NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Training Camp Myths and Facts with J.J. Jansen

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic is joined by 17-year Panthers long snapper J.J. Jansen to talk about the myths and facts surrounding NFL training camps. First, Jourdan and J.J. discuss J.J.'s connection with Greg Olsen off the field (03:50) and J.J. critiques NFL Daily's Top 25 Players of the Last 25 Years list (14:00). After the break, the duo talks training camp and what comes along with things like joint practices (30:19), position battles (39:15), and more! Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where only one person on today's show is preparing for his 18th NFL. training camp. I'm your host today. I'm in the power chair. I am Jordan Rodriguez, also of the athletic, and Greg Rosenthal, who normally hosts this show, whose dulcet tones, you're so accustomed to hearing, is in Japan. And we would like Greg to have as much as time off as possible because it keeps him sane and it keeps him functional and healthy and running the show,

which we love. So Eric Roberts is behind the glass today, Chris Bobona, and we have a very special guest co-host, someone who I have spent a lot of time having the most absurd conversations about every topic possible in the locker room, somebody who's been in the league for going on 18 seasons, Carolina Panthers long snapper, NFL Iron Man, J.J. Janssen. JJ, thank you so much for being my guest co-host today on NFL Daily. This is an absolute blast. I don't know if Iron Man is a fair term. When you only play seven or eight plays a game, I don't think you get full credit the way some of the greats are, but I'll gladly take the compliment for sure.

One of the things that we loved doing before today's show was going over your ample amount of highlights. I mean, it is literally like watching the same clip over and over. I mean that in the most complimentary way because you don't mess up. You just do snap ball, you know, tackle, snap ball, tackle, snap ball, tackle. Snap ball a long way, tackle. Sometimes run down the field, mostly not. I mean, it's incredible.

you're just Mr. Consistent over time. My whole job is wash, rinse, repeat. So I'm not the same routine. My aunt who lives in Atlanta would come to one game a year, usually in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And she always has the same comment for me, which is, I feel like I've watched that game by you 17 times. It's the, I mean, just this creature of habit,

like in this endless loop of sip a glass of water, sit on the bench, snap two balls, run on the field, just round and round. I go for four and a half hours. And I've been doing that for a long time. So I've got that came down pretty well. Have you ever considered that you are in severance? You're in like the loop, right?

I'm definitely in the loop. There is no doubt about it. The people around me have changed from time to time. The stadiums have changed a little bit. Although being in the NFC South for as long as I've been, I'm pretty well. I know some of the security guards at other stadiums. They're so used to seeing me come through the Carolina that they know me.

I've played in Mercedes or I've played in the Caesar Superdome like 18 times dating back to college. So I know that place as well as anybody. So there's definitely an endless loop going on with my football career. Yeah. I mean, I wasn't going to say this, but I think I just might say this. I was 11 when you first got into the league. So, you know, I'm so grateful that I got to know you in the Carolina. Panthers locker room. We had some great talks there. You usually made Joe person miss his

deadline. I do just want to point that out because you know he loves to talk Little League baseball and you love to talk Little League baseball. And so he would often come like rolling, you know, ambling the way Joe person who for listeners is the fantastic beat writer for the athletic who covers the Carolina Panthers as an OG legend out there. And he would often stop by your locker. And my God, would you guys get to talking and then lose all track of space. in time. And then he'd come in and he'd be like, wow, miss my deadline again, talking to JJ at his locker. And I think I nailed the voice also, JJ. That's pretty argument. That was exactly who that was. Well, I love that you're joining me today. I'm stoked to have you.

You look like you're in a palace right now. I know that logistically what you're doing in your life right now. It's not very palatial. We talked about this a little bit. Can you explain to the listeners and also go watch JJ on YouTube so you can explain this like Palace of Versailles background situation here. JJ, what the hell are you doing right now before your training camp?

So I do I do look like I'm on the coast in France somewhere. I'm actually in Cooperstown, New York. I am a five-minute walk from the baseball Hall of Fame. My, our head coach, I'm the assistant coach. Our head coach is Greg Olson.

He and I have been coaching a group of now 12-year-old boys since they were nine, and we are in the Cooperstown Dream Park tournament. So there's 105 teams. We are down to the final 32. We'll play tonight at 7 p.m. So all of Cooperstown is sort of like a relic to the past. You've got the Baseball Hall of Fame and all the legendary stuff. The baseball tournament is equally relicky. So we are in bunkers staying on campus. So Greg and I and our assistant coach, Tom, and the 13 boys are all staying in like barracks, like dorm style.

There is no Wi-Fi in there. So people have service, but there is no Wi-Fi. So when you asked me to join you, I was thrilled, but I have four kids. My wife is home with the other three. We didn't ever plan on leaving the barracks. So I asked Greg's wife, Kara, to book me a hotel room. I'm now in said hotel room with Wi-Fi, also air-condition. which is fantastic and I haven't had that in four days and getting to talk some

football and getting a little bit of reprieve before we make this final run in our 12 view baseball tournament yeah and so and you guys are undefeated correct I've been sort of following along yes they're undefeated so far just to go back and paint a picture for for the listener here and JJ we've talked about this before but like two NFL players one former NFL absolute elite tight end in Greg Olson now one of our favorite commenters, color analysts. We have had him on the show. He's a friend of the show.

And we are huge fans of him. We think he's the best there is. And he and JJ coach a little league baseball, highly competitive, by the way, extremely competitive, very, very talented youth baseball team. So it's like all the regular parents out there and all the regular coaches, who yes, are great at their craft, I'm sure.

And then these two NFL players, players come walking up. And also, by the way, you sometimes have friends in tow, also former or current NFL players. I mean, it's the scene that in my mind of you slow motion walking, maybe there's a fire explosion behind you, you know, onto the field to go coach every day. It's just a delight in my brain. Yeah, we're going to talk about him a little bit later. But our good friend Luke Keekely, he'll often show up kind of in disguise to some games to watch the boys. He's not married. He doesn't have any kids.

He just shows up to watch other people's kids, which is, of course, the most Luke Keeckley thing of all time. Right. If you know Luke, yeah, he's obsessed with all things sport. Yes. And so, oh, yeah, we are a sight to be seen. I am feeling my ego is a little bit inflated. 98% of the conversation is, oh, there's Greg, there's Greg. The last like two days, we've been here for five.

The last two days I've been getting, aren't you, JJ Jansen, the long snapper? So I'm getting a little bit more of that. Clearly, the cell phone services is working that they're kind of figuring out what's going on. This team from Charlotte that's up here in Cooperstown, New York. They're figuring it out slowly but surely. They do trading pins. So every team brings like three or four pins. And then all the kids are trading like old like baseball trading cards.

And, you know, there's a Sequin Barkley one. There's a Ledany and Tomlinson one. There's a Patrick Mahomes one amongst the baseball. but our team pin one of our parents put both gregg and i's like like jersey on it so i think people are trying to figure out who's googling so that's i'm getting a little bit of of help there so 44 i remember right am i right yeah still 44 yeah after all this time it's been 44 yeah you know jj it's cool i i we're going to talk about another gregg here who uh very auspiciously left a certain position group off of his list of 25 players of the last 25 years.

And I had to talk to you about this. But before we get into it, because I know you got takes, man. I know you. I know you got takes. But I need your best Greg Olson, JJ Jansen co-coaching story. Like, when have you guys gone full baseball bad?

Have you yelled at umps? Has anyone been ejected, for example? You got a great story. So two quick stories. the first game we ever played. It was nine you. We didn't really know what was going on. And we go out to a tournament in kind of like eastern North Carolina. And I get a text from my wife three minutes into the game. And she goes, Greg's already been ejected. I said, how did that happen? She goes, it had to do with your son. I said, what on earth has happened? So in nine you

baseball, they drew a line in the dirt for that's how far you could lead. Well, my son, son led past it. He didn't know where he was going. He was nine and he'd never done this before. And the umpire called an out. So Greg defended my son and said there could be a chalk line, which was 100% the rule. Three minutes later, this happened like first pitch of the game. Three minutes later, they bring out a chalk thing. And they're lining the field again with these 10 foot lines. And Greg goes, that would have been helpful three minutes ago. And the umpire rejected them. So before I was coming back from the last preseason game. Before I got out there, I was going to get that about an hour later.

Greg had already been ejected. Now, before you think, oh, Greg gets ejected from every game. Greg has never since been ejected in any game. But I have three weeks ago, we were having a game. There was not a single issue on the baseball field for an hour and 50 minutes. We were in the top of the sixth inning. On some other field, a coach was running up and down, down the third. third baseline trying to distract a pitcher.

There are some crazy coaches in baseball. So the tournament sent out a rule that umpires were to enforce every coach staying in the first base box. So I, the guy kind of threatens me to be like in the box, which is not really a rule. Of course, as you know, Jordan, I know all the rules. Yes. It's a major rule. So he's yelling at me.

And I said, you can't speak to me. You have the rule wrong. And you're yelling at me, which is totally inappropriate. it. Two minutes later, one of our kids gets a single. Now, if you've seen youth baseball at all, they've got all their elbow pads and gloves and sliding mitts. And so they got all this equipment. And at the last second, one of the kids sticks the equipment out. I guess you can't like just like quickly sticks it out in front of me. And I walk over to first and grab it. And the umpire ejects me from the game because I'm out of the box. Oh, the umpire throws me out of

game and our fans start saying he's going to get the gloves basically like tell him he's wrong immediate reinstatement i've never seen someone reinstated back into a baseball game i was reinstated as quickly as i was ejected so Greg and i each have one ejection but i was the only one that got reinstated so i have that on him oh my god you know statistics in your field are hard to come by jj and i am very proud of you that you've got this like unprecedented stat line and now, you know? And honestly, I, for nothing surprised me about any of this, first of all. The, the comment, Greg Olson has to have that last comment. Got to get the last word in. And you know what? When I was covering him as a writer, that's fantastic. Yes, Greg, Cook, right? I want all of it.

Right. And then, and then you, first of all, knowing the rule to the T, probably knows, know where all the commas are in the rule book also. But the crowd galvanized, getting behind you. I just love this for you. Justice for JJ. I love it. It's go so great. We have fun.

Greg and I have been coaching sports, but like we've been doing this stuff since we became teammates in 2011. And we love debating. We love strategizing. We're putting a lot of energy into baseball right now. As Jordan, as you know, like I've helped him a ton for his broadcast. we have a lot of fun chopping up. The new strategies in the game,

how analytics is coming into the game. Whether we're doing this in baseball or football or life, like this is all we do. So it's fun to have these different outlets. And baseball has been one that we get to do with our kids. And that's been a blast. T.J., who you know at open heart surgery, heart replacement surgery.

He's on the team. He's one of our best pitchers, big strong kid, my son, Luke, and all their buddies. and we get to be dads and coaches at the same time. It's what sports is all about. It's a fun. It's a fun time.

I love that. That's elite dadding right there. And I, it just, whenever I think about you guys getting to still spend that time together, but also your sons watching you, I mean,

I remember when those kids were coming in post game to the locker room. And one of Greg's kids went and asked several of his teammates if they would dare to punch his dad in the stomach, by the way. That was a hilarious little moment. That feels like a T.J. Olson move, I got to be honest. It feels like DJ.

And everyone goes, oh, my God, no. Like, everyone's like, no, I would not do that. Okay. Speaking of people you've played with, JJ, first and foremost, I know you've been following, you're a friend of the show. I know you've been following kind of what Greg Rosenthal's been doing with the 25 players of the last 25 years.

I personally noticed a lack of special teams players, especially with you coming on the show and Greg not being here. I felt like it was a perfect time to, critique his work, right? And so first and foremost, who would you have on here? That position wasn't necessarily a part of the qualifiers besides yourself. Who would you have on here? And what did you think about some of these names overall? You've gotten to play with a lot of these guys. You've lined up across from them. You've been on opposite sidelines. You know them personally. Share your thoughts with me about this list, JJ. Yeah, my first note

is that Adam Venetary is not on this list. Four-time Super Bowl winner with two different teams, three-time All-Pro, legendary kicks in the playoffs and in the Super Bowl, you know, legendary kicks in the regular season. If Tom Brady is going to be one somewhere on this, and obviously, Peyton Manning at three, Adam Venetary, their kicker's got to be somewhere on this list.

Now, usually you get the kicker at 25. So I don't know if I'm bouncing Travis Kelsey off the list, but I feel like Venetary needs to be at least, somewhere there in the bottom five or six and give him his just due. The playoff and Super Bowl kicks are that's why part of the reason why Tom's got seven championships

and Peyton's got two, one in Indianapolis. So it's such a big part of the game and I certainly think Venetary is on there. I have had the great pleasure of playing with a lot of these guys and against these guys. Played with Luke for a long time. I played with Julius two different times. Yes. Amazing.

Yes. I remember I was a rookie when Julius, his last year with Carolina the first time. And I remember sitting next to him. He was on the franchise tag, which I was still learning all about. And I did the quick math in my locker. And I said, oh, my gosh. Of course. This guy is making 50 times what I'm making.

And that's the day I figured out that third down pays a lot better than fourth down. Because if you can rush the passer and you can affect the passing game, they will give you all the money in the world. the Panthers did, then the Bears did, then the Packers did, then the Panthers did it again. Julius had an uncanny ability to be both long and powerful and athletic. And I asked him one time, I said, Julius, you're never really hurt. Like, how do you do that? And he just kind of does big grin. He goes, I don't have to put my head in there because I'm so long.

Like, he just knew, like, he had such an athletic advantage, played basketball in North Carolina, would kill any of us in a basketball game, a football game. I mean, he's an all-time great. The one area I kind of looked at it when you look at the top five there, I think J.J. Watts has been one of the most impressive defensive players of all time. But I don't know how you put him up there ahead of like Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis at middle linebacker is probably the greatest middle linebacker of all time.

I'm certainly going to put Luke up there in my top five, maybe my top two. But Ray Lewis with the Super Bowls, I did think it was very kind of Greg to put Ray Lewis and Ed Reed right next to each other. Just clustering them? I ever. I thought that was, I mean, that's fair, right? So if Ray is going to be five, then maybe Ed needs to be five, maybe. You know, like their cluster there. Again, I probably put Ray ahead of Ed, just because I feel like when you think Baltimore

Ravens, you think Ray Lewis first and Ed Reed almost first, like they're, they're two special guys. I remember we played them in Carolina in 2010, and Ray intercepted a pass, ran about five yards, and he was going to be a little bit older so he was still athletic but not top speed. He immediately looked and found Ed Reed who of course he pitches it to Ed Reed who runs it in, which we saw that highlight

what feels like a hundred times in the Ravens big runs as defenders is laterally scoring touchdowns. No argument for me on the top three. Tom's the best. Patrick's been fantastic. Peyton. Those three earn all their accolades.

But those were kind of my three little my three little spots. I would have, I, I think you got to have a couple Super Bowls to be in the top five of the last 25 years. But it's a good list and no real arguments for me. Yeah, Greg and I talked a little bit previously. One of the pushbacks that he got was no Troy Palamalu on the list. Steelers fans certainly let him know about that.

And then I was asking him a little bit, just curious out of a curiosity standpoint, because I really like this list too. Where did Bobby Wagner fall? because I remember being in those Carolina locker rooms and the first person Luke would always talk about is Bobby Wagner and those two talking about each other and how they studied quarterbacks

and how they went back and forth with quarterbacks. I don't think it's very strange, JJ. I have to tell you, you know, I was so, I was such a young reporter that back then covering you guys and it never really struck me that Luke was this, it's basically a kid, you know, in his early 20s, playing at this level because he always seemed larger than life. Like when Pep came back, it was like, yes, Julius MFing Peppers is back, right?

And he is like a deity at this point. And he's the largest human you've ever seen in your life, maybe outside of Cam Newton. And like people are not supposed to move like that at that size. But Luke, I always forgot how young he was when he was playing at such an elite level. And I sort of had this moment, old people must have this all the time, but I had this moment where I was like, holy crap, like, I got to watch Luke Keeckley grow up kind of, you know? And he's doing that again now, finding himself again in this retirement, although I think he still got it. But it's just crazy to me. Because you also, you were not old, but you were an elder statesman, a veteran in that locker room when he came in. And I guess I just wonder what that was like, watching this, this. young guy just be so obsessed and so focused and talented and able to tell his body to do these things that aren't supposed to be possible. Yeah. You know, Cam Newton was Superman, but Luke was really Clark Kent. The look for sure. The glasses, yeah. The personality and

demeanor. I always, I always giggle, like at his introductory press conference, he's got kind of this like fro thing going on. He's got these glasses on. And he looked. straight out of the comic books and you meet him and he's the kindest person of all time and he's he's going above and beyond to just be a nice human being and then you'd watch the first time I ever really noticed it they'd done like a miced up segment and the amount of trash talk and getting under the other team's skin and just he became Superman on the field and then he'd come back to the sideline and he's like hey how's everyone doing like are we doing it over here I've never seen anyone be able to turn it on and off that way.

Like, there's some guys, a lot of guys in the NFL are really, really nice. But on game day, they're jerks. You don't want to be around them. Luke could turn it on and off like inside the series. Come off the field, be totally kind. And then go back on the field. And it was just the meanest stuff you'd ever heard. And it wasn't like a lot of like swearing or anything.

It was just he knew everything about the opponent. And he knew what you were doing. strategically that was the toughest part he wasn't just he just wasn't a trash talker he knew the game inside out and i i remember like we were eight games into his rookie year and brad nortman was our punter they were in the same draft class and we're kind of owing and on over how good he was again half a season in and i said i said brad like you ever talked to luke about like i didn't know him that well yet he was still a rookie i said you ever talked to him about like how he's so good tackling he goes yeah I actually did.

We were talking about it a week ago. He was, all he does is he just looks for the guy's belt and just hangs on for dear life. I go back and I watch and it's like, he did now he did that violently. Like when I try and I am really hanging on, he did it violently. But he was an expert in the simplicitys of the game.

Yeah. And he loved violence and he loved the intelligence. Like if he had played any other position, he'd been great because he was the best athlete on defense that we had. And he was the smartest guy. but making him the middle linebacker like the quarterback and be able to, he elevated every other player. You remember Charles Johnson,

who was a great defensive end. We were in a training camp practice, and the defensive line coach was getting on Charles for not reading his keys. And in the middle of like when they're breaking the huddle, coach was still yelling at him to just read his keys. Charles stood up out of his stance and says, coach, I don't care what you say to me.

I'm going exactly where, Luke tells me to go. Oh my gosh. That's how it happens. So the players were ignoring the coaches just to listen to Luke because that's how that's how intelligent Luke was on the field. He elevated everyone he played with. Yeah, that's incredible. Thank you for sharing that, JJ. And obviously you know him now too in his retired life. And I hope he's getting a lot of fishing in. We'll ask him about this. He's going to be on the show with us here coming up soon. And I won't say who told me this an opponent one time. You know, we always did the deep dives on like, what

makes him so good and all this stuff. And an opponent was like, well, when he talks to you on the field, it's not like normal trash talk, like you said. It's like, he could tell you, he'll roast you about the time you like peed your pants in school in third grade. And then he'll tell you that you were wrong about the play. Like, it's just the most defeating time of trash talk. It's incredible.

The people that you've been around, you've seen it all, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with. more, J.J. Janssen. 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 IHeart 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. 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 match-ups, 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 die-hard 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. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

Ready to dominate your fans. fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome back. NFL Daily, J.J. Janssen's on the show. You're going into your 18th training camp. And first of all, holy cow, right? And you have seen every training camp, unwritten rule, myth, legend, fact, fiction that there is. So for that reason, and because we're kicking off our fantastic training camp episodes, we're kicking off season two of NFL Daily next week when Greg is back from. Japan. I wanted to talk to you about training camp myths and facts. So if you don't mind,

I'd love for you to get us started. You know, you've been going to them for a lot longer than I. I got 10 years. Hey, I got 10 years, but I will not catch you. I know that. So what is a little known fact, a myth, a training camp, unwritten rule, an experience that tells the people, the listeners who are not in one, what training camp is like? You know, this is with all of the advancements in the sports science and analytics as it pertains to like body maintenance, this is something that unfortunately is going to go away from modern training camp. But if you talk to any of us that maybe went to camps in the early 2000s, I kind of, I miss like going away to colleges. Like we went to walk for college forever. And don't get me wrong.

We're going to be in Charlotte. I'm going to be able to stay in my own bed and see my kids. Like, I love all that. But the best part of training camp, because it's hard, it's long, you are building up. You know, Ron Rivera used to say, like, you're building like a callousness for the season. Like, you're, you really are putting in the work to prepare for the year. But what I miss about training camp was in the middle of the day, we'd get like these three-hour naps. You would finish the morning work.

You'd be exhausted. You'd left it all in the field. We used to go to training camp, as you remember, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. and these fields like sit down. Yes, I am traumatized, yes. So they are human and you are sweating through socks and shoes and all this stuff. So you finally get a shower and you go back to the dormitories. And it's not all that different than the Cooperstown barracks, but you at least had your own room.

And you can sit there and just put your life back together for two to three hours before you did it again in the evening. And so while I think all the science is probably saying stay at home, be in your own bed, have all of the modern benefits of cold tubs and hot tubs and all this stuff, I always liked the guys would come back together, play cards, you know, play Nerf basketball, take naps, and there was a lot of camaraderie building and training camp. And I think that'll be kind of missed as teams certainly focus on the health of the players. But build just so much time together because every year's different, right? Good teams turnover happen. the roster. Bad teams turn over three quarters of the roster and you need time to get to

know your teammates if you're going to have a long run because there are highs and lows in the season. And the best teams I've been a part of, they had a bond in the unity. And those usually date back to training camp. So that's my favorite part of training camp. It is, it is not a popular take. But I miss going to colleges. Yeah, we actually have a picture of you. You had to become prepared, right? You had to bring all your fan, a mattress pad, supplies. like all this stuff. We actually have a photo of you here. I see it with that Notre Dame t-shirt on and Johnny Hecker in the back breaking in at that time is his New Jersey. You guys are checking and I think that's at Wofford if I recognize that brick building in the back. And I would say

nothing trauma bonds people like Spartanburg humidity. So that's great. But also staying in the dorms. I mean, he's got a rug. Tell us what's going on here. He brought a rug. Okay, that's great. I like that word. I'm going to use that trauma bond. Yeah, trauma bond. That is a number of training camp is all about. So I'm actually wearing one of our, our Revolution hats. So that's our team youth baseball hat. Got it. I'm actually holding Johnny's golf club. So we found in the second to last year we were in Wofford, the men's and women's golf team

had a room in our dorm that we talked to the women's golf coach and we got the code to. So on everyone else was doing 10-hour meetings, we were working on our golf games. So you see Johnny's clubs in my left hand. Freaking special teams, man. Yeah. We didn't have a whole lot else to do. We broke it in, so when guys like Adam Thieland wanted to show up, we could show them, sure, sure, sure, where everything was going.

And, you know, it's sort of, this is always like the beginning of summer camp, right? At this point, I probably hadn't seen Johnny in six weeks, and he was coming back from Washington. He's actually, that's not his jersey. That is a 1995 Frank Reich jersey that his buddy had and wanted to get it signed. And so he showed up, as any good new student will, you want to butter up the teacher. And Johnny went straight ahead and got the original 14 from the 95 Carolina Panthers. So we got our beds. We've got a bunch of, you know, it's so funny.

Like Johnny and his left arm is actually holding like a carpet because on the dorm floors, they were like tile. Oh. With the tile, you wake up and it's cold under your feet. And that doesn't feel. feel very good when you're waking up first thing in the morning. So he and I both did the same thing where you would put that rug right at the foot of your bed. So when your feet hit the floor is a little cozier under your toes than a cold tile floor to start your day. So those are just

like the little things that make the trauma bonding not so terrible. Yeah, wow. Going from cold floors to moist humid fields in Spartanburg, we got to change cleats three times. You are quite the range of emotions through that Wofford College. Okay, one of my recently developed training camp factoids is that joint practices are the new preseason. And, you know, so many teams, half the league and growing are holding back starters in the preseason all, if not at least one or two of the games, especially as the seasons get longer.

And these joint practices are increasing as coaches schedule with each other so that they can actually get contact play. they can, in a safe environment, away from audiences, away from people filming their plays, very secretive, very paranoid league, as you know, away from visiting scouts that, you know, accidentally show up to the open training camp practice, you know, and sit in the stands, why not, or on the hill at Wofford College, why not? And, you know, see what's going on. They like to work on things in this occlusion and quietness of a closed joint training camp practice.

but here's what really matters about the joint practices in this day and age. Coaches want to steal shit from each other and they are doing it. The Los Angeles Rams scheduled joint training camp practices with the Chargers and Jesse Minter's defense because they wanted to know some of the pressure packages that he was planning on using and they wanted to also use them, which Chris Shula started doing late in the late last season. Ron Rivera invited graciously. Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills into town, into Spartanburg, South Carolina,

because only insane people go there for training camp and had joint practices. I believe it was before that 2018 season, 2019 season, so that they could understand a little bit better some of the extra personnel packages that Sean McDermott was starting to deploy with that defense. And Ron wanted to use some of those different things that Sean, his former protege was was using coaches love to steal from each other there is no safer way to do it than at a joint practice and coaches love to coach so you get the opportunity to watch live games and get two things done at once your first team offense is on one field your first team defense is on the

other field so you get double the tape in the same amount of time so the coaches love it and as you as you know well the front offices love it because they get to go scout other teams players So the players are legally, legally scouting another player. So the player, I always joke like with our front office. Like the players down on the field in just the most grueling conditions. And the coaches and front office are just loving it because it's information gathering. Yes. And, you know, and obviously it started in 2016 or 2017 with Sean McVey in L.A.

You start, you start holding people back and then you start the season, whatever that was, 8, 9, 10, and O. And coaches go, maybe I don't need. the preseason and now I can protect players and you get all these other advantages. So you're 100% right. The joint practices are the new preseason games and you can protect your quarterbacks. You can pull guys out more easily. You can practice what you want. And what we are getting to, and I think you've probably seen this in the last two years, when I was first in the league and you had joint practices, which were rare, they were always two days. And inevitably, day one was a good

practice and some team won and some team lost. Well, if you lost day one, you were fighting on day two. That was the, those are the rules of engagement. You weren't going to lose the second day. And if you were going to lose day two, you were going to come out swinging literally and figuratively. And so a lot of the coaches that we've seen, they're going to one day. And they're kind of trying to make it a little bit more game-like. Because at the end of the There aren't 15-yard penalties for fights and as much as the PA would love for there to be fines and things that happen on a field. It's not police the same way. And understandably so, the joint practice is getting shrunk down and having one day of it's probably for the best for everybody.

But I know we've talked about this in the past, like training camp fights, some are real, some aren't. Yes, I explain. Day two training camp fights are real. Yes. So, okay, JJ, when are they real and when are they not real? Because I think we all have seen it before if we're at these training camps. Sometimes it's a second day of a joint practice and it was a pretty neutral first day. And it's just really hot the second day, right?

And so it's like, okay, I don't mind getting ejected today from the practice. I'm going to end my week early. But sometimes it is. It's bad blood. Sometimes there's a lot of trash talk. It's really competitive. You have to go and make a statement if you lost the practice the day before. So when are training camps fights real?

And when are they myths? I think in today's day and age, they're real. Yeah. Most of them are joint practices. A good amount of times they're younger players that are really scratching and clawing to make a roster. And they're going to win by any means necessary. I think you used to see more of the fake training camp fights. You know, maybe when I was first in the league amongst two veterans that just were done with the day.

Yeah, right. They don't want to be out there anymore and they kind of knew the rules of engagement. Yeah, yeah. In today's day, our practices are not the same length that they used to be. They are still super intense. And when you get those hot conditions, I think people are, they're not even really wanting to fight. They're just so frustrated. and they got hit late or they got hit in a way they didn't want and they're just they snap

and it usually happens about two days before a joint practice or a game you kind of know the end of playing against one another is coming to an end but you can't quite take it anymore and so now I think most of the fights are pretty real teams nobody nobody really wants to fight in my opinion but I tell you what if someone else squares up on it now again this is not happening to me. So I'm watching this all from this. But I've had in my career, I've had two injuries in joint practices on a punt rush because it does get physical. And it gets a little, it gets a little different because now I'm being rushed by someone that's trying to make the team. And even if their coach has told them, don't run any players over, we don't want ankles and people landing on

their head. If they get a chance to go block a punt in practice, they want to do it. So but there's no like I always think punt rushes like in practice are always the hardest because there's no return based off of it like in a game if you don't get home you're circling back and trying to get someone to block well in practice you're just rushing so it is an absolute mosh pit and I've actually I've actually sprained and broke a sprained a finger and broke my hand in joint practices just because you're like in you're in a tussle so it's real they're not they're not completely safe but you know the quarterbacks are in their red jersey. and if your if your center has a he has a sprained hand he's not in there whereas in preseason games or regular season games you're in there so it's been a good benefit and it doesn't hurt to see some guys from other teams and again help the trauma bonding with other and of course if you were to get ejected JJ you'd probably get reinstated based on your past precedent of i could probably talk my way back on the field nobody nobody else is trying to talk their way back on the field.

So usually when guys are getting ejected from practice, they're happy to leave. Amazing. Okay. Before we get you out of here and back to coaching a completely dominant little league team that's sweeping currently. By the way, that you left Greg Olson in charge of, by the way, all 13, 12, 13 kids while you come to our show. So thank you very much for that.

And thank you, Greg. The moms are helping out. Trust me. There's probably moms around and helping keep everything on the track. Okay. good. I could just hear Greg's voice in my head organizing everybody. So it's that maybe that maybe that's my trauma bonding moment there. Two things I've learned. He is obsessed with floor cleanliness. So there's been a lot of grooming in the and he is all he is all in on medical emergencies. Our kids

hurt. Their kids get hurt. He is flying off the bucket on the side. We're wrap we're wrapping our kids legs when they get bruises. We are icing other people's teams. And he he he loves. loves a good medical emergency. So coming soon to the show, the pit, Greg also. Both his parents were teachers, his dad was a football coach. So it kind of comes with the territory. He's all in on it. So we don't need a training staff.

We got Greg. Shirts, we got Greg. Okay. So before we get chat here, one more training camp myth, tidbit, factoid, something you want to share about the real side of training camp with our listeners today. Yeah, I think on the football side, you know, most of the roster spots are pretty taken yeah i think there isn't this belief that there's 90 guys fighting for 53 spots there's there's 55 guys or there's let's call it 65 guys fighting

for 53 spots yeah maybe not even that much now with the post-covid rules and the expanded practice squad eligibility and the standard elevations and all that stuff If you, if you play really well on the 90 man roster in training camp, you'll get on your own practice squad. And that's a really good place to start. You know, the roster isn't 53 anymore. It's 70. And there's a huge advantage to playing really well at training camp.

But there's not as many camp battles as I think everyone would like to see everyone, you know, probably once a year, someone that really wasn't expected to make the roster does. And sometimes you're not even keeping the best 53. You're keeping the 53 that you think someone else will claim. And how do I navigate the rules just a little bit? Not the rules, but hey, we don't think this guy will get claimed. We can start him on practice squad. And this other guy, he might not be a starter or even our backup.

But we see some developmental opportunities for him. And we're going to protect him on the roster. So, you know, there's a lot of roster maintenance in those first few weeks. that are happening, but there's just not as many camp battles as everybody thinks. Because a lot of those decisions are made in March with money and contracts and draft picks. Yeah. But as the season goes along, the roster building, Marty Herney, our old GM said roster building is

365. And I'm sure every GM in the NFL feels the same way. So we have these deadlines and one of them is the 53 man cut, but the roster is always churning. It's just not as fluid as I think maybe the fans might think it is. Yeah, teams will cut players and then sign them back to save $400,000 on their contract. Teams will, like you said, protect certain players that they want to develop or who are key depth places or play on special teams and need to play multiple, like a core four player on special teams. They will keep them and then try to, we call it, sending a guy through the wash, basically sneak a guy through this massive flood of cuts all across the league.

it's easier than you think for these front offices to lose track of players that they want. It's a very interesting time of year. Jordan, I was going to ask you, the front office always talks about sneaking guys through. It's not like sneak him in the back door. There is a, there's a list of people. How on earth does anyone get like snuck through? I don't understand this. JJ, you would be absolutely gobsmacked at some of the people in these front offices.

That's all I'm going to say. So, yeah, and also the role is the control F, the role of control Fing is trying to find your guy, you know, sometimes it's delegated to someone very low on the food chain who is doing a million different jobs. Also, sometimes- Are they not Google alerts for these guys' names that's got, there's got to be some system. Okay, so it's funny, there should be like, you know, it would get into like really tricky territory in terms of, the union, what the union says is allowed and not allowed, but conversation, just talk to each other, you know, your adults, just talk to each other, although that's not really allowed, so we won't really do that. But I'm just saying, like, you can't, some of these guys are hard

to miss, and yet they still go through the wash, or it's a cost-cutting move. Also, my last one, too, is if you are somebody who is interested in position battles and they're, like, rosters are pretty set, as you said, going into training camp, but if you are someone, interested in running backs by committee or competitions for receiving reps and targets, then watch where people line up in drills. You might not think it matters, but the videos, the boring videos of players lining up for drills tells you so much more than the gorgeous sweeping, well-produced shot of the ball sailing through the air for the highlight real catch for the new receiver. The boring stuff tells you so much more.

about training camp and about the team than the exciting stuff. And I think that also, if I can bridge the gap, JJ, if I can do it, I don't know if I can do it. That also tells you so much about what is important about your craft, your craft that you've been doing for now 18, going to be 18 seasons. You just repeat and habits and what some on the outside might call the boring. See, I'm nailing this, you know, the segue, I'm getting it. I'm nailing it, landing the plane.

This is exactly why you've been so successful for so long, because you have studied your craft, you understand it, every granular layer to it that the outside world does not see, and it's reps and its consistency, and it is never missing time and never missing a start to training camp, somehow, even though you very much would be within your rights to do that at this point, it's just an honor talking to you today. Thank you so much for co-hosting with me. I never thought, little Jordan, you know, running around like a chicken with her head cut off, scared sh** in the Panthers locker room. I never thought that I would get an opportunity to actually co-host an NFL network show

with you. And we got to do that today. And I am freaking stoked. So thank you so much. And this was a blast. This absolutely flew by. I just took a peek. I was like, oh my gosh.

I was like, I suddenly became very aware of how long. This is exactly. He covered a lot of ground fast. This is how Joe Person always missed his deadline. J.J., you just get to talking to you. It's you. You're like, you're the void. Like, you just start talking to you and you lose complete track of time in the best way. And I really appreciate that. This has been so much fun. And I really appreciate the time and having me on. This is a blast. I got to keep, I got to keep working my craft because I need to, I, I get more fun out of

asking you the follow-up questions than just, just answering the questions. I, again, I wasn't totally sure. The thing I was going to bring up about the front offices was simply the idea that every front office I've ever been a part of tells me they sneak guys through three days early. Like they all do it. So you cleared it up. I didn't have any idea. So I'll be more prepared next time to ask you a bunch of questions of things I had no idea about. I love it. Well, JJ, we appreciate you. Eric, behind the glass. You did a great job. Chris Bobona on the Keys back there with the video. when we're talking to the 18th season long snapper for the Carolina Panthers,

J.J. Janssen, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. You know football is back. 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. 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.

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