The Pat McAfee Show - The Pat McAfee Show 2.0 - Joe Thomas

Episode Date: September 6, 2018

On today's show, Pat and the crew look ahead to the NFL season kicking off tonight, talk about the Colin Kaepernick Nike ad, Le'Veon Bell's standstill with the Steelers and how Yinzers are taking the news that he won't be playing Sunday, and Pat sheds some light on his last Pro Bowl experience. Also joining the show is 10x Pro Bowler, 7x First-Team All-Pro, and future first ballot Hall of Famer, former Cleveland Browns offensive tackle, Joe Thomas. They chat about what's next for him as he looks at life after football, his experiences in Cleveland, what the moment was when he realized he had reached his breaking point, what defensive players gave him fits, and he gives some predictions for the upcoming NFL season (39:08-1:04:21). Come laugh with us, cheers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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I hope your life is fantastic. From all of us here in the MyBookie studio, it is a big thank you for what you did to the show on Tuesday. It was topic of conversation everywhere, Todd. USA Today was talking about my story with Grigson. Pro Football Talk, Indy Star. I think even a couple ESPN stations picked it up. And now we are running into this beautiful Thursday

to make it the greatest Thursday of all time. At Diggs is here with some dumb takes. At Nick Miraldo. At Viva Lizzito. At Ty Schmidt is housing an energy drink in the back, hoping to kill himself quicker. At Evan Foxey, we are so thankful that you choose to listen. It is noon or afternoon, and we can't thank you enough.

This noon schedule is one that Dave was here on Tuesday. Very amicable split. He asked a lot of questions about the noon release. We're trying to stay topical, though. Want to be able to talk about things that happened last night. Now, granted, did anything happen last night? No. I don't think so.

Not really. So this whole thing of we need to record in the morning might backfire just a little bit. But here we are. So thankful. So thankful, so thankful, very thankful of Joe Thomas coming on the goddamn show today. Future Hall of Famer Diggs, what are some stats of Joe Thomas? I know that a primetime football game called him the first offensive lineman in the history of the NFL.

That is a big get for this show. So basically he was in the league for 11 years, but his last year he was hurt. So for 10 straight seasons, his first 10 years, he made the Pro Bowl. It's wild. Wow. Refused to go to the draft, by the way.

Was on a fishing boat with his father whenever he got drafted out in the middle of some lake. That's true. I love it. Seven of those years, he was an All-Pro. Okay. All this is done in Cleveland. And then for 10,363 consecutive snaps played

is the long streak since the NFL began recording snap counts. And that's for an offensive lineman. That's not like someone who's not in the trenches every play. That's 10 and a half years of not missing a snap. All of it in the pit of misery. That's what I'm about to say. That is the big thing there. This is in a miserable years of not missing a snap. All of it in the pit of misery. That's what I'm about to say. That is the big thing there. This is in a miserable place of Cleveland.

Now, Grant, are they turning around with Todd Haley and Greg Williams? Possibly. Got to put your testicles in the hole, Greg Williams said. But the time he was there, it was not great. Not great at all. In your emotional state, I can't wait to talk to him about, hey, how did you stay afloat? How did you not just want to quit football? Because the year we were almost completely defeated,

that entire building was miserable. Everybody thought they were getting fired. Coaches thought they were getting fired. Players thought they were getting fired. That's a tough atmosphere. And in Cleveland, I think that's just par for the course over there. And Joe Thomas lived it. Can't wait to chat about that. Shaquem Griffinin a man with one hand was named a starter for the

seahawks that's a big deal earl thomas wants the fuck out of there though i got a prediction on that what is it um so i was looking this morning at the schedules a little bit the seahawks play the cowboys week three i expect that trade to happen week four. Pete Carroll was like, listen, Earl, we can't give it to you before we play you. You have to give it afterwards. Because the last time they played there, didn't he run to the Cowboys locker room? Do you remember that? He sprinted after the game to the Cowboys locker room.

I don't know if it was Jason Garrett and his cheesy smiling ass or if it was jones who it was he shook somebody's hand though it's basically like he was still in his seahawks uniform i thought he was going to fight like you never see somebody running to the other team's locker room in their full uniform he's like please please bring me back to the cowboys that's a wild move wild move it's only a matter of time i think think, before Earl Thomas is donning the star on his helmet. Skip Bayless is like, this is a once-in-a-lifetime move the Cowboys can make. Isn't he a diehard Cowboys fan?

Yeah. That makes a lot of sense, by the way, Skip Bayless. He was like, they need to give it all up. That's where he started in Dallas. That's why he covered them originally before becoming nationwide. That's why he's a little high horse guy. Yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense.

Yeah. He is a high horse guy. Yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah. He is a high horse guy. I like the Cowboys, by the way. Quick Hits with Diggs got pulled off. Our Pat and Diggs got pulled off YouTube last night. No idea why. No clue why.

Some sort of community guidelines, you guys. Too much fire? Too much fire. Seriously, there was nothing inappropriate in that entire video. I have no idea why. Maybe it was copywriting the David Letterman toss. Oh, your dad told you you were bad at it. We maybe should have threw that away, but here we are throwing cards and getting us blocked on YouTube, Dicks.

I think it could have been. Huh. It's definitely your fault. Why? Kris Jenner. She doesn't want the news about Kim and Drake having sex coming out. Somebody commented on my thing and said, no, Drake had sex withris jenner not not kim kardashian and then that put my entire head into a spin zone this is geeky yeah so those of you that didn't watch quick

hits with pat and digs last night because it got pulled off of youtube we did predictions for all the nfc i picked the cowboy strictly because dak prescott likes to go out and party with penis guns and i that's and i'll stick by that he was also on my uh this show. So I'm a big fan of Dak. He likes to party. I think that whole thing. But then I dropped a little line about Drake having sex with Kim Kardashian because Joe Budden said it. And then in the comments section, somebody was like, no, no, no, not Kim, Chris.

And then if you go back and start reading through all of the things that Joe Budden said and you just insert Kris Jenner into there, you're like, possible. Possible. Drake's out here slamming the whole goddamn family, possibly. Well, then don't call her Kiki, because that's what we're going to guess. Say Nana or something. Kris Jenner goes from Bruce Jenner rest in peace Caitlyn Jenner

to Drake it's quite a jump Drake's in good company there that's a decathlon gold medalist OJ American hero don't forget OJ don't forget OJ

there's another spin zone that family has so many fucking controversies possibly around it you have to respect it you honestly have to respect what they've done you have to

they're in every single conversation. And with being respectful to different people that have done incredible things, my bookie is an incredible group of humans. You can gamble on keeping up with the Kardashians on my bookie. Sam signed up last night, my lady, and it's a nightmare. This is not good. This is not good. She was comparing it to, oh, this is like scratchers.

No. She was betting on if Ronda Rousey is going to be the women's WWE champion after WrestleMania 2019. That's in March or April or February. Yeah, she was like, so when do I get the money? I'm like, well, not until fucking March or April. She's like, oh, it's a the money? I'm like, well, not until fucking March or April. She's like, oh, it's a slow play. I was like, yeah, she was scrolling through there.

I like that bet, though. My bookie. Me, too. My bookie.ag. You can bet on it. It's like a little. It is honestly. Well, let's be honest.

Those are all investments that she's doing. It's not. It's not, Zito. But there are so many things to gamble on there. She walked into her little heaven. She had never. She started gambling. She bet on the Eagles-Falcons tonight.

Nice. She's taking the under of 22 points in the first half, which I like that bet, by the way. She picked that out of nowhere. I was like, Sam, not a bad bet there, actually, because the offenses might take a little while. Defense normally see ball, get ball off to a hot start, especially in the first half when it's on TV.

There's a lot of celebration going on. Good bet there. And then she bought a half a point. Had no idea what she was doing. Had no idea. She was like, oh, yeah, I want to buy things. She likes to shop. She buys a half a point.

So now she has the Falcons minus a half a point. So she's just have to get the win. Just have to get the win. And she's just flooding my bookie with money right now. But it is all going to come back because my bookie is giving away money. Use promo code PAT when you sign up. You'll get 100% match,

100% bonus on your deposit, up to $1,000, obviously. Yeah, it's not getting crazy. Sam put $999 in. Got to maximize that match. I respect it's not get crazy Sam put $999 Gotta maximize that match. I respect it. It was a good investment. I know granted She's just gonna go be bopping around you can gamble on everything on my booking Yeah, Justin Bieber's best man at the wedding there everything you can bet on and I think that's why it's himself a choice Is himself a choice?

No. The longest honest Ellen DeGeneres. Bro, giving a speech to yourself at your wedding as your own best man. Best man speech now and you get up from the bride and groom table. I've been there for me this entire time. That is such a beautiful move. MyBookie, though, is a lot of fun and they're taking care of us so i'm very very thankful for that go to my bookie.ag use promo code pat get a hundred percent match on your first deposit and just go have some fun in there sam compared it to scratch offs

which is exactly what it is really and instead you don't have to pay cash it's money just coming right to you a great group of people the The fact that they'll fade anything, by the way, beautiful. Awesome. I love it. Absolutely beautiful. They've taken care of us. You know that. We know that.

We should all go gamble with them because they're the greatest gambling site on Earth. Diggs, what's up, bub? You talked about the game tonight. It's back. Football's back. Thank God. Who do you have? Tonight?

Yep. Falcons. Plus one. I got them a plus one. Plus one? Oh, yeah. No, see, it's switched now they're minus yeah right now they're currently minus one yeah i still like that simple on a

half point it's such a hilarious move i like the falcons pretty heavily here now granted nick foals might come out of nowhere and just start balling again he's just he's just a gamer he says fuck the preseason i only play well in games. Real games. Real games. He's going to catch a touchdown tonight, possibly. Except for those years that I didn't play well in real games. A lot of them. Doug Peterson, though. Remember this, Foxy. Team meeting before

NFC Championship or Super Bowl. Everybody's happy having a blast. It's why I like the Eagles. This team is loose. Now, Doug Peterson's going after the media. Doug Peterson's yelling at people. Nick Foles is throwing bad in the preseason. It just seems like a different team.

Now, granted, the Patriots start slow every year, too, until they find their groove. Maybe that's what will happen with the Eagles. But I feel very good about the Falcons, an overlooked team every single year. I feel very good about them tonight. I think you hammer that now. The Falcons were actually one play away last year from beating the Eagles in the playoffs in Philadelphia.

They were almost made back-to-back runs. The Falcons are very underrated. They are very underrated. Matt Ryan's got a little candy arm, but it's a good team. They've got a lot of athletes on the defense. That's why I think that under-22 bet in the first half is a very good bet. I think that's a solid. Sam had no idea was just pressing buttons but you 22 yeah yeah that seems good she didn't even know what it meant but i think they're gonna be great todd will you watch and

gamble on all football games or just cold stuff oh all games all games yeah do you i'm hooked do you fade todd do you bet on the colts uh usually i don't because i I won't bet on the Phillies. Because I feel like I'm fucking them. Obviously, it doesn't matter. They're going to fuck themselves probably. Traditionally. But the last couple years anyway. But no, because what I like about it is I used to, I would just skim games. You know, like, I don't really care what the Falcons do or whatever.

But now it gives me that extra investment. You have a horse in the race. You have a horse in the race. It's a horse in the race. I understand people love fantasy, and if you're going to do fantasy, you do it with DraftKings for sure. But just the feeling of having a horse in the race is so beautiful. And I don't know how people watch sports without it. Now, this is somebody I played for a long time.

I don't always comprehend the fan view of things. You know, like the people that wear, they have their superstitions. They wear only a certain pair of underwear or shirts. It's like, I appreciate the fact that you think that's going to control whether or not I shake a punt when I'm back. I appreciate that so much. That means a lot. But if you don't have a horse in a race, I don't get it.

You're going to love what I do for quick hits. Can't wait. What do you do? I'm going to wear my gambling hat and probably my gambling necklace too today yeah because this type of thing just gets you to make the right decisions correct if you don't have that hat on completely dumb takes by you yep well it seems like that is a very regular the headset doesn't fit over the hat you're wearing the fedora yeah it's nice it's nice isn't it uh colin kaepernick just do it campaign with nike is gonna come to a complete melting point tonight whenever on opening night prime time biggest ratings i think until probably playoffs is tonight and there is a long

nike commercial they'll probably edit it down to something. There is a long Nike commercial with Colin Kaepernick voicing it over. The internet's already seen it. I cannot wait to see people explode over it. I cannot wait for it. It's going to be crazy. Here's the, so I watched the commercials out on the internet. It's two minutes long. It's a long commercial.

They can't explode over what's in the commercial because it's all great stories. The only part that they can explode over is Kaepernick doing the voiceover, and he's at the very end, which they will explode over. That's what people are exploding about. You better remember, Colin Kaepernick is the reason why. Now, you can say whether or not you believe in it, or not believe in it, but trust it or support it or not.

Ratings went down in the nfl and i would say that politics getting involved in drama getting involved is 100 the reason why i that is just somebody that believes that way people don't just tune out now granted the rules changing refs having no clue what to do on the field possibly an issue but the politics getting about from the president all the way down getting involved is definitely a reason why ratings went down and kaepernick is the reason it all started and now granted he took a knee for something that is very vital in this country let's not get crazy what he was trying to promote but that is the reason why a lot of people feel like they lost football to them so

there is this angst against colin kaepernick no matter what he does and now their favorite goddamn shoe company is now backing him and putting him on tv it's like ah and it's the nfl and nike i cannot wait to see how that relationship works i cannot wait because the nfl is like we're taking them out of the league completely and they can say're not. There's a whole trial going on with that. But the NFL is like, nope, he's going to be an opening night, probably on Sunday night football, probably on Monday night football. He's going to be in every primetime game this year if you don't want it. I'm excited to watch it. I am very excited to watch it.

NFL executives have to be losing their fucking mind. Jerry Jones came out and said that he respects Nike or something like that. I respect Nike, but behind closed doors, there's a fucking Jerry Jones just kicking the fuck out of it. I don't wear Nike. I wear fucking dress shoes anyway. That's why he wanted those moving to 18 games

because they said if they move to 18 games, that's $32 million extra a year for the owners. So I'm sure Jerry would like that $32 extra million a year. Jerry Jones wanted his own merchandising deal, which he has right now. The rest of the teams, they all have a shared profit thing. So if you're a bad team in a small town and you don't sell as much merch,

you kind of get picked up by the other teams who do dallas cowboys i think are the only team that are not in that there we want to sell our own shit we want to do our own thing so jerry it is smart business wise but if you want to build the league and help everybody else out you need other teams in small cities you know you need the team in green bay although green bay is incredible and nationwide, but in a small city. Yeah, same thing. They're not selling merch like the Cowboys are. Or New York Giants or New York Jets. It's just strictly out of humans. Is it a revenue

sharing situation? Yes. Yeah, it is a revenue sharing, except for the Cowboys. They're in their own world. And I've heard people who used to work pretty high up in the NFL say, if the league had 32 Jerry Jones, the league wouldn't exist because it is one of those things where they need to share profit. But Jerry Jones is the most influential owner out there, him and craft.

And I'll be excited to see what happens with that Nike fucking conversation. What was Jerry Jones's business before? Oil. How do you feel about the 18 game thing? I think it should be 17 games. Add an extra buy. Take away two preseason games. That's what I've always pitched. So it's 19 weeks now because you're adding a game and a buy. It kind of makes NFL happier. You're making the players happier by adding the buy week,

and you get two more paychecks. That's a pretty big deal too. Extend the paycheck. It would have to be prorated for the extra two weeks because you only get paid during the season. Plus you cut down maybe three preseason games with that third game being the guys that don't play. So you're kind of taking care of everybody there.

And I've always said, hey, if we're going to make more money, now granted, I don't have to take pills to get out of bed on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm not just ramming my head into humans like Joe Thomas has to do. I'm just thinking clearly as a businessman almost. Hey, if this is what the NFL wants this so much, let's go ahead and try it out. More games is better, but I think you have to, for business, for fans, it's better. Not for players, it's not great.

But I think if you add a game, you have to add a bye week as well because it's just too long. I saw an interesting theory that Florio presented. I don't know if he came up with it himself, but I don't know if you add a game, you have to add a bye week as well because it's just too long. I saw an interesting theory that Florio presented. I don't know if he came up with it himself, but I don't know if you saw this or not, but it was add the two games, drop two preseason games, but players would only be allowed to play 16 games, and you would have to dip into a reserve section of players for the 18 games, but it would exclude certain positions

like quarterbacks and certain skill positions could play all the time. I like Florio's brain a lot. He's a Paisan. He's a West Virginia guy. I like Florio a lot. He's been on the show a few times. But dipping into a reserve group of players is fucking your team, and I don't enjoy that at all.

I thought it was interesting just the strategy of it, like being a head coach deciding, well i can't i need to sit this guy a week yeah that's like little league though that's like little league with a pitch i don't enjoy that i enjoy the adding players on the team though instead of 53 make it 60 yeah if you're gonna have an extra game then you can kind of more jobs more jobs for people as i think there is a way to negotiate a win-win i don't think two more games is possible because you've got guys that can barely walk going into the playoffs. You've got people taking more Toradol and pills just to play in the playoffs than probably humans should, let's just say that.

Now, granted, there is an inherent risk whenever you play football, but the whole offensive linemen, if you just watch some offensive linemen on Wednesday when the game is on Sunday, that's why the Thursday night games are hated by players so much. Because Thursday is about a day where they're almost recovered and then whammy, you're right back in it. Toradol can't walk the whole weekend, that whole thing.

I would like to see them get rid of the Pro Bowl too. Completely? Just pick them and tell us who made it. I like skills challenge. Just do skills challenge. Because you can even have offensive linemen race. Like have offensive linemen race. Like have a whole skills challenge.

I would rather it just be a fun thing for players and a fun thing for us because nobody really enjoys watching that game. Offensive linemen eating challenge. And players don't really enjoy playing it. Maybe the offensive linemen do the Atlas Stone. Let's just turn it into a strongman. I don't mind that. And keep it in Hawaii. We're American lineman do the Atlas Stone. Let's just turn it into a strongman. I don't mind that. Keep it in Hawaii. We're American gladiators type thing.

I think there's a way to turn it into actual entertainment where you make a Pro Bowl it's like a nod. Congratulations on the incredible year that you've had. If you would like to participate in these challenges, you can come. Here's the money. You'll get paid for it.

And then just kind of keep it moving. Because the game gets higher ratings, though. The Pro Bowl game gets higher ratings than Major League Baseball playoffs. Still gets like a five or a six. Yeah, it's huge. And it's because all the big names are there. All the people that are making all the money are there. So J.J. Watt's there.

Houston Texans fans are watching strictly for J.J. Watt, who's trying harder than everybody else because he wants to win that goddamn truck, which I respect, by the way. Clay Matthews is trying to block punts in the Pro Bowl. But you've got the Packers fans who like Clay Matthews watching. You've got Saints fans. So it's all these individual people bringing them.

But I think you're right. The game is so bad. Do you get the check like if you make it and then you for whatever reason you decide you don't want to go play do you still or do you have to show up what's that does that happen do people get picked at pro bowls and decide they don't want to go to the game yeah yeah you're gonna be a g if you want i mean i had a dislocated kneecap my final year anytime i had a kicking session, I couldn't walk, right? So I would punt and kick on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Wednesday, Thursday nights, I was literally bedridden.

Sam would have to get my game ready, which is a device that straps around your leg and it flushes cool water in and out. It was a miserable existence for the last seven weeks of my NFL career, basically. But it became this thing where I had a $250,000 bonus on making the Pro Bowl so I make the Pro Bowl and I'm already retiring at this point so now I have to have a conversation with legal counsel with the Colts like do I have to play in this game to get

this bonus and they're like technically it says yes and I'm like I don't want to not walk for the next yeah for all the because I have to train I don't want to not walk for the next, because I have to train. I can't just go embarrass myself at the Pro Bowl. So honestly, that was another situation where I was like, nope, fuck it, not playing, not doing it. I'm already done. I'm over.

And Jim Irsay said, I'm going to pay you for that. I want to let you know. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, Jim Irsay gave me the bonus without me playing. I didn't get the $40,000 for playing playing in it which you have to do to get it but jim ursay gave me the that's incredible it is very very cool that's a lot of money to do in just good faith yep i agree with that completely but i also think the doctor that did the surgery on my knee and also did the mri and everything was like yeah his knee's pretty fucked up. It's pretty, I mean, it would be a very miserable existence. But Jim Irsay has done right by me my entire career.

This is just like with Dave and Erica. Dave and Erica have done right by me my entire career. I got mad at people below them. Jim Irsay was always very, very nice of me. If it wasn't for him, I would have been out of Indianapolis probably after my contract was up with Grigson. So it was never the owners.'s always the people right when he gave you that check was just like brother no it just showed up yeah it just showed up the check just showed up and i think he had him a big

fucking yeah tournament that's how i imagined that it felt worse here's my question to you yeah if you weren't hurt yeah and you were healthy yeah could you have retired and still played in like retired after the would you been the first player to be retired and play in the pro bowl was Saturday retired when he did that last pro bowl thing I think so whenever he wanted even went over to the AFC and snapped at the Peyton that whole thing yeah I think he was I think uh some people do that but granted you gotta remember most people don't retire years they make pro balls. Correct. That is something that doesn't normally happen.

So I would have been able to play even if I announced my retirement. That would have been a fun pro ball, by the way. That would have been a very, very fun. I got texts from a lot of kickers and players around the league basically telling me, like, Tucker sent me a text. He was like, I'm going to miss you at the pro ball, man. I was so excited to work with you. I just want to let you know that. I'm like, thanks, Tuck. That means a lot. He was like, I'm going to miss you at the Pro Bowl, man. I was so excited to work with you. I just want to let you know that. I'm like, thanks, Doc.

That means a lot. Yeah, I have surgery tomorrow. I'm about to be pilled up. I'll watch you from home. Who took your spot? Do you remember? I bet they thanked you. It was Colquitt.

Colquitt from Kansas City, I believe. He did. Dustin. He sent me a text. He was like, thanks, bro. I appreciate you or whatever. And I was like, I just need one golf swing out of you. You pin one believe. He did. He did. He, Dustin, he sent me a text. He was like, thanks, bro. I appreciate you or whatever. And I was like, I just need one golf swing out of you. You pin one.

And he did. I was like, I appreciate that. It was very nice of him. Yeah. So Ursae did right by you. He's got a fuck ton of money. Yeah. Another owner that has a fuck ton of money.

Yep. Stan Kroenke. Did you see this came out about the Rams last night? No. The Rams admitted CEO Kevin Demetra, or no, Kevin Demoff. Demoff. DeMoff. Nailed it. By the way, what was it?

Five refs right there? Have we still got it right yet? There is a Dimitra somewhere. Yeah, he used to be in Atlanta. There it is. Old Atlanta. If it means anything, I don't even know if that, I didn't even know that guy existed. So there's a Kevin DeMoff, though.

But he admitted that the Rams made a play for Khalil Mack. We offered a pretty aggressive package, and they came back and said, we just think you're going to be picking too low. The Rams were playing with fucking funny money. How do they have this monopoly? If they think they can pay Aaron Donald, Brandon Cooks, Khalil Mack, I wonder if it was before they paid Donald.

No, they said they wanted to pair them together. Wow. Can you imagine? Think of that defense with Wade Phillips in there pulling the trigger too. Fucking Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters. What are you doing over there? What would they, how would they lose?

How, oh, what is it? It's like the Golden State Warriors, where if one player's having a bad night, no big deal. We got four more All-Stars ready to go. Like, if Ndamukong Suh's having a bad day, don't worry about it. The guy that trains with knives, Aaron Donald, is going to have a good day. If Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh somehow have a bad day, Khalil Mack's on the outside. Don't't worry about it. The guy that trains with knives, Aaron Donald, is going to have a good day. If Aaron Donald and Dominick Nsou somehow have a bad day, Khalil Mack's on the outside. Don't even worry about it. And if they're all

having bad days, it's okay. Keep Tlaib, Marcus Peters locking down in the secondary. That becomes a team that is unstoppable right there. How do you have that much cap space? Because Jared Goff's on a lucky country. But they like, yeah, I mean, you have to be doing something. But when Goff was up, they would have had to make some tough decisions.

Like, they would have had to cut some people off. I assume that when all these old vets with all this big money are coming in, I assume they're telling them, like, hey, we are able to do this because we don't have to pay our quarterback as soon as we have to. This is a two-year run here. Tight window. Yeah, this is a two-year run here. You might end up somewhere else, but we need to do this now.

And that might be the way they're controlling the personalities too. Like, hey, no bullshit because this is only a two-year run here. We can't handle any of the bullshit. Yeah, I know Sue's contract this year is all fully guaranteed money. I don't know if it was a one- or two-year deal, but that's how his deal was pretty much. Yeah, which is smart. I assume Keeb Tlaib is very similar.

This is kind of what the Patriots did for a while, right? Guys that were ring-chasing would just go show up at the New England Patriots for a year or two, and then they would leave. But that was all taking big pay cuts. The Rams are doing the opposite. We'll pay you a shit ton, but this is only a one, two-year stint, and then you're going to get out of here.

Living in L.A., by the way. Peters isn't negotiating a new deal yet either. only a one two year stint and then you're going to get out of here living in la also like peters peters isn't negotiated a new deal yet either he's only making like less than two million dollars so he's still on his rookie chiefs contract but if you win there's enough to go around that is the quote basically in every nfl team if you win there's enough to go around whether it's with our team or with another team if we win that's why anytime we see somebody get cut from the Patriots, normally they are picked up immediately. It's like, I don't know how good he was with the Patriots, but if Bill Belichick liked

him, let's bring his ass in here. That is always, you can judge a GM quickly in how his peers feel about him. If you see if the cuts get picked up on the waiver wire. It was there for a while. Anytime the Patriots cut somebody, everybody else was like,

give them, give them, we'll take them, we'll take them, we'll take them, we'll take them. For the Colts there for a while, we cut people, and nobody's signing them for a long time. But back in the day when Polian was here, people would get cut, they'd get picked up somewhere else. It's a very interesting little thing you can read into shit. I think also with the Patriots and the Colts during that time is those teams, those bad teams,

want an inside look at any information they can on how that organization runs, on how to be a better organization. Hey, hey, whatever you were doing up there, just do it here. We don't know exactly what it is. We ain't got it. We ain't got the formula.

But you were baptized by it for a couple weeks. If you could just somehow do that here. Coaches are blowing the whistle, yelling out instructions, and looking over at the expatriate. Did I do that right? Is this what you guys want? Is what I'm saying making sense? I can't wait for the NFL to start.

God bless your soul. Thank you. God bless everybody with the NFL starting back up. It seems if they got that lower in the helmet rule figured out, a little common sense. It's only a matter of time, though, before a ref makes a judgment decision that fucks over a fan base and they lose their absolute shit.

It's going to happen. But I can't wait to get to watch some games. Can't wait to go to some Colts games this year. Are you going to go? I'm going to go to some Colts games. I'm going to go to a lot of games, I think. Yeah, I think I will, too. Strictly because I like live entertainment. There you go. You know what I mean? Yeah. I like going to go to some Colts games. I'm going to go to a lot of games, I think. Yeah, I think I will, too. Strictly because I like live entertainment.

There you go. You know what I mean? Yeah. I like going to Broadway shows. A lot of people have judged me for that. Seen Hamilton a couple times. Alexander Hamilton. That was his name.

That was his name. Guy who killed him, Aaron Burr, sir. He killed him. I just enjoy watching people work. Okay. Because as somebody who was had to do some work while people watch, there's a lot of moments of potential fuck up a reef that happens and nobody has a clue about it. It's kind of like the magic behind it all.

That's why I enjoy live shows. I like watching comedians. I like watching theater. I like watching, I'll watch damn near anything and not strictly because I'm a fan of it. Like, I think I'm going to watch Lion King when it comes to town here. Oh, nice. Not because I'm a fan of Lion King. Just because I want to watch the humans

perform in front of other humans while thousands of people are watching. Right. I like that a lot. I enjoy that a lot. I respect it a lot. And there's only one way to get tickets. Welcome back. SeatGeek. SeatGeek is the greatest ticket buying app in the history of ticket buying apps they have options for everything you could possibly fathom whether it's football

whether it's any other sport comedy live theater you name it c geek is the greatest place to buy tickets on the entire internet let me tell you why they scan all the other ticket sites so they know you're getting the best bang for your buck there's no catfishing what they say you're gonna get you get you use promo code pat and get ten dollars off your first sea geek purchase you use promo code mcafee you get twenty dollars off your first sea geek purchase you can get some tickets for damn near free if you use those promo codes now you're're alive, but are you living? Go live and watch it live with SeatGeek. I love SeatGeek.

Todd, I think you love SeatGeek more than anyone. I love them so much. You just show up at random ass concerts. All of a sudden, you get an IG story from Todd. I'm not a grateful dead God. What? I don't know. They are the best, though.

It's so easy. That's the key. That's all it takes so two taps and i have tickets and it's the best bang for your buck you're not gonna get catfished a lot of other places have incredibly wild service fees and all that shit sea geek is just perfect and they were our first sponsor on our podcast after i retired now technically they're the second or third, but that's because the guy who does their marketing was in Budapest or something. I got a text when he got back, what happened?

Man, bro, I don't know. A lot. How do we get back in the game? I'm like, I have no idea, but let's work it out. Very thankful SeatGeek is back and I can't wait to go watch some games. I think Todd just bought tickets to Taylor Swift this weekend. She sells so many tickets. She's rich.

She's like a young Garth Brooks. Yeah, she's crushing. Garth Brooks sold out our arena here five times in one weekend. Lucas Oil? We called a meltdown, though, for her. Arena. Banker's Life. Banker's Life, yep, yep.

Got it. Arena, stadium. Stadium. I get those confused. I could see how you could do it. I think stadium has the potential to open or it's more large, I believe. Arena is more. How many seats does the Colt Stadium hold?

Do you know? 65 or 70. Yeah, and I'm sure Banker's Life is like 20. So yeah, if it's a capacity thing. 17 or 20. I think it's probably a certain number. Because the old Civic Arena. Donner and Pittsburgh.

Well, no. In fact, they could open that roof. The igloo? That could open. I think it's probably a certain number. Because the old Civic Arena. Don Air in Pittsburgh. Well, no, in fact, they could open that roof. The igloo? That could open. No way. Yeah. The toilets could barely flush. Yeah, I mean, at some point it stopped, but it could have opened.

It also cost like hundreds of thousands of dollars to open. So the Colts, Banker's Life, that roof can open, and the Colts petitioned that they have a rule that we are allowed to open our roof at halftime if the weather is clear. First time they tried to do it, a boat fell from the roof, hit a woman in the head. You remember this? She goes to the hospital

and there's a big lawsuit. A boat fell from the... Oh, I used to have boats. I was like, how the hell did a boat get up there? Well, it's a big enough stadium. You could put a boat up there, but there's a button that you hit, and it just opens the roof. Can you imagine that button?

It's a convertible. Yeah, just like a big flood hitter. That was easy. Like a nuclear bomb. You got to press the same time as someone else. Launch codes. They made it a big deal when they wanted to make the rule because in Indiana, weather changes so quickly. You don't like weather wait five minutes it's such a terrible cliche but it's very

accurate and they they wanted to open the roof at halftime so they petitioned the nfl to be able to make this rule change it was a big deal they get it passed and then the first opportunity comes a little rain in the morning so they got to keep closed. And then by the end of the first quarter, it's like beautiful. And you can sense there's like a little bit of excitement from the front office folks. They're like, oh, we're going to fucking open the roof now. It's our time. And then open it.

And then there's just a sweet little Hoosier lady sitting there watching the coats. And all of a sudden, whammy, right in the head, a bolt hits her. Goes to the hospital, the whole thing. I think the NFL was like, how about we just keep that motherfucker closed when people are in that goddamn thing? You think that's bad?

One of the last times the Civic Arena opened, Jean-Claude Van Damme wrecked the goddamn helicopter into the scoreboard right at center ice. Hey, Pittsburgh's got a lot of drama going on, bro. Everybody's turning on this dude. Normally players, Joe Thomas tweeted this out last night i'll talk to him about it here whenever we interview him here in a couple minutes normally players are all about other players getting rich hey man get your money we all understand how this is get your money but now it's at the point where it's almost like Tomlin told him like hey man we've

all supported Lev in this whole thing he told us he was going to come back week one now he's not showing fuck him it's almost like that's what Tomlin said and then the players just came out swinging on him yesterday and you never see that what are some quotes they said Diggs all right so this is from Pouncey uh I just felt confident that he was going to come um but now that he didn't, obviously it's Le'Veon over the Steelers, and we're the Steelers, and we're going to play as the Steelers. Now when it's game time and you know that you have 14 million looming out there and you're still not here and your team really wants you at this point, we got James Conner.

That was from Pouncey. DeCastro said we all thought he would be here today. He makes us all kind of look stupid a little bit. Just sit out the whole year then. No, DeCastro is the guy who, no, that's Villanueva. Villanueva served in one. Yep. That guy's the guy, right?

He didn't come out and say anything, I bet. No. He made some type of comparison to the economy and said something along the lines of like him being here hurt him being here or not being here affects and hurts all of us and it was like a very diplomatic i think also part of it if you win there's enough to go around yeah that's pretty much big deal in the nfl i think also part of it is the players realize so if he would have so he came out and said it'd be the same as last year he'll be back week one So the Steelers thought they would be spending $14.5 million on him this year.

If he said he was sitting out until week eight, week nine, and they're only going to pay him $9 million a year, that's $5 million that they could have spent somewhere else to help the team. Yep. That's a good point. And it could have maybe brought in another running back. Right. There's a lot of things that could happen.

That Adiza Bakari guy really pissed off a lot of people in his interview yesterday. He was on our show, and he had 140 yards rushing or something week four last year. Correct. So I questioned him. I said, hey, he skipped all the training camp, and he had a slow start, only had 140 yards by week four, and then he got hot. And Adiza goes, nope.

If you watch film, he basically called me out. He was like, no, if you actually watch film instead of just reading stats, they stopped giving him the ball. They were checking out of plays. He was like, no, if you actually watch film instead of just reading stats, they stopped giving him the ball. They were checking out of plays. He wasn't able to run. And now they're saying they don't want him to get the ball because that's basically what he inferred, that you have a one-year run with a once-in-a-generation player.

What do you think they're going to do to him? Basically inferring that they're just going to make him a workhorse and get him beat up. It's like, well, last year you said they didn't give him the ball enough. That's why he started cold. And now you're saying he's going to get the ball too much. I think that Lev Belkamp is very, very conflicted. I don't think they have a clue what's going on.

And the Yenzers ain't happy about it. Play Debbie, please. Very angry at him. I mean, I understand, okay? He got to eat, too. He got a him. I mean, I understand. Okay. He got to eat too. He got a family. I get it. But at the end of the day,

really, you can't take it with you. Lady on. If you don't show up, who cares? We'll do it without. It's the Steelers. Like we create the talent.

We made you who you are. We made you what you're worth. End of story. You ain't going to take it with you. You ain't going to take it with you. You ain't going to take it with you. Everybody's got to eat, says Debbie. That's from WTAE TV. Who was the Pittsburgh fan last year?

Barry something. Barry up there on the mountain. Pittsburgh people are a different level. I'm very happy that I can potentially put a little bit of spotlight on them because they've never got enough attention. Yinzers have not got enough attention because Yinzers have never looked for it, to be honest. They're an incredible breed of people.

Incredible breed, Todd. Incredible breed. Came out this morning, the Steelers are not going to rescind his franchise offer or whatever. They still can, however, trade him if they wanted to. Colts got a lot of money, man. We would love him out here in Indianapolis. I mean, there's a...

We'll throw a parade. So he can't sign a long-term deal. He'd still be on the franchise tag with whatever team gets him, but they could basically, like, I was watching Florio this morning, he said, do a wink and a nod deal. Like, hey, we'll pay you this right after the season. I don't know if they... Like, what happens, though? do you think lev bell just hates the

stealer so he blows out a knee with this team that they traded for and then that wink and a nod deal goes away it would by the way aq shipley i think is calling in today a guy who blew out his name they arizona cardinal still signed him to an extension which is very very chivalrous of the arizona cardinals normally you don't see that. I think Lev Bell, in that situation, he's becoming a full heel in the NFL right now. A lot of people hating him. But you know what?

These are the things that the NFL can bring you. There's lovable characters. There's hateable characters. There's drama. There's comedy. There's upsets. There's so many things at the NFL. And I am so excited that the NFL season has started.

Tonight's the night. We can't wait for it, and I can't wait for this conversation with Joe Thomas where we're going to cover more. This is an NFL day of kickoff day celebration to the fullest. Joining us next is a guaranteed future Hall of Famer. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a 10-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro, first-round draft pick, guaranteed first ballot Hall of Famer.

Every offensive lineman from one side of this country to the other and all around the world says he is the greatest offensive lineman they've ever watched on film never gave up sex never let the quarterback get hit he owns a restaurant mission barbecue coming to a city near you he has a beer named after him 73 beer he played 10 363 consecutive snaps on a dogshit football team. Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Thomas. And the crowd goes wild. What a humbling introduction. I am truly honored to be on this amazing podcast this morning. Joe, I'm going to say this.

I have heard the media people talk about you just being this incredible offensive lineman aq shipley's one of my best friends literally just got off the phone with him i was like hey is the media bullshitting about joe thomas being this good and he went on a four minute rant about how good you are and how incredible you are and how you're the best offensive lineman he's ever seen on film do you feel like your career was wasted in cleveland oh wow that's a big question now i feel like my time was definitely not wasted in cleveland because i had a lot of really good barbecue at mission barbecue restaurant and i'm about to drink a lot of really good 73 beer from great lakes

brewing so certainly i feel like it was a raging success. Okay. Let's talk about it though. You do go to Cleveland Browns. Obviously there's no franchise that wants to lose as much as the Cleveland Browns have lost. Was there ever a time when you were there that it, you,

it got to you mentally where you're like, you know what? There's never any happy times really consecutively. You draft every single quarterback under Sun. You drafted a 28-year-old at one point to be your quarterback. Is there ever a thought where you're like, man, this is really getting to me emotionally? Or were you just the consummate professional? I'm going to do my job as great as I can because the Cleveland Browns extended an incredible opportunity to me.

incredible opportunity to me. I knew you were a great podcaster, but you're actually a great interviewer because that is a question that I haven't really expounded on too often. And there actually was a breaking moment and it's not something I've really talked about much, but it was in year 10. It was like the fifth or sixth week of the season. We actually were playing the Patriots and just like many other people in the NFL, I despise the Patriots. And if there was one thing I was going to do that year, it was going to be we were going to beat the dog shit out of the Patriots. And so, you know, we had this great game plan. We worked all week.

Emotionally, I was really wrapped up into it. And we went out there and lo and behold, the Patriots had a better game plan than we did. And we beat the dog shit out of us. And it was just emotionally draining. And I remember driving home with my wife in the car, and I just started crying. And it was something weird because I've never really been super emotional about football. I mean, you know, when you're in high school and you're winning youth football championships, you get all emotionally wrapped up into it because you're raging hormones as a 15-year-old kid. But in the NFL, you know,

you're kind of a steady person. That's the hallmark of offensive linemen for the most part, pretty steady. But I just had this uncontrollable sobbing and I was just so emotionally wrapped up in what was going on. And I just had a really hard time handling it and dealing with what had happened and sort of the direction that that season was going. And believe it or not, I actually had to talk to some people within the Browns on the medical side, you know, the shrink, that type of stuff, to try to help me kind of cope with what was going on and the season that we were having

and sort of the direction that the team was going down. You know, it was kind of well-known that they were sort of tanking for a couple years to try to get better draft picks and be in my 10th season. It was a difficult thing to come to grips with, the reality of your situation. And I think I was able to do that after a few weeks and kind of talking through things with some people. But it was really difficult and it was hard just accepting

the fate that you had and understanding that no matter what I do at my position, I'm not going to have much outcome, much impact on the outcome. You know, much like a punter. You can boot the ball a hundred yards every time you got the ball, but it really isn't going to affect the outcome of the game that much. And you're still going to lose if you don't have a great quarterback and you don't have a good defense and all these other pieces. And so, yeah, I think that was the moment in my career where I really, I snapped.

I lost it. Did anybody, by the way, very understandable. And the fact that it took you a decade and how many quarterbacks, Diggs? 20. 20 is what I mean. 20 quarterbacks to get there. That just shows how consummate professional you are, by the way. Just a consummate professional, and I don't think.

I appreciate it. Yeah, no problem. Did anybody from the Browns ever apologize to you? Were they ever like, Joe, you're the greatest offensive lineman potentially of all time, and the way this is all gone is not how we saw it. Was there ever that conversation? Yeah, they apologized to me twice a month. It was when my face was showed up.

I think it was every other Tuesday. It was a good day. It finally felt better. Do you see any hope for the Cleveland? Hard Knocks was electric. Coach Wiley, by the way, was that your offensive line coach? He was last year, and then we loved him. Everyone loved that guy.

It's hard not to. He drives Maserati. He flies planes. His whole body goes with set. The whole thing, he's an electric human being. After watching Hard Knocks, and this is something that happened with me. When I made my decision to retire after I was sick of making money for the people. They end up firing Griggs and Chris Ballard comes in.

Chris Ballard has a full conversation with me about how we appreciate the individuality of players. We like that. But by that point, I'd already made up my mind. Whenever you see Todd Haley coming in and Greg Williams, these notable coordinators with Hugh Jackson, who you went on record saying was your favorite head coach. Was there ever a thought of, you know what, maybe a couple more years here if it looks like the Cleveland Browns could be turning it around? Truthfully, I would still be playing if my body was willing.

I've got bone on bone in my knee. I've got arthritis in my hips, back, and other knee. And I think there's just a point when a man and a professional has to look themselves in the mirror and just understand and come to grips with the fact that you just can't do it anymore. You just can't put yourself through the training that's necessary to be ready and prepared to go out and perform at the certain level that you have to perform at on those Sundays. And I just had reached that point where I knew my body just could not take it anymore. I tore my tricep tendon last fall, and that was sort of the straw that broke

the camel's back. I knew that I was kind of hanging on by a thread for those last couple years, dealing with the knee injections and the draining of the knee every single week, and basically not practicing at all, only showing up on Sundays and playing. And that was sort of the last drops that I had in my body. And I knew when that happened that I just had nothing left. And I couldn't do it. As much as my brain wanted to do it, the body was not willing. How awesome was Toradol, bro? Hey, man, that was great.

I tell you what, it sucked later on in your career when they started taking that stuff away from you. It was the best. Joe, I had a question. So many times over your career there were what we're doing today go ahead many times over your career there was trade rumors about you especially when it was like you and alex mack you were talking about they thought about you guys taking and stuff like that um as far as you know was there ever a time where you were close to being traded or you were did you

reached out said hey maybe you guys trade me i kind of want to be on a winning team anything like that ever happen it was actually believe it or not the year that the Broncos won the Super Bowl with Peyton Manning they actually really put a full court press on the Browns to try to trade for me because they'd lost their left tackle earlier on in the season and they knew that that that was going to be their chance to make that playoff run it was right at the end of Peyton's career and they wanted to be able to protect him for the long haul and so they they put together a pretty good offer of players and picks for the Browns to uh to trade me but I think what happened was uh the GM at the time Ray Farmer for the Browns he was kind of already a little bit in hot water.

And I think he didn't want to be known as the guy that had traded me away, no matter what the bevy of picks was, because I think he kind of knew that it was close to maybe at the end of that season, he was probably going to get let go. And I think he was thinking that like a doctor, you know, sometimes no move is the safe move. And you don't want to try to go for that open-heart surgery. You're definitely not sure it's going to be a winning procedure.

Kevin Costner, the best GM the Browns have ever had? I believe he was certainly the most well-known. The NFL season is kicking off this evening. Falcons, Eagles, things like that. I've talked to a lot of players who retire who said they can't enjoy watching football anymore. I am the complete opposite. Now I'm betting on the games. I enjoy being a fan again.

Are you the same way? Do you enjoy watching it? When you're watching games, do you find yourself just watching the tackle and seeing what they're doing? Or are you enjoying the game? I'm totally like you. I love watching other people work, man. It's like when your lawn mowing crew comes over or your landscapers come over. I'm the first guy that grabs a beer from the fridge and pulls the launcher out.

I want to watch them work all day in the hot sun, and it's just like on Sunday. I love watching those guys go out and work and get tired and sweaty and beat up and sore the way I used to, but now I'm sitting at home enjoying a 73 beer from my couch. You sound like a NASCAR driver with that goddamn 73 beer. Is it an IPA? Is it a light beer? What type of beer do you have over there?

It's actually a Kolsch ale. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that style, but I'm going to have to send you at least a couple six-packs for this opening weekend of football because it's absolutely delicious. It's easy to drink. You can funnel it. You can sip on it. You can put it in a bottle.

You can put it in a glass. It doesn't matter how you drink it. It's delicious. You seem like such a man's man, and I mentioned this earlier in the show before you came on. I remember the draft when you were out on a fishing boat. You knew you were going to be a top five pick, top ten pick, and you refused to go to

the draft, but ESPN or whoever it was refused to just let you hang out with your family. They took, put a camera out with you out on the middle of the boat. Is fishing a hobby of yours? What are some hobbies of Joe Thomas? Hey man, I love getting out and fishing. I've got three and a half little kids right now, so I don't get as much time to go fishing as I used to, but certainly fishing was like a first love of mine. I always grew up camping with my family and i picked up hunting when i was in middle school with some of my buddies and now i'm a passionate hunter so uh basically anything outdoors that's right up my wheelhouse and working out i enjoy working out a little bit those are kind of my hobbies you know podcasting a little on the side with tomahawk shows so i like to dabble

good show by the way Thanks for having me on. Everybody can go down there right now. It was a good show. I want Hawkins on the show as well. He was great. You guys were very, very talented. I want to let you know that. I appreciate it, man.

We have a lot of fun. You know, that whole thing really just kind of started organically from the Browns locker room. We had a couple of old stiffs, me and Hawk, that had a locker next to each other, and we'd just shoot the breeze every day in the locker room like probably the punters and kickers usually do when we're at practice and uh it just kind of stemmed and we said hey man wouldn't it be great if we just threw a

microphone in between us i think the the folks at home the common folk would love to hear what we're talking about and it kind of spawned into this award-winning podcast well i'm happy it did by the way and i'm very lucky to be a guest on there. Go ahead, Todd. Joe, temporarily leaving the NFL as a legend, do you see your future exclusively entrepreneurial as a businessman, or do you think you'll return one day as in a coaching profession or commentating? I told my wife when I retired that now my goal was going to be I wanted to be a little bit good at everything and to which she probably laughed at me. So I'm not really sure what I'm going to do now. Really? You have no idea, no plans, nothing. Well, I mean, I got a lot of ideas, but I don't know if I'm going to be good at any of them. I mean, I got the mission barbecue restaurant going.

I got the beer going. Uh, we got the podcast rolling. I'm going to be doing some work with NFL network this year, Thursday night football, and then a little bit of NFL Total Access. I'm doing some work with the Browns. I got other little entrepreneurial things, and I'm going to see where it goes. You know, I don't want to just dive fully into one thing right now in that first year in retirement because how do I know? I was just a football player. You know, I've never lived in the real world at all in my life,

so I have no idea what I'm going to love and what I'm going to hate. I think I know, but just like playing football, you know, the people that see us and think we only show up on Sundays that think, oh, that would be a great job. I don't really know what I'm going to love to do. So I want to just do a little bit of everything and then just kind of figure it out and not worry about it too much. When you're the best in the world at what you do, and you don't have to say you are, everybody else seems to be saying that. There's not a lot of people up there. You've got to have a special mental capacity. Did it engulf your thoughts year-round, offensive line, football,

your technique, not hurting your body at all? For instance, when I was young in my NFL career, I was a wild animal, but I also wasn't that good. Something happened. I get arrested. I decide to flip a switch that I said, I want to wild animal, but I also wasn't that good. Something happened. I get arrested. I decided to flip a switch that I said, I want to be great at this. I want to be able to do, and it kind of engulfed me. It became in the off season, no matter what I was doing, the thought was, will this help me or fuck me over and kicking a football again? Was that what

it was for you? Was it, did it engulf your entire life and are you enjoying this freedom not only uh time and schedule wise but mentally a freedom to kind of think about other things when you started talking about best in the world i thought you were going to pat yourself on the back as the best podcaster in the world but you went a different direction and i appreciate that uh no honestly for me from the moment i got into the nfl even in college I just took a lot of pride in my job. And I think because as an offensive lineman, as a tackle, if I don't do my job, the guy behind me is literally going to get killed. The quarterback's legs are going to get broken

or the running back's collarbone is going to be smashed. And so, really, I don't have an option. I have to do my job to the best of my ability at every single moment. There is no option to take a playoff. And I think that was kind of how I lived my NFL career, and especially early on. I mean, I thought about it a lot. Obviously, I got away from it with fishing and hunting and some of the things I like to do in the offseason with my family. But when it was time to be football, I was all football.

I was thinking about it all the time. I was working on my craft. I was studying the film because I could not accept myself to have one mistake in a practice or a game. And I was not going to rest until I was able to be perfect. And I think that early on in my career was what really kind of set the stage for the success I had later on in my career. And then because I had, I don't want to say gotten so good at it, but I was so comfortable with what I had to do from a technique and assignment standpoint that I was really able to enjoy my later years in my career because I didn't have to do so much film study. I didn't have to do as many things in practice to get

myself ready because I'd already kind of polished my game to the level that it was already as good as it was going to get so um i really enjoyed the last few years of my career because of that any defensive ends give you nightmares week of or anything like that who was who was the one guy you had because after hanging around anthony costanzo for a lot of years left tackle you guys now granted scheme's a big deal, but that is very much a mano-a-mano operation happening out there at left tackle. Was there any guys, I know you have a respect for anybody that makes it in the NFL. You've got to be great to make it to the NFL. But were there any guys that you had to battle or joust with that you were like,

this guy gives me fits, or this guy has something that I can't? Anything like that? That's a good point. I tell everybody that is a rookie, like, hey, you know those All-Americans that you played in college? Like, probably two times a year you'd play against an All-American. He was really good, and you had to get yourself ready, and you had to get your mind right. Well, in the NFL, they're all All-Americans, right?

So you need to get your mind right every single week. But for me, I will tell you, the one guy, especially early on in my career, that gave me fits, that was a nightmare. You know, one of those guys where you don't sleep Friday night, you don't sleep Saturday night before the game, because all you can do is think about the matchup, was Dwight Freeney. A guy that was much beloved in Indianapolis, and rightly so so the guy that really mastered the spin move like nobody else had mastered of all time uh this spin move inside he could run you over because he was so strong and powerful and then he could run around you because he had so much speed so I would say Dwight Freeney was that first guy that just gave me all sorts of fits in my career

you're not the first tackle that has said that by the way Matt Light said it on the show yeah Matt Light said it and then Sports Science said that spin move was very similar to a figure skater. It was a nightmare. Nick, you got something? Joe, we've all heard the story about you meeting quarterbacks for the first time in the huddle on the day of the game, in the game. I was wondering, are there any guys that came in that you thought were the guy

that was going to turn it around for Cleveland? Was there one guy standing out in particular or a couple guys that you thought, this is it, this is the guy? Well, I think as a competitor, as somebody who was in the Browns uniform and each year you needed to convince yourself that this was the year you were going to make it happen because I think to get the most out of yourself, you had to convince yourself optimistically that you were going to go to the Super Bowl, right? Otherwise, what are you working for? So really, every year that we were out there, I had myself pretty much convinced that that was the guy

that was going to lead us to the Super Bowl. I mean, going all the way back to my rookie year, when we had Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn was our first round pick. And then from there, we had Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn was our first round pick. And then from there we had Jake the loam who we brought in from the Carolina Panthers. And we had Colt McCoy who came in and did a great job for us and, you know, on, on down the line. So I think as an NFL player, you have to get yourself in that mindset that you are going to win and you are going to be Superbowl champs.

There is nobody that can stand in your way. And it's only, you know, now in hindsight where you look back and say, oh, that guy probably wasn't that good. Out of all those quarterbacks, which one gave you the best gifts? Oh, that's a good question. Actually, I think Colt McCoy did. He bought us the big green eggs. You know, like not the baby version either, like the XL,

like the big pumpkin version where you can go out and, you know, you can grill, you can smoke, you can do whatever you want. That was probably the coolest gift because I'm kind of a foodie. I'm a guy that likes getting out and throwing some meat on the barbecue. So you have a whole closet full of gifts that basically, right? I wish, you know, unfortunately we didn't have quite a lot of success and we didn't have the big high paid quarterbacks all that often so my uh my gifts were few and far between it wasn't you know like uh i'm sure payton was was big on buying all his boys gifts yeah not me he just flew me around he just flew me around had me get drunk and entertain people for a while that was a good enough gift for me hey joe you were talking earlier about

pass rushers and dwight freedy how good you i assume you went i got into him in practice a little bit miles garrett how How good is Miles Garrett? Well, Miles Garrett, he'll be a guy that by the end of his career, I think he's going to put himself in the conversation for all fame. He is just an incredible athlete. I mean, the way he runs and bends

and his power and his mind, he's really got everything you could possibly imagine. He reminds me a lot of a guy named Demarcus Ware. The way he can get off the ball, the way he can get under your pads, the way he can just throw somebody down but then accelerate to the quarterback. And I will even give him this compliment. Like, DeMarcus was exceptional,

but he was limited in the number of pass rush moves he had. He was so good at the few things he did, he didn't need a lot of pass rush moves. But Miles actually has a really big repertoire of pass rush moves. And if he's able to continue to develop all those different moves, he's going to be about unblockable. Who's going to win the Super Bowl this year, Joe? Other than the Browns. Other than the Browns, I would say, you know,

it's kind of the Browns and then than the Browns, I would say, you know, it's kind of the Browns and then like a big, big gap. Clearly, I would say I got the Saints. I really think the Saints are going to make a big run. I feel like this is towards the end of Drew Brees' career, and they've got a really good team together. They finally got a running game and a pretty good defense to go with what Drew Brees does.

I'm really high on the Saints right now. Hey, okay remembered this now i'm high on the saints as well they never get talked about in the way they lost last year had to be a kick in the sack all off season um the offensive lineman for the pittsburgh steelers you tweeted about this last night i referenced this normally players are like yo go get your money do what you have to do. We all get it. Yesterday, it's like the dogs just came out after Le'Veon Bell. Offensive linemen going after Le'Veon Bell. Everybody's going after him. How do you feel about that whole situation as an offensive lineman who gets, you got, you're the greatest in the game. You got a lot of credit, especially because you are a shining light on the Browns, but normally offensive linemen get zero love,

show up, work, shut up, just keep it moving. You're in the trenches. Now we've got offensive linemen coming out and going against their own running back. How do you feel about that whole situation, and did it surprise you whenever everybody's kind of got loose on Le'Veon

Bell yesterday? It's getting ugly in Pittsburgh. I mean, the stuff going on between Le'Veon Bell yesterday. It's getting ugly in Pittsburgh. I mean, the stuff going on between Le'Veon and really all of his teammates, but specifically his offensive line, it's getting a little bit nasty. But like I mentioned on Twitter at JoeThomas73, everybody in the NFL from a player standpoint is all players all the time. Hey, man, we understand this is a business. We've got billionaire owners that are fighting us to try to take money away from us. You got to fight scratch and claw for every dollar you can get because your career is short. I mean, in the NFL, five, 10 years at

the most, that's your opportunity to make money. And you need to do it because you put your body through hell and you're going to walk out of this game crippled. So you got to get your money. But I think at the same time, these guys realize when somebody's being a little bit unreasonable. And I think for the most part, it seems like basically from all accounts, what's going on with Le'Veon and the Steelers, that he's being very unreasonable. At a position that's not a premier position anymore. I mean, it's not like he's a quarterback or a pass rusher. I mean, he would have got his $20-plus million a year if you're one of those two guys.

But as a running back, it's really difficult to kind of put a value on what he does because he is the best running back in the game, and he is a guy that catches passes. But I think when your teammates see that you're being unreasonable and it's hurting the team, that's when they're going to stand up and say, hey, man, they're going to call him out. Hey, you need to get your butt here because you are being an idiot, first of all. You're hurting yourself, your family, you need to get your buddy here because you are being an idiot first of all. You're hurting yourself, your family, and you're hurting these teammates

here that you've been telling us how important we are, and now you're not putting your money where your mouth is. Hey, Joe. Joe. Hey. Hey, I want to let you know that if I was a punter for the Browns and you were my

slot, left slot, like left tackle, I would feel very secure with you. You know that? That makes me feel warm and fuzzy. You don't really like punters much. It's a shame, by the way. It's a jealousy thing, and we talked about it on my podcast at Tomahawk Show the other day.

I was a punter in high school. A stellar 39-yard average took me to All-State in Wisconsin. I really just dreamed of that moment in the NFL where our punter in high school, a stellar 39-yard average took me to all state in Wisconsin, and I really was dreaming of that moment in the NFL where our punter would go down. He would get like a hammy, right? And our kicker couldn't punt, and they would have to call in the lefty.

Because I was the backup punter all those years in Cleveland, believe it or not, and I dreamed of booming like a 60-yarder and never looking back and never having to bang heads with anybody at left-back. Joe, I appreciate you so much for joining us, man. I can't wait to try Mission Barbecue when you make your way to Indianapolis. There are some stores in southern Indiana and also in Ohio.

Go check that out. Can't wait to drink the 73 beer at JoeThomas73. I'll tell you what, man, you're a legend on the football field. And I think you're going to very quickly become one off the field. Such a gentleman. Thank you so much for joining us, Joe. Hey man. Thanks for having me on.

I had a lot of fun and keep killing it in the podcast game, baby. You got it. I mean, I won't get hired to any of those big networks like you do. So maybe drop my name every once in a while. If things are getting boring over there, I'll bring the juice. Sounds good, brother. Hey, I appreciate you. Have an incredible day. Ladies and gentlemen, future first ballot Hall of Famer Joe Thomas.

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your app the cameras turn on the alert alert, and it's the best. Joe Thomas was awesome. Awesome. Absolutely awesome. Hey, congrats to you and us for having three first ballot Hall of Famers on the show in the last three weeks. Not too shabby. Not too shabby. Hey, Rog. That ain't bad.

Brian Erlacher. Now, granted. Joe Thomas. Let's say Kyle Rudolph maybe gets hot, too, here. So you can drop four in there. Joe Thomas is incredible. How about him sobbing there at Week 10? That's sad, man.

Tenth year, I guess. Tenth year. I can't even imagine that. I can't believe it didn't come sooner. Well, he's such a professional. You heard him every single year. He had the belief that they were going to be great. That's such a professional.

Such all-in for his teammates. That's like he's the perfect teammate, I'd assume. He's the prototype. He is the perfect teammate, I'd assume. He's the prototype. He is the prototype. You print one out. We need a left tackle who's going to buy into the team. He's going to have perfect technique. He's going to be respected by his peers.

He's going to be great. He is the prototype. He's the first ever offensive lineman. We forgot one big question. What's that? How do you feel about earning a stripe every year? They didn't do that. that it's just delicious but i should have asked it if he thinks that's a joke what were you about to say no i was just saying i get i guess i get it because it's year 10 because nfl and football is such a week-to-week thing like you honestly not even like the week dated

it's meeting to practice to where everything is what is next so the fact that it finally hit him 10 years in that like this was his career like with this team, I guess it kind of makes sense. Diggs, you got some picks for these people before we get out of here on this beautiful Thursday here? Heartland Radio 2.0 dropping tomorrow, debut. It'll be normally on Mondays and Wednesdays, but since there was Labor Day and a whole new schedule tomorrow, Friday, Bangers will probably be on there with Nick a little bit,

and we got Heartland Radio 2.0. We had two podcasts in the top seven this morning. Feels pretty good. Heartland Radio 2.0 will be great. It's a comedy podcast for the world basically. Diggs, some picks for the people here before we get out of here? This weekend, I'm starting tonight.

I'm going with, well, since it's right now minus one, I'm going to go Falcons minus one. Yep, maybe by a half point like old Sam Lutie, my lady. I am going with, well, since it's right now minus one, I'm going to go Falcons minus one. Yep, maybe by a half point like old Sam Loody, my lady. I am going to go Vikings minus six and a half at home against the Niners. Oh, I like that. Jimmy G with his first loss possibly. Diggs is betting against the Italian who went out with an adult film star. You would think Diggs would ride with Jimmy G anywhere.

It sounds like your guy. Yeah, it does. It sounds like you if you were a professional quarterback. Jimmy G is my guy. But as we all Yeah, it does. It sounds like you if you were a professional quarterback. Jimmy G is my guy, but as we all know, this is not a one guy sport. Well, Joe Thomas and all the offensive linemen and the Steelers said that about left bell. What else? You bet with your head, not with your heart. Correct.

If Jimmy G would have picked a page one porn star, would you have been on his side? He would have been up higher. Great question. Bengals are plus two and a half at the Colts. Like Sam, I'm going to buy a point to give them the plus three. Take the Bengals at the Colts, plus three. Wow.

Colts fans aren't going to like hearing that. That's fine. Ravens, minus seven at home against the Bills. And our boy Nathan Peterman, who throws the best ball in the league. Yep. And Titans, minus two at the Dolphins. Go ahead and make those bets at MyBookie, the official sponsor of MyBookie.ag. We thank you so much

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It's the first thing you put on in the morning. Last thing you take off. You never think about it. Tommy John has completely changed the game. The women, six weeks is sold out. That's incredible. That is wild. Big thanks to Joe Thomas.

Big thanks to my bookie, SeatGeek, Simply Safe, and Tommy John for rocking with us. And to all you listeners, thank you so much. If you could spread the word. We did start back at zero. Spread the word. I think we're giving NFL takes and world takes that you won't hear anywhere else. Heartland Radio 2.0 tomorrow. Ty Schmidt. We don't got it yet.

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