Games with Names - “Super Bowl LIII” with Matthew Slater | Patriots vs. Rams

Episode Date: March 26, 2024

Matthew Slater is in studio! We’re breaking down Slate and Jules’ legendary performances in Super Bowl LIII between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. Slate joins us on the couch (2:11). We go back to February of 2019 (46:06). We take a look at the Patriots and Rams rosters (52:54). We dive into the game itself (1:13:36). We score it (1:54:52). We wrap it all up by hitting the hotline (2:03:37). Support the show: http://www.gameswithnames.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, I'm Gianna Pradenti. And I'm Jermaine Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. There's a lot to figure out when you're just starting your career. That's where we come in. Think of us as your work besties

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is Season 4 of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume

women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry. Caitlin Clark versus Angel Reese on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Presented by Elf Beauty. Founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Carrie Champion and this is season four of Naked

Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

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 California during the summer of 1975, within the span of 17 days and less than 90 miles, two women did something no other woman had done before, try to assassinate

the president of the United States. One was the protege of Charles Manson, 26 year old Lynette Fromm, nicknamed Squeaky. The other, a middle aged housewife working undercover for the FBI, identified by police as Sarah Jean Moore. The story of one strange and violent summer, this season on the new podcast, Rip Current. Hear episodes of Rip Current early and completely ad-free and receive exclusive bonus content by subscribing to iHeartTrue Crime Plus only on Apple Podcasts. I had two work wives in my career, Julian and McCourty. Who was the mainstay? Julian was the primary work wife.

You tell McCourty he's a side piece. Okay? He's a side piece. Today we have an unbelievably special guest. 10-time Pro Bowler, 16-year veteran, the greatest special teamer of all time. Matthew Slater. We are looking at Super Bowl 53, Patriots versus the Rams. This was a special teams battle, 15 total punts. And then the bonus, my guy was the MVP.

What made you great was that you were so ultra competitive. Yeah, I was an tool. Nice goal! Yeah, a lot of guys probably didn't like me. But you respected me. There's no doubt. After this game, did you start to feel when the dynasty was falling?

Down with the ship. That was our motto. You went down with the ship. That was our motto. You went down with the ship. I was like one of those violin players on the Titanic. I was one of the lifeboat workers that had to go down with the lifeboat but still live. Well, I'm dead. You're gone. I'm fully gone. I can't.

Games with Names is presented by Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor and is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to Games with Names presented by Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor. Today's episode is Super Bowl 53, the Rams versus the Patriots with Matthew Slater, the captain. We talk all funny, all funny, real funny. Locker room stuff. Roommate stuff. Who hated me the most in the Patriots locker room stuff? Surprising answer. It was not the answer I was expecting.

The ops, baby. It makes a lot of sense, though, when you think about it. You got to think about it. You got to think about it. Got to think about it. And our thoughts on the end of the dynasty and which character Matthew Slater was in Titanic, the movie, when the boat sunk. And then we'll wrap it up by hitting the old hotline and again that number is 424-291-2290

let's start it up let's go games with names is brought to you by win las vegas and encore boston harbor win las vegas and encore boston harbor are the ultimate destinations for sports lovers. Enjoy the sports book, play golf, eat at a great restaurant, and stay in luxury accommodations. Sign up for win rewards and redeem for resort credit. Let's go. February 3rd, 2019, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia. Star-studded defense. High-flying offense.

The old guard versus the new. But this low-scoring affair come down to special teams. This is Super Bowl 53. First date, let's go. That's awesome. Welcome to Games with Names presented by Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor. Today we have an unbelievably special guest. Not just a what? 13-time team captain. 10-time pro bowler. We got a three-time Super Bowl champion. 16? Did we play 16, Slate? Somehow fooled him for 16. 16-year veteran. Probably, not probably, is going to go down as the greatest special teamer of all time. Matthew Slater. And even crazier, my former roommate for three years.

Matthew, welcome to Games with Nate. It's great to be here. This is awesome. We've come a long way from that 28-pacing road there in Foxboro. We've come a long way. Come a long way. We've got Jack and Kyler here old jack he's been he he's been all excited about this and kyler has literally been practicing his pass sets

in the kitchen because of your father i love it i love it i gotta say welcome back to slate this is a little piece of trivia our first ever guest on games with names an unreleased the unreleased episode. I remember that. It was our test episode. The pilot episode. It was pilot. Now we got the real deal. I love to see how well the show is doing.

No surprise, though. No surprise. It's coming along, Slate. It's doing great. It's better now. We got you on here. It's doing great. No, they got you.

Get out of here. Today we are looking at Super Bowl 53, Patriots versus the Rams. Why did you pick this game, Slate? Well, two reasons I picked this game. Number one, this was a special teams battle. 15 total punts. So for someone like me, I really enjoyed it. Secondly, playing against the Rams, my childhood team my dad's team 20 years as a ram

so this was special for our family and then the bonus third reason my guy was the mvp yeah i mean you know that was you know i was never gonna win a super bowl m MVP, the next closest thing would be you winning it. What a special memory this was. Great game. Look forward to talking about it. Funny story about that. Me and Bill, we were going out and we were doing some stuff for the MVP coach stuff.

And he looks at me and he goes, shit, I would have gave it to Slater. Literally. He literally says to Slater. Literally. He literally says, Slater was MVP. No, no. My God, what did you have, 10 for 131? I don't know, 141, something like that.

141, he knows what it was. No, I don't know, Slate. You're the stat guy. 10 for 141. 10 for 141. Well, okay, I was 10 yards off. But, I mean, I just remember, you know, it was a struggle for us offensively that game, and you really kept us going.

You kept us, you know, we had some momentum. You had some big conversions when we needed it. And it felt like every time we needed a play, you made the play. And I was just riding with you from the bench every minute. I was like, yeah, go, go, go, get open. You know, and that team was a really good team, that Ram team. Akeem and those guys, obviously Aaron Donald, their defense was, I thought, one of the best in the league at the time.

So for you to do what you did was really special. 100%. We'll get into the game and Wade Phillips and, you know, our revenge that we had to have on him because of that you know Denver matchup we had in 15 when we were pretty much a depleted weaponry group uh so but we'll get into that what's life looking like as a retired athlete now big guy it's different as you know um look I've been playing football since I was 13 and we always had that path forward like all right we're working towards something there's a ton of structure uh we could tell people no matter what month it was hey I'm

gonna be doing this in March or this in April and May and now it's just kind of like that structure has been pulled away and it's it's challenging um so you know we're navigating that but what i love most is the family time you know with four young kids at home it allows me to be there and to be present and to be a dad be a husband so i'm really enjoying that well people don't realize when you retire as a professional athlete especially a professional athlete that played a long time like you you know athletes are creatures of habit. That's right. And we're all used to, on Thursday, getting that red schedule,

this red schedule that told out our life by the hour, where we had to be, what we had to do. And a lot of guys get in trouble when that's pulled away from them because they don't have the routine given to them. So for a lot of the athletes that are retiring, what I've learned through my experience is I was such a routine guy that I had to create my routine. You got to create a routine because you need to have something that you've been doing for such a long time. Now, you know, the routine is going to be different

where you're going to be picking up kids. You're going to have to find your time to get a workout. You're going to have to do whatever meetings you got going, but you know, it's a, it's a struggle for, you know, athletes in this, in this time. But with a guy like Matthew, he's the, he's literally the model of, of how to be a professional athlete and, and whatever you jump into. I'm going to try to make you, you know, I'm going to try to sell you on doing your own podcast. We got to get you going here. But whatever you're going to do, you're going to be at the highest level of that

and no one's ever going to worry about you. Well, I appreciate that. But, you know, like you said, I mean, that structure and that routine is something that I've had in place since I was a child. Yeah. All of us, like you're saying. And just not having that is I'm having to create and find a way to create a routine and to have some continuity. You know, I almost feel like as football players, we're kind of like soldiers, right?

We get a command and we go execute it. And we thrive doing that, especially playing for coach. So I'm trying to find a new commander. Maybe it's my wife. Maybe it's my future boss. Fully. Right now it's definitely my wife. Fully.

She's definitely giving the marching orders, and I'm just trying to execute it. So, you know, it's a process. That transition is a process. Who's the wildest person to hit you up since the retirement? Oh man. Well, there, there've been a lot and I certainly appreciate hearing from all the guys that we play with. You know, I think that's what means the most is hearing from the guys. You know, some of my dad's old teammates that saw me as a young pup and really kind of raised me with him in the game of football.

And then obviously like talking to Coach and having dialogue with Coach about, you know, the time that we spent together. Super thankful to have had the experience with him. It was a special time that we were a part of. So thankful for everybody that's reached out and shown support and it makes you feel like you had somewhat of an impact on people's lives not just football wise so did you have that conversation with Bill before the season or was he still around when he had did you have the conversation because I remember my conversation

with Bill you know Bill's not the most sentimental guy, so I wasn't going to go try to, you know, strum at the sentimental chords. But I did mention to him before our last game that, you know, I thought this would be it. And, you know, I just thanked him for everything. And I hope he knows how much I appreciate everything that he's done for me. You know, his focus was just on going out there and beating the Jets. So I didn't want to get too emotional or sentimental. But I appreciate Coach.

You know, him and I had a great relationship, and I appreciate everything he's done for me. Did you not instantly feel a switch flip when he knew that you were going to retire? He became kind of a – I remember when I told him that I was retiring, I was expecting like, look, like, you know, this, that. It was more of he was like nourishing with it. Right, absolutely.

You know, which a lot of people wouldn't think that, especially with a group of guys that have been in the system for a while. You know, like you felt like he was going to do everything to help you for the process that's what i helped yeah no absolutely you know and coach you know look there there's always a part of me that was a little bit intimidated you know when it came to coach because he's such a strong figure and he was so demanding as a coach. But there were moments that he would surprise me all the time with how supportive he was or thoughtful he was about different things. And I don't think that gets talked about enough.

And certainly, you know, I've seen both sides of it. But, you know, he was very supportive of me this year. I think he knew without us talking about it beforehand that it was coming towards the end. We had some conversations about things moving forward in the future and what they'd look like without me there. And then certainly at the end there he was very supportive,

expressed his gratitude to myself. My dad, him and my dad were talking after the last game in the dining hall. And I was like, you know, they're my two football like icons right there. Two football dads. Yeah, essentially my two football fathers. You know, there was that shift that you're talking about. And I certainly appreciated like being on the other side of that, you know, now as a former player. You know, speaking of both sides, have you been watching the Dynasty? I have been. I have been watching. Now, you know, this is interesting, this Dynasty.

You know, I caught up on the episodes, and I'm not sure how I feel about everything. I mean, it's tough. You know, I know there are some times, some comments that I made on there that made it seem like Bill was just this, like, very demanding presence. And he was. But I also want people to see they're, like, they're multiple sides of Bill, right? And, you know, it's tough because I feel like he's being portrayed in a certain light.

And, you know, we're painting a picture, but we're only showing people part of the picture. With Coach, it's very complex. And there are things that, you know, we're tough, and I'm sure we all feel like, hey, maybe we wish we had done things this way. But let's make sure none of us forget the fact that the dynasty is not even being talked about without Bill Belichick. And the things that he did were with intentionality and purpose. And I think he got the best out of all of us.

I don't know. This whole thing is a little crazy. I mean, has anyone pre- What you say Bill didn't kill the people that Aaron Hernandez did? I mean, what do you mean? Did you not see that in the doc? It was like his fault. It was bullshit.

I mean, you said it, Kyler. That's why I'm here I got no comment I think he held his hand I got no comment I mean it's tough I don't know I'm curious to hear what you think about his portrayal and just the work

in general I mean look it's always hard to tell a story as complex as the one we lived in you know 10 episodes right there's just so many more things that took place that give context to what really happened so i honestly think if you're in your 30s and you played football i don't think you ever liked your football coach. You loved him, but you didn't like your football coach. Just like I didn't like my parents

when they made me do things that they knew was going to make me a better person. I didn't like doing it. We didn't like doing it. Work's not easy. Doing a little shit for preparation, doing walkthroughs for walkthroughs for walkthroughs i hated it i bitched about it all the time but we needed it right you know and that's why you

went into every single game knowing you out prepared that team and you had a shot to win every single game it just came down to execution and you know and usually because of how we practiced how hard we practiced how much we practiced how many reps we got mentally you know we executed high such high level and in those crucial situations no question and to your point you know maybe maybe there were times that many of us didn't like coach but we always loved and respected him yeah there was no question about that we always loved and respected him. There was no question about that. We always knew that he was pushing us to be the best version of ourselves, like our parents would. And Welker, you're out here saying, like,

when Aaron Hernandez got away with murder. And figuratively speaking, like, at practice, that's not even true. Welker painted the picture like he was like the king. Like he got to do anything. I remember Bill motherfucking Aaron all the time. Come on, Welk. Try to make up a story. We know you don't like Bill.

Wes, I ain't even say that, man. I'm just sipping my water here, man. I'm sipping my water, Wes. I'm just saying. You know I love you, Wes. I love him too. But you can clearly tell that he hates Bill. What was up with the Chris interview?

Chris Long interview last week. Oh, yeah. You want to talk about that? Yeah. Can we play that back somewhere? You know, because my man. What's up, dog? I just want the people to know. I'm glad that you brought this up,

and I'm glad that Dola let you borrow his hat there. Because, you know, we used to have this conversation, who's Batman, who's Robin? And, you know, football aside, I'm not getting into the Batman-Robin conversation. That's what it's about. It's about football. No, it was about more than football.

It was football. It was about football, but it was also about off the field. Appeal, jawlines, handsomeness. Charisma. Charisma. Got that riz. You know, and it was very clear to me that Dola had the edge. I don't know what you want me to say.

What do you want me to tell you? I don't know. What you think is what you think. Batman doesn't say he's Batman. You're right. He doesn't tell people he's Batman. He says the man that Batman has. Exactly.

I'm just saying. Exactly, right? You know, I'm going to stand by that. We're here. I'm going to have to stand by it. Dola, come show them how it's done. Robin's here. He's got your gear on.

Go get that. We see Dola in the hot tub over here giving the model looks and stuff. Yeah, man. Wasn't Dola with an agency? Wasn't he with a modeling agency out here in LA? Yeah, Ford Modeling. Were you with Ford Modeling? Nah.

Okay, there it is. Nah, it wasn't trying to be. That proves my point there. Now, Dola didn't have the, you know, Dola didn't have Super Bowl MVP. Dola didn't have, you know, these postseason records. Dola didn't have the, what do we got, 600 plus catches, career? Dola didn't have all that. So, you know, the edge is clearly, you know, Edel's on that.

But everything else, Dolo's got a strong case. There's a difference between being Bruce Wayne and Batman. That difference be? Bruce Wayne. Out in the public is Bruce Wayne. Okay. Fair enough. Behind the dark shadows.

Fair enough. The dark knight has to come out. Okay, I can live with that. I used to love those meetings, though. When Chris brought that up, I just thought about how we would be sitting in those meetings and it would be O'Shea, Dola was down in front of us, and it was you and I.

Half the time, Dola would be drawing some photos. Get a little tongue out. He'd be drawing pictures of O'Shea and you at practice. But, I mean, that was a great time. That was a special time, man. We had a special room with guys who really cared and loved each other and loved the game, loved the process. And, you know, it's no surprise to me in hindsight that we had the success

that we did because we had good people. I 100% agree. And I loved what you said over on Greenlight talking about Chadio hindsight that we had the success that we did because we had good people i i 100 agree and i i loved what you said over on green light talking about chadio and and ivan you know the unsung hero coaches yeah we all know of the skarnackios and and and coach belichick but uh you know chad o'shea like you said had to deal you know up and down up and down roller coaster you know what chad was his demeanor was fantastic right like he had the perfect demeanor to deal with guys like you guys like wes guys like randy you know like it was he was here he

was level and the what made you great was that you were so ultra-competitive. And, you know, we're all crazy in our own way. We played football for most of our lives. Like, we're all tapped. But it was that controlled tapped, shall we say, that allowed you to be successful because when the game was on the line or it was a highly competitive situation, you always answered the bell and you brought out the best in everyone. And Chad knew that, he understood that. And he was the perfect coach, in my opinion, for you, you know, as you ascended

into the player that you became. Hey, I'm Gianna Pradente. And I'm Jemay Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline, a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. When you're just starting out in your career, you have a lot of questions like, how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week, we answer your unfiltered work questions. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do, like resume specialist Morgan Sanner.

The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job is usually who applies. Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is it, like you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to thrive in the early years of your career without sacrificing your sanity or sleep.

Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history.

People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.

Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture.

Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do? Why does your memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret? When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks?

And why do they love conspiracy theories? I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, do you ever recall a time where me and Chad almost fought? I wasn't going to bring that up for the kind audience out there who loves Julian Edelman,

but there were several times where you and Chad almost fought. And, you know, for the people that don't know out there, we call the Edelman helmet toss. Now, you know, many guys have thrown their helmet but practice you used to slam your helmet with consistency at least once a week and i'm talking about jaw pads flying out because we're old enough where there were still jaw pads jaw pads flying stuff flying and you're yelling the first guy you'd yell at because you can't yell at tom you're not gonna yell at your teammates and you know you're yelling at chad you ain't yelling at bill you're yelling at chad and you'd be yelling at chad and some days chad was just taking a stride

and then you know other days chad you know chad was like no i'm not having that so then you and chad are over there going at it, yelling at each other. And I used to just sit over there and laugh to myself because I was like, these two, because I knew you guys obviously cared about each other so much, but there was just so much passion and intensity. Practice was flat.

If practice was flat, you knew the Edelman head toss was coming. Right? I was fucking breaking the goddamn helmet. There's no doubt. Just to let these young bucks know this shit is dog shit. And you know what, though? I will say this. I had a greater appreciation for that after you retired than I did while you were playing

because I realized that what you did increased the urgency and accountability amongst the guys it brought an edge to our group and we were missing that edge once you left we were missing it and we really never replaced it um you know in terms of a guy that would come out there really getting guys faces but hold guys accountable to a standard uh we didn't have that and and that was a big part of what you did. And I think that's something that you can't measure. It's not a stat. It's not this.

But it made our team a championship caliber team. That's something that we all felt when you were first introduced to the Patriots. Yeah, absolutely. You felt Teddy Bruschi, Kevin Falk. You felt their eyes. you heard their comments trying to embarrass you with your effort or with your lack of knowledge or your lack of studying or your lack of preparation to embarrass you in front of everyone because a they were never going to be unprepared right b they were working their dicks off right and and they they were already in their 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th year.

Right. You know, so it made you bring your level up. Oh, no question. And then, you know, the cycle of guys, you become one of the guys that was, I was there, you were there, we were there for eight, seven years. Then it becomes your turn to hold people accountable because tom couldn't always hold people accountable because if tom got on someone he gets on a younger receiver they're gonna put their tail in between their legs right and they're gonna probably tank for the rest of practice so it was like my job to people for tom

because if tom did guys they couldn't handle it Because they grew up watching this guy Half of them weren't even born when he first got in the league You know what I mean So it was like one of those things where Yeah I was an asshole Yeah a lot of guys probably didn't like me But you respected me

There's no doubt Because I was there before you Last year I was there before you And I was leaving after you There's no doubt about it. Because I was there before you, and I still left. Last year, I was there before you, and I was leaving after you. There's no doubt. And everybody knew that. Quick question, just because we've seen Jules. We've hung out with him forever.

We know him from one side. Who didn't like him the most in the locker room? Because I'm sure there was plenty. Who did I not get along with? Well, it just depended on the day. I mean, him and I were good for at least two or three blow-ups a year where oh something would come up where did we almost fight we almost fought in oakland he was a deep returner i was a short returner the ball gets kicked i'm in my hometown

slay nine yards deep in the end zone i give him the double hand stop he brings it out he brings it out of course he gets blown up inside the 20. So then I look at him and I say, yo, I gave you the double M stop. I said, if you do that again, I'm not blocking for you. And I'm telling everybody up there not to block for you. Then he goes, F you, F you. You're supposed to be the captain. That ain't no leadership.

That ain't no captain. So we're over there getting ready to fight you know coaches are pulling us apart guys are looking at us so you know you ask that question some days it might have been me okay other days it might have been Tom which I would love by the way Julian was the only guy that could really give it to Tom right like you know we all kind of wanted really give it to Tom, right? Like, you know, we all kind of wanted to give it to Tom sometimes. If he did something goofy, we're like, oh, it's Tom, I can't say anything. This guy will be over there getting on Tom, killing him in front of the guys.

And we're all, like, trying to muffle our laughs. But you could tell Tom, like, you know, he was flustered. He was flustered. So it would just depend on the day. I mean, I'm sure at any point in time you get asked all 53 guys on the roster, 52 guys, and they would say they hated him, right? You know, him and Gilmore fighting in training camp. Day one.

You know, pulling the dread out, doing all this. But, again. I pulled his dread off, and I remember it. It's part of the jersey. It's part of the jersey. I pulled his dread off, and I walked back to the locker room With it in my hand This is outrageous

Like What are we doing Pulling a man's dread out But I'll say this If you go back And you talk to all those guys That play with Julian They'll all tell you

They respected him They'll all tell you They'll all tell you He made us better And he brought an edge to our football team. And to your point, like, we were afraid of, like, letting our peers down and being embarrassed in front of our peers. And, you know, that's the difference.

Like, you know, this next generation, the way they view history and the way they view, like, veterans in the league is slightly different than the way we came up. Like, you know, we revered Mike V vrabel teddy bruski rodney harrison vince wolford ty warren richard seymour uh i'm missing you know dozens of guys troy brown mr patriot we revered these guys and we didn't want to let them down we want to disappoint them and we were more afraid of them than bill at times and i think that enabled the culture to continue to to thrive and have success because one generation to the next it was like hey we're doing this for each other and we got to keep upholding the standard some

fun years bubs yeah we had some times now we had some times we won a lot of football games too which made it you know know, extremely fun. You noticed that shift in the last couple years? It's just different, right? And I don't want to be the old guy that poo-poos the generation that comes after me. It's just different. And I think, you know, as leaders, you have to find ways to connect with that generation a little different. You know, they're more invested in relationship equity, emotional intelligence,

and I think you have to meet them where they are there. And that's fine. And I think coaches, right, coaches are having to evolve. These guys want to feel like they're partners in what's happening, where for us we would blindly take orders. We wouldn't ask questions. For these guys, maybe they need the why to what they're doing. And that's not a bad thing.

I mean, that's just, it is what it is. And, you know, it's not smart of anybody to sit here and poo-poo that generation. I think you have to evolve and meet these guys where they are. Well, the generation before us is poo-pooing us. They certainly were. I like that word, poo-pooing. Oh, man. before us is poo-pooing us. They certainly were. I like that word, poo-pooing. Oh, man. I remember this just popped up in my head.

I remember, what was it? There was a play on the sideline, opposite sideline of our special team play. Who got you really mad where you almost swore? Akeem. Was it Akeem? I think it was Akeem. Was it in the joint practice? No, this was in a game.

I remember him going, what the frick? Might have been Akeem as well. What the frick? You know, I just want to set the record straight in case Akeem. I love Akeem. Ultimate competitor. Ultimate competitor. Unchain.

You know, a Hall of Fame player in my book. But he would come out there and he's trying to put his hands on me, strap me up, push me out of my house late. And, you know, we had some battles out there. He got me out of character. He definitely got me out of character. Oh, man, Akeem. He was so fun in the locker room.

Oh, he was a great teammate. He was a great teammate. I mean, the years that we had with him. He wore like six chains. I'm like, I'm only calling you Un-Chain, dog. You only got one chain to me. He got them snatched, didn't he? No, he snatched Crabtree's.

He snatched Crabtree's. That's right. It was the reverse. He snatched it. Oh, he did. He did. He played for the Rams this game. He did.

Yeah, he was here. He was old, though. No, Aqib, I didn't say it. He said it. Aqib. Aqib. Aqib. I thought you were still in your prime, dog.

I know you weren't you. I thought you still had it, dog. No, you still had it. You were still smart as hell. I thought you were still elite. Aqib would 100% agree. He said he probably would say that, like, it wasn't me. That's why we were able to do what we did.

I did what I did. Are you getting ready to say that's why I was MVP? That's what he would probably say. That's what he would probably say. That's what he would probably say. He'd probably say, oh, I wasn't in my prime. Oh, man. Yeah, but he had a pick six against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl for Kansas. He was a monster.

He was a great player. He was the reason why we lost in 13. Because he hurt his hamstring. Once his hamstring was on, we couldn't stop nobody. He was the best. Didn't Wes, didn't they run an illegal pick play? And Wes, like, give him a hit pointer or something? I think Wes hit us with a Bush League, you know, chicken winged him. Wes, he's just out for the Patriots.

Come on, Wes. He's out for them. Should have been our title, Wes. Can we talk about roommate days? Oh, let's talk about roommate days. Those were the days. Eggnog time. Eggnog, Ebony, and Ivory together.

Ebony. Perfect harmony. And Ivory. Now, you guys, that was some good vocals over there. You guys remember The Odd Couple, that show? What was that, in the 50s or something? That was us. We were The Odd Couple. couple that show what was that in the 50s or something that was us we were the odd couple but

the thing i appreciated the most as different as julian and i are we always were able to find common ground and uh that's why it worked and people wonder why like how did you guys live together like we always found common ground and we had a blast that was was fun, man. Eggnog. Eggnog. Cookies. Cookie time. He'd get mad at me because I never take out the garbage. I mean, you never took out the trash.

I mean, let's be clear. Man never took out the trash. I mean, it was brutal. Speaking of roommate, though, like, so what was it? In 14? We just, so we win the Super Bowl in 14. Slate about to get married like three weeks later or a week later. I had to go out and I had to do a bunch of stuff.

I didn't go back to the house right away. I go back to the house for the parade. Slate takes communal TV. Took the TV Took the dishes Cleaned out the whole bottom level What do you want me to do? I mean I'm not Look

I'm not a high flying High paid wide receiver I'm a kick cover guy I need my TV I need my dishes I need everything That I can possibly Get my hands on

Can you not at least Give me like a I mean I should've given him Heads up I should've given him a courtesy I came in I called the cops I like Did we get Did we get robbed, I should have given him the heads up. Heads up. I should have given him the courtesy. I came in. I called the cops. I'm like, did we get robbed?

I should have given him the courtesy. They took the silverware. Cleaned us out all the way. Needed that stuff. They were getting out of Frisbees for like months after too. I... Man, I'm sorry. Paper plate.

He was paper plating. But you know what? I think... I think now looking back as we sit here in this plush space here i think my man did all right without that tv dishes right i think it worked out all right by the way that tv still hangs on the wall in my house i still have the tv yeah that curb you got that curve tv still got it yeah i remember that day I was so mad at him in a snowstorm I had to go to Best 5 got the best TV you can get

won a Super Bowl I was like give me that curve thing oh man how big is it give me the bigger one he got the big dog wait but Slade how did the roommate situation get set up like what's the origin of two guys in locker room okay first of all you know Julian and I had instant connection

two late round draft picks two guys from California The origin of the roommate. Okay, first of all, you know, Julian and I had instant connection. Two late-round draft picks, two guys from California, two kind of underdogs. So I think we always kind of – Two teamers? People don't forget, you started as a teamer now. Come on, dog. He started as a teamer. And, you know, he had to grind.

Nothing was given to my man. But anyways, we go out there, we play 2010, and then the lockout hits. So I know my financial situation. I got to get out of here. I got to give up my apartment. So I moved back home, which I think you did too. I was living in Pierre's basement. You were living in Pierre Wood's basement.

You're right. So we both gave up our living situation, and then when we came back, it was like, hey, we just got to make the team. Like, I'm not thinking about where I'm living. Airwoods basement you're right so we both gave up our living situation and then when we came back it was like hey we just gotta make the team like I'm not thinking about where I'm living team's paying for me to live at this hotel I'm staying there we gotta make the team so when we made the team it was like oh shoot we made the team we don't know where we're gonna live so we're scrambling and I think Ryan Wendell had had because i was i went and lived with him for a little while before the in 2010 you lived with him yeah and then ryan wendell had this house

so doug king we we jumped in doug king by the way making a killing off people making a killing monopoly just raking people anyways we moved in the house. If your salary went up, your rent went up. There's no doubt. But Julian didn't let that fly, though. He took care of it. Nah. He had to negotiate. But anyways, Ryan, Julian, and I were there the first year.

Ryan moved out. And I was like, hey, man, if you want to keep doing this, we'll keep doing this. So for another three years, so four years total, we stayed stayed that house 28 pacing saved our ducats we had a couple we brought a couple you know we had shane for a year we had we had de la rosa in with us de la rosa dirt i mean we had we had some characters in and out of there that was my that was my first exposure to shane vereen

eating a domino's pizza once a week. Oh, my gosh. Once a week. And then going out there and killing it in practice. 15 catches in the Super Bowl. I don't understand. The beauty of being young and being able to do that. But, man, that was a fun time, man.

That really was. And, you know, we grew a lot. When we moved in, he was just julian by the time we left he was you know je 11 or julian edelman or whatever they call him nowadays so you know i saw the whole maturation process it was a beautiful thing i love that pacing those walls could talk oh they have a lot of tails to tail. Because a few other Jokers, I think, very well live in that house before us. Yeah, we shouldn't bring that one. We shouldn't bring that one.

No, Brandon. A couple guys live there before us. Speaking of teamers, who are some of the teamers that impress you right now in the league? Oh, man, there are a ton of good ones. Has it gotten a lot better? It really has. I mean, I feel like every team has, you know, some really great players. George Odom for the Niners I think is as good as I've seen over the course of my career. JT Gray, Justin Hardy, Cyril Neal, and then my guy, Brendan Schooler.

Schooler. Who I think is, you know, he's got just tremendous potential to be, I think, one of the great players that this league has ever seen. Is he that good? He's that good. He's long. Like, he's 6'2". He's long and he's strong.

And then he's, like, legit fast. Like, he'll touch 22 mile an hour. So, like, this kid's got all the tools. Who was our other guy that you, our white boy, Corey? Where did he play? Cody. Oh, Cody D. Cody D.

Cody D is phenomenal. He was fast, too. Remember, he could always get up there. He hit 22 mile an hour, and he looked like he's jogging. And you're like, man, this guy can roll. But there's so many guys that I didn't name. But I think the league is in a really great place where you go through the roster of almost every team. And I can point out one or two guys that really jump out on tape

and really have bought into the idea of playing in the kicking game at a high level. You know, I have a ton of respect for these guys nowadays. They're taking the bar to, you know, another level. What's the origin story of the field goal block in Miami? Man, well, you know how it is when you sit in the room with Joe Judge, right? You can take 20 minutes and you're on a tangent and, hey, we should do this. And last night we were talking about this. So we get in there and, you know, these guys are like, hey,

we got a tell on their operation. And it's pretty good. It's pretty much 100%. and i won't disclose that in case they want to go back to it but uh shout out jay shout out jay come on guy but uh you know that we had a pretty good beat on it and there's really one guy on the team that we trusted to do that like that has the ability has the length who can, who has the quickness and get off, and that was school. And, you know, we're practicing it during the week. And, you know, on a couple of them, the timing was like,

ah, that ain't it, that ain't looking good. But one of our assistants, Joe Houston, he finally got the timing and the steps with school. So when we got in the game and we needed a play, it was like, all right, we're going to call it. And I just knew, I said, if he can get the corner untouched or at least minimal contact, he's going to block it. And he did a great job of just bending that corner, you know,

timing it up and just, you know, again, the kid's 6'2". He's long. And I saw it in my periphery. I saw it. I said, before he blocked i said oh he's gonna block it uh because he got through there untouched and you know huge play huge huge play yeah huge play yeah what's the biggest misconception of teamers well you know i i think a lot of people think that playing special teams is is going out there you're not thinking very much you're just running and

it's chaotic. But the reality is there's a lot of communication that occurs on the field. There's a lot of thinking on your feet, you know, a lot that changes in the middle of plays. And, you know, you've got the best athletes on the field, the fastest, some of the strongest, biggest guys out there playing. So, you know, I think people undersell what it takes to play in the King game. You know hear all the time well this guy's big and fast he can play special teams well not necessarily can he think on his feet is he tough mentally and physically and is he going to compete at a high

level like you got to compete every snap because every snap can be the difference between winning and losing so you know I think we get a bad rap sometimes, but those guys that I mention right now that are doing it at high levels across the league I think are changing that. Mount Rushmore special teamers then? I mean, it's tough, right? I mean, it's tough, but if you're going to make any kind of Mount Rushmore, you've got to start with Steve Tasker. Tasker?

I mean, he's the godfather. He started us off. He really took it and elevated it to where it is today. I like Bill Bates, who played with Dallas for 15 years and really was an all-out guy. There's another guy named Albert Shelby. I think I'm saying his name right. Who played in Atlanta, who was a great gunner, went to four Pro Bowls.

So, you know, let's give him and Bates a half a head on that, not much more. And then I go current guys. I go guys that, you know, maybe from our generation. Lorenzo Alexander is a guy that I love. Just physical presence, relentless effort in the way that he played. And then Michael Thomas, who was one of our contemporaries. He was in Cincinnati last year. Really, you know, you look at the last decade and a half, you know,

depending on who you ask, the top – one of the top two guys in the league the last, you know, 10, 15 years. So, that's my Mount Rushmore. I'm leaving off a ton of guys. I hate doing Mount Rushmores because you always leave off somebody who's very – Well, I mean, you're on there, of course. Yeah, I can't put myself on that. I tried to do my job.

I did. We will. We will, yes. So, yeah. But, yeah, there's a lot of great players out there that I have respect for. Mount Rushmore of our twos. Julian Edelman, definitely top R2 in the league. You know, I don't think people

appreciate how good you are in the kicking game. And not just returning the ball. I love the R2. Covering. Didn't I send you a clip of you covering down this year? No, but I still remember when you were off sides in my tackle inside the five. You always gotta bring that up. I was offside. He had a tackle inside the five.

I was offside. That's very rare inside the five. I was offside. Kickoff. That's very rare. Yeah. That's when we were young and spry. The body could move. God. It was a good time.

Had to block PP. Had to block Larry Izzo. Larry Izzo. Larry Izzo, man. Honorable mention. No doubt. Honorable mention, Mount Rushmore, no doubt. I mean, look, without Larry Izzo, I never would have had a job in New England.

You know, guys like that. And, you know, we always talk about, like, the skill guys in special teams, like the Gunners and the PPs. But I think of guys like Nick Ballour that are out there right now and other like, you know, a Miles Kilbrew, the size guys, Reeves Maben in Detroit who made the Pro Bowl. Like, you got to give those size guys some love too because there's a big man moving down the field.

I didn't have size though. He was technically a size guy. Larry was listed as 220. He probably was 205. But Larry, we're going to call you a size guy. But those were fun times, man. Now, your dad being Jackie Slater, greatest right tackle of all time,

Hall of Famer, how often did you talk to your dad during the season, you know, about football? How often was that? A lot. A lot, honestly. And, you know, I think when him and I would talk, it would be more, you know, how you feeling physically, where you at mentally, you know, kind of state of the team.

We never really talked too much about how I was playing. He'd ask me about plays and certain things like that. But the first thing, every game I'd call him on the way home, the first thing that he would say, you know, I thought the O-line did this. I saw this he watched our line uh with an eagle eye for 16 years i mean he could tell you you know in the third quarter it was third and five this happened with marcus cannon or sebastian volmer did this like he just loves interior play i mean that's that's who he is uh is. He'll tell you a good big man's always better than a good little man.

And he just loves that part of the game. So we always connected on that. We were always talking about our line and the way that, you know, they were playing throughout the season. You know, we enjoyed those conversations. How old were you when your dad retired? So I was in fifth grade. So I was about 10, 11 years old when my dad retired.

We moved to St. Louis for his last year. My mom did not want to go. She was like, can you just retire? And he's like, I got to get 20. I got to go try to get 20. So we moved to St. Louis. We were there for eight months. And he played in one game.

He was on PUP. He ruptured his tricep, and he retort in rehab. And they were like, hey, we'll just get you out there for one game, get you that 20th year. So they mummied his arm up. He got out there. You know, we were in and out of St. Louis pretty quick. How was it?

Did you go to all the practices and had to be pretty cool seeing Eric Dinkers? It was a crazy experience for me as a young person. Like growing up around the game and, you know, the love that I had for the game came from my dad. But, you know, just to be in the locker room, to be at the practice facility, to see him training, to have his teammates come up and you know start talking to me you know Isaac Bruce was was a guy that I really loved he played with my dad towards the end of my dad's

career but even after my dad retired I'd go back and watch him and Torrey running routes and oh man it was just such a neat experience to grow up around the game. Yeah. So, you know, I, I, I remember I got to know Jack. He's called big black Jack. Yes, you did. ABG. I never do his face.

No, no. Just to me. Just me. We would laugh about that. We would laugh about that. And I'd be like, and one time we had our eggnog time and I was on IR and slate went up to sleep.

You know, me and old Jack sat back down. You know, we saw that crowd. You know, on IR, I was like, yo, Mr. Slate, you want one? We took a little crown. We sit in there. After about two or three drinks, I got Jackie in there showing me his pass sets against LT. He's over here.

I used to give this to LT. It was the coolest experience. Oh, man. I remember that. Because my dad loved the Rams growing up. So he always talked, and my dad always talked about, you know, getting to hang out with your dad at the Super Bowls. It was always so fun.

It was special for our families. It really was. Hey, I'm Gianna Prudente. And I'm Jamee Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline, a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. When you're just starting out in your career, you have a lot of questions. Like, how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or, can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job?

Girl, yes! Each week, we answer your unfiltered work questions. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do, like resume specialist Morgan Saner. The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job is usually who applies. Yeah, I think a lot about that quote, what is it like you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to thrive in the early years of your career without sacrificing your sanity or sleep.

Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil.

I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.

Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game?

And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke.

Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do. Why does your memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret? When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks? And why do they love conspiracy theories?

I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more because the more we know about what's running under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts all right let's go back to around february 3rd 2019 this is a segment we do where we go through all the pop culture and just kind of see what was going on at this time number one movie glass do you see that i didn't see glass it's like the jackie what was? That was M. Night Shyamalan It was the crossover sequel To Unbreakable and Split

So it had Samuel L. Jackson Bruce Willis James McAvoy It was kind of like The culmination of those two I'm gonna have to go watch that one Glass It was alright

If you like the M. Night Shyamalan thing I like him Budget of 20 million Made 247 million There we go Pretty solid ROI We're box office guys here Box office guys Budget of $20 million, made $247 million. There we go. Pretty solid. ROI. ROI.

We're box office guys here. Box office guys. Number one song, Seven Rings by Ariana Grande. You remember this one? No. This was sort of the sing song you won that sounded like raindrops on rose. You know that one? Yeah.

I won it. I got it. I like it. I bought it. That one. It was okay. Seven Rings. We like Ariana over here.

All right. Seven Rings. Yeah. This is a nice callback. We got to get Benny Blanc on the show. I like it. I bought it, that one. It was okay. Seven rings. We like it around over here. All right. Seven rings, yeah. This is a nice callback. We got to get Benny Blanco on the show. That's right. Benny Blanco. Kaitlyn Clark scored 60 in a high school game. I love her.

She's killing it. Still doing it. She's awesome. She's doing it back then. She's doing it now. This was just the start. Incredible. Pulled a little stat on Kaitlyn Clark here.

On threes, NIL value rankings crazy that that's a thing now in college sports 4th highest valued college athlete 3.1 million they say this year 3.1? Wow Iowa too. Man she might as well go back she might as well undeclare for that draft. Take it back. You making more huh?

Are you making more? I mean she's not gonna make that WNBA She's not gonna make 3.1 right? No. She'll WNBA. No, not in salary. She'll make it an endorsement, but not in salary. No. Sheesh. El Chapo was found guilty in all counts. Bad guy.

El Chapo. We may have met one of his tigers. We're going to go back to the next line. Operation Varsity Blues hits March. We ain't going to say nothing about Brother Chapo. Operation Varsity Blues hits. USC. I mean't going to say nothing about Brother Choppo. Operation Varsity Blues hits. USC. I mean, you're doing all that just to go to USC?

Come on, man. All that to go to USC. To go to USC? You don't know what this was? This is when Aunt Becky did the rowing thing. Oh, yeah. I mean, USC's not even a good school. That's what I'm saying.

You're faking everything. You're doing all that to go to USC. I mean, at least if you all that to go to USC. I mean, at least if you had gone to UCLA with that, we would have felt like, okay, you're trying to get into the number one public school university in the country. Yes. Just want to. Number one, we passed Berkeley for all those bears out there, Delaros. We passed Berkeley.

Isn't Nebruen a baby bear? Well, I mean, that's what they like to say. But, you know, it's one thing when the baby comes up and rises and grows bigger than the original and is better. It's like 2.0. Okay. We're, you know, superior, obviously. In the sports world.

UCLA talk. Who is our one guy, that linebacker, Bruce? Bruce Davis. BD. My guy. Whenever there was a UCLA guy, Sl linebacker, Bruce? Bruce Davis. BD. My guy. Whenever there was a UCLA guy, Slate would be all happy. I love all my UCLA guys. I love it.

UCLA. Yo, you know I love Bill Walton over here. You ever meet Bill Walton? I've never met Bill Walton. Huge fan, though. He's my second favorite UCLA draft. Huge fan. Me too.

Who's your first, Jack? Ah, Jack. Slate. I like Jack. Yeah, baby. I like Jack. Oh, Jackie. I love Slate. It's late. I like Jack. Yeah, baby. I like Jack. Oh, Jackie. I love Slate.

Patrick Mahomes, MVP this year. We won the ball. College football champion, Clemson Heisman Trophy winner, Kyler Murray. That was Trevor Lawrence Clemson. What's going on? Oh, my God. He needs to have a year this year. I know.

Big year for him. Big year. Got Mac Jones. You got Mac Jones putting that pressure on him. I know. Big year for him. Big year. Got Mac Jones. Got Mac Jones putting that pressure on him. I don't know. Mac Daddy. He's back in his home environment.

That's right. I'm slinging that pill. You know, he's getting some vitamin D so the depression's probably down. Back in his old child modeling days. NBA streaks.

Russell Westbrook, 11 straight triple doubles. That'll probably never be crazy. Another Bruins. Yeah. I thought he went to USC. No, he didn't go there. He was there with me. Go Bruins. Crazy. Another Bruins. Yeah. I thought he went to USC. No, he didn't go there.

He was there with me. Final four time. Oh, you guys. He doesn't know me from Adam's house cat, but shout out. Russell. He should get to know you. James Harden's streak of 30 plus point games ends at 32 games. Wow.

That's the record? Yep. Crazy. That's crazy. Joker gets buckets. He sure does. Notable NFL retirements. Revis, Joe Thomas, Jason Witten, James Harrison, Dwight Freeney.

Wow. That's a list right there now. Right before the season. Oh, wee. Is it? Is it? This is their. Last year.

So Revis is in, Thomas is in, I think Freeney's in too. No James Harrison. I mean, two-time defensive player of the year, right? Still one of the scariest dudes I've ever met. I was just going to say, like, literally. Like, Kent State alum. Shout out, Kent State. When he was on our team, I was still afraid of the guy.

And the guy was like, that joker's intimidating now. I loved him. Oh, my gosh. He would come in there with his Debo shirt on. Debo. Cut off. Very fitting. I would pay to see him in the weight room. I mean, that guy's an animal. He lived in the weight room. loved him oh my gosh he would come in there this debo shirt on debo cut off very fitting i would pay to see him in the weight room i mean that guy's an animal he lived in the weight room i mean yeah they wear like old sweatsuits that were like super baggy old yeah you would remember yeah

he's very deceiving because you you can't tell how big he is no you could see because he was only five he's probably about 5 11 and he was because he was only five. He was probably about 5'11", and he was five people wide. Oh, my God. Man. Games with Names is brought to you by my friends at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor. Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor are the ultimate destinations for sports and entertainment fans. From the sportsbook to gaming, restaurants, live music, and more.

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I will see you in Boston or Las Vegas soon. Jack, set the stage for this game. Let's jump into this game. All right, let's start off with the LA Rams here. 13-3, second-best record in franchise history, bested only by that 0-1 team Greatest show on turf We know how that season ended

Another loss to the Patriots A bunch of guys on this team Jared Goff, young Jared Goff Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, Corey Littleton This was in Gurley Gurley was Offense Player of the Year, wasn't he? Was he? I believe so

Aqib Tlaib brought him in prior to the season. You know, he's a Wade Phillips guy. Andrew Whitworth was in his about 100th season here. Whitworth, respect. Still balling. Marcus Peters and Dominick Nsou. They brought in Brandon Cooks, former Patriot, prior to the season as well. Greg DeLegge, Zerline.

Cooper Cupp was hurt for this one. Tore his ACL in November. Missed the rest of the season. Johnny Hecker. Johnny Hecker. Johnny. I mean, I feel like. Johnny's an all-time great now.

He was a Bill Love Johnny Hecker, didn't he? Johnny Hecker was an all-time great punter. Is an all-time great. Had a heck of a game. Who were the brothers? Oh, Colquitts. Oh, yeah. When you were next to the Colquitts or Johnny Hecker,

when you would be in warm-ups and you'd be next to those guys punting, it sounded like a cannon going off. Those guys had such big, like, crazy legs. And Johnny's a big old dude, too, like 6'4", 6'5". Why would you be next to him? Like, is that how they do warm-ups? I would always walk by him. I'd always just, like, eye him down.

Trying to mind game him. You know my man's trying to mind game him. And never walk by him. I'd always just like eye him down. Trying to mind game him. You know my man's trying to mind game him. And never look at him. Never look at him. I'd always look at their punt and just shake my head. Now would other returners actually talk to those guys? I don't know. Do they have the special team or bond or no?

No. The special, like the snappers, punters, kickers, they have their own like. They're in their own world. They're in their own brotherhood, which I respect. I like how they operate. They do. McAfee, we could try to come talk to me. I never talk to him.

You know how he tried to butter you up? You know how there's guys that always try to butter you up? He was trying to butter you up. Oh, wait. I'm like, get out of here, dude. Never look at him. Lick Eddie now. Oh, this dude's killing me.

You should have been taking that butter. I would have been. Because that sucker's doing it right now. He's doing it right. Cinnamon butter, I think. Oh, my God. Yeah, it's late. Gurley was offensive player of the year the year before this.

Oh, okay. This team started 8-0 also. Had notable wins. That crazy Monday night game over the Chiefs. Remember that one? The shootout. Yeah. The whole Coliseum.

Like 50 points apiece, right? 54-51. Yeah, that was wild. That was a big game for the Chiefs. Remember that one? The shootout. Yeah. Like 50 points apiece. 54-51. Yeah, that was wild. That was a big game for him that year. Aaron Donald led the league in sacks 20 and a half. 20 and a half. By the way, I just like to go on record and say in my book, he's top three defensive player all time.

And on that list is LT, Reggie White, and Aaron Donald. Who's the fourth? I don Aaron Donald. Who's the fourth? I don't know. Who's the Mount Rushmore? All big guys? No Ed Reeds? You know, I give you, you almost got to make a separate list, right? But those three guys changed the way the game is played and looked at.

I mean, LT is LT. His name will be, as long as we're talking about football, we'll be talking about LT. Can you remember any LT stories from Bill? I don't know that I want to repeat those. This guy loved LT. He loves LT. And rightfully so.

Oh, he loved it. Rightfully so. And then Reggie's like, if you ask my dad, Reggie's the best because he had to battle against him. But to be 6'5", 300 pounds, and move like that and be that strong, I don't know that we've seen a player with that physical makeup. And then this joker here. Miles Garrett, has he got that?

Miles Garrett has it, but Miles Garrett don't have that hump move like my man had that hump. Like, he's throwing 300-pounders out the club with one arm, you know? And this joker here, this Aaron Donald now, I'll tell you what. Which we'll get into it to the game, which makes it this. This game was so impressive with how our offensive line handled them. Oh, my God. Shout out Joe Tooney.

Joe Tooney had two one-on-ones together. One-on-one. Stoned him. Twice. On the drive where we needed it. Best guard in football right now. Mr. Slater would have been proud. No doubt. Oh, my God.

How about Joe Tooney's career? Best guard in football right now. How many Super Bowls does this guy want? He's got four? He's got five? He's got five. He's got all of them with, this was his last year with us. But he didn't win the 14 one.

He's got four. He's got four. He's got four? Yeah. Right now. This guy's about to win. This guy's winning percentage through the roof. He's a stud.

He is, man. Such a good dude. Great guy. Great teammate. Awesome. A little more on this Rams team. Some notable coaches. We talked about Wade Phillips, D.C. McVay was the de facto O. Awesome. A little more on this Rams team. Some notable coaches. We talked about Wade Phillips, D.C.

McVay was the de facto O.C. Another Patriots guy that had Jed Fish on this staff. Jack Taylor, current Bengals coach, was a quarterbacks coach on this one. John Fossil, special teams coach. Shout out Bones. And it was only McVay's second season as head coach. So this was like 33? Yeah, full boy genius.

Like, when Jules and i were watching on the patio like uh two days ago the the nfl films version and like he was full-on like star struck by bill before the game it really felt like it didn't it oh man no shade so we were watching just to research this and stuff we were watching the nfl films on why the patriots won i mean you would never have thought today that bill Belichick is Bill Belichick after watching that. Yeah. This guy's the best.

He's the greatest coach of all time. Now Raheem Morris is getting a job over Roman. That media turns on you quick. He told us that. Remember that? Quick. He told us that. There's going to be a day media turns on me.

Hey, they have turn now. That was jokery. To me, the people in media control the narrative and the conversation and what happens in our league way more than they should. Way more than they should. I'm convinced of that. That's a different pod, though.

That's the Dolan Dolan Mills pod. We fight against that, and we like to celebrate awesome players and awesome games. No narrative bullshit. Yeah, and that's why I'm sitting here on this pod. I respect the host. There we go. And the host people. Let's go to the New England Patriots.

Set the stage for us, Jackie. There we go. 11-5, New England Patriots. A lot of dudes on this team. 11-5 New England Patriots. A lot of dudes on this team. 11-5. I forgot. Not our best team. It was interesting with some of the sort of back-to-backs.

There were two game losing streaks, which is very uncharacteristic in one season. Late loss in December, I think. Yeah, there was that loss to the Steelers in December. And then previous week was the miracle in Miami, which we know we shall not speak of. Dola. Bolden. Gosh. Bolden and Dola.

Bolden had two long tugs on us. Oh, my God. He's still playing good. He's still fast. Looks good. They said he was gone 15 years ago. That guy's been overcoming the odds the whole time. And then week two and three were lost at Jacksonville.

And then a loss to Matty P, that Monday night game in Detroit. So those were two double-digit back-to-back losses, which was very uncharacteristic of the Patriots team. Oh, yeah. And then Titans lost, too. And then in the middle of the season, yeah, week 10, there was that Titans loss by 24. Spanked.

Spanked. But Overcame Overcame And found our Our rhythm Eighth straight AFC East title Or eighth straight

AFC championship appearance Sorry This was Coming off a season where Lost to the Chris Long led Eagles unfortunately Some notable rookies on this team

Isaiah Wynn Sonny Michelle Who was huge down the stretch. Yeah, big for us. Lost Cooks and Dola in the offseason, which was a bummer. Jules started the season, suspended, bummer. On vacation. On vacation. Slate re-signed prior to this season, which we love.

Two-year deal. Almost left. Where? Pittsburgh. Really?. Where? Pittsburgh. Really? You're listening to Pittsburgh, huh? Yeah, they were, you know, trying to hardball me. Negotiations.

Oh, they almost had to get out. I almost had to pull the emergency chute and get out of there. Steel City State. But I digress. I don't mean to cut you off there, Jack. Yeah, no, man. I love that. I was always curious.

Did you get the bill quarter? I got the call in the airport. Oof. Yeah. Needless to say, I saw him back. Yeah, baby. Look, we don't need agents here. Like, Slate, you're just going to tell him.

He's going to tell Nick. Why don't we just get this thing done? That's exactly how it goes. Exactly. Exactly how it goes. Coach, I just want my agent to handle it. Look. Coach, I don't understand the numbers.

Yeah. I don't know. I just don't understand. Knowing full well, I know all the numbers. Every time. Coach, I don't know the numbers. Every time. I don't know who's getting paid what.

Hey, thankfully, Slate came back. Lost Dola. Lost Solder. Lost Butler. Lost Deion Lewis. All the free agency. Lost a lot of guys. Lost a lot of guys. Lost a lot of guys, but we had CP.

We had Slate. We had Devlin. CP was big. Gromp. CP was huge this year. Hightower was huge this year. Kyle Van Nooy was a beast this year. Patrick Chung had both the McCourty's this year.

McCourty's. Needed them. Needed them. Needed both of them. And then this was. Jason with the play of the game. Oh, no doubt. This was the year we almost lost, kind of did for a day uh mcdaniels to indy oh remember that famous story you heard ursa in

the bathroom or whatever ursa in the bathroom for about an hour wasn't that the story i forgot about that yeah he came back no that was next year or that was last year yeah so prior to this season i was at that super bowl i was trying i was trying to sit in that box with guys right that's your guy guy pun intended that is your guy though isn't it yeah i'm guys like oh i got an extra ticket i'm sitting in the colts box i'm like all right i get in there i'm you know eating some french onion dip enjoying the pre-game festivities i get a tap on my shoulder sir you can't sit in this box. Ursae booted you. Ursae booted me.

Got a lot of nerves. Wow. I actually respected it. Because you probably would have done the same thing if you were him. Nah. You'd have let Cooper Cup come sit in your box. Yeah, I like Coop. I interviewed him for Fox this year, baby.

Fair enough. Coop. We used to train together. Coop's a good dude. He go. Fair enough. Coop. We used to train together. Coop's a good dude. He is. He's a good dude. We used to train together. Oh, man.

And before we get into this game, got to give a little shine to the rest of the coaching staff. This was an all-time star-studded Pats coaching staff. Joe Judge, Scar, Ivan Fierce, Chaddy O'Shea, who we talked about earlier, Nick Cayley, B-Flow, Ziegler, and Demarcus Covington, who's now the D.C. That's right. He's had a lot of dudes, a lot of good brain trust guys in there. By the way, one guy you cannot leave off of that coaching staff. Oh, yeah.

Brendan Daly, who, by the way, has won six Super Bowls now. I know. He won three with us, and he's won three with Kansas City. Insane. BD. Joker might end up with 10 of those bad boys. I remember he came from Kansas City, right? There was something like Kansas City to Minnesota to here.

It was boys with Chad. Yes. Because they were always close. Yes. And then went back to Kansas City. All he does is win. Yeah, man. He's had quite the coaching career.

Vikings, Rams, Vikings, Patriots, and now Kansas City. Vikings, Rams, Vikings. Also, Ryan Allen, Joe Cardona, and Steven Gakowski on this team as well. Ryan Allen. Ryan Allen, game of his life. Shout out Ryan Allen. We punted his tail off. Then we drafted another punter.

Jules often tells a story about winning is fun coming off the Eagles. Do you have your perspective on that whole winning is fun, put on the whiteboard? Yeah, I mean, look, I'm in agreement with Julian on this. Clearly winning is fun. For a long time, and it continues to be the case, people were taking shots at what we had going on over here. Like, you know, they don't do this, they don't do that.

That's not fun. This is not fun. Like, first of all, fun is not the top priority. We're grown men. If I want to have fun, I'll take my kids to Disneyland. But what is fun is winning football. What is not fun is going 4-13. So I can tell you, winning football games, there's nothing like it.

And to be able to do that with people that you care about, to be able to build relationships, to be able to do all those things and to put winning on top is like the cherry. I mean, there's nothing better than winning in this league. But you remember I had to go away for my vacation right when I left because of all the talks I put on the whiteboard. Winning is fun. Winning is fun.

Which stayed up there for all that season. All that season. And may have even carried over afterwards. Stayed up there. No truer words have ever been spoken. If you win and become MVP, you also get to go to Disneyland. Correct. And you get to host podcasts, and you get to live in just sick cribs.

Not too shabby. You know? You should see Slate's newly built crib over in where we're in. It's okay. It's not like this. Yeah, right. Get out of here, Slate. Jack, let's get the game lead up.

All right, the lead up to this game. We're talking title games here. These are two memorable ones. Get out of here, son. Jack, let's get the game lead up. All right, the lead up to this game. We're talking title games here. These were two memorable ones. The NFC title, the Rams went down to New Orleans and beat them on that controversial no-pass interference call. I remember that one. That was outrageous. Obi Coleman, brutal.

Just lit them up. That was a brutal no-call. The only thing worse than that call was then the challenging PI the year after. Oh, that was terrible. That was a mess. I mean, P.I. the year after. Oh, yeah. That was a mess. I mean, I think it was like a defensive receiver hit, too. It was wild. It was.

Helmet to helmet. Defense lived and P.I. And they didn't throw either one of them. Which is crazy. Bad. Insane. And then we can't forget. You know, somebody's got to fire one of them refs now. I got to start docking these jokers when they miss calls like that.

And I can say that because I'm no longer an employee of the NFL. The referee, we got to go. Come on, fellas. We got to do better than what we're doing right now. You know, there are a group of referees that you like. Yeah. But there are a group of guys. You know who I'm talking about.

Love that little authority. Love that authority. Scott Novak. They kind of try to... Scott Novak. Looking like a principal out there. You can't act like a principal. You got to have a relationship with the guys.

It's a fiery environment. You got to have a relationship with the guys. You got to have a relationship with the guys. And a lot of you guys, they like to sun us. Like, you know, like we're little kids and stuff. Sun? I don't like all that. I'm we're little kids and stuff. Sun? I don't like all that.

I'm making $12 million this year. Get the fuck out of here. I never made no $12 million. But I do know this. If I'm 38 years old out there, I don't need you sunning me. I'm a grown man, okay? And then I also want to specifically call out the crew that refereed our game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2000 and what year was that 21 for calling me for running out of bounds when I forced a phone when we lost the game to Tampa Bay Bucs whoever was on that crew that was an atrocious call

one of the worst calls I've seen in my career you you played a large role in costing us that football game, and shame on you for that. And this is a man of integrity that doesn't do that. I don't know how we get on that, but the referee, I got a big-time issue with the referee. I've heard an internet idea to have ref press conferences after the game. Hold him accountable.

Accountability. That's what we need more is a society. We need more accountability. That was a Bill Vinovich crew-led crew that day in Foxborough. Was it? Yeah, it was. Come on, Bill. Get your guy.

The side just. I like Geno. And the kill Harry against the Chiefs. Oh, God. Was that this year? No. What year was that? This was the year he lost to the Titans. This was the next year.

Yeah, that was bad. That was bad. Which one was that? And then they said he stepped to the Titans. This was the next year. Yeah, that was bad. That was bad. Which one was that? And then they said he stepped out of bounds. Oh, he didn't. Yeah. And before that, there was like a fumble return for a touchdown. That was like his big play.

I've always wanted to blast the refs. It feels good. It feels good to have the platform to do so. Let it spray. I love it. Back to the lead up of this one. Can't forget what the Patriots did in their AFC title game. Going into Arrowhead, winning that thing 37-31 in overtime.

Favorite win. No doubt. Favorite win of my career. Perfect score. Unsuper Bowl win. Unreal. Now, my man had a very controversial play in that game on a punt. Didn't touch it. He didn't touch it.

He didn't touch it, but he attempted to feel a punt off the hop. And because my man can't strap his gloves off, the strap of his glove almost touched the ball. I don't know if you guys remember that. I remember. But we watched that play several times this year. You know, they had the Bears TV running. And I remember going to him, and I go, did you touch it?

Did you touch the ball? No, I didn't happen to touch it. I didn't try to touch it. And then I look up at the thing. Yes, you tried to touch it. You tried to feel the ball, scoop that puppy, make a play. Played on the first bounce. Doesn't matter. We won the game.

We threw a pick the very next play. We did. Is that a ball doesn't lie situation? Didn't touch it. Might be. I don't matter. We won the game. We threw a pick the very next play. Is that a ball doesn't lie situation? Didn't touch it. Might be. I don't know. We won the game. Doesn't matter.

You're MVP at the last game of the season. That's all that matters. And also leading up to this game, we mentioned earlier, no Cooper Cup. This was also expected. Everybody was saying shootout, shootout. Great offenses, great offense. Two good defenses, but awesome offenses. Like over-under was set at 56 points. Didn't even come close.

And there was also the age disparity conversation. You got Bill, 66 at the time of this game. McVay, 33. That's wild. Brady, 41. Goff, 24. So everyone was making the young bucks versus the old guard type argument here.

Keep it going, Jackie. Should we get into the game a little bit here? Yeah, let's get into the game. All right. Before we get into it, was there any scouting report, things to take away? Stop Aaron Donald. Stop Aaron Donald. Get a body on 99.

Stop Aaron Donald. Beat man coverage on third and short. That's why we dialed up the beaver, which was like a longer pass play coverage on third and short. That's why we dialed up the beaver, which was like a longer pass play on a third and short because we knew Wade Phillips. We knew what he was going to do. He's a very man coverage type play caller. And then they started trying to give a zone,

and that's where they were matching me up on a linebacker on the juke routes. And so that's when it got eaten up. And then they would go to the man we just couldn't finish we were moving the ball up and down the field just every time we got in the red area you know something went wrong we couldn't finish play we couldn't finish drives but we were moving the ball we were moving the ball like we were able to run the ball what would we run for 94 yards sony had 94 yards and 18 carries rex had some big old runs some big old runs you know what i mean so like we were running the football we just you know that's where these 94 yards. Sony had 94 yards and 18 carries. Rex had some big old runs. He did have some big old runs.

You know what I mean? So, like, we were running the football. We just, you know, that's where these games come down to. It's situational football. You know, it's red area. It's four-point plays, which is third down in the red area. Guys that, you know, if you don't score touchdowns in the red area, that's usually what separates the win now.

We just so happen to have a killer defensive game plan, and our guys went out there and executed to a tee. And having the veteran presence of the McCourty's and Jason McCourty coming over, having his first Super Bowl, having Gilmore go out and play to the big contract that we got him gave him and that's why we fought the first day of practice because I was pissed off that I used to route him up as a bill and then we gave him 14

he played the way he should have played with the interception and then the forced fumble it was crazy with one less dread in his hair in his head that's my dog bro Steph's a great guy i remember on the way back because bill kicked us out it was the first day of pads it was it was the first day

of early practice early practice early practice kicks just get the fuck hit the showers at home you too gilmore by the time we're out we're sitting in the shower in the locker room you know i'm like yeah my, my bad, bro. You know, he's like, hi. You know, Gilly don't really talk. He don't say that either. Yeah, he's like, yeah, man, it's all right. You know, like it was.

Oh, man. What do you guys remember anything in particular about the lead up to this one? Super Bowl prep wise, game plan wise that we didn't touch yet. We just were constantly talking about getting Aaron Donald protected. Oh, my gosh. The whole team knew that. We were just talking about. The entire team knew we had to block that guy.

If we don't get Aaron Donald, we'll lose the game. And that was the truth. And that's still the truth if you play those guys. You got to block 99. Blocking 99 was huge. Red area. I remember us talking about red area we got to score points which we didn't do very well on um you know and those are the two things that come to my mind anything on special and i know for us like playing against bones you know you

always had to be fake sound uh the rams ran a lot of fakes with johnny hecker he's a quarterback yeah i mean he can he can throw the ball now. This kid can throw the ball. So we just were talking about fake adjustments all week, being fake sound. It got to the point, I mean, we changed what we were going to do, our checks maybe two or three times. It got to the point where I remember looking over at Nate Ebner and I was just like, hey, man, when we get out there,

just make sure we got a hat on a hat. We're probably going to screw the call up because we've gone through it so many times. Just make sure everybody's accounted for when we get out there. Let's try to make a play. Little did we know that it was going to be a 15-punt extravaganza. But, yeah, that fake sound was preached all week in our room. What did you think of McVay at this time? Because he had the whole boy genius vibe going.

You know, I had a lot of respect for him. He was our age. He was our age, which is wild. I mean, I'm older than the guy. We played against the same age. That guy. Just the fact that he was able to get Jared Goff turned around, right? Like, we played Jared Goff in 16.

They came to us, and you just didn't see it. Yeah. And then this year and the year before that, you're like, man, this is a different player. So, to me, that was very impressive because I don't think we have enough coaches in the league that can develop young quarterbacks. And then the way he had this offense rolling, I mean, you know, you thought we were going to be in for a long day.

And then to start the game, this was down in Atlanta. Can't start a game without a coin toss. Slate two and three in coin tosses in Super Bowls. But they lost every game that Slate won the coin toss, which is a weird stat. Oh. Heads, baby. Yikes. Heads all day.

Okay, so. So you lost the opening coin toss. So I needed the opening coin toss. So I lost this coin toss. Yes. Okay. But I will note, you are one So you lost opening coin toss So I needed the loop So I lost this coin toss Yes Okay But I will note You are one for one

In overtime coin tosses That's when it matters though NAFC championship game That's right That's right Week before Two weeks before That's when it matters baby

Heads baby Give it to us That's what you used to call it Heads always right Never That's it Never tails What was dad feeling at this

This game I mean he was giving The most political answer all week. You know, either way it goes, I'm in a win-win situation. And I'm like, how can you say that? And he goes, you know, I got to kind of. They flew down there on the Rams plane. Oh.

They flew down there on the Rams plane. You know, he's working for the Rams all year doing media stuff. So I think he was trying to toe the line. Like he didn't want to rock the boat with the Rams, which I respect. I mean, look, the Rams provided for my education growing up. So I got love for the Rams. But, you know, come on, Pop. You got to draw a hard line in the sand.

It's family. You get family. He was down on the field. He had the hats. He was celebrating. All right. And then he had to fly back on the plane. I don't want to compromise him right now.

But he had to fly back on the plane. And so he had to act real sad the next day getting up, getting back on the plane. Come on. Oh, my gosh. Do you think had the Rams won, he would have showed up to the Rams party? Oh, he'd have been in there. Been dancing around.

Earth, water, fire. He'd have been dapping up Aaron Donald the whole game. Oh, that was weird. That was really weird for our family. I'm not going to lie. My dad, at this point, had a 40-year relationship with the Rams, so it was a strange situation for sure. He doesn't strike me as a split jersey guy either,

like the moms that wear the half. Oh, no. He's not doing that. He's not doing that. He's not doing that. He ain't doing that. Oh, man. All right. We talked a little bit about moving that ball in the first half

and pretty much throughout the whole game, but we start this thing off after the coin toss, a Brady interception. What is it with Tom in those early Super Bowl interceptions? I don't know. But that's how this one started. I'm not critiquing Tom. I'm not critiquing him either. Tom's the best player in the history of the game.

The D bailed him out with a stop on a three and out. Many of those this game. Followed it up with a nice 11-play drive, really moving the ball. Jules, you were getting open, but ended up with a Steve-O missed field goal. Remained nothing, nothing at the end of the first. Moving into the second, we finally got on the board With a Steve-O 42 yarder And then the story of this game So many punts

We're talking here 14 total punts Eight alone in the first half Five of those were off Three and outs So defenses were both Playing hard And it was a field position game

Slate I mean inside the We were loving that I'm not gonna lie to y'all We loved being able To go out there And do our job And you know

We really got in a groove I I think, early in that game. Ryan was hitting the ball with confidence. I think we got him inside the 10 a number of times, which ended up being, you know, a big part of this game. Hidden yardage. Was that hidden yardage and keeping their offense on a long field. But, you know, you got to shout out Ryan Allen for the game that he had. I mean, this is one of the best punting performances I've ever seen.

And then for us, you know, a lot of the situations that we were in, we were on singles, which we love as gunners, and we were just able to run and make plays. So it was awesome. Is that a political – is that – you see when Slate gets into coach mode, you see his voice octave gets like three deeper. Yeah, I just want to, you know, right, Slater. You know, fellas, fellas.

He used to always get on me about my voice changing octaves. But, you know, you got to use the appropriate octave at the appropriate time. I think this is an appropriate time to go over the State of the Union. What's the State of the Union? You want to talk State of the Union right now? Yeah, we got all day. You know, we used to have these State of the Union talks where Julian and I would go in private

and openly discuss what we really felt like was going on with the team, the coaching staff, certain guys on the team. You know, the State of the Union addresses started when we were living together. And probably the single most important State of the Union that we ever had was after we got throttled on Monday Night Football by the Chiefs in 2014. The ship's sinking. We came back to the house. And Sky was falling.

I mean, it was a chicken little situation. The TV folks were saying that Tom was washed, that we were done. Trent Dilfer, who I just saw a couple weeks ago and reminded me of this, he was on air and he was like, the dynasty is over. It's over. Just crushing us. And, you know, we're not young, but we were kind of young, and we're like, man, are we through?

We were looking. We were just sitting there. We're going to start. The Turk is coming. We're out of here. We're out of here. Are they going to overhaul the whole roster is bill is bill gonna cut us but uh needless to say we're on the cincinnati yeah but that's the state of the union but it would be so funny like if something went

down in in the building so slate would be in we'd be in the same meeting some of the times and slate would be going to special teams and and we'd be passing each other in the hallway like on the way to the cafeteria like treatment or something i'd be like yo state of the union after state of the union he'd be like state of the union i'm like state of the union state of the fucking union and we would wait until we left the premises of the ground we as we got older yeah as we got older as we got older we we we until we left the premises of the ground as we got older. Yeah. As we got older. As we got older.

We stayed on the ground. Right. But when we were young, you can't have a State of the Union on the ground. Absolutely not. The place might be bugged. Bugged. You can't. Never know. You got to take that off-site.

You got to State of the Union off-site. We'd go into the car. Oh, my gosh. Was State of the Union always one-on-one? It was always one-on-one. One-on-one, okay. It was always one-on-one. You can't bring so many parties into the State of the Union always one-on-one? It was always one-on-one. One-on-one, okay. It was always one-on-one.

You can't bring so many parties into the State of the Union. The information leaks. You know, loose lips sink ships. Sink ships. And we wore our ships sinking. After every State of the Union, we felt like the ship was sinking. The ship was... The outlook was always poor. The worst.

Like, I don't know, this is not looking good. We are done. Our biggest State of the Union, after that, we won three Super Bowls. Let's just put it into perspective. Exactly. Do you guys remember your last State of the Union? Might have been a State of the Union about the knee. Knee.

Hard State of the Union. I don't know if I could do it. Yeah. I mean, that was tough. That was tough for me. Because at that point in time, you know, I had two work wives in my career. Julian and McCourty. Now, who was the mainstay?

Julian was the primary work wife. You tell McCourty he's a side piece. Okay? He's a side piece. I mean, look. Yeah, Dad. How about Devin wearing all three of his rings on his show? Is he wearing all three of his rings? He's wearing rings on the show, look. Yeah, Dad. How about Devin wearing all three of his rings on his show? Is he wearing all three of his rings?

He's wearing rings on the show, bro. Oh, DMACC, man. DMACC. DMACC. I mean, we got them. I guess we're supposed to wear them. It was for banquets. Yeah, mine are locked up.

You go to a banquet. I ain't wearing mine. You give it to like a Pop Warner team to look at. Yeah, right? Not a national TV. Did he have them on? He had one? Multiple times.

DMACC, we got to talk about it. But you know, DMACC was also wearing a shirt with his own head on there. So, you know, the modesty's gone. You know what? JMACC, though? Was that JMACC that did that? No, JMACC, classy guy.

So what are you saying? DMACC's not a classy guy. I don't know, DMACC. DMACC, I didn't say that, DMACC. I mean, I... Zeddle's talking. DMACC... All class in my-Mac's not a class. I don't know, D-Mac. D-Mac, I didn't say that, D-Mac. I mean. It's Edel's talking. D-Mac.

All class in my book, man. All class. No, he's classy, but he's just an asshole. J-Mac is just a loving leader. I digress, okay? My work wife is going out with his knee. And I'm in a pant. I'm trying to hold her front.

I'm trying to act, hey, man, you know, hey. Just keep doing the rehab, keep getting it treated. You got to just keep fighting. Then I'd go talk to the trainers, and they'd be like, his knee's done. And I'm panicking. What do you mean it's done? He's like, I don't think it's getting any better. But that was a tough state of the union. That was tough.

But you went out on your shield, man. You had your highest yardage game of your career that last year. I remember I was trying to come back, and I remember my last practice because after that we weren't even playoff ready, and I was like, I'm not pushing this thing. My last practice, I just wanted to get Gilmore one more time. One-on-ones. I went out just for one-on-ones.

I got little miles on a double move. Then I got Gilmore. And I literally, after I got Gilmore, I just chugged the deuces and went to the pool. It was the last time I was ever seen as a New England Patriot. Oh, man. You went to the wheels fell off. That's what we always said. Go to the wheels fall off.

You got to go to the wheels fall off. Now, are you surprised at the pace of this terrible game by this time? I mean, we went full tangent. I forgot we were talking about the game. You know, I was loving it. I was loving the way the game was ebbing and flowing because we were having a lot of opportunities to impact the game. But I was surprised because their offense was so potent.

Obviously, our offense was really motoring at this time. I was surprised at how slow the game was developing and how well the defenses were playing. You know, I watched this game, and there were just crazy plays by so many guys on the defense. Hightower literally brought the thunder. Oh, Mr. February. You know, like, I just remember there was like three plays in a row

where they were trying to bring that tight end in to get the the backer yeah and he literally put them on their butt like three times van noy chip and then chase of golf on that big that was a great play by him that was a great play by kyle like that was a great play by Kyle. Like. That was a great play. There was. And then, you know, Gilmore with the pick when we needed it. Jason McCourty with, you know, the pat out at the backside post. Huge. The adjustment that they put in, you know, because they already got beat by that. Right. And they let it go.

Right. Remember? Like, there was just so much. The defense played their nuts off. They really did, man. This is exactly how Bill wanted it. He loved it. Loved it.

Because we were in control of the game even though we weren't. Right? And, I mean, to the faint – honestly, for me, we played in five Super Bowls. Yeah. To me, this was the most comfortable I ever felt during a Super Bowl. I mean, every other game was a struggle. It was like, man, I don't know. It always felt like we were in control of the game.

It felt like we were in control. Even though the score was close and, you know, it was a tight ball game, it felt like this is transpiring just the way we want it. I mean, the first half alone, defense was incredible. Held the Rams at 57 yards. Only two first downs. Record lows for Sean McVay. First time he'd ever been shut out in a half of football.

Or first half of football, which is crazy. Jules, seven catches in the first half. That's a Super Bowl record. Six of those seven were for first downs. Pretty sick. Jim Nance was loving it. Nance. Go into the...

My man was running some rounds. You talk about beating man covers, you were running some rounds. Just the average Joe. That's why that knee's gone because that knee was working that night. My knees were hurting just watching it. I look at the highlights. I see my dog cut. I'm like, oh, my meniscus, my ACL hurt just watching.

He was running some routes that night. He was running some routes. It's on. Ain't no doubt. Went into the half up 3-0. What was up in the halftime? Any adjustments? Anything big we remember?

Standard. Standard? No. It was just the standard like, fellas, you know, we're not playing our best. We just tighten up

little things in the red area. Just keep playing each play. Trying to win one play at a time. You can't win it in one... You know. You can't win the game in one play. That was the mantra. Let's just do our job every play and then line up and do it again. That's right.

Communication, execution. And it sounds simple, but it's hard to carry out. That's the one thing we did better than everybody for the time we were there we were able to execute come out in the third quarter let them tie it up on a uh greg the leg field goal and another thing that was big a lot of people don't talk about enough chung gets hurt goes out we lose him that's chung yeah that was big air cast on the arm. That's like some Rodney Harrison.

You know, Chung brought such a level of, like, toughness and compete to our team and just intangibles that you don't really celebrate or talk about. That was a big loss when he went out of the game. Like, I felt emotionally I felt that was a blow that we had to kind of overcome. You know, you couldn't have explained it any better. emotionally I felt that was a blow that we had to kind of overcome. You know, you couldn't have explained it any better. With what he brought to the team, with his toughness, with how he practiced, for the first three years of my career, me and Chung almost fought every day.

Every day because, you know, there's like an agreement when you're going into block force and he was always the force safety, you know, and he never agreed to the agreement and i never agreed to the agreement so we were literally banging heads for three years every day and like it was just and but it made us better yeah dude you know and that's what chung was he was he worked his tail off he was always dependable when the team needed it and it's crazy when you can literally say that about pretty much everyone that was on the field right you know that's why the team's special we're special and then moving into the fourth quarter there's a first time in Super Bowl history where we don't have a touchdown in the game yet wow three to three Patriots get the ball with 939

left in the fourth we got the drive that pretty much wins this game we're starting on our own 31 starting out with a great pass to gronk then jules and rex burkhead gets involved and then the play that one of the defining plays of this game in my mind was that hoss z juke right seen the gronk that drive ran in three plays in a row or four times in a row they hit me on the juke they hit what wrecks the on the outside yep and then the one time when they hit wrecks we saw that they gave us single single safety and when you get single safety on that play that's why we you know you see a highlight of gronk hitting the seam running you know and and that's when it happened you know it was crazy we

could run that was like we used to call that play jordan you know that. You know, it was crazy. We could run that. That was like, we used to call that play Jordan. You know, that was Jordan because it was our safety blanket. We could run it against anything. Everyone knew how to run it. Everyone ran their specific route so many times where you knew how to get open on every coverage. That's right. You know what I mean? No, that was one of my favorite Gronk moments of all time, personally.

You know, shout out Gronk because, you know, this year was tough for him, especially towards the end. Banged up. He was banged up. Physically, he was just beat up. And what he really embraced was like, all right, I'm going to just become a dominant blocker. And then, you know, when we needed plays in the past game,

he just always found a way to rise to the occasion. And to me, that's what makes him the best. Because when it wasn't perfect for him or when he was hurting, he found ways to make plays. And in this game, my man was hurting. He was hurting. But when we needed him, he found a way. Joker found a way to make a play. Always did. And, you know, people don't realize, like,

he was probably half of himself that year. Like, with just the physical and mental beatdown that he was having. Because you got to think about it. I mean, Gronk was the most dominant human being for most of his life. And then, you know, know confidence wise was probably a little shot when you know he's banged up and he's going over rehabs every year every year and he was getting sick of it you know Gronk's a big puppy man you know and for him to go out and show out like he did and it started you know probably like week 18 you know he started just putting them

together and and anytime we needed to, Gronk made it. I mean, third down and 10 in Kansas City, we hit him on the slant. You know, just big-time plays when the team needed it, Gronk always showed up no matter what. That's right. You know, even when he wasn't himself. And that's how you know you're playing with great players because it's kind of like NASCAR. And that's how you know if you're playing with great players.

Because it's kind of like NASCAR. You always hear the drivers talking about, like, yo, how's the car running? The car's running great today, you know? Sometimes the car ain't running good, and you still got to win the race. Right. You know?

And that's what guys like Gronk, guys like Tom. Tom had so many injuries that no one knew about. Like, broken feet and shit. You know, like that people don't even, he tried to play with the ACO. We all watched the doc. Like to be able to adjust your game and still be able to perform at a high level is the ultimate sign of being a professional.

Yeah. Danny Amendola used to do it all the time. Break his ankle, come out out taping his own ankle tough dudes Hey, I'm Gianna Pradente and I'm Jemay Jackson-Gadsden we're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts

when you're just starting out in your career you have a lot of questions like how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week, we answer your unfiltered work questions. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do. Like resume specialist Morgan Santer. The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job is usually who applies.

Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is it like you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to thrive in the early years of your career. Without sacrificing your sanity or sleep. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports,

where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history, people are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys, I just come here to play basketball every single day and that's what I focus on.

From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network,

iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do. Why does your memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret? When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks? And why do they love conspiracy theories? I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more because the more we know about what's running

under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And then before we wrap this thing up, we're getting down to crunch time here. This was another defining play from this game, from this second half.

Slate's work brother-in-law, Jason McCourty, makes the game-saving saving play in my mind one of them on brandon cooks in the back of the end zone oh yeah huge huge play i mean the thing about this play that's so impressive is jason has a responsibility they're in zone coverage and this is not his responsibility. It is not his responsibility to be in the deep third and to be covering this route. But he has the experience and the preparation and the football IQ to say, oh, this guy's back here.

He's open. It's not my guy, but I better go get on him. And if he doesn't make this play we may not even be sitting here talking about this so this is a huge huge play you know what the best play in my eyes was oh baby yeah last play of the game right tight diamond kill yeah oh there's no now take that knee baby slater best playing football's playing football Six tight diamond Take a knee That's playing football I thought it was right tight

Diamond kill Six tight Six tight Where's Josh McDaniel? Six tight diamond Take a knee Right tight The only reason I know

Six tight Is because that's the only play I'm in He's in Slate is in Which we had Slate's the deep guy The Seahawks Super Bowl And there's like The scuffle

At the The knee for that You're going all crazy I'm trying to get Jugglers ejected I was trying to get Michael Bennett ejected Threw a punch

Full on Threw a punch Full on tackle Gronk too Shout out Michael Bennett One of our former teammates But he No

Remember Michael came Oh he did for Yeah Wasn't the story He and Brett Bielema Didn't like each other He came out I don't know I don't know how that went Michael came. Oh, he did for. Yeah. Wasn't the story he and Brett Bielema didn't like each other? He came out. I don't know. I don't know how that went.

Michael came out, and we used to have shells that you, like, on non-padded days. He wore shells on a padded day. My man was. He used to wear the smallest amount of pads. In that vet. He was super vet. Super vet.

Hold on. Before we wrap this thing up, win the game 13-3. This was a punt game. This was one of the greatest punting special team Super Bowls ever. Can we go through a couple stats here? Yeah. Johnny Hecker, 65-yarder, Super Bowl record. Asterisk.

Broke Ryan Allen's punts. Asterisk. Why? Asterisk. Rolled. It rolled about 30 yards. I know. And I remember looking at Johnny, and i i looked at it i was like

you lucky son of a gun he just looked at me hey you have at the old scottie o's probably back at home at the ranch yelling at it because i didn't play it off its first bounce what are you supposed to do he shanked it and it rolled 30 yards shank mcdank shank stick he broke the previous record which was held by ryan allen from the 2015 super the real record 64 yards the real record i'm just playing johnny i'm just kidding all right 14 total punts six of which were down inside the 20 yard line ryan allen had punts down on the six the two and the seven hecker had punts down on the 6, the 2, and the 7. Hecker had punts down on the 8, the 2, and the 12-yard lines. It's kind of wild.

This is wild. Wild. To make it even wilder. Backed up. These two guys. I mean, we're talking great roommates right here. Ryan Allen and Johnny Hecker, roommates at Oregon State. Yeah.

Crazy. They get that little rivalry there. Oh, they always do. Because Ryan had to transfer. Johnny beat him out. Yeah. And then I think Ryan won, like, the guy award twice when he transferred. But there's always a little something.

They always had a little, like, hey, hey, what's up, man? Like, no, I'm going to get this guy. Yeah. Right? Kickers, they're in their own world. They're cool, but they're all competitive. They are very competitive. Wild.

So, yeah, this one goes down. Lowest scoring Super Bowl in history. 13-3. The Pats win. Brady passes Charles Haley. Six rings. Most of any single player. Craziness.

And then we got the after party, the aftermath. Golf was traded. Gone. Which brings me back to my other point, though. Julian's point. Winning is fun. Winning was fun. Gone. Which brings me back to my other point, though. Or Julian's point. Winning is fun. Winning was fun. Really fun.

If you don't win, you don't get 100% Julian Edelman on Showtime. Okay? Absolutely not. You don't get to... Ellen DeGeneres shaving my beard. Have Ellen shave your beard. You don't get to... Going to Disneyland with Tom.

Right? I mean, you don't get to experience all these things unless you win. So, therefore, winning is fun. What's your favorite parade story? I think our first parade against that Seattle team. Oh, my God. Now, we won't get into the lead-up and the build-up into that, but we know what that build-up was.

Anyways, you know, that Seattle team, that felt good to beat those guys because that team they were a little a little on the cocky side a little on the cocky side i'll never forget you on top of the the duck boat beard out of control in a t-shirt it's in a t freezing there was somebody had a richard sherman sign where he was doing this, and it said, how many rings does Brady have? Four. And you were up there interacting with the crowd and the fans and that sign. That was a good time.

That was a good time. Barry's Bueller day off. Yeah. Full on. After those ones, I was just chilled, really. Oh, man. Jules, step back here. How do they tell you you won Super Bowl MVP?

Like, what's that process like on the field? I think Stacey. Does Stacey tell you? Yeah. Let's see. You're my brother, man. No matter where the way it takes us, you'll always be my brother, man. I wouldn't be here without you, bro.

I love you so much. It's awesome. We're bringing another championship home. Trying to get me emotional up in here. Man. Yeah, that's when I asked him about the MVP. Tom Brady. Man.

Bill Belichick. Everyone. Super Bowl together. Six-time champion. Are you MVP? I am. Oh, you need to get the thing. MVP, baby.

Crazy, bro. MVP. Speaker 1 0 P. Speaker 2 We're only do up there together. Oh man. You noticed Coach Belichick game with his girl talking with that girl. We're together baby. We're together. Speaker 1 0 P. We're together, baby. We're together. We're still here. Still here.

Still here. Man. You know, that was to be able to have witnessed your entire professional journey, you know, highs, lows, everything. That was maybe the highest moment for me as your brother, as your fan. You won the MVP of the Super Bowl. We grew up watching this thing. Yeah, it was nuts.

You know, we grew up with a dream, and to be able to make it to the biggest stage and have that kind of success is just so proud of you, man. Man, I'm proud of you. Man. Look at you, man. Who plays 16 years in the national football i fooled him pretty good get out of here so let's give you some some quick hitters what's tom's

legacy after this game i mean in my mind he was already the greatest but this just further cemented like you know if football is about winning and and quarterbacking is about leading your team to win then there's no argument that this game solidified him as the greatest player of all time well what about the next super bowl well the next super bowl the emotions were a little bit different i was a little bit angry he should be with us He left us He left us Sorry Did he ever text you

And let you know I found out through Bottom ticker If he didn't text you You know he didn't text me Bottom ticker Left us He was giving me clues

But he was always giving He was always talking that Trash Left us Then he's over there Him and Gronk Hoisting another one up Never got hammered with us.

No. Staggering off the boat. Never got hammered. Hoisting the Lombardi. Throwing it. Just getting real cavalier with it. Come on, Tom. I was happy for you, dog, but he left us.

He left us. Left us at the altar. And what are you supposed to do? You're happy your ex-wife marries a freaking Navy SEAL billionaire? What? Navy SEAL billionaire? No, you're not. That's the last person you want your wife to marry.

Navy SEAL billionaire. That's what he did to us. That's what he did. 100%. Don't you just want her to be happy? What? I mean, don't you just want your ex-wife to be happy? Come on, Tony. We want her to be happy? What? Don't you just want your ex-wife to be happy? Come on, Tony.

We want you to be happy. Now, did this game embody the Patriot way to the fullest or what slate? This team embodied it, right? This was not our best team. No. But we found ways to come together, to overcome, to adjust, and to ultimately win. And we found a way to dig within ourselves and be at our best when it was needed.

So to me, not just this game and the way it transpired, but the way this season unfolded really embodied the Patriot way as much as any season that I think we were a part of. Now, where does this game rank for greatest Matthew Slater game? Well, it's definitely one of my favorites. Well, I mean, statistic-wise, too, do you have any tackles? Yeah, I had a tackle. This is a big game.

A few down punts. Two. The one-hander lander. The one-hander lander. That was sexy. One-hander lander. One I'll show my kids 20 years from now just to remind them old dad used to be something. But this is up there.

I mean, because I think our unit. It's your dad's team. Individually, it was special. Beating my dad's team. Being able to play well. But just our unit, collectively, special teams. You know, Nate, Keon, you know, obviously Ryan, Steve, Joe, all those guys.

We all played well. And we helped the team win, which was huge. Jeez. Was this Bill's best Super Bowl coaching performance? I mean, it's up there. I think if you look at the bookend titles, right, the first one against the Rams, I think that was some great coaching. What about the Seattle where he didn't call a timeout?

Created a frenzy. I mean, this is children's coach football now. And a lot of the shit that he did, that's Jedi mind trick. Make no mistake about it. There are 30, you know, let's call it, well, maybe not 30 teams because some teams have good coaches. There are at least 15 teams in the league that don't have a coach as good as this guy.

They can't even sniff them. I know. 15 teams in the league. I'm just telling you. I'm just telling you right now. Atlanta, if you don't win that division. Look, I don't want to point fingers at what the – I'm just saying. I'm not telling you. I'm just telling you right now. Atlanta, if you don't win that division. Look, I don't want to point fingers at what the... I'm just saying.

I'm not saying a team. I'm not naming a team by name. I don't want to name a team. But the fact that this guy doesn't have a job. I wanted to go down to ATL, man. Go to the camps. Take in the scene? Check out Magic City.

No, ain't no Magic City over here now. Ain't no Magic City. No Magic City now. Shazad, ain't no Magic City now. But, yeah, man, this was definitely one of his all-time, I think, great coaching performances to shut that offense down, to come up with a game plan to really neutralize those guys. It goes up there for sure.

Now, after this game, did you start to feel the sky and the dynasty was falling? Well, if we're honest, which is what we've been doing all day, 17 was turbulent. There was turbulence in 17 turbulence fasten your safety belts because that thing was a little rocky chung ain't flying in that plane no more i'm sorry pc i know you don't like flying i learned that the hard way but we were turbulent now now we were 13-3 Super Bowl.

But, you know, it started with you getting hurt in the preseason. And then there was just a lot of turbulence. 18, somehow we, I don't know how, but we rallied up. We answered the bell. 19, we're bringing her on in for landing. You know? And then. A.B. didn't.

A.B. was. We wouldn't want a Super Bowl if A.B. was on this team. A.B. was special, man. That jugger. That was one thing we knew. That jugger was good. Because Gronk wasn't there. We didn't have anything. You know what I mean?

That dude was good. But, you know, what really did us in was when T.B. left us at the altar. Yeah. Left us. T.B., you left us at the altar. Yeah. Left us. TB, you left us. We were there. We were ready. Ready to serve you. Ready to go out there and die for you. And he left us. There ain't no 12 walking through that

damn door. Ain't no 12 walking through that door. How many times did I say it? And I love Cam. I love Cam. I enjoyed my time with Cam. Love Cam. My fashion definitely went up, and he was a great person to be around. So this is not a knock on Cam Newton at all, because this is an MVP player elite, but 12 levels of the altar.

It's called what it is. Yeah, Tom. Don't worry, Tom. I still got your jersey up in my office right next to my dad's. You'll always be my guy, but you left us. He had left us. Probably would have done the same thing if I was Tom Brady. I mean, I'll be honest.

I thought you were going down there, too. I thought all you Juggers were going to go down there and I was, oh, I would have been steamed. I mean, all of a sudden Gronk wants to resurface out of retirement and come out there and ball out. Just ball out. I'm like, come on, Rob. But I get it. You know, all joking aside,

I get it. We get it. Everything happened the way it was supposed to. How about this rumblings of Bill Potentially joining The media This year Oh That would be something

How do you think he'd do? Kill it You think so? Yeah He's so smart You watch him In all those NFL things Whenever he does that stuff

It's a historical thing He'll kill it But I straight up told him If he If he goes out And doesn't come on this podcast games with names i took the shitty contracts okay i i i worked my dick off yeah i was asshole here and there sometimes and pouty here and there but i put on the work he needs to be

sitting right in the seat i need coach right here especially if ernie comes if ernie comes on the work. He needs to be sitting right in the seat. I need coach right here. Especially if Ernie comes. If Ernie comes on the pod, he's got to come. He's got to come. Got to get coach on. I can't wait for Ernie. I'm the only one in goddamn media fucking going to bat for him. All year. All year.

Down with the ship. That was our motto. No, you went down with the ship. I went down. I was like one of those violin players on the Titanic. No, you were the guy violinning. I'm playing that tune until I can't play it anymore. I'm going down. I'm committed to this ship.

Committed to the captain of this ship and I'm going down with it. I was one of the lifeboat workers that had to go down with the lifeboat but still lived. I was still with the ship. Well, I'm dead. You're gone. I'm fully gone i can't ah no that ain't you you're the guy you're captain bro you were in no no no bill's a captain bill's

a captain i'm just part of that band so i kept playing my tune all the way oh he went down he glass and all jackie we got any leftovers? We miss anything? Also, a quick question here. Did this year feel like a different Bill? Was there any sort of writing on the wall? I don't want to. You mean this past season?

Yeah, I don't want to pry too much. No, I'm retired. You know, this year was tough. It was challenging. And the one thing, if anything, that I saw was that we know how competitive Bill is. He wants to win not just every game. He wants to win every practice, every meeting, every lifting session. And it was hard for him not to win.

It was hard for all of us, but no one put more time and effort and commitment into that program than Bill. So it was certainly hard for him to, you know, experience that. It was hard for all of us. I mean, you know, being in that building where we had so much success to experience 4-13, it wasn't fun. It was not fun. But the one thing I'll say about Coach is he never changed. Like, if you said in the team meeting week week 17, we're playing the Jets,

he's coaching us like it's the AFC Championship game. Like, the consistency, the readiness, the preparation, it never changed. And that really gave me a great appreciation for who Bill Belichick is. I think he softened up. I'm just saying. I remember when I was on my way out, I'm like, what the fuck's going on around here? This place is getting soft.

He tried to change. That's the problem. He tried to change with the times. Coach, I just want to be on record for saying, I stand with you. United to the end. Doesn't mean I agree with everything. Had your back tilted.

He didn't agree with everything I did. I'm sure. You know, things got a little softer when I was on my way out. I'm just joking, Coach. Were you saying, are you implying that it was a Mickey Mouse operation? Absolutely not. Okay. I'm just saying things that.

Just want to make sure. Like, guys, it wasn't the same, like... Did Kendrick Bourne ever throw a helmet? No! Kendrick Bourne didn't throw no helmets. Soft. We didn't have a helmet thrower. That was a problem.

I tried to toss mine one time. It was just out of character. Couldn't pull it off. We needed J.E. But there was no J.E. No J.E. came to rescue. That was the first thing. The first practice I come back, like, everyone's looking at me like,

he's going to throw a home in. Yes, we needed it. And then to wrap this thing up, we talked to Keeb Tlaib. We talked to Wes Welker. And we talked Bill Belichick. Slate with a great recall of a moment from 2014. January 2014. Indeed, Wes Welker did hurt to Keeb Tlaib on a pick play.

And Bill was quoted telling Mike Reese, one of the worst plays I've seen. 2014, indeed, Wes Welker did hurt Aqib Tlaib on a pick play, and Bill was quoted telling Mike Reese, one of the worst plays I've seen. The way it turned out, I went and I watched it back. I didn't have a clear chance to yesterday. It was a deliberate play by the receiver to take out Aqib. No attempt to get open. Can I just say, the Bill-Wes rivalry, it's out there. I mean, fellas, can we just bridge the gap here?

Like, you guys did a lot of great things together. A lot of great things. But I'm in agreement with Bill. He was out for blood. Oh, he was out for blood. It was personal. It was personal. And he took a key out, cost us the game.

You know what? So, Wes, I hope you can sit there and feel good and is wes now coaching his players to do that is he coaching tyree to do that illegal picks on guys i hope not wes i hope player safety wes player player safety team belichick um let's name the game let's name the game Beat LA 13-3 The Passion of the Punt Or the Edelnut Game I think it's the Passion of the Punt

I mean I love that name I love all those names But because we're Boston Sports Guys And because We just don't like LA Even though I'm from out here You gotta go beat LA Did you get one of the t-shirts

That we were selling? Remember The beat LA t-shirts? Oh I got all the merch Just making sure I got all the merch Oh man Big time miss by me on this one

This was the same year The Red Sox beat the Dodgers Same year So it was a big year For beat LA And you beat the Chargers too We beat the Chargers And then everybody thought

The Chargers were gonna Stomp us out Stomp. And then everybody thought the Chargers were going to stomp us out. Stomp. What was that score? And we just beat the brakes off of them. I felt bad because I liked Anthony Lynn. I'm a fan of you, Coach. You remember that? I'm a fan of you.

I like Anthony. It's on the mic though. It's on the mic though. That was 41-28. I don't know why. I just liked Anthony Lynn. I did, too. I liked Anthony Lynn.

I liked a lot of guys on that team. P. Riv, obviously, Keenan Allen, Adrian Phillips, who... Slate, just in case you don't have one. Beat L.A. There it is. Beat L.A. It will forever be a Boston mantra. There it is, baby.

Beat L.A. Visit je11.com to purchase your merchandise today. Which is now just Games With Names. Which is another thing you can't do if you don't win is sell merchandise. Games With Names, actually. Hey, I'm Gianna Prudente. And I'm Jemay Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline,

a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts. When you're just starting out in your career, you have a lot of questions like, how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week, we answer your unfiltered work questions. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do, like resume specialist Morgan Saner. The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job

is usually who applies. Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is it, like you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to thrive in the early years of your career without sacrificing your sanity or sleep. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports, where we live at the intersection of sports and culture. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Every great player needs a foil. I ain't really near them boys. I just come here to play basketball every single day, and that's what I focus on. From college to the pros, Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports.

Angel Reese is a joy to watch. She is unapologetically black. I love her. What exactly ignited this fire? Why has it been so good for the game? And can the fanfare surrounding these two supernovas be sustained? This game is only going to get better because the talent is getting better. This new season will cover all things sports and culture.

Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. Hi, I'm David Eagleman from the podcast Inner Cosmos, which recently hit the number one science podcast in America. I'm a neuroscientist at Stanford, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. We're looking at a whole new series of episodes this season to understand why and how our lives look the way they do. Why does your memory drift so much? Why is it so hard to keep a secret? When should you not trust your intuition? Why do brains so easily fall for magic tricks? And why do they love conspiracy theories? I'm hitting these questions and hundreds more because the more we know about what's running

under the hood, the better we can steer our lives. Join me weekly to explore the relationship between your brain and your life by digging into unexpected questions. Listen to Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's score the game presented by the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor. Is this the greatest game of all time? Let's score the game presented by the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor. Is this the greatest game of all time? Let's score it. Stakes, 1 to 10.

What are – decimals okay, Slate. 1 to 10, what are the stakes? I mean, stakes are always high in a Super Bowl. Legacy's on the line. Last Super Bowl, Tom Brady. The life of the dynasty still alive. Three Super Bowls in a row. Bob Sochi would say, it's still a dynasty.

So I'm going to say 7.8. Integrity score. What did I tell you guys? He's going to have a very integrity type score. Star power. Star power. I mean, you look at it, you've got some all-time greats in this game. You've got the greatest player in the history of the game.

You've got arguably the greatest defensive player in the history of the game. You've got the greatest tight end in the history of the game. You've got the greatest slot receiver in the history of the game. Wes Walker played? Oh, no. Wow. Wes was good. Wow, Wes was good.

You've got, we've talked about a've got, we talked about a key. We talked about a guy. Star power is pretty high. So out of 10, also Maroon 5 played the halftime show. Maroon 5. Gladys Knight pregame, national anthem. Who? Gladys Knight.

Gladys Knight? Still got it. Still had it. Well, Gladys Knight's got to bring the score up by herself. So we're going to go star power 8.1. 8.1. Very solid. Gameplay.

Gameplay. Well, you're asking the wrong guy. Special teams game. I mean, gameplay, special teams-wise, 10.0. But I think overall gameplay, you know, and this is from a football guy who enjoys defense, enjoys grittiness. I'm going to give that game play an 8.9. 8.9.

Give it an 8.9. Defensive guy. Son of an offensive guy. Special team all-time great, but going with the defense. But going with the defense. Going with the defense. True football guy. True football guy.

Name of the game. Beat LA. Beat LA. I mean, look, we're Boston people, right? My home is in Boston now. So we're going to have to go 9-0. 9-0 on that. 9-0 on the name.

What's our total? If Gronk was here, he'd just be able to put it right out. He is crazy with math. He's really good at math. He is crazy with math. We did it45 8.45 where does it land in the games that we have done oh man this one puts us right between the 2011 afc divisional round game aka the can't wait game jets first patriots oh let's forget about oh bart scott can Bart Scott. Can't wait. And right behind the Seattle versus New England Super Bowl, the Malcolm Butler game.

Super Blood Wolf Moon? We did that one with Rob Riggle. Yeah. You remember that one? One of our favorites. Rob Riggle. Rob Riggle's funny, man. He's funny.

Rod Ribble. Was he a cop? He was a Marine. He was a Marine. That's what it was. He played a cop in The Hangover, though. He did. He did. He was a marine he was a marine that's what it was he played a cop in the hangover though he did he did he was a marine is he is he hilarious in person so dude we've had some really we got some funny people who we just had uh lewis black on here he had some people

gary goldman my personal favorite gary goldman was was funny burt kreischer was really we've had some comics you know you know because we started the show with sam we've been kind of introduced into this whole comic world and all the comics you know and i've kind of developed relationships with these guys yeah they're so funny oh my god you think you're like giggly no these guys are pros they're over here just killing it just wit I like the wriggle I'm a big fan of the wriggle he was

10 minutes early was he prompt prompt marine that's that marine he gave a marine coin we have his marine coin

on the board nice Slate anything dad we covered a lot what about you know maybe give a plug to the JC guy? It's a beautiful thing, though, that a Jewish man and a Christian man can sit down and find common ground.

I just want to say that that's one of the beautiful things about football. We find common ground. And as a society, it would serve us all well to be able to find common ground. But we have one common goal in a locker room. In society, not everyone's in the common goal. Yeah, that's unfortunate. To have fun. That's unfortunate.

It's not having fun. It's winning. It's winning. It's winning. At all costs. Thanks, bro. I appreciate you coming on. Thanks for having me.

Man, that was a great show. Slate is. You hear the stories about what a great guy Slate is You hear the stories About what a great guy Slate is And then he lives up to it And then some In person Oh you feel the greatness

I love Slate Just when he Enters a room Of his Just pure Aura I can see why He's pure

Any locker room Just instantly gets But any room You know It's so crazy Because we We literally came in He was a year in A year in And I came in You know We were it's so crazy because we literally came in. He was a year in, and I came in.

You know, we were the slapdicks, just sitting there like he was saying, like, are we going to make the team to, you know, he's probably going to go in the Hall of Fame for being a special team. And, I mean, crazy to think he and his dad will be the first father-son duo in there, captain, the captain captain but to play 16 years do you think i wanted to ask him but we didn't get a chance like do you think his career it was a unique career an amazing career would have been possible anywhere outside of new england i don't know we'd have to probably just because of who he is i think so you're right but it's just like his his spirit and the guy that he is

and the toughness that he brings and paired with bill's coaching and love for special teams like i love it no i mean we we didn't even get into scotty o'brien which i wish we did a little more you know for the first four years of my career, me and Slate at like 5.30 in the morning had to go in and meet with Scotty O. And he would basically give us the presentation of what he was going to present to the team, the coaching points, the everything. We're going to install that.

We're going to install this. And then we had to sit in, me and Slate, we had to sit in every special teams unit field goal field everything just you know and and hear it again you know you guys heard it first just the three just use scottio and half the time it'd be scottio telling us what's going on that other half time would be him talking about his boat and his big ass ranch in Wisconsin. Shit, I got 10 million bucks in the bank right now. We're like two guys trying to make a team. Don't even have $10,000 in our name.

Scotty, I love that. And he's flexing. He's flexing. Oh, my God. That's incredible. And to see and to hear the stories, the Domino's pizza boxes as the dining room or the coffee table. Shane O'Eaton.

Well, next time. He'll be on. Live show, maybe? Live table. Shane O'Heaton. Yeah. Well, next time. He'll be on. Live show, maybe? Live show. Live show. That'd be sick. What's great about Slate is so much in sports media discourse,

there's a lot of talk about like, oh, the dynasty was just all Brady. Bill sucks. It's all Bill. And to win at such a high level for so long, it's a building filled with guys like Matthew Slater. Great point. And you need to have all those teams. I'm sure the Chiefs have their own version. If you plugged into, you'd find those guys.

So that's how you win championships, is a building full of guys like that. I don't know if there's another one like Slater. Yeah, I was just saying that. He is one of a kind. I don't think there's another person that only plays special teams and men on every phase look up to him the way people look up to Slate. The world would be a lot better place if there were more Slates in the world.

He would. You know, Chris Long over here. Oh, you know, I'd love him with my wife and kid. Well, Slate's actually in my trust. If I go down and there's a few other things that have to happen, Slate is holding court on everything. In the papers. Signed them.

Had to have the auditor, the guy at the, what is it? The notary. Notary. Put your money where your mouth is. Slate, you at the house? Notary's, what's it for? Yeah, just don't worry, dude. You're going to run my life if I die. So if you ever go down, that's the first place you look.

What, Slate? Yeah, suspect number one. Well, no, there's like, there go down, that's the first place you look. What, Slate? Yeah, suspect number one. Well, no, there's like, there's a couple. There's a couple. There's a few different scenarios. Like, let's not talk about it. In Slate, we trust. It's a democracy.

All right, let's go to the hotline here. I love it. Should we hit the hotline? Let's do it. Hit the hotline. I know in that hotline. And again, that number. 424-291-2290.

424-291-2290, like Jack said. Yeah. I'm a 16-year-old from Massachusetts. Just wondering what advice you give to a 16-year-old kid in high school battling different injuries on and off the field. 16-year-old advice? Both on and off the field. On and off the field. 16 year old advice? Both on and off the field. On and off the field. Ignore noise.

You know, ignore noise. There's always going to be someone that says you can't do something. If you read any book or you hear any story about anyone that got anywhere that they had to deal with it, even the greatest. Look at Tom Brady. Always be ready to learn and be hungry to learn.

And give max effort, always. Even if you're the stud on the team, don't be the guy that runs the sprints and doesn't take it serious because you could throw the best on the team or, you know, you want to be that guy like a Matthew Slater that, you know, is the bad-ass on the team wins in the off season. Always, you know, that's the kind of guy you want to be in and you'll go, you'll go further. And it'll, it'll help you in life. That's what I would say.

That's that's good. Lif lifelong advice. Best for retirement now. Compound interest. I was going to say start a TikTok account and become a TikToker. Hey Jules, it's Boston Taxi. You remember you was going home on your skateboard, on your motorized skateboard

and you took that wide turn around the corner, that blind corner, and you met my cab, almost ran your ass over. I mean, you know what I mean? We dafted out and all that shit. It was that same season you got popped for, you know, you know. But, yeah, man, good to, you know, check in on you, see how you're doing.

Good luck on your future and all that, man. Send me back. Boston taxi taxi i do remember that i do i was hitting this turn on my little motorized thing and he was coming i think it was dartmouth or something it was a back alley of back bay or something and he goes and i stop and he stopped and i, and I hit his cab. Oh, my God. We looked at each other. He looked at me. I looked at him, and I just said,

oh, thank God we didn't get that. And he's like, we dapped up, and I went on my way. Oh, my gosh. You remember that for all these years. I love that. Checking in. Yeah, man, it was crazy. I'm good, bro.

Hope you're doing well. You used to fly on that thing. Fly. Don't tell Coach that. I'm wondering what your favorite team was to play. Favorite team to play. Probably be how it honestly comes down to three. It would either be the Jetstimore or kansas city just because you know anytime

it was boston new york it was always big there was that rivalry we usually won we usually won i usually had a lot of good stats but no like i loved going to new york and playing because you you know you feel like you're driving in from new jersey and you see the skyline of the city it was just always a crazy i want some billy joel billy joel's and the headphones you know just it was always fun kansas city because i remember playing them before they had patrick it was always you know a tough game they always had, some really good football players. In those end years against, you know, Mahomes and Kelsey, it just, they were the young gun team, and we were like the old vets. So, like, you always like stacking up against, you know, the best teams.

And in Baltimore, it was always a physical game. We played them so much in my career, early in my career, middle of my career, in the playoffs, in the regular season. They always had a lot of respect for their players. You know, they came into our house and whooped our ass, you know, a couple times. You felt Baltimore when you went to Baltimore. You got Ray Lewis doing the war dance.

I played against him when he was doing war dance, you know, on the team. And then every time we played and he didn't play, he was doing war dance, coming out the smoke. I mean, that whole thing, it's just fun. I liked playing in the competitive games and then the Jets. That's, you know, that's one of our rivals. So those were the fun games that I remember.

November 20th, 2022, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts. Jets visiting the Patriots. All tied 3-3 after 59 and a half minutes. Looking like overtime. Braden Mann squares up to kick the 17th punt of the game, but he left the ball over the middle of the field. Marcus Jones catches it and starts the run back. This is the Marcus Jones game Julian this is Joe from Lynn Mass I was at this game Even though it stunk A game can be saved

By a single play The stadium was absolutely hyped After this Me and my brother were there Love the podcast love everything you're doing Keep it up, bro. I like it. That was a great intro. Great intro. Love the guy.

Absolute shit game. If we ever do this game, it's over. He even said it stunk. It stunk. He was there. He was there. Lin Mass, stand up. Stand up.

That was a great call-in. That was awesome. Great play by Marcus Jones. Now, that was kind of maybe a joke. Was he joking? It was a good sense of humor, maybe. It was. I mean, he pulled it off.

He played it straight. Rocky, down, boy. Heel. Sorry. It's fitting that we talk about a terrible game with a great special teams play in this episode. Yeah. Jules, I got to know, bro.

I'm a diehard Raider fan. I just want you to admit on air for me and all Raider Nation, please admit that that was a fumble. Love the content, bro. You talking Brady? He's got to be talking about the Mac Jones. No. Kobe Myers.

It has to be that, right? Oh, my God. The debacle in the desert? The annexation of Puerto Rico? I got him. He's talking about Charles Woodson. Yeah, of course that was a fumble. Tuck rule. Tuck rule. Tuck of course that was a fumble. Duck rule.

Duck rule. Duck rule. It's in the book. It's in the book. The ring's already out, boys. Regardless, it was a fumble. What doesn't get talked enough with that game is the two field goals that Vin and Terry hit.

Oh, yeah, those were insane. Any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball, as he's attempting to tug it back towards his body, it was in the rule book at the time. What else do you want? It's a bad book. Yeah.

It's been changed since you can only play the rules as they play. Amen. That might've been John Gruden putting on a voice calling in still salty over that one. He's probably salty over a lot of things. Well, what an episode. and thanks again to Slate. That's been another great episode of Games with Names presented by Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Boston Harbor.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to your podcasts. 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 that old hotline bling.

I know in that hotline bling. If you have that good game, 424-291-2290. 424-291-2290. See you guys next week. Later. 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. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in people who do, like negotiation expert Maury Tahiripour. If you start thinking about negotiations as just a conversation, then I think it sort of eases us a little bit. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry.

Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. Every great player needs a foil. I know I'll go down in history. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game. Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's sports. Listen to the making of a rivalry. Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Elf Beauty, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports. I'm Keri Champion, and this is season four of Naked Sports. Up first, I explore the making of a rivalry, Kaitlyn Clark versus Angel Reese. People are talking about women's basketball just because of one single game.

Clark and Reese have changed the way we consume women's basketball. And on this new season, we'll cover all things sports and culture. Listen to Naked Sports on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio apps, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Black Effect Podcast Network is sponsored by Diet Coke. 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. How do you feel about biscuits? Hi, I'm Akilah Hughes, and I'm so excited about my new podcast, Rebel Spirit, where I head back to my hometown in Kentucky and try to convince my high school to change their racist mascot, the Rebels, into something everyone in the South loves, the biscuits. I was a lady rebel. Like, what does that even mean? It's right here in black and white in print. It's bigger than a flag or mascot.

Listen to Rebel Spirit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.