The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 588 - Coach Us Up With Chuck Pagano, Michael Vick, Matt Gay, & AJ Hawk

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello, Thursday, January 27th, 2022. Massive show today. Michael Vick stops by, first time he's ever been on the show. Also on today's show, Chuck Pagano. How you doing? Keep it moving. And an incredible conversation with Boston Connor, Kai Schmidt, and Matt Gay, the kicker for the LA Rams. Absolute superstar. AJ Hawks here. All the boys are here. We can't thank you enough for allowing us to penetrate your ear holes. If you enjoy the show, by the end of it, please be a friend and tell a friend.

Starting point is 00:00:37 If not, just act like it never happened. Here we go. There's a lot of news today, and we need to get right to it. The Talks at Table is here at Ty Schmidt at Boston Corner. Tone Diggs, one half of the Hammer Cowboys, who I have said this so often, it is probably starting to sound like a broken record, but it is real. Somehow, these Hammer Cowboys, Tone Diggs, who you see here, the Canadian sensation you see in the back there,

Starting point is 00:01:08 Mitt, Nick's involved now, Foxy's on a run. They are on a heater for the last 12 months, and people think we are lying. We are not lying. 15 minutes after this show ends at youtube.com forward slash hammer, Dan, D-A-H-N. These dudes go on here live and project to the world what their picks are for every single night and although the gambling gods in the past have normally pissed and reigned all over those types of people because hey don't be doing that all right you can't it can't be projecting it a lot of people won't tell anybody what they're betting

Starting point is 00:01:40 on until afterwards because of the feeling that they're doomed to lose if they let anybody know what they're betting on or try to inspire others to do it in a fashion with a platform. Going on 13 months now, these fucking guys have been on a heater. And that's not just like every single day they went. I mean, there's been a few where they have lost. But at the end of each week, they are up. It makes zero sense. And last night might have been their best night yet.

Starting point is 00:02:06 Town Diggs, 10-1 in college basketball. He gave out 11 picks yesterday. Ten of them hit last night. That is just, hey, basic ass, how you doing Wednesday? Okay, in the middle of no sports world. Gumpy gave out 17 picks. We are going to have to talk about that at some point. How many?

Starting point is 00:02:27 The bottom shooter always happens. He won 11-6 last night. Well, take it. Mitt won 5-0 last night. Nick won 3-1 last night in hockey. Foxy won 1-0 last night. We're talking about just here you go, here you go, here you go, here you go, here you go from the Hammered Down Boys. And I want to thank all of you for your incredible brains, determination, just here you go here you go here you go here you go here you go from the hammer down boys and i

Starting point is 00:02:45 want to thank all of you for your incredible brains determination and potential yeah future problem thank you all so much thank you boys thank you for the confidence back because i used to be one of those people i was afraid to put out because of the gambling gods but you know if overcome that fear and i think we do a good show yeah i mean i did force you guys to start your show so that's enough for being good at gambling yeah but you guys have taken the horse that basically i forced into your stable and said hey this is what you guys are doing all right for the good of everybody for the good of us for the good of you guys you guys are too good at gambling you're gonna do this every fucking day and i'm excited to see what you guys do with this how this thing evolves where it goes basically from day one it's been pretty similar it's been hey we're going to

Starting point is 00:03:27 get on the air we're going to tell you why we're picking what we're picking and they're going to be fucking winners i'm proud of you guys thank you very proud of you guys way to go not easy to do that not at all uh i love it let's get to the nfl news now and i don't know what the odds were for every head coach to end up where but as the odds got better in some places, other teams started making decisions. For instance, Ibraflus was scheduled to have another interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South, a team that is in the middle of rebuilding.

Starting point is 00:03:55 Instead of that happening, the Chicago Bears say, uh-uh, actually, we're going to hire you as our head coach. Matt Ibraflus, defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts who came from the Dallas Cowboys was actually hired, get this, under the Josh McDaniels regime of the Indianapolis Colts.

Starting point is 00:04:11 That being said, the Josh McDaniels regime didn't even make it to the press conference, but it did make it in theory. So when Eberflus was hired, it happened before the Josh McDaniels

Starting point is 00:04:22 official hire happened. Eberflus gets along with Frank Reich, sticks around, creates a defense that is fucking unbelievable. Now, they did lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have the number one pick again in the NFL in the last game of the season. And they were kicked out of the playoffs. But it was not the defense's fault. Matt Ibraflues has led a great defense here. Now he's the head coach for the Chicago Bears. Congrats to him.

Starting point is 00:04:50 Since Iberflues is out of the market now, and Jacksonville was scheduled to interview him and Nathaniel Hackett and everybody else, since Iberflues is out of the market, Byron Lefwich is now being announced basically as the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Congrats to Byron Lefkowitz. Now there is an alleged disagreement between Byron Lefkowitz, the fans of the Jaguars, and the Kahn family

Starting point is 00:05:14 over Balky's existence in the operation. He's been there for like 20 years. A lot of coaches have came and gone. They stink whenever he has been at the helm. I mean, that is kind of what has happened. He came, I don't know if it's been 20 years, a lot of coaches have came and gone. They stink whenever he has been at the helm. I mean, that is kind of what has happened. He came, I don't know if it's been 20 years. He's been there a long time. I forget the exact amount of years, Balky.

Starting point is 00:05:33 He's been so bad, though, that their fans were actually dressing up like clowns and going to the stadium because they said it was clown town ever since Balky came to town. And he is now in the middle of a discussion allegedly behind closed doors between their new head coach of the franchise in the program byron lefkowitz who used to play quarterback there and moving on because byron lefkowitz doesn't want that dude in control of the roster he wants adrian uh phillips well what wilson adrian wilson former player who's now been with the Cardinals

Starting point is 00:06:05 for like seven years in the scouting department to be a GM. So that's going to be an interesting situation to watch, but congrats to Byron Laflech. All right, Byron. Head coach. That's awesome. Former player. That's awesome.

Starting point is 00:06:16 He's head coach. And the big news of the day, yes, the Bears is a big deal. And the Jaguars is a big deal. But the big news this morning in the coaching hiring cycle of the NFL, Nathaniel Hackett, now head coach of the Denver Broncos. Congrats to Coach Hackett.

Starting point is 00:06:35 Congrats, Coach Hackett. And I'd heard of Hackett, obviously through the conversations with Aaron Rodgers and media talking about him and everything. I don't think I'd ever seen a photo of him until recently. I did not expect him to look the way he looks.

Starting point is 00:06:47 I think I honestly had no idea. It was like a kind of guess who situation there. Nathaniel Hackett is very experienced. They've gone through a lot of his resume basically everywhere on all of the networks. Everybody assumes since he is going to the Denver Broncos, that means one thing and one thing alone. He's bringing in the offensive line coach to be the offense coordinator. Maybe he brings in Getze to be the offense coordinator.

Starting point is 00:07:10 And at the end of the day, who's the offense coordinator? Probably Aaron fucking Rogers. And the Denver Broncos were linked to Aaron Rogers last offseason. Their Broncos fan base actually thought he was going to be a Bronco for real, like shoot for real. And the sportsbooks didn't know either. They were actually changing odds for the Broncos fan base actually thought he was going to be a Bronco for real, like shoot for real. And the sportsbooks didn't know either. They were actually changing odds for the Broncos going forward, thinking that maybe Aaron Rodgers was going to be their quarterback

Starting point is 00:07:32 because there was rumors and hearsay and this was happening, that was happening. And they've been in the market for every single quarterback that has even come potentially available over the last few years. Now, before Peyton Manning's era, they were also whiffing on quarterbacks. So the Denver Broncos, always in the quarterback market, it feels like, and they're bringing in the offense coordinator who has a great relationship with a quarterback that's potentially coming to the market. Are the days over of Aaron Rodgers being a Green Bay Packer?

Starting point is 00:08:00 That's what it sounds like right now. It sounds like that was a package deal. You get Hackett, you get Aaron Rodgers, and if you're Green Bay it's like you well fuck you both that I would have said yeah it certainly seems like you know that's the the main narrative we're going to be here moving forward is with Hackett going to Denver then Aaron and Devontae not just not just Aaron Devontae is gonna you know he's following him as well he doesn't want the franchise tag he doesn't want to be in Green Bay if Aaron's not there. So that's basically already a done deal.

Starting point is 00:08:28 But I don't know if I'm necessarily surprised. We were talking about it before the show. I think he interviewed for the Falcons head coaching job last year. I thought he was maybe going to get that job. So I feel like once that stuff kind of starts happening, your quarterback wins the MVP two years in a row. Like there's a good chance he was probably going to end up going somewhere. And it just so happens that it's to the place where everyone can kind of link

Starting point is 00:08:51 the pieces. Like, Oh, wait a minute. Yeah. Aaron's out the door already. It's obviously booming because of everything that's ever happened there. They have some laws and I'm not saying that would sway anybody to go out there.

Starting point is 00:09:07 It did make me, you know, thin air. I mean, it's thin air. Ball travels further. It's a beautiful city. They got vitamins on every corner from what I've been told up there. Deep ball. I mean, Peyton's moved there, I think. Peyton's like, I think Peyton is like, I love this place.

Starting point is 00:09:21 And he's been in a lot of different places, obviously, with different houses everywhere. He said, Denver, this is the place I love this place. And he's been in a lot of different places, obviously, with different houses everywhere. He said, Denver, this is the place I'm going to stay at. So, I mean, maybe the city is pretty tempting as well for old Aaron Rodgers. What will Aaron Rodgers do? That's what will be asked for the next, I don't know, 25 days? Yeah, just about. I think it's about 25 days.

Starting point is 00:09:42 I get attacked so much for talking about Aaron Rodgers. I do, man. It has become interesting as the show has gotten bigger. And I feel like, you know, good friend of the show, Aaron Rodgers, he is talked about in every show. Yeah. Like, it is. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:09:57 I wonder if that has to become ridiculous, like, for him. Like, he has to, I don't know. And everybody just assumes, like, oh, he loves the attention. He loves all that. i don't know and everybody just assumes like oh he loves the attention he loves all that i don't think that's the case i i think if he was um a recluse i i think he'd be okay with it honestly and i believe whenever this last off season and he i think he alluded to it when he said war of silence talking about this upcoming one his relationship with gunter kunz being better i I do believe he goes off the grid. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:10:26 I think he goes off the grid. And that wouldn't be surprising because the same people that say he's an attention whore also say he's like a hippie and all this other stuff. So it's like I don't know if those two are necessarily anywhere near in the same package of humans. So I don't know if you can actually kind of piece those together. He has talked about – on this show he's talked about it a lot. For sure. In all sports shows he's talked about it a lot. For sure. In all sports shows, he's talked about it a lot.

Starting point is 00:10:47 I wonder at what point do you just stop, like, feeling uncomfortable with everybody talking about everything you do? That would have to be fucking uncomfortable as hell. Yeah, especially when it's negative. Like, you experienced it the other day at Texas Roadhouse. It wasn't negative, but, like, you go out, and the first thing on television is yourself. Like, how do you even react to that?

Starting point is 00:11:06 By the way, I enjoyed the hell out of that Texas Roadhouse meal. It was really cool. Delicious. Everybody was really cool. On the way out, I got like 10 people that were like, we didn't want to interrupt you, but what's up, dude? I was like, oh. Nice.

Starting point is 00:11:16 Appreciate that. Very, very nice. I assume there was a lot of weird flow snaps. You have to do that thing. But I absolutely loved going out there. But, yeah, my fucking big-ass dumb face on the screen. I was like, all right, there's enough of me around here already. Can we put it down?

Starting point is 00:11:32 But for, I guess, whenever you're just around it for like 15, 20 years at this point, you just get used to it. Well, and I assume it's like we always say, you know, like he's aware of what's going on on like Twitter and stuff and like all that kind. But if you turn on the tv and you're on espn or nfl network or whatever and there there's a good chance that they're going to talk about you within the next window that you're watching it like i why would you always want to be it's like oh fuck they're talking about me again i don't want to listen to this

Starting point is 00:11:57 shit i just wanted to see what else is going on and and whenever you lose a game or you become the person that uh is the figurehead for a very politicized thing. Yeah. Vaccinations. Can't escape. You're going to get some heat, man. Yeah. He's turning it on and says, is Aaron ruining football on the bottom of the goddamn screen?

Starting point is 00:12:16 Yeah, that's the entire subject of the conversation. Anyways, he's not. But his future is something that a lot of people are talking about. And if John Elway and General George Payton said, you know, we're going to hire Nathaniel Hackett in hopes that he could potentially be the best recruiter for Aaron Rodgers, people would say that was chess if it ends up working out in a good play. But right now everybody's saying this is a desperate attempt to try to get a quarterback.

Starting point is 00:12:42 It's all in how you frame it and how it works out. But, you know, when John Elway told Peyton Manning, hey, here's the keys to the entire building, basically. Do whatever you've got to do. And then they win a Super Bowl. Oh, that's great leadership. That's great leadership. But if they don't win a Super Bowl and they lose in the Super Bowl,

Starting point is 00:12:57 they go, John Elway just handed over all responsibility to Peyton and they didn't get it done or whatever. So, like, it's all bullshit, basically. But there is a lot of things to be left, you know, figured out. There's a lot of coaching openings still out there. There's a lot of conversation about who's going to get those jobs. Hackett, Dayball is allegedly going down to Miami to the Dolphins. He's a, he's maybe the leading candidate now. Brian Flores is still interviewing with numerous places. I think it is just very interesting to me about how these decisions right now are judged, and we have no idea. Like when Pete Carroll was the coach at the Patriots, he stunk.

Starting point is 00:13:39 The worst. He stunk. I mean, they were bad. They were bad. Whenever he goes to USC, though, they were all pumped. Like, hey, this guy's going to turn around. He does. He goes to Seattle.

Starting point is 00:13:48 If he would have been judged off of what he did in New England the first day he was hired in Seattle, that entire run up there of the Legion of Boom and that success is never even chatted about. You have no clue if somebody's going to be good or not. You can expect somebody because of their previous actions to do something, and maybe that's the expectation. But what if it's just it fits, it works. They get the right team around the person and they all of a sudden have success. And on the flip side, I don't think having a little bit of success somewhere else means jack shit about you going to where you're going. You have to rebuild that entire thing. Urban Meyer was talking, I think the Dan Dockage, and he said it was the

Starting point is 00:14:23 most miserable he's ever been in his entire professional life because of losing and everything like that. He's had a lot of success in places. Why could he not have success in the NFL? It's just because you have no idea what you're building. You have no clue until you get there. Will you be able to get the free agents that you want to bring in? Like Nathaniel Hackett, there's no way he went in there for his head coaching interview

Starting point is 00:14:41 and said, oh, that's what we're going to do. We're going to get Aaron Rodgers out of Green Bay. And there had to be a follow-up like, well, if that happens, but if he does get Aaron Rodgers to Denver Broncos, let's assume that he's going to have a lot more success as a head coach than if they don't get Aaron Rodgers, knowing that they each know each other inside and out. I just think it's very difficult to judge the hirings right now because we have no clue what's going to happen. And at the end of whoever's tenure, whoever gets fired first here, I don't even know if if we even blame the coach for a lot of things it'll be like that whole they were doomed over the situation the jags wide open saints i mean sean payton just

Starting point is 00:15:16 retired two days ago semi-retired he might get back into coaching he might do tv not 100 sure he just needed to step away they They are also $71 million over the salary cap next year. So I respect him saying, you know, I don't want to take on the stresses of what next year is going to be. We're going to be playing Boston Connor at Nosegore. Dolphins, allegedly Dayball is the new favorite, but who knows what's

Starting point is 00:15:38 real and what isn't at this point. The Raiders, have we heard anything on that? Harbaugh is still the name that I keep hearing for that. But Ian Rappaport told us basically, like, haven't heard the NFL is interested at all. Have heard that Jim Harbaugh may be interested. Yesterday they interviewed the player personnel guy from the Steelers, Brandon Hunt, who I thought was going to take over for Colbert

Starting point is 00:15:57 since he's leaving after the draft apparently. So I don't know if they're looking for a GM first before they do the coach over there. Dan Quinn has turned down, I guess. He had six interview offers, and maybe he took a couple and said he's just going to return back to the Dallas Cowboys to be defense coordinator. Smart, I think. Yeah. Had success.

Starting point is 00:16:15 You're a hero. You got your backwards hat. You're the guy. You're doing that whole thing. Why would you just want to jump right back into the, oh, fuck, this guy's team stinks camp? At least Big Mike McCarthy is the shield for this team's team stinks camp at least big mike mccarthy is the shield for this this team sticks yeah you can at least enjoy yourself but i guess the payday of a head coach and a defense coordinator is vastly different there's other jobs still open uh texans vikings i mean that's there's a lot to be figured out at this point and i have no idea how it's

Starting point is 00:16:39 going to end up well and the texans have basically already said that they're going to hire josh mccown right and we haven't heard any. I mean, they basically said that last week. Hey, we want someone to interview this guy so that we can go ahead and just hire him right away. If they've already zeroed in on that, do you think they're even bringing people in for interviews? We have no idea if that's real or not, too. True. The Josh McCown thing.

Starting point is 00:17:01 We have no idea. It is. This is just like it's around draft time right now. Feels like we don't know what's real and what isn't. There's a couple teams circulating. Jim Caldwell, his name is bouncing around. I thought maybe he was going to get the Bears gig with Ryan Poles because Bill Polian was in there doing the interviews.

Starting point is 00:17:17 They found Ibra Flues. They liked him. A lot of coaches getting hired today. Joining us now is our coach. I think he is obviously enjoying the hell out of retirement. We have seen him call from a beautiful log cabin at the top of the Rockies. We've seen him on the road in Chicago

Starting point is 00:17:34 enjoying some, you know, good gabagool. Today, I believe he's calling in from a beach in Mexico, the ever-retired and happy, ladies and gentlemen, Chuck Pagani. Look at this guy. You're glowing. You're glowing.

Starting point is 00:17:54 Well, I don't know. Woo! Come on. It's just a little part three and then the Pacific Ocean beyond that. Life's good, man. Good to see you. Hey, great to see you as well.

Starting point is 00:18:07 Thank you for making time for us in the middle of that vacation. Please tell Tina we appreciate your mindset and brain here on a couple of interesting conversations that I think you would know a lot more about than us. There's a lot of conversations right now about who should be talking about what and how they should be talking about it in the sports media world. It all sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me but if we're going to talk about head coaches getting hired and head coaches either staring down a lot of adversity or maybe having

Starting point is 00:18:32 success whenever you think about eberflusse byron lefwich and now hackett at denver which one of those positions do you think is in the best spot and who do you think maybe in the end of this whole thing is the best coach down the line? Or is that just impossible to tell right now? Yeah, that's a roll of the dice. I mean, because you've got all first-timers, obviously, taking over as head football coaches. All come with great resumes. We know that.

Starting point is 00:19:01 All come from winning deals. Those guys, if you're on a losing team, you're just not getting reached out to. You don't have these opportunities, obviously, you know. So they've all got great pedigree. They've all got great resumes. You know, you step into the Denver job, you know, where there's smoke, there's fire. And we all know, you know, Aaron's deal's up. Devontae Adams' deal's up.

Starting point is 00:19:24 They need a quarterback in Denver. They also need an ownership group, all that. So it would make sense that, hey, look, Hackett gets that job. Maybe this thing works out, you know, and he can influence, you know, Aaron to come that way, Devontae to come that way. They work out the money. They work out the cap. The cap's going to go up. You know, so that's a great opportunity.

Starting point is 00:19:47 Leftwich, down in Jacksonville. Chuck, Chuck, hold on. Yeah. So when Peyton was a free agent after he was cut, there was conversations that maybe people were offering up percentages of teams. With the Denver Broncos being up for sale, is there any – I mean, you wouldn't know this. This would be above both of our heads,

Starting point is 00:20:06 and we should probably not speak about this, but you might know if there's precedent or not. What if Aaron was a part of one of the ownership groups? Has experience with the Bucs. And he has money. Yep. And they're looking for it, and I think he's friends with some of the people in there.

Starting point is 00:20:20 Could that happen? Is that something that could happen? Do we know anything about that? That is not something you and I would actually know the specifics of but is that not something that could take place there i mean anything's possible right i mean payton obviously is is trying to buy that right with a group i think his name's involved with elway and in a group of investors trying to buy that deal and you know maybe they're gonna you know let aaron in on you know part of it but no any anything's possible nobody's got a fucking chance times

Starting point is 00:20:50 call for desperate measures so anybody will do anything and everything to um you know try to land a guy like that who knows chuck you think hackett went in there and they asked him during the interview do you think they asked him like straight up uh do you think there's a chance if we hire you as a head coach you'll bring aaron and what i assume they also hired him with realistic expectations that they might not land aaron right because a lot of people talk and they're like well this is a package deal you get hackett you get aaron you get davante that is why they hired him and maybe it was a desperate hire and an attempt to get better players at positions that they need better players at.

Starting point is 00:21:28 But there's no way that is the sole reason, right? Or do you think that that is something that the Broncos would roll the dice with, knowing that he's a good coach as well? Yeah, that would just be like icing on the cake, you know, for me. But he went in there and obviously blew them away on the interview. You know, for me, but he went in there and obviously blew them away on the

Starting point is 00:21:46 interview. You know, George Payton, the general manager, the upper brass there, obviously, you know, knew about, you know, Hackett and being a football lifer and coming from a football family. I mean, again, his resume speaks for itself. So, I mean, yeah, no, that wasn't, hey, look, we got to hire this guy because if we hire this guy, forget if he's worth a damn as a coach, you know, we're going to get Aaron Rodgers and Devontae Adams. So, no, I just think they just look at that and say, if this does happen, if Aaron does start to, you know, test the waters of free agency, then we'd probably have a decent shot knowing their relationship.

Starting point is 00:22:28 We heard Aaron a couple weeks ago talk about those guys on that staff and specifically about Nathaniel and his football IQ and acumen and their relationship. How about Byron Lefkowitz going down there to be a head coach? Obviously, he was the offensive

Starting point is 00:22:45 coordinator this past season or a couple seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers I assume he's done it before that I should have done more research into his coaching run here but he was a name that kind of grew fast right in the coaching ranks this guy's played at a high level for a bad franchise he's now coaching at a high level he's won a Super Bowl he's with Tom Brady I think that entire narrative is big. What is the life change you think? Oh, who is that? Is that Tina Becker?

Starting point is 00:23:09 That's Tina. She's back from a walk. Hey, Tina! Hey! Hey, here we are! Hey, here we are, my friend! Hola! Hola!

Starting point is 00:23:22 Hola! Hola! Buenos dias! Oh, good. Hola! Hey, Hola. Buenos dias. Oh, good. Hola. Hey, Tina. How are you? Great to see you.

Starting point is 00:23:31 Hey, thanks for letting him chat with us in his villa next to the Par 3, next to the Pacific here in the middle of your beautiful vacation. We appreciate it. We love you. We love doing it. Oh, okay. Well, that's great news. There you go.

Starting point is 00:23:44 Hey, we love you guys, too. Hey, hey. We love you guys, love doing it. Oh, okay. Well, that's great news. There you go. Hey, we love you guys too. Hey, hey. We love you guys too. Hey. Hey. Hey. We love you guys too. Hey.

Starting point is 00:23:50 Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey.

Starting point is 00:24:02 Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey.. a. a. a. a. a in a building that seems to be on fire all the time, and now there's a disagreement on who's doing the roster control, Balky's going to stick around, or is it going to be Adrian Wilson and all that?

Starting point is 00:24:08 How do you think that entire thing goes? What do you think is the biggest thing that Byron's going to see once you become a head coach that's a bit different than maybe a player or a coordinator in your eyes? Yeah, you're not in charge of just one side of the ball or the quarterback anymore. You're in charge of, you know, you're the face of the franchise. So, you know, Bruce, you know, did a great job with Byron over the years,

Starting point is 00:24:31 and he groomed him for this opportunity and mentored him. Again, Byron's got a really good resume, obviously. Longtime player, well-respected around the NFL circles and about his, you know, football acumen and his football IQ. Always a smart, smart guy. So, you know, and it makes sense going down there. You know, again, everybody's looking for the next, you know, McVay-type guy, LeFleur, you know, everybody, the offensive guy,

Starting point is 00:25:01 the quarterback whisperer, the guy that can go down there and get, you know, the quarterback, you know, to Trevor, to his ceiling. But again, he's going to have the responsibility of everything else. And so hiring the head coach who's going to be the play caller and the quarterback coach, you know, he'll just have to go get the very best defensive coordinator and leave him, you know, he'll leave him alone. You know, like Bruce has done you know down in Tampa with Todd Bowles so I think a lot of that same structure of how BA ran things and how he's used to running things in Tampa will carry over uh and help him you know in Jacksonville you know I don't know it I mean you read read you know on the internet this that and the other about you know Balky is Balky in is is Balk out? Who's the general manager going to be?

Starting point is 00:25:49 So, you know, those dynamics are crazy, you know, when it comes down to it. So if Byron has that job, you know, and is going to be the guy and the other guy's out, then obviously they got the guy that they wanted and they gave him, you know, whatever leeway he was asking for in order to, if you want me to be the head coach, this is how things got to be set up. Man, it's so interesting because the head coach-GM relationship has to be real. And Khan's down there in an interesting position because, okay, so I got this guy who has worked with Tom Brady, has a great resume, is a well-respected player in the league.

Starting point is 00:26:24 He used to play for this franchise. He's still beloved by this franchise. He's never been a head coach before. We have no idea how he's doing. But it's got to be better than the guy who's never been an NFL head coach before that we just had. I mean, it has to be better than Chophouse. He comes in, and then Byron Leff, which is like,

Starting point is 00:26:38 well, I've seen the Clowntown stuff, though. Don't we need a fresh start? Now, Khan is thinking to himself himself this is a first time head coach i've had zero success in doing this i mean what uh that's a tough thing to do i think they kind of hire the right way hopefully they'll be able to figure that out now let's chit chat about eberflus up there in chicago and obviously you coaching chicago uh at the end of your career you got to experience the Bear fans, okay, like Zito and many, many others.

Starting point is 00:27:08 Fourth largest city in America. So it is obviously a fan base that would like to see a winner again. What do you think Iberflues has to do? How do you think they landed on Iberflues? And do you think he has any shot at winning in Chicago? I mean, Chicago, it just feels like just doomed for whatever reason. It does, doesn't it? For no reason.

Starting point is 00:27:29 In Flus, we trust. Yeah, I mean, either Flus, whatever the case is. How do you see that going? And Ryan Pohl is first-time general manager as well. He's a former player. I like these former players getting these positions. I feel like it's a lot harder to win in the NFL than we give anybody credit for. That's crazy. You must be really really smart guys I know Matt is a really good coach and a smart smart dude he's a defensive guy obviously yes you can win in Chicago I mean you're talking about

Starting point is 00:27:55 one of the most iconic franchises in the history 102 years of football George Stanley Hallis I mean you you have to win there you don. You don't have a choice. And, you know, they've got good players. And the big thing for me with Matt is he'll run the defensive side and he'll select those guys. And like Byron, they've got to surround themselves with really good people and really good teachers and really good coaches. And so it's going to be interesting to see, you know,

Starting point is 00:28:23 and I wonder about those talks, you know, when he's interviewing for that job, who his offensive coordinator is going to be. Because to me, you know, when he sat down with, you know, they had Polian, like you said, involved. Tony Dungy, you know, I hear was involved in that process. Obviously, close, close connection to the Colts. I think Poles, Iberflues share the same agent. So there's always that connection when you're talking and you're interviewing. It's easy to put these pieces to the puzzle together once you figure out, you find out some of these things, how these things go down. But this agent put these two together, and they got along. Like you mentioned, the head coach-GM relationship has got to be really, really tight,

Starting point is 00:29:10 and they've got to be able to get along because you're on the day-to-day grind and the expectation and the pressure. But to me, the biggest thing would be, okay, who's going to be this guy's OC? What system is he going to run? Who's he going to go grab to develop and get Justin you know, Justin Fields, you know, to his ceiling? Because they've got good offensive weapons. They've got a good runner in Montgomery. You know, A-Rob's up, you know, on offense as far as receiver.

Starting point is 00:29:35 But Mooney, a good young receiver, need to fix the offensive line. But Matt will go in there. He'll do a nice job. And, you know, the expectations aren't going to change there. They want to win there, and they want to win bad. Well, they deserve it, especially with how loyal their fan base is. They've really fought through it all, it feels like. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:29:52 And this is just like another Cubs situation almost. It's starting to become. Uh-oh. The Cubs broke the curse. They did. The Cubs were able to break the curse, and a little happiness was able to come to Chicago. Ryan Poles, I'm fucking pumped for him. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:30:04 Showing up in a Benzo. Hey, is he going to show up in that Benz too? Get out of that whole thing? Former players becoming GMs. I love it. I fucking love it. And the trenches guy too. Did you see the size of Cody had on? Woo! It looked like it was 50 below

Starting point is 00:30:20 zero. It was, asshole! Hey, we're in America here, okay? It is freezing cold here right now i know i know you're catching a tan you know going back to the southern italian olive skin like i understand that we are freezing our fucking asses oh this guy this guy. It's all cool. Go look at the ocean. No, that's amazing. I mean, I saw that picture of Poles, you know, as an undrafted free agent,

Starting point is 00:30:54 you know, rookie there at Chicago. And then today's picture, you know, before and after. It's crazy. But, again, they must have, I mean, he's got to be a smart guy. You know, and they went from that same KC tree, you know, go back to that place that has success and know what's going on. And, you know, being around Brett Veach and that whole organization for so long, you know, I wish him all the success in the world. Seems like a good guy.

Starting point is 00:31:21 I don't know him. But, again, it's like the honeymoon's already over. You know, when you pull up in that Benz or whatever and you've got that coat on, you're going into that building. You know, he's got his head coach in place. But, shoot, roll up your sleeves because you're going to go to work. You're going to earn every cent of that check you got. Yeah, pretty blue collar up there.

Starting point is 00:31:43 They had him fly coach, I think, and then they picked him up at the airport. George picked him up, though. Yeah, they picked him up at O'Hare, I think. It was O'Hare, yeah. Drive two hours to the facility. That's right. Yikes. You know, do the whole thing. Real wine and dine up there, but I like to keep the work ethic, you know,

Starting point is 00:31:55 keep that blue-collar-ness up there. I hope the Bears turn it around. That'd be good for everybody. Former player at GM, though, I am very, very pumped. Go ahead, Connor. Yeah, Chuck, how hard is it for coaches to replace some of these coordinators? Do you think Frank already has a guy set in place to be the DC for the Colts? And same with the Packers.

Starting point is 00:32:12 Do they have a replacement for Hackett? Or does that not really matter as much because of guys like Darius Leonard and Aaron Rodgers who can already run those sides of the ball? Yeah, no, great question because nobody wants to have to replace your guys. I mean, you want to champion them. You wants to have to replace your guys. I mean, you want to champion them, you want to promote them and push them for these jobs, but then you better have a laundry list of guys and a line of guys available. And I think these guys, you know, LeFleur is a smart guy, and he's got guys, you know, in the ranks that know the system that he can just elevate. And whether that's, you know, Getze, I think his name was.

Starting point is 00:32:46 Getze! Maybe, you know, he seems like the most logical guy, you know, that was getting some play, getting some talk about him, some interviews, that knows that system. So, you know, Frank's got, you know, guys on his staff. It's always easy because it's hard because when you're good and you play good and you've got those players. Sorry about that.

Starting point is 00:33:06 I'm sorry. Do you have a massage? We're probably either a massage probably happening, a little spritzer. You got a little somebody put some sunscreen on? Is that what's going on there? Sorry about that. No, yeah, no. I can't go into great detail about it right now.

Starting point is 00:33:22 But, yeah, so we'll discuss that later on. I can't go into great detail about it right now. Yeah, so we'll discuss that later on. No, but those guys have, you know, because you want to keep, you know, the system, the terminology, all those things. So if you've got somebody in the house, Connor, you know, that you've been grooming in case you lose guys, because those guys know when you get good, you hire good coaches and you have success, you know, you're going to lose them. And then it's really, really hard to find guys. And, you know, guys that are at other places, too, that you may covet, if they're under contract, you know, especially if they're in the same conference

Starting point is 00:33:56 or the same division, those people ain't letting them out. That's why you sign those contracts. You know, they're a double-edged sword. You get the, you know, the protection for your family and stuff, but when it comes time to be able to move, sometimes you can if you're under contract at another place. Iron-clad

Starting point is 00:34:14 contract. Lock them in. Don't let them go within a division, especially there. That team's too good to get our guys. Sean Payton, just out of nowhere. Maybe not out of nowhere. I assume he had to think about this for a long time.

Starting point is 00:34:29 Them being $71 million over the cap probably came into thought as well about, oh, what is next season going to look like? Do you think he has thought about this for a while? At what point did you know, like, hey, you're done with this shit? Was it a family situation? Was it personal? Was it at work? You weren't having as much drive? Like, what do you think led Sean Payton at,

Starting point is 00:34:50 because this is a weird time to kind of have it happen. Now, they're still early in the process. The coaching cycle is still happening. If any other coaches in the future were to be fired or retired, that's much different. But obviously now, what do you think led to this? And am I putting too much stock into them being $71 million over the salary cap affecting how the coach is going to feel going into a season?

Starting point is 00:35:09 Because I think that had to weigh heavy on him, on what they were going to have to rebuild. But I might be wrong there. What do you think? Yeah, no, all of the above. You know, and I think 15 years there, right? Yeah. I got so much, you know, respect for Sean Payton.

Starting point is 00:35:27 That a baby, Sean! Thank you, Sean. Us too, by the way way we've heard he's a guy we've heard he has really i mean you know there's a shelf life you know for all these jobs and and some of them very few of them uh last as long as um you know his tenure down in new orleans 15 years you Superbowl, um, his record speaks for itself. And I think just sometimes you, um, you know, I always said like, when this becomes work, you know, then I'm, then I'm probably done, you know, cause it was never worked to me. And I'm sure to, to Sean, it was, it was never work. And, and sometimes you just reach a point where, you know, you, you just, it's time for a change. And for him, you know, what he's done down there, he may not think he can do anything more, you know, for that franchise or for that city.

Starting point is 00:36:13 And sometimes it just, you know, change is good because it's good. And, you know, the message gets maybe stale. The same, you know, whatever becomes just a little bit stale and it's time for a change. And I think, you know, he sacrificed so much and gave so much to the game and so much of his time to that organization and that team that, you know, sometimes you just need a break. And if that's a year, if that's two years, if he's done, then, you know, hats off to Sean and the job that he's done and the impact that he's had on the National Football League and on so many players in that city and that organization.

Starting point is 00:36:50 He's top shelf, man, A++ coach in person. And I think he's done because, you know, teams are obviously, like, when he comes available, and I know they own his rights. I think he had three years left on his contract. You know, so I think he probably talked to them and said, look, I'm stepping down, and there's things written in this contract, obviously, belongs to them, that if somebody, you know, really coveted Sean, which is probably a lot of these jobs that are still open, they're going to reach out to the agent and say, hey, look, is this for real, or is there a chance to maybe,

Starting point is 00:37:22 you know, bring him into our program, you know, if possible? You know, so but I think because of the contract, I think he takes takes a year, maybe a little bit of TV, maybe a little bit of nothing. I highly recommend Mexico. A lot of something, you know, being in the Gulf where he's at right now in New Orleans, it wouldn't be far for him. In the Gulf where he's at right now, in New Orleans, it wouldn't be far for him. But, yeah, whatever he decides, you know. That year off I took in 18, you know, when I got let go at Indy. That was like one of the best years of my life.

Starting point is 00:37:59 Just reset, recharge, regroup, evaluate, all that kind of stuff. And then you come back roaring, ready to go. And maybe that's just what he needs. He's a great coach. And hearing you sing his praises was awesome there. It's obvious you have a lot of respect for him, as do a lot of people. I mean, the onside kick going the second half of that fucking Super Bowl was bullshit. It was kind of bullshit, and the refs, I believe, said it was Colts ball, and then they kind of went back on it because there was still a scrum

Starting point is 00:38:22 at the bottom of it, whatever the case. I'm probably wearing a Super Bowl as a pinky ring right now if that doesn't happen. But congrats to Sean Payton. I've heard he's a great guy. And his shoe collection is fucking nasty. Congrats, Sean. Congrats to you, Sean. As a defensive coach going up against Sean Payton and his offenses, nightmare.

Starting point is 00:38:42 Why? Well, he uses so many different personnel groups. They don't signal those personnel groups. So they just run different bodies in, you know, and it could be two guys, three guys, four guys, and you've got a guy in the box that does your personnel because all of our defenses and calls are based on, you know, situation down distance and what personnel they got in the game. Which is why, by the way, which is why the offense can sub and then there has to be time for the defense to sub because everything is run off the personnel that the offense brings in.

Starting point is 00:39:14 You can go ahead, though. Absolutely. But then, you know, they're running guys in and they're running guys out and it ends up being the same personnel. So as a defensive play caller, you end up guessing and like, well, what is it? Is it 12? Is it 21? Is it 11?

Starting point is 00:39:29 You know, and it's crickets, crickets, crickets because you don't really know. I mean, the guy who's doing personnel when you're playing the Saints, that's a nightmare. That guy in the box that's trying to give the coordinator, hey, they're in this, you know, and you don't hear anything and you don't know. And next thing you do is you got like a nickel defense, a dime package, which is set up for three and four wides, and you're going against, you know, 13 personnel, a bunch of big freaking tight ends and extra linemen,

Starting point is 00:39:59 and they're running the ball down your throat. You know, so he did a phenomenal job and so creative. What a masterful mind. Okay. A masterful we'll play caller all right that's awesome to hear i'm excited to see what sean payton does we're going to check out that uh documentary about him coming to netflix uh hopefully i get a chance to meet uh sean payton in person have a conversation with him i've heard he is electrifying to have a convo with i heard he has you got to get him on the show that's what i've heard he'd be awesome that's what i've heard i've been told that by a lot of people so hopefully that'll happen at some point can't wait to meet him good guy good career fuck off for the onside

Starting point is 00:40:32 kick thing let's go to uh ben roth there he is right there sean is that is that sean payne was that from the shit that was that's sean payne from the super bowl no that's kevin james kevin james what thank you sean i think it's Kevin. No, that's Kevin. Really? Oh, sorry. Doug Heffernan. That's Kevin James. Dude, get out.

Starting point is 00:40:50 It's Kevin James, bro. All right, that's not Sean. Stop it. Maybe. It might be Sean. Yeah, where'd the photo come from? Is that AP? That is AP. All right.

Starting point is 00:40:57 Low-line coach in the background. We'll have to dive into it a little bit. Okay, let's move on. Another person who I assume was difficult to strategize for has officially announced his retirement this morning. You were with the Ravens for a little bit there and obviously, I think you were at the Browns. I don't know if it was at the time that this dude was playing, but Ben

Starting point is 00:41:13 Roethlisberger has officially retired. What made him a guy who's going to be in the Hall of Fame? What made him, because now the debates are he has two Super Bowls, his stats are this, his stats are that. Then there's obviously the conversation about the program he was a part of and what the defense was

Starting point is 00:41:30 the entire time. I mean, that's happening on TV right now. Orlovsky's breaking it down. From a football standpoint, what made Ben Roethlisberger so good? I mean, he had some great days against us a couple times. I mean, he had some. Martavis Bryan is still running, I think, at one point.

Starting point is 00:41:46 But what made him so great, you think, Chuck? He was a phenomenal freaking player. And my four years in Baltimore, you know, going up against him, you know, twice a year, I mean, the guy was, you know, a top competitor, so big and so strong that, you know, you could pressure this guy and you could go after him with four or five, whatever it was, and right when you thought you had, you know, him hemmed up, he's got two, three, four guys hanging off of him,

Starting point is 00:42:19 and he's still got that ball in his right arm, and he's still completing balls, you know, down the field. We lost one season. I think we lost all three games. His ability to extend plays, like long before this new generation of guys, the Mahomes and the Allens and things like that. This guy was so big and so strong and had such a great ability to extend plays and find guys down the field. and so strong and had such a great ability to extend plays and find guys down the field. You know, one year we lost, I think, both regular season games and the AFC championship game just on extended plays, you know, him throwing to Santonio Holmes, you know,

Starting point is 00:42:55 and the plays that he made to Hines Ward and Antoine Randall, you know, and you can say, yeah, you know, the defense, this, that, and the other. That guy is a first ballot. Yeah. I mean, without question. You know, two Super Bowl wins. I mean, that guy, I mean, the play that he makes, you know, at Indy, you know, after the bus fumbles, you know,

Starting point is 00:43:18 the play that he makes to trip old boy up and win that game. I mean, I could go on and on. The 522 pass yards he had on us and six tutties. We went to Pittsburgh that year. I mean, the guy is just phenomenal. And, yeah, anybody can say whatever they want. Getting ready to play against Ben and to game plan against him because he was never down.

Starting point is 00:43:46 And we always told our guys, you know, if you come clean off the edge, just come under control, come to balance, just get him wrapped up, get his right arm. We used to say get his right arm wrapped up so that his ball would be pinned against his chest. But he would throw it. He would throw it around the arm, though, grab it on the other side and throw it. He still had that thing.

Starting point is 00:44:08 He was still making plays down the field. And I remember D-backs coming clean off the edge, and we have free runners and Haruki Nakamura coming off the edge in Baltimore one year. And he's got a free shot on him and just sidesteps him, gets out of the pocket, throws a touchdown pass, and we're like, what do you not understand about just coming under control? Well, because even if you do that, he'll literally just stand with you on it.

Starting point is 00:44:33 He just refused to go down, it felt like, there for a long time. And we're watching old throwback highlights of him because a lot of people just see him now where he's throwing it half a second after it snapped and he can still sling it. He used to be quick. He used to be able to run and move he it was always like a lumber you know it was always like a big-ass lumber but he was no sneaky sneaky athletic sneaky fast especially in the early years um his ability to you know hard count you you know even before like what aaron does and he

Starting point is 00:45:03 catches people uh you know with 12 on the field but backed up he was the best at hard count and get you to jump and then throw one up for grabs and most of the time it was a free play and and most of the time every one of their route concepts would convert into this all go and he would just murder you with it. It's third and 14. You've told your guys, earmuffs, earmuffs, key the ball. You know, don't listen to snap count, and what do they do? And then they jump off sides. He chucks it deep to one of those speedsters, you know, and next thing you know, it's first and 10.

Starting point is 00:45:38 It's your plus 45, you know, fresh set of downs. Amazing player. Congratulations to Big Ben. He tormented, you know, not only myself and teams that I was a part of for a long time, but what a phenomenal Hall of Fame career he had. We don't know if he birthed this or not, but it is one of his favorite, you know, sign language signs. He does it all the time.

Starting point is 00:46:03 He even does it with a wave, and then he drops into it when he sees certain people Hi to you, fuck you, love you See you later Hell of a run there by Ben Last question here Chuck, we can't thank you enough for joining us Go ahead Tone Chuck, we had a good conversation about this yesterday

Starting point is 00:46:17 About Antonio Brown Do you think the juice is worth the squeeze? Do you think another team is potentially going to sign him Because he is so good? Again, you know, Tone, I don't think you never say never, right? It looks like he can still, you know, play at a certain level. But, again, with, you know, the track record being, you know, what it is, would it shock me?

Starting point is 00:46:40 No. It would not shock me because, you know know people that are maybe a one player away two players away and you can add this guy to your to your roster and you feel like you got the coaching staff the head coach the offensive coordinator the locker room the ogs to handle handle this guy you know they'll vet him somebody will vet him and figure out okay is he okay is he not okay what's going on with him obviously you know he's got his stuff going on with the bucks right now. The more that goes on though, I would have to say that, you know, he just shut things down and let everything calm down and let these coals kind of simmer, you know, and this fire burn out a little bit and just kind

Starting point is 00:47:21 of disappear for a little bit and then kind of resurface without all this drama you know surrounding him and his his whatever um yeah i don't i wouldn't be shocked but hey the nfl doesn't normally do great whenever you're suing one of their teams you know like the nfl like and by the way he it sounds like he has a lot of valid valid arguments his his attorney is ready to go they're on real sports which is a massive platform saying the entire thing. I'm not saying he shouldn't. If he feels he's been wrong, then there's legislation. No. Legislation.

Starting point is 00:47:52 No. That's not right. Legislation's the rules. A case? If he has a case. Yeah, whatever. Like, go do your thing. But I think the NFL in the past, if you sue one of the like i think

Starting point is 00:48:05 that is going to be tough to get in there i'm not sure but everybody wants to win he's an incredible player so who knows how it'll work out we can't thank you enough for joining us chuck have an incredible vacation we hope the gabagool is fantastic and go enjoy that pacific ocean pal yes sir great to see you guys take care you too ladies and gentlemen coach chuck so sorry to interrupt but i want to let you know that if you're not gambling with FanDuel, you're wrong. FanDuel Sportsbook is available in seven states, I believe at this point. Six, seven, eight. You get it. If you're not gambling with FanDuel Sportsbook, though, you're completely wrong. And if we're not in your state yet, we are coming to your state.

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Starting point is 00:49:19 Sportsbook, and you will too. If you haven't used it yet use it nah also there's fantasy on there daily fantasy and free to play games where you can win money shout out to fandle shout to you let's get back to the show joining us for an incredible conversation first time on the show is a man whose name is synonymous with nfl electricity a guy that changed the game completely not only at virginia tech but then when he came to the NFL, I seen him throw a football out of a stadium. That's right. Then he could shake the shit

Starting point is 00:49:51 out of anybody. And now, he is the host of the Gaming Society football show, which airs Thursday nights on Fubo Sports Network at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Vick. Yeah! What's up, dude? What's good, fellas? Mike Vick. Yeah! What's up, dude?

Starting point is 00:50:06 What's good, fellas? What's up, AJ? What's up, Pat? Hey, how are you, man? What's up, man? Did you ever play against AJ? Yeah, I was just thinking. 2010, did we play against each other, AJ?

Starting point is 00:50:17 Yeah, we did in the playoffs. Mike actually got pissed at me. I'm glad you're on. I think you thought I was trying to bend you back on a goal line play you were trying to score, and you started getting mad, yelling at me. I was like, man, I think glad you're on. I think you thought I was trying to bend you back on a goal line play you were trying to score, and you started getting mad and yelling. I was like, man, I think I might even apologize. I was like, man, I wasn't trying to bend you back, man. I was just happy to not have to tap you in the open field

Starting point is 00:50:32 like somebody already had your leg. We still got beef here, or are we good? AJ, you told me to shut the hell up and suck it up. I was like. Mike, I would assume that everybody that played against you does remember or have a story about playing against you. You were a player that completely flipped the game on its head, obviously, years and generations ahead of time. Do you think about what your game could be now in the modern age? And are you happy that guys who literally emulated you, looked up to you, idolized you, are now getting their time to shine in the NFL more often?

Starting point is 00:51:08 Yeah, all the time. I watch these offenses right now, how dynamic these guys look, how they've just taken it to another level. And I always give a lot of credit to the offensive coordinators because these guys are super talented, uber talented, but you've got to still bring that out. And you've got offensive coordinators like Brian Dable and guys around the league helping guys like Josh Allen become the best version in themselves. Cliff Kingsbury with Kyler. You know, these guys are taking off in a different direction.

Starting point is 00:51:39 And if I would have played in today's time, it would have been curtains. But look, this is not my era. Look, this is not my era. I acknowledge that. And it's good to see the game elevating, though. It's good for the league. The conversation around, like, Lamar and even with Josh Allen now is he's becoming a power running back at different times. And any other guy that runs a lot is your one hit away, right?

Starting point is 00:52:01 Your one hit away. In the NFL, your one hit away. Lamar, even though he has the ability to make people miss, he doesn't get hit hard, he's one hit away. Is that something that should be a legitimate concern for people? Or is it like you're handcuffing some guys if you don't let them run and don't let them be the best versions of themselves? Yeah, you are handcuffing them. But I think it's a way to do it where it's strategic. and stuff in them. But I think it's a way to do it where it's strategic. And I think about Josh Allen and the way they use him. Occasionally, you'll see a quarterback sweep or a quarterback

Starting point is 00:52:30 power, but you can't abuse it. Those guys, everybody's really one hit away. But your quarterback is a guy that you pay all the money to, and you want this guy to be sustainable and durable. And he got to have longevity if he's a franchise guy. So you got to look at the broad spectrum to make sure you're playing him the right way, giving him the best opportunity, but protecting him at the same time. Mike, when you look at these quarterbacks that are left in the playoffs right now, a guy that people always point to, Jimmy Jean,

Starting point is 00:52:58 Jimmy Garoppolo and San Fran, there's all these, people want to talk about how he's playing, doesn't have a bunch of touchdown passes and crazy numbers. But the dude wins and his team loves him. I guess when you watch Jimmy play, like, what do you see? What do you like about him? I see a guy who's super confident, who believes in himself when the whole world is barreling down on him. He puts himself in a position where he thrives and he excels off, you know, just his personal motivation. You look at his win-loss record, you know, he's way above 500.

Starting point is 00:53:31 Way. He always make the right play. Sometimes he'll make a play that's goofy, but who doesn't do that? At the end of the day, when you're looking at Jimmy G, he's winning games and he's a leader. And even it seems like his teammates look to him, you know, as a guy who got all the answers. You know, when, you know, the clock is ticking

Starting point is 00:53:52 and who you want the ball in the hands of. And it seems like it's Jimmy G as of right now. He's proven that time and time again. So I think consistency is a mark of a great quarterback. It always will be. And Jimmy G is pretty consistent. It feels like all of his teammates come out and put him over. So that means a lot to me.

Starting point is 00:54:11 I think whenever ex-teammates come out and say, hey, I like the guy, that means behind closed doors he's also a guy you would want to be representing your squad. Let's go around some other quarterbacks. Obviously, in this era, Patrick Mahomes has been deemed the next one, right? They're talking about him competing with Tom Brady in his second or third year in the NFL because of how much he's already accomplished hosting another AFC championship game. When you see his game, what do you think about it? And why do you think he's had so much success? When I look at Patrick, I instantly think about Russell Wilson and the young Russell when Russell first came in and it was like, where did this guy come from?

Starting point is 00:54:48 It was it was a fast paced game that he played, but it was it was under control and it was slowed down to a point where you can't really hit him. You can't get a clean shot on him. He's going to make you miss and give you a stutter step. He's not even the fastest, but he's more in control of his game than the guy like myself. Then some of the more elusive quarterbacks who, you know, we got we kind of get out of control. Patrick Andy knew exactly what he was getting when he drafted Patrick. He knew exactly what Patrick was going to be. And it's not surprising to me because I was in training camp with him and I saw the development. I seen him in an camp with him, and I saw the development. I seen him interacting with Alex Smith. I seen him wanting to become a football savant

Starting point is 00:55:28 and wanting to learn the game. And when you had Alex and – you got Alex Smith and Andy Reid in the same room. Matt Nagy was in there. You know, his background was extensive dating back to our days in Philadelphia. So it was just offense. It's offense everywhere, and he's going to continue to get better each and every year. What do you mean you get out of control a little bit, unlike Patrick Rollins?

Starting point is 00:55:51 What do you mean? I wanted them yards. I wanted every yard. AJ, I tell you, in that game we played, I wanted every yard I could get. I wasn't thinking about sliding. Everything is about, you know, beeline to the side, on a beeline right up the middle. No, these guys are taking off three quarter speed because you want to control now.

Starting point is 00:56:10 Now you can maintain to be a passer as opposed to a runner passer. You'll pass a runner. And when I look at my career, look back at that, I should have did more. I might have had more passing. I'm not satisfied with having twenty two thousand passing yards. You know what I'm saying? I'm not satisfied with having 22,000 passing yards. You know what I'm saying? I'm not satisfied with that. But, you know, that was my career. Still had like 6,000 rushing yards. Yeah, yeah.

Starting point is 00:56:33 So, I mean, I got to be proud about something, fellas, you know? Hey, you should be, obviously, your football career. And I think you've had your lumps off the field. And I think it's potentially because of, you know, whenever you grow up in a certain way, there is learning curves that come with obviously being thrusted into the spotlight and making mistakes. Do you think not only on the field, off the field,

Starting point is 00:56:55 you had no idea how important your position was at the time? Like you said, you're trying to get these yards. I'm reckless, basically. Do you think that moment in that title, in the weight of the world on your shoulders, you didn recognize at the time and what was it like going through all of that shit to realize like oh everything i do people are going to know about and have an opinion about because i'm an nfl quarterback now you're talking about the broader spectrum when you look at the quarterback position and everything it embodies i think about some of the things i did

Starting point is 00:57:22 some of the gestures i made i stuck my middle finger up at the crowd. I might have said some things in post-game presses that, you know, was very vulgar and, you know, created some form of disconnect. And I'd be like, what type of idiot I was. Being in the position that I was in, you're the quarterback, you're the franchise guy of a national football league, a team in the national football league, and you don't understand the magnitude of it when you're young. That's why I like where these young quarterbacks are, because they're coming into situations where they got people in the building care about where they're going to be in 15 years, you know, what they what their career going to look like post career. You know, you set up properly, you create the relationships,

Starting point is 00:58:05 you embody being that guy, you embody being a franchise guy, and you embrace that, and you walk around like that, and you throw your suit on. We used to go on road games, and I used to, you know, have a fitted jacket on with a hoodie and jeans, and all my guys around me got suits on and looking good. And I'm like, I suppose I've been the first guy on the bus with the shopping suit on, tailored, fitted, and looking like the franchise guy. And, you know, so when you're young,

Starting point is 00:58:36 you do certain things that, you know, obviously you think about it 10 years, you know, from that point, you're like, damn, I wish I'd have done it better. But I see the learning curve, and I'm glad these young guys are getting it now and doing it better. Mike, you mentioned some coaches earlier that you played for. I mentioned it a lot on here. I feel like the most important position on a coaching staff is whoever's calling the offensive plays. They can have the largest impact, good or bad, on the team.

Starting point is 00:58:59 How important is that for a quarterback especially to get to a team where, yeah, you have some players around you, but I think most importantly, you have a coaching staff that puts you in position to make plays. And hold on, Mike, before you answer that, I want to add on to that. I assume you and offensive coordinators didn't get along at the time because you just like, I mean, you were the play, right? I mean, most of the time. Yeah. No, I had good offensive coordinators. I had guys who they understand.

Starting point is 00:59:22 Dan Reeves was a great offensive coordinator. And then I got Greg Knapp, who was a good offensive coordinator. I made Pro Bowls with all these guys. Every coach I played for, I made the Pro Bowl. I had some success. So I have to give them credit for that. And it was a lot of hard work in between. But AJ, to answer your question and just everything in parallel, you have to have a guy who understands your skill set, I think, most importantly. And he has to know, and you got to be honest as a quarterback, like, Coach, I'm not comfortable making these throws. I'm not comfortable trying to attack this area of the field.

Starting point is 00:59:56 If there's a blitz that you're watching on film that you can't pick up in a certain protection, you got to open the door up for questions. You got to talk it through. You got to have that relationship with an offensive coordinator. I think that's so important. And more importantly, you know, I always say, you know, coaches make players. You know, we can have all the talent in the world, but you get with an offensive coordinator who don't know nothing,

Starting point is 01:00:19 you're not going to generate offense. And it's just that simple. He has to know you. You got to know him. And when's just that simple. He has to know you. You've got to know him. And when you hear that play call coming in, you've got to know why it's coming in. Hey, do you think some places are just – like there are some buildings, it feels like,

Starting point is 01:00:34 that are just always going to suck, Mike. I mean, you know, like Jacksonville is hiring a new head coach right now. Good luck to Byron. Like, hey, I think we all love – I'm happy to see former players get head coaching jobs and GM jobs. They hire Byrne? It's alleged. It's allegedly.

Starting point is 01:00:48 Allegedly, okay. Allegedly, like, done deal or whatever. They're trying to figure out. I hope so. Yeah, so do we, by the way. More players in those roles are awesome, we think. But do you think some buildings are just, like, natural disasters waiting to happen? For instance, and this is not our opinion, but this is a national opinion, basically.

Starting point is 01:01:05 Sam Darnold didn't have an opportunity under Adam Gase, and then he gets hurt, and he doesn't have Christian McCaffrey. So we never know if his career is going to be good. Daniel Jones, he has like his fourth offensive coordinator in like four years. We don't know if he's ever going to be good. Do you think there are some situations that that is very valid, or do you think some players can rise above all that bullshit,

Starting point is 01:01:24 and they're the reason why coaches stick around and why there is consistency? It's only certain players that can rise above that, Pat. I mean, it's extremely hard to overcome walking into a building and having to really be in control because you're so young, you really don't know what's going on. As a quarterback, you're leaning on certain people in that building for advice and you know to show you the way and you can't necessarily step in and be a guy who uh you know takes control instantly of an organization and

Starting point is 01:01:56 young guys get put in that position so it's a collective effort all across the board and you know these teams are going to slowly but surely start to realize we get a guy here who we know we can win with. We got to take care of him. We got to surround him with the right talent. And it's unfortunate that a lot of quarterbacks, they get what coaches are just not going to be good for them. That's just the nature of the business.

Starting point is 01:02:18 Some of us get lucky and have great stellar offensive careers, and some of us, we fade out, you know. And, you know, it's all about who you're around. So I was blessed to be around some coaches who helped me understand the game better and helped me play better. And I think it's really about the quarterback, you know, wanting to really please your coaches and show them I'm learning, I get it, and I can go execute it.

Starting point is 01:02:43 Yeah, I'm intrigued to see about a lot of these guys. Like Trevor Lawrence. Yeah. I mean, hopefully Byron will be able to go in there and have success for him. But there's a chance that that turns over two, three times in the next four years. Not that Byron will get fired, but for just natural of the beast there. And we will literally – Trevor Lawrence was good, but he wasn't good in the NFL. Why, though?

Starting point is 01:03:02 Yeah, I like the fact that – see, because we all play the game, so we know what goes on internally in the building, so we can speak on a different level. But I like players, former players who become coaches because they, you know, and I'm not saying that you've got to play the game to be a great coach. There's a lot of great coaches who haven't played the game or never touched the ball, never made a tackle, never caught a pass, who are very successful in their own right.

Starting point is 01:03:33 Some got rings, but I think the guys who know, understand the game, played it, know what it's like when, you know, it's two hours before kickoff, knowing what it's like when that ball is about, you know, you can give guys the answers that they need to calm them and settle them down and cure that anxiety so they can go just be the best version of themselves. So, you know, I think that kind of as players become coaches, it translates. I just think about D'Amico Ryan and the job he's doing now. You know, I played with him in Philadelphia for three years, and now he's one of the top defensive coordinators in the game, you know, coming behind Robert Sala and having some tutelage and former players.

Starting point is 01:04:06 So that's really cool to see. Agreed. What about the Bengals and Joe Burrow? So I live in Ohio, so there's a frenzy out here with following the Bengals. Are you surprised at all to see the Bengals? Yeah, we know how great they were for the regular season, but I don't know if everyone expected them to get this far and have a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

Starting point is 01:04:23 Are you surprised at all? I'm going to be honest with you, AJ. I'm very surprised. Why? I'm very surprised, man. I can't sit here and say, no, I'm not surprised. I knew Joe Burrow had the talent. I knew Joe Burrow had the talent from what he did last year.

Starting point is 01:04:38 But for them to piece this whole thing together in 24 months, like from the time they drafted this man to getting him the right coordinator, getting the right pieces around him, understanding we got to protect this young guy, make sure that we get him everything he wants. I just spoke about that. They go get Jamar Chase. I mean, Jamar Chase is one of the top players in the league now.

Starting point is 01:05:01 And so it's so good to see, man. Like we know we're gonna see Cincinnati for the next couple years or the next upcoming 10 years you know to watch them that's gonna be exciting hey and I think you're I assume you're in Florida that appears to be a enclosed environment in a pool area maybe in the back you yeah yeah it's enclosed yeah you have an indoor facility the Bengals don't okay like that like that is just – we have to. We have to remember that. Your question, Ty?

Starting point is 01:05:28 Mike, you mentioned Philadelphia, and obviously you go there and win Comeback Player of the Year. How much of that – because I think you had your best passing season statistically when you got there. How much of that was you just being more mature and kind of realizing what you could do and how much of that was being under Andy Reid? And did you find that like defenses and other guys in the league kind of just assumed that you wouldn't be back

Starting point is 01:05:50 because you were out of the game for a couple years there? And how satisfying was that when, like, you started to perform well and kind of showed everyone, like, hey, I'm still the same guy I always was? Yeah, that was more so about being around Andy, man, more than anything. It was a different locker room, too. You know, you walk into the locker room, you see all these players, you see all this potential, and you're like, man, if I just put it together myself, if I take the time and put time in and learn exactly how to get these guys to ball, be the leader in the locker room, then

Starting point is 01:06:24 we can have some success. I didn't think that I would play in that first game against you guys, AJ. When Kevin Cobb went down, I didn't know I was going to get thrust in. Felt like I wasn't ready, but that kind of catapulted everything and got that season going. And then Andy made me to start after about three weeks. But the detail that I was given at the quarterback position I can only imagine what Patrick Mahomes is getting from Andy now 12 years later with the game changing and transcending uh I just looked at

Starting point is 01:06:56 their playbook and every week I got my game plan on Tuesdays I was excited I could see touchdowns I could see first downs I could see third down conversions. And I knew we was going to have success because I knew I was dealing with a different coach who understood me as a player. And that was really cool. I assume you were a different person too, though, right? At that point? Yeah, most definitely. Whenever you get to spend

Starting point is 01:07:18 obviously everybody knows that you ended up having to do some time or whatever and you came back. I was going to say that. Yeah, I was going to say when I was in prison, i told myself when i come home when i get out of here not only do i want to do things right off the field and make amends for some of the things that i've done but i want to be that quarterback who my coach can trust in pat in the passing game let me throw it 50 times and he believe in me you know i'm to be the guy who study and they're going to see me around the building.

Starting point is 01:07:46 I just didn't know I was going to end up in the hands of Andy Reed. Like that. I didn't know that when I was, when I was in a cell, like, I didn't know. I thought I would come home and go no disrespect to Buffalo, but they wasn't playing well at the time. I could have been the backup in Cincinnati. I think those were the teams that was calling. And then Andy called.

Starting point is 01:08:04 I'm like, okay, they got Donovan. I'm probably going to sit the bench, you know, for my first year. But I see the plan that was created. My body wasn't back. I needed – like I was fat. I gained some weight. I was 226. You know, I was half your size, AJ.

Starting point is 01:08:20 Oh, hey, hey, hey. I was. What do you play at? I was almost 240. I played at 210, 211. Jeez. What are you now?? I was almost 2'4". I played at 2'10", 2'11". What are you now? Still got it? Yeah, I still got it. I'm about

Starting point is 01:08:33 2'15". I got some weights over here in the corner. Some dumbbells I pick up and knock out. Hey, did you do... 30 reps a day or something like that. I know you played chess in jail. Did you hoop too? Did you just dominate people in there? You won a championship. Hey, let you do 30 reps a day or something like that? I know you played chess in jail. Did you hoop too? Did you just dominate people in there? We won the championship. Hey, let's go.

Starting point is 01:08:48 Yeah. We won the championship. Let's go. Yeah, like that was fun. That was really cool. I was like at my height in my basketball career. But I played in some Adidas that didn't have some soles in them. And it messed my knees up.

Starting point is 01:09:04 I think it took two years off my career yeah i bought in some adidas like shell to adidas man and it was like yeah that was it i was 27 at the time so my body could handle it yeah prison basketball cut off the end of your nfl career in the second chapter which is a shame hey they try they try to get me to come back and play another year i told them them, no, I'm good. This is temporary, fellas. This is temporary. Let's talk about you playing chess because I think that story was kind of leaked and awesome. I assume that's where a lot of conversations happen in the jail as well with whoever you're playing against,

Starting point is 01:09:40 whoever's sitting around, as with basketball. What was your relationship in there, where do you still play chess? Man, I love chess. I played chess before I played Madden and I love Madden. You were Madden. Shout out to Madden, man. The great John Madden in the video game. We all love Madden, man. But before I go play golf, I might sit and play a game of chess. That's how much I love chess. That's how much I love the competition and the how much I love the competition and, you know, sitting across from another man or females. They know how to play, too, and they be pretty good. Like, you know, there's a hell of a lot smarter than us,

Starting point is 01:10:11 so you're going to get everything. You know what I'm saying? You're going to get everything that you want when you sit down to play and you touching them pieces, and sometimes it might take three minutes to make a move, and you're trying to figure out what he's trying to do and he's trying to figure out what you do. It's the coolest game ever, man. Maybe we can get a get again any of y'all know how to play well i'm

Starting point is 01:10:27 fucking close sicilian dude all right as well you know i'm coming with the close sicilian i learned it from queen okay yeah that's a cool move i'm i'm gonna be looking for that well i also got the open don't worry i got the opens i watched queen's gambit and I picked up a couple of the terms. Did you watch that, and did any of it make sense to you? Are you at a level where you'd feel comfortable going against those people that do that shit full time? No. Hey, so look, quick story.

Starting point is 01:10:58 We had a chess club in Philadelphia, and we used to invite all these kids and teach them how to play chess. And I watch these kids just play chess every week. We'll sit down and we'll play. And then, you know, this one kid kept, you know, challenging me, challenging me, and he's like 12 years old. I'm like, you know, I'm ready. And this is the day we're having, like, tournaments.

Starting point is 01:11:19 And I got eliminated in the first round. 12-year-old. I got eliminated in the first round by a 12-year-old. And his moves was, like, precise and calculated. And I came in, you know, I came in with my opening. He was negating some stuff. And I tried to move, and I didn't see something. And next thing you know, he took my queen, and it was over.

Starting point is 01:11:40 All right. Let's talk about what you have going on. Very, very excited to chat about the Gaming Society football show, which airs tonight and Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Fubo Sports Network. Alongside Dave Anderson, who I looked at, he's a restaurateur. This guy, he's a restaurateur. How'd you meet up with him, and what's the show about? Dave used to play in the league.

Starting point is 01:12:01 So one of the guys that I knew I did some work with over at Fox Digital, he was on a different platform. He called me and asked me, you know, did I want to be a part of it? Asked him. Kevin Garnett got on the phone along with Dave Anderson. I know Dave from his playing days in Houston. So, you know, they told me what the gaming society was about, sports betting platform.

Starting point is 01:12:26 You know, as we came up, you know, as we played, we were taught to stay away from sports betting. I knew nothing about it, how to do it, but it was an opportunity to learn. And once I found out what the gaming society was going to be about, I thought it could help a lot of people like myself who didn't know about sports betting. So it's a cool platform to be on it's cool to talk sports cool to sit with dave across from dave and learn you know how to sports bet and all these intricate ways to to place bets man i think it's really cool well we enjoy the fact that you're diving into the sports gambling site for sure uh sports gambling world i mean for sure there's a giveaway happening for two tickets to next year's Super Bowl. You go to gs.predictionsgame.com You answer some questions.

Starting point is 01:13:09 You get them right. Boom! You potentially win Vic's Ticks to next year's Super Bowl. It's cool shit, Mike. I'm very pumped for you and I can't wait to see more, hopefully, of you in the media world. You're awesome. No doubt, man. Thank you, man. I'm looking forward to it. Hey, legit. I hope at some point,

Starting point is 01:13:26 you know, when you're sitting in that incredible pool there and you got those weights, you think about like the full change in your life that you've been able to kind of be spotlighted by an amount of people that probably look for inspiration to you. That's a very cool thing. Yeah, no doubt, man. It's a lot of people who helped me along the way, man. I got to give a lot of credit to and I still growing, still learning. Anytime y'all want to have me back, man, I'd love to be on the show. It's an amazing thing y'all are doing right now. Keep up the good work, baby.

Starting point is 01:13:51 Hey, we appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Vick. Yeah, boy! ...now is a man who stole two titles from somebody we don't know who. A man who has won a college football national championship, a Super Bowl ring, a Ryder Cup championship bag, and he's a COVID survivor, but he's the owner of two Fugazi

Starting point is 01:14:12 titles now. Ladies and gentlemen, A.J. Hawk. Yeah! What's up, Hawk? Two. I'm giving one away, though, so I'm only going to have one left. Well, that's what I've been saying this whole time. You just being all willy-nilly with giving it away proves to me that you didn't earn it. Those are

Starting point is 01:14:27 Fugazi titles. Those are fake. But I am thankful that you are giving one away. I think you're sending it here. We're going to sign it and ship it on its way to the winner of yesterday's hashtag PMS Fugazi title hashtag contest. We can't thank you enough for joining us. AJ, a lot of big news. Let's run around it real quick before our guest from the

Starting point is 01:14:43 Los Angeles Rams joins us. Eber Flus, now the head coach in Chicago. Byron Lefkowitz, allegedly the coach in Jacksonville. They're trying to figure out roster control. And Nathaniel Hackett, head coach of the Denver Broncos now. What's your biggest takeaway? Who do you – does this mean Aaron Rodgers is going to Denver? I mean, it seems like the rumor mill is really heating up.

Starting point is 01:15:05 Aaron and Devontae headed out west to Denver. We'll see. I mean, I don't know. I have no idea. I'm happy for Hackett, though. I know Aaron loves him. I know the rest of the team loves him, so I think it's much deserved. And Iberflu is probably pumped in Chicago if Hackett is to take Aaron out of the NFC North.

Starting point is 01:15:20 Ryan Pohl is former player, general manager there. I love that. I love former players at president position, Jason Wright, former players at general manager positions like Ryan Poles is now and many others are. And I love that Byron Lefkowitz

Starting point is 01:15:36 is getting a chance to potentially be the head coach of the team he played for. That's an awesome full circle type story, but I don't know how it's going to go. Jacksonville seems to be doomed for failure at all times. But hey, they might turn around Trevor Lawrence, the hell of a player in Byron left, which is respected by everybody he's ever played with. Yeah. I mean, the Jacksonville job definitely has its, uh, has its challenges, but I think it's awesome. The more we see former players become head coaches, become GMs, front office people, then the more and more

Starting point is 01:16:01 are going to know it's a possibility. Aren't going to try to take that pass after they get done. So I think it can only help the NFL. Yeah, pipelining and coaching would be good. I think the pay for the lower-level coaches is probably going to have to change if players continue to get into that. But neither here nor there, and that's not from any source or experience in my own, just thinking about what my friends have signed up for that are former players to coach, and then I talk to them, and they tell me what they're doing, and then they tell me how much money they make. I'm like, get out of that. Get out of that

Starting point is 01:16:29 profession. But it takes a real love of the game to be a coach. And if you're a player and you're a coach, you can see it from both sides. Hopefully, Byron has a lot of success. Excited for Hebrew Flues, Hackett's out there. And you know, a lot of people think that Byron Lefkowitz was hired because owners are looking for a quarterback whisperer, somebody that can make an offense go. And the man that started this entire thing was a 30-year-old dude that none of us had ever heard of, but immediately became fans of because of his electricity in Sean McVay. Sean McVay went to the Super Bowl early, had to recalculate the entire team.

Starting point is 01:17:01 Now they're in the NFC Championship, and he seems to be a guy that people are going to be searching for forever in every other program. Well, there's another guy that is on that team that I think people are going to be seeking for for their program

Starting point is 01:17:11 just had a game winner less than seven days ago against the Super Bowl champions. The kicker for the Los Angeles Rams, Matt Gay. Yeah! What's up, dude? What's up, man? What's up, man?

Starting point is 01:17:25 How you doing? Hey, congratulations on the success, dude. Thank you. There was a kicking carousel going on over there at the Rams. I think there was a lot of question marks. Who's going to be able to take this job? We're in Los Angeles. Obviously, Hecker's very good, but our expectations are very high.

Starting point is 01:17:42 A lot of superstars. Which kicker can come in here and handle the job, handle the opportunity and make kicks. You've proved that beyond any doubt. Congratulations, man. I'm finding a home out there in Los Angeles. Thank you. Appreciate it. It's a, it's definitely a good fit out here. I think I find that a lot for, for players. It's kind of where you fit in. Oh, so you love it out there. You love, I mean, there is, Hey, Larry David's out there cutting

Starting point is 01:18:05 promos against kickers and there seems to be superstars around you guys are in the nfc championship is it like the glitz and glamour thought from the outside looking in it is in real life or is it just kind of standard day-to-day and then sunday we see all the buffer introducing and everything like that standard day-to-day i mean we're kind of tucked away from like downtown la and stuff so it's just it's business and then sundays you see all the people showing up at the stadium for game day and the glamour what do you think it is about this team getting wins this year you think it's matthew stafford coming in now obviously you don't you weren't here for the entire run with the rams but do you think matthew stafford being there just was an immediate confidence boost for everybody

Starting point is 01:18:44 like hey we can go on a fucking run here? I think it was a huge confidence boost for everyone. I mean, nine is whaling and dealing. He is – he's a bad dude. He – the way he just controls offenses, the way he runs the show, the arm talent, the things that he can do, the no looks. I mean, he's something else. And when you've got a leader like him leading the group,

Starting point is 01:19:08 it gets guys to buy in. I think that's kind of where it started. And then, obviously, we've got the guys on defense, AD, Jalen, that are just doing their thing that they've been doing. Group, guys are buying in. Guys like being around the guys. It's just an awesome group to be a part of it really is is McVay the way that like he is presented at least from the outside looking in this dude

Starting point is 01:19:31 always seems to be super positive super like detail oriented and he's pretty jacked too I know he had his shirt off on the hard knocks and caught some heat from his buddies but he looked good man like do you see this dude in the in there like three in the morning working out before he starts watching his film at 4 30 is he one of those grinders and also how are he and stafford they seem to be almost connected to him oh yeah he i mean he's he's always jacked up he's always fired up he's got this energy about him that the players feed off of and that the players buy into and it's it's everywhere it's on the field it's in meetings it's and it's just contagious with that with the whole team and then him and stafford uh the relationship they have is

Starting point is 01:20:10 is awesome to see them work together to see them like talk about things figure things out throughout the week um the way they're constantly communicating and just figuring out plays and what they want to do on different looks um it's really just like both of them are here and they just kind of go back and forth about what they want to do and they really work it out between themselves it's not like one guy controlling the whole thing it's it's it's truly just like a back and forth relationship they can find out what what time do you get into the building on a day-to-day because i heard cooper cup and stafford are in there 2 a.m fucking every day dude that's what I heard. I get here at like 7, 7, 715, and every time I pull in, their cars are there. Hey, Cooper Cup for MVP is a real push, huh, over there,

Starting point is 01:20:51 at least in your building and in the Rams fans. That guy has taken on a superhero role almost at this point. Triple crown winner in receiving and Yak leader. I mean, that's rather impressive in the longest season in nfl history he's a guy what's he like day to day because they say he's like another quarterback basically out there is he just a super nerd that's just this freak athlete what is cooper cup like on the day to day he i mean he's he's even cute i mean you see him when he scores touchdowns and stuff he's just about business i mean he he never gets too jacked up too hyped or like, he's just, he wants to win.

Starting point is 01:21:28 He's kind of in that, that group with Stafford and McVay kind of communicating on things. And he's kind of that, that third party that's constantly kind of communicating what they want to do on plays, how they see the field, how they see different defenses opening up. He's so smart. Yeah. He is so smart.

Starting point is 01:21:50 That is his edge. I think I saw, was it Justin Jefferson tweeted? It was like, how is Cooper Cup always open? I don't get it. And it's because he's smart. He reads things pre-snap, and he understands defenses, what they're going to do. I mean, he is always open.

Starting point is 01:22:08 And he should be a real case for MVP. Yeah, and I think that football IQ is displayed every time he has a post-game interview. Like after that Tampa game, he's like, I think they were in two-man and then maybe a zero? And then it comes out like, yeah, actually the defense was on two different pages. So he didn't even just read one defense

Starting point is 01:22:24 in one particular play. He read two defenses that were happening in the same defense in the biggest play of the game. It's just like that was awesome to kind of watch unfold. But there was a lot of people saying that OBJ isn't going to like going there because it is run through Cooper Cup in the wide receiver room because he is an absolute stud. And then everybody that's ever like played alongside obj i think a lot of people said obj is misconstrued by everybody everybody thinks like

Starting point is 01:22:51 he wants all the balls he just wants to win and he works his ass off what has he been like in the building over there because i've heard a lot of compliments and obviously it has worked very well over there and not that you knew what happened in any other stop for him but from the shit that you maybe heard about him to what you got to experience and see from him in the locker room what has been impressive you think and what has it changed your mindset i assume massively yeah definitely i think he's definitely misconstrued out there in the media and how people you know view him uh he's been nothing but just, like, buying into the system. He understands, and he – I mean, he knows Cooper Cupp

Starting point is 01:23:30 is doing his thing right now, and he's all for it. So, I mean, from what I see, he's all for it. He just wants to win. He wants to be, you know – obviously, someone with his talent wants to be getting the football, and, you know, he can bring a lot to the table. It's not like he's just, you know, some guy. He's Odell Beckham Jr. Yeah, yeah.

Starting point is 01:23:52 He just wants to help his team win. You know, he knows Cooper Cup is on another level, and he just wants to, you know, play that role where he can get the ball in certain situations and help us win. And he's done that. I mean, he's getting touchdowns, getting third down conversions. I mean, that Ravens game came down to an unreal snag. Oh yeah. Him able to get that first down on that fourth down and then getting the next

Starting point is 01:24:17 touchdown on it. So he's got nothing but buying into the system. He wants to win. I definitely think he's been kind of perceived in a bad way to the media because he's a stud, and he's bought in completely. Matt, have you ever sat back when you have some time and envisioned yourself kicking like a game winner in a Super Bowl in your life, and now that you're this close to it, have you dreamt that or tried to not get ahead of yourself but be like, hey, man, we win this one.

Starting point is 01:24:44 I'm going to be in the Super Bowl. A lot of things could come true that I may have dreamed as a kid. Have you allowed yourself that or try to not get ahead of yourself, but be like, hey, man, we win this one. I'm going to be in the Super Bowl. A lot of things could come true that I may have dreamed as a kid. Like, have you allowed yourself to go there? Yeah, I mean, I think it's every kid's, you know, dream is growing up. I mean, I didn't play football growing up, but you when you're growing up in any of these dreams, you view yourself in the biggest moment. Like for me as a kid, I want to play soccer. So it's me hitting a game winning penalty or scoring a goal and just – Ah!

Starting point is 01:25:07 Yeah, just, like, freaking out in the celebration. You know, you win that game. And as I've started, you know, kicking as of late, it's what you have to do. You've got to put yourself in those situations. You have to want that moment. And it's definitely trying to stay in the moment, take it game by game, you know.

Starting point is 01:25:24 I don't like to look ahead. I like to kind of stay in the moment, take it game by game. You know, I don't like to look ahead. I like to kind of stay in the moment, take it kick by kick and go through the process of a game day and handle that, you know, as it comes. But, I mean, the mental visualization of those moments is definitely something that you, you know, when you're sitting there, you see yourself hitting that kick and winning the game and doing those things. But, yeah, just trying to take it day by day. How about that moment, though, whenever you can you figure out how to make practice mentally like it's an actual game?

Starting point is 01:25:55 I think that was something I saw Vinatieri do. And I tried to learn and I wish I would have been able to do it at a younger age. It was like in practice, I was almost able to put myself into a situation that is there. And it just makes your practice reps worth even more. And if you're practicing better, you're just naturally going to do better. It was that whole mental change of whenever you're focused in training is a big deal. And I think that's why whenever you stick around longer or maybe have to have an experience where you have to leave a team and go to another team and experience something like Johnny Hector, I assume, has been great for your career. I'd assume as a kicker because of how fucking good he is.

Starting point is 01:26:32 And that that those mentality and that mindset stuff is what separates the good guys from the great. You've been fucking great out there in L.A., man. Yeah, it's just when I came in, when I came in the league, I hadn't been kicking too long. I kind of got to it late. And so it was still just kind of a learning process. So I was kind of learning throughout the process of, you know, how to handle myself, how to handle these situations, how to handle just being a pro in general.

Starting point is 01:26:59 And I think you learn a lot, especially in my rookie year, I learned a lot from the good and the bad. And then getting to go with a guy like johnny who's been able to do what he's done his career and you know have the success that he's had to be able to kind of learn from him and take me like under his wing and really understand how okay this is how how it looks to to enjoy this because we're blessed to be able to do this for a living. So you have to enjoy it, enjoy the process, have fun about it. But also like when it's time to go and lock into work, there, there's a business and there's a mindset that comes about it to,

Starting point is 01:27:32 to lock in. And like you said, just like making the practice reps, like those mental, like, even when you're just in a set and practice, like telling yourself, okay, this is a, you know, it's 45 yard or right hash second quarter, like putting that into a game rep heightens the sense of like, okay, this is a 45-yarder, right hash, second quarter. Putting that into a game rep heightens the sense of, oh, I've done this before. So when you get into the game, it's like you've been there before. Yeah. When I could do that finally, it was pretty sweet.

Starting point is 01:27:55 Because I always be like, oh, I'll make this kick. Somebody's going to give me a million dollars. Like when I was in high school or whatever. And I would just kick it, and I'd make it. And I'd be like, yeah, that felt cool. But I didn't actually try to make the mental rep worth it. Like didn't actually put myself into it until much later. And it was because I saw Vinatieri do it. It's insane. Yeah, it is. It's not easy. You got to really commit. You've had an incredible year, man.

Starting point is 01:28:20 Keep it. What happened on the 47? That can't happen, Matt. You know that, hey, 47 yard or short. We can't have that happen on primetime television. For the brand, hey. Matt, hey. For the brand, you can't have it. To you, for the brand, all kickers out there, that's the worst. Not even just, I mean, sure. That hurts the

Starting point is 01:28:37 ego a little bit. Yeah, yeah, but you came back. You answered. And I actually chatted Is it like golf? Do you chunk it like golf? How does that work? I think there's a kick in there to certain situations where, I mean, they say every kick's the same. I don't know if I believe in every kick's the same.

Starting point is 01:28:58 Different surfaces, too, to kick off. Different moments, different surfaces, different wins, different things you have to do. And just didn't catch it clean. You hit it low, huh? You were hitting low a little bit. Why was that? Was that because of plant foot, you think, or you're too far behind?

Starting point is 01:29:14 Yeah, I think the plant coming on the – from like we play on turf, coming to that grass, a little soft out there, so I was catching a little low. And then just the wind trying to hit that spinner that cuts through the wind and uh caught it low and it just i was watching i'm like oh it's good and then i you see that in the film my face kind of gets confused i see it hit this wall and just drop and i uh oh no oh no i can't have that it cannot happen for those that are wondering about the cutter through the wind it's kind of like um I'm trying to think of the stinger almost for a golf shot, right? So you're trying to hit it like almost like this a little bit,

Starting point is 01:29:49 and you have to hit like a cut. But if you hit that thing a little thin, you're already cutting yourself out almost there. Oh, hey, I like that you went for it, though. I like that you went for it, and then you were able to bounce back. I enjoy that. I think you've had it. Went from it?

Starting point is 01:30:04 Yeah, exactly. Hey, buy some tickets for your fans this weekend, huh? Okay? Oh. Okay. and then you were able to bounce back. I enjoy that. I think you've had it. Yeah, exactly. Hey, buy some tickets for your fans this weekend, huh? Okay? Okay. Hey, Niners fans get loud out there. They travel well. They, you know, they support their team.

Starting point is 01:30:20 Hey, so do Rams fans. Hey, hashtag R-I-U-T-A. That's right. Hashtag Rams it up their ass. Right? Isn't that what Kelly Stafford's saying? Not you, Matt. You-T-A. That's right. Hashtag Rams it up their ass. Isn't that what Kelly Stafford's saying? Not you, Matt. You didn't say that. That's right. That was Kelly Stafford.

Starting point is 01:30:30 We appreciate you joining us. Congrats on a hell of a season. Good luck this weekend, pal. Appreciate it. Thank you, guys. Ladies and gentlemen, Matt Gage. Thank you. It makes sense why he was short.

Starting point is 01:30:42 That makes sense. Yeah, because if you hit it here, AJ why you're short that makes sense yeah because like if you hit it here aj you know you hit it here or if you hit it like right here those are vastly different i mean that's like that's like catching a little heavy right it's like a golf like you have your wedge and you catch a little heavy same thing thin catching it heavy is high right so whenever you see a ball like um like x you'll see a ball like x it's not like a complete over. You're hitting it high there. So you're hitting it fat. You're hitting it heavy there. Whenever you hit one, it's choppy at the bottom.

Starting point is 01:31:10 You're hitting it thin. It just feels a lot lighter coming off your foot, too. I mean, it is, you know, immediately, ooh, that felt a little thin just like a club, like a golf shot would. Him bouncing back and hitting a game winner, though, was good. And I'm happy he owned it, by the way, because after the game, he said, like, you know, I'm not hurt, actually.

Starting point is 01:31:25 He said, I'm not hurt. I just didn't hit the ball well today or whatever for whatever reason. Good for him. Good for him for not, like, trying to, like, well, you know, everyone's dealing with something. Like, good for him for actually owning it. That's awesome. Yeah, and not being like, yeah, we'll look at it and see what he was just like. I'm sure he's banged up a little bit, too, like, just like everyone else.

Starting point is 01:31:40 But you don't have to. It doesn't matter. Like, you don't have to say that. But other people tell people that. Yeah, Evan McPherson said he feels great. He feels like it's his first day, and I don't have to doesn't matter like you don't have to say that but other people tell you tell people that yeah evan mcpherson said he feels great he feels like it's the first day and i don't know how that happened i actually i don't know how that dude might be built different than everybody else and he legit might be because how bad he he murders footballs for how small he is but your hips and knees and hamstring and it's nothing like what the dudes are experiencing with

Starting point is 01:32:02 like their shoulders and backs and much broader injuries. But every little muscle in your leg, if just one of them gets tweaked, I mean, it's like – And then what it would do mentally to you, I feel like, if you have a little – something little tweak or whatever, and then what that could do mentally going into a game. That's why I never want – I don't want any of my kids to be kickers. I would lose my mind.

Starting point is 01:32:21 I'd be a nervous wreck. Hey, me neither. Me neither. Hey, I'm putting that goddamn Callaway in the kid's hand very early. You know what I mean? I'm putting the TaylorMade in my hand. Oh, okay. Shit.

Starting point is 01:32:35 Shit. Agenda over there. I had a... Agenda. Hey, that sounds like it. Oh, I don't know. You guys don't have a Callaway agenda, do you? No, not at all.

Starting point is 01:32:45 What are you talking about? Okay. Anyways, they don't pay us, but they did send us 12 drives. We appreciate them. We appreciate them for that. I mean, the Carbonwood, too. We've been doing a little research. Nice club.

Starting point is 01:32:59 Very nice club. Not for us. Maybe for you. Send it to me, then. Send it to me. I'll take another one. No, no. We got a studio. Snappers? Studio. No. for us no maybe for you but not send it to me then send it to me i'll take another one anyways whenever you talk about the mental thing about feeling something there's a training camp where my hip flexor it felt as if i was like it felt like something was very wrong and i tried

Starting point is 01:33:19 to baby it for like two three days and i wasn't hitting the ball as far and then literally on one kickoff i was like fuck it i'm gonna blow it out like i'm gonna i'm gonna i can't i'm done with this whole thing and something happened and it like made it better i have no idea what it was medically i have no idea how to what like i went to the trainer i was like hey it feels like i have a ripped um hip flexor here and uh but i can still kick a little bit. It just hurts. They're like, okay, let's know how it is after today. And then I,

Starting point is 01:33:47 I think I told Kyle or Aaron, I'm like, Hey, I'm gonna try to rip this thing right now. I am, I am done. I'm done with it. So I just like let it loose.

Starting point is 01:33:54 It pops somehow. I don't know what, there must've been some, maybe some scar tissue or something. You didn't go to the guys. You didn't go to the body gurus with the geese on. No, see,

Starting point is 01:34:01 I can't handle that shit. I try my best to be a professional in all situations. But I think we all know me at this point. I think a lot of people know me. Imagine the questions I'm asking while this whole thing's happening. Wearing a gi, okay, with a whole song thing going on in the background. Wait, wait, wait, what? What's the song thing?

Starting point is 01:34:23 They have like a mood setter. They're doing like capoeira, you know, the dance fighting. That's from Meet Your Parents. No, no, no, wait, that one. It's from a movie back in the day. Yeah, Meet Your Parents, right? Two, three. Is that one where Tim Allen? It's actually Meet the Fockers. Meet the Fockers. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:34:39 It's not Tim Allen. Ben Stiller's dad. Hey, Santa Claus is coming back, by the way. That's right. Is it a series? Yeah. Yeah. Tim Allen has it? Ben Siller's dad. Hey, Santa Claus is coming back, by the way. That's right. Disney Plus. Really? Is it a series? Yeah. Tim Allen has it?

Starting point is 01:34:49 He's looking for... He's getting old, so he's looking for the next Santa Claus. Replacement. I'd be a pretty good Santa Claus. I just want to let you know, Tim, if you're looking for somebody. Maybe Dwayne the Rock Johnson actually does the show. He's Dwayne the Claus. That's what I'm saying.

Starting point is 01:35:02 And he steps into the full-time role. Anyways, yeah, i couldn't take those guys serious i tried i tried it one time a couple of different body gurus people had different body gurus and every single time we get in the middle of it i'm like all right just stop doing what you're doing yeah let's talk about how many people you have done this on and how did we get to this point of figuring out that you're supposed to take your elbow, actually, and drive it past the hamstring to the muscle under the hamstring and straighten that thing? How did we get to this point? Like, when did?

Starting point is 01:35:34 Because that hurts like fucking hell. But I do assume tomorrow I'm going to feel much better. And that's the commitment, by the way, that all these old heads you guys see playing. The commitment that they're due to their body. You know, you hear like, oh, this guy spends a million dollars on his body there's a lot of guys that probably spend more than a million dollars on their body whenever you talk about the food the diet the chef the body gurus that maybe don't live with them and do that whole thing i wasn't committed enough i couldn't take it serious enough and that's all me you know and

Starting point is 01:36:01 that's why my career was only eight years. I had three surgeries in four years. What I would have had to do to probably stop just blowing everything out in my knee every single time is probably be able to touch my toes. And I can't do it. Still can't. Never have been able to. That would have been able to help my career. But that's all very painful. Those are very, very painful steps that you have to make.

Starting point is 01:36:21 And I guess I didn't love kicking balls enough. That's on me. Do you think it's common, though, for guys after the end of a year to feel completely fine like was there ever a year when you were in the league where you weren't just destroyed after the after the season I didn't take care of my body so like I was always very sore at the end of seasons my legs felt like they were going to fall off for like a week or two and then I got back into it usually had a pretty good time in the offseason worked out out, kicked balls. He did the whole thing again. AJ, you were probably sore every single time, huh?

Starting point is 01:36:47 You were hurt every single year, I assume. I mean, I don't know. Like sore is not – sore never has bothered me ever. Like sore is fine. Like I need to be able to walk on Wednesday and practice and like find a way to run and it's cutting. That's the hard thing. As the season goes, like when you plant with cleats on,

Starting point is 01:37:01 especially when you practice on field turf, all like your ankles and your feet and obviously your knees with no cartilage, that tends to grow in how much it hurts over the year. So, I mean, I was always the same. I was like my whole thing to, I guess, stay in the league and stay playing and be as healthy as I could was just to work out. Like I worked out through – that's what helped me through all my stuff. Did you have body gurus that came in and just tried to literally pick your muscles

Starting point is 01:37:24 out of your body, stretch them, and then put them back back in because that's what it felt like i've been to some yeah i've been to some of them i mean i think there's a lot of quacks out there for sure there's a couple people that i've worked with that i yeah one dude i met in high school when i told my pcl he's a physical therapist jamie he's the man and he is a big reason why i was able to even play in the league so yeah, yeah, he was huge for me. Shout out, Jamie. Thank you, Jamie. Incredibly painful sessions with Jamie. How often?

Starting point is 01:37:50 It could be, yeah. I mean, I would drive back. Like, I would go see him at times. He'd come up to Green Bay. I mean, he's a family friend. He grew to be a family friend and the godfather of one of his kids and all of that. It's a great thing how it all happened naturally because I got hurt my senior year in high school. That's why I was introduced to him.

Starting point is 01:38:09 So what did you guys do you just had different workouts different uh um body sports massages that he would do what no he's not doing massage he's a physical therapist so he was like manipulating different like if like if i had like back issues at times he would find a way to align my hips and get things working and helped out with my knee a ton when i rehabbed with him when i toured my pcl in high school i think physical therapists are the body gurus too aren't they and that i mean they all have titles a lot of them are chiropractors physical therapists massage some of them are nothing and they just say they're hey i'm doc i'm doc pete okay and they put a guru or a gi on hey some of those guys are good though some if they can help you who cares it'll make money too if if somebody who's a professional athlete thinks that you will directly make them better

Starting point is 01:38:46 and you are a weapon and deserve to be around as they ascend in their sport, you will make a lot of money. You will make. Well, we saw what? AB paid $125K retainer to Guerrero? Was that what it was? To Guerrero, yeah. Hey, listen.

Starting point is 01:39:01 Viability ain't cheap. Viability ain't cheap. Viability ain't cheap. Especially from the inventor himself. You're getting that straight from the horse's mouth. That's right. I mean, that TB12 thing was not just in New England or with Tom Brady for a long, not long, but for a portion of the NFL chapter there. They had a whole team that was traveling around the NFL doing the pliability thing.

Starting point is 01:39:23 Yeah. I had a pliability experience a couple times. From Guerrero? No, no. I bet now he doesn't. I'm sure if he doesn't do it now, I'm sure their goal is, like, have people that are, like, certified in the TB12 method that go around and take care of people, right?

Starting point is 01:39:40 Yeah, that's what those. And then you get a cut. That's the best. If you started, you get a cut from everybody. They had a fleet of those, and they would travel around the NFL through the NFL season. One of them would be in

Starting point is 01:39:51 let's say Indy on Monday or Tuesday. Then they would bounce maybe to somewhere for Wednesday, like over in Cincinnati. Would they go into the facility? Would they let outsiders in the facility? No, no, no. That's a very sensitive thing green bay didn't problem that shouldn't happen in new england that oh i know that was a big issue with belichick right and tom eventually he

Starting point is 01:40:12 didn't want guerrero around as much and i will say that tom brady wasn't the only one that wanted that particular service just to be only available for one team the people that were doing all the like the guys that i i knew multiple people that were there that were using it, and very successful people, people that are very good at football for a very long period of time. A lot of people thought it was just a weapon. Like, hey, we should hire only, because he's going right now to another team.

Starting point is 01:40:41 Like, we should, that's something we should think about just keeping here. And I think there is a price that we could probably do for that. And I don't know if they were pitching that at the time or if it was just a natural competitive thought, like it would be nice if we could just have this dude here and it would be here all day. And not that the Colts medical staff isn't their thing, but I don't know if the Colts medical staff have time to do a full 120-minute

Starting point is 01:41:08 body guru pliability. On 50 guys. Yeah, on 53 guys. So, like, I think that was the conversation. And then that's when New England had the TB12 thing built was up there, but he didn't have his own. He was kicked out of the building at one point. He wasn't allowed in the building.

Starting point is 01:41:23 And then, you know, all hell broke loose, and they ended up down in Tampa Bay with his own office. I think he ran his own office down in the Buccaneers. They harped on it in Man in the Arena. It was before one of the games, and he made him basically go out into a little broom closet. But to your point about Vinatieri and Brady actually starting it, I think it was Willie McGinnis showed Brady this in 2006, 2007, and by then Vinatieri was already in Indianapolis. It goes back way before Brady.

Starting point is 01:41:47 Brady was just the one that kind of put it on the map maybe, if you would say, for people outside of building, outside the NFL. I think it was a weapon, and I think the people that got it done, once again, I am not somebody that is into this body guru stuff, just strictly because me and somebody for two hours that's going to be tough for both remember when ab was was farting on that dude right in his face oh yeah gosh that was brutal never seen that one brutal that popped up again on my feed we don't watch that once a week i'm not saying that's how my or times ago

Starting point is 01:42:23 the video is amazing the guy didn't guy ask him, did you fart? Did you fart? Yeah, my bad, dog. Excuse me. He did it again. He was rubbing his belly. Terrible. I mean, just, I heard a story last night about Chris Letang as a roommate.

Starting point is 01:42:36 What? Chris Letang was roommates with Ruppert, and I guess, you know, there was a lot of struggle on the control and who's up when and how they're up and showers. You know, in hockey, they've got to be roommates for 10 fucking years. Oh, really? I said, no way. What if you get somebody that snores? Like I wouldn't be able to sleep for, what, 82 nights?

Starting point is 01:42:56 I don't know. And they all like – hockey's big on like they have to have their game day naps and they're really like the routine is set. So if you have a guy you don't vibe with, that would be tough. Well, Roper and Tanger had different nap schedules. And I guess they – Get them their own room, man. They do now.

Starting point is 01:43:11 They do now. Well, COVID forced them into this cheap-ass league. No, no, CBA. CBA, 2013. Thanks a lot, Carolina. The players were like, hey, listen, cheap-ass league. I'm a grown-ass fucking man. Can I have my own goddamn room?

Starting point is 01:43:24 I assume there had to be an option for them to be able to pay the difference in the nfl there was a year thing you know and i was like can i just pay for my own room like can i just do that i would let you yeah for like a year i guess i didn't i i didn't i got my own room during maybe my sixth year i believe in the league because on away games i probably could have had one earlier, but my roommate, Brady Papinga, was awesome, and all of a sudden he got released at the start of camp, I believe, my sixth year. And then I was like, I don't know if I have a roommate on home and away games.

Starting point is 01:43:53 I went in, I didn't have a roommate. So I was like, all right, I guess I'm good now. Hey, congratulations, man. I was fine. I was on the team, and everyone said I refused to sleep next to A.J. Hawk. He's a freak. Yeah, he might kill us in a minute. That's okay. Hey, I'm 30.J. Hawk. He's a freak. That'd be okay. Yeah, he might kill us in the middle of that. That's okay.

Starting point is 01:44:06 Hey, I'm 30 years old. I don't need a roommate. So I had a roommate. First game, my NFL career roommate. You know? Who? I slept 24 minutes that night. Weren't you in the tub that night?

Starting point is 01:44:20 I tried to pass out in the bathroom at one point. What happened? The snoring was just so loud. I'm like, I can't do it. I don't sleep well to begin with, let alone if we got this sawing happening. I'm an adult. I'm about to play my first game ever at a position I don't really know.

Starting point is 01:44:37 Make money for it. I'm not going to sleep probably well before that anyways. Let alone that happened. The next week I was like, can I please just buy my own room? Is that an option? They're like, actually, that is an available option. We'll let you know going forward. I'm like, thank you.

Starting point is 01:44:51 Thank you for that. I need that because I need about two Ambien. I need that thing shut down, completely quiet. And also, I need to watch Terrible Saturday Night Live for at least until midnight or 1230. I'm not going to sleep at all. So it's just a whole thing. It's better for everybody. But here they were.

Starting point is 01:45:06 They had roommates for 10 years in the NHL. I was like. Hockey's a different culture, though, man. Those guys are together so much in those road games. Like they have road long road trips together. Their planes are set up cool, though. From what the guys I talked to, they're set up like club seating, different spaces where they can sit and play cards.

Starting point is 01:45:22 They try to take care of them. So what do they have? Everybody has their own plane, I assume, in the NHL and the NBA? No, I think they use a charter, like 747s, and just let the boys spread out. That are set up like that too, though. I know talking to guys that have played on different teams, a lot of them from who I've talked to,

Starting point is 01:45:37 they just charter planes that are kind of set up for that. Like they're configured differently. I don't know how many people use them. I guess they probably go around and use them in all the leagues. Who owns those planes? How do we get to those planes? It's like the actual airlines, I'm pretty sure. Yeah, like Delta? Yeah, like American Airlines, all those stuff.

Starting point is 01:45:51 And they just have like a super souped up ones that you can rent? Remember Seattle had a sweet plane for a while. They got rid of it. I thought they bought it, though. I thought these were all owned. It was theirs. No, Seattle owned theirs. I know Robert Kraft owned theirs. New England. Yeah. Seattle owned theirs. Who else? I don't know. But I see the NBA guys.

Starting point is 01:46:06 The NBA guys have sick planes. And I just assume all the teams are- Because they're nine feet tall. I think they really have to be specialized for them. And they're on the road a lot. Yeah. So I assume all the NBA teams- Jordan's smoking cigars in the back.

Starting point is 01:46:17 And that one that always goes viral, I think, is the Mavs playing, right, with Cuban. So I think it's like the more rich owners and the more well-off teams have them. Oh, so Cincinnati's flying Southwest over there? No, I think the Bengals, I think he just bought a plane. For himself? I think he bought a big plane for the whole squad. It's like one of the biggest planes ever, I heard. Most expensive.

Starting point is 01:46:36 Hey, I like that. Our show did something. Okay. I'm happy if we were a part of that. I honestly thought they had to just go get, like they're heading to Cincinnati International. Yep. Grabbing any ticket to Kansas City Chiefs or whatever.

Starting point is 01:46:51 Yeah. It's like you're B35. Sorry about it. And then all the A1s get in there, A1 through 10, who somehow have some – Build some toughness. Can't have entitled players on that squad, can you? No.

Starting point is 01:47:06 Smart. That's right. No, I was there. Travel was nice. I spent a year with the Bengals. No, it was good. Nice planes, big, spacious. It was nice.

Starting point is 01:47:13 How many games did you guys bust to? We bust to the preseason game against the Colts. Jesus. That was it. No, you guys bust it. Pittsburgh, right? You're definitely busting to Pittsburgh. No, I think we didn't bust to Cleveland.

Starting point is 01:47:26 I think we flew everywhere. No. Bullshit. Cincinnati Bengals, the team you were on? Yeah, preseason against the Colts, week four, we bust there. Okay. And by the way, we bust back from Cincy a couple times as well for that last preseason game because you have 100 people on the team

Starting point is 01:47:42 at the point. And I don't even know the direct flight would almost take longer to get to the airport than to even do the drive so we did that i just assumed you guys were maybe you know like horse and carriage or whatever like i honestly thought maybe that's how cincinnati are they walking to the game this weekend you think hey joey b and the boys yeah like a flintstone doing a walkathon over there bird scooters you got to get the app and go find a bird scooter in the corner and jump on it. Maybe.

Starting point is 01:48:08 That makes sense. Baseball players do that. Baseball players take cabs and scooters to the park. I would like to turn the narrative on the Cincinnati Bengals. Would you really? I don't know if you would. That narrative I've pushed pretty hard. Yeah, you got it.

Starting point is 01:48:22 Because it's for the betterment of the team. Yes. They're in the AFC Championship game. I think they're doing okay right now. You're right. And they're the first team without an indoor facility to be in the AFC Championship game for 31 years. Stat that.

Starting point is 01:48:34 Stat that. It's unbelievable. They're debunking all theories that having a place to maybe get better in the extra hours whenever things are maybe not all the way lit up or there is a gale forced wind coming off of the highway that we're underneath i mean there is just you know there is reasons to maybe think about getting a barn just get a fucking barn yeah they have metal

Starting point is 01:48:57 barns that are like 80 000 maybe get a bubble that the duke quesney dukes football team has in pittsburgh they're like the 10th or 11th most important football team in the city of Pittsburgh, and they had a dome over their goddamn field. I mean, that is just what I'm saying. If you're in the Bengals and you want extra work, all you got to do, Pat, drive like 15 minutes down the road, tell Luke Fickle you need to use the bubble that Cincinnati uses, and once the girls' intramural field hockey team gets off there, you have plenty of time.

Starting point is 01:49:28 You'll be good. They're building another one. The University of Cincinnati's building two of them. I think they've got to put another one on the deck. They should give Luke whatever he wants. New complex. Hey, Luke's still around, huh? Desmond Ritter got another year because he's got the COVID year he can add on,

Starting point is 01:49:40 or is he going out? No, he's going out. He's training with Jordan Palmer out there. Nice. Oh, I think I got a DM from Jordan Palmer the other day. Oh, really?

Starting point is 01:49:50 Yeah. He's been on the show. He has? Yeah, absolutely. Draft special. Yeah. Where's the Carson? Bobblehead.

Starting point is 01:49:56 He never said it to us. What about the Heisman? He owes that. Oh, I do can't tell you. Well, well, well. Good guy, though. Give us a good conversation. Yeah.

Starting point is 01:50:06 Can't thank you enough for allowing us to be a part of this glorious Thursday for you. We're back tomorrow with a Feel Good Friday. If you enjoyed the day, tell somebody about it. If you didn't, act like it never happened. Thanks to all the guests for their incredible time. Thank you to Matt Gay for stopping by, Michael Vick for stopping by, Chuck Pagano for stopping by, all the boys, AJ Hawk, and you as well. All right. Ty, please play some independent music and propel these people into a beautiful day.

Starting point is 01:50:29 We'll see you manana. Thank you. so Thank you. Thank you.

The Pat McAfee Show - PMS 2.0 588 - Coach Us Up With Chuck Pagano, Michael Vick, Matt Gay, & AJ Hawk

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