The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 255 - Aaron Rodgers, Austin Hooper, Mike "Pops" Adams, & AJ Hawk

Episode Date: September 22, 2020

On today's show, Pat and AJ Hawk welcome in Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP, 2x MVP, 8x Pro Bowler, 3x All-Pro, QB for the 2-0 Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers, for another Aaron Rodgers Tuesday. Pat, Aaron, AJ, and the boys discuss this last week's game against the Lions, what he does on his off days, his newest State Farm commercial, his pregame playlist, and why he's been playing so well and seems to be enjoying things more (1:57-37:59). Next, 2x Pro Bowler, TE for the Cleveland Browns, and friend of the program, Austin Hooper joins the show. Pat and Austin discuss how good it feels to get in the win column, what Kevin Stefanski has been like as a Head Coach, his relationship with Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham, the Pac12 being dead, and his thoughts on people saying TE's don't care about blocking (38:01-52:58). Lastly, 16 year NFL veteran, 2x Pro Bowler, Pat's former teammate and friend of the show, Mike "Pops" Adams joins the program. Pat and Mike break down the Monday Night game between the Saints and Raiders, some of the tricks that he used to get away with things on the football field, if there's cause for concern with Drew Brees, how teams defend guys like Darren Waller, why Jamal Adams is so special, and why Earl Thomas doesn't have a job yet (54:43-1:15:48). Don't forget to subscribe to youtube.com/thepatmcafeeshow as we get closer to 1 million subscribers and a $100,000 giveaway, and listen every day on Mad Dog Radio, SiriusXM Channel 82. We appreciate you all for listening. Come and laugh with us, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, it is Tuesday, September 22nd. Aaron Rodgers is on the show today. Also, Pops, Mike Adams, and Austin Hooper, new tight end for the Cleveland Browns. Great conversation about everything happening in the sports world. Speaking of the sports world, have you heard? Heard what?

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you'll love your time with FanDuel. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Speaking of that, let's get to that show. Also, we have a man with one of the greatest chins in the history of sports, Super Bowl champion, national champion, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Aaron James Hawk. Bird call from the boys there. How you doing? Still haven't seen Fight Club? No. I'm not a big movie buff, to be honest.

You've got to see it, man. You absolutely have to see it. Did that convince you? AJ, I've heard that so much through my life because too much ADD, I don't watch a lot of movies. I spent my childhood kicking a soccer ball off the side of my house to hopefully build up enough muscle

to kick a ball hard enough for soccer reasons, not for football reasons, but boy, I'll tell you what, there ain't nothing like the look on somebody's face when you tell them right to their face that their favorite movie you've never seen before. It's like, what? What are you talking about? It's like, I just ain't got the time. I somebody's face when you tell them right to their face that their favorite movie you've never seen before it's like oh what what are you talking it's like guys ain't got the time i'm so sorry yeah people get so emotional when you tell them you haven't seen a certain show a certain movie but hey i guess hey does that mean it's just a great show if people

get that emotional and they take it it's a personal attack on on them if you don't watch their show oh game of thrones what oh man oh hey have you ever seen Game of Thrones, AJ? Unfortunately, I have not. Oh, AJ! What are you doing? Be careful, Aaron loves that show. Hey, by the way, I've never watched. Our friend has been on that show, allegedly.

They said he was a very unathletic guy for a while on the internet, which was very rude of them. I've never seen either, but you've got to see it, AJ. You have got to see that show. Speaking of shows, did you watch the Megacast last night? I was supposed to be on there, got a little bit too late, got a little bit sick, had to fall asleep. How'd you feel about it? I did watch a little bit of the

Megacast. I'm glad you texted me earlier and let me know about it being on. I almost forgot to go check the other alternate broadcasts. I'm all for them having multiple options for the broadcast. I think it's a great thing. I don't know how ESPN feels. Are you pulling away viewers, though, from your main broadcast by doing this or what? Or do they just think, hey, as long as it's in the ESPN family, we're good? As long as they're under the umbrella, I don't think anybody cares.

But I assume technology-wise, they'll get that thing humming a little bit. I think it has a chance. It was definitely entertaining. The game also was a great game. And I assume a man that watched the game last night was man that watched the game last night was not playing in the game last night. But whenever he is playing the football this year, he looks better than he has ever looked in his entire life. Ladies and gentlemen, goat, boat, you name it. Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, perennial all pro, Aaron Handsome Rogers. All-Pro, Aaron Handsome Rogers. It doesn't have

to be like this every week. It really doesn't. Hey, it's just week two. Take it easy. Let's relax. This is what you said to me last week. Maybe it'll wear out, but I'll tell you what, with the way you're playing the football, I think you deserve that every single week, so I'm going to bring it. Let's talk about week two. Now listen, week one,

hey, it's just one week. I mean, I do look better than I've looked probably in like 75 years playing football, maybe the best football I've ever played, but let's not even talk about it. After week two now, that offense is humming. Aaron Jones is crushing. You guys have to feel very good, including you, about your play, the offense's play, and the entire team over there at the Green Bay Packers. Yeah, I mean, how can you not?

We've scored, you know, we had 35 a couple days ago, scored 41 the first week. So, yeah, we're feeling pretty good about things. But it's early, Pat. Game's in. Can I talk about you drinking Pedialyte out of Gatorade bottle? Did they tell you to do that because of this show? No.

Yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay. I don't know. okay all right yeah of course takes all of us aaron oh hold on what did you just say i'm sorry i blacked out for this oh yeah of course go ahead aj hey aaron you talked about how of course you feel good you guys make everyone oh my god we sound like the Megacast right now. What happened? Boys, get it together over there, please. Aaron, you go. Did you see the Gatorade label on the water bottle? I did see that, and I also saw it was still the same color purple from the week before that we had talked about on the show.

So what do you think the reason for that was? Well, I think what happened was you came on the show, and you said uh everybody's making a big deal out of what i drank it was just pedialyte which by the way is an alternative to gatorade it has less sugar and it's more suffer and they heard that and they said oh you want to drink pedialyte that's fine but it's going to sure look like to everybody that doesn't listen to that damn show that you're drinking a purple gatorade hey it's still pedialyte you're gonna get fined for that you're gonna get fined for that for sure Hey, it's still pedialyte Yes! You're going to get fined for that You're going to get fined for that, for sure

Bring it on I respect it. Sorry, AJ Oh no, I'm good. Where do I want to go from there? Aaron, I know we were talking over each other the whole time. I want to go a non-football route So this is a Tuesday off day for you. I'm curious Take us behind the scenes. You, for some reason

have sat in the same position both times you've called into the show, right? Just a brick wall because you don't want to get less. Don't let anybody have any kind of info on where you are right now. You could be in Afghanistan. It doesn't matter. But what's your off day look like? Let's say you're already done watching your Bob Lazar documentaries and Ancient Aliens. What do you like on Netflix right now?

What are you doing when you're not doing football things first of all this is a green screen right here uh you just you know ty called me interrupted me from uh you know watching dodgeball let's really get into it really started the round of 32 now are you and ben stiller friends are you and ben stiller friends yeah yeah we've been friendly over the years uh i have a lot of uh love for his films my favorite ben stiller movie is a probably a little known one called heavyweights oh let's go i know i heard right before i came on there was a conversation about when you say your favorite movie or TV show and somebody hasn't seen it, it's like the worst thing ever. So I'm not going to shame anybody for not seeing it,

but it's a great 90s movie. It's worth it. It has some of the Mighty Ducks characters in it. You know, Goldberg makes an appearance. He's one of the main characters. It's a good movie. Well, Aaron, lunch has been canceled due to lack of hustle. Deal with it.

I am a big Heavyweights fan. And Goldberg, by the way, not only in Heavyweights and in the Mighty Ducks series, also just went through an entire battle with, I believe, meth. But he came out on the other side of it. So we're all very happy for the Goldberg. Don't worry. I was going to say, you guys both lost some weight. You guys look pretty chiseled, too.

Me and Goldberg? Yeah. You know, different methods, but same destination. You know what I mean? Different methods, same destination. Let's stick with off-the-field stuff. What you did to that dog in that State Farm commercial is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in my life.

I want to know what you mean. Well well you're playing catch with a dog and classic dog is they like to play fetch so you throw a ball dog's natural nature will be which i guess put those two words together to get the ball in retrieve hey we're having a good time then you took the ball and i believe you threw it 200 yards into a canyon. Game over for the dog. Unbelievable there. I needed some space. The dog was just very codependent. Long day on set. You know, I don't know if you've talked to your partner there, AJ, but it's not the first dog commercial I've been in. You know, I really question his parenting. He said some real questionable things to his kids about the last dog I was in a commercial with. And I just want to assure everybody out there, there was no animal harmed in the filming of either of those two commercials.

And, you know, I really enjoyed the time I spent with those dogs and have a lot of love and affection for all the animals. AJ, what did you tell your kids? I knew he was going to get to this. I was going to let you tell him. But, yeah, so I texted Aaron whenever I saw this next commercial with another second prop dog. So the original prop dog he had, it was a commercial with Randall Cobb. I believe the house burnt down, maybe something like that. Oh, yeah.

Amazing acting by both you guys, by the way. Amazing. Always. My kids say, like, oh, if they see him on TV, down, maybe something like that. Oh, yeah. Amazing acting by both you guys, by the way. Amazing. Always. My kids say, like, oh, if they see him on TV, oh, there's Uncle Aaron. Look at that. Oh, Dad, is that Uncle Aaron's dog? I'm like, no, it's a prop dog. They're like, well, what happens to that?

I was like, oh, I think he hasn't killed after. What the hell's wrong with you? You're like, oh, no. Hey, Jay. And then we let him know I was joking, and it's not. Oh, yeah, I'm sure. So then I just sent him a text after this other commercial. I was like, man, you killed a second

prop dog. This is getting crazy or something. And he's like, you better not continue to tell the kids that. What an animal. Yeah. I'm glad you told the truth of that story. I really felt like you were going to do your casual weaving some lies into the story that was rooted in truth for once hey here's here's a question

after watching that commercial there was a conversation a couple years ago uh patrick mahomes josh allen who can throw the ball further i think pat mahomes threw the ball out of the stadium at one point over a jumbotron or over the uh whatever you get it then josh allen came out he was like i'd like to be in that and there was a chance that they were potentially going to have a throw off i know that you would never participate in something like that because it doesn't feel like that is very aaron rogers things to do what is the longest you've ever thrown do you even know that number or do you not care like what is the longest you've ever thrown a ball because when i saw that little tiny ball it came out real, and the dog obviously lost his toy and his good time and his companionship.

But as I saw the ball fly, I was like, I wonder how far this dude can throw the ball, because you notoriously have a rocket. I mean, you hit the sky in the Lions stadium there whenever you brought that thing down. Yeah, somewhere between 68 and 70, Pat. I don't know. Right in that sweet spot. Oh, 69 yards is how far you threw it. Nice. Congrats. Hell yeah.

Hell yeah. Of course you have, by the way. Of course you have. Pat, it's not about how far. It's about how accurate, you know? That's conversation about Drew Brees today. Everybody's talking the internet last night, and this is what happens when you're an NFL quarterback.

If anything happens in a primetime game, obviously the world is collapsing. Last week it was Tom Brady's dead. This guy's not going to be able to win without Bill. Last night it's like Drew, who wore all of his own records on his own cleats last night. He can't throw the ball far anymore. But the big thing is, we talked to Pops, Mike Adams, who played in the NFL for a long time. He was like, Drew was never really that big-armed guy. He just always was able to deliver in a proper spot with proper timing do you obviously believe

that the overreaction from people and that type of shit is just ridiculous I believe it's totally ridiculous and it doesn't matter what week of the season it's just amplified because the second week of the year it's it's going to be overreaction Monday and Tuesday and probably you know all week regardless of how you play that's kind of the nature of our business that you only play once a week and you have to deal with it but now with the coverage of our business and because you know basketball is winding down you know in the in the conference finals and baseball hasn't even got to the playoffs yet there's a lot of conversation about about our sport every single day.

And, you know, it's just – I think it's ridiculous. I really do. We're two weeks in. You know, let things play out. Teams don't figure out their identity until weeks in the season. You know this, Pat, AJ. Like, it takes a while to figure out what kind of team you are. Obviously, we had a ton of injuries yesterday or two days ago.

You know, some marquee players, which is going to affect the teams and how they look. Obviously, the Niners had some really tough injuries. Saquon in New York. There was a ton of injuries across the league. So let's let these teams settle in, see who's healthy, and see what kind of teams they're going to be in. I just think back to a couple years ago when New England played Kansas City on like a Sunday or Monday night game

and Kansas City whooped them. And everybody was saying, oh, you know, New England's 2-2 now and there's a time for Brady to retire. What's he done since then? You know, mic drop. Come on. It's real. It's very real.

Yeah, but do you understand why there is the overreaction? It's because of all the eyeballs on football and everyone cares so much. Do you get why it's there? I mean, age, I think it's more than that. It's not just the eyeballs. There's always been eyeballs on football. It's now you've got all these so-called experts with platforms to talk about. He's talking about us.

You're talking about us? No, no, no, no, no. I'm talking about the people who have no idea what they're doing. Oh, not us. Not us. Not us, of course. Not us, of course. You know I love you and the boys, and I already made a big compliment

about how I see you guys moving forward in the future. And by the way, great article by Bruce Feldman. That was really good. Thank you. I didn't want to talk about it because it's one of the biggest fluff pieces I've ever read about myself, and it's kind of embarrassing, to be honest with you. But it was a nice trip down memory lane. Sidebar, did you have final say in the editing of that interview?

No, actually, he sent me a DM. He sent me a DM and was like, I've interviewed a bunch of your former teammates, coaches, and coworkers about their first reaction to you uh and for them to tell me a story do you have a minute to chat about i was like wait a minute like what is this what is this all about and then i talked to him and it was a fun trip down memory lane i ended up talking to him for like an hour and 10 minutes or whatever through it all and it was supposed to come out last week i thought and then they they pushed it to today and this morning when i woke

up and read it i was intrigued to hear what everybody said but yeah it was it was very nice of that man and of all my friends that i formerly worked with i appreciate them so much for that you read that huh you read the whole thing it was long it wasn't long i knew i was going to talk to you today and i felt like if you might you know because it was such a fluff piece you might be quizzing me about certain things in the article that i might not have known before about you but uh so i had to be ready you ever just walk you ever walk sleeves no not well especially now that i'm kind of in shape once i'm getting fatter currently so you'll see the longer sleeves come on at one point whenever the the arm and the body just kind of melt into one you know what i mean which is going to happen sidebar have you uh have you done another tan or are you leaving the all natural

well right now it's currently just the fallout from the honeymoon tan and the spray tan that is still in my soul because that was a very, very dark spray tan. I'll probably get another one here relatively soon if I had to guess. Also, another sidebar. I don't know if the boys know this or you know this

but do you know that AJ never wears undershirts underneath his long sleeve garb? Really? Oh, Aaron was so disturbed one game. I think I just talked over you, Pat, but Aaron was super disturbed at me when I walked in with a full zip-up sweater with no undershirt. He's in his little locker probably eating like a peanut butter

and banana sandwich that was all disgusting. I remember him like, are you? He was so disturbed. So now I do it as much as I possibly can. Is that strange to you or the boys or anybody? I don't know. Yeah, what a freak. Yeah, he's a loser.

If he's got a zipper, then yeah, wear a put-on undershirt. I've got a zipper undershirt. Thank you. Yeah, I agree. Do you wear anything weird under the pads? Do you wear anything weird? Do you have like a – no, it doesn't seem like you're that superstitious of a guy. Do you have like a go-to underneath?

No. I mean, as opposed to an internet thing I saw, I've never worn a thong underwear underneath my uniform. AJ do that too? That was out there? That was on the internet? That was on the internet. I'm sure the boys can find it. Absolutely we can.

I didn't know there was a chance that you did that. Let's talk about the game against the Lions. When we had you on draft night, we'll pull the thong up for sure. And if you're playing in a thong this good, more power to you because the kit and caboodle got to be uncomfortable throughout the entire thing. I thought about it after watching Bull Durham.

That's probably how it started. Whenever you're on draft night, you were on with us. You had a denim jacket on. You looked unbelievable. unbelievable you had a good beard you're right in the middle of the quarantine real action and the lions had their pick and they picked jeff akuta and we said what does that mean to you as somebody who has to play against that team twice you said well we're going to probably have to find out uh whether or not he can figure out what an nfl defense is quickly you might target him early before he learns what's going to happen. You did that.

I mean, 10 times you went after Okuda, seven times successfully, a lot of yards. Was that an actual thought game plan? Or were you just going in there like, we have a rookie over here. We have to remember that because there's just things that he's not going to be able to know until he learns from experience. Well, it actually wasn't a concerted effort. I mean, I don't, I don't feel like I was looking over and going, oh, I'm going after 30. Because the fact that he's a talented player.

I mean, he is very athletic, fast. And I said what I said on draft night. I meant it. I mean, there's been numerous guys over the years who you've gone against in our division who you know, hey, you better throw some completions and touchdowns on them early because this guy is going to figure it out and be a hell of a player. And I think he has that ability for sure. You know, we hit a couple passes, but it wasn't like I was, you know, really trying to target him. Their whole plan was to really take away Devontae.

They doubled him most of the game. You know, so whether it was Okuda or one of the other guys on him, you know, they had safety help the majority of the time he was in there. Obviously, he came out in the third quarter and they went to some more single safety stuff. But there was a lot of help on the outside for both those guys for a good part of the game. Is that a thing you do?

Like, let's say a guy goes out. Do you ever just, like Pat says, he tells a story about how Peyton Manning has watched a guy throw a ball at a guy 15 times in a row is that something that is like do you guys recognize it in real time and go right after him if a guy comes like if a guy gets hurt and comes out and they put a new guy in yeah yeah i mean i think that's for sure depending on who that guy is you know if they're putting in a veteran backup maybe not if they're putting a guy they just signed off the practice squad, you might test him

a couple times. You see the number 40 something walk out there, you're like, okay. Well, that guy. Good luck, Bob. Yeah, although Rogers Cromartie wore a number in the 40s for a little while, and I felt like

he was one of the rare 40s so you're not gonna maybe throw over every single time at but there's some numbers and you see him all the time at camp like you see a like a young free agent or you know rookie free agent who you know has just a you know a linebacker number that's you know a really bad one or, you know, wearing number 60 maybe is, you know, kind of been a number or, you know, you know, the numbers, like you're a linebacker or a fullback and you're wearing maybe 49 and it's like, Oh, you're a receiver wearing, you know, 30 number or something. It's like, you know, 20 number. It's like,

no, no, no, no man you might need to get some in the 80s there to get some respect on that name and then you know there's been a lot of guys who have been you know had great camps and couldn't wait to get out of numbers they're just a few numbers that are kind of marked i think for uh not making the team the story that i that aj was referring to there it was my first year in Indianapolis, and they had a corner get hurt or something. And I saw this terrible number come trotting on the field. And Peyton, you see his massive head,

literally just watch the guy come off the sideline all the way across the field, and he just stayed on him. And then literally you watch him make a check, basically, and that guy, eight straight plays. It was just like boom, bang, boom, bang. You're done for, fella. And I was like, man, this is a cold world out here. This is a cold world out here.

Yeah, that happens. That definitely happens. It's happened many times over the years for us. You know, you hate to see a guy get hurt, but you're always watching what number's coming in here. And then, you know, a quick little review of the scouting report in your head about the backups. I'm like, okay.

Oh, this guy's slow. Oh, okay. I do recall. There was a moment where you obviously were a little fiery. And it was you were controlling the play clock. Okay. We were down. The play clock was ticking down.

You had just sent somebody a motion, I believe. And you were kind of, I think you were going to snap it last second. LeFleur calls a timeout on the sideline before a delay, a game penalty happens, which is interesting because you got very upset, which I assume you were like, hey, LaFleur, like, hey, take it easy, LaFleur, okay? I got this thing kind of figured out. Was there a conversation between you and him after that or since then about, hey, like, yo, can you have a little bit of faith in your guy out here? Is that kind of how that goes? Look, you know, since about 322 Sunday, I haven't said a word to him. So, I mean, I'm sure that's what, you know, some website right now. They'll take that quote right there.

But Maddie and I are really close and it's been a fun year working together. some website right now. They'll take that quote right there. Matty and I are really close and it's been a fun year working together. We talked right away on the sideline after that possession. I had a couple laughs about it yesterday. That's just part of it sometimes. It's just the trust. I don't fault him. We had a few too many delay games last year. But I felt so close to getting the perfect check off there that I was just a little frustrated.

And you know what? In this time they're wearing them and no fans, they can hear everything. So I'm not sure if they had a nice delay on what I said and were able to kind of mute some of that out and add some of that fake crowd noise in. But it was probably necessary at that point. I can fathom it. It looked like it.

Have you sent a note to Big Mike congratulating him on his first big win? Hey! All right! Carson, Big Mike! Yeah! That was an amazing win. I haven't yet, but I definitely will be.

I'm happy for Coach, you know, to win a game like that down, what, nine with just a few minutes left to drive down. And then, you know, for the brand, beautiful, strange,

but beautiful onside kick that Atlanta chose to wait, you know, for it to go 10. And then, you know, double for the brand, 46 for the win. Bingo, GZ. There we go. Yeah. You know, speaking of for the brand, how about that kicker for Kansas City, huh? That was pretty impressive.

Hey, I talked to him yesterday. He was making from 70 at halftime, so whenever he went out there for the 53 and the 58, he was like, yeah, this is not a problem at all. He just knocked. Those were incredible kicks. I loved his demeanor. He kicks the first one, and there's the false start. He drills it.

You just see him turn. He's focused. There's nothing to him. Then he kicks the next one with the timeout and drills it. Now you're thinking can he really make three in a row over 50 like splitting it yep yeah he's dead he said he got pissed off that they called the icing on him like he was like oh you think that's gonna affect me he's like the type of kicker who wants to get mad at people like michael jordan made up that story about the utah jazz coach at the restaurant like oh he said that he's gonna have like i think that is what

he's like is mason crosby like that because he's off to a hell of a start as well over there well he hasn't missed any i mean he's kicking great he's been kicking great most of his career though i mean he's been such a rock for us i mean really he has had one bad game in all the years i've been together um and since that game i think think he's made like 97% of his kicks or something crazy after they tried to, you know, run him out of town. Overreaction Monday and Tuesday. Yeah, a lot of that. But Mace is real steady.

And I think he's helped by one of the most interesting and possibly strange punters in J.K. Scott, who, you know, is super, super steady as well. And I think they've done a good job with the whole operation with Hunter Snappin and J.K. And, you know, kickers are interesting. They're on their own all the time. They're, you know, in and out of shit. I always give them shit about, like, are you guys actually going to punt today or kick today? You know, just like slip on shoes and robes and stuff.

What are you guys doing in practice all day? You don't want to overdo it, Aaron. You don't want to overdo it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got to pamper it. They take it easy. Pedicures and manicures all the time at the stadium. You know, the damn spot treatment they're working on is pretty good.

But, hey, if they make it, that's all that matters. Bingo. Hey, going back to the Dallas game, what do you think of them going for two when they were down 39-30? And I know Mike explained it somehow with the analytics. Is that something you guys look at? Yeah, our analytics guy, Connor Lewis and I, who's an awesome guy, he's been with us for a few years now really bright uh bright guy we talk a lot about situations and that's a situation we have

talked about down uh what is it down 15 um you know i like going for one of that situation because i think mentally it keeps you kind of still in it he is always advocated going for two in that situation um because it does two things one brings you within you know within seven obviously uh which is just to score an extra point but the second thing it does if you get it it allows you to go for two in the win should you want to um but it's just a difference of opinion i think you know i know that the analytics have always been big with mike and i'm sure that was not even a question in that situation and we had situations like that i remember we played carolina in uh what was it 15 in a similar situation you know we had an opportunity to go down i believe we were down for you know 17 at the time, and we decided to go for two there and got it to pull us within 15.

So similar situation. You know, a lot of people are going to be like, Aaron Rodgers has the memory of a guy who blah, blah, blah. He just recalled a game from 2015 in perfect perpetuity. That's what's going to be said for that. So I appreciate you doing that for the internet right there. Either that or they'll cancel me because I might be off on my numbers.

Oh, you can't be off right there, Aaron. Five years ago, if you're going to go out, you have to be spot on there. Do you mind if we take a caller or two to ask you a question? Only if it's... I heard that Logan called in last week, is that true? Yeah. Yes, he did. And Pat's like, oh yeah, I'm sure you know this guy. I'm like, yeah, actually I do that Logan called in last week, Age. Is that true? Yeah. Yes, he did. And Pat's like, oh, yeah, I'm sure you know this guy.

I'm like, what? Yeah, actually, I do know Logan. By the way, I knew Logan, too, because I ate at that place whenever I called your game that you decided not to play. He's a big Pat McAfee fan. He's a good guy. He's a really big fan. All right, let's go to Steven in Minnesota.

He said he might give you a drink for free when you come in next time. He did, actually. It was very nice of him that first time. I took it down. I eliminated it. I had to do it. Let's go to Steven in Minnesota. He said he might give you a drink for free when you come in next time. He did, actually. It was very nice of him that first time. I took a Don. I eliminated it. I had to do it. Let's go to Steven in Minnesota. I'm excited to hear this because we got a lot of tweets after last week's appearance where they said, like, I'm in Detroit. I'm in Minnesota. I hate

Aaron Rodgers, and I hate your show because it's making me almost like Aaron Rodgers. I wonder if Steven's one of those people. Let's go to Steven in Minnesota. What's up, bub? I was thinking the exact same thing. I was not a fan until I started watching on this show, and it turned out to be a pretty decent fan. I actually have a question for Aaron if there's time.

Look what we're doing, Aaron. Look what we're doing, by the way. You're welcome, Aaron Rodgers. Go ahead, Steven. All right, so Aaron, having firsthand experience, does Packers rookie and rookie running back A.J. Dillon or Pat McAfee have the bigger thighs? Great question.

Yeah, that's a good question. I think they both like to show them off. Pat in the Bahamas at a golf tournament refused to wear his shorts to the full length. He kept rolling them up and rolling them up to show off his quads. A.J. Dillon, instead of having the ladies in the back that A.J. knows so his quads uh aj dylan instead of uh having the you know the ladies

in the back that aj knows so well do the sewing for us instead of you know having them cut his shorts down to like a you know super short length he would he rolled them up as well i'm not sure what the i mean he already has the biggest legs i've ever seen no offense pat son of a but he really really likes showing those things off. Well, you should. I respect that a lot. Let's talk about another running back back there. Aaron Jones. Dallas Cowboys game last year. I think he had four touchdowns. It was like a breakout

game in the national moment. Yeah, two days ago, he had a massive game for you. As a quarterback, obviously a running game helps you. Having a weapon like that helps you. What has Aaron Jones meant to the offense? Because it's really, he's new new to the scene and he has been able to make massive moments in memory so far well he's been doing this for a few years pat i just don't think he's gotten the recognition um he's a really versatile back you know he made a catch down the sidelines

over his head leaping grab that was pretty incredible uh he made a catch down the sidelines over his head leaping grab that was pretty incredible uh he made a catch the touchdown catch i throw him you know i really put it on his back shoulder uh not on purpose um and he just caught that thing like it was nothing and waltz in the end zone and then we come out the second half and he takes a you know an inside handoff and goes 75 for a touchdown he's just a really versatile guy and then late in the game uh he picks up a blitz in the a-gap uh number 40 for the lions who has the hardest head i think i've uh seen or or heard in a long time i mean he just was thumping people the entire game. Pretty incredible. But, you know, Jonesy stood in there and gave me a little extra time to hit Marquez down the sidelines.

So he's really improved in some areas, but he's always been super talented. It's just given him the opportunity to go out and make plays. And then Jamal Williams, you know, again, I want to talk about Jamal a little bit too. Yesterday or two days ago, he carried 63 yards and had a few catches as well. He's a vital part of our offense. And I've talked about him a lot, but I just think he deserves credit because he has transformed himself into an even more explosive back. He's already been a great blocker, really good route runner. But, you know, having two guys is really important to our success.

And, you know, as much as we love Jonesy and we do it, he's so damn talented. You know, Jamal is an important part of what we're doing, too. Aaron, you've got quite the eclectic taste in music, so I'm just curious, what's the pregame playlist like so that I can calibrate before Sunday? There we go. Hey, new shirt, by the way. Have you seen the new shirt, Aaron? I need to zoom in from the camera. I can't really see what's going on. That's a good one. new shirt, by the way. Have you seen the new shirt, Aaron? I need to zoom in from

the camera. I can't really see what's going on. That's a good one. Hold on. We'll zoom in. I'm just focused on the mustache. That's all I can see right now. The mustache is good. Somebody called one after him. Look at that one. It's a good shirt. I need one of those. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I definitely need one of those.

I want to rock it next week on this show. Yes! CFO Phil, send one to whatever location Definitely need one of those. Yeah, for sure. I want to rock it next week on this show. Yes. Yes. CFO Phil, send one to whatever location has that brick wall behind it. Get it out to the stadium ASAP, please. I want AJ wearing one, too. And maybe a sleeveless one for you, Pat. Thank you. I will have it on.

With a V-neck or no? I don't do the V-neck, no, because my chest isn't very impressive, so I try to keep that tied up, you know what I mean? Do you have a baby pack, like age or not? No, I can go full extension, you know what I mean? But it is not good. I got a bird chest. You know, it's bad.

It is bad. I don't believe that for one second. Okay, well, it's true. I'm just telling you. Anyway, back to the question about pregame playlists. Thank you. I usually keep it in the 90s. That's right.

Who's that? 90s alternative Pearl Jam. Let's go. Counting Crows. Wow. Creed. Pooh Fighters. Creed?

No, no, no, no, no. No Creed? No Creed! Oh, no! Wait, hold on! That doesn't get you going for a game? Are you kidding me? No, but I have a funny Creed story.

So, 2007, we're playing the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. We're 10-1. I have long hair. And I'm a backup. And before the game, we walked out on the field. And I don't know if it was on purpose, but our intro song was Creed with arms wide open. And I looked to my buddy, Nate Weir who aj knows nate really well and we both said this is going to be a good night and that was the night i came in off the bench and and played pretty well and kind of changed the narrative about me from

you know possible draft bus to hey this guy might be able to play. Maybe. Thank you, Creed! Thank you, Creed! So, you know, it's like what Hansel says in Zoolander when he's talking about Sting. You know, I don't really listen to the music that Scott Staff and Creed made, but the fact that he's doing it, and he's out there, I respect that.

Let's go to Nate in Pittsburgh. Nate, what's going on? Hey, what's up? What's up, the boys? Mr. Hawk in Pittsburgh. Nate, what's going on? Hey, what's up? What's up, all the boys? Mr. Hawk, Mr. Rogers, thanks for having me. You said you were watching some old film, and you saw things to help elevate your game. I noticed this past Sunday you were smiling, shaking hands,

giving a lot of high fives to the boys on the side. What have you seen in this old footage that has rejuvenated your love? Or is it something else about this 2020 season that seems to have you just in a better headspace? And also, will we ever learn about what you saw exactly in that old practice? Thank you, Nate. I forgot about that answer coming now. Excited to hear it.

I just think some things are better left unsaid. It's a said show. That's what the show is. You said things here. Let's just do a setup every week. Like, this may be the week i might address some of the things that i saw then it's just like a you know you never know could this be the week maybe tune in oh oh good tease good tease all right we have to go to a break can i answer the question or not

yo yeah love you too i thought you weren't gonna answer because you just said you said something that you're not going to say. That was just the last part of the question. The other part was why am I having so much fun? Bingo. I have just a new and increased love of life. And I've made decisions and changes

and habits that put me in a lot better headspace. And there's just a lot of things that have come together in my life over the last few months that have really been enjoyable and reminded me, given me perspective on life and in football to view things through the most positive lens I possibly can. And that's why I'm having so much fun. And it starts with love.

And then surround yourself with with people that you really enjoy this show is you know to get sentimental this show is is just another step in that because I love age so much and Pat I have so much respect for you and the boys like this was such a fun opportunity and now I look forward to this every Tuesday. And it's just another step in the process of, you know, it's mindfulness and positivity and love and kindness and integrity. And just putting it all together, I think for me, has made me a lot happier. And I, you know, I'm just enjoying football and enjoying life a lot more. Well, I'm incredibly happy that I didn't just step on you not to give that answer because that is going to be clipped everywhere. Aaron Rodgers enjoying his life.

Aaron, we're happy you're enjoying his life. We're happy you're joining us each week and I hope to God that you continue to play the way you're playing because these conversations have been awesome and if you drop down at all, I want to let you know we're a stern but fair group here. We will jump your ass over there.

I expect you to. Ladies and gentlemen, Aaron Rodgers. Thank you, Aaron. You're the man. Love you, Aaron. That was awesome. Love you, Aaron. Aaron, did you hear Ty in the background, by the way,

when you were talking about that? Ty was literally in the background. Yes, yes. So, so happy that you're back. We are now being joined by a man who was signed to the Cleveland Bronze this offseason. Former tight end of the Atlanta Falcons, now the tight end for the Cleveland Bronies, which are currently 1-1 after a big win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. Ladies and gentlemen, two-time Pro Bowler Austin Hooper.

Yeah! I appreciate you guys for having me. I always have fun on this. Austin, it's great to have you back, bub. I'm sure you guys are pumped to have a win over there. How is the building for the Cleveland Browns players and personnel feeling right now? Yeah, a lot better.

I mean, Pat, you already know, one-on-one is a lot better than one-on-one, too. And, you know, everyone offensively, you know, we're really starting to believe in what we're doing. I mean, in terms of running the ball, and you can see, you know, with offensively, you know, we're really starting to believe in what we're doing. I mean, in terms of running the ball, and you can see, you know, with the play-action shots, Odell, I mean, everything really gets opened up based on how well our run game can produce. So, you know, that was really good to really get that core belief within our offense rolling. Yeah, we started watching, and when you watch from outside in, you see you get paid.

You're a known, incredible blocking tight end you see them bring in Jack Conklin even though he didn't play you see him pay Kareem Hunt you see him draft early it's almost like Andrew Barry has this vision of okay we are going to be a good running team because in the end games that matter December January you have to be able to run the ball and you have to be able to stop the run you see them start investing in Miles Garrett they try to bring in Jadeveon Clowney allegedly but the defensive line is that like a known thing in your building like hey this is what our offense is going to be we're going to be able to run the ball we have to be able to run the ball and then everything else will open up for our weapons like jarvis like obj

like austin in a past game is that kind of something it said or just understood yeah i mean uh you know they they've definitely preached it and i mean you've been on a bunch of teams you can preach whatever you want but until you can actually like see it, you know, they've definitely preached it. And you've been on a bunch of teams, you can preach whatever you want, but until you can actually, like, see it really, you know, affect defenses and really see how it can really open things up. I mean, you know, for a lot of these guys being, you know, obviously, you know, in a new system. So that was really great for the continuity of the offense and for the confidence of the offense to really show, like, hey, you know, this emphasis we're really putting in,

here is the why behind it. And here is how it puts us in greater positions of success. So especially with the runners we got Pat, I mean, you just got to give them a crease and they're, you know, pretty much guaranteed to make at least one guy miss. So it's a lot of fun blocking for those guys. So Pops, Mike Adams, who played 16 years in the NFL at safety in the last hour joined us. And he talked about how, you know, whenever you have Darren Waller in the box, you know he's going out for a pass he's not going to block and I stopped him I said hey tight ends will take a massive offense to that if you say that they can't block you are known as a guy that can move bodies is that something you work on or is it just

like a natural thing for the Austin Hooper no I mean that's that's the funniest part until uh until I got some love on Thursday night game for my blocks. I mean, I, no one really thought I could block at all. Everyone thought just the way I use Atlanta pretty much just rolling up on third down, catching 80 balls a year.

I was like, man, he turns his head sideways when he blocks. And then, you know, my role here is obviously creating holes for our runners. So people are seeing like, no bro,

I can actually do it. So, yeah, that's a big shot, though, at tight ends. Because whenever you said that, I immediately stopped. I was like, oh, Darren Waller is not going to be happy to hear that. What you just said. Yeah, no, I mean, for sure. I mean, it's just like linebackers, Pat. You know this. I mean, an outside linebacker in a 4-3 is different from an outside linebacker in a 3-4. Yet they have the same position.

So some guys are going to be the 270-pound tight end. Some guys are going to be the Evan Ingrams, the 230, 235-pound tight ends who run a 4-4. So, I mean, everyone's the same position on paper, but everyone's skill set's a little different. I mean, my deal is I'm kind of pretty much like the jack-of-all-trades guy. So, I mean, I take pride in what I'm doing. When I was in Atlanta, it was getting open, balls and here it's you know creating some creases

for our runners so i mean i'll accept whatever rolls asking me well andrew barry saw it he signed you to the most expensive tight end deal before a couple other ones got done afterwards which i'm sure they're thankful for you setting the tone there for them coming in after yeah late real really late on the barbed wire for those guys. Literally, as we were seeing them unfold, we were like, Austin Hooper really set the tone here for these guys. Good for you. Hey, that's a team player.

That's a team player. We'll take any role, any role. So you haven't been with the Browns for that long. But Baker Mayfield is obviously somebody that moves the needle. There's going to be a lot of talk about him. What have you seen from Baker Mayfield? And I don't want you to compare he and Matt Ryan because each human is their own person. But what have you seen out of Baker Mayfield where you're like, okay, I like playing with this guy.

I like being in an offense with this guy at the helm. Yeah, sure. I mean, the first thing is the command he has. I mean, you've been around, you know, some good ones. You've been around some solid ones. I mean, you first thing is the command he has. I mean, you've been around, you know, some good ones. You've been around some solid ones. I mean, you know, that's the biggest thing. When you step in the huddle, like, whatever comes out of your quarterback's mouth, you really trust it.

Like, are you really, you know, implicitly, like, really in it? Or are you really just like, okay, this is what we're running. And all right, on one guy's poop, no. I mean, he's really fully in there. He really gets us going. And just his enthusiasm is palpable. I mean, I think that's the person that jumped off of me. Not saying that Matt wasn't that

way at all. Just being with a what's Matt, number eight or nine all the time on the pastor list. So being around a Hall of Fame quality quarterback, seeing some of the traits he has and seeing Baker's command of the huddle and just his confidence, that's what really jumped out to me. Man. That'd be cool to be in that huddle one time. Pretty sweet.uddle and just his confidence. That's what really jumped out to me. Man.

That'd be cool to be in that huddle one time. Pretty sweet. You know what I mean? Just being there. Great. Yeah, it's a fun time. Not always football-related either. We have a good time in there.

Yeah, well, make sure you have your mask on, will you? I'm sick of it. I'm sick of it, Austin. Have your mask on in the huddle, please. These coaches are getting $100,000 fines. You guys are out there just, what, tackling each other and stuff? Jeez. Not enough with it.

Maybe two-hand touch. If I followed the rules, Pat, we'd have a 20-yard huddle with everyone six feet apart. Hey, guys, outside zone on one. Well, you can basically hear that now anyways with the quarterbacks. I mean, we can hear a lot. What do you got, Tate? Austin, you talked about your time in Atlanta. And I was thinking after this weekend, did you guys ever in Atlanta practice receiving onside kicks?

Or was that just something that you guys just didn't do? How did I know this one was coming up? By the way, I did not know this question was coming. I did not know. I mean, with that one, I mean, I feel like, Pat, you probably speak on this a little better. I've never seen one of those kind of onside kicks before. But, yeah, at the end of the day, I mean, if you see it, once it hits around the six or seven-yard line,

depending on how much speed it has, like your antenna has to go up, right, and just lay on it. Because, I mean, there's no real negative that can come out of it. I mean, they can't hit you. And if they touch the ball before it hits 10 yards, I mean, you know, they're doing it again. So, I mean, it's kind of like just positive free roll. Only good can happen if you tack the ball. I mean, that's just kind of what I was taught taught um you know i don't know what's going on

down there anymore um but yeah i mean that was that was a crazy play and you know good job for the dallas cowboys man they really executed it and this being a copycat league i'm sure you can see that onside kick uh conducted a lot more now well you better hope it hypnotizes the recovering team like it did to the Falcons. Did Stefanski use it in a meeting? Does Stefanski bring that out and be like, obviously you saw this play, here's the rules and break it down? Because I thought a lot of people would use it as an example. Like, hey,

here's this. We can't be these people ever again. Yeah, for sure, Pat. I'm sure on probably Wednesday when we really sit down and start a base game plan, except after Thursday, you know how it goes. Pretty much the weekend, you know, get your R&R after playing, what, two games in eight or nine days. So, I mean, the recovery on our Monday was mostly like, you know,

it definitely wasn't a full-speed practice. It was more just, you know, get your body reacclimated to the work week type practice. So, I mean, it wasn't really in the meeting and going over situational stuff. But I'm sure on Wednesday we'll cover it. Yeah, Hoop, this is obviously your first year in Cleveland. It's also Stefanski's first year in Cleveland.

How has he kind of rallied the team around him and kind of taken control? Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I think the most – I mean, the glaring thing with players, I mean, not even players, just people in general, people who don't really center intentions in what you're all about. So he's just being who he is. I mean, he's not trying to pretend to be, you know, one of the head coaches he's worked for in the past.

He's just being who he is. And I think, you know, a lot of the guys are really embracing that. A lot of the guys can feel that. Because, I mean, the biggest thing in this league is just how genuine are you. So, I mean, he's just being who he is. And that's really all we can ask for. Yeah, you can sniff something out. No doubt.

You're acting like somebody okay no doubt you're acting like somebody who you think you're supposed to act like yeah like stop being a method actor bro be who you are yeah so kevin's doing a great job just being who he is and just you know being the same guy after a winner after a loss he's just even keel kind of guy and uh you know i really respect that hey coach quick question so you just always said like when i become a coach i'm gonna act like a dick. That's what you – some of those coaches, some of those coaches, I've been around some of those coaches that get a job or a role or power for the first time, and they completely change.

And it's like – The coolest assistant coach of all time, and all of a sudden they get some power, they go to Kim Jong, special teams coach. Yeah, like not ideal. Not ideal. Not ideal. yeah like not ideal not ideal not ideal yeah austin uh how much do you guys bust baker's balls for being in all those commercials and uh is he gonna spread the love and bring you guys into any of them oh oh great question um it we would try but his commercials are so damn funny so good not there's not really anything you can say.

And he showed love with Jedrick Wills, our young tackle, in, I believe, one of those commercials where he's going over the book reading club or something like that. Anyway, they're too funny. And with the characters we have on our team, you could pretty much roast anyone about it.

That's the cool thing about our locker room. When you guys hear rumors, like there was a bunch of rumors being started by Mike Francesa last week that Odell Beckham Jr. is on the trade block. And then Odell comes out and he says, like, everything you guys are saying about me, I would like it to be known, is wrong. Like, I just want to win games.

He went on this entire rant that was like, I'm sick of hearing this about me, I'm sick of hearing this about me. All I want to do is win games. Your locker room locker room like you just said is filled with personalities and media and anytime anybody does anything that's going to be talked about is that something in the locker room that is like a moment where you guys are like hey oh you don't deserve that like for instance odell beckham jr rumor mill that came out that was obviously just a hit piece by like is there a conversation where you like have to talk to him where you're like hey listen man i know outside of this locker room the world seems

to be burning but we got your back in here yeah i mean you pretty much you pretty much answered i mean at the end of the day i mean we don't we don't all know what's going on but at the end of the day i can say this odell just wants to win more than anything i feel like that sometimes he's a prisoner of his persona, if that makes sense. Oh, wow. Wow. Whoa. Hey, hell. I mean, like, you know, even me, I never thought he was a bad guy by any way, shape, or form until I was a teammate with him.

And I really got to, you know, have those private one-on-one conversations, sit down with, you know, him and Baker and some other guys, you know, who could say, I guess, they're somewhat misunderstood unless you really get that one-on-one time with them. You just realize, like, all Odell wants to do is win. If that means he gets three catches and we win, or he'd rather take three catches and win than, you know, nine catches and a loss. I've actually asked him that question.

Most receivers, I'm not going to name names. They're already like, it's a contract here, baby. I'm taking those nine grabs. Odell is truly like a team guy. So that was the thing that really I was very pleasantly surprised about when I got to, like, know the real Odell. A prisoner of his persona. Hey, that's some deep.

Where did you go to school at again? Three-year dropout at Stanford. Not a boy. Basically West Virginia four-year. No, no, no. Hey, I dropped out too. Don't you even put that incredible West Virginia. Now, West Virginia is the Harvard of West Virginia.

It is not Stanford. I know it is. Big 12 Stanford. You're right. Let's talk about the Pac-12. It's dead. Any comments from a guy that came from Stanford? I mean, what do you expect? I mean, if anyone's shutting down, it's going to be the Pac-12.

I mean, they don't make as much money as the other conferences. And, yeah, I mean, this is a very political topic. And if you look on the West Coast, it's, you know, everything shut down. I mean, I remember we did an interview with you last time. I mean, shit, all I had to do was ride my damn bike for fun. Like, I got that interview like, wow, all this guy does, this workout.

I was like, damn. Yeah, I mean, there's not a whole lot going on i mean my family's still out there i mean you know everything going on with the fires is you know crazy much crazier stuff going on than just football right now so um you know i'm definitely you know disappointed but at the same time pat like this is the first time student athletes can actually get like a true college student experience so like well some guys are up in arms i'm also at the same time i'm like this is the first time in your life where you actually get a play student and let's see how this experiment goes out well kind of i mean are the students kind of locked in their dorms now

a lot of places over here i don't know about over there a lot of places like yeah come on back we're gonna open it up let's take classes and then guys get in our girls get in and then they shut down the actual classes and they're like all all right, actually, we were joking. We got full tuition from you, but we're going to lock you in a dorm, and you've got to do e-learning. Congratulations. It's still – hey, the degree is still the same, but that's what we're going to do. It's an interesting time to be on.

Sign right here. Sign right here. Austin, in a week where you're playing the Washington football team and you've got to go up against Chase Young and Ryan Kerrigan in the run game, will you, like, watch tape and then be like, oh, they like that move, and then go to Miles and be like, hey, you want to try this out on me and practice a little bit this week just to get me ready? Yeah, that's a good question.

I mean, not only that, they got, you know, Montez Sweat, who's also, you know, the third guy that gets rotated. And, I mean, I played Kerrigan over the years, obviously, you know, Hall of Fame-level player. I mean, was franchise sack leader over there. Anyway, really good player. Played against him. Understand, you know, generally fame level player i mean was franchise sack leader over there anyway really good player played against him understand uh you know generally what he does i mean the problem is with the younger guys right you only have you know eight quarters of football and like 15 drives to

really you know gather your run blocking plan based off them but i mean a lot of it is you know just go out there and play and react because i mean you every game, some guys might try to do something different. I mean, it's all based on what offense is like to do. So, I mean, that's a good question. I don't really have an answer for you. I can just watch film and pretty much just go out there and trust what I see and try to play as fast as possible. There's a big initiative on the internet for tight ends

not to block defensive ends. How do you feel about that? I mean, I wouldn't be, I'm not opposed. It comes with the job description. So, Hey buddy, you got to do what you got to do. Awesome. Well, good luck this weekend. We can't wait to talk to you again. Congrats on not being completely defeated thus far. There's a lot of teams that are 0-2, much better to be 1-1 than 0-2. We'll keep up with you during the season. We can't

thank you enough, brother. Absolutely. Appreciate you guys. See you next time. Hey, tell everybody over there we said hello. Ladies and gentlemen, two-time Pro Bowler, tight end for the Browns, Austin Hooper. Thank you, man. So sorry to interrupt, but I want to tell you about a brand

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How you doing, Pops? How's life? How's the football season treating your old ass? It's treating me all right. I was just upstairs homeschooling. Oh, yeah. So now you're a teacher, which is something you've done for a long time, by the way, in the secondary. Felt like you've been kind of grooming yourself for this moment for a quarantine homeschooling session.

Yeah, that is true. But not when your five-year-old daughter is saying, you don't know what you're talking about. My teacher doesn't do it like that. That's wrong, daddy. That's wrong. I'm excited to hear these relationships between students and teachers and then also parents and teachers post quarantine homeschooling session, which is why I'm very thrilled that I do not have a child at the moment because I would not be able to do it. And my kid will go back with a very different learning style, I think, and reaction towards things the teacher say.

But I'm sure you're not doing that. Let's talk football, though, Pop, shall we? No doubt. Let's do it. Okay, so Drew Brees last night. Did you see the game? Did you watch the game last night? That Raider Stadium looks awesome, by the way. I did, yeah. I want to go there, too.

Me, too. We'll probably end up at a game at some point. I would assume everybody's going to. We got a tailgate, though. Bingo. By the way, the tailgate there, I think, is just from the night before you just kind of stroll out into the parking lot and do your thing so let me tell you this before you start so my goal is to go to every stadium and tailgate this is content pops i want to do that that's

my goal when this quarantine is over though when this stuff is over when everything's over i want to go to every stadium and tailgate I want to enjoy that fan experience You know that's content and I'm sure we could Get a sponsor for that probably before This hour even ends that wants to Send a 16 year NFL vet out Into a crowd and get I mean you're going to be incredibly intoxicated In a lot of these places I would assume Pops

Absolutely I would love for you to join me At least half of the state Hey whoa whoa whoa Listen I got to save me from me. If I was to end up at all those tailgates, we would be, I mean, it would be legendary. Let's have a good time. Let's do it.

But let's talk about that Vegas Raiders team and the Saints last night. The talk of the internet last night was that Drew Brees didn't have the same pop on his arm anymore. He was inaccurate. He was missing guys. As a guy who was a 16-year safety, is that something that's very easy to tell on the other side? Or is there a chance that Drew Brees just had an off night and his arm looked a little bit

weaker than everybody thought it should look if statistically if you think about it i played against drew breeze a lot and he never had a strong arm he was always just accurate he's hitting guys right on the mark and and i was telling i was tellingt this. I was telling Darius Butler that people don't realize how much they need the preseason. That hurts a lot of people because you at least need one

tune-up game, one tune-up game, just to get the kinks out and just to get everything going. I understand they already played one game, but that was live bullets. And everybody's still trying to adjust to the timing. They're trying to adjust to where this guy running.

Or somebody missed it. I was watching the game Sunday. Somebody went to hand the ball off and the running back went the opposite way. So it's a lot of kinks that you got to work out. But back to Drew Brees, I don't think he missed a step. I think he'd be just fine. I don't even think it's time to of kinks that you got to work out. But back to Drew Brees, I don't think he missed a step. I think he'd be just fine.

I don't even think it's time to panic. It's only week two. I don't think he ever had a strong arm. I just thought he was just one of the most accurate guys in the game, period. So that was kind of exactly how Peyton played as well, right? Peyton had that 6'5 laser rocket arm commercial. Everybody was like, oh, Peyton's got the strongest arm ever. He was like, now listen, I came in there late late but it wasn't that he had the strongest arm ever

he could just drop it on a pin if he had to and it was exactly timed up with where his receivers were going to be that's why the reps in the offseason were so important that's why the reps yeah because the timing he he wanted to know where Dallas Clark was going to be when Dallas Clark he still had his head running down Peyton was releasing that thing because he knew that Dallas was going to cut there. I would assume Drew Brees is the same way. And to your point, without the preseason game, whenever a DB is maybe playing a little bit differently than the guys you have on a roster, that can disrupt the timing.

Is that what you were getting at there? Absolutely. And plus, think about it. Michael Thomas wasn't even playing. He's not there. And that's his go-to guy. That's where all the timing is at. And back to when I was in Denver, and I want to compare, too, Tom.

I want to compare Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. So when I was in Denver, we knew Peyton Manning's arm wasn't that strong. So when Damarius Thomas used to run his fade routes, as soon as he released off the ball, that ball was gone. The ball was gone and it drops right in. Same thing with Drew Brees. Drew Brees is, he's a little shorter, so he backs. He backs up a little further

and with Michael Thomas, he just leans back and just drops it right in every time. And that's all timing for the offseason. So whenever you talk about dropping a ball in, I have to go to Russell Wilson's deep ball to DK Metcalf that came. Matt Hasselbeck said it came down a chimney. Is there anything Stephon Gilmore could have done with that?

Or is that just a moment where you look at his DB, you're like, yeah, they fucking got me. There's nothing I can do there. So it's funny because, again, like me and Darius Butler, we talk about all this stuff all the time. So only thing I can say that he could have done better was just stuck his hand in there instead of swipe. You know, I think he wasted his time swiping and tried to knock the ball out. And he should have just stuck his hand in that pocket.

And, again, DJ did a great job of not showing his hands. He showed his hands at the last minute. So, again, it was a great ball. What do you mean by that? What do you mean by show his hands? So, usually when a wide receiver running and they show their hands and give the DB a chance and it alarms the DB that the ball is coming.

The ball is coming right now. Metcalf, he was just running the whole time and not showing his hands. So, I don't think he knew when the ball was coming at all. So once he showed his hand, it was like too late, and then he ended up swiping. That's a veteran move, I'd assume, DK Metcalf? And I was impressed that he didn't show his hand.

I was so impressed. I'm like, wow. Because usually rookie receivers like that they come and they run and they show they have their hands already out running trying to catch the ball and and it gives the um and and mind you when your hands are up and you're trying to catch the ball you're slowing down as a receiver so the defensive back is just running at you full speed and he catches up with you and that's what gives him a chance to bat the ball down. If you just run in and it's a foot race and you

just run in under the ball and then you just show your hands at the last minute, it's hard for the DB to recover. So that's why receivers can get older and maybe lose a step, which happens naturally, but still take advantage of situations. I remember Reggie Wayne, people used to say he was impossible to guard because

he was so much smarter than everybody. Is that what people were referring to with that crafty yep very crafty and that's part of it not showing your hands and and another part of it is just using your body like a bit and as you lose a step and a big body receivers they um they kind of use their body to shield you off to catch the ball. They don't try to outrun you. They don't try to shake you or juke you. They actually absorb the contact and want the contact. So now they can use their big body just to turn around and catch the ball.

There's so much going on in such a quick matter of time there. It's insane to watch those battles. Anytime that it was one-on-ones in practice and the ones were going and the ones were going against each other i mean you can go down and watch the offensive line and defensive line for sure it depends on who's going there robert mathis and anthony costanza used to have hilarious legendary battles but for me the wide receivers in the dbs you got a chance to just watch insane athleticism go against each other and the dbs are set up for failure there by the way absolutely set up for failure there, by the way. Absolutely set up for failure. There's no rush.

There's none of that. But what Reggie used to do in those things to people, it was just like, oh, my Lord, that is filthy. Let's talk about you in veteran crafty tricks in the secondary. I think you were the one, and I don't want to throw you under the bus for this if you don't want this to be publicly, but you said you would change the color of your gloves to match the uniform for the other team

so that refs didn't know if you were getting a little bit handsy or not. That is genius. That's next level thinking. And I am so happy to hear you say that. Absolutely. I did that a lot. Did I tell you that? Did I tell you my secret?

Somebody told me. You about to tell me something? No, you had weird colored gloves on. Because I wore one glove and I had like a glove on. and I was like, man, where'd you get that? Like, that's an awesome glove or whatever. And I think you just said like in passing, it was like, got to match their jerseys, Pat, or something like that. You just jogged off or whatever. And I was like, OK, that makes a lot of sense there. It's a brilliant move. So, yeah. So what I do is like so we're we're home team and we got light colored jerseys. I mean, dark colored jersey and weight got light-colored jerseys, I mean dark-colored jerseys and the weight team got light-colored jerseys,

I'm wearing white gloves. Because, like, when receivers sometimes, like the big-body receivers, they come into you a little bit, like I was just explaining about Reggie Wayne, I get to grab him a little bit. And the ref is hard to see because the ref, think about it, he's 25 yards back. He can't – I'm not extending my arm or anything, and I'm absorbing the contact, so I'm holding him, and the

ref doesn't see it, then I let go at the right time as the receiver tries to release, I let him go, then I bat the ball down, or pick, interception, whatever the case may be. That was a little trick I used. It was awesome, because I wanted the gloves that you had. I was like, oh, I would like to wear those gloves right there.

And then you ran off. I was like, oh, that's a strategy to have those gloves on. By the way, those mitts, I mean, you got your hands on a lot of balls whenever you were with the Colts. It was beautiful to watch. You're out of Delaware. Such a small, small school, right? Is it Delaware? I got that right, right?

University of Delaware, yeah, you're right. Sorry, the Hens? Go Hens, yeah. University of Delaware. Yeah, you're right. University of Delaware. Sorry. The Hens? Go Hens, yeah. The Blue Hens. Joe Flacco. Joe Flacco dying there. University of Delaware. Were you drafted high coming into the NFL? I was undrafted, Pat. 16 years? 16 years in the NFL at safety

and you were undrafted coming out? Undrafted. 16 years undrafted, boss. Wow yeah hell yeah that's a success story that doesn't happen pops it does not happen yeah i was rose coming out the concrete that's what that was hey hey i like that by the way that rose has thorns but don't you worry about him we will bite a little bit bit. This COVID season here that we're witnessing, if you were an undrafted rookie this year, you'd have no chance, basically. No chance.

It's a big deal. It's a big deal. I don't think a lot of people are talking about that. We're talking about an entire class of players probably not going to be in the NFL because next year there's another class coming that will be younger and everything. I mean, it's just that's a real thing that is not being talked about that much that's a real thing and i spoke to a couple of people about that and that's the one thing that's not even been talked about uh it's guys that went to one double a like i got a young guy yasir thomas that i've been working out with and

i've been training he went to lafayette and he might not ever never get looked at and i've been calling you know i got a lot get it looked at. And I've been calling, you know, I got a lot of connections in the league, so I've been calling DBs and calling scouts like, what's the deal? What's going on? And all the 1AA players, most of the 1AA players, they're just going to get the short end of the stick. And so

you're not going to find the diamonds in the rough this year. You're not going to find the Mike Adams. You're not going to find the diamonds in the rough this year. You're not going to find the Mike Adams. You're not going to find the – what was his name? Gary Brecker. That point to that D3 school with the Patriots. Woodhead. Woodhead.

Woodhead. Also Austin Eckler. Fred Jackson. Woodhead. You're not going to find the Woodheads. It's bad, man. And I feel bad for those guys. Me too.

And, like, for instance, Taylor Rusolino is this kicker who is very good. He was in the XFL. He kicked for the Battle Hawks. He's unbelievable, but he's never got NFL tape. And I got a chance to meet him through the XFL game that I did. And I watched him hit a ball and I'm like, this dude hits a beautiful ball.

I'm like, this is an NFL kicker here. So I was like, Hey man, I got a chance to meet him, talk to him. And I told him, I'm like, you're going to be in the NFL soon, dude. you hit a ball too good or whatever then covet hits he doesn't get any workouts right because they don't really bring anybody in he doesn't have any nfl film so i reach out to a couple of my friends they're like special teams coordinators and assistant i'm like hey this hey this fucking guy can kick a good ball they're like pat it's impossible to bring people in for workouts right now if if he doesn't have any nfl film it's gonna be very difficult to get somebody in the building because the cost it is doesn't have any NFL film, it's going to be very difficult to get somebody in the building because of the cost it is, everything like that.

I mean, it's just a year where some people are just getting the short end of the stick, and they just got to keep it going, hopefully. Yeah, and that's the sad part about it. It's crazy, and I think that's why I think the XFL, I'm glad The Rock took that over. Because he'll spill with The Rock. Atta boy, guys. Atta boy. No, but I'm glad he took that over Because like that

That's going to be like our spring ball That's going to be like our spring You know how baseball got those 1-8-8 And then you got basketball You got the D-League That should be ours as the NFL Not the arena ball I think the XFL is going to be good for a lot of people.

It's real football. Yeah, it's real football. And a lot of people got a couple jobs. Like three got picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers. A couple got picked up by Carolina Panthers. So Houston Oilers got one. I don't know if the quarterback was named PJ. PJ Walker.

CTE, pops. Houston Oilers have not been around for like 45 years. I said Houston Oilers? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll go to the next question. That's tough. Hey, we got to edit that. Pops, Bruce... They're going to kill me. Pops, Bruce Arians

came out and basically said like, we don't need to throw the ball 50 times to the tight ends. When asked about Gronkowski, like, we have wide receivers for that. How much easier is it for a defense when you know that the tight end is not going to be a focal point in the offense? Like, last night you saw, like, Darren Wall go off. Like, how much harder is it when they actually do use the tight end? Oh, especially when you're athletic and you can split them out at –

split a tight end out at number one or number two in a slot. you hey explain what that means explain what one or two means oh yeah my fault so you got a tight end tight end is usually in the uh in the core which next to the lineman but if you get that um that tight end and you can put them out as a number one receiver or a number two receiver in the slot. And you create a mismatches. Now, now a linebacker has to remove himself from the inside of the line and go out on the number two receiver and play man to man. That's why you saw last night with Waller.

They said, you know what? Screw this. We're going to play nickel. We're going to play diamond. We're going to put a DB on them. And that still didn't work. Well, because because once you do that you got smaller bodies out there and that run game just took off yeah hey pat yes that's where i was getting that hey

big football show so and then once you go small that means that means in in football since you're going small, so now you've got a lighter box, and now you get to run the ball. And that's what happened. What's his name, Josh? Josh Jacobs, yeah. They're paying him $9 million. If they're paying him $9 million just to be an extension of a tackle,

that's a very interesting strategy, and we'll see how it works out for him. Yeah, especially if – but, see, you have to use them the right way because certain tight ends like Waller, right, you put him in the core, he's not blocking. You know he's not running, they're not going to run the ball behind him. And so now you know what you're going to get. It is, you're going to be running the opposite way or it's going to be play action pass your way or maybe bootleg.

Hey, some tight ends would take a lot of offense to what you just said. I remember last year somebody said George Kittle couldn't block. You remember that? Oh, yeah. I forget who. Gottlieb. Doug Gottlieb said George Kittle couldn't block. And it was almost like a war was starting.

Like, that's something that tight ends take a lot of pride in, I think. Yeah, not all of them. Some of them don't care. Some of them don't care. Trust me. I name a lot of those. My question about Jamal Adams is this.

It feels like he's playing his own defense, like Troy Palomalo used to. He's showing up in places that I think teams aren't expecting him. He chased down Cam from the back, and you could tell that Cam thought he was a D lineman or a tight end that caught him, and then he saw Jamal. He's like, damn, how'd you even get over here?

Is he a guy that just completely changes the math on the defense side of the ball for that Seattle Seahawks team? Yes. You have to always account for him. Where is he? Where's 33? It's 33 in the box. Remember, I think last year, how many sacks he had? Six, seven?

Yeah. I mean. Yeah. Six, seven sacks. I don't know the exact number, but like he's always around that box. He's always around the ball. He's a ball hall, you know, and you got to always account for him. And if you don't account for him, you got a problem.

Just like that was a great comparison. Palomar, because he can be anywhere on the field. He's supposed to be in the middle third. Next thing you know, he's out the line. The shrimp is chasing the quarterback or getting a sack or a TFL. You know, and that's what Jamal Adams brings to that defense. Well, how come Earl Thomas doesn't have a job? I think what killed him is what happened in the –

let me use my words correctly. I think what hurt him – There you go. Yeah, because kill would be, especially in a world we're in right now. I think what hurt him... That was smart by you to do that. Hey, Kraft, a veteran of you to kind of back off of that one.

Yeah, yeah. I think what hurt him is when he got in trouble with the offseason with the wife and that whole debacle. And then when you came back, you got Kent, and then you had a fight with one of your teammates. And I think he caught a lot of flack from last year

because he wasn't the same person with the Ravens last year. I think they criticized him for giving up on a play, I think like three times, not chasing somebody down. I think one of them was Chubb when he was playing the Browns. And then on top of that, you got him punching his own teammate in the face, and I think that was the last straw. And I think it rubbed a lot of people wrong, but as far as him not having a job, I think he's still valuable,

especially where everybody's getting hurt right now. And I think he can help a lot of teams right now. So I don't – I can – those are the only reasons, the intangibles, the off-the-field stuff that I can say that probably hurting him right now. You know, Pops, it doesn't get talked about a lot. There's always like they're doing this, they're doing this. But the NFL and the people that are building teams and coaching teams, they want to eliminate distractions as much as they possibly can.

And be who you can afford to be is a real thing. okay if you're gonna be the guy we're gonna let you get away with some stuff but if you're not in earl thomas by the way for a long time was the guy then last year he had a drop off and if there's any type of distraction perceived distraction in their eyes it's like let's get a that's just the nfl that's the way the business is that every coach or person puts a team together says uh if you aren't if you're affecting our focus on winning because winning is already hard enough we're gonna we have to get rid of you like that's kind of just the way it's understood and there's a lot of players that have fallen into that that i think everybody's just like hey the way these brains work on these teams is like if you they perceive you at all as a distraction they'll be like well out we're out on them and it's wild i don't know if it's the way to go but i just know that's the way it is

that's the way it is exactly but if you can score if you can give them touchdowns and start producing and your jersey's selling i think the sad part about that the crazy part about it is they they keep you around they tolerate you yeah and um but one mistake and you have a drop off just an inkling let's get him out of here or let's put him on a trading block yeah and then let's spread some rumors too so our fans aren't that upset that we traded them i mean they're the the that side of the business is very interesting and cutthroat and it always gets danced around when people say it but it's like be who you can afford to be if you're a star okay we'll put up with whatever the hell we need to put up with for you to be here but as soon as you fall a little bit as soon as that star dims just a little bit know that everybody in here is ready

to it's a very interesting thing i knew it whenever i started having my own show in twitter and i was punting i was like hey if i start to suck at all i'm i know i'm gone like i i am gone so i i had to be at a point where i was very confident with my ability. That's just in every single position. Pops, I can't thank you enough for joining us, man. I feel like a lot of people learn stuff, and I'm so thankful. I've got to hopefully introduce you to some people who maybe have never known the greatness that is Pops.

No doubt. I appreciate it, boss. Ladies and gentlemen, 16-year, two-time Pro Bowler, NFL vet, Mike Pops Adams. Thank you, Pops. Thank you, brother. Appreciate you, man. Thank you so much for listening today.

I know there's a lot of things that could penetrate your ear holes. The fact that you let us do that, I'm very, very grateful for. If you enjoyed this show, please tell a friend. If you didn't like the show, just act like it never, ever, ever happened. We're back tomorrow. More conversation, more chatter, and hopefully some more laughs. Ty Schmidt, please play some independent music. Your voice echoes in the night. សូរបស់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប� Your voice, it echoes in my mind Your voice, it echoes in my mind Your voice echoes in the night សូវាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប� Your voice, it echoes in my mind

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