NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Hard Knocks Detroit Lions: Episode 5 Recap

Episode Date: September 7, 2022

On the NFL's Official Hard Knocks Podcast, Dan Hanzus and Colleen Wolfe recap the season finale of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Detroit Lions. Dan and Colleen start by discussing cut-down day as a number of players were let go by the Lions. Then, the hosts react to Eminem's appearance at Lions training camp (11:04). After the break, the hosts share the Liev Schreiber Quote of the Week (19:05). Finally, Dan and Colleen place their top three votes for Episode 5 MVP (22:27) to declare the season's MVP winners. We wrap up the series with a surprise imported from the city of Detroit (40:32).Note: timecodes approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Training camp is it's kind of a tough question. Training camp is hard work. Training camp is tough. Training camp gives the young guys an idea of what's to come for their career. But training camp,

Camp is a blessing. Boom! It's the season finale of the Hard Knocks podcast, presented by Around the NFL, the Detroit Lions. Another season in the books. Dan Hans is here. The tiny box to my tugboat. Tug box.

Colleen Wolfe. Tug box Tuesday. Tugbox Tuesday. Clear. the road. Yes, that was the voice of Khalil Pimpleton, one of many compelling stories that we followed along over the five episodes. And what I thought was one of the better hard-knock seasons we've had. Yeah. In, for NFL films and HBO. So great job by the whole production. And I think this is the episode and this is a, in the tradition of hard knocks, Connie.

episode five is the payoff and it's especially the payoff for all these young players these underdogs do they make the team if they don't make the team what happens next and you hear that like Cleo Pimpleton

perfect example wide receiver we talked about on last week's show the big drop in the preseason game and the die had been cast and yet he catches on with the Giants on their practice squad David Blau the quarterback

he gets cut in a surprise move he catches on with the Vikings who claim them on waivers it felt to me Colleen like the like when you're in high school and you have your group of friends and this is really a credit to the show because you get close and you feel like

you're part of the team in a way when your friends go off to college and you're not all the pirates anymore now you're all these different other your gators and you're you know seminals and you're this and you're that and you just feel like I wish we were all still together but that's just not the way life works

I know. Honestly, Hard Knocks, it's like where dreams are realized and then also broken and crushed. And, you know, you see that throughout the whole episode and throughout the whole series. And, Dan, you're like a Hard Knocks historian. So you know the rhythms of Hard Knocks. You hear that, Dad? And you know, proud of me now, Dad. He's so proud of you at this point. But I think with this season specifically, there are, I always fall in love with a few of the players because that's what Hard Knocks traditionally does.

but I also have fallen so in love with the coaching staff. And it's been a theme, and we talk about it every single week. So I think that this episode, the Cuts episode, it cuts different because you're seeing the coaches emotional about it's just a montage to start of breakups with the cuts at the top of the show. And you can see, I think you can really tell a lot about people in general, but especially with the players. And I think for the coaches, this is important to see how the players

react to being cut. And some of the guys, I'm sure they're all heartbroken about it, but you can see, for instance, Dan Skipper, I didn't even know he was on the team. I hardly knew you, Dan. I want to talk about Dan Skipper, yeah. And he was so upset.

And he looked at them and he said, you know, is there anything else I could have done? And my heart just broke into a zillion pieces watching that. I want to say about that in particular. And some of this is kind of a conjecture because we don't know for sure. but Dan Skipper is not someone that we followed closely on the show. It might have been the first time he showed up on the show as far as I know

in terms of getting any type of real camera time. He's an offensive tackle. And this came during a sequence where we're getting little bits and pieces of the conversations between the GM Brad Holmes, Coach Dan Campbell and the players that were being let go. Tim Boyle, Devin Funches, Skipper, Bruce Hector, defensive end, Jared Davis. And yes, that definitely resists. with me the players and the things that they said and it didn't feel like it was coming from a place like they needed to say it it was more like I really like what you guys are building here you you have respect I think as they said you're building a culture where men can be themselves that's all real I got that vibe and I thought the skipper situation made me think about hard knocks and if you if you follow the show long enough there have been times in the past where hard knocks got some criticism

for almost a voyeuristic look into these cutdowns and brutality to it. I remember who was the cornerback of the dolphins years ago, the 2012 season, I think it was when he learned he was being traded, I believe, and he says, oh, I need to call my grandma. And the GM, I think it was Jeff Ireland at the time. It was just kind of like a deeply personal moment and you really felt for it. you felt for the player. And Dan Skipper looked like his lip was quivering. I know.

When they first cut to him, then they come back and all you get is him saying, anything I can do. And it made me think that this is like NFL films purposely a softer touch here. And I respected it because I don't think, I don't know, maybe 10 years ago you get Dan Skipper in that moment crying to the coach and the GM. And I think they made a concerted effort to kind of protect that guy in what was a really vulnerable moment. It completely pulled at my heartstrings.

And I was also thinking to myself, if you are Dan Campbell, if you are Brad Holmes, what do you do when you get home from work that night? Or those two, however many days, that they're having those conversations. Because you can see how much it wears on Dan Campbell, even when the director of player engagement

walked up to him on the field and asked him, how you doing? And he responded, you know, if it doesn't hurt, then you got to get out of this business. business and I'm doing better than yesterday or two days ago, but there's so much emotion evolved and specifically for a guy like I think Dan Campbell, I'm sure everybody feels this way, but he really became attached, I think, and you could see how he would become so attached to the players that he has to say goodbye to. So that is, it's definitely an emotional roller coaster football, Dan,

you know? Yeah, and it was, by the way, Vante Davis, I just want to get that right out. When Joe Philbin told him he was traded, he said, I want to call my. grandma that it is so it's so human these moments and like you're saying like Campbell and the staff have you know the players trust them and you could you could see that and even if they make a decision that they're not going to be part of the future um they respect that they got this opportunity so I thought that was you know it's not easy to watch and Campbell at one point I wish I knew who the woman's name was I know I didn't write it down right away right that that That shows, again, that this isn't just, you know, whatever.

You don't even think about it anymore. It sticks with him and it hurts. I was also thinking, too, just how difficult it must be to be a bubble player and a journeyman in general. Because watching Pimpleton take the news and he took the news so well. So it made me wonder, was he just, like, burying his disappointment? Did he expect it? Is that just his natural disposition? I mean, he was almost like buoyant.

He was happy. And I was, like, that was to me. I would be way closer to where Dan Skipper was. Oh, my God. Or, and you've seen it in past years, and again, notable you did not see it, at least in anything we saw, guys that would be pissed. Yeah. And you could tell there was some bad blood and bad energy over feeling like they were not getting recognized in the way they should out of.

You don't sense that at all here. There was no contentious moments when they were having these conversations. It was kind of a loving, like you said, like a soft. touch. You could you could sense that for sure. But, you know, one of the other things that I was thinking about, not just with Pimpleton, but also with David Blow, when we saw him at the end of the episode warming up with the Vikings and it just looked so lonely because we had seen him mixing it up with all the other players in Detroit and he's been there for a minute and he's had some moments. And then all of a sudden he was like a total stranger on the field to all

of these new teammates. And imagine then just starting over, trying to fit in, trying to prove yourself when you're a guy that is on the bubble. Like that has to take so much confidence and so much perseverance to just continue forward. Nate Sudfeld.

Yeah. They show him sitting in that after the surprise cut and Blauhard Nation were all together in this and best of luck to him. He made, I think, what was a wise decision for a fresh start and being behind Kirk Cousins in Minnesota. But you see him,

you see Sudfeld. and he doesn't even have the license gear, right? Nothing. And then you think, like, man, these guys have gotten clearly so close through spring, through training camp. And Sudfield's, like, playing from behind in terms of, like, being a part of the team.

But hopefully, you know, it's a long season. We never played the game. We don't know where it's, like, in the locker room during the regular season. But I feel like in the- I'm sure it's like how it is at, like, many other places. You're like, who's the new guy? What's this guy about?

Exactly. Exactly. So, yeah, that was, that to me, is what this episode was about kind of this full circle of what we've been tracking all season long which is this is a close team that has a lot of respect

for the coaching staff and I'm going to save some of that conversation for our MVP voting which by the way let's not forget what's going on today Grave digger

behind the glass Justin Graver the vector voting system it's all been building to this I'm so nervous So we're going to cast our episode five MVP votes, first, second, and third place votes. And then we're going to find out definitively the hard knocks MVP. Give me a little horn there. Or scream.

Ah! Who is that? That was Pimp. Was it? Oh, Pimp. How about Leah, let's get the lady scream. It's good. It's really good.

It's good. It feels good. I like it a lot. What else did we like? Should we talk about Eminem? Is it time to talk about Eminem? I mean, I never thought. I never really knew that this was going to come up.

I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the Eminem episode. And here we are. So I guess we have to talk about it. Let me start by, I'm going to take an L on this because we can't like pump Dan up. Pump up Zeus or is the historian of Hard Knocks. When we haven't been kind of banging the drum about what we haven't seen yet, it's become. like a tradition to have some type of celebrity show up at camp

Kendrick Lamar famously I think showed up at Rams camp a couple years ago not the first time either and so now Marshall Mathers he of 8 mile road in Detroit and you know like

it's crazy because I'm a little older than you Colleen but I when Eminem came out like in the late 90s that was it Like he was, he was a force. And also he was with Dre. So like Dre gave him like a ton of credit too, just like street credit.

Yeah, he was at the center of the universe, not just in hip hop, but like in the world. Like he was like the biggest star in the world. And then I was wondering with some of these guys, like the younger guys, I guess he's more just, he's kind of a legend, hip hop legend. And I know the Super Bowl probably went a long way in terms of exposing him, the Super Bowl halftime show to an audience and a younger audience. But to see him on the field, it was just kind of surreal. Yeah. Because we, you know, we're, and Colin, you're a big hip-hop fan. I don't know where you stand on Eminem.

Maybe that would be a... I loved him when I was younger, and then it kind of started to fade. First two albums were pretty special. And then I was kind of out. But to see him, like, talking to Dan Campbell was weird. How about the Jared Gough? Oh, I love it. Jared Gough, our friend, the man with the clothing line.

J.G. Now in a conversation with Eminem, let's listen in. You're not taller than I thought you'd beat. I get that quite a bit. I'm good. It's good to meet you. You too. You can make it out here.

It's fun to see you. Absolutely. We appreciate it, man. Absolutely. I get that quite a bit. Oh, that's rough. People think he's a lot smaller than he is, Jared Gough. That electric Gough charisma.

I have to say, like, is this the last time? You know, as we're closing the door on another season and on the first season of the Hard Knocks podcast, will NFL films get another crack at Jared Goff? I mean, the fourth time, was it the charm? Or are we going for five? I wouldn't doubt it at this point. We've got way more golf than I ever thought we would have.

So one of my favorite moments with Eminem was when Aubrey Pleasant, who is the DV coach for the Lions, walked over, shook his hand. It's like I'm from Flint, Michigan. The handshake. Hardcore DAPA. We had to rewind. and count a 12 second handshake.

All right. Let's count it out. My name is Aubrey. On the D.B's coach, passing coordinator, man. I'm from Flint, Michigan, originally. Oh, where? It's all right.

All day, good. Thank you for being here. I'm going to do this. It means I'm going to keep on. Maybe more. Maybe more. Absolutely. Thank you, man.

The longest handshake ever. And it was like also just kind of a strange, strange handshake, too, to be that long. It was going on. It was a weird thing. But, you know, I thought it was cool because Marshall Mathers is in Eminem. That's a big star. And I think it was a nice little thing probably for the players to see somebody like that.

It was adorable. I loved it. They were geeking out. I think even Goff said, he was like, he's like one of those guys. They too. You guys are you on my list of like, holy shit. Who's on your list of holy shit? There's a lot of people. Yeah.

Is there somebody that stands out? Brett Goldstein. from, he plays Roy Kent on Ted Lassau. That's, I mean, you just ask. What? Anybody in the world? He's on the list. Brent Goldstein.

He is square on the list. Yeah, I love him. I love him. Yeah. John knows all about it. I mean, I'm not overly familiar with the show, but that. Maybe it should be. I was not.

You asked. I delivered. Interesting. All right, Brett Goldstein. Yeah. All right. Eminem, he makes his appearance. And, you know, one thing, another thing that we talked about,

we were waiting, we're waiting for the segment when the players go to visit Detroit. And, you know, what are we, what were we asking for? All season, I haven't written down here. Cars. I said, a visit downtown that pays homage to the Detroit music scene, soul blues, hip-hop, garage, rock, and then here in big caps,

because it was a big deal to you. Cars. I needed cars. I needed more cars. Didn't get any. I got a couple guys, like, throwing tires around. That's it. But we got a trip to the art museum for Amman St. Brown.

We also got, this was wild. Rodrigo, who, by the way, is going to be the starting linebacker for the lines, I believe. He is at a cowboy store. I don't know what. I didn't know Detroit has cowboy stores. I guess they're everywhere. Is it called a cowboy store? Like a Western shop?

I don't know. Called a cowboy store. I have no idea. I am from New York. But anyway, his quads in those jeans and the hat and the boots. It looked like he was wearing a Halloween costume. It was really, really funny, that entire scene. Also, the fact that Rodrigo is the second most requested jersey.

Is that what we heard during the episode? Let's talk about that. Again, when we try to figure out how the lions are going to do this season and whenever you watch hard knocks, you're trying to, you always get talked into that team. being way better when you hear something like that and and i loved it i even like the trip to the cowboy store yeah because i thought it was a nice button on the rodrigo story i learned about boots ostrich boots or a thing i had no idea like that was great i have ostrich boots do you no you

no you don't i have ostrich boots i bought my freshman year of college at the university of texas lots of cowboys down there do you have multiple pairs of boots i have two pairs of boots what's the other one just regular you don't want to know about the other pair leather i don't know regular Yeah. Cowboy stores in Texas. Got it. You don't have to tell me that there's cowboy stores in Texas. Even Nashville. One of the biggest ones is called Justin's Boot Company.

Well, you know, you're bringing everything back to the Justin Cowboy thing. You're on the radar. That's great, Justin. But up in Detroit didn't know that that was going to be the way. But no, my point being that Rodrigo having the number two selling jersey, one, I love it. I love it. It's such a great tribute to line. fans who are a way into hard knocks and i hope you guys are listening to the show that'd be a nice

little yeah connection uh and two that you know the lines still a long way to go if rodrigo has the number two selling jersey well he's very popular right now and he's so likable as we've hit on as we've hit on though he has this like great genial like he's easy to root for like they always say it's like you have an open face like you you are someone who looks like a good person endearing charming like and he has this lightness, this brightness about him. Yes. So, you know, someone that goes, you know, will go nameless that was watching the show with us today.

It wasn't me, by the way. It was not you, you're a married woman, but it was charmed by the man on a different level. And I said, listen, that's not about me. It's a professional environment. This is a professional environment, okay? It doesn't, unless it involves Mike McCarthy, Zaddy, I don't talk about that stuff.

Right, right. All right, let's take a break. And when we come back, we are going to hear the Leif Shriver quote of the week. Yes. That's not from Leif Shriver. We're going to do our episode MVP voting. We are going to get our final MVP results for who is the Hard Knocks MVP. And then maybe a little surprise at the end.

We'll be right back. All right. Welcome back. We are in the home stretch now, the Hard Knocks podcast. And what a ride. It's been, Connie. one of our favorite aspects of the show has been the Leav Schreiber,

the narrator, of course, of Hard Knocks, quote of the week. And we don't have access to Leif Schreiber's vocals. He's busy. He's busy. But what we do have access to is Jason Zumwalt, new voice of the Around the NFL podcast,

a long time, close friend of mine, one time roommate in the Hollywood Hills. There's a lot of stories between me and Zumwalt. But he has done great work. all season. We thank Jay for it. Now, we gave him, we're going out

with a real challenge with the Schreiber quote of the week because the one that we're giving them this week includes, I don't know how to put this.

Onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia, thank you, that you do not typically hear in the history of Hard Knocks or Schreiber. So again, Jason isn't hearing this

and then doing an impersonation. He's just getting the text. So I told him to workshop it. Yeah. Feel the room, feel out the vibe, and here's what he came back with. Today, Eminem is going for he's providing lunch for the lions.

Today, Eminem is going for mhm. He's providing lunch for the lions. Today, Eminem is going for Mmm, mm-hmm. Oh, no. He's providing lunch for the lions. Then I said, I said, Jay, you know, he sent the first batch, and I said, Jay, I want you to really explore the space.

And don't, this is a trust tree. You just, like, let it all out. Whatever's left, whatever, whatever, Anamana P is left inside your body. Release it on this last episode, the finale of the Hard Knocks podcast. Let's listen in. Today, Eminem is going for... Oh, God, no. He's providing lunch for the lions.

It's definitely not about food. Today, Eminem is going for... Mm. Mm. He's providing lunch for the lions. Today, Eminem is going for... Mm. Oh, gross.

he's providing lunch for the lions oh my god hold on a second the last two it was like a dragon whoa okay um wow he is an incredible voice talent you know what's going to happen next year if we're doing this podcast next year and i hope we are it's going to be jay that's on HBO's hard knocks and we're going to have live shriver doing the voice here at this rate you're right We know people are listening. Wow. I love that he really, like, he went in pretty hard on the, but then, like, really just brought it right back light and sort of jovial.

You sounded uncomfortable even saying. I don't even want to. I don't think I can say it anymore. I think that Zumwalt just killed it for me forever. So anyway. All right. Let's get to it. Let's do it.

Okay. Anything else that we wanted to get in there before we get to the MVP voting for episode five. The only thing is, I thought the Van Gogh room was really cool. I know you mentioned it with the Amman Ross St. Brown and his family and his mom is German, so she was... Oh, yeah. Let's listen to some German. That's what that language is wild. Oh, here's the bloomer, the sunblummer, the berumper.

Can you? You know, she doesn't. Oh, she's very. From where? From post on. Come on. So, even the furgue fling around. The Germans.

Translate. The, great job, Graber. Hey, man, he thinks on his feet. He's an improv man. Yes, German is not necessarily one of the love languages, I would say. It's a little bit more abrasive. It's got a little oomph to it. It's got a little mm-hmm.

Yeah, like, anytime I've been in a German airport, if I'm, like, flying through, like, the German police always, like, frightened me. Yeah, oh, okay. There's some reasons. Yeah, I guess. All right. Now, I want to get out, Craig, Craig Reynolds, by the way, making the team. Yes.

Is he in your? No. Okay, good. So I want to talk about Craig Reynolds. A great story, Reynolds. We talked about it. His older brother in prison has never seen him play. He makes the team as the final running back.

And I thought that was really cool. And I thought that, you know, he's a dude that you could tell. That's not an act with Dan. Campbell, they're looking for a certain type of player because when they're doing the final evaluation and they're trying to decide between him and the other running back and they're looking for a certain type of player. And I thought that was just interesting. So good for Craig Reynolds making the team. What about Chase Lucas? Chase Lucas, the other one. Rookie 7th rounder out of ASU. He famously, at least in our world here, dropped an interception in the preseason opener.

and I just got speaking of like hip hop giants I kept on getting a vibe of like the young college dropout Kanye where he's young but he's brash and confident but also doubts himself a lot keeps on going up to the coach and asking do you think you do you how do you think I'm doing and then he'll come up to the coach later in the day and says hey I think I'm going to be great like that's very like he's trying very hard and maybe he can say less and that would probably help him a little bit, but I did find it so endearing when they showed the shots of him sitting on the field reflecting after their scrimmage. And you could see him kind of taking it all in and really just like he was crying at one point just because he was so happy to be there. And

that's when you can see just how much this means, these opportunities mean to players like Chase Lucas. Very cool. Very cool. All right. Let's now get into our episode MVP voting. Do you want to get going this time? I will. Third place vote. So third place. we've already talked about him. Can I do an honorable mention first? Yeah. And again, this is the vector voting system. So it's a weighted system.

And the votes today for this episode could determine who is. And there's no first second in place for Hard Knocks MVP. It's just one. It's just the one. But I do want to give a shout out. Great job. Always NFL films with the music that they choose for this show. And they did an excellent job with some of the Motown classics.

And you definitely got that vibe. of the city through the music and you and I were vibing out hard to someday we'll be together by Dan Ross and the Supremes listening to it in the studio before we start it starts as like, that's if by Janet Jackson

the sample so we're enjoying our music we're into the music honorable mention NFL films music department. Yeah, I mean really they are the true MVP's and NFL Films is the MVP of all of this but my third place vote

goes to Khalil Pimpley. I am good I'm happy like it kind of tracks because so many of my votes are for people that are no longer with the or never have been with the lions are you tabulating back there justin i hope he is oh yeah so pimpleton just following him uh you know he gets cut and then he goes to the giants and he talks about he kind of showed a little bit more emotion and realness when he was doing his workout with the with the giants and you could tell like he he he really really knew that that could be be the end. And so it was like a little bit of a different side of him, I felt like. I got pimped too. Yeah? Place vote. You know, he kind of won me over when we first met him and he was just the juggler and he was and his his personality didn't quite connect with me right away. But the more we learned about him, especially the way he carried himself. Yeah. After he got cut. Really just, you know, just a guy that was still upbeat despite this, you know, terrible setback in his career.

and then by the time they show him at the Giants training camp, which I love that it takes us there as well at training camp, but a private workout and he drops the first couple of balls. And it's like, come on, dude, we're rooting for you. So then when he turns it on and then gets the contract to be on the practice squad, you know, him reaching out and calling his family and you see that. Just nice. It was nice.

It was happy for him. He clearly has a strong support group. And that's what these bubble players really need. when he calls his family, calls his former coaches, and you can hear... Right, his high school coach. Yeah.

And like it kind of backs up what you think about him. Like you think that you kind of have this guy figured out like his character. And then when you see the people that are there for him in his low moments, then you kind of know that he is a good person. That's also something in Hard Knocks

that wasn't really a part of the show 10 years ago that now is a big part of the show, FaceTiming. Yeah. And you get to see, not just you don't hear the mother or the loved one on the other end of the line you actually see them and it's just cool it's like a nice little

personal touch it feels real because it is all right second place your second place MVP episode five second place going to 44 starting linebacker now we got Roderigo ah very good

I am I will say I'm a little worried about him walking into the stadium with those jeans and his quads like he might not make it I hope there's like a good amount of spandex in there but he definitely won me over. And I feel like he is just such a fun positive storyline and vibe in this whole season. He was deserving to get the leaves, the facility and go somewhere fun and does.

To the Cowboys store. Yeah, it goes to the Cowboys store, which is in Detroit because there are a ton of Cowboys. There probably are. Maybe there are. I mean, there's a lot of rural areas in Michigan. I'm sure cowboys are rampant there. So we're just going to back off. Let us know.

Let us know. Don't. How about this? We already took the L. I'm sure there are a ton of cowboys in Michigan. Okay. Honestly, when I go out to eat, everyone's like, Rodrigo, Rodrigo. I love that.

I do. I really like him and I love your comment about him having an open face and good dude. Not my vote, though. I want to get my second place vote to Aaron Glenn. Ooh. Aaron Glenn, the defensive coordinator, is good. going to be a head coach in our league. I am certain of it, in fact.

Last time I felt this way, it seems crazy now, but it was the Marvin Lewis Bengals, and their coordinator was a man that later, you know, didn't have such great luck, Hugh Jackson, with the Cleveland Browns. But I remember in that season being like, well, he connects with the players, the way he carries himself. It just seems like a dude that that's in his plans.

And maybe in Hugh Jackson's case, maybe he had already been with the Raiders. I can't, I can't remember for sure. But here we are now. And I think Glenn is one big step up from this defense away from getting interviews in January. And I thought it was interesting when he's the D.C., right? And that moment when Dan Campbell is trying to figure out what to do with the less running back spot, he confers with Glenn and they talk and it's a collaborative effort between the two and Glenn says that I'm a Reynolds fan. Craig Reynolds makes the team so it's like kind of like

a JFK and RFK talking at the Oval Office type thing and Glenn I think just the way he's carried himself he just seems like a guy that you want as the leader of men and a great coach I thought it was really fascinating to watch the coaches try and figure out how they were going to cut down personalists to kind of present to Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes because we got a couple we got a couple little glimpses of that of the coaches alone without like the the big guns in there and the guys telling deuce like come on you're in front of Dan and Brad what are you going to do like so that that I thought was interesting but Aaron Glenn just in general you can tell that he's not trying too hard he's not putting on any type of act like that is just exactly who he is and his players love him

And, you know, the NFL does not have a great record with hiring blackhead coaches. Aaron Glenn is a guy that absolutely feels like he should be taken seriously when those interview processes begin. But they first have to deliver that season that we hope they're going to have, which is improvement and the defense getting better. And then I think Glenn definitely deserves consideration for the big chair. Your first place vote. And now now it's getting down to the nitty-gritty. This carries a lot of weight. And that's why I actually switched my votes around a little bit right before this,

because this is the final one and it could really put one over the edge. Just like when it says, all right, who's who from your position group is getting cut? You can't do this willy-nilly. Yeah. There are people's lives on the line right now. Who is the most valuable person in this entire series? Who could this series? Who would sink this series if they weren't on it?

Jared Gough. Oh, I thought you said who syncs the series because they're on it. Well, yeah, that could work too. This series does not work nearly as well. I know where you're going with this. Go ahead.

Without this one man. I like it. Keep going on. And his man, his name, not his man. His name. You were so close. I'm so tired right now. This is our third podcast together today.

Oh, my God. Oh, you were building up so well. It was not too late. I was. Go ahead. Okay, here we go. And this man. This all stays in the show.

His name is Dan. It's me. Oh, because of all the years of covering the... Oh. And let me tell you why, because he really, really, really, he got me with the final line of the episode. Hang on, I'm scribbling right now

because I had Colleen Wolfe's first place. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Yeah, you got to take that out now. The last line in the entire episode. Oh, this is one of my favorite hard knocks moments ever. and before we play it I want everyone to know I asked Justin to leave everything in

it's so long because just the emotion on this man's face and I know this is an audio medium but you need to understand he gets asked a pretty simple what you expect a documentary filmmaker to ask at the end of a training camp

and instead of just saying the first thing comes to his mind you could see the world like the universe flashed before his face and he gets emotional. Let's listen. And the last one, the 2022 Detroit Lions will.

Um. And they do a great job here. They get tight on his face and you can see. He's searching for the words. He truly is. Oh. Deep size. Yeah.

This man cares. And he looks like he's getting choked up while he's sitting there. Because I think he's thinking of the options. And maybe he doesn't like any of them. It's all overwhelming. But he still hasn't answered. Not yet. This is all how it happened.

Dan, are you there? I think he's breathing still. Oh, that's good. But still nothing. This is where I would kick his chair. Like, hey. We got to get out of here. We have a hard out.

A number of ways I can go with that. Okay. All right. But there's more. The 2022 Detroit lines will be the team that can and will. And that's it. The team that can and will. And you could say after getting a 60-second window to think of what to say that,

you may say that's underwhelming, but no, that's real. because he believes it and that's why he's also my first place vote for this episode. Yes. No way. And I think that might take some of the drama out

because God, what would we be doing wrong? But let's see where the vector voting comes down. Third, second, first place. Where did we come down? It is time to announce the Hard Knocks MVP for 2022.

Justin, you've done the tabulations. It is time. There was also a medieval jousting in Detroit. That's still going on. That's true as well. That's good. All right. In third place, with 30 points in the vector voting system.

I love it. Look at all that pile of points. Deuce Staley. You know what? Deuce deserves it. Round of applause for Deuce. I mean, he backed it up. He was so good.

in so many of these episodes. I'm very happy he placed. He's on the metal stand because another guy, if I'm going to throw roses at the feet of Aaron Glenn, do Staley also opens some eyes, I hope, a star, in the league because he's another guy that has passion. He's fun to be around, and he knows how to coach ball and connect with people.

In second place. Okay, yep, that's you. With 37 points. Rodrigo, Malcolm Rodriguez. Oh, look at him. And again, round of applause, Rodriguez. We love Rodrigo. You know, I think Rodrigo, absolutely a cornerstone of this show,

this very special series, Hard Knocks, going back to 2001, is the stories of these underdogs. And Rodrigo is absolutely one of them. And we've learned so much about him and his family and his journey and how great he played. Yeah, so the trip to the Cowboys. store, I feel like, was in a way. Earned.

Earned. And I'm not saying it's as high in honor as being second place in the Hard Knocks MVP voting. But it's a pretty nice one too. Yeah. I think that he endeared himself to not only his teammates, but to clearly all of the fans who won his jersey. And I just remember that episode where was it Kelvin Shepard, who's the linebackers coach? I think so.

Who was kind of laying into all of the other linebackers and being like, this guy is beating you. Who even is this guy, basically? And it was like, oh my God, lay off Rodrigo. He's just doing a nice job. He's a, he's an urban cowboy, and he's the starting linebacker for the Detroit Lions. And he is our second place MVP. That is awesome.

All right. So that leaves us with just one more name. Well, I think we did it. I think we did. It is now time. Ladies and gentlemen, the 2022 Hard Knocks MVP. And a runaway landslide is Dan Campbell with 93 points. Wow.

It was actually mathematically impossible for Dan Campbell to not win going into this voting. Absolutely that. Again, we nailed this. Wow. And I think it's a credit to the vector voting system that this all played out, I think, the way it should have played out. I'm happy with it. Obviously, Campbell was the star. He's one of the great stars in the history of this show, well-earned.

And I think, even though this is the first year of the vector voting system, 93 points is going to be, it's going to be like Wiltz 100. Exactly. I think it's going to be very difficult for anyone to be that biggest star the way he was in this show. I don't know how anyone could even touch that. You can't. No one will even come close. Dan Campbell is a character.

He is like just a fountain of youth in terms of quotes. They just like keep coming. And I love it. I love all of it. I'm buying everything that day. And a special thank you to Graver who tracked this and probably did the math right. We're not going to double check. Yeah, we're not doing that.

But I just assume you nailed it. So thanks. Appreciate your help. Trust. Not just today, but the entire run of the Hard Knocks podcast because I think we're coming to the end now. I think so. Any final thoughts you want to share? You know, I would like a grit hat because we got the Hard Knock shirts and those are lovely.

So thank you. But I think there was one other thing. We got the merch. We got the tabulations. Yep. But there was one more thing. I can't. What was it?

It was something, it wasn't a car, was it? Wait a second. Sean Kelly, our producer, walking in with Detroit-style pizza. Oh, my God. Yes. Look at that. Yes. Beautiful.

Get a shot of that pizza. We got the, there you go. You got that. Wow. Look at that. This looks delightful. believable. I've never had Detroit style pizza. What is it? I'm a pizza snob. I don't know, but it looks good. It's not like deep. It's not quite deep dish. Nope. But it looks like it's got some sauce on top of the cheese, which is different. It's got it. Yeah, it's got it's a little thicker, but it's not casserole Chicago deep dish style. All right. So we're going to enjoy it. Colleen, myself, Sean Kelly, Justin Graver, our producer. Thank you again to everyone for following along with this. show and this podcast and remember

if you like Colleen and I doing podcast together. There's more. There's more. The Power Rankings podcast is going all season wherever you get your podcast please subscribe Star. All of it. Rate. Leave comments. Shout out to Buddy's Pizza in Detroit.

Oh, wait. This is from actual Detroit? This was shipped from Detroit. What? Oh my God. Heated up in the cafe here upstairs. John Kelly's about to drop. it on the floor. Can you imagine? All right. Again, we're going to now eat Detroit-style pizza. Thank you to

the Detroit Lions. And MVP Dan Campbell for a memorable season. Can't wait for next summer and another season of the greatest sports documentary that has ever existed. Until then. We love you NFL films. Doesn't matter if you have one butt cheek

and three toes. Yes. We're with you. We'll take you back. Later! Give me some of the tepica. Peace! This is an IHeart podcast.