Green Light with Chris Long - Jalen Hurts’ Future in Philly + Trey Smith on Kelce & Mahomes’ Return

Episode Date: April 2, 2026

Today on Green Light, Chris dives into some NFL News & talks with one of the NFL's best guards in Trey Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs. An ESPN article was released about Jalen Hurts and his standing within the Philadelphia Eagles building. Chris breaks down Jalen's play, the issues that the Eagles QB faces and how serious the situation is as we get ready for the 2026 NFL season. Chris also details the Detroit Lions news that Penei Sewell could be moved from right to left tackle and what that means for the future of the Detroit Lions. We end the show with Chris and Beau talking with Trey Smith about the Kansas City Chiefs offseason, Travis Kelce's return and the pressure of blocking for Patrick Mahomes! (00:00) - Intro (02:00) - Jalen Hurts & The Eagles (26:28) - Penei Sewell & The Lions (32:35) - Trey Smith Talks Patrick Mahomes Travis Kelce's Return & The Kansas City Chiefs 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 presented by Zone Nicotine and give us your hottest takes, your biggest gripes and general thoughts. Day and night, this hotline is open: ‪[phone]‬ Head to https://nicokick.com/zone and use code GL20 for 20% off at checkout. Check out Green Light's ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where you can catch all the latest GL action: 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

I don't feel any differently about the Eagles this morning than I did last night when I went to bed before the article came out. And you shouldn't either. This is a big year for Jalen Hertz. Jalen comes away actually pretty solidly in this article. I'm, you know, hardworking, persevering through coaching changes. You know, Michael Jordanesque kind of mystique about him when it comes to the way he approaches the game and approaches his work. And that's something from a distance that I've always appreciated about Jalen. I'm fired up.

I love trap, man. like just a source of energy, a great leader, just a friend, a teammate man, like, beyond all that. Like, just a good human being, man. Like, it's been an honor and a pleasure just to play with the guy. But just to see the intensity of which he works, how much it means to him, how much he cares about the game, the passion he comes with every single day. He's just in the building. Like, it doesn't surprise me that he's back. Is that something that you think you could do, Trey Smith?

Could you bump out out on that island and play tackle like that? Well, we're in a bad spot if I have to. Shit got bad, dude. We're in a bad spot. Welcome to the show. I think it's going to be a pretty good one. I got Trey Smith, Kansas City Chiefs, Offensive Guard, just an absolute mauler.

If you watch him play football, you probably wouldn't expect his personality to be the way it is. He's so chill and just great to talk to. Very intimidating to watch him play football, but to interview him, much different thing. Stick around. We'll have that in a minute.

Bo join me for that interview. talking some trenches, man. Some of y'all trench junkies will love this one. Just a great dude. My brother played with him as well. Super cool. And we also have a little bit of Jalen Hertz news. I don't know if you call it news.

This time of year, you know, you're always wary of the articles that come out and are just kind of filling that time between free agency and the draft, this kind of dead period. And if you're an Eagles fan, Jalen Hertz, anything Jalen Hertz is almost like politics. So why don't we dive right in? Listen, this article was, it was propped up by a lot of anonymous sourcing. And I'll say this because I said this a couple years back, which a couple years back, it's been over a half decade since the Carson Wentz drama. And the quarterback changed that followed it.

And a lot of that was anonymous sourcing. And I was very adamant at that point. A lot of it for me was because he was my teammate. It's a little bit different with Jalen. Like I admire Jalen. I've enjoyed watching him play. I got a lot of respect for him, but he's not my teammate. Transparently, when Carson was kind of attacked with a lot of that anonymous sourcing,

and it was about like the type of person he was. I didn't like that. I don't like anonymous sourcing in a locker room because everybody, you're all sitting right there in the fucking locker room. You know, you could walk right across the room and have a conversation directly with the person that you're going to go to a reporter and talk about the kind of guy. you know that player is like there are ways to to problem solve that's something that we're

very good at football players are really good at confrontation we're really good at problem solving but it seems like sometimes when there's a quarterback involved everybody tiptoes around it or or worse yet goes to you know a beat reporter or talks to ESPN about what kind of guy the the quarterback is and I just never like anonymous sourcing I'm not saying it's it's you know a sign of organizational decay or like the culture of the team is broken or that sort of thing. But no matter what the anonymous sourcing says, if it came from inside the building, you know, whether it was upstairs people or downstairs people, it's not a great sign, right? I don't like it as a former player. I, you know, I like a little bit more direct communication.

I think you have better results that way. Now, you always have to consider that maybe when anonymous sourcing happens, those avenues have been exhausted, you know, and people have tried that way and now they're they're doing the only thing they know how to do which is go behind the guys back so i on the record i don't like anonymous sourcing when it comes to especially the type of person that a football player is um and honestly this jalen hertz article which came out on ESPN this morning april fools ironically this is not this is not a joke um i don't think it's a nuclear bomb i don't i don't think this is a like from a personal standpoint i don't think it's like a total hit job. Like, I'm objective here. I came away from it as much I don't appreciate the way that

the people going about this thing are going about it. You know, Jalen comes away actually pretty, pretty solidly in this article. I'm, you know, hardworking, extremely hardworking, persevering through coaching changes. You know, Michael Jordan-esque kind of mystique about him when it comes to the way he approaches the game and approaches his work. And that's a something from a distance that I've always appreciated about Jainlin, right? The no nonsense, loving football, it's about winning football games, do whatever it takes. And honestly, reading the article, I don't feel like Superman died. You know, I read the, I read the article twice and yeah, it's a mixed bag, but he's not being accused of being a terrible teammate or an

axe murderer. He's also not the guy that I would imagine is like, you know, commandeering the ox cord, DJing, you know, the team lift or spending time at every, at every fucking cafeteria table in the lunchroom or, you know, hosting team dinners. That's not him and that's okay. And I, when the whole thing with Carson came out, I said, everybody's different. You know, ideally you want your quarterbacks to be able to walk into any corner of a locker room and have a conversation with whoever it is, the 53rd guy on the team, you know, the detackle who just got here, that, that sort of thing. You know, quarterback ideally is very accessible, but leadership comes in different forms and functions.

And, you know, maybe Jalen doesn't fit that bill where he's a little bit more reserved. He's a little bit quieter. He's not the life of the party. That's fucking fine. It's also not a nuclear bomb when it comes to the football stuff that was outlined in this article. And honestly, if you've been watching football, if you've been watching Eagles football with any regularity and you're not watching games in Jalen Hurts pajamas, then none of this stuff is shocking. right it's actually kind of a nothing burger it really is the football there's nothing revelatory in here

unless you don't know what you're looking at respectfully or you're like a fanatic of the player and you're just in denial because some of these things that we've outlined them at length on this show and i think we've done a good job of it without killing the player you know i think everybody knows that that he doesn't like going under center you know and whether that's his preference or not i i i would I think it would be his preference. I think everybody knows he prefers less motion, right? A static picture. You know, he doesn't like turning his back to the defense,

which was outlined in this article. And when I watch football and I watch Eagles football, I believe all this stuff to be true. So, yeah, at least the anonymous sourcing seems to corroborate what I've seen with my eyes watching games. You know, struggles against zone defense. You know, when he was young, I used to say, I mean, this guy throws a beautiful deep ball, especially outside the numbers.

When you got the sideline to work with, I mean, I've said this before, he throws a better deep ball than Patrick Mahomes. And, you know, casual might laugh at me, but it's true. He throws one of the best deep balls in football. He can beat man coverage outside as well as anybody. Now, he's had the athletes as well, but the quality of the football is being delivered. It's fucking chef's kiss, man. This guy can throw, he can throw the fuck out of the football outside the numbers.

And he can beat man coverage, right? even though he stayed away from the middle of the field and that sort of thing, and that's a well-beaten path, but he can get it done throwing against man coverage. He hasn't been as good in zone coverage. And that was outlined in this article. Listen, the guy's 57 and 25. He's Super Bowl MVP. And, you know, depending on how you're using statistics, you know, to make your point, you can put him in elite category. You can use QB wins. You can kind of cherry pick some statistics. I mean, I've been consistent in saying, hey, he ain't a top. top five guy and there's nothing wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with it. And you can win a lot of

football games as evidenced by the last few years of Eagles football without a top five quarterback. And there's a lot of quarterbacks that I respect the fuck out of and have glazed on this show who are not one of them dudes. I know you'll say, well, what if some of them dudes won, right? You know, Burrow doesn't have a Super Bowl. Josh Allen doesn't have a Super Bowl. Lamar Jackson doesn't have a Super Bowl. How are these guys continuing to get the bend of the end of if there's the doubt in some arbitrary, useless exercise of ranking quarterbacks. It is about winning football games, right? Super Bowl MVP, 57 and 25.

You want to mention them with the leads, fine. But here's what I want to see. I want to see the floor raise, right? I want to see the floor raise. And I think anybody who, again, doesn't have a horse in this race, you know, just wants to see the football team succeed or is it analyzing the game. We'll look at this and say, hey, even in their Super Bowl run, His highs are so high.

The performances on the big stage have been so great that at times it's made people forget about some of the stretches in the season where you're like, what the fuck is going on with the passing offense? And that happened in 2024. And it certainly happened last year. I can think the games like Buffalo where they win that game on the road in the rain and they don't have a single passing yard in the second half. So you can act like the passing game is perfect.

fine the way it is. I beg to differ. I disagree. And I think it needs to improve. And I think that's what this article is talking about. So as unfair as anonymous sourcing is, I think they hit on some of the issues that a lot of us have seen watching the Eagles play football and pass the football, namely over the past couple years. So you know, you talk about the floor, the floor needs to raise. Also, if you're going to be an elite quarterback or you're going to have an elite offense, and they did in 2024, that run game was. such a big part of it. But when you talk about a past game, giving defenses the full picture, right? Giving defenses a full day's work at the office in the NFL today amounts to having an

offense that's not static, right? Use a lot of motion. Talk about that in the article. You got to have a quarterback who can get under center, right? Because you still have a lot of concepts, run concepts that have to marry up with those looks. You know, If you're just sitting back there in shotgun, running back will tell you the angles don't add up, right? And play action isn't as big a tool as it would be if you had a quarterback who was willing to turn his back to the defense or take snaps under center.

And over the last five years, 2021 to 2025, they're 32nd in the league in both those things, under center snaps and motion. And those are staples of the NFL game. Now there's offenses. that run it less and more and everybody finds success their own way. But if you're telling me that through five years, and there aren't outliers, it's not like one year,

they didn't run motion at all. The other year they ran it like top 10 in the league. Listen, earlier, and I've said this a number of times, like Jalen Hertz deserves a lot of credit for being as great as he's been throughout his career in the face of a lot of change, adversity, different coordinators. But I'm starting to wonder why those numbers look the way they do over the last five years.

And of course, that's my nice way of saying, I think it's the quarterback. That doesn't make it untrue that he hasn't had to hit the curveball every year with a new coordinator. And he doesn't deserve credit or, you know, doesn't deserve to be lauded

for hitting the curveball. But part of the curveball seems to be that they can never get that thing going. And I look at that and I say, well, it's either Nick Siriana or it's Jalen. And so, you know, he's got his preferences, and that's kind of what comes out in this article. And it's something that when you watch Eagles games, you know.

And I think it's got to change. I do. I think it limits the offense. And I totally get being stubborn. The human element to this is hard for some fans to understand. Because you read this article, and you might think, the guy's so fucking stubborn. He changes the play, right? He wants things the way he wants them.

He's not willing to change. All right, man, guilty is charged as a person, as a football player, right? Like, I've been there. I know how hard it is to change your bread and butter. Because in your mind, this is what got you here. When you sign a big deal, you think, number one, I'm empowered by my work habits, by my preferences, by the things that got me here, right? And I'm also going to be less prone to change. I'm going to be a little bit more prideful and not in an arrogant way, but in a self-preservationist way.

You know, when you think about like somebody coming in every year and they say, hey, I got, I can do things. I got a different idea how to do things. I remember because I had different defensive coordinators, different one coming every year and have, I got a new way to rush. I got a different little way. And it was annoying, you know, but we're asking the quarterback to hang in there as the picture changes momentarily ahead of the snap. We want to run more motion. And we want you to put your hands between Cam Juergen's butt sheet. cheeks and take a snap, right? Because you give the defense a different picture and you give the

running game a whole different dynamic. You give the play action game a whole different dynamic. And it seems like he hasn't been willing to do those things. So that to me is like to be fair, those are the things that I want to see him be more willing to do this year. And he has to. Again, not necessarily arrogant, not necessarily selfish. None of these things like when you're a football player, sometimes you want to dance with the person who brought you to the dance. And like, he probably feels empowered by his career success and what got him that big contract. And he's probably a little bit stubborn. Stubbornness is not always arrogance.

Stubbornness is sometimes being insecure in a very understandable way to where, like, what am I going to do? Now I'm making X amount of millions of dollars and I'm the face of the franchise and the expectations are sky high. It was a Super Bowl MVP. As much that gets the monkey off your back, it also adds pressure. I don't know if I have two, three games to try a different thing. You know, what if going under center doesn't work for me? What if motion fucks the whole deal up? I'm not going to want to stick with it because nobody after the game is going to say, hey, we're working on some new stuff. Jalen Hertz doesn't look like himself because of us coaches.

it's a learning curve it's a process never going to say that once the fucking bullets start flying it's time to go and as a football player you don't get 10 scrimmages right so you kind of stick to your guns you do things the way you you know to do them and so for me like I understand that aspect of jalen hurts his personality but now's the time to change right Sean mannion's brought he's 33 years old it's a hire from outside the building which it hasn't always been, right? It's not an older coordinator, right? You would think maybe an older guy with some authority with some experience. They bring him in. I don't think they're bringing in a guy for Jalen Hertz to walk all over. I think they're bringing in the guy that they believe in schematically.

And he's got a background that kind of looks like, you know, the McVeigh-Shannahan thing, where you're going to see motion. You're going to see under center. You're going to see more of like a true West Coast looking offense. And that's, you know, the McVeigh, shanning thing. And that's, you're going to see motion. And exactly what we asked for in the show. If you remember, we asked for this thing exactly. And so I think the Eagles have said, enough's enough. This is a big year for Jalen Hertz. It's not a contract year, but the math makes it closer to a contract year than it's not. Like, you look at the guaranteed money, it ticks way down after this season. It becomes a lot more manageable to do something else in 2007. And so it's weird.

to be even having this conversation a calendar year removed from the Super Bowl. But the fact that we're having, it means the passing game hasn't always been great, even with all the wins, right? And that's just reality. And so if you want to improve the passing game, you really at this point in the timeline have to say, hey, Jalen, it is not cutting time. We got to do things differently. This is it. That's why Sean Mannion's here. I really believe that. And winning cures all. I'm telling you. And this is to anybody who's coming away from this article and saying, Jalen's a bad guy. He's not a good teammate. He's that dude in 2024 he had a mystique about him, right? The offense starts looking clunkier and the passing, passing game has to win more

ball games in 2025 and all of a sudden that mystique turns into, well, he's not getting along with his, his wide receiver. He doesn't seem to mix it up with the other players. Like, I'm getting tired of the fucking cool sayings at the press conferences, dude. Here's what I think to boil it down as a former player. You can speak in haikus all week and use a Batman voice and be off to yourself. You can be the most different cat in the locker room as long as you execute and win. But when you stop executing, you stop winning, then people come for, the quarterback.

And they start calling the things that they found charming and differentiating and cool in 2024. Jordanesque, you start getting people over analyzing it like, well, he's fucking awkward or he doesn't mix it up with his teammates or, you know, he's hard to get along with this, that, and the third. It's just about execution. It's just about the football, which I thought this article actually hit the nail on the head on the football. The other stuff, I don't like the anonymous sourcing. Again, I think Jalen Hertz has handled himself with a lot of class. And I'm happy he's the quarterback at the Philadelphia Eagles from that standpoint. He seems like a great guy.

Got to change some of the habits, right? The offense has to evolve. Jalen has to evolve. And if he doesn't, then everything's on the table in a year. And I think that's okay. That's the way the league works. So, yeah, interesting article. maybe a slow news week, maybe it's a nothing burger,

but only if you've paid attention, right? And I've been paying attention, and I do think it's a nothing burger. I don't feel any differently about the Eagles this morning than I did last night when I went to bed before the article came out. And you shouldn't either. This is a big year for Jalen Hertz and for the Eagles. So yeah, but before I, Nolan, you had a...

Yeah, so obviously, Chris, we were talking earlier about going into the season with Sean Mannion's system, that McVeigh tree, that Shanahan tree, arguably the most important factor for that system to succeed is going to be Jalen's ability to operate in the middle of the field. And just for the Philly listeners, I was thinking about different ways the Eagles could help him improve in that way, improve that aspect of his game. And I think the Philly listeners will appreciate this. What came to mind for me was the gymnasium at Roman Catholic.

High School. Look at that. So Roman Catholic High School is a high school in Philly, historically great basketball program in the historically great Philadelphia Catholic League. And one of the things that makes Roman iconic is their gym here, as we see pictured, this gym is like over 100 years old. And as you can see, is built very narrow. Like a regulation gym is like 50 feet wide.

This is only about 38. So you cut about six feet in from each sideline. As you can see, the three point line cuts off before you get to the corner. You can't shoot corner threes in this gym because there's no corner on the floor. So I was thinking about this, and I was thinking one of the things the Eagles could do is basically create a practice field that's the football equivalent of the Roman Catholic gym. I think it's brilliant. Just pull the sidelines in into like the numbers. and you create kind of this like horizontally confined space that when you get to a game environment,

it kind of simulates work in the middle of the field. It'll help Jaylen play a little bit faster, work those reads, work those throws. Just spitballing. I think it's fucking funny, dude. At first I was like shocked that there was a basketball gym that looked that way. And then as it applies to the Eagles offense, like this is something we've been harping on for a while, which is like, hey, I want to see you work in the middle of the field. And I think, you know, like of all the things we talked about, there's a lot of window

dressing that comes into it but you know like even if you didn't change the under center stuff to the degree that we probably want or you know you didn't have the uptick in in motion like just the willingness to work that area the field has been missing and uh you saw i mean san francisco finished the year playing a lot of zone coverage against those guys right and you know teams that just sat back there and played zone week in and week out made it hard on the eagles and uh a lot of it was the middle of the field. Like, and so yeah, like I think it's a funny fucking concept, but they should shrink their practice field at least one day a week and say it's almost

like, hey, we, we situational football, the field just shrunk in half. Yep. Situational football. It's like it's kind of like red zone logic almost where red zones, you know, vertically can find this would kind of shrink it horizontally. Cost efficient too. You could probably fit two of those fields, you know, in the space that you fit one and a that's pretty fucking funny too complex i don't know if

eagles fans are going to like this as an idea but as a former player i mean i could see this you know in all seriousness they they could probably uh they could probably stand to gain something from trying to work in a confined space because sometimes like the access that he has with that arm talent outside the numbers and the way he throws that ball um and and the athletes can go up to get it sometimes it's just and you know it shows up in a lot of those situations the end of the green bay game was referenced in this article. And we were sitting there going, what the fuck are you doing?

Nick? And it turns out that the illusion in the article is to the fact that Jalen called, you know, AJ's number, which some fans were keen on when it happened. But yeah, like you have to be confident that in some of these got to have it situations, no, I'm going to go to Goddard in the middle of the field

or, you know, I know AJ caught a fuck ton of slants, but that's not what I'm really talking about. Like where are the digs? Where are the seam balls? And I'm not talking about throwing into, you know, down the seam versus four verts with the game on the line against San Francisco. I'm talking about sitting back there and work in the middle of the field. Think you know college basketball? Prove it by predicting which teams will cover the spread in the tournament for a chance to win bonus bets.

How to get this offer in three easy steps. One, enter the March Madness matchups, $500,000 pick them free to play game. Two, pick which teams you think will cover the spread in each round of the tournament. Three, if you get the most right that round, you'll win a share of bonus bets. Please make sure to read our full terms and conditions before participating in this promotion. And if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use Bonus Code Greenlight at signup to receive our welcome offer. BetMGM, make it legendary. You take creatine, Nate?

I do now. Yeah. You know who doesn't take creatine? who's that Rob Ninkovich you can tell the way I threw him around in San Francisco Hey Niko You you impressed me

You got a nice quick My back still feels it Having to wrestle with that motherfucker He always wants to wrestle But he doesn't know I take Create creatine So it doesn't just help you stay strong I really have always had trouble

Keeping weight on Like even when I played I used to go weigh in with like two and a half pound plates But now I don't have to do that I just take create gummies and I've increased doses like to the seven to 10 grams a day range. I'm not a doctor, but it's one of the most studied supplements of all time. And it's not just good for muscle retention for performance in the gym. You know, your boy's 40 now.

So I really need my creatine. It's also good for cognition. I really will take it sometimes in the afternoon and feel a lot better. You know, that last night before I went out on like fumes, I, I popped a couple create gummies. I felt nice and strong in the club. I felt wide awake. I felt like cognitively.

I could have done anything I needed to do. I thought I could have solved a fucking Rubik's Cube. Joe Tooney walks up. He's like, hey, can you do this? Yeah, I took my gummies today. So anyways, it's a good habit. I feel great when I'm on it. And these are tasty gummies.

Healthy brain, cognitive effects as I get older, very important. muscle maintenance, keeping this physique. You know what I'm saying? Your physique looks great, Chris. Your physique looks phenomenal. Thanks. You too. Thank you.

Thank you. So anyways, that's Eagles news. Now we'll get on to the Pene Soule thing because this is a little bit of O-line stuff before we're getting to Trey Smith. But I thought this was interesting this week, that Pene Soule probably moves to left tackle this year. They were talking about it with the line

and I haven't read much about this outside of the idea. I mean, I've seen a couple of takes in the aftermath of this thing, which I think were a little bit boiled down where people were just like, you know, I don't understand why you switch, you know, sides for a guy like, you know, especially in the NFL now, which I think is a good point, that Wright tackle is no longer like the, you know, the place for the mauler. Like when I got in the league, Wright tackle was the place for the maller, the big heavy-handed guy who's not as good in past,

maybe because traditionally the right ends the little run up the field guy left ends are more we're dinosaurs right we're we're going to deal with the three man surfaces the big wings the the traffic the big fucking physical tackle well things have changed a little bit you know lane johnson's a perfect example lane johnson's in my opinion the best pass blocker of this mini generation this little 10 year span like him Trent Williams guys like that but lane plays right tackle right and there's been some great right tackles in pass pro. There's also been your Joe Thomas's, and before him there was the, you know, it was like the Orlando Paces and, you know, the, I'm trying to think of who the Walter Jones

is of the world, like the guys that you just stuck over there, the pro Jonathan Ogdens, right? Nowadays, it doesn't matter as much which side you play because there's great rushers on the left, great rushes on the right. And yeah, there is some necessity to it where if Decker is not on the team next year, you might kick him over because he has experience there and he knows he's actually pretty good over there and like this has been a plan that's been in the works for the Detroit lines for some years now.

Like the transition was always supposed to be Petey moving to left tackle. And maybe they see a guy in the draft that they really like or a couple guys that they really like that they can slot in it right tackle. Whatever the motivation is. And you know, some people might say, why haven't they moved Lane Johnson to left tackle?

in Philly. Well, I think a lot of it is because you think about a place like Philly, you know, you had Jason Peters and, you know, Big V played a little bit when he was hurting that sort of thing, and Big V was a big part of our Super Bowl team, but we transitioned pretty quickly to Jordan Milata. And ever since then, they've had a left tackle, so you really don't have to fix what isn't broke. But I will say this. There's an interesting deal with the Lions moving Penn A to left tackle, and that is that he's such a dominant run blocker and Jared's so immobile to get him on the move, you got to boot him out sometimes.

You know, that's a big part of an offense, like being able to boot your quarterback out. And if you think about Jared Goff, right-handed quarterback, you're going to boot him out back to his throwing hand, right? So you're going to go run action left. He's going to turn his back to the defense, whip around and fire a strike on like a crossing route. moving left to right, right?

And I haven't looked up their efficiency running the ball left, but I'm pretty sure it's not been as good as running the ball to the right because of Penae Soe and how dominant of a run blocker he is. Him being on the left side of the offensive line, and I'm not saying this is why they're doing it, but this is something to look out for. It just keeps defenses more honest on run left action and sets up the play action even better

when it comes to those rollouts. that types of those types of things. So I do think that's at the very least, you know, a positive, a positive element to them moving penny to the left side is you can kind of sync things up with the run pass action on boots and rollouts and that sort of thing. And Jared's not getting any faster, right? So you prefer to make it easy for him. I think it's an interesting deal. As a rusher, most of us have sides that we prefer for me being on the left edge was I mean shit it took me two years to end up primarily on the left side and my play wasn't nearly as good on the right side as a rookie and it's a second year player and I can tell you when I was an eagle late in my career like brandon

graham was he was so awesome and accommodating because he could play up and down the line that was one thing that was very very different about brand and graham he could play inside he could play outside he could rush to the right he preferred the left but he was he could play up and he could play up and He was somebody that was a great teammate and let me rush on the left. And I say all that to say, you know, most of us have sides we prefer. Maybe Pena Sewell's preference is the left side. And he's just been playing a little bit left-handed on the right side. You know, that's one possibility.

Or maybe he's just ampedexterous. You know, there's certain guys that it doesn't matter. But I think it's going to be interesting to see if his play changes or if that offense changes a great deal with him playing left tackle. So without further ado, here's Trey Smith, get your O-line fix, and I hope everybody has a great weekend. The locals landline question of the week presented by Zone. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical underage sales prohibited. Y'all know I'm a bit more selective with my nicotine pouches these days.

So for me, the quality of the pouch is what I prioritize, which is why I'll pop in a zone wintergreen. one six milligram is all I need every few days whether I'm kicking back and watching ball floating the river with the crew or breaking down film ahead of a show zone easily gets me locked in with its smooth feel and a variety of flavor zone is always on our game day roster whether you like a fresh mint flavor or you're in a citrus flavor check out their roster of options and use promo code gL20 at nicocake.com slash zone for 20% off at checkout all right we have we have with us a very special guest. Somebody my brother play with briefly, but somebody we enjoy watching play for the Kansas City Chiefs, offensive guard,

the enforcer of that group up front for at Chief's offensive line, Trey Smith, Trey's joining us now from Texas. What's up, Trey? What's up, brother? How are you doing? I'm good, man.

The first thing I got to get off my chest is your Valls knocked my Wahoos out of the damn tournament, Virginia. And I'm wondering if you enjoyed watching that. yeah dude it was uh it's a good feeling you know watching them watching them do their thing uh it was rough yesterday or whenever they played out yeah the wolverines man damn but uh you know it's good to watch

him go far i like uh i like rick barnes a lot man he's a really good guy and coach he's a beast dude and you y'all got one kid carry that i didn't know he was uh he was second generation NFL and it's no wonder because the power forward for y'all's team is he's huge bro yeah he's built like a football player. I was, it's funny you say, I was literally joking with my buddy on the college watching the game.

Like, dude, it just geeks me out. Every time I watch him play, I'm like, this guy should be a fucking tight end. He shouldn't be a tight end, dude. This guy's being a tight end. He shouldn't be on the court.

But he's good. He's a good player. He's a beast. I think he's got a brothers in the G league too. So, so yeah, I'm hoping at least my kids will have some basketball skills

that don't have to do what we did for a living. So a little bit easier gig. But yeah, man, so you've got, you've got a different kind of off season. you know, for a Kansas City Chief, I mean, since you've been in the league, you're used to making those deep runs. And I guess I'll start there. Like, what is it like to start your offseason in January?

Obviously, you don't want that to be the case. But have you gotten more out of your offseason? Have you been able to have a kind of a winning edge with the longer time you've had off your feet this offseason? Yeah, man, definitely a weird feeling. You know, I've been, I guess, spoiled in a way. I've only known AFC championship games like the earliest I've gone home. So now I have playoffs this year.

It leaves you in sort of an awkward spot. I think the best part is just it gives you ample time to get your body right, address certain things that have been messing with you for a while. And they're really just like the mental clarity to just step away from it, you know, and just really regroup a little bit. All right, what do I need to be better at here?

How am I deficient in my game? So just giving you time and just sort of take a deep breath, step back, enjoy life a little bit before you got to go back to it. but I'm going to say this. It's not a feeling that I want to experience a lot at the rest of my career, like, ever again. We've got a certain standard, but there are some benefits to it in terms of a mental reset. I mean, I don't know about rest of my teammates.

I can speak for myself personally. I'm fired up to get back to work, you know, to go prove it once again, man, to go have another opportunity better. I mean, I felt like last year I didn't play nearly as good as I wanted to. I didn't play my best ball. You kind of play, I mean, this is a compliment. You play like it's a street fight in there in the B gap, dude. and we love your style. And I wonder for you especially, because of the physical nature, the way you play, in a normal

chief season that runs into February, how long is it until your body's right? You know, does it take, you know, a couple weeks or a couple months? Yeah. I mean, honestly, man, it's probably taking about like two months every time. During that time, you start, really, when you start training again, you get the mask on and just like some of the things that, all right, damn, my finger doesn't hurt as bad, you like my uncle's not cracking while I wake up in the morning so it takes a while I feel like the first month I usually just like eat bad I just I crash out man yeah yeah what do you got to yeah what's your what's your just total cheap meal like what's your ideal cheap meal yeah um in general bro I'm gonna go to a steak house every time and get like a 16 ounce a pound steak like rib eye bashed potatoes you know mass potatoes you know I can cheese all the fixings, bro, go crazy.

If I'm at home and I'm really just feeling like being lazy and fat, bro, I'm getting a whole pizza. Probably like a 30-piece wing on top of that and something sweet to finish it off. Well, that's how you work out, man. Have you been to Travin and your quarterback's new steakhouse yet? Yeah, yeah, 1587. So, like, he had a little friends and family event. He and Patrick did.

So I was able to go down there pretty early, man. Food's really good. I'm not saying that because I'm biased. Like, there's a dude for us with steakhouse is a lot, man. Like it's a really, really good spot, top notch, man. And I, dessert wise, man, I had a piece of chocolate cake and a cookie. So like, you know what crazy. All I know, dude, is you guys, at O. Lyman, you're protecting your quarterback all season.

You guys got to have some sort of like free meal for life card at that place. Yeah, you don't have to pay there, do you? I mean, you know, it's still a business, bro. That's crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. But how about the news? Traves coming back.

I mean, probably not news to you, but to us on the Out of the Out of the Alibs. outside. It was like, it just felt like, it felt like for us over the last couple of years, we were like, is this the farewell tour? Is this the farewell tour? Like, but baby internally, y'all knew that he had a lot left in the tank. And certainly the way he played, especially in the playoffs every year, to me, signaled that he could keep playing. Are y'all real excited about having Travis back? Man, I'm fired up. I love trap, man. Like, just a source of energy, a great leader. Just a friend, a teammate, man. Like, beyond all that, like, just a good human being, man.

Like, it's been an honor and a pleasure just to play with the guy. But just to see the intensity of which he works, how much it means to him, how much he cares about the game, the passion he comes with every single day. He's done in the building. Like, it doesn't surprise me that he's back. You know, obviously, he's a competitor. And I speak for myself, man, a lot of times last season where we didn't feel great. And, you know, as a competitor, you don't want to feel that again, right? You want to still reach that precedent.

The penultimate position where, we're like, man, we're back in the Super Bowl. We're lifting the Lombardi up, man. you know, we're winning games. And for me, I feel like he probably didn't feel great and he wanted to come back and prove it again. Because that's why he's going to be a Hall of Fame. That's why he's Travis Kelsey, man. Like, he's always playing with something to prove. So for me, I'm fired up.

I'm fired up to have our leader back, man, a road dog, man, warrior, a veteran presence. But, like, more importantly, like, Trave just makes it fun, bro. Like, it's just fun to play football with Travis fucking Kelsey in the huddle, going crazy, doing crazy stuff, making plays. Like, the guy just makes it fun and it makes it infectious to be around. know, speaking of familiar faces back in the Kansas City building, you got Eric Bien to be coming back. I think the outside perception is that he's kind of a tough coach. He'll get on you about shit and, you know, really keep those detail, you know, like detail oriented and all that. Is that your experience with him or how's he been, you know, what do you, you know, how do you see him as a coach?

Yeah, EB is a guy, man. Just a guy, like you said, I think accountability is like the word. I always think about with him, man, like, he's going to light you up. You know, if you're wrong, if you ain't doing right, if you're not giving the right amount of effort, or if he sees potential in you and you're not living up to, he's going to let you know. And I think that's one of the best things I appreciate about him. Always keeps him 100, always keeps it completely honest.

He's going to be brutally honest, too. But I think as a player, man, if you want to be great, you don't want a coach that's going to be just buddy, buddy all the time, just letting you, you know, go out there and BS around. You want someone that's going to be like, man, I know how great you can be. I know how a player you can be. I'm going to try to get the most out of you.

I'm trying to get you at your best every single time. So for me, I always respected that. Always enjoyed playing, working for EB. Super fired up to have him back. I know the level of intensity, the pride, you know, the toughness that comes with it, the detail oriented, the orientedness that comes with having an Airbnb as your OC. So really fired up, man, really decided to get back to work with him. Yeah, that detail-oriented kind of thing seemed to be his kind of calling card.

And in an offense like yours where there's so many moving parts and pieces, like being on the details has to be so important. And, you know, obviously you could probably feel. feel like the details were slipping a little bit last year. Like, what do you attribute that to? Is it just because when you, when you watch your team, I actually thought you were better than the year before's offense. Like, I don't know if you felt that way I heard Travis say something to allude to that,

but maybe some of the details got away. Like, what do you think was the thing that kept the sum of the parts from adding up to a win week in and week out? Well, I can only speak for myself, bro. Like, I feel like just being accountable every single play. You know what I mean? Being at your best, being sharp on your details. Like, that's the most important thing.

I mean, you understand. You guys have played at the highest level. Like, the margin for winning and losing is so small, and especially in a play in NFL, man. Like, it could be stepping so far this way, you know, stepping underneath yourself, being overextended. Like, that gets your beat, right? Well, you sum all that up in the culmination of all the bad players

or bad little misses here or there, small details. Like, hey, fuck and I'll do this, you know, and it adds it to a winner or a loss, man. A lot of times I feel like we just weren't as sharp as we needed to be. And once again, I can speak for myself. there are a lot of times in my game. I could have been better for my team. So I think with the sum of all guys working together,

we all just start identifying different ways. We're like, man, we'd be better here. Hey, at practice, we can do this. Or, hey, it was as simple as like off-season program. We finish a drill. We do it this way. Like, it all adds up in the long term, man, for winning and losing. You know, I've been on Super Bowl winning teams to, you know,

to a point where we haven't made the playoffs and, like, be able to see those small differences, man. It's just into the details, man. You got to be better. Where do y'all go through, you know, week 15 this season, where Patrick goes down and you all miss the playoffs in one week, that has to be the most sobering kind of week or day in Kansas City football since you've been on the team.

Like, what was the tone? Obviously the tone in the locker room is probably one thing that day. But in the following weeks, as you go into the offseason where the reality kind of sinks and says, guys, we've got our work cut out for us. But there's work to be done and we can do it. Like, was there that kind of sense by the end of the season before exit meetings? Yeah, I mean, you know, going back to that, like, I don't like to speak on injuries for any of my other teammates. But, like, you know, obviously, you know, Pat being our leader, quarterback, man, the guy, the best in the league, you know, that hurts, man, like, in many different ways.

Understand that he's one of the best competitors I've ever had a pleasure to be around in my career just in life, period. So, one, I know he's attacking rehab. He's going to be back 1,000 percent. He's not even better. That's his type of guy he is. But, you know, it's obviously, it's dark, man. Like, you don't want to see any of your teammates really get hurt. Like, y'all know the feeling, man.

Like, you don't want to see somebody go out there and really injure themselves. And I understand the road to recovery that comes with that. But also, man, just the point where we were in the season, you know, it's tough. You know, you've lost that many games. Like I said, I've been spoiled in NFL. I never lost that many games before. So in a way, it's like a sobering experience where it's like, well, damn, man, here's a taste of what it's like to be in the NFL, bro.

It's not all roses and stuff, man. Like, it's always going to go your way. But I think as a team, man, just trying to find a way to find a way to, finish the season strong, you know, having pride in how you play or what you represent, you know, the shield, what's on your helmet, like, just trying to understand, you know, as a man, you got to come out there with pride, you got to give it your best foot. And, you know, obviously come to the off season. I mean, that's a big motivator, man, like, I don't want to experience that again.

So what can I do every single day to prevent that? How can I beat my best for my team, my work? Yeah. And what's it like having Patrick Mahomes as a quarterback behind you? I remember we interviewed Tristan Worst one time on the podcast, and he was talking about how when he had Tom Brady back there, he's like, I can't, I can't fuck up. like I can't get Tom hit like that's my guy he's the best you know to ever do it I'd imagine it's a similar feeling you having having 15 behind you is it just heighten your level of awareness

and kind of raise your play or what's that been like for you yeah I put it like this man I've lost a lot of fucking nice to sleep I'm getting them hit bro like it's uh remember when I first started playing like rookie year I started and just like damn I got a I got a blopper pat my homes man like I got to make sure I'm sharp like damn this team just won a Super Bowl not too long ago so it's like that added stressor and pressure it's a good thing that's a good thing that's a good thing at the end of the day because it causes you to perform at the highest level and really tune in your stuff man not just go out there on BS but um for me man I think it was a big adjustment um coming from college to the pro especially playing with a guy like pat

um one you're not going to find dudes like that ever and then two it's just like dude i had to learn to block for a fucking long time and not necessarily know where he's going to be at because he's going to extend the play because he might get pressured he might roll out a certain way and give you like the craziest throw you ever seen in your life like so for me our line coach uh andy heck would always tell me especially at early age like man don't let the egg timer in your head go off like this dude is the best extending plays no matter what happens like he's going to get it done so like however long it takes to block the dude you got to just fucking do it because it's pat he's going to make a play happen so uh it's been an adjustment but i would honestly say man he makes

it easy like in terms of calls pressure identifying defensive blitzes like you know it's sort of that two-sided thing where it's like yeah it's tough because he can be rolling out here, you can be here, you never know where he's going to be at, but at the same time, he's going to make the craziest plays you've ever seen,

and he's Mr. Clutch. Like, who else would you rather have behind you? You know what I mean? So, to me, it's worth it, man. Wouldn't trade for anybody. It changes things for tackles, right? As a rusher, you know, former edge rusher, like, playing a guy like Patrick from home

changes drop target constantly. And so I'm empathetic to the tackles, but, like, for you as a guard, like, what is the difference? I mean, are you a little bit more selective about your jump sets or, Like, what do you do differently blocking for Patrick? And the second part of the question would be,

how do you guys get realistic looks all off season as he rehabs? You know, because when he comes back, obviously nobody plays a position like him. I would say for me, man, you know, as an interior lineman, like we're always responsible for the depth of the pocket. So I think just aggressive setting a lot of times, holding it firm, because like you said, if he does get flushed by a tackle or something,

he needs to step up and have the room to make the throw. So I think just trying to master that aggressive jump set. that's been like a big piece of having success for me. And I would say this off season, it's going to be different, man. You know, not having your field general out there, the dude is sort of directing traffic, getting used to his cadence and things of that nature. Luckily for me, I've been six years with him, bro.

So like, I sort of know what it's like. I think the harder adjustment is having a guy step into the system, trying to speak the same language that you've adapted to and that you're used to matching cadences and rhythms and things of that nature. That's going to be the difficult portion and part of it. I think when Pat gets in, it's sort of like for him, at least it's like riding the bike, man. Like the guy is built to be NFL quarterback. That's not an issue.

For us, I feel like it's more so being in tune and learning the next guy, you know, trying to work a training camp under another guy's cadence or understanding what he's meaning when he's declaring or calling something out within the system as he's still trying to learn the verbiage that we're used to it from Patrick. So it's an adjustment thing. But I think over time, man, we'll be fine. I'm not worried about Pat at all, man. Like I said, like he's the best in the game. When he gets back, we're rolling. It's a lot of fun to watch and play. And, you know, it was also fun watching.

I know it was like the O-Lines changed a lot because you come in on that group that wins a Super Bowl. You've got Joe Tooney as kind of a mentor. That's great. And like now you're one of the leaders. Like you're one of the vets, right? And, you know, there's younger guys coming along. I thought it was fun to watch Kingsley improve through the year. And I thought, you know, I'm not going to ask you anything BS about Josh Simmons's absence.

But I thought what I saw, the guy's fucking, the sky's a limit with him. Am I missing something? Or is he that fucking, he can be that good. No, you're not missing anything. The dude is just so freaking talented. I think it's like it's cool to see really, really talented alignment. Like Joe's the sort of the same way where it's like, Joe, how the fuck are you winning on Pass bro? Like what is your technique?

He's just like, I don't know, bro. Just go out there and do it, low hips and take small steps. And it's like, Joe, that's not fucking helped me. Like, how are you doing this? bro. Like, he doesn't lose, right? So, like, when you get a guy like Josh Simmons, when it's like, okay, here's the rookie that we draft

and okay, you know, first couple days in training camp. You know, you see a move and workouts and things of that nature, but, you know, anyone can lift like a million pounds or be fast, you know, workouts. It doesn't really translate. Tarzan plays like Jane, you know, but for him, man, it's like I remember in training camp, it was one of our

first one-on-one. It was not their name he was gone up against. But guy, it was like a wide nine, it was one-on-one. Like, he came with a mean, long arm, and, like, Josh picked him up and stood still. I remember watching it on, like, in film, and we all were just, like, laughing. Because it's just like, how the fuck did you just do that?

Like, there's a full charge, and you picked him up and stopped, but you made it look easy. A couple kicks, boom. And we're just like, how are you, you know? But it's cool seeing a guy that sat talented, that has that God-given innate ability that you're just sitting there thinking like,

dude, if I did that, I'd probably, like, break my hip. or like my step would explode. Like you're doing things and making it simple. And like we're telling you what you're doing. And so I don't think you fully understand like how talented you could be. But man, for me as an older guy, I think I just want to give him as much support, as much confidence and as much life I can breathe into them.

Because I know what type of players it can be. I know the talent level that I'm seeing. I know how rare it is to see that, man. Like it's rare to see a young cat play at that level, you know, and do it that well, especially early on. He reminded me off the rip, and this is high praise, and I don't like comps because I do him anyways, but, you know, they're not exact signs. But Tyrant Smith, the way he set and like his agility and kind of his build reminded me of Tyrant Smith. And to me, I was like, well, no matter what happens, he's going to be pretty good if he reminds me to T. Smith, because that dude's unbelievable.

And, yeah, like the time we got to see him play, it really did confirm. for me what a lot of people suspected is that if he's healthy and he's in the building all year, man, y'all's unit up front's just going to be better and better. Did it? Andy Heck. Got to be one of the best coaches in football. And funny thing about Andy Heck was 2003,

which, I mean, that sounds like a long time ago. Drake was probably like four years old. Yeah, he recruited at Virginia. And he was my recruiting coordinator right before he jumped to the league. But, you know, fast forward all this time. He's got to be one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL in one place and one position. Talk to what makes him great as a coach.

Like what kind of a teacher is he? Yep. Yep. I think, like, you know, having a coach like Andy Heck, especially as a young player, was like the best thing that could happen for my career in terms of building a great foundation that can carry me for the rest of my playing career. In terms of, like, the system when you get in, having someone as regimented as him that takes an approach. I think more importantly, Chris, like, man, having someone that's like,

played the game at a high level, first round draft pig, played for like 12 years, played the same position, can speak the language. Also can speak to the lifestyle. You know what I mean? I understand what it's like

to go out there, trying to block a three tech or third and long, man. You understand, hey, they know what's coming. You know what I mean? So it's just like not getting the unrealistic expectations

and the horror stories that I hear about a lot of guys across the league and their own line coaches. And I think his approach is very unique. I mean, one of the best things about Coach Hack is how he is on game day. man like he's not a raw raw get in your face overly you know anxious all this crazy emotional

energy he's here he's systematically ready to understand okay what just happened on that play how can we be better here how do we address this man like it's great man it's great to play with the technician it's great to play under a guy who really understands the lifestyle understands position and what comes with it um like i said i mean the proofs and the pudding look at some of the guys he's coached he's a joe more um a tree guy you know learning from that guy and you know in game. So it's a great thing. It's a great gift in a way really to have him as an O-line coach.

There are a lot of technical special situations I've been able to confide and ask him his opinions on. And, you know, like I said, I think sometimes in the league now, just hearing horror stories across, like, there are a lot of dudes that might not be up to par in terms of what

they're trying to coach and deliver, man. For us, it's not us, man. So I'm blessed, bro. You are blessed, bro. You are blessed, bro. Like, the thing like me and Bo always talk about, and dudes, D-Lyman, we talk about it a lot. But, like, I'm sure it exists in no line rooms. Coaches that like to leave the gray area gray. So then when something goes wrong, they say, well, I didn't teach him to do that.

I can point the finger right at you, you know? You know what I'm saying? Like, it's a blessing to have a coach that is willing to answer any question. Yeah. And be crystal clear. And the thing you said about being a player is, like, and there's a lot of great coach. is it did not play. I'm not discounting them. You know, like, but to say, I've, I know what that set feels like.

Yeah. I know what anchoring on a bulrush feels like. I know what swiping somebody's hands feels like, you know, like, just all that stuff, man. It's great to have an Andy Heck. Yeah, and you, I mean, you mentioned all the good players that he's coach. This is a name that came up earlier, but Joe Tuny. I played with him in New England. That was before you guys were in Kansas City together.

He won the Protector of the Year Award. The big part of that was his ability to bump out and play left tackle. very impressive i don't think the average fan understands how hard that is is that something that you think you could do tray smith could you bump out out on that island and play play tackle like that well we're in a bad spot if i have to uh shit got bad dude we're in a bad spot but uh yeah man i'm i'm a believer bro like in college i had to play a position except for center and it's like man if your name gets called your team needs you to go do something you got to go do it you know i mean um even i mean unfortunately sometimes to your detriment bro or it's like i know i know i'm not

greatest tackle. We got to go finish this game out. You know, there's no one else I can do it. And I'm primed in the best position to go do it. So that's why one of the things about Joe, man, that, like, once again, makes him one of the best alarm that I've ever been around. Man, just the willingness and the ability to go out there when we needed him.

I mean, I look at what he did in his last season with us where, man, in what, 11 days we played three games. He had to go against T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, the Neil Hunter, Will Anderson. and hey, a guy named Miles Garrett was pretty good. The first game wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Dude, we were sitting there like, holy shit.

Imagine somebody's like, hey, this week you got to play tackle. This week it's Miles Garrett week. Like, what? Yeah, man. So it's just like, bro, you got to have the willingness to go do it. But man, it takes a special dude to go do that, bro. Did you ever see him solve a Rubik's Cube? No, but it wouldn't shock me if you could do it like a minute or something.

Yeah, does it easy. He's like a, yeah, he's like a genius or something. Great dude. Yeah, I got to cross over with him in New England too when he was a young guy. You could just tell he's going to play a million years. So we talked about blocking for Patrick Mahomes, all the perks of that, but also some of the challenges like you see Kenneth Walker coming to town. He's a great back.

He's also a very patient back. Yep. What's it like blocking for a more patient runner? Like have you run through that in your head and like the pros and cons of blocking for a guy that might take a minute back there, but he's going to find that that gap. Yeah, no, it's going to be exciting, man. I wasn't really super familiar with this game. I obviously watched the Super Bowl, and one of the things that stood out, like,

watching it was like, damn, dude, he's patient. Like, he's letting him read, he's running to develop. And I kept thinking about, like, Labion Bell, like the way he used to run. It was like remission to that, right? Where it's like, it's almost goofy. Like, you're walking up. Oh, I'm hitting it. You know, you see that.

I think, like, one of the best indicators for a great back, especially in time when you're a run game. and someone has the vision but also the patience. Like the patience is so important. Like a block in the beginning might not be going the right way. The defender might be playing in a certain way. But I can always tune it to the scheme that I'm doing, understanding where the ball's going to go.

So at the back and I are on that same plane in our thinking, and he's letting my block to go up. He's like, okay, I know with Trey, he's probably going to be a little more aggressive on the front side of his mid zone. He's going to square him up. And based on the defender plays, if he can get that, he's going to get it.

The guy's working hard at the top. I know he's going to peel. them out and understand those tendencies, man, it just makes you that much better instead of a guy that's like, okay, I know I'm getting that front side B gap, I'm chasing that side leg of the tackle, I'm putting my head down. There's a time to place for both of them, you know what I mean? But I think having that ability to read it out, let your blocks develop. One, it makes us a hell of a lot better. Even though we're not doing anything special. But like, you know, in tandem, bro, like you can work at least with a unit when you're O-line and your running back. And, man, you both can do you great. You both can have a really good established run game. So I'm excited, bro. I think the sky's the limit for them, bro. obviously we know he is a MVP caliber guy from the Super Bowl like I'm hyped I'm ready let's get it done and and the other side of that is a lot of explosive runs in Seattle that were due in large part to his patience and to you know like it just when you threaten edges with a back when a back's willing to bounce and good at it it really changes the way we play and you know and I also think like the explosives which you guys will hopefully have a lot more of, I guess I should put it in a question for him. What's it like when you're on a drive and you peel off a 23-yard run? Do you sense that fatigue and that kind of feeling like we just got punched in the mouth when you get to the line in the next play? Because that's how it feels.

So you're going to have more of those explosive runs. How important are those explosives in putting together drives and wearing people down? Yeah, I think it's huge, man, just like that, that boom, boom, bang, just constantly beating on someone. and getting that pop, you know, it's like, okay, that's a 30-yard. I remember in college speaking about it. Like, in Tennessee, one, you know, we didn't have a lot of big games or big wins, but when we had explosive runs, the whole feel your offensive line changes, right? But I know I listen to a guy like Steve Hutchinson who talked about, man,

you make defenders earn the right to rush the passer, right? And that ability is, you know, having established run game, you know, having a run game where you can wear it down on the opponent. Like I said, we have that big pop, like you said, that 20-yard or plus, whatever it is, it is a little demoralizing to the defense. Now they're okay, well, whose gap is that? Like, hey, don't get your ass. You know what I mean?

Linebackers are now pointing out the Devens alignment. Why are you driven back into me? Now they're a little bit of infighting, bickering, man. A little bit of salt doubt starts to creep in. But for us, it's confidence. It's like, hell, we just brought a 15-yarder. Hey, let's do it again. That's the most moralizing shit, dude.

I was a noseguard, man. And if you get a team that's just running duo down your face for like five or six yards of pop, it is the worst thing. All of a sudden, then your de-coordinator gets a little antsy, starts blitzing you know then you know you're a man then you get some deep shots you just feel like you can't do anything right so everybody you you said it like it's funny that y'all can feel that like when you roll up to the line like you can feel the discord among us where it's like hey well come downhill get this double team off me or like what's up on you gap you know you look at it it really

does feel like you got hit in the mouth in a boxing match and and you know as great as y'all's offense is i just think about that pairing of having that great back back there yeah it's it'd be pretty fun to watch. The thing I'm interested to hear about, too, Trey, is, you know, when I watch your guys' offense, especially, you know, Andy Reid, what a fucking legend he is, but the screen game, too. So I'm excited to see about, you know, how you guys can get your, your rush game going and then paired up with the screen game in tandem. What's it like when I've heard stories of Andy Reid coaching up a screen and how dialed he is on that? What's it like sitting in those screen meetings? Yeah, man, it's completely different.

He teaches it what you differently ever on right. The anyone I've ever been around, man. Like a lot of times for me, especially before I got to the cheese, screens were like panic plays. It's like, all right, I've got to figure out a way to convince this dude it's not real. Ditch him in like a badass way. Then let me like haul ass because I'm already slow. So I get to the point I'm supposed to be at where I just like whiff, you know, on a DVD who just cuts the play and blows it off. But for him, you know, listen to how he taught it, man, and then trying to internalize into your own system. It's so simple.

You know, it's so simple when you listen how he breaks it down. down, you know, obviously the art of dishing the guy, you know, sudden I'm real. But like, once you get to your landmark, just go straight vertical, dog. But you got all these Hercules plays, just go straight. The back will make you right. He'll set it up for you. So I think just simplifying it just allows you to play that much faster, that much more confidence, man. And just like letting it develop is just so much easier, man.

Whereas like systems in the past, like I said, it's just panic, bro. I'm not even out of athletic to begin with. Like, now I'm over here whipping in space. Like, come on. I don't know, man. You look pretty fast. on film when you're running down some poor fucking 200 pound soul

out there that's about to get speed bumped. I don't know if it's how big you are but you look pretty fast out there. Speaking of fast guys, I just saw a thing where Xavier Worthy is supposedly putting on some muscle, man. He's getting strong

this off season. Chiefs fans are going to want to know. Is that true? He's got an extra 5, 10 pounds on him or something. Yeah, I saw a couple of his Instagram videos. He's looking a little bit bigger, man. Graham, that. Looks like he's a little bigger, man. He could be third tripping, dude.

He could be self-promoting. I got to see him on the scale, but like, the first time I ever see him touch the ball, it's one of those things where I'm like, I don't remember much from each season. They kind of run together. Yeah. But I'll never forget seeing him run with the football. Like, was there a sense of, like, wait until you see him on the field? Like, you get through training camp and you're waiting to see his number called in a game.

What was it like for you to see him kind of unleash that? speed. It's dope, man. I mean, obviously having the fastest man in the NFL, it's already cool. With that badge, you know what I mean? Come up into the league like that. That's wild.

But, man, just watch him in training camp, watch him do certain things. I mean, obviously the speed is like what he's known for, but it's like, dude, like you said, when it was a Ravens game, he takes that reverse and takes to the touchdown with the crib. It was just like, damn. Like, hey, this guy's going to be here for a long time.

He's so young, but like the talent is so evident. And really excited, bro, to play with a guy like that, man. It's cool, bro. like a lot of guys in receiving court some crazy athletes when you start looking at it but ex is so cool bro like very chill laid back cat but like man when he's out there man it's fun to play with him 21 yards it happened like that i've never gone holy shit is that a car like i've never seen anything like that it was crazy um yeah and and then the other guy uh richard smith i feel like he's going to get more touch i mean obviously he's going to get more touches as he goes but i feel

he's a guy that people can be pretty excited about seeing getting the ball back there because every time he touches the ball I feel like something good's going to happen. Completely underrated man. Like I love him, man. He's super hungry to be great. Very fun to be around once again. The level of dedication he had to me before even did walkthroughs, he'd always be out with one of our assistant coaches getting work in.

But just really aside for his development. But talking about someone who's got speed and he's talented too, man. Like, bro, he can really punch it, bro. And it's time for him to go. He goes. So we have a lot of, dude, we have a lot of speedy fast. players looking at it, especially young guys too. Hell yeah, dude. Well, I mean,

that's a little unfair for you guys to have the best play caller in the game and all the fastest guys. But so training camp, you talked a lot about, and I've heard this from different guys, how hard Andy Reid's training camp is. And we got a little taste of it with Doug Peterson because Doug's, you know, our old coach Doug in Philly was like, he's an Andy Reid disciple.

I remember showing up and being like, man, like, he's a super cool fucking coach, but like we're working really hard, aren't we? You know, like, is that kind of how Andy does it? Andy's such a cool coach that half the time you don't even realize, and then you look up and you're like, damn, we've been out here like three hours. Like, how hard is that camp? You just bribes them with ice cream and hamburgers.

Yeah, exactly. Bro, it's definitely experience. I know, like, the first year of playing for him was like, damn, this is crazy. But what do you mean? We have, like, an 18-play long drive drill just to finish all. We just had a whole practice. Like, what do you talk about? But man, I think the cool thing is it sucks doing it.

Hell, I mean, I don't know about y'all. Y'all could be like the outliers, like a Jackie Slater or someone who loves to practice. I'm not. I hate practicing. I didn't practice their Tennessee. I got away with it because of my medical condition. But like getting to the chiefs, learning how to practice every day was like trials and tribulations, man. Like especially learning how to practice for Andy Reid, you know, and Andy Hatt, completely different.

You know, but I think the beautiful part about it. is like you understand practice is going to be so difficult. It's going to be so hard that it's going to prepare nothing to the game. The game is going to be practically slow motion. You're going to be well-rested. You're going to the bench. You're getting water. You're chilling.

So why not just go through hell now? So like when you go through the real, it's easy. You know, every experience you have, it's like, hey, I've dealt with this. I've dealt with an even higher pressure situation. Like, I'm prepared more than argue with my opponent, no matter who I face. You didn't go through the same shit I went through. You have to block Chris Jones in practice. I'll tell you that for most people that you're planning to.

You're talking about high pressure situations in practice. You got Spags, you know, on the other side of the field. A lot of pressure there in practice for real. So what's that like? I mean, you feel like that's kind of exactly what you're talking about. You get to game day and you're like, I've seen the most exotic pressures, you know, all week from our team or you get out of camp, you know,

and then you have that week one opponent. You're like, we're kind of ready for whatever. You know, we've been dealing with Chris Jones and Spags on the other side of the ball. That just, you feel like it makes you that much better having that on the other side? Yeah, 100%. man, I mean, I'm not going to face another Chris Jones in NFL, bro. Like, it's just, that's sort of like top-end,

top level in terms of a rusher, in terms of a D-Lyman you're going to face. So for me, man, I know, like, those are my welcome in NFL moments as a rookie. And then beyond that, it's just understanding like how well that prepares you for opponents, man. And having a de-cornyered like Spabs who's throwing all these exotic looks, like you say.

I mean, we're facing pretty much, we're going to see everything we'll see during the season for the most part in terms of pressure packages, cover zero looks, like, it prepares you really well, but it's also fucking chaos. You know what I mean? When you go out there every week and every day, but I like being more of a chaotic, high pressure. This is extremely tough because once again, if I can get through practice that way,

I know the game's not going to be that hard. So now I'm well prepared. I'd rather be prepared than I'm prepared walking to a game. I'll ask you a couple questions about defenses before we get you out of here. You're an enforcer. I alluded to that earlier. You kind of play that way, and I think it's great. And I'm sure you come across a couple guys

where you've got to tip your cap to him and say, man, you might be an alpha too on the other side of things. Like, who are those guys that you've played where you're like, yeah, this is a worthy opponent in a sense of this guy's an absolute dog as well? Yeah, quite a few. First of Malik Collins.

To me, every time people ask me, this question, I always refer to Malik, man. Got a lot of respect for him as a player, what he's done in the league. You know what I mean? His production, like, to me, he's underrated, very underrated. But I think he's one of those guys where it's like, damn, you know, you play against him, have your shit ready.

You know what I mean? He's going to bring you some good lists. He's going to give it to you. Another one, John Franklin Myers, past couple years. Yep, yep. Zach Allen, obviously, that combination in tandem with the Broncos. I think they play a high-level football. They're great.

I would also throw Jeffrey Simmons up there, too. That's going to be a damn dog fight every time you play a guy like that. That's going to be a fight. You know what I mean? So I would say them. But then obviously you have the OG outliers, in my opinion, where you have a guy like Aaron Donald, who, in my opinion, is the best I've gone up against,

the best I probably will go up against. And then you have a guy like Fletcher Cox. So I played probably about three times in my career, who I have a ton of respect for in terms of what he's done in the league, who he's going to be probably with an Hall of Famer. But also every time you play in the field against Fletch, you knew it was going to be a long day, too. Fletch is old school, man.

He was a great teammate. That was the thing I always tell people about Fletch is like he was great to play with. I got the privilege of rushing next to Fletch as a 32, 33-year-old man. He extended my career. Right. And, you know, some guys who are the best player on your team are kind of dickheads, right? Or they're selfish. Right. And he just was, he's old school. If he's supposed to be in the B gap, he's going to be in the B gap. He might put your body in there. But like, he's going to win front side. He's going to run through you. He plays with power. Yeah. He's just, not that there's anything wrong with guys that jump around and shit, but he just, he's a sledgehammer, dude. He just,

reset the pocket. Like you talked about earlier how you got to set thick on guys to keep their depth, you know, the pocket. Like Fletcher just destroy the pocket. It's such a nice feeling. He was a B. So I had AD as a rookie.

Aaron's hell on wheels, dude. And also the last guy you want to piss off. Yeah, 100%. I always tell the story of there was a guy in St. Louis that pissed him off. A younger player pushed him after the play.

I guess it'd be like the guy showing up and not knowing who Chris Jones is. And like, being a little extra with Chris Jones. Like, we don't do that. Not a good idea. Yeah, not a great idea. Aaron ripped his face mask off.

The dude had the helmet with no face mask on. And Aaron was beating the shit out of him with the fucking face mask. Dude, this is like a cartoon. So, yeah, you don't want to piss Aaron off either. But yeah, those are some alphas right there, dude. Who runs the best games in the NFL? Because there's a lot of units that don't do a great job. We don't need to go through those.

But what units are you impressed with the way they run their games? Yeah. Honestly, I would say the Broncos once again, past couple years playing them two times a year. To me, they did a phenomenal job, man, with it, setting stuff up. If you look at Zach Allen, he's barren orthodox as he rushes. So a lot of times, you might even get in the straight rush. You might be setting up a game. We're falling into a natural game.

So to me, I would say they're probably like number one in my mind for unit. I thought the charges were right, too. So, I mean, you got some good D-lines in your division you got to deal with. Yeah. I've gotten better every year, bro. Is there any place? that's tougher than, I mean, you're going to say Arrowhead's probably the loudest,

but like, you don't have to go on the road in Arrowhead. Like, what's the one building you're like, shit, dude, that place you can't even hear yourself think. Yeah, um,

honestly, man, the hype is like away games I've had in my career. I only played in Philly once. Yeah. And Philly was just rowdy. Like, the fans are nuts,

right? Like, it's a hell of an environment to play in. Love it. aggressin's fuck. I love it. But I always say the bank, man, in Baltimore,

I think I've had like almost two night games there. I think they're both blackouts. One was my first road game in NFL. Then the second one was ASEC championship game. I guess, and that was like crazy, crazy environment. So I would say those two spots, man.

But probably give it to Baltimore. I'll tell you what, dude. We played at Arrowhead and it was fucking awesome. I think that was we played there 2017, right, Chris? Yeah, but we got lucky. We played there early in the same. season before it had really heated up and honestly pat wasn't there yet so y'all weren't on the it didn't it probably didn't feel like playing y'all now yeah but it was still amazing and you know what i love about

is the tailgates and like the college atmosphere yeah i got to go to a game i went to the uh shit the man this would have been i went to the overtime two years a guy the texans game i think okay yeah yeah that was awesome i went to the i was in the josh allen the josh allen patrick mahomes 700 yard game, the one where Kyle was there where he was hurt. Yeah. And I was up in the sweet. Was that the 13 seconds? Yeah, it was the 13 second game.

Yeah. Yeah. Was that just? Crazy. It was unbelievable. I was like, man, I need to go to more NFL games. They're not all like this. But yeah, man.

Trey, we appreciate you, dude. Thanks for coming on. We really enjoy watching you play. And easy, dude. to talk to, man, talking ball. We could do it all day. But have a great off season and we hope you come back soon, dude. Yeah, brother. Appreciate you guys having me on, man. Appreciate it.