Games with Names - Dudes on Greg Olsen

Episode Date: May 16, 2026

We're covering legendary Tight End, Greg Olsen! Gronk, and Julian Edelman discuss what makes Greg Olsen so great and some of their favorite stories.Support the show: http://www.gameswithnames.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. wife is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes,

coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward. At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was finally.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that Game 7, Marquis keep coming to. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio app. podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Your 20s can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly, just kind of lonely. May is Mental Health Awareness Month,

and the psychology of your 20s is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face. I was six years into my career, the 80-hour weeks, and just the first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out. There was a large chunk of my 20s that I, like, was just so wanting to, like, be out of that phase out of my 60s. skin and I just like really regret not living in the present more. You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or

wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Let's get on to our next, our next. Bamb, bomb, bomb, bum, bum, put up the headshot. Ladies and gentlemen, our next tight end here at National Tight End's Day, who also started tight end you at Vanderbilt University. every year that I went one time because I failed after I went because it's the Harvard of the South. Hard place. Yeah, it's a hard place. Very beautiful I heard. Never been. It is. Greg Olson. Greg Olson.

Greg Olson. What is the what does AI say about Greg Olson? All right. Greg Olson. Start the clock. Greg Ocean. Oh, ocean. I like that. Yeah, well, his hair looks like an ocean. It's all over the place. It's kind of It looks like a hurricane. All right. All right, Greg. Greg Olson is celebrated as one of the top tight ends in NFL history, known for his reliable hands. We were talking about that early. He was the most reliable hands in the NFL.

This guy had hands. Yes, he does. And route running skills. Off the field, he has admired for his dedication to family and philanthropy, particularly through his heart test yard initiative. Heart test yard initiative. Heart test. That's a handful.

That's a hard test. That's a heart test. Heart test. Yeah. A heart. All right. Particularly through his heart test yard initiative. I like that.

Which supports families of children with congenital heart. Congenital. Like we said, everyone, we don't have the best vocabulary. This is dudes on dudes. We're learning as we go. We're not perfect here. But we get numbers right, okay? We get numbers.

What he is, AI is based saying, he's for the kids. Yeah, we're for the kids. Yes. Olson made a significant impact on the Carolina Panthers,

helping them reach Super Bowl 50 and becoming the first tight end in history to have three consecutive, a thousand yard receiving seasons from 2014 to 2016. Wow. He holds the Panthers franchise records for most receiving yards.

He's lucky I got hurt because I would have held that three, one thousand yard seasons in a row. But it's not about me. Sound about it. Why am I making about me? Tard ends don't make it about yourself. Slot receivers do. Yeah, slap receivers do. It's our little diva in us because we're not full diva, but we got a little diva.

It's about Greg Olson here. Eels of Panthers franchise records for most receiving yards, receptions, and a hundred yard receiving games by a tight end. After retiring, Olson transitioned to a successful career in sports broadcasting. He's one of our teammates right now with the Fox team. He's really good. Further showcasing his football acumen. He does have a lot of football argument.

I can tell you that. What is that like? Like knowledge. Knowledge. Another word for knowledge. Cinnamon for knowledge. Not a synonymous. Right.

Synonymous. Synonymous. Yeah. Cinnamon. Finan. Cinnamon. Yeah. Cinnamon.

I like cinnamon. He's tasty. He's tasty. Yeah. Okay. No. Wow. This is bad, Joel.

This is bad. This is just being dudes. This is what it's all about. Dudes just being dudes. And just showing you who you are. We're not perfect. It's cinnamon, bro. Yes.

Cinnamon. That's same now for now on. Yeah, for now on. It is. A. The English dictionary better change that word to the sentiment. Cinnamon. Sediment.

Now, well, you want to know what Acumen means? I kind of know that from back of my head. I was reading a book the other day, had the word. It's the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions. And that actually explains Greg Olson in his game. And that's why he had over a thousand yards in three seasons in a row because of his quick decisions.

And when you're really quick at top, of the route when you have a two-way go like Greg Olson, his favorite route of all time, he kind of like diagonally that to like the 10-yard mark where he has to go and then the linebacker is sitting there at a safety and you got to either split right like a bow or split in. What's the split-in route where you like a middle-read? No, no, not a middle-le-read, like kind of like a cross. No, no, you go and it's like a angle, a angle, route, but it's at between a 10 yards and 12-yard you can either bow it or angle it, like an angle at 10th. Middle-read. Yeah. No, because it's not a middle-reed because you still,

a middle of read is when it's post double safety high and he can go in the middle. So he was so good at making that decision and being decisive of, should he go out on the guy on the defender or should he go in? And that's where he made his bread and money. Bread and money.

Brad and money. You just went full Will Ferrell in old school right there. Did you guys see that? That's his acumen. Did you guys see that? That's his acumen. He literally just went. He literally just went.

Will Ferrell in old. school at the fucking last thing where he competes the debate. Did you black out right there? I did black out. And like old school, welfare was blacked out many times. Frank the fucking tank. No, Greg Olson, I mean, we threw on that film. And he's a lot more athletic than you remember.

He wasn't like a guy that was going to kill you with his athleticism. But he had such great hands. Like he would go up and make those one. handers. He did a lot of one-hander catches. He had great ball skills. And he was a very savvy guy as well. And he wasn't like he was small guy. He's six five, two 55 out of the U. What's up with the U and the tight ends? Tying you, man. Is that? They were called Tideon U, man. When I was a kid, Miami. Miami. Miami was probably who's tied on you now? Iowa. Iowa is tight on you now, but the University of Miami. Oh my gosh. They're producing tight ends left and right, man.

Shocky. I love Miami. Olson, Bubba, Frank. Winslow. Oh my gosh. Joku is like the new school version of Tideon U at the University of Miami. But man, who were they producing tight ends, man? University of Miami was, ooh, they were on point. And he was a track star in high school.

Yeah, he was. Javelin. Javlin. Maybe that's why he was so good at his hands because he was always using his hands and track. Throwing it? Yeah, just throwing like holding, you know, that javelin stick. I've never met a javeliner.

Yeah. I guess I have. Like, what do you do? No, how do you throw it? That's called a shake weight. Oh, shake weight. Oh, that's a shake weight. Never threw a javelin before, you know?

It's just like the spear. Oh. They throw. All right. It's like a football throw. I bet you can throw a football for it? Like being a gladiator and throwing that spear and just, boom, toss it 40 yards. Exactly.

Mm-hmm. That's been like, so he did javelin. I mean, the first thing you think of, of Greg Olson. Look at that. Oh, look at that. That's a good technique. He's young.

Look at that face. It's beautiful. He got that. He was defined in high school. I don't know what happened. Like, he's like one of those, like tight ends with a dad body again. That's what made him last long. He lasted long.

He lasted long. But he was jacked in high school. He hit me up during that 3,000 yard or the 3,000 yard seasons. He broke his foot and I broke my foot. And I remember us communicating over the Jones fracture. That was the first time I ever got, you know, a call from him. And to watch him on TV, he's killing the TV. He's really knowledgeable about the game.

He, uh, he's fun. He's got that little dorkiness in him. He does. He's got that little dorky like that. He plays, dad jokes. He plays it off. He plays it off really well. He plays, he's a fun guy to be around.

He is. And he is who he is. like he expresses who he is. It doesn't matter, man. That's why you love him, man. That's what you love about people. He's not hiding himself at all. Never.

No, never. And I trained with him, actually. I remember what was really cool is that I was coming out of the University of Arizona and we had the same agent, Drew Rosenhouse. And Drew Rosenhouse had me called Greg Olson. He was the only player I called to ask about Drew Rosenhouse and also ask about the training process of training for the combine and all that. And I remember Greg Olson did give me some great advice, man.

he said, hey, you're going to think all the little details are stupid, but make sure you do them all because those are actually the biggest things in the end. And I still remember that to this day, that he goes, do all the warm-ups, all the recovery things that you got to do after you trained all day. He says, just do all the details of the little things and you will be fine. So thank you, Greg, for the advice, man. I remember talking to you on the phone and just the advice of going through the NFL process. He was the only player I talked to through that time. So good dude, man. dude wasn't, you know, looking out for himself, but he was looking out for me on that phone call, which was cool.

You think he called Bledsoe after Brady replaced him? I'm in Rose mode. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Hey, hey, Julian. I'm in Rost mode. Did he call Bledsoe? But, oh, because Bledsoe got replaced by time.

There you go. Sorry. Sorry. I'm a tight end. We're a little slow, okay? Tight ends are sometimes a little bit slower, but where personalities are just freaking awesome. We are the coolest players on the field.

I mean, we really are. Name a tight end that isn't cool. Exactly. You can't. You're thinking about it. That means they really are. They really are. You, I know who's really cool?

Dallas got her. I was hanging out with him at Tighten, you when I was actually smart enough to go because it's the Harvard of the South like we were talking about. And like I was just hanging out with him. I didn't even know who he was. I like, I know who Dallas Goddard was.

But I had no clue what Dallas Goddard ever looked like. And like this dude had a hair flowing everything. I was talking to him. I was talking to him. Like this dude, cool as shit. And then like two days later, I saw a picture of us online. And it says like Dallas Godder and Rob Grancosky got it. I was like, oh, my freaking God.

I didn't even know that was Dallas got. Guys running 70 yard touchdown. I just thought he was coolest shit. And that's what tight ends are. And Greg Olson's the epitome of that. Just cool. Yeah, he is cool as shit. Just cool as shit. Athletic. He had, he had kind of that basketball stuff. He wasn't a burner. He had great hands. He made big plays for his team. He went to a Super Bowl.

He's got crazy stats. You know, he had the 3,000-yard seasons. What, what attribute the best attribute or characteristic that Greg Olson contained in his pocket? His secret weapon was his route running skills. His route running skills, one of the best in the game at the tight end position. He'd like low you. I always see him hitting that bow route. He'd marry his routes together. Remember he was really good at that bow route.

Remember that cover four? I always see him hit in like the fringe shot where you're right, right outside the red area, the 20. And they'd always run that. They'd get cover four and they'd run that post and he'd run that bow route. And they'd hit him on that. I remember seeing that one, we installed something, we stole it from them because we were copying it. We liked the way they ran it,

and he'd run that bow route, and he caught it right on that one yard line. He's really, I mean, he's an awesome guy. He doesn't care about his looks. He doesn't care about, like, what's going on out there. He just cares about being a good dude. Being a family man,

and that's why I love him, man. I love being around him. He's always so positive. And he can also, by the way, when I, when I trained with him when I was young, too, the guy just never stopped talking. Never stopped talking. And it was always the best. It was always entertaining.

And literally from the first day I met him, I was like, this guy is going to be a commentator one day. He's going to be an announcer. And then he actually landed perfectly in that spot after his football career. And when he signed with Fox, too, and I think it was like the first year he signed with Fox was like the first year I did when I first retired. I did a couple games as well. And I was literally just thinking my mind, just talking to him, this guy. has landed in the perfect field for him. He's so good at it.

So intelligent. Yeah, great storyteller. And he looks like Grizzly Adams a little bit. He's got an under, he's got an under, under, under what it? He's got an underrated chin. If Grizzly Adams did have a beard. Yeah. Happy Gilmore.

Coming out. Number two's coming out soon. A little mad at Sandler for not hitting this up. I know. Isn't you a New England guy? Adam Sandler, New England guy. He's from New Hampshire. New England.

His family grew up in New York. Like, and that's my favorite movie of all time. He's in it. Yeah, he is in it. But we didn't get hit up. We didn't get hit up. I mean, I can't hate on Travis being in. I can't either.

Travis is freaking Travis. I mean, he's top of his game. On the field, off the field. Like, I'm just disappointed and happy to go more productions, I guess. Or what is it? Billy Madison. Happy Madison. Happy Madison.

Well, now we're giving him shoutouts and he didn't even want us in his movie. I know. I know. We got no hate, Jules. No. We still love him. And we're so. going to watch Happy Gomore too. Oh, without a doubt.

No doubt about it. And Happy Gomore is still my favorite movie. I actually watched it about three weeks ago. It was on TV and I never turned it off. This is why I loved about Greg Olson, too. You said he talked a lot. He does talk a lot. And that kind of explains why he came out with a rap song. And it was good. It was really good. It was really awesome and explained a lot of details on how they lived life at the University of Miami,

which was really cool. I was a big fan, no doubt about it. You were probably a big fan as well. I never listen to it. I lied right there fully. But it was called the seventh floor crew rap. Yes. And it was a legendary rap song by some of the Miami players in 2003. And they were just doing it, I think, as a joke from what I've heard Greg Olson say before, like just to have fun and it just blew up out of nowhere. But it kind of made, you know, the universe of Miami even more, you know, prominent in my mind, especially at the tight end position. One of his, I think what it was is he, his name was third leg Greg.

Was his name third, third leg, Greg? Well, scary weather was in it. Yeah, scary weather. Third leg Greg, his name was. And John Beeson. Oh, he was a beast, man. He was a beast, linebacker. That's fun.

We got to listen to that. Yeah, we do. We'll put it out on Insta. We want to hear what you guys say in the crowd. Robert, what would your rap name be? Kind of think. I've said it plenty of times before. It's kind of easy, basic.

Robbie G. The one and only? Robin G. Robbie G. The one and only? Yeah. Robby G. The one and only. Kind of a long name, though. So maybe that's not it. I think my name would be... Like, the Jewelster? No, it'd be... The Squalster?

Young Squirrel J. Young squirrel J. I want a better name, though. Robert G, the one and only is too long. Come on, Jules. I just went three... Young, school J. Yeah, that's quick and easy. Right to the point. Young Big Peace? Yeah, young big piece.

You just throw young in front of anything. Mr. Big Peace. Young Big Peace. Because I carry a massive gun with me. I'm dangerous. It's loaded. Yeah, it's loaded. It's National Tide End Day.

People want to rob me. All right. Let's do, we got a rap name, Generator, to find the perfect rab date for Rob. All right. What's your favorite TV character? We'll go with SpongeBob. SpongeBob.

Oh, this is going to be a gangster name. Your real life first name. Robert. Robert. Your real life last name. Grankowski. the name of a criminal Whitey Balger

Whitey Bulger Something really pleasant Bulldog Because I have a French Bulldog So you can't write French Bulldog And you can't write the name Ralphie You've got to let them know And Bulldog is pretty aggressive

Because rappers like Bulldog So this is going to be aggressive name I like it. I like this an adjective to describe you and your music I want this I want this name like gang. I wanted to be hired. So I would just say rap. Rap? I like that. Because we're going for a rap name anyway. So. And your name of your favorite childhood pet. Junior. Junior.

Junior. I had a dog. I had a dog named Junior. It was, um, what are those dogs? A pug. Pug. Pug named junior. Let's see. Yeah. Bulldog gronk. I guess we're just sticking with the one and only. Robbie G. the one and only. I'm Robbie G. the one and only. If you don't know me, I'm sorry. if you want to, I don't want to say the rest because it's very, it's very inappropriate. That's why I stopped the first time. Time's up. What kind of dude is Greg Olson? Okay. I mean, he's not, he's a freak, but he's not a freak. He's not a freak. He's kind of got that, you know, he's definitely a dude's dude. He is a dude's definitely maybe a whiz. He is a whiz as well, because that knowledge, that's why he's such a great commentator. And that was replaced by. He was a first round draft pick.

Yeah, he was a first round draft pick to the Chicago Bears. It's kind of a, a slow start. They traded them to the Panthers. But, you know, everyone has a slow start when they get to the NFL. Not everyone, but a lot of guys do. But it's okay. He picked it up in Carolina. But, uh, so what are the two that you were leaning on? Uh, I'm going to go with whiz, dudes, dude, um, kind of a stud in a way, because he's a stud. He just owns whatever, you know, he just owns himself. He does. Blonde hair, six five, blue eye. He is. Like, you see that javelin picture? He looks like he should be on a weedie's box. I'm going to go with. I want to go with. I want to go with whizzo. We haven't had many whizzes. And he's a whiz because of his knowledge and just a way he can

explain anything, break down anything, to be able to get open in many circumstances on the field. And he's a smart player. He was clutch. He was clutch for his team. He was clutch for his team. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriters. Street or Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Life is full of hurdles. So how do you keep going? On Hurtle with Emily Abadi, we're talking with the most inspiring women in sports and wellness from professional athletes, coaches, and Olympic champions about the challenges that shape them and the mindset that keeps them moving forward.

At our level, at this scale, being able to fail in front of the entire world. Like, I can do anything. I can do anything. Listen to Hurtle with Emily Abadi on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano.

It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moment. If we didn't talk ever again, I was funny. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know, I love you, dog.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your 20s can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly, just kind of lonely. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the psychology of your, 20s is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face. I was six years into my career, the 80-hour weeks, and just the first one in, the last one out,

and I ended up burning out. There was a large chunk of my 20s that I, like, was just so wanting to, like, be out of that phase out of my skin, and I just, like, really regret not living in the present more. You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get, your podcasts.