we like going forward and it's like man here's a quick quick message you know usually something just like we got like we're in control it's like what we've got's a quick message. You know, usually something just like, hey, we got like, we're in control. It's like what we've got going on here.

We're like, we're right there. And pretty simple. There's not a whole lot of fanciness to it. Now, you guys win this game. You get the monkey off your back. You finally beat the San Francisco 49ers. Yeah. How was it playing a Super Bowl in your home stadium?

Was it an advantage because you guys got to stay at home and stuff and stay away from, like yeah how was it playing a super bowl in your home stadium was it an advantage because you guys got to stay at home and stuff and stay away from like what how was that because yeah i i mean it takes away from the experience but it's also kind of like a baby advantage because you get to be in your own space yeah yeah i mean i slept in my own bed until basically the night before the game which is a huge amazing like I love that. We were in our own locker room. You know, like, it felt, what it did, I was thankful that I had been to one before, even though I wasn't playing in it.

I saw how much of a buildup there is to the Super Bowl and how much it lends itself. Like, even when you're, the game's about to start, they don't tell you, like, there's so much more that's about to happen still. They don't tell you the Rock's going to give a monologue. Yeah. You don't tell you the rock's gonna give a monologue yeah you know out there as you're on the field getting ready for kickoff so like there's all this build up but then once you finally kick the ball off it's just it's the game yeah right and so i was we had kind of preached like hey guys this is a

game there's gonna be so much build up to this just let it be once the game gets here it's just it's the same game it helped that we were in our own like it was our own rhythm and routine of any other game that kind of helped lend itself to like hey this is this is just like any other game we've played just go out there and play your game yeah i mean it's gotta be that's that's kind of an advantage you're you get to stay away you get to have your guys in their own area because half the time there's at least one or two guys that are out past curfew

guy out in Oakland Raiders went to Mexico there's always a story it is nice teams just have to start owners of teams just need to start paying 7 billion dollars to build a stadium

and then they can host the Super Bowl and then get to the Super Bowl when it's your turn. Or you could be an owner and you can have a city pay for your stadium and then have people come to your stadium that you own. It's a tricky path. I think you just make the

$7 billion. Make the billion yourself and do it yourself. Exactly. I mean, if you can do that. Ms. Craft owns it. Starting to roll out. What's up, Jackie? What's the aftermath of this? Let's wrap up this game.

I know we talked Super Bowl, but in this NFC Championship, Cooper finished with 11 catches, 142 yards, two tuds, and to make it even crazier, your third down stats alone, seven catches, 108 yards, two TDs. Third down alone. Clutch gene. Guy made a living. Clutch gene.

And then the aftermath of this game, the Rams would go on to beat the Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl 56. Cooper Cup would win Super Bowl MVP. Andrew Whitworth would ride off into the sunset. The Rams would go 5-12 the next season. And on the Niners front, Brock Purdy would take them to the go 5-12 the next season. And on the Niners' front, Brock Purdy would take them to the NFC Championship

game the next season. Crazy. Awesome. We'll be right back after this quick break. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints here to tell you it's going down. On season two of my podcast,

Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going down on season two of my podcast off the edge with me Cam Jordan can't stop it you know what's gonna happen can't stop it that's right catching new episodes every Wednesday all season long that's what you look for year 14 to do more and I'll have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod we'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know,

we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month. Join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than. Sight. You have to tune in to find out.

So tap in to off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Laurie Santos, host of the Happiness Lab podcast. As the U.S. elections approach, it can feel like we're angrier and more divided than ever. But in a new, hopeful season of my podcast,

I'll share what the science really shows, that we're surprisingly more united than most people think. We all know something is wrong in our culture, in our politics, and that we need to do better and that we can do better. With the help of Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki.

It's really tragic. If cynicism were a pill, it'd be a poison. We'll see that our fellow humans, even those we disagree with, are more generous than we assume. My assumption, my feeling, my hunch is that a lot of us are actually looking for a way to disagree and still be in relationships with each other. All that on the Happiness Lab. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis

delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claibon, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic,

and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen.

Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's name the game. We got third and cup.

We're going to the Super Bowl. Suck it, San Fran. The third time's the charm game. Or do you have any other ones that you like? I'm partial to that third one. But, I mean, it's. Suck it, San Fran. I'll say it for you if you don't want to.

Yeah. And do I have to say the name? You don't have to say it, but you can pick the name. You got to pick it. You can say three. You can say option three. Or you have any say the name? You don't have to say it, but you can pick the name. You got to pick it. You can say three. You can say option three. Or you have any off the top of your dome. I don't have anything off the top of my head.

Suck it, San Fran, it is. There it is. Lock it in. Score the game. Is this the greatest game of all time? Let's score it. Stakes, zero to 10. Decimals okay.

The stakes of this game. What were the stakes? Super Bowl. Super Bowl's on the Okay. The stakes of this game. What was on? What were the stakes? Super Bowl. Super Bowl's on the line. The stakes are high. It's not Super Bowl, so you can't go 10. Nice. All right.

Nine, five. Nine, five. Nine, five. Veteran move, knowing that it's not a Super Bowl, so it can't be a 10. Veteran move. Veteran move. Star power. In the building, on the teams.

We're in LA. We've got, yeah, star power's high. We're going nine, two. We've got, yeah, star power's high. We're going 9-2. You got any star friends? Any star friends from being out here in L.A.? Do you have any star friends? He's a Texan. Zach King.

Yeah? Zach? Zach. Zach King? Who's that? You're too old. I'm too old. Who's Zach King?

You guys will know me. You can look him up after this. You guys will know his stuff. He was like big on Vine. Editing. He does all the special effects stuff. He's cool. So many stars.

Great family. Gameplay. How good was the game? Gameplay. Zero to ten. I mean, you guys are just killing us on this thing. I don't want to let you guys affect me, so I'm going to say there's a high-level gameplay,

aside from one play in the fourth quarter that you guys talked about. 8.7. 87. Good score. It's a good score. Shout out, Rob. That's right, 87. I'm going to need you guys to just make some explanations

for your guys' scoring here. The name? Name of the game, Suck It San Fran. It's a great name. Great name. It's a great name. Pretty good name. Am I scoring what the name of it is,

or am I scoring the cultural impact of it? So both, right? So like some games have an incredible name, and it just lasts with the immaculate reception. It won't be the same as that. Let's go 7.3. 7.3? 7.3. What does that tell you up to, folks?

See? Yeah. 7.51. Where does it go in all the games that we've done? That's a good score. That's a good score. That puts us just ahead of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Game 5, Lakers versus Kings,

and right behind the Squish the Fish game. I'm not surprise at what your first one is two dynasties fighting each other the pass of the torch the torch the pass of the torch Tony Romo was calling it he was on fire Jules was converting that was with a Chiefs fan that's right Rob Riggle was our guest yeah He's the one who scored. He gave it perfect tens. He was on a glacier though. Yeah, he kind of missed part of the game. It's nuts to do a list and have

28-3 be number two on any list, but that's just how good that game was. Coop, we miss anything? No, I mean, guys. You know what time it is? It's coffee time. It's dodo coffee time. Can you explain? We started this. It's Dodo coffee time. Can you explain?

We started this coffee shop, Dodo Coffee Co. Website's launching soon. We've been roasting our own stuff. It's high-level coffee. Where do you get the beans from? The ones that we're going to try today are Guatemala. The top-tier stuff. Yeah, invite me back to get the top-tier stuff.

The top-tier stuff is a brazil columbia mix i'm going to brazil next week all right yeah i'm gonna drive some coffee you should everyone go go check out dodo coffee company and it's on instagram it is it's on tiktok we had tiktok yet i don't know if we got tiktok i don't think so tiktok we got tiktok it's on the internet it's everywhere on the internet dodo coffee co check it out coop thanks for fucking doing this man thanks for having me stud that was that was a fun show that was really fun coop was amazing he really is a sharp kid he knows his stuff and he prepares you can tell he uses his time very efficiently and he takes his craft seriously very seriously the grind doesn't stop no days off you're gonna be a football

coach after it all i could see that bro yeah i could see it he had some coach in him how about uh how about that coffee you guys were sipping how was it it's good coffee i need a sip of that after this yeah dodo coffee co shout out to Dodo, baby. Dodo like to burn. I think they have a, do they have a store? Dodocoffee.co. A couple things to touch upon before we hit the hotline here. We mentioned earlier in the episode, this was a great coaching game. A lot of guys on both sides of the ball that went on to become head coaches.

Let's give them their shine here real quick. Raheem Morris. Raheem. D.C. of the Rams. He's most famous for being a better coach than Bill Belichick. We know that. He's also head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucs for a couple years. That's right.

Now he's the current head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. And they drafted Penix over one of the number eight. That was. But they also paid Kirk Cousins a lot of money. You know, hey. Maybe it works. We don't know. That's right. But they also paid Kirk Cousins a lot of money. You know, hey. Maybe it works. We don't know.

When they zig, you zag. Someone drafted Kirk Cousins after they drafted Robert Griffin III and spent all those picks. That didn't really work out for them, but it worked out for Kirk Cousins. They're starting 180 large boys. May not have a draft first-round pick next year with a little tamper in action. Tamp action. That's why they did it.

Yeah, that's what people say. Kevin O'Connell, OC of the Rams, KOC, former teammate, current head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. I bet you we could get KOC in here. That'd be cool.

I'd like that. Do some coaching talk. I saw him on a flight once recently, like probably the last eight months. Say what's up? We were sitting next to each other. That's what are the odds of that yeah it was it was may have been at the super bowl okay so the odds are a little higher higher first class guys first class guys yeah when you start flying between places like new york and la or like boston la and you're

in first class i bet you sit next to people you recognize quite a bit not really i try to get that pod the pods he just meant shout out mint so i think i saw lavar burton on my last famous person i saw on a flight reading rainbow okay more coaches more wait hold on kevin o'connell talking about drafting quarterbacks little jj mcc McCarthy action me and Jack saw Jim Harbaugh on the parking lot of the roast I saw Jim mid roast mid joke I looked at him like oh Jim Harbaugh that milk drinker crazy guy

and then Kyle Shanahan was there too he was there he was looking suited and booted GQ over here he said I'm leaving my formal flat bill at home tonight. I'm letting the hair breathe, baby. Coach Shanahan, man.

He's got some swag. He does. Speaking of swag daddies, D'Amico Ryans was also in this game. He was the DC of the Niners. D'Amico. Now he's doing some cool stuff down there in H-Town. Wearing the hell out of a long sleeve. He is, man.

Still looking ripped. It's not skin tight, is it but no you can still you still see the shape definition yeah it's good i like that he's kind of made his own play he was three-time all i think he was like a two-time all pro he was sec defensive player of the year two-time pro bowler nfl defensive rookie of the year first team-Pro in 07. He led the NFL in solo tackles in 06. That's pretty crazy. Ballin'.

Yeah, ballin'. Ballin' so damn hard. There's more. And there's more. Mike McDaniel, we all know him, the whiz kid down there in Miami. He was the OC of the Niners this year. You think this was when he was in the press box just vaping just out of his mind? He was the OC in the Niners this year. You think this was when he was in the press box just vaping?

I'm sure huge clouds. Just vape central. No camera in that time. In the box, he's just. Yeah, let's go with the red 134 FO ice. Hey, keep your eyes. Wait up. Keep your eyes backside.

Rangers personnel. Oh, my God. Keep your eyes backside. Rangers personnel. Oh my God. I'd like to imagine that's exactly how it went down. Probably exactly how it went down. Real vapors. And then coaching under him was another guy we mentioned this episode, Wes Welker. Wes. Wes, a famous backwards hat coach.

Backwards hat coach. Wide receivers coach that year. Pretty crazy. And then. I have to ask Colin Coward about that. Why? Because Colin Cow coward hates people at the podium with the backwards hat i didn't know that oh it just went uh yeah colin coward

he talked about it he hates when your quarterback has backwards hat at the podium so i'm gonna ask him what does backwards hat on position coach mean maddie p was another guy did that yeah and then to wrap it all up this was a heck of a year for cooper cup he puts a bow on it puts the cherry on top with super bowl mvp but we can't forget he was a triple crown winner with 145 receptions 1947 yards 16 touchdowns and then to put that in context the last man to win the Triple Crown. Steve Smith. In the NFL was Steve Smith Sr.

05. Before that, Sterling Sharp. Before that, Jerry Rice. Sterling Sharp. Before that, Lance Allworth. And the list goes on and on. But in the MLB, 2012, Miguel Cabrera. Miguel Cabrera.

With Detroit. Did Barry hit that thing a few times? Barry Bones? Triple Crown? Nah, he's not on the list here. Yaz. Before that, it was Yaz, apparently, which is 67. There's a lot of coaches on the CM team.

And then, oh yeah, it's crazy. And then the last horse racing Triple Crown was Justify in 2018. Yeah, so pretty recently. Hold on. It's just kind of crazy. Also American Pharoah, too. And American Pharoah before that. I was hoping we'd have more horse talk. Yeah, so pretty recently. Hold on. Also American Pharoah, too. And American Pharoah before that. I was hoping we'd have more horse talk.

Yeah. I would love to get a horse race on. I never was like a big... There's like guys that love the horses on the teams, like Bray Bull, Welker used to love... Like, those are horse... Terry Bradshaw's a big horse guy. Like, those guys that usually...

Randy Moss? Didn't he have a horse? I think there's one... He's racing, yeah. Randy Moss racing. Yeah. have a horse? I think there's one. He's racing, yeah. Randy Moss racing. Yeah. Will Fork had horses.

Like there's a bunch of dudes that like loved horse racing. I just like the movie Seabiscuit. I'm with you. Shout out Elizabeth Banks from Western Massachusetts. Yeah, that was a great movie. Seabiscuit with Spider-Man? Toby? Firewire. That was a great movie

Or the short-lived HBO series Luck Remember that one? Lots of horses died Yeah And on that note, let's go to the hotline Let's hit the old hotline Remember that number is 424-291-2290

If you had to pick One hit That was the hardest you'd ever been hit which hit would that be i personally think it may have been a cam chancellor hit in the 2014 super bowl but that's just me what you got hardest hit you think it's the cam chancellor hit well that was a very hard hit but i was expecting that hit i got hit my rookie year when we were playing in denver against josh mcdaniels when he was the head coach there and they had those ugly mustard uniforms on in denver or they had like weird it was like mustard yellow and brown and uh Brian Dawkins lit me up.

I saw a star for like three weeks. I had to teach myself how to catch with this thing. And then also, Ed Reed lit me up on a post route in Baltimore in 12. And then Ray Lewis hit me twice pretty hard. I've already explained. One, I had J-Lo booty. Two, I had reset button. What is J-Lo booty again?

He kneed me so hard on my butt. Oh, yeah. I had a hematoma. They had to drain my butt. I couldn't sit down for three weeks. I wouldn't have been able to play if we won that playoff game because my butt blew up. It was so crazy. Man question hey mr edelman uh

you have a question what is your favorite um route singular route that you've ever ran and also what is the most prepared who is most prepared db that you ever went against favorite route the reader route we went over it with coop you got it's a one man like it's pretty much a one-man show you win like you can go it's like 6 12 you can take it across or you could bring it out to the bow it's like a great man coverage route we hit it a few times in the super bowl against the rams and then you know that's when we first put it in. I love that route. And the most prepared DB was always Darrell Rivas. He was such a, always on balance, knew formation-wise what you guys ran. Situationally, he knew what concepts were coming.

He knew your weaknesses. Like, he was always very prepared, like, on what was going on with the game plans. How much individual scouting, like, scouting against individuals would you do? So if you know you're going to be matched up against, like – You do a lot. I mean, it's so easy in the NFL because then you get all – you got guys that do all the homework and the cut-ups. So I'll go and I say I want to see every play targeted to Revis

or cornerback on third down. Give me that of this season. I want to see the last season. And you sit and you just watch if he has an offhand jam, what he does with his legs if he does the offhand jam. Does he freeze gate with you with certain moves? You're looking at all little tendencies of what guys do at the line of scrimmage and then also the top routes.

Does he like to undercut? Does he grab? You have to be physical with him. You can pick a lot of things up. How does this guy handle certain routes? Is he a game plan guy? So, like, is he going to watch my routes from last week? So if I marry my routes last week, is he going to run that route and then i can combo it and like counter it with a different route

like those are the things you watch is that mostly on like all 22 or do you have like angles that all you want all 22 because you get you get the wide and you can see techniques you need the back they have a far back end zone shot they have a close end zone shot for line play. And then you have the deep end zone shot where you can see everyone on the field. So you can see how a guy's lining up, you know, what technique he is on you. Is he inside leverage? Is he outside leverage? Is he head up?

That's the stuff you look at. If I bring my split down, what does he do? You know, is he off and outside or is he off head up or is he off inside so a lot of that that's what you want to look at but you'd never really look at like or if there's angles that exist where it's a lot tighter so you can see like hand movement or anything like that you want the wider you want to see you can see that and you can see that in the 22 and then you'll have like close-ups too though like the guys behind the scenes that make cut-ups,

they'll highlight and they'll give you his... They'll have write-ups. Each scout has to do a write-up of each player, so you get these write-ups of each guy. Where he went to school, what his story is. They'll give you background. His power and his strengths are he's got an offhand jam strong at the line of scrimmage he's terrible his weaknesses he's terrible with side to side

movement you have to get him running you know so like you can you'll see the write-up and then they have a cut up for the write-up and then you can go and sometimes you just want to watch an overall game of how he plays just him how. How does he play in the run game? How does he play when the ball is not thrown to him? You know what I mean? See if you can lull guys to sleep and stuff. Hey, who's better? You or Cooper Cup

all time? All time and regular season? Cooper Cup, man. Triple crown winner. That season. 145 catches. All time and regular season, Cooper Cup. Almost 2,000 season. 145 catches. All-time regular season Cooper Cup. Almost 2,000 yards. 16 touchdowns.

But when it matters most. In the playoffs. In the big games. I'm riding for my guy. I think he had a great season. I'm riding for my guy. That's one year. That's one year.

What about a body of work, baby? My guy's good. He's a stud. No either or. Just studs. He's a stud. No either or. Just studs. We're different players. Just studs. Yeah, but I got a ride for my guy.

Come on, man. Kiss the rings. Hot and ready. The sign's on. All right, thank you. Glaze time. Yo, Mr. Edelman. Name's Jake.

Grew up in West Texas. I got to watch Wes Welker and Zach Thomas, those boys at the Red Raiders. Do you think that Wes Welker is the pillar of the position? What's your take on that? It was a game changer. Yeah, Wes had a huge part of the whole slot position. But even before him, there was Troy Brown, Deion Branch, there's a lot of other guys that did it but Wes was a kind of guy that was he's

like a tweener almost like he was like a running back with his quickness and how he moved you know like he definitely helped create that position. Wes Welker is a pivotal for this whole slot movement and for guys like me that even got an opportunity. You know, guys that were stereotypically not ever seen as a pass catcher, he'd be more of a running back 10, 15, or 30 years ago. You know what I mean? Even then, he helped create that. But it started with Troy Brown, you know, Deion Branch, a lot of guys.

Him and that offense 2007 kind of put it on the map, but it was already there. It was there. Household name. Yeah, that's when you pair a really good slot with top three, top two, greatest receiver of all time on the outside that can just run. And so you're opening up levels.

Then they had Dante Stalwart, who was also, he was a one in a lot of places for a long time before that. And he was fast and explosive. They had so many weapons and so many spots that you had to, you couldn't just key out on one guy. So that's why he had monster. He was monster. He had monster years every year. Spread them out.

And the opposition's cool and all, but this guy's talking Zach Thomas. guys so that's why he had monster he was monster he had monster years every year spread him out and the opposition's cool and all but this guy's talking zach thomas let's talk about one of the last great neck roll guys of all time 511 yeah fifth round draft pick nfl hall of famer yeah he's a he's a monster he's a beast baby shout out zach thomas yeah shout out sack thomas i used to hear a lot about him just because he played in Dolphins a lot, and we used to watch a lot of install tape of how to run certain routes, and it'd be Welker always on Zach Thomas, and there it is. You know what I mean?

Feels like a matchup. All right, here we go. It's Cam Jordan from the New Orleans Saints, here to tell you it's going down on season two of my podcast, Off the Edge with me, Cam Jordan. Can't stop it. You know what's going to happen. Can't stop it. That's right. Catch new episodes every Wednesday, all season long. That's what you look for in year 14 to do more. And I have my friends who happen to be some of the NFL's biggest stars join me on the pod.

We'll give you a player's perspective of the biggest storylines, trends, and did that really just happen moments from around the league. And you know we'll have fun doing it. Oh, and I'll have a special guest each month join me to mix it up a little bit. Who is it? None other than... Psyche. You'll have to tune in

to find out. So tap in to Off the Edge with Cam Jordan's podcast, your ultimate playbook for all things football and not football. Listen on the

iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily

with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here, just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game, every single week, but I can't do it alone,

so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claibon, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen.

Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Parents, are you looking for a screen-free, engaging way to teach your kids the Bible? One that's easy to understand and enjoyable for multiple ages? Kids Bible Stories Podcast is here to help. I created this for my own children, and it's now a favorite among thousands of families. Kids love the vivid imagery, scriptures, and sound effects, while parents appreciate the apply section for meaningful conversations. We have hundreds and hundreds of beautiful episodes that bring the Bible to life when you simply press play.

It's a sound and practical resource that walks alongside you as you teach your kids. We want kids to see how incredible God's Word is in an engaging and memorable way with Kids Bible Stories podcast. Listen to Kids Bible Stories podcast on the iHeartRadio app app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. But man, what a game. Thanks again to Cooper cup and be sure to check out Dodo coffee. Co Dodo coffee. Dot.

Co is the website. Dodo coffee. Dot. Co that's been another episode of games with names. Subscribe on Apple podcast, Spotify, wherever you listen to your podcast comment a game you want us to do and remember rate and review remember to follow games with names on

youtube instagram x tiktok and snapchat leave a message on the hotline bling at 424-291-2290. We will see you guys next week. Games with Names is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you

get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. it. If you're a sports fan, Wake and Jake is the place for you. Covering all the hot topics from the sports world, a lot of baseball, a lot of postseason coverage, mock drafts, awards, guest interviews, all of it. New episodes

every Monday and Wednesday. Come watch along on the Wake and Jake YouTube channel, or listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Joe Gatto. I'm Steve Byrne. We are two cool moms. We certainly are. And guess where we certainly are and guess where we could find us now

oh I don't know the iHeart Podcast Network that's right we're an official iHeart Podcast and I'm super excited about it I am too

I thought 2 Cool Moms was such a fun podcast but now it's even more funner and cooler and heartier that's right it's more iHeartier

I knew it check your heart rate we're here at iHeart yeah you can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts It's more iHeartier. I knew it. Check your heart rate. We're here at iHeart. Yeah, you can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts or on the iHeart Radio app. History is filled with unexpected stories, and I'd like to tell you about them. I'm Aaron Manke, and for the past six years, I've been sharing history's most curious tales on my podcast, Cabinet of Curiosities, such as the surprising country that invented the croissant and the wrestling champ who won the White House.

And now these amazing stories and many more have been compiled into my new book. Curious to know more? Pre-order Cabinet of Curiosities, available November 12th wherever books and audiobooks are sold. Learn more over at grimandmild.com slash curiosities. In 1982, Atari players had one game on their minds,

Sword Quest, because the company had promised 150 grand in prizes to four finalists. But the prizes disappeared, leading to one of the biggest controversies in 80s pop culture. I'm Jamie Loftus. Join me this spring for the Legend of Sword Quest. We'll follow the quest for lost treasure across four decades. Listen to The Legend of Swordquest on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.