The Bobby Bones Show - Lots to Say: Super Bowl Matchup, Surviving the Storm and Rodrigo Blankenship

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel dive right in with the reports that Bill Belichick will not be a first ballot Hall of Famer.   Bobby explains why he understands the reasoning while Matt was with the Patriots through some of the controversies. Meanwhile, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl and Matt talks about the angle that Mike Vrabel can bring to his team.  Shedeur Sanders going to the Pro Bowl doesn't feel right. The Titans are building a nice support staff and it could signal a big turnaround for the team.  Matt questions Bobby on the greatest plays in Super Bowl history.  Bobby and Matt discuss the recent weather and their struggles through the storm.   Placekicker Rodrigo Blankenship talks about his signature look and his journey to Georgia and the UFL.  Rodrigo is also still looking for his shot in the NFL and explains how hard it is to prove yourself and keep a roster spot on a team.  Matt asks about Rodrigo's social content and how he shows off his other interests.  Bobby asks for Rodrigo's all-time favorite kick he's ever seen.   Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Search 40s and free agents and listen now. Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. We got lots to step to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. All right, welcome to the show. I want to start off because we have two Patriots fans here

and not say congratulations on the Super Bowl, Congratulations on the Super Bowl. But how about Belichick not getting in the Hall of Fame? Yeah, how does that even happen? This is the most ridiculous thing in the entire world. How do you sit there as a voter? The Hall of Fame is for... Well, I got him.

We're going now, baby. I mean, the Hall of Fame is for greatness. He's the greatest coach of all time. He's won the Super Bowl eight times. Two, as the defensive coordinator for the Giants. Six is a head coach. He's been to numerous other Super Bowls. I mean, his record,

speaks for itself and how you can sit there and say this guy is not a first ballot Hall of Famer. Shame on those people. I mean, it is absurd. Can I play a little role that I'm familiar with? I know. Devil's advocate. Called devil's advocate. Let me start. Let me think. There's two probably different situations you'll bring up. Go ahead. And now I think he should be in for the record. Right. I think he's the greatest coach of all time. NFL. That being said, if we're not letting Barry Bonds in, who is the greatest hitter in baseball history, then I can understand the reasoning

that you wouldn't let Belichick in. Now, I think Bonds should be in the baseball Hall of Fame. No doubt about it. He's the greatest hitter ever. His body of work before he cheated was good enough. And I think there are seasons that Belichick won where there was no cheating

that probably would have got him in. But he's got two big, all fat scandals that hang over his head. Yes. I was there for SpyGate. Dude, SpyGate is crazy cheating. Like, by the way, I want to say one more time, just so nobody thinks I'm literally fighting because the Billetich should be in.

All I'm doing is playing Devils. You're in the middle of us right now, by the way. I know, I know. But, and Barry Bonds should be the first one in the Hall of Fame because everybody was doing it. But SpyGate was dirty dog, man. It had some dirtiness to it, for sure. And as a player, you didn't even realize what was going on until we got here.

You didn't realize you were in it. No, I was there when I was there when it came out. And the Jets filed the complaint. and then all the research started or all the facts started to come out. I was like, wow, I didn't even know this was even occurring. So you were shocked, even though you were on the team. That was week one of 2007, okay? It was week one.

So that comes out. We get the fine. It was like $500,000. It took around a first round draft pick the following year, all that stuff. Well, we go on to run the table, right? And we go to Super Bowl. We eventually lost to the Giants. So everybody makes the argument.

I remember listening to everybody saying, oh, well, you know the plays and you know what defensive structure and you know that they're going to run a TT up. I was like, how much time do you have in between a play? I mean, you're getting in and out of a huddle. You break the huddle, you get to the line scrimmage. Okay. So at the end of the day, even after all the different facts came out about the case, which it did look dirty.

It did not look, was. It was dirty. If they're pulling a first round draft pick, that's big time. Oh, 100%. I don't think that makes him worse of a coach. It's a strike. I'm just playing devil's advocate because I'm, If you're going to, and also Bill Poland is probably the reason, even though he said he voted for Belichick to get in.

He said he voted for Belichick. I don't have to check that. He did say that. And then he said, I think I did. I'm like 95% sure I did. Like, how do you not know? How do you not know? You either do or you don't vote for Bill Belichick as a first ballot Hall of Famer.

But also, if there are 50 people in the room, and I believe that's what it is, right? 50 people voting. 10 of them, if 10 vote no, you're not going to make it. So you got to whip those votes. You got to whip the 10 to go, 10 more, because that would be 11, because I think if you get 80% you're in. Correct.

Yeah. So you need 11 total votes. Polian plus 10. We're just assuming that it was polian who was, because look, they hated each other. Yeah, of course. So he's got to get 10 other people. Yeah.

So 10 other people go, you know what, he cheated? I bet you though not a single person thinks he shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. This was probably just another punishment for Spygate and Deflate Gate, which they said... And Jordan Hudson Gate. Yeah, they deflated the balls and all of a sudden Brady goes out and throws for more yards.

No one's saying it made a difference. I know. It didn't make a difference. I know. But people look at it that way. Yeah. It's another... It's one of those other things that come up that when you talk about their dynasty,

you bring up those two things, even though the one year we didn't win the Super Bowl. Is that your year? Yeah, of course. Deflategate, there you go on and they win. It could be far. of one of those six, man. I mean, the guy's been to nine Super Bowls, and of course, I go to the one that he doesn't decide to win.

But yeah, he's been to six Super Bowls. That's first in coaching trees. That's just the head coach. Head coach. Yeah, one six, okay. Been to six Super Bowl appearances, that's first. Playoff wins, 31, that's first. Regular season wins, 3.02, that's third.

I think everybody thinks he will for sure get in. I think if Pollyon is the person that is responsible for him not getting and he could not do it by himself. So there had to be 10 other people that said, we can't let him in first ballot because there was some cheating. I think he should have got in. I think he will get in.

But also now he's the victim, and that's crazy. It's just crazy. Belichick's now getting to be the victim. Yeah. And everybody's rallying around this going. It's bizarre. Is the voting process messed up? Do we have to rethink how we do this?

Who's voting for what? I mean, it is crazy when you look at the articles now that are coming out in the media and social media and everything else, actually backing Bill Belichick. I know. So I'll say this about you two. You're just winning too quickly.

You needed to be bad for longer. It is unfair. It is unfair that you as Patriots, players and fans and lovers of the organization get to experience wins again this quickly. I'm on a lifetime of losing. Yeah. And you guys, you know, you have successful seasons. You know, the Patriots win championships.

Kevin has a fan. You got to experience all of that. I can't believe it. And now you're back in the Super Bowl? Yeah. I really can't believe it. On Sunday night, I was like, I feel like we're living in a Twilight Zone where it's 2018, 15, 16, all over again.

Just Boston fans in general. Oh, they're so spoiled. You're so spoiled. So spoiled. Now, if I say I recognize that and I fully agree with that, does that help at all or no? I don't hate you as much. But were you the same, were you the same fan that? was booing the last few years when they were down?

Not, never left the, never left as a fan. You know, I carried Brady to Tampa, that was about it. But I stayed with them and I, there was obviously some moves. I hated, yeah. Yeah. But I was always like, well, we're still telling me like three years. That's cool. Four years, that's cool.

And then now it's like, I can't believe it. Now you're going to have to get to the matching tattoo because Kevin has a Brady faced tattoo on his back and now he's going to have to get Drake May. Yeah, I'm going to get the step brothers. Yeah, it'll be awesome. Do we just speak on best friends? Yes, tattooed on my whole back. So Vrable hasn't coached in a Super Bowl, but obviously he's played in Super Bowls.

Do you think that matters? I think he understands the environment and can lay out the picture for the team very vividly about what to expect because the Super Bowl is unlike any event or a game that you play in. There's a longer halftime. It's 30 minutes because of the entertainment at a halftime, the spectacle that goes on before the national anthem. It's this build. feel it. You'll go out for warm-ups and you can feel the energy is just erupting around you.

The fans are into it. So you know what the stage is. And a lot of these guys have played on big stages before, but this is a unique experience when you come out because you know you're the only football game left. Everybody's watching millions of people. And this is for all the marbles. This is what our goal is as athletes is to go to that pinnacle and win that game. And so there's a lot of pressure. So I think that he can give a unique perspective playing in the game and understanding the pressures that come along with being one of the players that are going to go out and have to perform at a high level and blocking out the noise. Probably to the week in between, since, again, he's played in that he knows kind of how to pace

yourself for the week off. Right. I mean, that's another big goal is leading up to the Super Bowl, is getting healthy, knowing that you've got to get the work in because you know the opponent two weeks ahead of time. So putting in that work more mentally, probably than physically, but making sure your team's right by the time you get on that plane and head out and start that weekly preparation leading up to the Super Bowl. So I'm going to take a step back here, only because this reminded me of talking about it.

Obviously, everybody's watching the Super Bowl. Biggest television event in America every single year. So taking about three steps back, let's say Monday night football. When not everybody's watching, but it's the only game on. Right. Because when you said that, everybody's watching, it's a different energy, when you guys would play like a Monday night football game or a Sunday night game, did it feel a little or more elevated for that same reason that you knew you were the only game on.

Was there a different energy? Yes, there's always a different energy for night games because you know you're probably the only game on, whether it's a Sunday night football game, which is a really big deal, or a Monday night football game. Even those Thursday night football games is difficult as they are to prepare. You know that you're the only game going. And when the lights come on, there's something about that energy that comes along with it. And it's not the same grandiose spectacle, like I said, about the Super Bowl, but you feel

that energy in the stadium. So there are those instances throughout the season, especially those night games that you feel. And then as you go on in the season and you have, like, we played a lot of 12 o'clock games like that. Twelve o'clock games. You can hide a little bit. You got to get yourself going, right? You're waking up, having your cereal and you drive over and it's sunny out. And it's, you know, it's like the fans are there. But I mean, I'd say division opponents, you feel that a lot because, you know, if you win your division, you're going to go to the playoffs. So there's a lot that goes into it and how a player motivates himself. There's like seven games going on at once, though.

Right, there's seven games. You're just one of the pack. All right, what do you got over there, Mr. Matt Castle? All right. Well, did you see that Shador Sanders has made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season? Here are his stats. The Browns, under his starts, he started seven games, was three and four. Hey, not bad for the Browns, though, let's be honest.

He completed 56.6% of his passes through for 1,400 yards. with seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Sanders also ran for 169 yards, one touchdown in 21. Cary's, I'm not by any means on Shador Sanders here. And I'm not saying, but there's got to be some guidelines to who gets to put a title on their name as a pro bowler and from an overall performance in the scale of what you had to perform at for a season in order to be considered a pro bowler, in my opinion.

I agree. This is what I think probably happened. First of all, the Pro Bowl... It's not what it used to be. And what it used to be wasn't much. True. You know, it's not like they'd get up for the game. You'd go to Hawaii. I'll tell you one person that did, Adrian Peterson. He's running through people's faces. He's like Pete Rose in the All-Star game. I swear to. Just taking the catch-out. Everybody's like trying to like, you know, wrap up, stop. Usually try to keep these guys up. Some guys would go, like, you got to go a little bit, especially when it was tackle. But Adrian was searching people out to run through them. And everybody's like, what is going on right now?

He knew one mode. Well, now it's like a flag football game. Yeah. I don't know, tidly winks. You play poggs? Did you ever play poggs as a kid? No. But he slapped the thing.

Yeah. So it's not a real thing, but you have to keep it going because a lot of guys are being incentivized by it. And it's a television show that they, you know, will feature some of these events. So my, what my understanding is. is they go to these players. Can you do it? Nope.

Can you do it? You're in? Yeah, but I'm in the playoffs. Can you do it? So there's only a few people left. And you need three quarterbacks. So like Trevor Lawrence probably got asked before him. Probably turned it down.

You got Herbert that turned it down. C.J. Stroud that turned it down. It's all these guys probably turning it down. But where does he lie on that list? You think? Who did he get asked over? Probably. I mean, go to Oakland.

I know, to Vegas. Yeah, I think I mean, he probably... There's only 16 quarterbacks in the AFC. Yeah, I think that's probably one guy that it didn't get to. Yeah. And he's having a bad run.

Didn't get a Pro Bowl. And then also was playing for Seattle last year and then went to the Raiders. Gino. Yeah, Gino, like, goes from a team. They're in the Super Bowl, the year he's out. Man, tough year for Gino, especially with the splash that he made,

going back to Seattle and then just resurrecting his career and everything. And then going with Pete Carroll's own head coach thinking he's going to do it again in Oakland and things just went awry. I think that when Huntley made it, we at least understood that Baltimore was a pretty good team. Right. And he played pretty good. But it was always, wow, can you believe Snoop Huntley made the Pro Bowl? This supersedes that by far.

By far. If you have more. You only played seven games. It's almost like in the NCAA tournament, you've got to be 500 in conference to make it pretty much. Right. This is almost, if you don't have more touchdowns and interceptions, you can't make the Pro Bowl. Like, that could just be the rule. That's what I'm saying.

And I like Shadur. I do too. I do too. Yeah, it is bizarre. It is pretty bizarre. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig, after night one. on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me

night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever

you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite. part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg, free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes

his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations

every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's go over here to where we live. I've spent many a day talking about how dysfunctional the Titans organization

is. And this is definitely not a Homer show because I'm not a Titans fan and they've lost a lot. But I think they may be building a nice little coaching staff. I think they're doing a really good job. I mean, Sala? With, I think Sala's a good coach. You can't go to the Jets and lose and make me think you're back. And then your boy Dable's coming here. I know. Offensive coordinator. Yeah, we were just talking about him possibly, well, last week I was promoting him to the Buffalo Bill's head coaching job. You didn't promote him hard enough because he didn't promote him.

They weren't listening to me. They went Joe Brady. Okay, in-house hire. I get it. But at the end of the day, I mean, just with those two guys and their expertise and how long they've been in the league, they've both obviously had head coaching jobs in the past, that's a good start for this organization. And I feel like Sala doesn't have to bring in some massive defensive coordinator name because that's what he does. Right. He can bring somebody up and coming and new, because he defenses his thing. You've got a great defensive guy. You've got a good quarterback. You've got a great Jeffrey Simmons.

So you've got both sides of the ball with somebody to build around. You got pieces here. Is it crazy that the Titans might not be digging themselves an even deeper hole? I mean, it's not crazy to believe because you look at their division too. I mean, Jacksonville obviously outperformed any expectation. They're going to be good. Indianapolis, you don't know what they're going to do with the quarterback position right now. It could go either way for that team, even though they've got pieces there.

Jonathan Taylor, obviously, is probably one of the best backs, if not. What's Daniel Jones going to do? Missed the first part of the season next year after his Achilles injury? Yeah, I would think so. So they don't know. They're in flux right there with the quarterback position. Texans are good. The Texans are good.

They've got a great defense, but there's a lot of question marks around that offensive unit. And C.J. Stroud, especially after how he played in the playoffs with the turnover issues. So could the Titans? Could the Titans be pushed to maybe get a division title here? I mean, we might be. We might be overstepping our boundaries here. 500, my mind will be blown because I'm so used to them losing. Do you have like an affinity, like a personal affinity for the Titans that you played there?

No, I think just being here and my kids growing up here that they definitely have more of an affinity to them. But they don't win. If you're a kid, it doesn't matter how local a team is. I just think you get caught up in the masses, right? But their dad played for them. Dad played for them and all that. But still, I don't, I think it's more of their friend groups, right? The jerseys and all that.

I do believe that they're a ways off from being a legitimate contender just because you name two players. Cam Ward is a great start because he's a franchise potential quarterback and then Jeffrey Simmons on the other side. But they've got a lot of holes that they've got to fill in order to become a team that competes successfully year in and year out. If they just don't get worse, that's a positive. That's massive for us. It's been downhill for the last four or five years. Just competitive, right? And it, I think it hurts.

Not competing for the number one draft spot every year. Yeah. And I think the other part for a lot of Titans fans that really hurts is the guy that you fired a few years ago. Yeah. He's in the Super Bowl, by the way. And that stinks. That always stinks.

You fired him. You fired him. And everybody knew it was a bad firing when it happened. It wasn't that people were supportive and going, yeah, that's a good move. Everybody went, what? You did what? You did that? Well, because you had an argument or you guys didn't get along a little bit?

Let's make this work. No? Okay, we're going to fire you. And then what is it? Two years removed. This is the second year. And the first year is the head coach. First year as a head coach.

You're taking a team that won four games last year, and now you're in the Super Bowl. It's crazy. All right. All right. We got the rematch, Super Bowl 49. Okay, so this is obviously they didn't hand it to Marshawn Lynch, Seattle. You got Malcolm Butler, steps in front, interception, big deal, right? But where does that rank among the most?

memorable single plays in Super Bowl history. I'm going to give you a few. David Tyree catch. I was there for that one. I was there for that one too. Is that Indianapolis? Miami? No, that was the one in Arizona.

I remember. Oh, I wasn't there. The Patriots played the Giants. Yeah, that was one you were. I just feel like I was there because you've talked about it and you've hurt so much that I felt that. I still can't believe he caught that ball. Yeah, you're right. But there were multiple plays after that.

Plexigoburis was on the slug of the slant go. Yeah, but that's the play. But that was the play. one-handed over Rodney Harrison. I mean, that was ridiculous. Like there were plays after Bartman jumped in and hit the ball in Chicago. Yeah, but that was the play. Yeah, give me some.

Okay. San Antonio Holmes, toe tap versus the Cardinals. I mean, to throw itself by Big Ben on that play to get it and thread it over that defender right there. There was no other room in to just catch it solid, double toe tap. That's a good one. Game winner. Okay. Philly Special is always a memorable play against the Patriots, the double reverse.

throw to fold in the end zone. No, you're not feeling that one. That one, I can't remember exactly where I was sitting. The other ones, I can visualize exactly where I was sitting when the place happened. Yeah, it's probably because, no, I couldn't say that was because you had too many pops at that point in the game. No, none. I've had no pops.

I literally had pops, like sodas. Yeah, soda pops. Too many soda pops. You're two caffeine-up. All right, John L.O.A helicopter spin was pretty bad. I think he was like 50 at the time. I've seen that as a clip. Was that against a Packer?

It begins the Packers. I do know what I was. I was in Jessville, Arkansas, listen to the story. Someone had put, there was like 14 of us there in Jessville, Arkansas, and we were having a Super Bowl party. It wasn't at my house, but someone had put, was it with stuff, mixed poop? Oh, X-Lax or something like that. Yeah, they put it in the cheese dip as a joke. Why would they do that?

And I never ate the cheese. I never ate it. Luckily, I love Koso. And for some reason, I didn't touch it. But during the game, everybody kept going to the bathroom and nobody knew. and still the person hasn't admitted who did it. But that was the game. That's what I remember from that game.

What a good friend. Like, we're having a Super Bowl party. We're going to enjoy this game. And the funniest part about it is we're going to make everybody cry their pants and have diarrhea throughout the game and won't be able to watch it. Man, I would,

if I found out, I would have probably beat the hell out of it. I think that's why eventually that person whomever did it, never said anything about it because I went from people thinking it was funny to once it was real, someone has messed with some of the food. People were so mad. they were going to beat up whomever did it.

Oh, 100%. Yeah. That was brutal. So I know where I was that night. All right. Last one, Julian Edelman, the catch against Atlanta, where it got bubbled up, boom, one-handed, brings it in. It was the comeback. You gave me some good options there.

I'm going to go still the tie recatch. Because not only do I remember it, that's, you could show me a still shot of that exact moment. And I think everyone would know exact, man, and you were. there. Well, the lead up to that too was Eli has the ball and it's, I think it's third or fourth and 10, something like that. And he's in the grasp of Richard Seymour and somebody else. And I thought they're going to blow the whistle dead for a sack. He somehow gets out of it. He's backpedaling, throws up a prayer. It's a Hail Mary is what it is. It's a better version of the Caleb Williams throw in Chicago in the corner. Yeah. You know, when he just chunks it running backward. This one was

just heavier because of Super Bowl. Yeah. It was a Super Bowl in the biggest moment and the biggest part of the game. And crazier catch. Crazyer catch. Because, I mean, he didn't even have crazy stats that year. He wasn't even a featured wide receiver on that team. So that's what makes it more special. So I guess as much as it hurts. I go with that one. You go with that one? Even though you had to watch it with your own eyeballs in person. I mean, I think all of these are amazing moments in Super Bowl history, but that one goes down for me, especially because it's so near and dear to my heart. It's funny that I feel like I was at the game, but only because we've talked about it and you've talked about being there. I think I felt it through you.

Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things. Can you feel me now? You still feel the pain. I went to Chick-fil-A before we came to do this, and we had an ice storm where we live in Nashville. And it's unlike any storm I've ever seen. I've been through big snowstorms. I've been through snow with ice. I've been in New York for like two feet of snow. I've had enough weather experiences in my life to not just be like, oh my God, it's crazy just because I live in the South. Right. this ice storm with a half an inch of ice ripped trees de-rooted them in my yard yes me too everywhere massive trees fell in streets on top of power lines power was out for days and days and days here so all that to say chick-fil-a was closed for two days and chick-fellate never closes unless it's

sunday yeah so today they finally reopened and i was coming to work over here so i go by and i pull in and by the way this chick-fil-a is is bumping so hard around 12 o'clock that cars are in the street all the time it's wrapped into the street so you got to even get in the other lane just to get by. If you're on the right lane where you pull into Chick-fil-A, you're just sitting there. So I go through, and this one, you have to wrap around the entire Chick-fil-A to even get in the lane to go around. And so it's fine because Chick-fil-A, I will say, I'm going to say some good things, some bad things,

and this is not a commercial, but the good thing is, and I think you could probably speak to this as well, it's efficient. It doesn't matter how long the line is. They move people through. Yeah, I don't know who's cooking the chicken back there, but they get that chicken cooked. They get the chicken cooked. Ready on your sandwich. The cars are zippering in.

out perfectly. Like you're in two lines. How about the merge? How about the merge? Yeah, that's the zipper. You never heard of the zipper? No, is that what it's called? Yeah, the zippers just grab each side. Yeah. They merge you and they're like, Bobby, yes sir. Came me the food. I'm out. Now, I want to shout out because extremely efficient.

Where I was a little irritated, one, I just wish the person. You gotta have a moment that well, the person needs to wear, you know, back in like the 20s that were those big sandwich board signs. I'm not asking for that. But around their neck, they should have a little menu. Well, they also have like the actual menu that with the thing that they're dialing in your order. They don't show it to you. They walk up to the car and go, what do you want? They make you sign it. No, no. No, they make you put your card on it. No, what's a beat now? You just do that. No, it wasn't. It was a little handheld pad. So it's like, what would you like? And I kind of know my way around a Chick-fil-A, but I'd like to see just in case I have new thoughts.

Do you want the chicken or the chicken? You should be prepared for that. That's a fair question. Yeah. And I said, I'll take the, I'll take the five strips. And he's like, oh, we can't do that. you had a strips? No, we only have four. Four, six, probably. Well, I was like, I'll take the most one. Yeah, I'll take the most one. Yeah.

He's like, okay, we'll put you down. I think it was four. That's what they had here is the most. And I said, I need honey mustard. I can't eat it with a honey mustard. Am I going to eat dry chicken? Right. So please give me two packs of honey mustard.

No problem. Do you want the meal with that? I do. I got the waffle fries. Got the drink. And my new drink of Chick-Flea is sweet tea with strawberry. They have a little strawberry syrup. Oh, do they?

Oh, man, it's perfect. You need to try that. It's great. You love it. Drive around, get it. No honey mustard. No honey mustard. Did you park? No, because I got caught up and it being so busy, I thought, this is the one time I'm not going to look at my bag. And I'm going to just drive out and I got here to eat.

There was no honey mustard minor breakdown. I had a minor breakdown. It's still pretty juicy. He's chicken, though. I had to dip it in ketchup. Oh, dude, no way. I'm not doing chick-fil-a and ketchup. You have to, or you eat it dry.

It's not that dry. You just got it. It doesn't matter. It's just dry. without wet, it's dry. All right, fine. A wise man once said, without wet, it's dry. It's dry.

And you weren't going for that. No. So that was my Chick-fil-A experience coming in over here. What's your favorite fast food, do you think? If you had to go fast food, what would be your fast food? I'm going to answer something that some people are going to say, that's not fair. But it's going to be Chipotle. Mm.

Yeah, that's it's fast. It's fast enough, but I hate to put it in that category of fast food because Chip-fil-A is quality, like Chick-fil-A. Chuala is quality food. They just can move it pretty fast. Yeah. So I think it's Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and if you're going traditional, I love Sonic. See, my kids love Sonic.

I love Sonic. But they all, like, scratch that itch. Yeah. I need to be itching for the specific thing. Yeah. But I can eat Chipotle five times, five nights a week and still feel healthy. I went to Chipotle today, and they were out of chicken and steak. Oh, because everybody was trying to get in the storm.

So they had barbacoa or carnitas. And I got the barbacoa, but sometimes when you're at the tail end of that pot and they just grab that one chunk that was not shredded yet, it's just a chunk of meat. And I was like, hmm, yeah, not my best experience there. But all in all, I'd say Chick-fil-A is a pretty solid one. I got over here, I was washing my hands. As I often do before I eat, for the record. Do you?

All the time. Big hand washing guy. Bacteria is good for your gut. No, not all. There's a different kind of bacteria. Don't put that in people's minds. They should just be touching dirty stuff and licking their fingers. Lick your fingers.

So I, the building that we shoot podcast stuff, we shoot video stuff, I do a Netflix show from here. So own the building. Yeah, you do. Own the studio. Thank you. And during the storm, we lost power. So for one of the nights, we had to come sleep here because it was the only place with heat. And it was the first time that I'd, like, lived up here.

And I learned how to fix a hot water heater. Now, did you Google it? No, but I'm going to tell you the best thing to do now. Chat, GPT. Take a picture of it. of anything. If you take a picture of anything in the world, I fixed like three things. I fixed a garage the other day. I fixed a hot water heater. I fixed something in my car. So I took a picture of it and I said, hey, is this working? And it goes, well, that light is not green. It's red. You need to

turn it on. Reset it. Open the box. I did the whole thing. Shut it again. That's amazing. Yeah, right before break, you had to go to the restroom. You said, I got to get my water heater. So did you go up and take a picture and be like, hey? Well, I knew how to do it from the picture last time. Boom. Because it's new. So I reset it. But here's the question I have for you. In your mind, and you can close your eyes if you want to, but there's a sink, okay?

There's two handles. There's the sink that puts the water out like the curvy, the head. What do you call that? The spout, the neck? Yeah. Let's go with that. You're with me. There's a left and a right handle.

Which one's hot? If you're looking at it. If you're looking at it, which one's supposed to be hot, which one's cold? The one on the left is hot. Hot. The one on the right is cold. That's why I thought, too. I think the person who plumbed this place,

You're right hand. They did right as hot in this bathroom. Really? Yeah, that's off. I thought so, too. I've always have my left, if you're facing it, the left is hot, the right is cold. I'm glad you said so. I thought so too.

You could chat GPT that and switch those wires right up, did it underneath. I didn't take a picture of the sink. I've taken a picture of everything else and put in my phone. I did not take a picture of my sink. So, yeah, that's what we did the last couple days. You guys lost power? We lost power. We lost power on Sunday morning, probably around 8 o'clock or so.

So then that was the day that it kind of was like that sleet early on. So then things were, then it got real cold and it was icing up. So the house was getting cold. It was like in the 40s. And so I was like, I called down the street. There was a hotel in Franklin. So I was able to call down there, get a room. Dead power.

Dead power. He was able to go down there, took the dog with me. The pig and the chickens had to survive the cold. Sorry, guys. But they did they have warm? They have like a chicken house? Yes, they got a house. But I mean, and then the pig has this mass.

massive doghouse because it's a big fat pig, man. So it's going to be fine. It's got plenty of fat to survive these circumstances. But we went down there, stayed, and then I was just going home to make sure the pipes weren't busted, anything like that, and check on the chickens and the pig. And all of a sudden, our lights came on. We got super lucky.

While you were there. Yeah. Around 11 o'clock on Monday or so. So we were able to come back just with one night in the hotel. We've still got plenty of friends that have no power. Me too. Yeah. The ice storm is crazy.

Like I said, I've been in snow storms. I haven't either. And when I say that, people from the north go, we go Southern Boy, you just get some weather. Shut up. This is crazy. This is hardcore eyes. It doesn't even look like as bad as like a crazy snowstorm. It looks like the movie Frozen. I mean, like everything, every tree, it's beautiful. Yeah. But most of those branches and massive trees are on the ground. Can I show you a picture? Yes, please. So this is a picture of my shoes last night. Those are some of my Air Force One, Louis, vatons that I like to have. I have a few different pair. You don't have snow boots, I'm guessing.

No, I do, but you know, what do you see there? A lot of snow on top of your shoe. That's not snow. What is that? Mud. That's straight mud. You have mud? Oh, yes, you do. Your laces used to be white. Yeah, the whole thing. Oh, those are, those shoes are white. Yes, those are. I thought that they were green.

No, that's brown mud. So those are these. And not cheap, obviously. So you already bought two new pair. I did not. A guy was stuck, and he was by himself in an SUV. And so I said, Ken, we've got to pull over and help this guy, my wife. She's like, well, just wait. And I get out, and I'm like, I knew he was stuck.

But I was like, dude, you stuck? And he said, no, man, we're just having you're struggling for nothing. He goes, yeah, I'm stuck. So I get beside it and try to push why he hits the gas. And he's not able to go, ah, no, right? And so. You're pushing a car in the middle of the street. And sweats and Louis Vuitton shoes.

Sweets and Louis Vuitton shoes. And so not only that. my wife who was pregnant said hey i'm going to need you yeah had to get in the truck no she had to get in truck and drive she got in his truck and drove and we're both on the backside and i couldn't get beside it anymore because there was a tree and if i were to get smashed by that tree i'd be dead and so look at this this is my this is how you go out being a good samaritan oh my gosh that is i'm covered in mud because the will kept just throwing all the mud on me you've got to put that picture up i did that's how you know he's not on social media i have a check today okay

I've got five kids home from school. No, I hear you. Rough night. That's a rough night. Covered in mud. Was it because you thought you could fix his car because you've been doing all the handiwork? We got it out of there, though.

Dude, congratulations. That's a manly thing to do. Covered in mud. It's been a manly week for you. It's been a cold week. There were times I probably wasn't that manly. I was like, yeah, I'm cold. You have a blanket.

It was, I mean, you stayed in your house, though. Yeah, we did. Yeah, almost all the whole time. Would you do that for? Because we had dogs and she was like, I think we can just. sit by a fireplace and that didn't work very well. She's pregnant.

She's like, this sucks. She's probably radiating heat anyway. A little more. She's living warmer. Yeah. So she kind of liked it. I don't know if I'd say that because she was wildly uncomfortable. Did you guys stock up on food beforehand or no?

Yes, we definitely had enough food. Yeah. Like cooked and then we brought a bunch over here. But the thing is, if you didn't bring food or if you didn't, our refrigerator went out. So a lot of it's spoiled. Right. But I just put it outside. Well, we did that too, but we ate all that.

Yeah. It was like at the movies when you go in with stuff, if you buy stuff early or you sneak in with stuff, you eat it all before the movie starts. Oh, yeah. So like, Ice Storm coming tomorrow. I'm eating all the, everything we had bought. Yeah. We have rations for like another two weeks. I'm like, honey, the storm said it was only going to last like three days.

I went to five different stores and stocked up on this side and the other. We have so much food. It's absurd. We're going to come back. Rodrigo Blanketship. Kicker that you will know because he would mostly wear the Colts helmet and have the dark rim glasses underneath. We're going to talk with him. He is still kicking, but he's got a real interesting story about him being a walk-on at Georgia,

him being an undrafted free agent into the NFL, and then where he is now, and he's trying to get back in the league. But really interesting guy. We'll talk to him next. The 2026 NFL draft is here, and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything. that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks.

Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the combine.

The NFL draft, Pro Days. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits. To my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move. We got teams rebuilding.

It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your face. favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's bring on Rodrigo Blankenship. Roderigo, I got to say, love the glasses coming from a fellow Dart Speck guy. This has been a part of my identity for a long

time. When did you decide to commit to the glasses? Because that means everybody's going to know you, especially on a helmet. Yeah, I think that I first started to wear glasses in middle school. It was probably around seventh grade. I started to notice that my eyesight wasn't great, especially trying to play soccer and football. You need to see stuff from, you know, pretty good distance. And so that's when I started to wear the glasses, started to wear the rec specs specifically for high school basketball, switching over from, you know, just the traditional glasses. I wore the rec specs for basketball in high school. And when I got to the University of Georgia, it was just part of the look. And so I just continued with it. And now it's become part of the image.

Yeah, Rodrigo, so you just said you played soccer in high school, right? Was that something that influenced you to go and be a place kicker when it came to football season? It definitely was a big help. I started off playing soccer probably as soon as I could walk, maybe, I don't know, three years old, four years old. There was a soccer ball in my feet, and soccer was my first love. I played it through my senior year of high school, but I think I realized, you know, early on once I started to kick that, you know, football was probably going to be. be the way to go. There was going to be, you know, more opportunities for me on the football side. But coming from a soccer background that was very helpful just allows you to really hit the ground

running and helps you to pick up the mechanics of kicking very quickly. So, you know, I started to watch football with my dad. I think 2006 was the first year that I watched football. I was watching the Florida Gators. Unfortunately, I know the dog fans are going to hate to hear that, but I started watching Florida football and that's kind of what made me fall in love with football. And, you know, that really kind of expedited the kicking process to get me where I am. now. So going from soccer to football, did you pick it up pretty quickly? And then also, did you play any other positions when you played football? Because obviously you're an athlete. You're talking about playing basketball in soccer. So yeah, talk me through that.

Yeah. I did play a couple of other positions in my time in high school. I messed around a little bit of wide receiver, one off season. I was actually one of our backup quarterbacks, my senior year. thankfully, we were never in a position where they needed my services, my senior year. You know, otherwise, we would have been in big trouble. But I did do a little bit of receiver. Did a little bit of quarterback in high school. And yes, I did pick up kicking very quickly, you know, from playing soccer for such a long time. I think that I first tried to kick a football the summer after fourth grade,

so summer between fourth and fifth grade. My dad took me out to the practice field at my local high school. And he said, you know, hey, try and kick this football like you kick your free kicks. soccer and we'll see what happens. And the first one sailed through the uprights with no instruction prior to that day. And, you know, I think we both really saw that there was some potential there. And so the following summer, I went to my first camp to start getting instruction, and I really took off from there. But yeah, the soccer definitely helps you to have an expedited process when you're trying to learn to kick. So talk to me about why you chose Georgia, because

you're a walk-on at Georgia originally and earned a scholarship, obviously your second season. But just what went into that? And were you being recruited by anybody else? Yes, I was being recruited by a few other schools, mostly mid-major programs. My first scholarship offer actually came from University of Alabama, Birmingham, funny enough. And I was very fortunate to receive that offer. And that really kind of allowed some other dominoes to fall where some other programs started to offer me scholarships after that. They were all kind of a similar tier or similar point in the college football hierarchy, I guess you could say.

So I had some scholarship offers to some smaller programs, but ultimately the thing that led me to the University of Georgia outside of what I felt like was a good opportunity to play was education. And I know that with the current state of college football, with NIL and with the transfer portal and with coaches moving all over the place and, you know, money being thrown in kids' faces. I know that education has become pretty low on the list of priorities that guys are considering. But that was still my top priority. I've always wanted to get into sports journalism and sports broadcast whenever I get done with my playing career. and University of Georgia has one of the best journalism schools in the country in Grady College. And so that was something that was always at the top of my list. Outside of University of Georgia, my next choice would have been Mercer.

I did have a full scholarship offer from Mercer, but they also have a very renowned journalism program and broadcast program. So, you know, that was really the reason that I ultimately ended up going to University of Georgia. Education was always at the top of my list. I know that football is not going to last forever, and I wanted to set myself up for success as best as possible. And so ultimately it became University of Georgia. Looking in hindsight, it looked like it was all pretty easy because just looking at some of your awards, first team, all SEC in 2019, you won the Garza Award, but you said you went on as a walk-on. So how long until you got the starting job and what was that process like the competition? Yeah, so my first year was 2015 and that was Coach Mark Rick's last year as a head coach at University of Georgia.

And I knew from some of the conversations that I had had with Coach Rick and his staff as a high school recruit that that that's when. 2015 season, I was in all likelihood not going to play. The incumbent kicker, Marshall Morgan, was a very good kicker, very solid, had done very well in his career. And he was still there when I got there as a redshirt freshman in 2015. And so I knew that season I probably was not going to play because Marshall was going to finish up his senior year. And he did a tremendous job for us in his last year. And so really going into that 2016 season was when I, you know, felt like I would have the first opportunity to potentially have the starting job. Now, Coach Rick ended up leaving for Miami at the end of that first year. Coach Smart comes in and, you know,

everyone is kind of starting from Ground Zero with the new coaching staff. You're learning names, you're learning, you know, what everyone is about and all that stuff. So, you know, we kind of start from Ground Zero. I was in a kicking competition over the course of the summer with another kicker named William Hamm. And he actually ended up winning the starting field goal job coming out of, you know, summer training and preseason camp. And so he started the season as our field goal kicker. and I was the kickoff only kicker for the first three to four games of the season. And then I think it was around week four. We're going to a road game against Ole Miss.

That was my first time as the starting field goal kicker. I had won the job at that point. Ham was not doing so well in the first few games of the season. I was practicing really well, kicking really well at a high level during practice. And so ultimately you got the starting job around week four. Didn't have the best start, actually. I missed my first ever career field goal attempt against Ole Miss. and ended up getting flamed on the internet the next week because all of the headlines were, you know,

New Georgia kicker wears glasses and still can't see the uprights, you know, that headline was, that headline was all over the place my first week after that miss. So got off to a rough start, but after that I think I went on a streak making about 10 kicks in a row. And, you know, so the narrative kind of started to change a little bit and people started to think, oh, maybe this guy is the right guy for the job. So really it was, you know, about a third of the way through that 2016 season when I took over as the starter. and then from there we never look back. The 2026 NFL draft is here,

and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig, after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday, and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar. Yeah, mine too, Greg.

Free agency, the combine, the NFL draft, ProDays, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits to my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included. You got quarterbacks on the move.

We got teams rebuilding. It's hope season. Yeah, absolutely. It's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

I read something that said after the Notre Dame game, you earned the scholarship and they presented you that scholarship. What was that like? These stories are ones that were all endeared to because it's somebody that's worked hard, walked on, paid your dues, made your kicks, and now you're rewarded with the ultimate goal when you go to college, which is a scholarship. But talk about that moment, what it was like, the locker room, and how it was presented to you. Yeah, so really that actually came about a couple days before we left for the Notre Dame trip. I think it was Thursday, our last day of practice for that week getting ready for Notre Dame. And I had my last class of the day, I think, had been canceled because I was back in my dorm room. And normally I would just

head straight from class over to the facility to get ready for meetings and then practice. And so I think that my last class had been canceled because I had some downtime in my dorm room. And I got a text from one of our special teams coaches at the time, Coach Fountain. And he said, Coach Mart wants to see you. You need to head to the facility immediately, you know, as long as you're not in class, head to the facility and he wants to see you in his office. And, you know, at first I thought, oh, man, what did I do? Did I get in trouble? It's like when your name gets called on the PA system in school and it's like the principal needs to see you.

You know, and so at first I was, I was a little scared. I didn't know what to expect. And so I wanted to see Coach Mart in his office. And he said, Ra, you've been kicking really well for us. You know, he did really well last year. You've made a lot of improvements over the off season. And I can see, you know, how much you've improved. And you're kicking at a high level.

And so I want to put you on scholarship. And he said, but you can't tell anybody yet because I've got something planned for you. He said, you can tell your parents if you like, as long as you trust them not to tell anybody else. I don't want the secret getting out yet. You can tell your parents if you like, your girlfriend, whatever, but that's it because I have something planned for you. And I said, okay, that sounds good. So I told my parents, told my girlfriend, and then we went up to Notre Dame, I kicked the go-ahead field goal with about three minutes left in the game.

And then we got a strip sack fumble on the ensuing possession. And we're able to close out the game in that fashion. And then we got into the locker room and Coach Mart, you brought everybody up in the locker room. And he said, hey, Rod, you want to tell the team what we talked about a couple days ago? And then I got to tell the whole team that, you know, I've been put on scholarship. And then I was just a party in the locker room. So it was a really incredible moment, really excited that I got to share that with my team. And I know that the video went, you know, went viral.

And everyone, you know, got to see that moment and just sharing it with us. And it was just a really incredible experience to have. Do you think you would have still got that moment had you missed the kick and lost the game? that is a very good question i'm glad i'm glad that's not how it turned out it might have taken another week i honestly would have been interesting to think about so from from georgia obviously you had all the accolades everything like that and then you went undrafted but you do get an opportunity to go play for the napolis colts and you're on the nfl all rookie team talk about that first year coming to league and the different trials tribulations you had getting going

Yeah, I mean, that first year is an undrafted free agent. I think that everybody knows, you know, all the guys that are in that position, they know that, you know, you're kind of on a short leash. You really have to prove your worth. You have to prove that you're going to provide value to the team immediately. Otherwise, they're probably going to be moving on and looking in a new direction. And so every day that I was there, I felt like this is another, you know, this is another day of my job interview, you know, even though we go through tons of preparation

before that with interviews at the senior bowl and the combine and, you know, and calls with the coaches leading up to draft day. You know, those are all part of it. And then you get onto the field for the first time with the team in front of your teammates and in front of the coaches. And it's like, okay, now this is the bulk of the interview right here. I have to prove that I'm capable of being on this field that I deserve to be here every day. And, you know, if I'm not doing it, they're going to be looking for another solution somewhere else.

And so, you know, it was just a constant battle, a very heated competition with Chase McLaughlin, who's the current starting kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's done very well since he's arrived in. Tampa. He was my competition as a rookie, and it was a back and forth battle. You know, one day I'd win, one day he'd win. One day I'd win, one day he win. And so, you know, it kind of came down to the wire on, on cut day as to who was going to be the starting kicker. Ultimately, I guess I had made a few more kicks than he did. I had, you know, just, I had barely edged him out in our preseason competition and ended up being the guy. But, you know, even in the regular

season, it's a constant struggle and a constant battle because you have to consistently prove yourself on, you know, on a weekly basis. Week in and week out, you have to prove that you're adding value to the team and that you're going to help the team win. There were some really special moments that rookie year. I think, I think especially the end of our rookie training camp when all of the veterans first reported, I'm sitting in my locker playing on my phone and a shoe kicks me on the foot. And I look up and it's Philip Rivers. And he walks up to shake my hand and he's like, hey, man, how you doing? I said, hey, hey, nice to meet you. I'm Rodriguez Blankenship. And he goes, I know who you are, man. I'm like, what are you talking about? How do you know who I am? He said,

oh man, I'm a Southern boy. I've grown up watching SEC football. My whole life I've kept up with it all my time in the pros. And you know, you made waves at Georgia. It's great to see you, you know, in this locker room. And hopefully, you know, you'll be a part of the team this year. And so that was a really cool moment getting to meet Philip. I remember playing with the Chargers.

And Matt in 2009 when I was younger. And I loved to play with Chargers with Philip and Ladanian Tomlinson. So that was a really special moment. Getting to kick the game-winning field goal against Aaron Rogers and the Packers in over time, about halfway through the season, to take over first place in our division was another really special moments. There were definitely some highlights of that rookie year. But, you know, like I said, it's a constant battle having to prove yourself week in and week out.

It feels like a kicker can have a really bad game and be cut. Not so much with other positions. Like there needs to be more than a bad game. But if you go out and you miss four kicks, a lot of times, if you're not like the guy guy that is submitted in place, they'll just go, let's pull up a new kicker. I think that's the only position where they do that. Do you feel like that's true? I do think that the expectations for performance for kickers are at an all-time high. You know, it feels like for the most part, as you said, unless you're a very established guy,

you know, you've been in the league for five, six, seven years, whatever the case may be. And you have shown over the course of your career that you are rock steady and there may be just in a bit of a slump. Unless you're in that situation, there is a very short leash for kickers especially. punters a little bit, snappers a little bit as well, but especially for kickers. If you're not seeing that ball go through the uprights, usually coaches are looking in a new direction. And so, you know, I experienced that as well. The first game of the regular season with the Colts in 2022, I had made two field goals

in regulation, but then in overtime, I hit two kickoffs out of bounds, gave the other team short field position, and then I also missed a potential game winner in overtime in that same game. And so, you know, as you said, it really just takes one bad game. I hadn't been super established. I had a really good rookie season, but my second year with the Colts, I got injured and missed most of the season. So I hadn't really cemented my place at that point in time. And so, you know, one bad game was all that it took at the beginning of that 2020 season for me to hit the road.

And so you definitely see that. You know, it happened quite a bit throughout the course of this NFL season as well, where you have some guys that have kind of been on the fringe, where they haven't really cemented themselves with the team yet. And so we saw a lot of turnover at the kicking position this season, you know, for that example. exact reason. The expectations are super high, and if you're not super well established and you're not meeting that bar, then you're probably going to be on your way out the door. How do you do with the mental aspect of being in that type of position? Because the pressure mounts, right? Even when you're making kicks, you know that you can go into a slump. And how did you deal with that type of mental

adversity week in and week out to continue to put yourself in the right mind frame? I think that, you know, the biggest thing that I can do is just have trust in my process and have trust in my preparation. I know that it's, you know, very cliched. Joel and deed has always been, you know, trusted process in Philly and eventually they're going to get their championship. But, you know, really that's, I think, how it has to be, especially for specialists with, you know, how precise our performance is. And, you know, everyone's eyes are going to be on you.

You really don't want anyone saying your name, especially if you're, you know, a snapper or a punter. You really don't want anyone saying your name because that probably means you did something wrong. If you're, you know, going out and doing your job every time that your number is called, you know, then people aren't going to have a reason to be looking at you. And so that's kind of how you want it to be. And so the best way that I think that I found to be able to do that is to just trust in my process, just trust that, you know, I've put in all this work over so many years I've been kicking for, I think 18 or 19 years at this point, way longer than, you know, I haven't been kicking. And so I've just found that, you know, if I have these habits and I have these routines and I'm consistent with my preparation on a weekly basis, and that's going to lead to consistent performance in the game. So just being able to trust, that the work that you're putting in is with the purpose and that it's going to lead to the results that you want. That's been the biggest thing that I found to help me prepare mentally to just have confidence and know that, hey, you've put in the work. You deserve to be here. And, you know,

the work that you have put in is going to allow you to succeed. The 2026 NFL draft is here and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Rodriguez after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two, Friday, and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks. Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I'm Greg Rosenthal. And this is 40s and free agents. The games may be over, but the NFL never stopped. This is my favorite part of the calendar.

Yeah, mine too, Greg. Free agency, the Combine, the NFL draft, Pro Days, trades. This is where teams reshape their future. This is where Daniel Jeremiah makes his money. On 40s and free agents, we break down every move that actually matters. From my draft evaluations, mock drafts, and team fits. To my top 101 free agents and how real rosters are built, cap space, contracts, and all the tough decisions included.

You got quarterbacks on the move? We got teams rebuilding its hope season. Yeah, absolutely. it's hope season. We'll tell you what's real, what's noise, and what it means for your favorite team. Smart analysis, real conversations every week. I don't know about the smart, but definitely analysis. Listen to 40s and free agents on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I know you're supposed to visualize the kit going in and I'm not sure what your process was and if you were visualizing it going in. But if you were ever off, did you ever

visualize it not going in and you just couldn't get it to go in and your visualization? And you're like, Come on. Get out of my head. Yeah, then you got it kick. Like, did you ever battle those demons? Not necessarily from a mental standpoint, but definitely from a physical standpoint. You know, I could think back to a couple of kicks that I, you know, that I missed earlier in my career where when I was going through my warm-up kicks in the net, it something wasn't quite feeling right. And, you know, that's usually, you know, part of every kicker's process. Usually when the offense crosses a 50-yard line, the punter usually puts his boss.

down, the kicker goes over to the net and starts to get a couple kicks off into the net as the offense is getting into field goal range. And so there have been a couple times where I would go out and I had missed a kick, you know, in the game, but the couple of kicks that I had hit into the net just before that didn't quite feel right. And so, you know, sometimes there was a little bit of a tell, at least for me specifically from a physical standpoint to be like, okay, I really need to make sure that the ball is coming off my foot really clean in the net. And that's usually going to translate well to me being able to hit that next ball on the field and put it through the post. So I have struggled with that a little bit, you know, nine times out of ten, it's not an issue.

I'm going to go out there. I'm going to knock it down. I made about 95% of my field goals in the UFL last year. And pretty much every time I walked out onto the field, I hit a great ball into the net right before that. So it's not as much of an issue now, but definitely earlier in my career, like in my high school career, that was definitely something that I noticed. You know, now with the kickers having the ability to make alterations to the ball, and you see all these field goals.

They're going in at 65, 70 yards, but they're making them at a high clip. What is your thoughts and the impact that it's had on the game and for kickers in general with the ball alteration now for the kickers? I definitely think it's made the field goal kicking portion of kicking and of a regular NFL game a lot more exciting to see all of these bombs, you know, just on a weekly basis. I think that it's been really exciting.

I mean, seeing Cam Little hit the 70-yard or in the preseason, and then he made a 60-year-old. and a 68-yarder during the course of the regular season. You know, McLaughlin with the Bugs, as I mentioned earlier, he made a 65-yarder at one point in the season. And so to see all these long kick-kicks made, I think it's really exciting. And, you know, it adds a little bit more excitement to the game that we know that we previously hadn't seen, at least not to this extent. You know, and a lot of people had asked me about it over the course of the season. You know, all of these NFL kickers, I think, have been capable of making these kicks, you know, even before the,

the ball breaking in rules that we have had for this season. But now they're able to make it on a more consistent basis. You know, guys have been able to make 65 to 70-yard field goals, but definitely not with the regularity that we saw this season. But when you have the footballs that you can break in a little bit longer, it's not just, you know, you get to break them in for 45 minutes, two hours before kickoff, which is what it used to be. You know, now you get them at the beginning of the season.

You can break them in leading up to week one of the regular season, and then you can use any one ball for up to three weeks. You know, you really get a ball broken into that perfect level, and then you're just able to more consistently get the distance you need for these long-range kicks. And so when you got guys that are making them more consistently in practice, it gives the coaches a lot more confidence to be like, hey, if I need this, I can send him out in a game because I just saw him make 65 three or four times in practice this week, you know, in our team period. And so it just gives the coaches more confidence to send these guys out there, and then they'll be able to execute that in a game. there's a Instagram account that I follow called Kicker Central that posted all of the field goal kicking results from the NFL regular season. You know, the total conversion percentage, the number of attempts. And this year there were more 60 plus yard field goals attempted and made than any season in NFL history.

And, you know, definitely a part of that is because of these footballs allowing guys to more consistently knock down these long range kicks. So it's been really exciting to see. I know you're going to start in the NFL with the Birmingham Stallions, but is the goal to get back in the league? Absolutely. That is definitely the goal. I was very close. You know, after this last UFL season, I did really well with the St. Louis Battlehawks team last year. And I had a tryout with the Jets as soon as the UFL season was over. I also had a try out with the Los Angeles Rams during the NFL regular season. So I feel like I'm very close. I feel like I'm back on a lot of teams' radars to say, hey, this is a guy that we need to start taking a look at again, you know, because I'm healthy. I'm kicking well, kicking as well as I ever have at any point in my career. So, you know, I feel like I'm I'm putting myself back on a lot of teams' radars, and so that is absolutely the goal is to end up back on an NFL roster as soon as possible. Now, look, I'm not the most savvy social media guy. Bobby can contest to that, but you're big on social media. You've got a lot of great content. How do you come up with putting out the content? Is it a feel thing? Is it something that you do weekly? Like, hey, I need to put this out, this out. Talk to me a little bit of how I grow my followers. Well, as far as the football content goes that I've posted over the last couple years, you know, I had a weekly series where last year I would recreate whatever I thought was the best kicking performance in the NFL on that weekend. And so usually I would try to pick one guy, you know, that I thought had the best game.

And, you know, for example, last year in week one to start the 2024 regular season, Chris Boswell, week one, made six field goals with, I think, two from 50. plus and one of them was a 57 or a 60-yard or something of the sort. So that was, you know, definitely the best performance that any single kicker had in that week. And so I would go out and I would try and match all of those kicks when I would go out and practice and say, okay, he made a 60-yarder from the right hash. I got to make 60 right hash. He had a 55 left hash. I got to make that left hash. And I would try and do them all consecutively, you know, and when I put it out there, then people can see, hey, I'm making all of these kicks and it's not taking me, you know, 50,000 tries, like I'm making these all back to back to back to back as a kicker would do that in a game.

He would be making all these kicks consecutively. And so that series kind of came about a little bit as inspiration from some other free agent kickers that I had seen in previous years where they would go out and try and make all the kicks that were missed on a weekly basis. And me being someone that was in that position already, I know how much pressure and how much stress goes into being an NFL kicker. And, you know, for a guy that's just on the streets to say, look at me, I'm making all these kicks, I'm better than you. You know, your team should sign me. That didn't really sit well with me, especially because when you're out on your own, you don't have a rush. You don't have a snap in a hole. You don't have 50, 60, 70,000 fans trying to distract you and prevent you from doing your job.

And so I wanted to try and put a little bit more of a positive spin on that idea. And so instead of doing all the missed kicks, I wanted to try and pick out guys who were making all their kicks. And so that's how that series started last year. This year I tweaked it a little bit because I felt like I kind of showed during the UFL season, yes, I can make kicks at a high percentage. Now the biggest question mark, at least with me specifically, that some NFL teams still had was the leg strength. Like, is he going to be capable of keeping up as guys are being able to try 55 and 60 plus yard field goals with more regularity? Am I capable of doing that? And so this year I modified it a little bit to just say, I'm going to do the three longest kicks that are made in the NFL every week.

That way, I'm showing like, hey, these are the kicks that coaches are willing to send their kickers out and try on a weekly basis. And yes, I do have the leg strength to make them. I made every kick this year. All of the 60 plus yarders were attempted at some point or another during my weekly series, made them all, including Cam Little's 67 and 68 yard field goals that he made during the regular season. So it was definitely a challenge, you know, for sure. I was like this series, the way that I'm doing it this year is going to push me, you know, in a way that I haven't pushed myself before because I have never consistently tried to make 62, 64,

65-yard field goals on a weekly basis. Usually, it's not really part of your training to do that because you're not going to try them as much. You know, a bulk of your field goal attempts are going to come from 30 to 40, 40 to 50. And so that's where a bulk of my training usually is in practice. But with these new ball conditions, those 60-plus yards are definitely going to become more common. And so, you know, I wanted to try and challenge myself and push myself in that way. and, you know, thankfully, was able to make all of these kicks. They're all documented on my TikTok, my Instagram, Facebook, all of those platforms.

I know if anyone wants to go see them. So that was a really fun challenge and a really good way to kind of market myself and say, hey, I'm still capable of making these long kicks. If that was a question mark for you, hopefully it's not going to be, you know, from this point on because I'm putting out on a weekly basis that I'm making all these 60 plus yard kicks. So, you know, as far as the football goes, that's, you know, really been a bulk of the football content that I've posted the last couple years. and I obviously have, you know, another side to me where I'm a, you know, professional kicker by day and, you know, nerd collector at night, you know, where I'm a big fan of Lego and Transformers and Star Wars and Marvel and a lot of those, you know, kind of nerdy things. And so there was a lot of that content as well where, you know, if I'm, if today isn't a day that I'm kicking, you know, if I get done working out, I'm going to stop by my local Lego store here in Birmingham and I'm going to see what kind of cool stuff they have. And, you know, maybe I'll bring in some of my stuff and trade in and get some new stuff for the collection or, you know,

whether it was, you know, Christmas, getting, you know, my family and friends would get me some new stuff for Christmas, whatever the case may be. So that all goes into it as well, you know, to try and just diversify and just show people that there is another side to me outside of being Rod the kicker, you know, just being a football player. There is another more human, more normal side to me, which is Rod the Collector. And so I've had a lot of fun doing that over the last few years as well. One final question. And everybody follow them, Rod the Kicker 3. That's in case you're one. wondering how to go follow them at Rod the Kicker 3. Final question. What is your greatest? What is your favorite kick of all time? It doesn't matter where. My favorite kick of all time.

In game. It can be high school, college, or pros? When you look back at the kick where you are so proud of that kick, pressure's on. What is it? I would say it's probably the kick that I made at the end of the first half of the Rose Bowl in 2017 against Oklahoma in the playoff semifinals. So Oklahoma had really come out with guns blazing in the first half.

This was Baker Mayfield's Heisman season. He had actually caught a touchdown pass on a trick play that they had run. And that put Oklahoma ahead, I believe, 31 to 14 at the end of the first half. And we were reeling. You know, our defense had given up more points just in that first half than we'd given up to basically any opponent throughout the course of the entire season leading up to that point. And so, you know, we were kind of on our heels. But thankfully, at the end of that half, they decided to go to the squid kick instead of, you know,

a traditional kickoff for whatever reason. Our front line player, Tate Crowder, recovered the ball immediately. so only one second came off the clock, and then our offense ran a play, got us a few extra yards, and I lined up for a 55-yarder and knocked it down right at the end of the half as time expired. And still to this day, that is the longest field goal made in Rose Bowl history. I believe it's the longest field goal made in Georgia postseason history as well. And that kick got us back to 14 points, and we received the ball to start the second half. So we're like, hey, we're only down 14.

If we can come out and score a touchdown to start the second half, we're only going to be down seven points and we are right back in it. So, you know, that moment, especially with the pressure of going down as much as we did, needing any kind of spark and any kind of momentum to give ourselves a reason to be optimistic in the second half, I think that kick for sure, you know, is my biggest kick, my most proud kick of my career so far. Rodrigo, really appreciate the time. Yeah, you should do this. Yeah, seriously. Yeah, you should talk better than we do.

I know. Yeah, give me somebody in your contract. Halfway through, I'm like, this guy should be doing this. He's got this. We're reporting it back in the league. So hopefully you land back in the league And then after that, yeah, you should do this. Really great talking with you.

I've consumed a lot of your content as well. I really enjoy it. So have a great rest of the day. Stay healthy. You know, I don't know much about the collecting thing. What do you say there? Build stuff. Legos, shoes.

What else do you collect? He does Star Wars. Yeah. It's Lego, Lego, Transformers, Star Wars, Marvel, and sneakers. Oh, yeah. Plenty to collect. I'm a big sneaker guy.

Bobby, you can talk to you. Yeah, I got big sneakers. So I got. Oh, very nice. Thank you. These are the Louis Air Force Ones, the Reds. I got the Reds. I got the Reds.

I got the blacks. I'm Big Schew guy. Castle's really stepped up his game, but today he comes in in boot. Well, it's been a little cold here, Bobby. I know, but I took my boot talk. It's showtime. It's showtime.

It's right. You could do it in anything. Rodriguez, really appreciate. I hope you have a great day, man. Thank you guys so much for having me on today. I really appreciated it. See you, Rodriguez. See you.

Okay, that's going to do it for us. Good show, Matt Castle. Great show. I'm going to text my father-in-law on this show because he's going to drive him crazy. You're going to text your father-in-law right now? Yeah, you want audio message him. Hey, he was talking to Rodrigo Blankenship,

the kicker on our NFL show, and I asked him what his favorite kick of all time was, and the kick that he gave us right off the top was Rose Bowl. against Oklahoma. I think you were there for that one. That was a tough one. All right, I just wanted to rub that in a little bit.

All right, see you later. 31-14, by the way, and cut the deficit. That's all he did. He cut the deficit, and the rest is history. He's a massive OU fan. That was fun, though, talking to him. Yeah, he was bright, articulate. Not that we expected different,

but we were pleasantly survived. You never know. You never know. but very interesting guy too in terms of some of the hobbies and the collections that he has and all that stuff. I wonder what those are worth. Those are big money. Miles Turner played basketball for the Pacers

and I plays for the Bucks. He's a big Lego guy. Bill's crazy Lego Joe. Who's the dumbest player you ever played with? I'm just kidding, don't answer that. I'm just kidding, don't answer that. There's a few out there that have made my list. Thank you everybody for listening.

That's Matt Castle. That's Kickoff Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. we will be at the Super Bowl for the show next week? Super Bowl, baby. Yeah, two days. Radio Row. Let's go. So I don't know what the deal is. We will be at the Super Bowl next week.

I'm not sure what episode's coming up when, but we'll see you next week. We'll be back on normal time. Thank you guys for listening. Thanks to Rodrigo, and I think that's it. Instead of worrying about it, we'll just do what happens. Yeah. All right, there you go.

We've had lots to say. Bye, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bowens. and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and IHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, visit the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The 2026 NFL draft is here,

and the NFL Daily podcast has it covered from all angles. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and Jordan Roderig, after night one on Thursday. Nick Shook joins me night two Friday and then Sunday to recap everything that went down over the three days in Pittsburgh. We'll tell you who won the draft and which players were my favorite picks.

Listen to NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal. I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and free agents, the podcast that owns the NFL off season. This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades.

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