NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Jonathan Taylor, Aaron Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Josh Allen MVP, HOF Drama and More at Radio Row

Episode Date: February 8, 2025

NFL Daily's Gregg Rosenthal, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of the Athletic deliver a monster compilation of interviews from Radio Row in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX. In order of appearance, Andrew Whitworth, Jonathan Taylor, Christian Gonzalez & Jonathan Jones, Aaron Jones & Andrew Van Ginkel, Matt Cassel and even Joey Chestnut join the podcast. In the prelude, Gregg and Jourdan react to Thursday's NFL Honors, where Josh Allen took home his first MVP award and four new inductees were named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we never split our votes. I'm Greg Rosenthal here at Radio Row for the last time during Super Bowl 59 buildup next to my friend Jordan Roderig of the athletic. We've done it. We've made it to Friday. We've had so much fun in the process, too. I think somehow we already had like a great friendship before this and it's been a fun season all year. But like really working and like cranking with somebody in the trenches, you know?

You learn a few things. Yeah, you do. You do. I learned about, I learned an all important meal schedule for Greg. Oh, I've been dying this week. Hungry, low blood sugar. It's all a problem. But this show is going to be a lot of fun. So we're going to talk about the awards. If we're going to go all season, like MVP, talking about it. And then it kind of happens and then it just gets ignored.

Let's go through the awards. We're going to talk about who won, who didn't, why, what we thought. The Hall of Fame class of 2025 was announced, very intriguing, surprising on a number of levels to me. And then we're going to throw it to a number of interviews that we've done, on Thursday and on Friday. And as you're hearing this, yeah, we're getting closer and closer to the Super Bowl. But let's start with that MVP vote. Obviously, everyone knows that's listening to this by now that Josh Allen wins his first MVP.

He proved a dumb tweet that I had wrong, which is, you know, it was like when Lamar won the first team all pro, I was like, well, looks like Lamar's going to be MVP because that's what's happened every year since 1987. but it didn't happen this time. Let's actually hear from Josh Allen was very nice at the podium. It is father emotional in the crowd. A cool moment here in New Orleans

accepting his MVP trophy and thanking those who helped him along the way. I'd like to thank the Bill's organization. Terry and Kim Pugula, Brandon Bean, Sean McDermott. Thank you guys for drafting me seven and a half years ago. It feels just like yesterday. It really does.

And I know this is an individual award and it says most valuable player on it, but I think it's derived from team success. And I love my team. Didalk, thank you for presenting. I really appreciate it. We got such a great locker room in Buffalo. And it takes everybody from the equipment staff to the training room to the strength staff, to slick Rick in the mail room, to the cafeteria upstairs. Like it truly takes everybody to have team success. And I'm so fortunate to be a part of a great organization.

that was Josh Allen and he's right it is a team award they I think he won the award because the bills had a better season with lower expectations than the Ravens had in the regular season with higher expectations and and I think he played his best football this year and is a deserving MVP winner and that's why before I move on to the voting Jordan I do kind of want to think about that this was never guaranteed for Josh Allen that he was the best. player in the league. Not only is he the best development story since I've been covering football in terms of just improving at his craft, but even comparing him to the Lamar and Mahomes and other top quarterbacks for him to be this consistent as a passer and one of the most

valuable runners at the quarterback position in the history of the league and do it week after week after week, which I think he did this season better than he's ever done. It was so not guaranteed and it's such a cool career moment for him that I don't want to get lost in the shuffle of the controversy of the votes flipping from the all pro vote yeah and obviously we'll get to that in a second and i know you've got some good insight on that crack but it is a great point that you make because you know for every quarterback who is at elite at their craft and lamar jackson included in that it is such a meticulous process to getting to that and josh allen was a ruff rough quarterback coming out of college he was a rough product and I was talking to

Brandon Bean last summer about how Josh Allen put together all of the little details about his body and how basically we've talked about on the show before biomechanics and the active biomechanical science and studies of efficient becoming more efficient thrower which means the energy transfers to every part of your body through the course of your throwing motion in the most kinetically sound and energetic way, right? And there's an actual science. Getting me energetic just talking about this.

Oh, God. There's an actual way and an actual technique and science behind refining every piece of this. And Josh Allen really fell in love with it in part because it was helping him become a better quarterback. And also, as Brandon was telling me, because he loves golf. And so finding ways, that's why I like about Josh Allen's journey from being really, you kind of had some questions, you know, you knew that. the talent was there, just a rough cut rock at that point before he became a diamond, right?

And so I think that putting all of those things together, but keeping it fun along the way, and that's why I bring up the golf thing, because it's one of his favorite things to do when he's not playing football. And so marrying the two together to where even when you're not working, you're working, that's something that I think shouldn't get lost in the journey of any quarterback who's at this level, who has this award, but also just a cool little behind the scenes of, of what it really takes to get to this, especially from where he started. And he's been so consistent, not just game to game,

but he came in second in the MVP vote in 2020, which I thought was probably his best season before this year. Lost out on that award to Aaron Rogers. But when they went 13 and 3, Wes, by the way, always new. Chris Wesleyan, our friend, that 2019 season, Josh Allen did lead the league in game winning drives, like fourth quarter comebacks.

And he was rough then, but he did have a lot about him and West thought he was going to be great and he was absolutely right. So this is the fourth time he's coming the top five in MVP voting. So he's been knocking on the door and ultimately I think that's why he won. Was it I think too many voters just thought it feels weird that Lamar's won three and Josh Allen hasn't won any and I don't really want Lamar to win three. And so I'm going to like mentally come up with a reason to vote Lamar Jackson first in all pro. So he had 30 votes there, but second in MVP, he had 23 votes there. So there was a difference of seven. Also, there was an offensive player of the year award given out at honors.

That goes to Sequin Barclay. But a lot of voters flipped their Lamar Jackson for offensive player of the year vote and then made him second in MVP, even though they had him first in all pro. It's like they were just trying to split the baby and spread it around to everyone. And ultimately, that is what happened. And my hot take is like, that's fine. Like, the reasoning doesn't really make sense to me, but I'm also kind of fine with it. Like, it's okay to me that Josh Allen won this award. I would have, like, just barely favored Lamar.

But I am kind of happy that Josh Allen got one because if you look over a five or six year period, he does kind of deserve one. So even if the reason, like, I think you should have just voted him first team all pro. If you're voting him MVP, vote him first team all pro. probably should have won both, but Lamar gets a little taste. And I wonder what Lamar feels about it. But my guess is like, it's not that big of a deal. He's won a couple.

He and he is just so, I mean, Lamar is just, first of all, he's like, just joy personified. But also he doesn't strike me as somebody who would sit there and like, put this up on his bulletin board or anything like that. He just wants to be great. And so, okay, so I do wonder though, because you mentioned about flipping the votes and all of that, so much of this is public, you know, the names of people who voted in different ways and explanations by some and publicized ballots and stuff. I wonder if some of the flipping is happening, not because necessarily people

think that that's their actual opinion, but because they, they know that if they don't credit, pass around credit or pass around the kudos, then, you know, it's going to be seen. And you have to be seen like, oh, I'm rooting for you. And also I'm rooting for you, you know, that kind of thing. I have not seen the attention on individual voters and who voted and who voted for whatever before with this work. Literally. This is the first time. Dan Rolowski, credit to him on ESPN,

talked about why he was one of the people that flipped. And I think it gave good insight into why he did it. It didn't really make any sense. Like, he just used the word value to say Josh Allen was somehow more valuable to his team, which I bought all that argument if you want to make it. But then just why wasn't he the best quarterback in the league? Why was Lamar Jackson the best quarterback in league? Who cares, honestly?

So Lamar Jackson ends up with 23 votes. Josh Allen 27 for MVP. Saquan Barkley, a distant third. Joe Burrow and Jared Goff round out the top five. And yeah, our friend Nick Wright was absolutely right, pointing out to me over a text message the day that Lamar Jackson was first team all pro saying, I have a feeling they're going to split the vote and Josh Allen's going to get it. And he was right.

And he's also very funny pointing out the fact that someday maybe Patrick Mahomes can be more valuable than Jared Gough. But this is not that day. Holy hell. Jared Goff was more valuable this year. Holy hell. It's kind of true. It is funny. Shout out also to the people who had Jane Daniels and Baker Mayfield and Sam

Donald and Justin Herbert getting some fourth and fifth place votes. That's why I like the top five votes. Let's continue on. Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Sertan. I called it. I thought it was surprising when Stefan Gilmore won because there were good candidates that year and he didn't have a ton of stats. This one's one of the.

strangest defensive player this year, not that he's not deserving, just that it hasn't happened before. Yeah. That a cornerback without really a ton of stats, even Dorel Revis when he was just locked down, like, and they didn't throw to him, there was all these coverage sets. Sturtano is just like a recognition of excellence. I have a theory about this. Yes. And this is not like based on reporting, but it is, I think, a pretty strong and sound theory. We have so many more angles of the game now, honestly, because when you're just reduced to watching it,

on your broadcast and the crews do a great job, but it is limiting. And often you're following the action of the play. Often you're not looking at an actual all 22 look. When you're looking at those camera angles from back, you know, even five, five, 10 years ago. And now you have so many ways to, and there's so many clips that you can find,

not even if, even if you don't have access like we do to the wonderful NFL pro and NFL plus pro. Like it is, it is even more so like search on social, media. I'd love to believe that this is the reason. I hope you're right. I would love I you. You know what, Greg, let me just for one little facet of one little sliver of the world, let me believe that people are more educated than they see. I think he's a great choice. And he was your choice. Shout out to you. Yes. Um, I love that. He got 26 first place votes. And I think, I think you're right. I thought you were going to go into the next gen stats and. Well, all of it. I was, I was about to. Yes. And I cut you off. That's all right. We've learned a lot this week. Trey Hendrickson comes in second, Miles Garrett comes in third. I thought Garrett might end up winning this award. I think Sertan won it ultimately because his team made the playoffs and those teams didn't.

Like if Trey, if the players around Hendrickson were better, it's kind of like Burrow got less votes for MVP because his team wasn't good. It's just how it works. I think if the Bengals went 13 and 4 this year and Trey Hendrickson had the same year, he might win the award. But it's how the cookie crumbles. Like there's no, it's fine. Like nothing's perfect.

Yeah, and I really don't want to take anything away from Pats or Tain either because if you go watch him on a per snap basis and you, again, you are able to do that now and you're able to quantify literally his impact on a game. I just, it's just outstanding. It's astounding. And we very rarely see seasons like this from any one player. I want to find out who voted Kirby Joseph first. And are there any voters based in Detroit? I applaud them. I guess I can find this out. Andrew Van Ginkle got a first place vote. Zach Bond got two. He was my first place vote and actually ended up coming in top five, which is great. T.J. Watt was fourth.

But again, it was such a wide open year that Kirby Joseph got a first place vote and came in in sixth. Your guy, Nick Benito, surprisingly a little lower than I would have expected at 9th, McKinney, Kyle Hamilton, Jonathan Grunard, Jalen Carter. I do love that it's this long list that when we look back on the PFR page that you'll see, Bonito came in nine. Yeah. And it'll be like actually a recognition of a really cool moment in his career. So I mentioned offensive player of the year. That's where Sequin Barclay gets his love. There was some buzz here that maybe Sequin was going to sneak up and win MVP at the last second.

I have a theory about that too. I think that was a classic. I thought that was a classic misdirect. I thought that maybe they were worried that it would be leaked. And so someone ended up like like jumping the leak and instead leaking something else. That's what I think. So Lamar ends up coming in second. So that's weird. It's the exact same thing that happened to Drew Breeze one year, 2018. Who won the MVP that year?

I should know these things up the top of my head. But I remember he came in second for MVP and second for offensive player of the year, which is just, it's kind of weird. Like no one fully decided to vote for him for either. Jamar Chase comes in third, Derek Henry third, Joe Burrow fifth. Joe Burrow also wins comeback player of the year for the second time, which he makes the joke that's like, this is not an award. Do you want to win twice?

J.K. Dobbins, who would have been a fun pick, comes in second. Darnold comes in third there. Let's go to the rookies. Jaden gets 49 to the 50 votes. Don't be the person that's mad that Sam Monson from PFF voted Brock Bowers first for offensive rookie of the year. Your guy, Jaden, got 49 freaking votes. There's a lot crazier voting going on in the world.

Sure is. Then Brock Bowers getting won. He had one of the best rookie seasons of all time. It's totally fine to disagree on these awards. I do find it fascinating how you didn't want Brock Bowers on our all-pro team, but now, you know, this argument. But I also think it would be totally reasonable. Had to do it.

Like, even the people that are mad that Lamar got one to fourth place vote, I promise you, like a vote for Joe Burrow is not that crazy. A vote for Seiquot. These guys all had outstanding seasons, and you're kind of picking between them, and you're recognizing all of them. It's not that serious. And it's also how you want to look at it.

And I liked how Sam looked at it, which was that for his position, I think in Sam Monson's mind, Brock Bowers was the best player in the entire league. And Jaden's not at that level, and that he's evaluating it for what he's asked to do because you can't ask Brock Powers to play quarterback. I think that's a fine way to look at it.

Not everyone has to, but he came in second. I do love that we had Jaden, Daniel's on our show. He had won the fan vote in the morning, and then he won the award that afternoon. He won the Pepsi, you know, DiP Pepsi Sugar Award, Pepsi Zero, and then he wins this one. Bo Nix comes in third, pretty close to Bowers. Brian Thomas comes in fourth, neighbors comes in fifth. Bucky Irving, who in some seasons would have won rookie of the year, did not get on the podium in the top five.

Like, he would have absolutely crushed Sam Bradford the year that he won. or to take it way back, John Stevens of the New England Patriots the year here one. Like, there are weird years. Like, Bucky Irving was awesome, but he got buried in this year. Drake May was really good for a rookie.

Like, he would have beaten Sam Bradford. He was seventh. Defensive rookie of the year, how about those Rams? They're just racking up rookie award. So a year after Puka gets it and then Kobe Turner comes in second. Defensively, Jared versus comes in first.

Braden Fist comes in third. Quinion Mitchell in between them at second. Not that close of a vote, actually. verse won it by a decent amount over Quignan. Yeah. And what I have been seeing circulating and I just want to head this off with the past is like, oh, people look at a sack numbers. We don't really do that as much here on NFL daily. They are important.

But he led, he was like the third in the league in pressure rate the entire year in the league, not just among rookies. Jared Verst was just getting pressure at nearly double the league average every single week except for the Philadelphia Eagles loss. And during the season, I think it was like what we. week 12 and i'm already who what day is it um but yeah and and and i like this i like this for him um he is turning into a bona fide name in this superstar in los angeles they've been waiting to crown their next defensive superstar i mean they have three guys i know in the last two years

that have come in top three for defensive rookie of the year and they have pukiniku on the other side that's outrageous and when people are talking about paying certain veteran contracts they're not really thinking about the fact that only one of those players has a fifth-year option available to them. And who is that? Jared Verse. Their first first-round pick since 2016. It's interesting that he won. Your point about the pressures and everything and the sacks is really interesting because

I don't think he would have won this award a long time ago. And there's a completely reasonable argument the other way around that actually were over-correcting. I spoke with a extreme ball knower last night and you can guess who it was, someone inside the league who actually think thought verse did not deserve this award and that Braden Fis was a significantly better player, which was an interesting take, but a reasonable take. I'm not saying he's right or wrong. I thought it as someone who watched every single snap from both of them all

season, I do think Braden Fiske had the better season. Now in terms of position affecting some of the game, some of the splash play to that Jared verse made, some of the game changing and game altering plays. Sealing the Saints game, for example, um, those types of things do stand out. Monster Vikings game. prime time the first time around. And he's the first round pick. And I know we like to think that doesn't factor things in, but sometimes it does. I do want to say two years in a row, it is interesting at

some point we'll over correct again because interior defensive linemen who are the rookie sack leaders did not win this award. And and so, you know, we might. And that's that's so hard. I mean, everyone knows this who list, you know, everyone knows this. It is so hard to do as an interior defender. And I think part of it too was, when, you know, we, you look at Jared Verse and how he plays, he is just an absolute force of nature. And it takes you a minute, I think, to notice Braden Fiske. And part of that's the position he plays. Yeah. And the point made to me, which is fair, maybe, and this is where the overcorrection comes, is like, yeah, but finishing the play is really important. Getting that sack is really important. And

that's who Jared Verst was in college, too. He didn't always finish the play. But Braden Fis was finishing a lot of plays this year and deserved a lot of credit. And got it. He came in third. Quinnian Mitchell, again, a lot of years would have won that award. On our all protein. Yeah, awesome. Cooper DeGine, great season comes in fourth, chop Robinson, fifth. It goes on from there. Shout out to Tarheeb still, by the way, coming in seventh for rookie of the year.

Pretty cool story as a total afterthought in the draft who went to the Chargers. Edger and Cooper with the Packers coming in six there. And yeah, we mentioned the comeback. The only award we have left is Coach of the Year, which honestly, I think we talked about maybe too much on this show. And so I don't have much more to say O'Connell wins it. Wasn't my choice, but absolutely a great pick. My choice, Dan Campbell, and my second choice, Reed came in second and third. I would add O'Connell third.

But I think anyway, those three wound up would have been great. And so Kevin O'Connell gets his first coach of the year award. Yeah, right off of that contract extension news as well. So it's been kind of a big few weeks for him. Got to catch up with them a little bit before we started taping today. And it was nice to see him say congratulations. You know, he was my pick early in this season. That being said, I still think it's egregious that Dan Campbell got passed over for the sake of the Kevin Stafansky vote.

And we should make up for that at some point. In the past, you're saying, yeah, because now he's turning into the bridesmaid here. That's two years in a row second place for Dan Campbell, which is unfortunate. Yeah. And sometimes, and my point is sometimes voters correct the year after and they did not do that in this case. No, wasn't that close. And they never have done that for Andy Reed. Andy, we got four first place votes. And it's a trend with all these awards.

The votes were really spread out compared to most years where there's a lot of agreement. Even O'Connell, who won a lot of, you know, by a lot, only at half the first place votes. So Campbell got some, Reed, Sean Payton, Dan Quinn. And then when you're looking at the second place votes like Harbaugh, McDermott, Tomlin, Sean McVeigh got a few fourth and fifth place votes, Lefleur, like bowls, like so many people got votes. And I appreciate that. So those are your, your awards this year and, uh, I am curious about something. You have it all pulled up right in front of you.

I haven't been able to get my tabs to open. Did Siriani get any votes? He got some fourth and fifth. He got three fifth place votes. Interesting. But in that sounds like, oh, that's a lot of pop for Siriani, but then you go down the list. He actually only came in 12 in coach of the year voting.

Yeah, that's what that was my question, which is, it's just interesting. That's all just noticing, not judging, just noticing. I think it makes sense when you're not the guy. hiring your coordinators. It's been established and reported that Howie Roseman literally hired the coordinators. You're not calling the plays. You deserve credit. But when you're also creating some drama and distraction, you're not going to win awards. Although I'm totally cool with five. You like how I flipped into the host chair to tee up on that one, Greg. He got three fifth place votes, which is totally fair. Before we go to all of our interviews and it's got to include

someone that got a first place defensive player of the year vote, Andrew Van ginkle coming up later on the show with Aaron Jones. That's awesome. Hall of Fame. Okay. The class of 2025, really interesting for a few reasons. First of all, Sterling Sharp is a Hall of Famer. The journey he has been on to get to this point is really something. I'll talk about that in a second. Antonio Gates, one of the greatest tight ends of all time, surprising that he had to wait a year, not surprising that he got in this year. Jared Allen got in and Eric Allen got in the longtime cornerback of the Eagles, the Saints, and the Raiders after a really long way. I think it was

like 15 years, 19 years, something like that. And his fifth time is a finalist. Right. Very surprising to me. And he does have a little bit of a connection to New Orleans, although a lot of people did. I don't know if that's really what took him over the top. Sometimes that happens. Let's talk big picture first. Only four people get in. Only one from the coaches and contributors. I did read this big Mike Sando article on The Athletic that explained why. Long story short, they made it much more difficult for players to get into the Hall of Fame. But Sando has already said that they did not expect it to be this difficult.

Only three modern era people got in. It's been five every single year for 17 years. They made it harder to get in this year. And because of how the math, math, only three got in. And I think they were a little surprised. I think they thought they might go from a seven-person class to a five or six-person class. Instead, it's just four. So they have made this very exclusive and left some big names out like Eli Manning,

like Adam Vinatieri, like Luke Keekley, was probably my biggest surprise who got left out. Yeah, and it was his first year eligible. And it was a few people's first year eligible that I think were surprises. This was the smallest Hall of Fame class in 20 years. And I wondered if you could expand a little bit more on why this has become as almost as complicated, but as difficult as it is. And it is one thing, Greg, I know you're passionate about it, really. I do. I like to talk about the players more than anything.

The process, they've always been tweaking like they have been tweaking for rules. And at a certain point, they thought it was too hard for coaches and contributors to get in. And they started making it to the point where if you got through this. seniors committee or coaches committee you basically got robert stamp you were in now they're all going up against each other yeah and so that's what's happening with tory holt and reggie way that too so those are two separate buckets but basically Shannon sharp gets voted in sterling sharp rather i knew i was going to do that um and he was kind of almost going up against homegrin and once you get to that final vote you have to get 80% of the vote whereas before it was just

is he in or not and you can have as many people in it's the same thing with the finalists. So they got down to seven finalists. I actually don't think we need to get too deep in the weeds, but you had to vote at that point for five people. And you had to get 80%. So that's a, that's a lot of agreement. And I think they're going to tweak the procedure to maybe make it not as hard. I do want to talk about Sharp because he's the type of guy should have never waited this long in my mind. He got, he played seven years. He was a wide receiver. He got MVP votes twice. He got offensive players of the year, top five twice. He made five Pro Bowls.

He led the league in receiving three times. He led the league in touchdowns a couple times. And these were like different years, too, like spread out. He led the league in reception. He is one of the best receivers of all time. And he had a neck injury that ended his career after seven seasons. It's like, that guy always should have been in the Hall of Fame. He won the Triple Crown.

We're talking about this Cooper Cup season. And so I'm really happy. And I really love the content where Steve Weish, our friend from NFL Daily and obviously NFL network, goes around and they knock on the door and they let the people know who made the Hall of Fame. And there was a very touching moment between Shannon, obviously already in the Hall of Fame and Sterling Sharp as he let his brother know the news. To have this moment, and I've had some great moments in my professional life, this is the proudest moment in my life. That's how I felt when you went in. You know, I felt like that when you went in. And you, you know, I'm not a cryer.

But when you said that you were in and that weekend that we had in Canton, man, I was like ain't nothing topping that. This tops its way. Oh, that is so beautiful. Greg, you're emotional right now. We got home last night and at like late. And I watched actually, because I wanted to catch up on all the news and stuff. I didn't watch this.

This wasn't up yet. but I watched Shannon Sharp at some live podcast. He did almost do like an eight-minute version of that and talking about their journey together as brothers that Sterling essentially raised him almost as he looks him at as like a father. And yeah, maybe it's just football, brotherhood. Like as brothers, the way he's talking about his older brother and just everything about it to me is it's incredible.

And I also really love Sterling Sharp as a player. I remember him just as a fan. Really cool. And to me, the headliner, because he's just, Shannon is like, you know, he says all the things I think that Sterling, who's a little more stoic, like cannot. And it's very cool. Yes. I'm just, I'm watching your face right now. And I just, I love how much you, like I love this for you. Honestly, you can, people who are listening and Greg, Greg has said everything. You got to go watch. He's, he is a, he is a little emotional right now.

It's very cool. In the best way. In the background of that video that we just Listen to Steve Weish is there. Now, he knows when to lay back, lay back. And it was very, very cool. I do want to mention the other guys that did get in, and then we're going to take a break. Antonio Gates, five all pros in his career. During the peak of Tony Gonzalez's career,

Antonio Gates won three straight first team all pros over Tony Gonzalez. Just saying, like his prime, just so good. Annoying to me, he had to wait a year. He's going to be the Luke Kekley of, 2025, Luke Keeckley will be in 2026. It's outrageous that Kikley has to wait a year because he's obviously a Hall of Famer. And that's where the math is not mathing of how they set this up. Jared Allen had that 22 sack season, but also had a 15, 14 and a half, 14 and a half.

And I'll remember him as a guy who is really big in terms of the player empowerment. He said, I will not play for you unless you pay me my fair money. They were offering him $7, $8 million a year. And they got a first and two thirds for him. And he got the biggest contract in the history of the league stood his ground at a time when that just wasn't happening. Yeah. Yeah. He spoke up for a lot of people, I think, after that. That was really important. And then Eric Allen, as we mentioned, talked to a few great ball knowers over this week. And they really thought this was long overdue. So congratulations to him. I want to set up the rest of the show before we take a break.

So you're going to be part of it, Jordan, but not. not the entire thing. It's going to be interesting. So you won't hear from us again. But we're going to take a break. We're going to come back. You're going to hear a great interview that we did with Andrew Whitworth, me and Jordan. Good insight on the Matthew Stafford. Listen closely to that. Yes. And then I'll say goodbye to you, Jordan. And then Nick Shook is going to come in. We talked to Jonathan Taylor. We talked to Andrew Van Ginkle and Aaron Jones. And we have a great rest of the show after that. We have a lot going on today. Let's take a quick break. We'll We'll be back with Andrew Wettwood.

What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.

It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft. analyze matchups and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day plus we dig in the coaching strategies roster construction and the trends that shape the league year after year whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level we give you the full picture if you want insight that goes beyond the box score this podcast is for you don't miss it listen to the move the six podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your

podcasts Hey, this is Matt Jones. Now I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my.

We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Get. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. All right, here with Andrew Whitworth, the Rams Super Bowl champion, the former Walter Payton Man of the Year, started 235 games in the NFL, and most impressively, has been honking

on Radio O since 3 a.m., which is an outrageous fee. How are you holding up? I'm great, man. I was built for this. I got four kids and three dogs. I'm, you know, listen, my life is a circus, so it's great. I love it. I'm so glad to see you with. It's always a pleasure when we get to talk football together. Yes, ma'am. And I know that you're here on behalf of Pepsi as well. You have some, like, intricate welding material here that you need to show us. No one knows what this is. All right, being a Louisiana guy, I can explain to you. This is a paddle.

This is what you use to stir, like a crawfish or shrimp pot when you're bowling crawfish, bowling shrimp. All the potatoes, corn, everything got down there. And you're seasoned. You stir your seasoning in with this, okay? So this is your bowl paddle. But I'm here with Pepsi because, of course, as an O-Lyman, anytime they offer you an opportunity to be part of something with foods involved, you are in.

So drinking Pepsi and eating food, it's a win. But tomorrow, Friday, 12 to 2. I'm a part of the first ever. Pepsi's doing the first ever Super Bowl boil. So it's a competition here in town. Fans voted their two favorite places, Mr. Shrimp and Crawl and Seafood. And they're going to compete in a bowl off, basically. And I'm going to eat the food. And then I'm going to say who I like the most.

So it's, I mean, I don't know how it goes bad for me. It's a win-win-win for you specifically. Yes, it's great. I can't wait. It's going to be a blast. We've got some fun. They're going to win $10,000, whoever wins. I'm supposed to give them this paddle.

don't think that's going to happen i'm probably going to keep it but uh some of my best times eating in my life are crawfish boils i went to school at tulane you're you're a louisiana guy i'm not really but i like to pretend because i was i was down here i have a feeling this is my city you hit you hit it you hit it hard give me some give me some Andrew whitworth in college eating stories uh i got some pretty insane stories my favorite one is that well i guess well maybe i can't say this how I can't. My favorite would be actually in high school and college when I was dating. This is Melissa's favorite. My wife, I would go get, that was back in the Taco Bell 10 for 10 days. I used to go get like five bean burritos or like five saw tacos or whatever and I would eat a 10 for 10 before I would pick up my dates because I was so big that I was like worried I was going to eat like an animal in front of them.

And so I was so nervous that they're going to see how hungry I would get and how much food I'd order that I would go crush a meal, then like throw it. all the way and go pick up my date so that I could like try to act like at the table like as a normal person like oh I want a salad no I would love some I mean that could backfire two reactions to that one uh iron stomach because uh oh no are you kidding me I'm from Louisiana we eat we eat everything it's not an animal we don't eat I would be a little bit worried just to be in close proximity listen yeah I wasn't worried about the date working out I just wanted to eat and then second reaction is I think we've all seen the photo of you when you were a prospect coming out, you know, I think your head was about four sizes bigger.

I mean, you look great, man. I used to be about 360, so I used to be up there. But, you know, listen, we're in New Orleans. I don't know if you guys know this, all right? The dome, right? Yeah. It's Witt's Dome, okay? Why is that?

Do you know that? What, you won a championship there? Is that right? All three levels. Yes. Yep. He owns it. I came here four times in high school, state championship game, one three of them.

And I played in the national championship with Nick Saban here and won the Sugar Bowl. That's the one I remember. Yeah, that's the one I remember. And then we, controversial, beat the Saints in the NFC Championship here in the Superdome. So I have won five titles in the Superdome. And I know you're a man about the people. So when you're here and you're walking down the street, do Saints fans, do they ever come up to talk to you about it? Here's the thing.

I love the Dome. The Dome doesn't love me back. So New Orleans just probably not like me very much because of that game. That's sole reason. But you know what? This place is pretty special. My first ever football picture promo deal I did. It's actually of me.

I'll have to send it to you, Jordan. I'm standing on top of the Superdome and there's planes flying around me like I'm Godzilla and I'm swatting planes because it was like all the other high school teams trying to figure out if anybody could beat West Monroe. I think at that time we'd won like 40-something games in a row. And so, yeah, I mean, it said King of the Dome. Yeah, you know, I would suggest that we would make a similar promo with Greg, but the height thing. I don't know.

I like it. It's like the twins poster. Yeah, there you go. Andrew next to you. You mentioned Louisiana. I always think it's like an underrated football state. Not to people that are down in the south, but people think Texas first, but Louisiana, just the level of fandom. And what a big deal.

Those high school championships are down here and everything. And I'm thinking about LSU. I'm thinking about your alma mater. I'm thinking about Joe Burrow, who I know you have. Some relationship with. Didn't he crash on your couch one time? He used to come watch games with him when he was hurt because Dr. Elitrash was when I'd blow up my knee

and he had gotten injured as well. So we watched games together while we were rehabbing. As a former Bengal, it's a little tricky, but you think they're going to do right by Joe Burrow in his career long term? Because when I look at like, Jaden Daniels did our show. And does he like Los Angeles?

Follow up. Follow up. That's a great one too. I think the tough part with that one is I would argue what Joe Burrow has experienced as he's been there is they've actually attempted to do that. I mean, you look at really when I played there, there was no free agents. Like we weren't bringing in high-end pre-agent guys. They weren't doing any of that type stuff. When Joe got there is when you saw all this aggressive change in the organization, the problem is.

And I love, you know, duke and those guys to death, but they've completely been just missed on everything they tried to do to replace. those guys like Jesse Bates. You're going to let him walk. You've got a bit of replace him. They completely missed on replacing him. DJ Reader, awesome human, great player. You're going to let him go. You're going to try to replace him. Wift on replacing him.

Now T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, you try to figure that situation out. Well, you draft a receiver last year who's been in a complete disaster. You whiffed again on trying to replace him. So I think they've actually tried to do it. The problem is they've just been very poor. I mean, hell, they could have had an upgrade at left tackle for that Super Bowl when they were playing the Rams. Well, that's right.

So they didn't do a very good job of that. They took two tackles in the first two rounds when I left. I did have a follow-up question. I had asked it just wondering your thoughts on, does he like L.A.? I am sure Joe Burrow loves L.A. He's a fashion guy. You know, he loves having a good time. He likes playing golf.

He would love L.A. But I think they've tried. I think unfortunately they've missed the mark. Yeah. I'm thinking about your team, that you follow closely the Rams now and kind of what all that's up in the air obviously some of your former teammates Cooper Cup Stafford what do you think like is getting in the way of them being a little more committal to Matthew Stafford I think it's I think it's really less about

that as much as it is all right at some point that clock's ticking like he is he's not getting any younger he has played well but Stafford's also had a lot of injuries been beat up He plays through a lot. He's tough as can be. And I don't think maybe people understand some of the stuff he plays it because he's just so damn tough. Like you don't realize it. Well, that's true.

But I think really to me, here's where I'm at with all that. And this is just, I'm just speaking out of turn here. But listen, this is the best part of our job, guys. We get to have all the answers, zero accountability. So it's great. Here's what I think. So Sean McVeigh's been the head coach in 2017. The Rams had already leveraged all their picks for Jared Gough.

Then you enter this world where you're, trying to put a team together fast with this coach that you believe in a bunch. You're making a lot of crazy moves. There's no stableness in anywhere in the picks and the cap and all this. You go win a Super Bowl by getting a ton of guys brought in that are off the street. You can't live in that world. Then you re-cash-in thinking you can do it again and it's a disaster. Now you have to flip everything again to try and rebuild.

You don't have a rebuild. You actually draft great and you've now built a great roster. My point is I think a lot of these decisions have a lot more to do. with how successful Sean McVe has been in eight years without first round picks, without any kind of a stable cap or situation. And you look at these two teams in the Super Bowl right now and go, how freaking good is Sean McVe if we actually gave him a stable world where we just drafted solid players, got good free agents,

kind of just built a normal roster that we didn't take big shots and swings and just let him coach and teach and make great football teams year in and year out like Andy Reed and these guys do. I think this decision is a lot more to do with that. Cooper's expensive. Him and Pooker are very similar guys that do similar things. Let's get cheaper there. You know what?

You're kind of at the end to Stafford. Is it a year? Is it two years? You continue to be here. Let's continue to build a great roster that a rookie or young quarterback could come in and be successful in quickly and have a stable situation for Sean McVeigh to coach him. You almost make it make sense.

Yeah. I mean, that's what I would recommend. I'm saying you're convincing me. Not that I get into this. I would say to, Andrew, we've talked about this in the past, too, is like it's having one foot in a previous era of this team building and then looking at the rest of their, the other foot and the rest of this roster in the new era of team building. And I think what a lot of people, when they come in here, including people they've traded for, including quarterbacks, they think that maybe they are the team. It is, Sean McVeigh is the brand of that team. And if you aren't clear on it, he makes it clear.

Yeah, I think it's very clear. he is and who he is and what he's done with this group and these rookies and listen cooper's had a massive impact and like the thing cooper will be is they will get more players who are like cooper because of who cooper was the impact he's had on that building and everyone in it and who they've been able to identify this is what we win with that's why pukunakua is here like all those and karen williams that's why he's there like they identify those people now in a much better way because of a guy like cooper so his impact will live on unfortunately he's on the wrong side of you're a really expensive receiver who we kind of already have a guy who could do

a lot of those similar things and wouldn't we rather go maybe invest in a guy who take the top off the defense to go along with puka and maybe you know another tight end that's kind of a high market guy or something like there's other pieces that we could add to make those role playing positions matter and i think that's the big thing when you're building a roster if these moves happen they should have you explain it you're better at it than well he's an analyst he's a great analyst and they'll get all defensive and everything yeah don't have I think I'm a GM, yeah. You know, I'm one of these former players I think they know what they're doing.

Witt, just you explain it. Don't let less explain it. Okay. Yeah. How about that? The answers will be too long. Really appreciate the time here with Pepsi, obviously. Also, check out Andrew Whitworth's new podcast with Ryan.

It's a Witt, baby. I think it should be Witt and Fits. He calls it Fits and Witt. You know, whatever. We're already in Tiff, you know. It's outstanding. So check that out. Appreciate the time, Andrew.

Yeah, appreciate it, man. Thank you. Excited to welcome into the show. Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, much like the guy in the Super Bowl, Sequin Barclay. When Jonathan Taylor is in the open field, no one is catching him from behind.

Welcome to the show, Jonathan. Thank you, man. I appreciate you guys having me on today. Yeah, you're here with Dairy Queen. We'll talk about that a little later. I do think about you, actually, when I think about this Sequin season, actually. So I am going to start there because you had a 2,000-yard season.

And you had a 20 touchdown season all together. And it kind of makes me think with Sequin, he's been in the league for a while, how much do you think a season like that comes down to you, the runner, and how much do you think it comes down to all the players around him? Oh, man, it's 100% the players around you. The only thing that really happens and really not even that most of the time is once you hit the open field, it's like, okay, do you have enough juice?

in the tank to get there. But first of all, I mean, you got to get through the line of scrimmits. You got to get through the trenches. You got to make sure your guys, especially with us with the double teams, the offensive line are getting to the second level to the backers. And then really a lot of those explosive runs come from the receivers holding blocks on the outside. And like I said, sometimes, okay, let's say maybe a receiver miss a block, you may outrun

a guy, but for the most part, it takes everybody. It's just like a math equation at that point, right? There's just less defenders to make miss when you're in the open field. Exactly. And every play is designed to score. I like to tell people that every play is really designed to score. Otherwise, like, why would you really draw it up? And it's like if everybody does their job, it should execute perfectly.

But then, of course, you have some people like, say, Kwan, that are special. And he can just jump over somebody backwards. And it doesn't really matter. Yeah, definitely. Now, how about the changes that you guys have undergone in the last few years? You obviously, you know, you've had some health issues and everything else, but you had a healthy year largely this year. And we saw who you've been in years past.

Was that satisfying to you to know that I still have this in the tank? I proved that I can definitely still do this at a high level. It was more just so, okay, I can get back on track of being healthy. Because before, you know, never missed a game, never miss a practice. And, you know, putting into perspective, out of my whole career took until year three or so, four in the league to finally miss something, at that position, that just doesn't happen. So just now my main focus was, okay, now I have to start a new street, you know, and we got to see how long this goes. It's how many years I can have a new streak of not missing anything. But the injury rate in the NFL is 100%.

You do as much as you can to mitigate that risk, but now I'm working on starting a new streak. Yeah, it's a fun scheme with Shane Stike. And obviously that the big, the 2,000 yard season is in a different scheme. What is it about this scheme with Shane Stike? And they obviously decide to go with continuity, which I think made a lot of sense with your coaching staff. And what is unique about running?

behind this scheme that that chain runs. It's just so many options. Like, it keeps the defense honest. It keeps them on their toes. You know, you're either handing the ball off. AR is either keeping it. AR has an advantage throw. It's like just literally you have to play honest.

And I think that's why we have the opportunity to be explosive and to put a lot of points on the board because defenses can't just hone in on one aspect. You had that late season run this year where you're putting up stupid totals. It was like, oh, there he is. And he's just leading them to victory single-handedly. At one point, you run a touchdown and you end up in the tunnel.

What was that like for you to enjoy that type of success? It was awesome. I always accredit kind of my end-of-the-season play to my high school coach, Montrey Wright. At that time, he always mentioned you want to play your best ball in November and December. So they're now translating that to the league, of course, at the end of the season, December, January, you really want to be hitting on all cylinders because those are the game that's going to propel you into that postseason. What's it been like being next to, you know, you mentioned AR. He obviously lost the starting job for a couple of games this year.

Then he gets back in the lineup that there's been moments. Certainly as a rookie when he was healthy, where you see all the potential. But what's it been like kind of being next to him and along for this journey? Because obviously your futures, your team's future, you're all tied together. Definitely. And, you know, trying to just be back there and have him feel as comfortable as possible to let him know I have your. back. I think people really forget the fact that he's really young. There are guys coming in

the draft this year that are like 24. We just talked to Jaden Daniels and he's significantly younger than Jaden Daniels. Anthony Richardson. Yeah. So I don't think like 13 games in college, 15 in the NFL, like he's really young. But you, like you said, you've seen the flashes, you've seen the potential. So this offseason, him putting together a great offseason, and then all of us coming together and having a great training camp to be able to have something special happening in Indie. Yeah. What do you think the missing element is going of the season. I think for up, well, number one, like I mentioned, just him just getting reps, you know, him just getting reps, but now he has a few reps under his belt. Now it's on one,

us as a supporting cast, we got to make those plays in the critical moments. The thing that the Eagles and the Chiefs do very well, hence why they're here, is situational ball. Whether you're on the fringe of field goal range, making sure you get there. Hey, not taking a sack in a certain situation. That is what gets you into the big game. It's being very great situation. Does Shane have you, like, watch some of their old Eagles scheme when he was back in here, the 2020 season just to let you know, yeah? Definitely. What do you learn from that? He's such a guru.

Listen, there's a funny story. There's actually times at practice. It's just like the movie. You're walking on at practice. He's like, hey, J.T. come here. This is what I'm thinking about running. Little piece of paper or has a pen, draws up a play. I think I'll run it third period.

And you have, when you have a coach like that, a guru like that, who's constantly thinking of ways to scheme, the opposing. in defense, out coach the other coach, and put his players in a position for success. That's all you can ask for it. Have you had one of those plays come through in a game? Definitely, definitely. And it's like insane because it hit exactly how he said. Not like, oh, that kid hit, but it was just a little different.

It's like, they hit exactly how he said it was going to, which is insane. What's something people wouldn't know about Jonathan Taylor. I feel like, you know, this Colts team somewhat under the radar. Not so much on this show because we have a co-host. She's not here today. Colleen Wolf, every year she's just picking y'all to go. all the way. So you got to make her look right one of these years. What's something about the Colts maybe and Jonathan Taylor especially that the average fan wouldn't know? I think people

don't understand of how much fun we have working. Like I know everybody, of course we want to win more games, but I think a big part of that is enjoying the process and enjoying the work. So us at practice, we're actually having a good time out there working, busting our tails. And I think if you don't enjoy the process, if you go out there dragging your feet, have your head down, like, okay, you got another day of practice, another day of pads. I don't think it's going to be very productive. It's not going to be a great practice. So we actually enjoy the work.

We enjoy the practice, and that's half the battle. I'm feeling the energy right now. Yeah, I'm kind of getting fired. I'm almost ready to strap it on and run through a wall. All that, all those heavy meals we've been having, like I'm starting to feel like I can go out and work out. Clear some lanes for him. Not get as big as this guy. I mean, ridiculous.

I mean, I'll clear some lanes for Jonathan. Did you get a pump in this one? No, I did not. Did you, Jonathan, before coming out to do these interviews? Definitely, definitely, for sure, for sure that. What did you choose? Would you choose? I did leg day.

At the end of the day, the legs feed the wolf. Yes. At the end of the day. Never skip it. Never. That's why he is an absolute professional. Jonathan, I know you're here with Dairy Queen talking about game day food this week. Tell us about that.

Dairy Queen has been taking tremendous care of meat during the season, out of season. But I'm here on behalf of their new sauce and toss honey barbecue chicken strips. It's a favorite of mine. But I always like to pair with their Oreo Blizzard treat because that's like a match made in heaven. especially after a big game, like Tennessee game that I had this past season, going to Dairy Queen. Yeah, you know, you hit me in my heart. I used to work at Dairy Queen in high school.

Really? Oh, okay. Yeah. I was on the Blizzard Machine doing all that stuff. I just can't imagine like rolling up to Dairy Queen, a big old shook his back. Get more people in there. Here's some protein. Here's some chicken tenders. Jonathan Taylor, great to have you on the show.

Looking forward to what the Colts are going to do in 2025. Appreciate you. Thank you guys very much for taking the time out. All right, we are here with two of the best cornerbacks in the league because they play for the New England Patriots, Christian Gonzalez and Jonathan Jones, Jordan Roderig, already embarrassingly brought up that I am a Patriots fan, so I'm not even trying to be unbiased in this interview.

Welcome to the show, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks for having us. Thank you guys for having us. I wanted to ask first. Have you guys heard from Mike Rabel at all? I have not. He ain't called me. He ain't said that. He's just going to show up outside of your house.

Yeah, I got a chance to stop by and talk to him. Okay. So you've been with the team a long time, Jonathan. Has he, is he like reaching out, talking a little bit to some of the veterans that have been there for a while? I was just in a facility. So I kind of got to bump into him while I was in there. And, you know, I had a moment to talk to him. It kind of was exciting.

What do you guys know about him? I mean, his reputation. And obviously, I know you're familiar with him in the past as well. but like his reputation sort of walks into the building before he even does, just how well regarded he has been across the league. What do you know about him and are you excited for this sort of new era with him? I mean, I just know a little bit. I mean, I don't know too much about him.

I mean, I heard he's a good coach. Heard he's like a raw, raw guy. So I mean, I'm excited to see how things get going. You're here with Bounty and you're kind of, wearing eagles colors there. Is that like, is your AFC guys and sick of the chiefs winning? No, no, no, no.

That's bounty green. Let's be clear. That's not eagle's green. Jonathan, you were in that game, AFC championship against the chiefs back in the 2018 season. I'm just thinking about, and you can think about this too, if you're going against Mahomes,

like, what were some, do you remember some coaching points? maybe that Belichick had that the Patriots had when you would go up against Patrick Mahomes? Just try to keep him from killing you. I mean, there's not really much you can do to limit him. You're just trying to go out there and compete because at the end of the day, he's such an incredible talent. He can make every throw. So you definitely, we're kind of glad they ran out of time because they were coming back in that game. And so he's a heck of a player. in the first half. Yeah, you've heard that. I mean, you have to exploit every margin against him,

right? Because he knows all of them. He knows all the tricks. We've seen this. And he has such tenure. And I guess I wonder, you know, when you're coming into the league, Christian, and you're watching him play. And obviously, he was there a few years before you were. And watching this new generation of quarterback sort of led by him, what were your impressions? And then Jonathan, for you, you're like, all right, buckle in. Here we go. A bunch of new guys coming in to defend. What were your first impressions of kind of this wave of quarterbacks who can sidearm, they can create out a structure, they can do these sort of Mahomes light things. Yeah, I mean, just, I mean, to go back to college, that's kind of, I saw that every week. So I feel like it's just more like the newer

side, the newer age of football, which, I mean, only makes me and Jay Jones job harder. You know, we're out there covering and you can be in a perfect spot, but they can, you know, twist their body an inch and be able to get a better throw, a better angle. So, but I mean, it makes it harder, but also makes it more fun because it's, you know, we know that they got superstars back there. And it just, like he said, it boils down to competing. And, I mean, that's what we do is compete for a living. So anything to make it more competitive, we invite the challenge.

It is, like, are they more prepared? I mean, I know you have to be more prepared with them. Are they more prepared as they enter the league? No, I kind of came into the league with a teammate at quarterback who was about to prepare as you could get. I think we know that guy. Yeah. And so, like, facing that at practice every day, just seeing how meticulous that he was and seeing that the younger guys are starting to come into the league and just better. You know, they're better from a young age, able to play younger.

Some of that just comes down to what, you know, coaches and officer coordinators are, you know, letting them do. I think they're kind of letting them play their style of football and not trying to make everybody, you know, a pocket. passer and get the ball out in three steps and things like that. And so you have a lot of offensive coordinators now that are bringing in these youngs quarterbacks and allow them to be themselves. So Christian's the second team, All-Pro, as a second-year player. I feel like the country, because the Patriots weren't on a lot of national TV games this year, obviously you were coming off the injury in your rookie year.

Don't know a ton about Christian. I want to ask you, Jonathan, as his teammate, what makes him good? What makes him unique as a cornerback? Well, I want to first say, I'm on record for going on my Christian Gonzalez parade last offseason. But no, I've seen him come in and work and just see the attributes that he has as a corner. He's a prototypical corner that you want to build. And at the same time, he just works hard, no matter what it is, he comes in every day,

doesn't say too much. I'm surprised you guys are getting the interview out of him. I'm so stoked. I heard you were quiet. And I was like, oh, my God, he's talking. I love it. I love it. Yeah, but he comes in and works hard.

And he has the speed, the length, everything that you want out of a corner. You feel awkward now hearing nice things about you, Christian? Because you do kind of give up, maybe I'm going to make you feel even more awkward. You almost give off the vibe that you play with, which is very smooth. I was trying to think of how I would describe your style. And you're not moving slowly, obviously, but it sort of just all looks very smooth and under control on the field. Is that like on purpose? That's just how it is.

I mean, a little bit of both. I mean, I've just, I come from a very athletic family, a track background, so I grew up running tracks. So I kind of, I learned the correct way to run, which I feel like is not taught anymore. So I've always got that compliment of, like I look smooth or, or it used to be not a compliment when I was young. It used to get yelled at all the time of, oh, you're not trying, you're not, you're not doing that. It's just, that's kind of how I am on the field and off. It's just very even cue. I don't really.

Someone once compared you, and I want to know what you think about this, Jonathan. Like, someone once compared you to me as like, you know when you watch a duck swimming across a pond and their legs are paddling furiously under the water, but they're so smooth. You don't even know. You barely see a ripple, but you know the effort is just going crazy underneath the water, but you just can't see it. That's how that person, a scout across the league described me, described you to me. And I was like, okay, I mean, like, let's save the writing for the writers, right?

But like, you know, I never heard that one before, but what do you say? I mean, yeah, smooth. Smooth. From drills, the playing, you're just, just smooth. For you, I mean, what does it like to play with, I mean, you've played with so many different people you've led for so long, you know, and brought up the young guys, even as you were growing yourself, you know? And so what is it like for you to, I guess, you know, help someone grow up a little bit in the league, but also have that presence that sort of seems to me beyond his years. alongside you. Yeah, it makes it easy. I always remember having vets like Devon and things they would say about me just, hey, you come in, you work hard, you don't cause any problems. And so when you

have the young guys who do those things and they're also talented, it just makes it a lot easier to be in that room. Just get to focus on football. There's no distractions off the field. There's nothing else you have to worry about than coming in and getting better at football. I want to get your thoughts on what it's like to practice Drake May because like Jordan said, I'm a Patriots fan. We got the best young cornerback in the league. But before I do that, do you know about Jonathan's Super Bowl experiences? He told you at all about that, that he has a sack in the Super Bowl. And it was almost a controversial sack. He hit Jared Goff going out of bounds in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. At that point, it's only three to three. They're driving. And he hits him so hard. He goes

flying headfirst into the first down marker. And all the Patriots fans watching, that are like, oh, man, are they going to flag that? That would put them in field going. They didn't call the flag. It was the right call. I'm glad you laid him out. Maybe that put him in a bad spot the rest of the game. But he can bring the wood here.

In his only Super Bowl, he got a sack. Not many cornerbacks doing that. I mean, I've probably seen the play. But, I mean, just from playing with him and seeing the things he do, I mean, I don't question. I know he go up there and go lay a hit when it's. Do you remember that moment? Were you worried? No, I tell guys, watch the feet.

Watch the feet. And I'm like, the whole time I'm running to him, I'm watching his feet. He took one more step in bounds, and I shot my shot. He is slow. I thought it was clean, just saying. Not just because you're here. I appreciate that. What has it been like practicing against Drake May?

What did he show you kind of as a rookie? And what was that progress like throughout the course of the season? Yeah, I mean, he's coming. He's got to tell it. And you kind of could see that from day one. he just improved so much on his decision-making. I mean, that's what quarterback kind of comes down to and just seeing him out there and practice,

decision-making, the confidence that he has. It's kind of the things you look for in the young players. Just do they have the confidence? If you get drafted at high, you have the ability, it's just can you transfer that over? I want to ask what the dynamic is, because it's got to be hard to build confidence against you guys. I mean, in training camp,

I know during the season, he's not taking a lot of reps against you guys, but in training camps, you know, some of the live sessions and the live periods, I mean, you guys have to be given him hell, right? I mean, that's just the way of the corner, right? So how do you build, from his perspective, I guess, how do you build confidence and how do you guys, I know you're not going easy on him, but how do you, like, talk him up, even if you pick him off

or even if you make a play on something he does? I think it just goes back to, like, being competitive. Like, he knows it's, that's only going to get him better. I feel like that's, he kind of encourages it. he'll i mean me and me and drake got lockers like right next to each other so he'll he'll come in and you know he'll talk a little smack he'll he'll do a little thing so i i think that's just how he is as a person uh he invites the competition and he knows that it's like it's part of it that's only going getting better so so you guys are here with bounty i mentioned it before to tell us a little bit

about what you're doing with bounty yeah we're working on a partnership you know with bounty they have the wings, Super Bowl. I think they said there's 4 billion wings. Are you going to be wings on Super Bowl? I mean, I'm working so no. I'm responsible for $2 billion. If they give it to us, I will. But no, next week. So their partnership with Bounty and just cleaning up messes

and out here supporting them. All right. Appreciate you. Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones of the New England Patriots. It's a new era, but like the old era with the Patriots, it starts in the secondary. You know, it's like we're throwing it back to to Thai law and lawyer Malloy. Yeah. Can you tell he's a fan?

Yeah, a little bit. Thank you guys for joining. Yeah, appreciate. I appreciate. All right, we are here with two of the most electric players at their positions in the entire NFL and, of course, of the Minnesota Vikings, Andrew Van Ginkle and Aaron Jones. Aaron is just chilling here with the sunglasses and the happy. Y'all are both chilling.

Always kicking it with my wing, man. Yeah, yeah. Here with Bounder. We'll hear about that in a second. I got to start with the lead news here, which we talked about earlier in our show. Are you aware you got a first place vote, Andrew, for a defensive player of the year on Thursday night.

We're talking. Yeah, let's go. Am I breaking that news to you? Yeah, you are. That's pretty special. Obviously, coming into a new team, new organization and having coaches and everybody believe in me, Flores bringing me in and having that belief

and put me in positions to make plays, it's definitely surreal. It's definitely surreal and something that's very special to me. It's pretty cool. So when people type up Andrew Van Ginkle in the future and they have the defensive player of the year voting, you ended up coming in seventh overall and you got one of the first place votes, I'm loving that I'm breaking that news. What is it about Brian Flores' defense that brings out the best in you?

That's fun to play in. I think it's very, you know, you just have to be smart, dependable and you know, you got I love football. And that's something that he preaches. And, you know, when you allow his scheme and take advantage of where he's putting you, doing certain things to put you in positions to make plays and be successful. And, you know, that's something that I pride myself on. It's just being accountable, being in the right spot, the right time, running to the ball, high effort. And it's something that Flores appreciates. And, you know, obviously he drafted me to Miami and was part of the reason I'm in Minnesota. So he's got that belief in me and confidence.

And, you know, when you got a coach like that, it allows you to play fast and have fun. And at the end of the day, it allows you to make plays. And the plays come to you and just got to make them. Yeah, speaking of being in position and the right position at the right time, that's like your knack. Like, that's just what you do. That's what you've made your name. Two interceptions this year, both return for touchdowns. You almost had another one in week 18 against the try.

I'm sure you still think about it. Yeah. What is it about that? Like, where did you get that, that just innate sense to be in the right place at the right time? I think it's just a love for football. I love watching football. I love being around football. If I'm not playing it, I'm watching it or, you know, talking about it.

And I'm just having that instinct that just, you know, I can see things before they happen. And I try to envision it. And, you know, I've had great coaches too. I've had Fangio. I've had Flores and then a ton of assistant coaches, Campanelli, who's now the Jaguars, D.C., guys that have taught me football and, you know, how teams are trying to, attack us and you know from week to week it's kind of similar so I'm just taking that and using it going forward see seeing the game ahead of time I think you have that in common with

your teammate here Aaron Jones because one of the things I always enjoy watching you Aaron is you seem to set up your blockers very well you can be patient and you seem to have an idea of what the defense is going to do before they do it like how did you learn that what's the keys to doing that I think it's just just playing the game for a while the more the more reps you get the more you more you see and then kind of how he how how how what he hit on the coaching um you you're you're getting coached up so you're you know what what they're what the defense is trying to do um if if our goals to run outside zone you know there it may not get outside but you you have to stay on your keys you got to press the aim point to get the guy to move

and then put your foot in the ground just just kind of some of those things and uh also just I guess the kind of well I was going to say see him before happened but uh but but uh what's the word I can't think of the word but just uh kind of being on your toes really like not predicting but seeing what's happening before it happens or thinking like okay this if if my if this guy's in a three technique and the backers over here they're they're doubling to him but if he sees me do this then I'm gonna I'm gonna do this so just kind of already having a plan in your head yeah and you're able to react to that because you've had so many reps doing that, right? Yes. You've gotten a lot of reps on both sides of this rivalry between Minnesota and Green Bay from your time with the backers. But early in the season, it kind of struck me because obviously you had a great year. You seemed really grateful to be with the Vikings. What did you experience in your first year with Minnesota that made you realize this was the right choice? Just the management, my teammates, the support staff there, the locker room, just everything. That's a great place to be. They really take care of you. They take care of your family. It's a,

It's a family, like family first organization. It is just a blessing to be in Minnesota, the support that they showed us. Even from just when I, the moment I signed, sign my name on the dotted line, they just showed nothing beloved to me and my family and continued to show that all throughout the season. So we have great fans in Minnesota.

The stadium there is electric. To me, it's the best place to play. So, yeah. What's it like going up against this defense in camp? I can imagine, like, they're throwing a lot at you that's not letting you kind of do the plays that you want to just run in camp as you're learning the offense. So at first in camp, it was smooth. They were taking it easy.

They were, they maybe bring one blitz, not getting into any hard looks, but towards week three, week four, they're into camp. They're getting in all these looks. And you're like, you're over there scratching your head. And like, as an offense, we got to speed this up, our protections, everything to be able to compete with these guys at practice. And I think they truly made us better this year. And when we were going against them and we'd have a little success, we're like, okay, we're going to be good this year. Because this is a great bunch that we're practicing against every day.

And then they also get in so many different looks. You don't know who's coming. So being able to practice against that on a daily basis. is it prepares you for when you when you're out there going against another defense you've seen it all at that point yeah competition brings out the best in you guys and it seemed like that's what we got from this team in 2024 what about playing under kevin o'connell who's a guy who's still you know in his first few years as a head coach seemed like you guys just had were steady like you knew where you wanted to go and really most people weren't stopping you for most of this year yeah i think it you know it starts with doing routine things routinely just things that you do on a weekly basis on a daily basis you know um taking it from meetings out to walk-throughs to practice. And, you know, they always had this mindset of we're going to go want to know. Like, no matter what happens down the road, don't look past, you know, three-game road trips, you know, three games at home.

It's one game at a time. We win this game and, you know, we move forward. We learn from it and we move on to the next week. What would your scouting report be to stop your teammate here, Aaron Jones? Oh, man. You know, we'd have to stack the box. Make sure you make them one-dimensional and don't let him get going because once he, you know, once he finds that step, it's hard to slow him down. We're going to see you in Minnesota again next year?

Yes, sir. That's where I want to be and that's where I hope to be at. Okay. Okay. You guys are here with Bounty. Tell us a little bit about that. Yes, sir. So blessed to be here with Bounty. You can't have football without wings and you can't have wings without Bounty. Me and my wingman have just been hanging out. Nailed it. Yeah. Beautiful. Nailed it. He loves me. I don't even have to say it. he's already talked about it he loves ball i love ball and it's just easy to sit back and talk ball yeah and if you're if you're watching or listening to us i do highly recommend checking out the

youtube version of the show as well just to see andrew van ginkgo's flowing locks and then aaron's great look with the hat in the in the shades and it's all happening um we are going to take a quick break here on nfl daily we will be back on the other side with a couple interviews here We're going to talk to Matt Castle. We're going to talk to Joey Chestnut before wrapping up Radio Row. See you on the other side. What's up, everybody?

Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from Scouting Reports and Player Development to Team Building Philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers,

and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my.

We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is. exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. All right, we are here with Matt Castle, our new teammate here at IHeartRadio NFL media podcast, maybe not quite the same bond that, that you had with like Mike

Brable, uh, wow, you guys got traded to Kansas City together. Trauma bonding, trauma bonding. We're both traded. I mean, I was kind of fired up about it because I knew I was going to maybe get to play now, you know, because going back to the Patriots. But Mike, on the other hand, was like, really? You trade me with Castle to Kansas City. I can't just finish my career here.

Like, what's the deal? Yeah. We're a package deal. So thank you. So now you're a package deal with Bobby Bones. And yeah, everyone to check out lots to say. Bobby's really talented.

We just talked to him before this. He's incredible. What a wonderful person. He's really nice, really nice. Great human just could have a conversation with anybody. He's so welcoming his personality, but he's funny, conversational, and just so easy to get along with. So I've been very blessed to be with him and linked up with him on this podcast.

Yeah, so they're down there in Nashville together. And I actually do want to get to a little Brable and old Patriots talk because, of course, I do. But you guys were talking about before the, before we even started. And we learned that you guys have something in common that you played multiple positions in college. People might forget, I always remember you're going to need to phrase that. Matt. You're going to need to phrase that. No, yeah, tight end quarterback. And Belichick, he loved getting the credit for like, oh, yeah, we found this guy who was like not even like a quarterback and now look at him. He's great. But we learned while talking, Matt, that Jordan played multiple positions on her intermural teams. So tell us more about

that. Yeah, like football. quarterback and tight end. That's what I'm talking about. Co-ed team and girls would get the touch every one out of every three downs, every four downs. So we would cheat the down because I could throw. So I'd play quarterback and we run all kinds of trick plays. And then I'd play tight end and then we'd cheat the down more. And yeah, we were champions.

Oh, champions. Yeah. What do you get in that intramural league if you win the championship? T-shirts and I still have it. Yeah, I would keep that forever. It's sentimental. I'm kind of sad because it's so faded now because I wear it all the time because flex, right? Yeah, duh.

Yeah, but the text of it is so faded that now I'm like, oh, no, now I'm going to have to be that person that, like, tells people, like, opens it. Because I can't just read it, you know? So I'm going to have to be like, so, by the way, in my glory days. Let me tell you about this play that I drew up and dropped a dime in the championship game. Go ball to Rob DeWitt. That was the move. Yeah. So it's just like three sneaky athletic hosts here.

Yeah, three for sure, three teammates. Yeah. Yeah, big time. Uh, pickleball. Oh, are you a pickleball? I'm just kidding. Massachusetts state champion tennis player. That's what I'm talking about.

Team, but you know, I was starting. Um, and then yes, Matt would get hit with the sneaky athletic back in the day. Because when, when you were taken by the Patriots and you played multiple positions and then you end up becoming the backup and, and you end up getting your, your shot as a starter, it was exciting for me as a fan because we had the quote unquote sneaky athlete. athletic quarterback because you got some rushing yardage back at back in the day, at least for like the 09, yeah, 10 era. You were doing it. It was, you know, it was more of necessity. Sometimes when you drop back, especially early on, I was like, okay, I'm going to panic now and I'm just going to

take off and run. It was something that, you know, it was something that I had in my bag that I was like, okay. And so even the way that they designed some of the offense that year, you know, Josh McDaniels would put in some boots and stuff like that because I was a little bit more athletic than Tommy. Tommy was more of your traditional quarterback, but I, you know, I let the caboose get loose every now and then. You know, they did, they had that documentary where they made me look like Michael Vic that all I did was run and I'm laughing. I'm going, I did throw the ball a lot that season. Yeah, I wouldn't check this morning because in my head and it's probably because of that doc too, like you were Michael Vic back then. Oh yeah. It was like, you know, you had 250 rush.

Yeah. It was solid, but nothing, nothing to really, you know, tell your friends about. Is it weird that Josh McDaniels is the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots in 2025? Just for the listeners, to back it up, he was your quarterback's coach. Quarterback coach and coordinator. And then coordinator as well, he had that. He had the two titles. I think when you entered the league, yeah, he was already the coordinator. So maybe talk me out of that.

It's weird. Because there is part of me as a Patriots fan that's like, I get it. And yet at some point, shouldn't they. maybe turning the page instead of trying to relive old glory. Tell me your thought. Well, I don't think they're trying to relive old glory. What I do believe is Josh is at the core of him. He's a teacher. And he's very good with young quarterbacks, old quarterbacks, but he's exceptional in terms of game planning. And that's always been one of his strengths is seeing a defense because he understands the defense side of the ball so well, designing a game plan to attack their weaknesses.

and also for a guy like Drake May coming into this situation, somebody that obviously you want to see continuous growth, make that jump from year one to year two, and he's somebody that understands how to do that, and he's done that throughout his career. So I think it's a great hire, and he's also familiar with Mike Vrable, understands what's going to be expected for him

on the offensive side of the ball, but part of being a good head coach is hiring good talent around you, especially on the coaching side, and Josh McDaniels is one of the best coordinators in the league and has been for a long period of time. You know what? I do want to know from you, though, from your perspective, is you hear stories about him and how particular he is. And sometimes that can rub people the wrong way.

You don't know how to approach him or communicate with him or vice versa. And I have heard a lot about how he's sort of been talking about just always continuing to learn, even in this phase of his career and trying to be a better communicator or to reach a wider range of people. And I'm kind of wondering if you're a young player and you aren't necessarily aware of like how extensive his career. resume is. Right. A young player, you maybe were too young to be in the Patriots heyday and aging Greg a little bit here. Not you though, never you. Never be. But how would you explain to young players like how to reach Josh and vice versa, how for him to reach this younger generation players? Well, it's an interesting question just from a perspective standpoint because I had him for four years as my offensive coordinator. Now, I never had him as a head coach. And I think some of the

dialogue that you're discussing right now is more as a head coach. Because as a head coach, you're taking over a program and everybody needs to be in line with what your vision is. And sometimes that I think can be a challenge for coaches to fall in line because you want to let them do their thing because that's why you hired him. But if you have that controlling mentality, you rub people the wrong way. But as a coordinator, I never had any issues as a quarterback walking in and having great communication with him. He was a great communicator. He's a great teacher. but he also was somebody that was collaborator.

He was a great collaborator in terms of, hey, what do you like on third down? You know, when we get into two-minute drill, you like three-by-one versus two-by-two, you want to do both. Like, he was having those constant. And for a young quarterback who's stepping in for the first time to take over for the greatest of all time, Tom Brady, he gave me that ability to tell you how you felt about particular plays because at the end of the day, you're going to be successful at the quarterback position when you're comfortable with plays.

Yeah. Sometimes there's plays that, you know, I've been. been around coaches that this is what we're doing, this is how we're going to do it. There's no back and forth. But he was always outstanding from a standpoint of being a offensive coordinator and communicating, having that open conversation. And I like that fit with Mike because Mike is, you always hear him described in two words, three words, I guess, demanding, never degrading. Yes. And I think I don't know. He's a friend of mine. He's been very degrading to me. Is he a bit degrading for you? Maybe it's off the football field.

He has no respect for how you used to run, you know, used to be running. So I think that this is an interesting pairing because it's a role reversal of sorts, right? Right. But Mike really knows how to reach players. And he also, he spent, I think, behind the scenes and not a lot of people talk about this publicly, because he certainly keeps it a secret, learning the game, all the situational mastery that he has and how obsessive he is over those things, winning in the margins and giving players the answer to the test. Have you seen him as a friend, but also as a former teammate? How have you seen

him develop into like the person and the coach that he is now? Well, it's funny because as a player and as a teammate, you always knew Braves' incredible passion for the game. And that showed up on a daily basis. It's not just the way he worked out. It's how he led our team in the locker room on the field. But even in scout team, when the starters, look, a lot of starters are not on scout team. They're taking their blow, getting ready for their reps when they go ones to go against the other sides. But he would go out on scout team to give us a look and play safety and be messing with us, trying to disguise. But we always felt like, we called him pop of raves, but he would always, he would describe him and see him and go, he's going to

coach someday. And he immediately went into coaching. He was under Urban Meyer, went with Billy O'Brien. Romeo Cordell was there. So he had the familiarity there. But then he took over the Tennessee Titans. And you saw he was ready to become a head coach. And when you say he's demanding, there's no doubt. You've got to do your job when you come from that system. But he's outside the mold of your typical Bill Belichick disciple, right? Because he played the game. He understands the locker room, the dynamics, when to push, when to pull back,

and all those different dynamics that you have to have to be a successful coach. And so it was probably a little bit of a learning experience at times. But he had a tremendous amount of success with the Tennessee Titans. The way it ended, it ended. and that's just, that's the league. But now that he comes into this role with this organization and the love that already that fan base has for him, he'll do a tremendous job there.

I mean, he's going to fit in so well. Yeah. He was not born a mass, but he is a maslow. But he f***es in. I love it. I love it. But I also, to just expand on that point a little bit more, like I love, even when the Titans didn't have a great record,

you always knew that if you were going to be coaching against Mike Brable in like late game situations or there's a clock management thing that was going to maybe swing things a certain way, you're effed because he just like that's what I've loved about watching him coach over the years less so even some of the stuff that's that's overt and you can watch how he is with players and how they speak about him but just those little things like when he out foxed bill belichick on the opposite sideline that was one of the coolest things I've ever seen and it was just the clock running down yeah and I was like I'm so fired up it's the game within the game and there's

always those those moments and we practice them religiously but not every organization as as detail oriented as other organizations, but the two-minute drill at the end of the half, the four-minute drill, running out the clock, when to use your timeouts, when to save those timeouts, all those different situational football is what we call it. It's so important within the game, and that a lot of times will determine wins and losses

because you take, like you said, out-fox them, you let the, you use the right timeout, or however you manipulated the game in some way because you're within the rules, but it's that extra level, it's that mastery of what you're doing situationally that the football game itself sometimes can be determined by that simple decision. So let's take it back to 08.

Holy cow. They're coming off that. Yeah, when was that? I don't even want to tell you guys how old I was at that time. Just ridiculous season. And Brady, unbeknownst to everyone in the stadium, you know, tears his ACL, always remember, you know, where I was, like, the NBCSports.com, like, newsroom, like him watching. walking down those stairs and everyone's like,

oh, he's walking. It's probably okay. You come into the game. Ends up being one of the most sneaky fun Patriot seasons as a fan, I think, just because it was so different and unexpected. But I remember, you know, you go out there, they win that game. You don't get credit for that win. What do you think about that? I know, I'm still pretty pissed off about that.

You know, in the Major League Baseball. I'm going to give you credit. Yeah, in Major League Baseball, right, if you're the starting pitcher and it's 0-0 when you come out of the game and the reliever comes in, they score a few runs. The reliever gets the win. That's not the case in football. If you start the game and take one snap, guess what? You get the win.

So it was 0-0 when I came into that game. And I would like to think that I helped score some of those points. And so we ended up winning that game and I was like, wait, I don't get credit for this. Everybody was like, oh, you went 10 and 5 that season. I was like, no, we didn't. We went 11 and 5. They were like, no, no, no, you didn't get the credit for that. Brady did.

But you know what? Never lost a history as long as you're on. NFL daily because we will hold it accountable. We absolutely will. That was an 11 and five season. Damn it. It absolutely was. I love also you're wearing the Dodgers head. Representing, yeah. So you're a Patriots Dodgers combo, which is what my, I'm trying to raise my son to be. Yeah, you know, I grew up in L.A. and obviously the Dodgers, that's one of the sporting events that I used to go to consistently as a youth. And to see, how do you not cheer for a team from the home crowd, goes out,

wins the World Series, Otani, all these guys, the superstars that they have. It's been fun to watch. Now, it's great when you have the payroll that they have. You know, a lot of people are probably pissed off about that. But, hey, hey, I love it. It's all other rich owners being pissed at rich owners. Go cook, guys.

Yeah, go cook. Just keep bringing those players in. Look, it's fun to watch. We were talking about, you know, the fact that you were robbed of a victory here. And I had this question I asked. Greg, this sometimes, and we talk about this back and forth, but if you could change a rule or at least put a new statistic that people should get credit for in a box score for a game, like in my mind is, I feel like if a punter pins a team inside the five and then there's a safety,

the punter should get one point of that safety. I like that. That's my thesis. So because, you know, you were so mercilessly robbed, I thought, hey, I wonder if you have an idea of what you would like to include in a stat line. In a stat line. You know, it's interesting because stat lines can be so deceiving at times. And, you know, I sit there sometimes. And of course, I'm a quarterback. So I sit there and I watch and you'll see a stat line. Oh, he threw three picks, but you go watch the game and the ball ricocheted off somebody's hands. And I was like, I think that one should go to the wide receiver. Thank you. I'm so hoping you would save it. Instead of me getting just shellacked because most people haven't watched really truly the entirety of the game that you see

stat line like, oh, he sucked this game. You know, Castle or whoever it might be, they threw three interceptions. Well, not really realizing that the one hit him right in his chest. If it's a catch ball hits you in the chest, the wide receiver gets an interception on his stat line. I love that. I love that. I'm just, I mean, that's my bias. But also, you're a quarterback. So you have to go up in the media and I get it. Everyone gets paid, whatever. But like, you have to go up in the media and be like, yeah, I didn't have my best game today, you know, like, you have to take accountability for it anyway. We're all adults here. We can add some judgment to the, to the staff. Well, also the sacks that go against the rushing yards of a quarterback. I was like,

he wasn't running the football. Yeah. Like, I know somebody's got to get a stat, but negative rushing yards, because you're sitting in the pocket and somebody came through and crushed you. I have a cool Matt Stafford, Matthew Stafford line from this year where he was actually timing his kneel down. So he was running a little bit. We called him skinny Stafford. He was running a little bit more. You know, he was playing tennis in the off season, so he's moving around a little bit. And he would pick up a couple of give me yards or converted down, whatever. Right. And then he would try to time the number of kneel downs. If they were, you know, winning the game, they would, he would time the number of need

to have a neutral stat line. Yes. He didn't want to finish the season with one rushing yard. So he would try to time the negative kneel downs and even back up a little bit and kneel it down. That is something Stafford would do. Right? Like who, like who? He's got a beautiful mind. He started doing that too when he was trying to not get that I forget what he was When he was trying to get over a thousand yards And he would go

Actually before I let you go And we are going to let you go here Again lots to say everyone check out Matt Castle Bobby Bones Two of the best getting it done I loved watching you Matt by the way When you were doing the NBC Sports Boston stuff With Tom Kern so you've been in the game

For a minute And that makes me wonder if your old teammate Tommy as you call them Asked you for any advice about getting into the media game when he was joining. Not a shot he called me and asked me anything. You know, I was like, Tommy, come on. You know, I literally, I'll talk to him and I just give him crap. Like, even when he's on the television, I'll just write some ridiculous text to him while he's on air. Like,

you look like hell today. Like something like that. But that's our relationship. He's like a big brother to me and he's just a great dude. But never asked me for any advice. Not like he needs any advice, but he's going to beat to his own drum. He's very self-motivated as you know. So he's a perfectionist. and everything he does, but I know that he was working his butt off trying to get prepared for this season, doing reps, and everything else that goes into it. But he's just gotten better and better throughout the course of the year. And now he's on the biggest stage. It'll be fun to hear this guy. I was like, just don't mess it up. Nobody will be watching. You got to have that friend of yours in your life, like Matt Castle, who makes you question yourself in huge moments.

Yeah, it's important. Do I look like crap? Am I doing a good job? We're almost there. We're almost to Sunday. Yes, Tom Brady, we'll be calling that game. We'll be covering it here on NFL Daily. I'm sure you guys will be covering it in the coming weeks on lots to say. Great having you, Matt Castle. Thank you, guys. It was a pleasure.

All right. So we say goodbye to Matt Castle, who was once teammates with Tom Brady. Tommy. Tommy. Yeah. And now we welcome in the goat of another competitive enterprise. And that's Eaton. It's Joey Chestnut.

Welcome to the show. Oh, thanks for having me, guys. Welcome to NFL Daily. This is a dream I never knew I had, which was to learn all about how your body prepares itself for competitive eating and the life that you've chosen for yourself. You'll learn to a degree. I'm not going to give you any pictures,

but it's not all pretty, but it's beautiful. I feel like you, you know, Nick Shook, of course, is joining us now, and you guys have a lot in common that you can talk about. We're both of similar statures, I think, except one's really, really amazing at eating. He's elite. and I just like to eat No, he also likes to work out apparently

This guy's ripped There's something wrong with him We really like sitting him and Nick Greg next to each other I keep him It's not like having a bouncer But it's just so that the guests respect me more That have Nick next to me

How do you Joey prepare For your big events And like how does it vary Depending on what the event calls for? It's runners have to run Fighters have to fight I have to eat. I do practice contests.

They're simulate the contest. Before every practice, there's a, pretty much a cleanse, no solid food, lots of water, a couple of oils. I make sure it's a clean highway. I'm empty and loose. So when I put the food in, I'm going to go from empty to full, and it's going to be ridiculous. That is exactly what I was hoping you would bring up first, because I have so many questions about how you recover and how you get back and regulate after. everything and I'm trying to ask this very politely oh holy hell man usually

nature works out it's uh is it like a gravity situation it's just gravity does its word there there are I'm taking walks but I but I go to sleep drink either I'm getting up to drink water or I'm waking up with a look in my eye I'm running things are I don't like to run very fast very often but that's when I when I'm not even uh I don't have a choice we were kind of chatting about this earlier when was like the moment when you realize oh I can actually do this like for real like I don't elite level it's a it's been a weird like you talk to football players they knew when they're five years old they were going to be professional i i knew when i was five years old that

i could eat because i was like something i was a little bit ashamed of my mom would yell at me and my brother's like no you didn't leave any food for us so i was like so it was like something like i was like oh all right i was like self-conscious of then i started doing eating in college a little bit faster and my friends were like oh my god we can sign you up to a contest and it uh your friends made money up yeah they were like no you can do it I was 21 and I finally did a contest in Reno because they offered me a free hotel room. It was a casino. And I was like, oh my God, I can get paid to eat.

So I have to know, too, like, you are, everyone knows who you are. Like, we all have watched you on TV. We've all marveled at, like, the feats of eating. And I was going to try to do a better pun than that, but it didn't work out. The, when you go to gatherings, if it's like you go to a barbecue, you're with family, maybe people you don't know as much. Do people make really stupid jokes like I just did? I mean, they're not bad.

I've heard all like, oh, get this guy away from the grill. Make sure you get the hot dogs before he gets there. And then find out they cook like weird crappy hot dogs. I'm not going to go to town on your hot dogs. Like, I'm actually like I'm kind of like a hot dog snob. They have to be good hot dogs. If they're really good all-weeat hot dogs and they're grilled and a little bit snapped to them, you might have to watch out, especially if I'm drinking.

Things have a tendency to disappear. Do you ever find yourself, like, where you shift into that mode, even at a gathering where you're, like, suddenly you're just splitting the hot dogs and you're doing two at a time and you're dipping the bread and water. People must challenge you, like, even when it's not for money, just to see if they can step up to the king. Yeah, I don't usually get in, I, I don't think I've ever dipped a hot dog in water or the bun and water for fun. But there are times where I'm finding a rhythm where it's, I got a drink in one hand and a hot dog. And it's things just disappear. And, uh, but yeah, like, people challenge me once in a while in a baseball game. Like, like, oh, let's see who can eat this hot dog or drink a beer and you know, I have fun.

It's always the happiest people. Have you ever lost to a casual? Uh, hot dogs? No. No. Yeah. I was going to say, like, I feel like if, I mean, we're friends now. But if we were friends before this, I would have definitely paraded you around the bar scene and been like, look, look at this guy.

You want to challenge? him do it and then like make a little money on the side you know you can try yeah it's uh people people find out pretty quick after after one hot dog and they're like oh i don't want to go get them if it makes you feel any better i've been challenged to many arm wrestles before and i always just do the the old jerry signfeld i choose not to wrestle i you know we're just not going there there's a real excuse you don't want to hurt anybody yeah so of course i you always hear football players talk about like you know when they're they're away from the game what they they miss most is the locker camaraderie uh even even with their

rivals, the understanding. So is there some of that with you and like Kobayashi? Is it? Oh, he hates me. Oh. Give us the team. I mean, I'm kind of, I'm kind of a jerk to other competitors. Okay. I mean, it's not, it's competitive eating, not competitive nicene. Okay. And so like, before the contest, I'm like, I'm going to tell him like, I already called my mom and told her I won. So you're an elite trash talker, too. Oh, they were like, what? Like, yeah, she's, she said that everybody knew I was going to win. Is that where the nickname comes from? Jaws? Yeah. No, no, Sonia Thomas, the Black Widow gave me that. She said I can open my mouth really wide. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you did it when we were getting ready, actually, and I got a little scared for a second.

Really? I was like, whoa, whoa, right? Just how we freaking just right there? Yeah. I have a question, though, because you've said a couple of cool things. It's not competitive, it's competitive eating, not competitive nicing. Yeah, the eaters hate that. You should make that a t-shirt before someone else jumps on that. What are the, what are some like really either pun-heavy? or dumb catchphrases that you thought about, maybe trying out a little bit. Oh, like, one of the lines, there's like, if you have, it doesn't take much imagination. I was like, I don't stop eating until the job's done. Nice. You can imagine. Like, yeah, what else do I say?

Just put it in your mouth and swallow it. Oh. I mean, that's straightforward. You know, that would do numbers. That would install a lot of T-shirts. It's instruct. I love to give other eaters direction. They're like, you're just not.

Swallowing fast enough. Yeah. You know what? That's very helpful instruction. Is there like a non-hot dog food that you do that like you like, you like to competitively eat and what or maybe one that that has been a problem for you? Oh my God. Dude, uh, chicken wings.

I love chicken wings. Okay. And I, uh, I'm on a losing streak with chicken wings. Yeah. Buffalo, one of the best cities in the country. They have a huge buffalo wing festival. And I, uh, I'm on a losing streak there and there's a huge wing contest in Miami. I think I've lost it three years.

a row so i'm going back there in march in miami hopefully i can uh go in there not break my diet the night before i can i can uh yeah it's that's the problem with miami and buffalo those those cities are fun places to go out and i i just have too much fun and but i this year i i i really want to make sure i get the so it's not like the yeah exactly drums are flats is it like the is it the construction of a chicken wing that makes it difficult or no no no it's uh drunk the the The contest are drums and flats. I used to have a really good... I don't think on a winning streak with chicken wings for a while,

but last three years, I have a... Right, I just need to find my happy place. I'm actually going to do some practice this year. It's a blind spot. It's also a little like all the NBA teams that come into Los Angeles. And don't really show up for the matinee the next day, you know, because they were out too late the night before. Yeah, you know, it's all my fault.

You know, no excuses. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to make sure that, yeah, I'm actually going to go out there a little bit early make sure I practice with the right wings can I like different regions have different wings like the the chickens are like I one year I had a hard time I was pulling the wing so hard the bone would snap and I had to fish the mid the bone out of my mouth away on time so yeah that's just an equipment malfunction right there just so I have to ask so the most you can lie to me on this too by the way

you have permission the most wings I've ever eaten in one setting is 26 is that good or bad 26 it's not too bad they were all flats They're flats of the better meat, I think. Yeah, I think the drums, there's a lot more cartilage in there, and the flats are easy to reclaim. Is there 26? Yeah, it took me some time, but yeah. That's not bad.

How much do you have when you're doing? My best, one time I did a 12-hour live stream with Hooters, and I did 415 wings. Oh, my God. That's absolutely. It was insane. Challenge accepted. Joey Chestnut, he is the best in the game.

We'll go out on that. appreciate you joining the show the best to ever do it thanks james thanks guys well you never know what's going to happen at radio row you might end up finishing out your week talking to joey chest what a time to be alive i mean hearing about hot dogs and his preference wings the strategy with wings bowel movement yeah well you were very into yeah i was very interested yeah i like it it's a good taste of what it's like around here because we haven't set the scene too much, but this is, I feel like the biggest place in the most media that we've had at Radio Row since the pandemic. Yeah. It was a lot smaller after the pandemic,

and it's slowly built back up. And they're going crazy here, and there's a lot going around around us. There are neighbors. If we're facing the camera and Eric, our super producer, who's been so clutch all week this week, if we're facing the cameras, to our left is the insider set with Mike Garfolo and Ian and Judy, Steve Weish. To our right, the guys from workaholics are hosting shows. James Winston's over there right now. Cam Jordan. Cam Jordan.

You know, and then behind us, there's an entire ecosystem of personalities from sports and entertainment. I'm like, I mean, this has been cool as hell, Greg. It's also been like overwhelming. Like Cam Newton was doing the war eagle chant. Yeah, that was awesome. That brought me back. It sounded like 30 people.

That was awesome. Just filled the whole room. That really brought me back because it just, he's just, he is on all the time and it's awesome. And, uh, of course we can't do it without any of you listening. This has been a really special and thrilling first week here for NFL Daily on Radio Row. And we just want to thank our, our friends at Iheart especially for making this beautiful set. We're not done this week. They got me a fern.

And we'll, we obviously have the Super Bowl to go and we're really excited about what we have in store. We're going to get on the field. and talk to some of the winners right after the game before doing our show. Nick's going to be part of the recap show as well in Jordan. But again, especially thanks to Jason and Sean from IHeart, but really everyone that set up this set because it's been really great here at Radio Row. But we'll get all emotional and sappy about it on Sunday night after the Super Bowl. Thank you all for listening.

Let's get out of here. We've got to get Jordan in the car. She's enjoying this VIP service this week. I get coffee, like fed intravenously to me. It is absolutely incredible. With Jordan Rodrigan shook or getting treated like A-list talent, you know football is back. We'll see you on Super Bowl Sunday.

Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays.

Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.