Green Light with Chris Long - Boye Mafe! Seahawks New HC Mike Macdonald, DK Metcalf & Facing Trent Williams! Bronny James, Micah Parsonns & Matthew Stafford!

Episode Date: July 2, 2024

A Chris special on a Friday! A quick sports round up to kick things off - Bronny James, Micah Parsons and Malik Hooker and a mailbag. Then Boye Mafe joins Chris to talk about his excitement for the Seahawks 2024 season, playing under new head coach Mike Macdonald's scheme, watching DK Metcalf go against Tariq Woolen in practice, facing off against Lane Johnson and Trent Williams and learning under Frank Clark and Bruce Irvin. Enjoy the conversation! (00:00) - Intro (4:18) - Bronny James Being Drafted by the LA Lakers and Things That Will Suck Being His Dad's Teammate (24:54) - Micah Parsons and Malik Hooker's Beef Over Micah's Podcasting Schedule (42:11) - Mailbag: Dynasty Team in CFB 2025, Stores Where Males Feel Most Uncomfortable & Matthew Stafford Underrated? (58:47) - Boye Mafe on the 2024 Seahawks, Mike Macdonald, Pete Carroll's Impact in Seattle, Learning From Bruce Irvin and Facing Lane Johnson and Trent Williams Want your Green Light Merch so you can look exactly like Chris and the fellas? Hit the website below and get kitted! https://stores.kotisdesign.com/yotehouse/products Have some interesting takes, some codebreaks or just want to talk to the Green Light Crew? We want to hear from you. Call into the Green Light Hotline and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open. Green Light Hotline: ‪[phone]‬ Send any Talent Search submissions to: [e-mail] Include any video of your talents, takes and bits as well as a little bit about yourself. Love hearing from the Green Light fans. Also, check out our paddling partners at Appomattox River Company to get your canoes, kayaks and paddleboards so you're set to hit the river this summer. https://paddleva.com/ Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42 Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgxWFAA-wuB7osdiAJyLOcw Green Light with Chris Long: Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is something that you're being dictated to learn that's a little bit, maybe uncomfortable or different than the defense you played in last year? The thing I love about this defense is every position can do anything. You can have he walked up on the line and he's got to cover the flag. You know what I'm saying? You could have me off the ball and I'm blitzing. You know what I'm saying? There's a lot of different things where it's like you might see the pre-snap picture, but the whole time we can show you something and change the picture on you. And I love that.

Welcome to the Green Light podcast. Thank you for jumping in today. It is a Chris Long special. He's got Boyer Maffey on from the Seattle Seahawks. They have a great conversation about Michael McDonald being the new head coach, what his defensive scheme is going to look like. Boyer's excitement for throwing a few different looks. The fellows also talk Pete Carroll, his lasting impact in Seattle.

The fellas go crazy, have a blast. We start off, though, with Chris hitting a couple topics. We talk about Brony James being drafted to the L.A. Lakers. Michael Parsons and Malik Hooker's beef regarding Micah's podcast. And Chris answers a few mailbag questions. We dove deep. You all delivered. Thank you for jumping in on those.

Appreciate you come to the show. Enjoy the conversation. And we will catch you on Friday. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hello! Ian Harkinstein. Isaiah. Whatever the fuck his name is.

He looks like an Ian to me. Now he makes more money His name's Isaiah? Yeah He's a white Isaiah No he's actually mixed race No This fucks the whole thing up

This fucks the whole thing up Because what I found it is that Ian or Isaiah Harkinstein is going to make more money Than Jalen Brunson did last year And I was going to bring home the press clippings And show my white eight year old son Who's 70th percentile in height

Well he's part Italian I was going to show him and be like, yeah, it's possible, but I guess it's actually only half possible. And we're too late on the other half. We've got a shot, but you're going to need to drink your fucking milk, Whalen. 70th percentiles getting it done. Inflation, volatile content market. If you don't really personally wiping my ass in 40 years, you better start drinking your milk. If you want the cash to pay some woman in scrubs with like a butterfly tattoo to do your dirt.

dirty work, I would get started right now. Read this press clipping. And I'm not going to tell him that Ian Harkinstein's not white. You got to be fucking kidding me. No, that just came out this year. Like somebody asked him something in a news conference and he was like, no, actually, I'm mixed race. Yo, him, Mike McDaniel and like a couple other guys should do a rap group and wait for all

the think pieces and be like, gotcha bitch. or like get cast in in hidden figures too people freak out gotcha bitch I'm Isaiah Harkinstein not Ian Harkinstein hold on take the mask off I had no idea

damn you really do you learn something new every day Isaiah Harkinstein those basketball players are getting paid Jason Hidal sign the biggest deal in NBA history he'll be making 70 mil a year at the end I can't even put the numbers into perspective anymore.

After you make $100 million, I think you have enough. After you make $50 million, I think you have it. If you make $100, you have enough to give your friends one. You do, have to make $100. We're not there at all. All right. I want to talk about Bronny James because it is a slow news week. This isn't an NBA pot, but I think like if you were to listen to anybody to talk about this,

I would listen to me. Yeah. You know, at least somebody with a mic. because I've actually lived it where it's like your dad's somebody and you've got to go through this whole thing. And I'm a huge LeBron fan. I think he's done everything right as a dad, as an athlete. He's a miracle, LeBron. Great role model. Well, I mean, I just mean being 18, 17 years old, anybody having to deal with that pressure, you know, not just to deliver and be as good as everybody said he was supposed to be, but then better. But like also everything he's been off the court.

You know, it's just there hasn't been, you know, a slip up. There hasn't been like, this guy's an asshole. He's a bad teammate. Like, he just does everything right. If you don't like LeBron James, like if you really hate LeBron James, it's probably a you problem. I don't like, even if you're a Jordan guy or you think maybe some of the antics are a little bit over the top, sometimes like at the end of the day, I judge people by the type of person they are. And LeBron seems to be a great person and a great dad. but if I were brawny

I would have folded a long time ago it's a lot of pressure I would have changed my name I'm not really saying that it's it's a joke but I would have folded it's a lot of fucking pressure like you guys know this my dad did a really good job as well as he could have

of letting me do like my own thing and he still felt like a fucking giant his presence made my life harder in a ton of ways that nobody could see but made everybody think that I had it easier. You know what I mean? It makes it harder because when I walk into a room, when Matt Kingston walks into a room, no preconceived notion, there's no preconceived notion, there's no pressure. You know, it's like there's two flip sides of the coin.

You know, you talk to another guy in the league and he'd be like, well, you had some perks. And I'd be like, yeah, so did you? like you walk in and nobody expects anything of you when you accomplish something it's your accomplishment when you accomplish something nobody questions why you accomplished it when you're in a room nobody questions why you're in the room um there are also a lot of people that just don't like you because of who your dad is uh and it's not to say they don't like me because they don't like howie long they don't like me because there is a perceived cookie cutter idea of what the son of somebody is like right right um so i think in a lot of ways your life is harder because of the measuring

stick the measuring stick is different for you it's harder for you to succeed it's easier for you to succeed superficially like get in the door depending on who your dad is and what business i mean we're going to talk about nepotism here that's an american tradition as you put it the other day in a text message and i agree with you it's an american tradition it's it's business riddled with nepotism sports through the ranks of coaching especially nepotism american government fuck the monarchy yeah is a nepotism factory so that's how we do things in society it's not just american society in the world nepotism is like one of the easiest traps to fall into if you're a dad yeah you know like creating a nepotistic situation for your son and i think for a lot of dads like

my dad or lebron you know i i don't profess to know how lebron grew up exactly but i know that i i i know that i there wasn't a dad around right and my dad there wasn't really a dad around either and i just think about those two guys or any guy who didn't have a blueprint you're going to err on the on the side of like i want to give my son everything and i totally understand that but at the same time you know with everything i said in context um like my dad could shift his weight a little bit and crush me yeah you know like it's just and and he still could i don't care the same as i did when i was a kid because I'm a grown man. And at some point in my life, I hit a point where I'm like, okay, I've proven myself.

You know, there's always going to be people that say that compare you to your dad and that sort of thing, even as an adult. But I don't give a fuck anymore. How old were you when you felt like you got to that point where you didn't need to prove yourself? Well, this is the point. I still feel like inherently like I need to prove myself. I still feel paranoid. I still feel like there's another shoe that's going to drop or that people see things pessimistically about.

me or my career or me talking into this microphone whatever it is people make up a lot of reasons to dislike people they don't know and my dad's like famous famous like i'll go over to my i'll go to my friend you know uh kids friend's house and it's funny seeing my son's friends he's eight start to figure out what i did for a living and some of them will kind of like tell him you know like oh man i got your dad's card he was a badass or something or like and wayland's like come so he were a badass and you know i'll go to a kid's house and the kid will be like you're famous and i'll be like well famous is not a word i would use to describe myself like in charlottesville philly yeah st louis i mean hey maybe in boston would i be recognized yet my dad's famous in 50 fucking

we'd walk in a place and you know it's the howie it's the fucking and he'd tell you all this because he's talked about like even recently i think on the podcast last time it's like do you have any regrets he's like i regret not realizing how difficult i could have made things for you at times yeah just by being there which has got to be the biggest mind fuck for a dad you know you want to be there you want to be supportive you want to coach your kid you want to be visible but if i was at a game and my dad was at a game and he had a whistle right like you go i remember it the gym would stop and they'd look at him yeah now if that was some other if that was some other dad nobody would think of anything of it you No, like we'd be in warm-up lines.

I'd see how he walk in. I'm like, oh, shit. It's just when he walks in, it's like the Red Sea parts. And there's an aura around him and everybody knows who he is. And I used to fantasize about fucking, and this isn't to say, I wish I had a different dad. My dad is the best dad in the fucking world. We're like best friends.

You guys know that from knowing my dad and knowing my relationship with my dad. But the reality is when I was a kid, it was hard. And there were times where I used to be like, I just wonder what it's like to be the kid in the diner with his dad alone. Yeah, you really never had that truly alone. You know, you can never be alone with your dad outside of the confines of your own house. And that's tough. And, you know, it carried over into, you know, college experience and then sometimes in the pros.

But you asked when I finally shed that, it was when I had an opportunity to prove myself and my worth in an environment that nepotism can't help you. Right. In college football, it can, you know, the whole thing. but I outpaced that that area where it was like, hey, your dad got you in the door. That didn't stop people from saying it. And when I got to the pros, you're like, really what you earn is what you keep here, including the draft. And it didn't honestly stop for me or relent a little bit until I got my first contract.

Where I was like, okay, I did it. You can say I'm not as good as him, but you can't say I'm not a motherfucker out here. I don't belong. You know, and I look at Brani. And I say, I say shit, man, he's not going to have that opportunity. Now, his opportunity is going to be if he can, if he can play well at the NBA level, there's your opportunity. But the opportunity to walk across the stage or to hear your name called and to think,

I earned that, you know, I respect the hell out of this kid because of what he's been through. I just told you my life story. Now, there's a lot of good. Like, I go in with my dad meeting Barry Sanders, meeting BoJack. and like riding on John Elway's lap in a car on the way to the Pro Bowl. Like it's a lot of cool memories. Just like being there at every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, high school football practice. My dad.

Not making a big scene just coaching the defensive ends. My dad being low key when he could, you know, like having food on the fucking table. I mean, you know what? Like and my dad played in a generation where had he stopped playing and tried to support his family with that money the rest of his life, that wasn't going to happen. So then he goes and he's in movies and he's on NFL Fox Sunday. So he just got more famous. And, you know, I can only imagine because he's only scraping the surface when it comes to LeBron.

You know, Bronny's in this 50x microscope. He's under it. And now it's 100x. And he's playing for the Lakers. And his dad picked him, you know. And I've seen arguments to say that his dad didn't pick him. Anybody arguing this is nepotism, it's an unsirious. argument. I'm not even going to engage in that argument. I think what makes this thing tricky,

though, is when people point out that nepotism is rampant in culture. And it's like, why do we care about this? On its head, I agree. I don't care about this. You know, if I were a Lakers fan or an NBA head, but you presented me with the topic on a slow news week. So is it nepotism? Yeah. Is there nepotism elsewhere in American society everywhere, dude? And it drives you nuts. Like even me, somebody who's been at different points alluded to having benefited from nepotism, which I would contend that I haven't, it drives me nuts. And I'm afraid to speak on it because somebody's going to turn the gun around on me. I don't care that this draft pick was made.

You think I give a fuck about the 55th pick in the NBA draft? But don't tell me it's not nepotism. And don't tell me that a kid taken over the dad's family law firm in, wise virginia is the same as opening the door to an arena that seats 550 guys right in the world everybody in the world every country in the world you could find a backboard a rim and a basketball and it's a global game every motherfucker on the planet is eligible to enter this arena only 505 60 guys get in the arena every year and he's one of them what does that mean for the future and his outlook i have no idea but i just i think about brawny i know everybody's thinking about is it right is it wrong i

don't care what lebron did i think people can make mistakes with good intentions the thing i alluded to earlier is like lebron's trying to give his kid everything he's also trying to stick the landing on the storybook ending that anybody would want but you can't cultivate it you know that's where you get into trouble when you try to cultivate it when you say hey we'll play in australia this that and the third and it really comes down to the lakers you know why everybody like king griff senior and kangrophy junior in the dugout together because they could both fucking rake yeah okay yeah so if brawny james can play this is going to be the dumbest segment ever and the lakers are going to be geniuses but what i worry about is and i don't know the guy at all you can tell me i'm

i'm full of shit and i really don't care but i do because i've lived it to a degree not under the 50x 100x microscope that he's been under. I just hope he gets what he wants out of it. You know, because when you look back in 15 years, are you going to feel like it was worth it? Is LeBron going to feel like it was worth it? For LeBron, it's a chapter and it's his son. It's his whole world.

So I'm treading carefully here because I think intention-wise, he's trying to do the right thing. He wants to take care of his son. He wants to share this experience. he probably thinks his son can play and he thinks he can teach him to play and i don't doubt the guy but i do look at it and i say you know like for brawny james all i ever wanted to do growing up was being my own movie you know and it didn't have to be a fucking spectacular movie i didn't have to be the lead i didn't have to be but i just wanted to live my own experience rather than

being a cameo in somebody else's movie you know i don't even need to be in the movie And I hope that LeBron and Brony get what they want out of it and they can stick the landing on this thing. I would love to see Brony throwing LeBron Alley Oops next year. Watching them play together would be so cool. Whatever your opinion is. It's the most. It's I'm glad it.

Here's what's weird. I'm glad it happened because it's good for sports media. It's good for like, hey, I don't have to get the, I joked with a buddy of mine. And I, because JJ Reddick just got the job at LA. I was like, I'll get the league pass. Wait, no, I don't need the league pass. It's the Lakers. You're going to have JJ Redick.

Yeah, they'll be on. You're going to have LeBron. You're going to have Brony. And I don't know if they're going to be on the floor at the same time a lot, but like, we're going to be witnessing something crazy. And maybe it's good for sports, but how we got here, it's a little suspect. You mentioned like getting what they want. I wonder what each of them wants is the same thing.

That's, that's what I worry. about you know and you can love somebody and want a totally different thing from that for them than what they want and and vice versa and i don't know their relationship it seems to be awesome and at the same time lebron knows basketball better than anybody else so maybe he feels like for his son's development he needs to be there with him because he can make him the best version of himself well has he been a good GM in the past no you see what i'm saying yeah and people have at times overanalyzed, but analyzed the choices that he's de facto made for NBA franchises. And they've alluded to the fact that he's making these moves.

And now some people want to say, well, he's not actually making this move. It's not, it's the front office that drafted Brody. This is nepotism. It is nepotism. And it's nepotism that I hope works out. Yeah, me too. I hope it works out because I love LeBroad. And I have nothing but respect for this.

Bronny, Kitman, I've watched him. grow up you know we've all watched him grow up it is a crazy human interest story you know uh wrapped up in sports the themes are going to be crazy i made a quick list of the things that will suck the most as lebron's teammate number one chicks yeah like you got no freedom to move and this other guys banging your mom yeah yeah exactly well that jokes been and and i've had to make a I've had a double take on a couple of those jokes. Like, wait, who's LeBron fucking now? You know, but it's funny.

It's low-hanging fruit. But I think, like, on the road, like, he's going to be, I don't know if he has a girlfriend now. He's going to be on the road like, hey, I want to live this NBA experience. LeBron's going to be in the hallway by the ice maker when he gets back with a hicky on his neck. It's going to be just like high school. Okay? You've got that.

You have, oh, this is even worse. free throws in front of your dad yeah fuck me dude brawny on the line with up to with 50 seconds to go like i i don't i being late to a meeting losing a practice fight in front of your dad that would suck and then this is maybe the worst one when i was in the pros sometimes i'd be like out on the field and it'd be like the intermission at the end of the quarter and the jumbotron was always going to have some lit entertainment at that were Jonesstone i mean we'd have people balancing eggs on their heads and shit like that but every now and again they throw you a real curveball where they'd have like the guess who this kid is as a grown up lebron's got every fucking embarrassing

picture of brawny and he's going to be able to be like here you go like here's the picture of him cross-dressing on Halloween three years old or him and his most awkward stage before he had braces like I need to screen these pictures I used to always get really embarrassed because my mom had a direct line to the people at the Rams and I'd see a picture of myself

on the jumbo tron and I'd be like I didn't approve that so Brony's gonna have that problem there's a whole host of issues what does he call him what does he call like dad call him like you're passing the ball on the break you're like dad dad dad like in the backyard dude is it everything about this is a movie where it doesn't be okay some things in life don't piss on my

leg and tell me it's rain okay i'm fine if you piss on my leg and and you and you draft your own son but then don't piss on my leg and tell me it's rain don't tell me it's not nepotism and for sure if you're a member of the media because i've heard a few people say this do not throw out your l5s1 trying to do mental gymnastics to justify it. The best way it justify to say, man, I hope this goes well. This is some nepotism I can get behind

because fuck is it going to be entertaining and who cares about the 55th pick but it is nepotism. Yeah, it's also a corporation. The way the corporation operates is your most valuable best employees, you reward them with something that they want. No question.

But sometimes wrapped up in that reward can be a nepotism sampling. And I'm cool with that. Like I really am in this situation because people get to make decisions like this all the time in society. And we don't complain about it. People are right to point that out. Another thing is it's a lot of time white folks get in the nepotism. You know, like so it's a touchy subject.

I'm not here. I'm not here crying foul. But I'm certainly not going to get mad at LeBron for doing the same thing. A bunch of white dads have done. You know, I'm not mad about that. this it's just a fucking interesting story and the way it just got kind of glossed over would you be mad if you were an undrafted free agent that like is on the cusp of making the league and maybe won't make it i don't know what the pathway to league looks like in the NBA as well but i suppose i'd be pretty upset

and i don't know how i'd feel if i was one of his USC teammates right now case and point here this is where somebody like brawny like you think his life's harder or easier right now than it would have been had he not been lebron's son in a lot of ways life's going to be easier immediately he's going to get a bag right immediately he's going to be traveling with the lakers he's going to be coming off the bench he's going to be learning from the best but every time he walks into arena the elephant in the room is so big you know taking up half the seats and and every place he goes he's going to feel small and uh what i've realized 15 years years down the line 20 years down the line coming out of college I was this kid that wanted to prove

myself and was afraid of the comparisons and fuck making used to call me shadow I think that was his way of bullying the only way he can which is not physical and I used to say well where's your shadow like you know like it's you're almost insulting your own dad you know like where's your shadow where's your challenge and so like I take a lot of pride and having been through the ringer but I also So I also look back and I say the most important thing as a 39-year-old man is how I feel about the journey. It's not, did I get drafted, did I have a team the first day? You know, like, did I get minutes? If Bronte can look at the mirror in 15, 20 years and say, hey, that was worth it and I endured it and did the best I could and I didn't wish for any other life, then I think he's won.

but that's going to be tough to do. So I'd just worry about the guy. He'd probably tell you don't worry about me, which is why he's here. The other thing people wanted me to talk about was the Dallas situation. And I'm like, which one? Fucking Dallas. Dallas to me. And Dallas fans will say, I'm some Eagles homer and I don't like Dallas.

I promise you, I don't hate Dallas. I was in Philly for two years. Okay. I don't like Wawa. just because they like Wawa, I'm a sheets guy. You know, hey, fuck, for two years, I put the, I hate Dallas cap on. Yeah, I had to do that. But I hated everybody I played, all the same.

I don't hate Dallas. I was a Dallas Cowboys fan when I was a little kid. Does everybody know that? I had to explain that to somebody this weekend. They were asking me, did I grow up a, you know, a Panthers fan, which I was a Panthers fan for much of my adolescent years? And even before that, I was a Cowboys fan. though in the beginning okay i was a typical front-running suburban white kid okay and what happened was

they started doing a bunch of cocaine and they started buying houses that they could solicit prostitutes in and probably doing cocaine off of their backs and their butts and just like doing cocaine off all types of things like all types of surfaces they're doing the cocaine off those surfaces i'm nine years old I'm like, I don't need my team acting this way. Like, I don't, you know, like, when you're a kid and they're like, hey, your favorite team, by the way, this is what sex is. They're doing sex to a bunch of women that they have to pay in a house. And they're doing a bunch of drugs. Like, I was like, I'm good on the Cowboys.

So at one point, I was a big Cowboys fan. My mom took me to a game when I was like eight years old. I got to play at that old stadium with the hole in the roof and shit. They played the 49ers. was incredible. We had a little dinner date. It was like the coolest trip ever. Thanks, mom. And then a couple years later, I had changed teams. I was a Panthers fan. So I don't hate the Cowboys, but I will tell you this. This is as combustible situation as there is in the NFL right now. And if you were a cowboy, you'd say, I'm sure you're creating noise. You're making

problems where they're not problems. But every time I open up my lap, top, scroll down my phone. I see something in the effect of CD Lamb is not going to, is not going to practice in camp unless he gets a new deal. He wants $32 million a year. And that seems pretty fucking reasonable, but it hasn't happened. I don't know if Dallas with having not paid DAC, they're waiting until July. The NFL's like, hey, just wait because it's going to get pretty sparse in July. News cycle-wise, let's just drop the, you know, the developments then I don't know what's going on I don't know if they're going to hit the reset button I have wondered aloud if they're hitting the reset button even with jerry's age like the

moves they're making look at their roster look at the offense I saw one of these 33rd team graphics this week they're going around and doing the best players at every position in each they build like an all nFCs team offensively it's all green okay like in the past Dallas had a lot of talent haven't been able to get over the hump now they don't have have that talent. And if CD Lamb's not practicing, if CDLAM's not playing, like, this is, they're walking DAC into a shredder, right? It might be a lame duck year for him. It might be a lame duck year for Mike McCarthy. They might be talking about trading Micah Parsons, although I wouldn't, you know, but there's a lot of stuff that could be on the table in Dallas that we just don't know

about. I look at Jerry Jones and I wonder if he's like, hey, we're going to fucking hit the reset button for real this time. You know, like as crazy as it might sound because I would pay CD, but maybe they're like, hey, we'll go grab some picks for this guy, start the clock on a new regime, have DAC play out this lame duck season and go forward. And next year, hire Bill Belichick, who Jerry Jones has been quoted as saying, what is the quote? I could paraphrase and say, say that Jerry likes him. Jerry, I know him personally and I like him. There's no doubt in my mind we could work together. None. And you know when Jerry puts the nun at the end? That means he's thinking about it. In my opinion. And wouldn't it be interesting if all these tea leaves I'm reading

point to Dallas hitting a reset button, which would be just like insane. The one thing we've had to bank on every year is it is fun when Dallas isn't trying to win. It's really fun. It's really every year when they're trying to win and stephen a smith puts on this cowboy hat and it's the first thing everybody's talking about but like can they really milk it out of a team that's like tanking i don't know we might find out that would be unprecedented i suppose you'd have to go back to the quincy carter days where it was like they were really in purgatory post 90s run this would be something in the modern era with the way the tv people depend on this fucking franchise being relevant if they crater this year. Oh my goodness. You won't be able to look away. Now, what I was prompted to talk about,

I believe, is the Michael Parsons issue. Micah Parsons has a podcast, okay? And Malik Hooker, not of the White House. Malik Hooker is upset. Well, it didn't appear upset, but was asked on an interview, you know, if he had any advice for Michael Parsons, I think that was the question. And I'm paraphrasing here, Malik Hooker's like, yeah, I would like pull him aside and say to focus more on football and not the podcast, right? That's kind of what he said. And Micah predictably has a public response for a public statement. And he's like, hey, man, not only do you share a locker room with me, we have like two phones and they're connected. And you have what's called a contact.

And I'm Micah Parsons. So just hit M under contacts and fucking call them. me bro like that's that's a perfectly perfectly reasonable response and to the contention that a podcast is getting in the way of Dallas's success just looking outside looking in in I don't think that's the case I don't think Michael Parsons podcast lost to that Green Bay game I don't think Michael Parsons podcast got the ball run up your ass when Buffalo thumped you weak whatever it was and I won't like 10 grand I don't think I don't think Micah Parsons is the problem in Dallas if you want to make Michael Parsons the problem in Dallas don't make it about the podcast okay if there's

something and there could well be something internally going on interpersonally between teammates or factions of teammates because this is the way this stuff goes the issue could be interpersonal and the podcast is just an extension of it because i don't think the podcast is creating any sort of distraction and if players are saying they're distracted by a podcast weren't we the ones that when people were were demonstrating for various causes right and i'm one of those people that was like hey distraction it doesn't distract us that malcolm jenkson has his fist up in the area. It didn't distract anybody, you know, that Colin Kaepernick had took a knee. I mean, you could argue on either side of that, but I would guess that, and I don't mean to be elitist,

but nobody in the comments played in an NFL locker room could tell me honestly if they were distracted by that or not, or would they be distracted. So you don't know. And I don't mean this condescendingly, but I would tell you that the last thing I think most people are thinking about on a week-to-week basis in a locker room is somebody's fucking podcast, bro. Unless that podcast is being used to disrespect people on the team, divide people on the team, throw coaches under the bus, that sort of thing. I just haven't seen Micah's podcast do that. And I might be missing some things, okay? If you're a Dallas fan, you give me a bunch of examples of where his podcast and do this exactly, if you're going to do it in the comments, find me where he's disrespected his teammates,

his team created a distraction that way. If you don't like his content, that's one thing. okay listen i'm i'm i'm a person that looks at in today's day and age everybody's got a fucking podcast hand up a lot of them are active players a lot of them aren't as good as micha parsons okay but that's kind of irrelevant because to me as a consumer of media now and as a former player i don't think anybody actually having a podcast you know how somebody having an autobiography can bother me like i'll be like there's no fucking way that guy meets the criteria where you should have an autobiography, right?

Like there's a Mendoza line for that. It's getting out of control. Anybody has a book now. I got approached about a book in my DMs like five days ago. I'm like, you didn't hear my rant on this? I'm nowhere close to important enough to have a book, but anybody can have a podcast.

Okay? And you know what Micah said? The podcast was recorded on the day off. And to that, I would say, Micah, you're fucking right. I want him Malik Hooker's doing his day off. you know people are taking their dogs to get groomed going to the movies spending all day with a headset playing x-box like what you do with your free time is what you do with your free time just because you're able to identify that mic is doing something other than football by way of his podcast

doesn't mean that everybody else on that roster is not doing the same thing and i would say his podcast is football centric his mind on the game all week you know give the guy a fucking, you know, a break here. If he's a problem in the locker room, that'll come out. But it's not about the podcast. The podcast would be an extension of whatever problem that is. And to anybody saying that his podcast is a distraction, I wouldn't, I would say, like, I would caution you. You got to know what it's like in an NFL locker room. There's 53 guys living 53 lives. There's 53 variations of being plugged in online. There's 53 different lockers and they're all getting different amounts of reporters and that sort of thing.

Do you know how many big stories hover around Dallas in a given year? Like the podcast is pretty low on the totem pole. If you don't like his content, come on. The sumo wrestling thing was fucking incredible. Come on. Him and C.J. Stroud, their chemistry is incredible. The batting average bit. I hope it's a bit, Micah.

That was incredible. Okay? But I heard a Dallas fan say this to me the other day. They were like, well, he typed it. because I took issue with this online. Number one, Malik Hooker should be going to him. That's how we handle problems, okay? That's how we handle stuff.

Anything handled outside whether I respect him for being a name source, right? Like at least he's saying it. And maybe in his mind he's like, there's nothing I wouldn't say here that I wouldn't say to Micah. Got to go there first. He shouldn't hear online. Second thing is, Cowboys fans said this to me. I just prefer hearing Cowboys voices who have playoff experience. and I would just like to tell you this

I just got a ticker alert Cowboys have shut down open locker room for the entirety of the 2024 season because nobody has playoff experience on that fucking team dude

nobody so you want them all to be mute you know like should they should they sign somebody with a couple rings and he can handle all the media engagements I would ask that person

who has an issue with Micah Parsons podcast on account of him not spending time at the facility or pouring anything into something other than football directly, I would ask that person how many Cowboys, Dallas Cowboys that they follow on their social media. If you only want to hear from playoff voices or if Mike is not good enough to use his voice, then who is? And yeah, does he say some things sometimes where he could use a little media training? Like, I don't know what he meant by the Mike Zimmer thing. and maybe case and point here this is a bit of a distraction okay so actually nobody's nobody's immune in dallas they asked about mike zimmer and i think micah just says exactly what every other

player thinks not every other player because every player's different but i think there's a lot of great players that that bite their tongue and then like micah's like a kid where he just says what he wants to say. And I think that's kind of an endearing thing. But then sometimes I'll ask him about Mike Zimmer and he's like, yeah, I'm looking forward to meeting him, you know, like, pull that quote up. But he is basically like, I'm looking forward to meeting him. I hear there's some things that he likes to do. There are different than things that I like to do. And, you know, that's not going to fly. But he's a great coach and he's coached a lot of great players, but, you know, some things just aren't going to fly, you know. And I'm paraphrasing again. I can read you the exact quote.

but these are all things that are distractions, right? I don't know if he said this on his podcast or not. Here's the quote. Honestly, me and Zim have probably said a total of 20 words to each other. He's a very quiet person. All I keep hearing from the coaches is Zim likes it this way. I was like, well, I like it this way. So I can't wait to have my true sit down with him.

I think it'll be pretty cool because obviously old school mindset, old school mentality. I think he's had a lot of great players, but he ain't never had a micah before. It will be fun, and I think it's going to be unique. There's a lot of similarities on things how he uses me to how Dan would use me in the system, but he has had more twists and turns of how he's going to get things set up. Also, there's some things that I've got to get used to too. It's going to be a compromisable relationship. There's going to be

things like, yeah, I'm not going to give on. I don't give on. That's part of the regime, you know? Which I got a little confusing at the end there. What regime? What does that mean? But I think more than anything, what he's saying is like, there's a scheme change, and I expect to be built around. And to that, I would say, they should. There's nothing he's saying, like, in basketball, if this quote came out, everybody would be like, yeah, it's just basketball.

There are a few stars in the NFL that can kind of, you'd be a fool not to ask Michael Parsons how he wants to be used. Like, if I was a defensive coordinator, I'd walk in and I'd say, what do you feel like you do the best? And where are the areas of your game that you feel like are wasting your time and the defense's time? And then I'd evaluate. But the point is, Micah just likes to speak his mind.

Okay? And I don't know where he said this. But chances are, I need to even say it on the fucking podcast. So unless you're going to take away the microphone from Michael Parsons at every turn in the road, he's just going to say what the fuck he feels. And the minute he stops playing well. And you know what? Somebody said playoff voices today, one sack and four playoff games.

Okay, I can't remember the other three. I'd have to go back and break the film down. But that Green Bay game, one of the main things we talked about coming out of that game was how few true one-on-ones Micah Parsons was given. The whole game plan revolves around Michael Parsons. So when you tell me, I'm looking into sack numbers,

would you rather have Michael Parsons in the playoffs or your best rusher on your favorite team. If you're a Dallas fan, would you rather have Michael Parsons in the playoffs or whoever it is that you're watching on TV falling into a couple sacks in the playoffs? Like, this guy is a ball player. And I guess my big point is like the podcast is not the problem.

If there's something going on in Dallas, it's not the fact that this guy has a podcast. It's entirely possible that people don't like him. It's entirely possible that Malik Hooker doesn't like him. It's entirely possible. He don't like Malik Hooker. It's entirely possible. The whole fucking locker room hates each other.

But we don't know that. And I can't speculate. What I can speculate on is how much of a distraction of podcasts is. It's just not. If you're a professional, you know, you know what's more distracting, Malik Hooker? Having to cover for like six seconds because nobody can get home. Like, that is distracting as fuck. Can I tell you about how that is?

like you got micha parsons you got tank lawrence you got guys like that those dogs will hunt and so micha could get on the podcast and say whatever he wants short of disrespecting me my teammates and dividing the team or throwing coaches under the bus anyways before we get to boy mafay i have a couple mailbags who will you be using as your dynasty team in nca 25 well i feel like i probably have track marks on my arm i'm so a day to fucking Madden, dude. You've been putting up some good results. The chances of me getting off Madden right now are pretty low.

But when this game comes out, I will dabble. I would like to, here's what I'd like to do. I would like to take over the Iowa football program, spread it out, recruit a bunch of kids from California, swaggy kids. I was reading, players can coach up to 30 seasons. this game. I'm really, really curious what the divorce rate is on people that play 30 fucking seasons of, uh, of dynasty. Also found out that you can't export a draw. Oh, you can't export your draft class to Madden, you fucking nerds. Who does that? A lot of people probably do that.

I would do it. You fucking nerd. I'm just jealous. I'm jealous that you have the time in the organizational skills to do that. Do you do it with a flash drive? No. No. Export fake players to another platform to make them fake on another platform? I don't know. I used to do it with my MBA dynasties with the college basketball at the same time.

You're like, fuck, dude. I didn't know that was weird. Maybe it's not. You get to make decisions like when do you have your recruits in, which is really interesting. I would schedule Colorado and have them in that week. I was looking at the ACC dynasty challenge that I could do. I was like, wouldn't it be fun if I found a player that I used to play against in the ACC and we all agreed to take over dynasties in the ACC.

But then I got on the ACC website and it looks like a fucking March Madness Bracket. There are so many teams. There's so many goddamn teams. I don't even know, like, fuck that idea. So that's one mailback question. And next is from Diana Rossini. She gets intimidated when she goes into Home Depot. This resonated with a lot of people online.

I'm sure there was some very interesting answers. She said she gets intimidated when she goes to Home Depot. What is the man's version of that? A hospital, like when a baby is being born, like when your baby is being born, they talk to you like a fucking second class citizen, dude. they talk to you they talk to you trying to put this trying to put this in a way it's not problematic they talk to me like I'm touched in there like like and they also talk to you like you are the enemy of the baby and the wife like you could fuck this process at any time so what I need

to do is like sit in the corner but then help all the time but don't help the wrong way because we'll make you feel really small and stupid and masculine. I think hospitals are one. Another one is Home Depot. Oh, because you feel like you have to be the man in there. Yes, dude. That's the issue. A woman going into Home Depot,

you've got this fucking force field around you. Like if you're okay with being mansplained thing, because that's like a mansplained capital of the world. And I couldn't find a Home Depot employee that wouldn't, jump at the opportunity to help some young lady find the two-by-fours but when you're a man you feel like you're on fucking trial in there dude you can't know like i've spent half my life not asking questions yeah exactly you can't ask a follow-up question that's that depot i don't know if you know this but yeah re you know this but i as a man i've spent a lot of times evading

asking an obvious question like i'll walk around home depot three laps looking for some and if i feel like it's dumb enough and it might be embarrassing enough, I might just walk outside and order it online. Okay? So I'm just telling you, you know, going in to get spray paint a couple weeks ago, I felt like a fucking moron. You're not alone, women. If you don't like going in Home Depot, I love going to home depot. But when it comes to asking questions, it's going to be a, it's going to be tough sledding for your boy. Some people said like Sephora or like bath and body works, those types of places. No, I'm fine there because like you assume I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. You know what I mean? It's not so easy being a man. You got to have answers.

Target's one too because you just have a mental clock. Like when are we leaving? When are we leaving? And it's always later. Dude, I don't know. Target is kind of fun, dude. You like Target? Target's a new Walmart. Target's just so, it's so, like, takes so long. Nah, man. You think Target takes a long time too. I've been there in a while. Your girlfriend, yeah. I did take you go there with your girlfriend, yeah. I have heard a lot about the, what's that place where they have everything. They have Kirkland brand stuff. Costco.

Costco. I've heard some things about Costco. I can't wait to get in one of those Costco's. Have you never been? Not honestly. Should you go to Costco and get a 128 outs bag of potato chips? When you ask people what's in there, it's all the types of things. literally everything like they can't even describe what's in there yeah they're like you just got to go to see

see it to believe it it's too much for me my mom goes with my girlfriend instead when i went to that bucky's store on the way we went to buckies which i had no idea existed that place is too much that that was a lot i told you guys before we walked in i was like it's overwhelming you walk in it's overwhelming and that was the look on your faces when you walked in overwhelmed all right so somebody asked me to talk about the the staff or disrespect because i've been tweeting about the staff or disrespect I saw something called start bench cut and it had goff, Stafford, and Cousins. So I have this idea. It's a lot cheaper.

I don't know what corporations have to spend on drug tests, but I would just email prospective employees and be like start bench cut, Stafford, Gough, and cousins. And this is my problem with these start bench cut things. I think this is going to start a war, war one day. They're going to do a start bench cut with like North Korea, Russia, and like, like i don't know ukraine and based on the answers people are going to feel real disrespected you're going to be like well obviously well maybe do you bench ukraine do you bench russia like if you bench what's the question i mean they're all big scary countries that can do real damage what are we

disrespecting ukraine you saw what they just did to russia you know what i mean and some people would say it was a home game but like it's still an impressive show of force so what am i going to cut ukraine start a world war okay these start bench cut things are out of control there's an inherent level of disrespect that comes about when you put these out on the internet and i think these fucking aggregators know that so in no way am i disrespecting jared goff or kirk cousins okay and i would order it that way i'd be benching i'd be given the silver fucking metal to jerry golf i'd be given the bronze medal to kirk cousins the gold medal by a solid margin is Matt Stafford. I'm not demeaning Jared Gough

because Jared Goss is the top 10 quarterback. His production says it. He's plenty good for Detroit. That's what Dan Campbell said. Is he great off his spot? Nah, not all the time. Is he great outside and inclement weather? Nah, not all the time.

But is he a guy you can win with? Fuck, yeah. I love Jared Gough. my nightmare is Jared Goff seeing me quote tweet that was such anger you know what I mean because he'd get the wrong idea there's nothing I have against Jared Goff or Kirk Cousins who I think is underrated I think people have underrated not underpaid but underrated Kirk Cousins Matt Stafford I said this earlier today is a Hall of Famer and I don't mean that like is he going to get in or not is he Hall of Fame good yeah he's Hall of Fame good to me you heard C.J Stroud talk about

him c j stroud watched that video with c j stroud and gilly and they're he's ran and raving about mad stafford he's talking about if he were in green bay with errand's setup he'd have multiple rings right now and gillie said yeah you'd have one or two and he said no maybe three or four and i'm one of those people in that camp that believes that matt stafford is an interesting case study on context because you had the denial of organizational structure for so long, right? And you could say, but you have Megatron. They didn't have a fucking 100-yard rusher. I mean, before it was Hank Fraley and the big hogs there and the two backs and

Dan Campbell and the gritty group they have now, they couldn't find a hundred-yard rusher. And that organization was just, I mean, it's night and day. And then you give him the context and Sean McVeigh and L.A. and a real shot. And he goes and wins a ring. And I don't know that I've seen a guy sling the ball like him at that age last year in some time. I mean, Brady at a high level, Rogers, but there's not a lot of guys in their late 30s throwing the ball like he's throwing the ball right now going into the playoffs last year. So I just wanted to say that. How many times can I'm not supposed to say this, beat the ball. this dead horse. Okay? As long as you guys watch the Kentucky Derby, I can say that. How many times can I beat the dead horse here? Matt Stafford is better than people think he is in the general public as evidenced by Gilly's reaction. Anybody you talk to about Stafford, they always want to give him his do, but they're like, yeah, but and then when you talk to

players, Matt Stafford's in that class of players. I was talking to Beaumonti Jones about this earlier. want to give him credit. But he's in that class of players that it seems like players respect more than fans. And I don't know what the, what the prerequisite for that is, but he, he hits it. It's just something about him. Maybe it's what he's been through and players knowing how hard that is or the throws he makes, he makes how rare those throws are or how tough he is. But that motherfucker can sling it with the best of him now. Yeah, he's got a good chance to go over 60,000 career passing yards this season. Yep.

And thank God he got that Super Bowl because people would still be hanging that, yeah, butt over his head. And now the goalposts moved a little bit where it's like, well, but what did he do in Detroit all those years? Well, you said you'd give him a better look when he got, you know, a team around him. And he did and he won the whole thing. And last year, that fucking playoff game was so physical and so high stakes and just so I mean, it was beautiful.

I was watching a video last night of a pigeon running down on kickoff with the Oakland Raiders at the time. And I miss football so damn much right now. Okay. I can't bet another stupid basketball thing or hockey thing or baseball thing. I just want to take all the money in my account and put it on fucking Tennessee when they play Chicago week one. or week two, whenever that is. Like, I can't wait. Give me on a future.

We've got Boye Mafet, young pass rusher for the Seattle Seahawks. Had a breakout year last year. As a little context going in, and I said this to him before he got on. My football guy, Nolan, had texted me ahead of the potty. He's like, man, what's really interesting

is y'all's measurables were like the same. Same arm length to an eighth of an inch on the arm. Same 10-yard split, which was very quick. he's a quick guy he reminds me of Frank Clark and when I played Frank reminded me of a younger me and I had heard that before and so I look at this kid

and I'm like man this is fucking cool I'm watching this guy who's got a lot of the same tools I had and he's going to be so much better because he seems to understand the game year two like talking to this dude he's like a coach on the field and I think Seattle's got a really fun core defensively.

This guy really understands pass rush. Had a lot of fun talking to him about it. Hopefully you don't get tired of these D-Line 201 conversations, but really love having the pass rushers on and this kid can play. Boy A. Mafay, Seattle Seahawks,

check this out. We'll be back Friday with a special episode. Don't know exactly what it's going to be yet, but it's going to be something, and it's not going to be recorded July 4th. It's going to be recorded like ASAP so I can get on the road. Now I will say this I'm leaving. I'm leaving I'm headed to Montana I will be there for much of the remainder of the summer I will be there crunching away at my

2024-2015 NFL notes I'll be getting prepped learning the rosters inside and out learning the the scheme changes learning everything i can learn because when i get back in august it's going to be time to make some fucking hay we're going to we're going to attack this fall and we're going to give you guys some of the best football content out there but i need this break i need it more than you know um my passion for doing this job has gone up and down this summer it's not like a a code red thing but I think I'm a little bit burn out. I don't like taking breaks, but I'm going to take a two-week break. So you guys are going to hear from Macon.

You're going to hear from Bo. You're going to be hearing from, you know, maybe Nate's going to be popping in. I don't know, man. That's why we have the people we have here to pick up the slack when I've hit a wall. So enjoy those guys the next couple weeks. Enjoy Boy A. Mafe. And I will be back two Tuesdays from now. next week. Anyways, if I have to hop on and give you my two cents on something, I will. Check

our YouTube. Our YouTube is where you can find shorts and little kind of one hitter takes that I may or may not give while I'm up in Montana. So head on over to Greenlight's YouTube. If you're not, if you're just an audio guy or gal, check us out. I will be taking two-week break. Here's Boy A Mafay. Hey, y'all. Greenlight has official merch like this hat right here. Like the one on my head is dad hat love this hat I'm not even a dad hat guy but this thing fits great This this hat right here fits great uh we've got hoodies we've got by the way this hoodie's like super comfy i mean it's like soft plush it's not the type of hoodie

it's gonna get stiff with one wash uh and the shirts too because like i'm a big comfort guy okay you got like this white shirt here you got the shirt with the logo the abbey road looking logo with Dr. Fex smoking presumably a blunt Kyle carrying Cowboy Reed making driveling a basketball which I've never seen him actually do and me carrying a football and then you've got the the black shirt here too with the logo so stickers hit the link in the description in the video below the video actually and make sure to tag us on social media showing off your green light merch it's quality quality threads here okay wouldn't do it any other way

All right, this is a real treat. We got one of the, I think he's one of the best young pass rushers in the game. He's, he's about to take off here. Second year he went off. Seattle fans know him. If you don't know him, you're going to know him real soon around the country. Boy A. Mafet is joining us defensive end for the Seahawks. What's going on, dude?

How are we doing? I appreciate you for having me. You know, thanks for having me on here. I'm excited. Of course, bro. We were just talking offline like, you know, I could ask you a million things. But for me, as a former pass russer, When you caught fire last year, I think week 10, you sacks Sam Hallen, that made it seven weeks in a row.

Like, that's a run people dream of. Guys that have 100 sacks in the league never go on a run like that. So what clicked for you? And you laughed when I said the sacks come in bunches. You've heard that before, haven't you? Definitely heard that before. It's one of those things. I mean, for me, the biggest thing I noticed, honestly, going through it was like your confidence built.

You know, and you start to realize it. I had a coach back of the day he used to tell me, you didn't. don't let them dictate what you do, you dictate what they do. And I felt like, you know, definitely like my first unit league, I was just figuring out. I didn't really know what it was, the gameplay, how everything went. But that second year, I started to see that light of, okay, I can dictate what happens and I can take it into a different light and really just like learning that standpoint of like when it comes to pass rush especially, you know, it's a situation of, if I wanted to do this, you got to move in a certain way. So that whole understanding the game

and understanding football is what helped me, honestly, take that second year up and at the level. I wish I understood it sooner, but you seem to figure it out and just talking to you right now. Maybe one of those things is like the dictating the corner. You know, like you're plenty quick to get the edge, but what I notice you do really well is you'll dictate with your track where that point of contact is. For people at home, if you know what I'm talking about, can you kind of explain how to shorten a track so that you don't just have to run around somebody eight, nine yards. You seem to have a knack for doing it at seven. Yeah. I mean that, like you said, it's the angle. It's all about the angle. Like the biggest thing I've noticed is, you know, I don't, like coach always told him is like,

don't try to run around a guy, run through him. And especially with, like you said, the quickness and everything, we have a race point. And I'm a race to this point. And if you beat me here, I'm going to have a move for it. But if I beat you there, then I'm taking the corner. You know what I'm saying? It's one of those things, not adjusting myself. on my on my rush don't expand too wide but stay on your track and stay on that point make sure like you said if i want it to be seven yards i'm gonna make sure at seven yards i'm doing my contact i'm doing my move so that i don't have to end up being nine 10 yards deep yeah and it's got to be like daunting because i always was jealous of you're like i'm buddies with michael bennett and those guys and

i used to be like mike you lucky motherfucker you get to you get to rush up there in seattle man it is deafening in that building. And I wonder, sometimes the adrenaline can probably take over and you forget what you're doing. You know, when you put your hand in the dirt or getting that two-point stance, do you feel that power you have when you rush in Seattle? 100%. That fan base, ill or none. Honestly, I've been out there multiple times. I got a guy less than three feet away from me telling me a call, I don't know a word he's saying. You know, I didn't realize that you needed to have communication, like non-verbals, honestly, because it's so loud in that stadium.

The fans go so crazy that you definitely need that. How quick do you think you learn somebody that you're rushing right outside of? Like, I don't know how much you tended to or didn't tend to rush next to Leonard late last year. But when somebody like Leonard comes in the building, you know, there's a whole feeling out process. Not of the person, you know, like he's a legit dude. You know, day one, you probably click, but it's playing with each other. How long does that take? It takes some time.

And the biggest thing that I appreciated with him and me and all of us working together is that we had a communication of like. We had a like, it's the small conversation. Like people think it's just practice and reps and everything. But honestly, the biggest thing to understand that of the person is that conversations you have between those. When you're talking to someone sideline after play, you know, he'll tell me like, look, if you want to run a game with me, I like it like this.

And if you could just do this, it makes it. it opens it up. I'm like, okay, perfect. And then I need a game. He's, I'll ask him, can you make it look like that? And about communication, honestly, I think that's the biggest thing, because then you understand what they're looking for and what you're looking for. Does that communication start now, or has it already started with Murphy? I mean, this kid, I think he was the best guy in the draft at that position. I couldn't believe he fell to you guys and that you guys took advantage of it because you're really building a great core up front. Have you seen him yet? Have you talked to him yet? And what's it looks?

look like. Yeah, we saw him in OTAs. I'm excited. He's in, he said he has the unintended rules. He's strong. He's quick. He has the size. And he's so I'm, I'm excited, honestly. I can't wait to play with him. Along with the guys that we have in the room, I think it's like for him, honestly, it's the perfect situation. He's coming in with eight, nine, 10 year vets that know the game and that are playing his position. So he's getting the knowledge of 10 year vets, 10 year guys. So honestly, I think for him it's like the best situation. And the defense that we're playing, it's going to be fun. Who were your vets right out of the gate?

And is Nuoosu a guy that you missed having out there last year? 100%. I mean, he's one of those guys that coming in, I look to him and he gave me all the knowledge as a rookie coming into league. You know, he's been veteran. He's been in the league for a while. So I used him for a lot of conversations. A lot of things that I didn't know or how situations to handle.

I would talk to him. And then my rookie year, halfway through the season, we actually got Bruce Irving. And Bruce. Yeah, he came in later in my rookie year, and that helped a lot. And even last year, Frank came in with us for a while. So just having those guys that been in that Seattle defense or that been in Seattle and played the game for that long in our position, honestly, it helped.

It made the game simpler for me. And that's the biggest. Was it cool to see those guys walk back through the door? Like, you weren't there when they were there before, but they probably were like, this is my locker. This is where I like to eat. This is nothing's changed. They're checking things out.

was that reception pretty cool? Yeah, oh, definitely. And that's the thing I love about Seattle is that when guys come in, it's always like, you know, it's a nice reception of like, okay, let's work with this together. And they came in and they really taught us how to be professionals and how to be in the building and how to make your game go to the next level. And that's the thing of the conversation, like I said,

off of not just going out and practice and doing it, but those conversations that we had, oh, man, help me a tremendous. Yeah, I mean, Bruce, and Frank being Pete guys. You know, like I know it's one of the last things that he did as a head coach was bringing in guys like that. And it might seem inconsequential to people,

but you never know what you got to learn from them. You know, some of these guys are going to carry on that tradition. I think it's very cool. With Pete down the line last year, I, you know, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

It's a tough business and he's been in a long time. He's had an amazing career. But was there a sense that it was coming to an end, And like, you know, like in the building where guys are like, man, they're hearing things upstairs or Pete seems stressed. Could you pick up on anything or was he just the same guy? That's one thing I appreciate about him. He was him through and through. You know, if there was a conversation up in the upper room or upstairs, he never let it seep into the team.

He didn't change how he operated. He didn't change his ways of who he has as a coach. And he always stayed true to who he is and what he knows. And that's one thing I appreciate it about him is he made every. uncomfortable. And the biggest thing about him that people don't realize, though, is he's one of the people that he gets the best out of his players. He doesn't just, he doesn't have a box or like, you know, they say the cookie cutters, you know, I said, I want my guys to do this and be like this and do this. He's like, you don't move like he moves. You don't play like him. I want you to be your

best version. And whatever that takes or however we can get that out of you, that's what we're going to do. Yes, I think as a former player, that sounds great to me. Wish you have more coaches like that because, you know, you're young in your career, but you'll get guys that just try to push you into different roles. And hey, I want you to rush like this guy.

I always use an example. They showed me Julius Pepper's tape. And I was like, yeah, this is a lot of fun. But I'm not really sure what I was supposed to take from this. Other than, man, that guy's good.

I don't rush like him. I had heard that you had watched, and I thought this was a really interesting collection of names. Lawson, Frank Clark and Brian Burns. And to me that makes a lot of sense. Why does it make sense for you? What do you take from each of those guys?

Obviously, Frank has the moves and his quickness. And I like to look at people, you know, because everyone has different, like he said, everyone's different. You know, there's the big strong guys who, their power all day. There's the finesse guys that are doing finesse moves, you know, cross-chops, swipe, all around. And I felt as if I'm like who I am as a player

and who I play, I was trying to take a mix of all of that. And I would figure out how I can capitalize that. Because a lot of those guys, they're setting on three. And honestly, love how, like, Brian Burns, you can say it's unconventional, but he does it in such a way where it moves smoothly. You know what I'm saying? A lot of guys he ever had, you know, I bet you know, like the coaching of like, one, two, three, power, one, two, three, this, da-da-da-da.

But you'll see guys like them hitting it on four, hitting out five, you know, maybe even do it. on two, they're going to hit their move quick. And that switch up and then always keeping the alignment guessing how they did. Because that's the thing is, like, it's chestnut checkers. You got to understand that you have moves that set up other moves. And that's the biggest thing that I took from them, especially having Frank in the building after watching them for so long,

it was amazing to actually see his mindset and how he goes about it, how he sets up moves. He'll be like, look, I know we got a six-play drive, eight-play drive. So my first two passers, I'm throwing a fastball to see what he does. And then when it's time, third and eight, okay, now let me throw my switch up. And he's not going to, he's not going to understand. And he's going to be confused why I didn't do that other move. Well, that's why games where you have a lead are so great because you can really work to set moves up.

You get a couple two-minute situations. It's hard to learn on the fly when you're dealing with four-minute and that sort of thing defensively. So whenever you get one of those blowout situations, especially, it's fun to roll the ball out there and be like, I'll try an inside outspin. You know, like, I'm not going to try that in fucking, I'm not going to try one-on-ones. I only get two reps. I'm not going to try it on third down in a big game. You talked about Frank and those guys, like, the way you rush, I look at your stutter stuff.

Yeah. And I'm like, some coaches say don't stutter. I used to stutter all the time. Yeah. Because you're trying to get their feet to stop. And then you have every, every option off of it. But like, like you said, everybody gets to a. it a different way. That's Russian. You know how to do that. You seem to like really

taken off. But now the defense is changing, right? And, you know, when I hear about McDonald, I hear about skill sets that are diverse. He wants versatility and that sort of thing. Like what is something that you're being dictated to learn that's a little bit, maybe uncomfortable or different than the defense you played in last year? The thing I love about this defense is every position can do anything. You can have to be walked up on the line and he's got he's got to cover the flat you know what i'm saying you could have me off the ball and i'm blitzing you know what i'm saying so it's there's a lot of different things where it's like you might see the pre-snap picture because every quarterback does it you know what i'm saying

they get out there they look they see oh we got one eye let's see if they're a man or zone but whole time we we can show you something and change the picture on you and i love that i love that like that's to me the fact that I can be over the center to over the tackle to off the ball and have the same attack or same mentality with it. You know, he lets you, he gives you the tools of what he wants it to look like and he says, now you just have fun with it. So you can sauce it up however you want. And that's, to me, like coaches who let players be who they are, you know what I say? Because you can't, I've noticed it that if you try to put people in a box, like you get people that are just, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. If you have three guys,

they're all different people. Yeah. But he lets, you know, you could say message, like, all right, let's, let's have, let's have someone drop that you would never expect to drop. Yeah, a three technique in the passive windows, a bit and even bigger fucking guy sitting there in zone. You know, don't move. Just stand there. I mean, you know, it's, you get creative. I used to love watching, well, used to. It was just a second ago, but like the way they used Kyle Hamilton. It was like, you never knew where he was going to be. And obviously it takes a special player to really unlock that Swiss Army knife thing. But I think that's great.

And for you, do you think back to that 30, not to bring up a sore subject, but 373 on the road, that was like a couple teams came in there last year. Detroit included, very good football teams, y'all, y'all included. And it was just like, holy shit. I mean, that's a team that's going to play maybe in the Super Bowl type thing. But the defense, do you remember watching it in person and like being like, holy shit. shit they're at another level. 100%. They move on and one accord, and that's the thing that I, like, even like you said,

I remember watching that game because, you know, like you said, one of those situations when you're down, like, and I got to the point where it's like, let me see what's going on. You know what I'm saying? Like, let me see what these guys are doing because this is making no sense. Especially with the offense we have and the tools we have. So for them to be able to do that, I was like, it has to be something. It has to be something. So the way that they now being on the other side of it,

It makes a lot more sense. I'm seeing the other side. Like, I'm looking behind the curtain. And I'm like, now I see how it's flowing. And like the essence of it, like, he's really one of those people like, X's and O's. He understands, he understands, like, football really well. And he understands, like, how to utilize people, how to move people.

And that's one thing I, like, I'm coming to learn. I'm like, I see where this comes from. I see how it works. Well, it's like the pass rush thing. You talk about dictating. You know, rather than surviving and call, oh, we need to be in cover two because worried about this or cover three. Like, he's dictating. Yeah.

It's a whole different way of calling a game. You guys are really good outside. And I mean that not just the receivers in the corners, but like every important edge position, which is a really great thing to be as a young team. You've got great rushers on the edge. You've got two awesome young tackles and receivers and corners that are probably really fun to watch battle and practice. Yeah. And I wonder, like, you taking a knee, grabbing a Gatorade in camp, what's the must-see matchup up at camp?

My favorite, okay, my favorite matchups, I'd say probably Rican D.K. Oh, I was going to ask. They're both six-four. They're both fast. Yeah. Just watching those two, like, those, they're fun to watch. Yeah. Watching Spoon. Spoon is, he's a live character.

How he is on Sunday, swoop and hollering. he's doing that every day at practice. And I just watching him when he's doing his thing, oh, man, it's hilarious. I love it. Like, honestly, all of our guys, like, I realize it, like, we have a competitive bench. Like, honestly, it's one of those things.

Like, if you come into our practices, it's not like a, okay, offense goal. We're like, hell no, bring that up. Let's talk. That's not happening again. Like, we take a personal, even in practice. And that mentality is in office is the same way. Like, they'll, we bark back at each other.

Like, it's one of those things where, like, Between practice, we're not friends. Well, I mean, I kind of wonder if that's all like, what came first to chicken or the egg? Did Pete instill that? Or did he pick the right people, him and Schneider, pick the right people that, you know, what differentiates the guy that Pete and Schneider would have drafted, like yourself? No, I agree. I mean, I think about it just necessarily, like, the guys that came in my class.

And even, like, from day one, we all, like, well, I remember it, like it was yesterday, we all came in and we were just sitting in a locker. talking because they bring the rookies in separate. You know how they do, like the rookie mini-game. So once our rookie class was really solidified, oh, man, we sat there and we were like, let's go chase this. Like, we all were hungry. And especially that first year, we got the first taste of playoffs, it was like, okay,

if this is what we got to do to be here, let's double down. And even, like, you know, seeing like the small things that people do outside of practice and guys, you know, you know, quote on court are solidified guys that they take their job even more serious than ever and they really guys really buy into that and that competitive edge like nobody i promise you it's like you said like that 33 game that 33 that that locker room yeah yeah because the way that we personal the way that everyone in that room like you know there's like the people you know they say in the NFL there's people who you come here to have fun and get a check whatever i don't think a single person like these guys don't care about that i didn't we want wins we want to we want to

out there we want to have a reason that part because we want to be able to talk our you know talk our shit be out there hey come on let's go you know yeah no that's and you feed off each other and you also feed off each other by being straight up with each other yeah which was a big tenant from what i understood of the seattle atmosphere during the lob was guys are going to police each other you know guys are going to be in each other's shit when the stander's not met and they're still boys and you know i've been in locker rooms though working guys are afraid to, you know, come at each other when honestly, that's the best way to cultivate a culture.

Yeah. You know, so with that, with that group you got, I kind of wonder if you take pride in being the Russell Wilson Hall. Because when I was a guy in St. Louis and we had a really good defense line, a bunch of first rounders, we also had this sudden infusion of talent by way of RG3. So the RG3 trade, we traded the pick. Now, we didn't do anything with the pick necessarily, but what we did is we had this hall of guys who all played a lot of snaps.

And I can remember we played at that point, the Redskins and RG3. And I said to Jeff Fisher, I said, hey, man, would it be cool if we could all the guys that we got in that hall could walk out to the captain's circle for coin toss? And he was like, yeah, yeah. He was like, I said it with an IV in my arm, like 20 minutes for the game. And I'm like, and fish, he goes, that's a great fucking idea. He goes, the only thing is y'all can't play like shit. So we went out there and we beat up on them and we had all the guys at midfield.

And I just wonder if there's like a sense of pride you guys have. 100%. I feel like especially the guys I came with and even the class after me, like the guys that know, it's one of those things is like you you have the essence of like okay there's a reason i'm here you know and like no matter where and i think a love about us is like it don't matter where you're picked it don't matter that i don't know when if you anybody who like ego people will not survive in seattle it just it just not the thing like no one care we have a mentality of like we don't care who you are where you came from if you have a sort of unquote who you are is like oh i'm

this type of player da da da okay you better show that if it don't up we're going to call you all on it. You know, so you got to walk the talk, walk the talk for sure. Well, how loud was it? Was that the loudest game you've heard yet in that building? 100%. It was, you never been to like a concert in your ears. Yeah. Mine were ringing for the next two days, you know, one of those times. I can't even imagine, dude, because I played up there when it was real live, we'd play it

twice a year. And I don't know if I ever saw it like that. And it felt like a damn playoff game right out of the gate. And what did that give you guys confidence-wise? Because I feel like people were sleeping on y'all. And, you know, it was at a point in the season where people didn't know who you were. I feel as if for us, especially that game, it was one of the things is, you know,

it kind of pissed me off as they kept saying, it's like, Seattle's on a rebuild. Seattle's on a rebuild. And I kept looking around like, so you say we don't have talented players? You know, but the distance is if we, weren't a team to take serious. And I felt, especially in that game,

like the atmosphere with people who were in hollering, like, that's one of the things was, like, the lights came on. And that was my first NFL game. Yeah, that was number one. Yeah. So I walked in, I said, oh, this is what the league is like, okay. That's an insane first game. Crazy.

To experience, dude. I couldn't, you couldn't even write it up any better. Like, I was like, this is what the NFL was like, okay. I mean was there was what was the biggest difference for you like immediately because I can remember the game being so fast sideline to sideline I felt like I was a damn deer in the middle of the highway it didn't know where the fuck to go my first preseason game what did you feel like when you first took the field and what do you think was the biggest difference between college and pro as a pass rusher it's everyone knows what they're doing that's the biggest thing there's not uh you know like in college you can have mess ups and it guys guys gets free plays or maybe you know and at college it's like they have their studs and then everyone is just you know fillers right not to be rude but that's just what it is yeah yeah yeah there's some fish yeah there's exactly exactly and in the NFL there's very sedently fish you know it's a thing I've noticed and like everyone can play and you can just you just have to be ready to

you have to be ready to be that player and you have to understand it's like you got to build your confidence up But I think the biggest thing for me I noticed is you just can't be just a player. Like, you got to have no. And I feel like that helped me. Because, like, my rookie year, like, in college, like, we talked about ball, but we always talked about defense. When I got to the league, that's when we started talking about offenses and how they operate, what to look for, keys, and the whole nine. And when I started understanding, like, you know, if I get this movement from the tackle, expect that. If I get, if this, if this Y comes back, expect this.

and I felt like that made that like, like you said, like at first, I was a deer in the headlights. I was reacting late to everything. I'm looking about like, wait. Okay, that's the play. Oh, fuck, they told me to peel on a, on a back, like my rookie year in Atlanta,

and he ran right by me and they won the damn game. I've never felt so dizzy in my life. I was just like, Mr. Crabs, you know, the fucking Mr. Crabs meme. That was me. I was just, I didn't even see the guy leave the backfield. It's just there's layers. to calls and things that you're expected to do.

And when you find a fish, do you guys fight over them in that D-Line room? You better line up there first. That's all I got to tell me. Hey, dude. It goes like there's a pecking order when it comes to that. It goes, big dogs, they're going to take them first. After that, you better line up there first. If you don't line up there first.

We used to, bro, me and Brandon Graham never fought. and we got in one argument my entire life, and that was over who had to line up in front of Tyrant Smith on third down down in Dallas. Man, when I tell you, we both stood there with our arms next to our sides on the left side next to the right tackle until the ball was fucking snapped. It was like a game of chicken, bro. It was like, who's going to go?

I guess we're just going to have a short edge over there. That definitely happens. Trust me. It's one of those things. You'll get out there. You'll look. You'll like, yeah, let's switch. I'll switch.

Yeah, let's switch, bro. Who's the best tackle you played so far? Somebody just stands out that's like, damn, that guys. I mean, you see Trent, you've seen Lane, you've seen a couple of them. Honestly, the thing that people don't give Lane his credit to is how smart he is. I've never had a tackle pass set me on a rundown. You know what I said? He's got trick.

Yeah. Because I don't know how he knows, but when he's, he'll pass set you and I'm pass rushing, I'll beat him in the move and I'll look and my ball's running the other way. I'm like, oh, man, this is going to look terrible for him. And for a half a second, you're like, bro, I'm about to make a huge play. Exactly. It's a run.

Yeah, dude. He clubbed Vaughn Miller up the field five yards on a draw shut. You know, it's like, hey, and I think the thing that makes Lane really tough is he's going to stay square. Yeah. People don't you credit that. And that's the biggest thing, honestly, Like, it's like they say, like opening close the door.

If you can stay, like if a tap will stay square on you, it makes your job more hard. But if you can, that's the whole, you know, open him, kick, drop his leg back. Once you do that, oh, yes, for a game. I'll tell you what, power works better too when he's turned. Yes. Get up the field and go to power once they're turn. And the surfaces make more sense and the whole thing. So, you know, Lane not turning.

But then you play Trent. Trent, what's playing Trent like? Because Trent, to me, like, he'll get turned. he'll you'll think you have him beat and then he'll do some like spin move back into the B gap to pick you up like it's a totally different experience i would imagine he's like so he's like like like you said the big difference between them is like athleticism Trent can he can give you the B and take it away he'll overset you make you think all the inside's wide open next you know he's squeezing right back with you and that's like obviously the one thing i noticed about him and he's quick with his hands He doesn't like, you know, like people go to power.

He does not let power sit on him. He doesn't. He's chopping a hand down as soon as he put it in there. So it's, like, he's good with his hands. And that's one thing, like, you got to play like a game with him. We got to make you think. No question. All right.

So this is your second NFL off season. My producer said you took a little time. You went to Belize. Yeah. How was it? And are you getting the hang of the balance that goes into trying to do this, job and like you need to take time away like where are you right now with uh your off seasons 100% that's the that's the one thing i had to realize because i'm one of those people like

i get i get itchy you know sitting around for too long and that's one thing that like uh my first year i was there with uh uh quill queen jefferson queen jefferson yeah guys that's been around right yeah and they were telling me it's like it's a marathon not a sprint and they said it's the off season it's a marathon not a sprint you're not getting ready for the season right now. You're getting ready for the season in July. You know what I'm saying? So I had to understand that it's like it's a crescendo. You're not going to

you're not going to go out the gates right for a season. You've got a crescendo into it because then you'll burn out once you get to the season. And that, like my first off season, you know, I hit it hard. I was trying to get to it. You know what I said? And that's one thing that I realized later in the year that I was like,

okay, when it's week 10, week 12, it's like, that's where, like, your body, you're feeling it. You're really feeling it. that point. Coming into this offseason, my biggest thing was like my recovery and like changing my mindset with it. And also, like you said, you got to take time away. You got to give yourself that mental clarity.

Because when you know in this job, you take them, you're thinking about all the time. And for me to take my family and go away and just shut my brain off and just be in the moment, you know, because you never, in this job, you don't get a lot of time. You miss a lot of important things. You miss birthdays. You miss Christmas. You miss all, like, the whole. holidays, you know what I'm saying? So when you're missing all of that, I took it as a chance,

like, let me give, this is my Christmas, you know, this is the time where I can spend with my family and I don't have to worry about nothing. I don't have a call to, you know, I got to be on a call, I got to do this, I got to be on a, you know, this is my time with them. I took my couple days and we really just sat there and enjoyed and it was, it was amazing. And just to see like a different culture, to see something new, it was, that's, I was like, okay, this is what about that's the truth you're doing a good thing because when you get off the hamster wheel for you in 12 15 years hopefully if you're lucky like you're going to look up and you're going to be like damn there's no going back and being young and having a couple weeks to do this or that to travel so

i think that's awesome i mean good for you the one thing i was going to follow up on is somebody said you were in a grateful dead t-shirt is that fashion or is that music because are you a dead head I'm not a deadhead I listen No I've had that question That has to be a couple of times But that's definitely fashion I mean they make

I like their T-shirts They're cool They're the coolest theater Look at these I got a couple Grateful Dead stickers Exactly exactly But I really

I really am like I don't know if I'm a deadhead But I love the dead So you should check out the music man What kind of music you listen to? I listen to a little variety of everything I promise you It's people say

You know how people say I listen to it all And then they're like But I don't like this No If it's good music I'll listen to it. You throw off some country. You throw on some...

I'm going to listen to it. I got a couple... I got a little bit of everything in the playlist, so nothing is really awful in this when it comes to music. If you could hear one song on Third Down, what is it? And do they play it in Seattle? See, it's funny. So in college, we used to play when the bell tolls.

Bro! Hey! Hey! You know! You know! Hey! Oh, bro. Hey, I swear to you, bro. We took an RV trip a couple days ago to

Nashville to do this thing for the pod and we were on the way back and we were in the last hour and everybody was running on fumes and I threw on my little heavy metal mix and put on for whom the bell tolls which is Metallica's best song right and I turned to my buddy Nate who was a de-tackle in the NFL he's in pastor seat and I said man if they played this on fucking third down and of course he he was asleep but but I just said this three days ago so that's what you guys ran out to up there in Minnesota, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

When you, when you third down came, that belt, dun. Boom. Dun, dun. Dude. Oh, I want to go right now. I need some corn all.

Hey. It's on. It's on. That's what you know. All right. Cool. Now, do you play Madden? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. Are you good? You seem to know ball, so I feel like you might be a little decoordinator on there. Yeah. My favorite thing to do in that is to take the mic, and I'm just running around that thing. Yeah, me too. That's why I play with the Ravens or the Bills.

Yeah, yeah, and I'm taking the mic, and I'm, why are you in the deep third? I know where you want to throw the ball? Yeah, I'm going to get to cover, I'm going to get to cover three with my backer. I got Roquan Smith. I got Matt Milano. Dude, all right, so we got to play a game. Who do you play with? I got to play with the Seahawks.

I got to play with the Seahawks. Okay, well, if you're going to run the Seahawks, I'll probably run I'll be an 82 or something I'll be the Saints Saints are pretty good on there yeah yeah you're gonna have that little Mike backer

and I'm gonna have Camero on an angle route that's perfect I'm gonna cut it I'm gonna wait okay all right well I'll send you my tag but bro keep it up love watching you play keep being a technician man

that's a lot of fun to watch and have a great year. Come back again. For sure. I'll definitely be back. Appreciate it. Okay, dude.