Big Red Rage - Elijah Higgins Growing As Cardinals Tight End

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Here's Paul Calvic. I'm ready. I'm one hundred percent ready. I'm telling you I'm ready. And Ron Woofley. It doesn't get any better than that. All Right, here we go, Red c I mean Silicon Valley. Are you listening out there? You kid me? It's an NFC West game we got going here. Cardinals already beat the Rams and beat the silicone and the botox out of La. Now it's nor Cow Wolf and it's time to pound the chardonnay and the semiconductors right out to the San Francisco forty nine ers.

Come on now, I got no problem with that, Paul, if that's what you'd like to do.

By the way, Jiere the weather forecast it's supposed to be the all time hottest game in the history of Levi Stadium on Sunday.

I saw that, Paul. I heard that, and I know what your response to that is.

Well, it's supposed to be like mid to high nineties. Okay, today's record because the Cardinals practice in it was a record one oh nine. So I know the schedule says home game for the forty nine ers, but are we sure about that? You sure it's not a home game for the Arizona Cardinals. That is a great question to start with. The tight end, Elijah Higgins, everyone about it? I mean, Elijah, come on now, mid to high nineties.

Correct, Yeah, we're not too worried about it. We're not too worried about it. Quick question.

This is pretty close to my mouth and making sure this is a good here's what you do.

I'm going to go out and I'm going to kill that that kills your mic and you go like this. You can just sort of adjust it. You can sort of yeah, you can sort of bend it out a little bit. Yeah, you know that's good. There you go, there you go. Well, absolutely, you know we should have done that in rehearsal.

Wolf, that's all. Come on, I was too busy eating ball. I had a nice pet burger or something like that.

Yeah.

Yeah, Wolf puts the full in the full back.

Speaking of here we go, now, I what is your weight at again?

Elija?

I just want to ask this right now, right off the top, because you were a wide receiver at one point in time. What's your weight at right now?

So I weigh two hundred and fifty right now, two hundred and fifty pounds right now?

What kind of difference is that from when you were a white receiver?

It's about fifteen pounds about that was it? So you were a big one. Yeah that was a big receiver. But you were a big I never thought I was going to be two fifty.

Okay, so you're got pounds right now, A lot of weight room work. I would imagine, right, Yeah, a lot of.

Eating, a lot of weight room. I think a lot of it too, is just how my body mature.

What's your favorite thing to do in the weight room?

You don't I love the weight room? You I love the weight Okay, I would say everybody just kind of pumping out.

The upper body. Okay, great, doing some arms, you know, curls for the girls. So what you're saying, do.

You ever go over there and try and compete with like, you know, Evan Brown and uh, you know, i mean Paris and those guys you know, yelled at because those guys are always like competing on there, you know, over there, you know.

Yeah, My my favorite guy to work out with in the weight room is actually James Connor. He's a He's a dude that really pushes it. So it's cool to try to keep up with them.

I'm out to surprise as that James Connor is in there throwing it around.

We've had James on this show a couple of times and he's talked about his off season workouts with Aaron Donald. I'm guessing those are legit when you're working out with Aaron Donald in the off season, So yeah, I'm guess seeing he has he has some aptitude in the weight room. I'd be my guest on that one, no doubt. All right, So tell us about this week, tell us about this week of practice, tell us about how the team is rebounded so far coming off the loss against Washington, uh,

We're excited.

I think we're excited to uh just play another game, obviously another opportunity to get a w on the board for ourselves. But I think more excited just to get a bounce back win more than anything. I think after you know, Sunday Monday, you watch the film, correct things you need to correct, and then by the time you're practicing Wednesday, everything's behind us. So I think that's what the most excited about, is the opportunity that all waits us on Sunday.

You know, just being in the locker room.

When I was a young man ten years in the NFL, of course, and I saw for some really bad losses as well. I just want you to know that I'll tell you in the break. We have no time to go over it right now. But just the way we used to process some of the losses that we had right there. It was about accountability for the most part, being able to look at each other in the eye and be very accountable. Was that going on inside this locker room this week?

For sure?

I Mean, I think that's what all good teams do, and I think that's what we have in our locker room because have a good team. And that's what it takes is for everybody to lock themselves in the mirror and fix the things that they need to fix and move on to the next game.

You had a chance after the game to talk with Garrett Williams. He had to pick obviously big play and a really excellent interview afterwards, just the way he sum things up, And here's a Garrett Williams, second year player, had to say about how the Cardinals should go about correcting things.

Don't point fingers, be honest with yourself about what you're doing well, and more partly, when you're losing, you know what you're not doing well and fix it. And I feel like if each individual on the team looks at themselves and go, Okay, I'm not doing this well, how am I going to take the steps to get better at that. Think if we all do that and then we come together collectively and be like, all right, what are we lacking as a team. I think that's where

You know, I heard jg use the word details repeadly. When you guys watch that film, how correctible we're things that he identified very correctable.

I think we have the guys in the room that can get the job done. And obviously that starts from the execution standpoint, being able to make plays and whatnot, but it starts at the details. Like I said, we have the guys that can make the plays. It's just about being in the correct alignment at the right time, snap counts and all this sort of stuff. So I think we got the guys that can that can do it for sure. It's just about fixing those those small details and moving forward.

You know, the Niners just snapped a two game skid. They lost in Minnesota, lost at the Rams, and Fred Warner talked about practice last week going in a New England game, just saying, you know, guys had a little extra edge you know, a little chippier. You know we had lost a couple in a round. I mean, did you sense that at all this week?

Yeah, I mean I definitely feel it. I feel it, and everybody definitely feel myself for sure. Just taking accountability for the small things that you you mess up in the game, and making the distinctions between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, and just putting your best foot forward and earning that confidence back in practice and just working hard.

So you know, for me Polly too, it's just a situation where every player's got to go in there and watch the tape. As Elijah is saying right now, you got to be truthful in what it is that you're seeing. You got to be one hundred percent honest. If you truly want to get better, you have to take critique. There is the opportunity in a loss to get better much better by watching the tape than there is when you win. In my opinion, when you lose, oh, you feel the same present. Okay. For me, it just was

How about the opening drive in these games? What is clicking? What is going well? Four straight games, four straight opening drive touchdowns. Is there anything you can take from the beginning of those games and trying to extrapolate going forward.

I think obviously just the execution of what we're getting what we're calling aligneman assignment key techniques with JJ preaches, and when you're able to, you know, start a drive like that early in the game, that's what it's about. It's about doing the right thing, obviously over and over because you have a numerous amount of players in that drive, but doing the right thing and in and out, and that's what happens when you.

Put a good drive together.

You had a couple of catches against Washington. I saw we have an eleven game catch streak. Now, just tell us how you think your own game has come along, especially in the last maybe like full season you start playing midway through last year, where do you think maybe you've grown the most.

Think it's just embracing my role to be honest, understanding ends and out to the tight end game and what it means to be a tight end, and just kind of sticking my nose in there and just being being a physical guy and just doing what the team needs for me. I think it's been the biggest part for me in understanding that. Obviously, putting a receiver in college,

Wow.

And now to see.

A year later the position I'm in now, the role I have on this team, it's been cool. It's been special, And I think it's a kudos to the guys that we have in the locker room being a teacher or helping me learn and being teachers and whatnot, and then obviously the coaches and all that stuff and the opportunity that they've provided for me.

So it's been a cool deal to well, I want.

To tell you this, just watching you play watching you on tape, I never knew you had the ability to be as physical as you are, and that really that was something I did not know.

Where does where does that come from?

For you? Personally? Personally enjoy that part. We're going to tell you that.

So personally, I think it's a god to give an ability. And then on top of it, I think it's just understanding what's going on. I think we have good coaches, great coaches to really teach us what to know or what to know, and you know, understanding what to do, and that's the big in the biggest thing for me in terms of being physical is if you can understand what's going on, what your job is, you can play fast and then when you're playing fast and hitting somebody, it's a lot of fun.

So you just kind of continue to do that and you enjoy it.

So how cool has it been to have a Trey McBride back on the practice field this week?

It's been great, It's been great. I'm excited for him to get back and rolling.

Is there any bigger kid than Trey McBride. Just the way he bounces around, I swear he must have the same personality when he was like thirteen and Pop Warner.

Yeah, I would have loved to know him then. Yeah, he's a special dude.

His energy is justial and he was losing his mind in the Washington game. You could tell you he was like, oh man, I need to get out there.

Yeah.

So he's ready to be back. Yeah, that's great. We'll get into a lot of that. We'll get into where you've grown the most. We'll get into your Texas football background. How many different guys in the locker room come from Texas and have made the NFL. We'll talk about Friday night Lights. We'll talk about you know your siblings. Man, what a track record of athletes you got going. Elijah Higgins is our guests. We are live at Trophy and Chandler at the corner of Price Road in Queen Creek.

Ford hurry to throwing third and goal up in the pocket, backing up, lobbing it left corner. Higgins got it touchdown. First career touchdown for Higgins.

And what a great throw by Kyler Murray pass across the middle caught for a first down by Higgins.

A gain of twenty yards pass over the middle behind Higgins, but he makes a great cat to the twenty.

Five What a catch by Higgins.

Throws quickly and it's caught for a first down by Higgins, powered his way through a tackle. Attempt to get the first down.

Kyler Murray that is right on the knaps.

Behind snapped to Murray pree step drop looking left now in trouble, spins left now steps up running left. Murray breaks attackle looking ends on firing left side a sliding touch for a touchdown.

It's Higgins baking the crab.

Tyler Murray does it again or Murray magic funny to nothing cardonals Urry throws another time, all.

Right, passion wolf on the call. The guy who's on the business end, the receiving n Elijah Higgins is our guest here in the Big Red Rage presented by Santan Forard in Gilbert Well. That last touchdown catch is gonna live forever because that was known as the steph Curry. Kyler Murray the look away at.

The very end.

Has he ever done that in practice before?

Not sure?

Maybe man I didn't realize it didn't in the game until like I saw it on ESPN or whatever.

So it was after the game when you realize it. Yeah, it's interesting, all right. So I mean because I mean that is epic, right, I mean, now the way to flex that, right, he knew it. And at that point, I mean, how certain were you you were going to catch that? Because that's a sliding grab. What was a degree of difficulty on your end?

Honestly, have no idea.

When you're in the game like that, you're not thinking much and it just kind of happens, and you celebrate with the guys and you go back on the film and watch watch what happened.

You're like, oh, I did that, So it was cool.

Obviously I didn't get to see what Kyle was doing back there when you're running the route. So when I got to see the review, the review review on that, it was pretty special.

So Higgy, can I call you Higgy? Is that okay? I you know, I mean, you're fine with that right there? I know the Higgy bear and we're going to get into that momentarily. But it's okay if I call you Higgy, right, I mean, that's fine right there. I would imagine your hands have always been good, correct, I mean, that's the strength of your game. Right now, did you like playing wide receiver better than you like playing tight end?

No? No, I thought I was going to.

Okay, So for the transition, tell us why.

I just think you're just you're way more involved in the game as a tied end. As a receiver. You're not as as involved. You like as much responsibility the blocking game as playing it, right.

You like being in the box where the fur flies. Yeah, I enjoy it.

A look at you, like a lot of people. Look on your face right now, man, especially when you get it figured out. When you when you don't know what's going on, it's not that's that's right. Do you get it figured out a little bit, It's it's a lot of fun.

Oh. I like that.

I could see it on your face, man. And you know what, I can see it in the way that you play as well, in between the white lines, the physicality we're talking about.

Once it's growing. Hey, I appreciate.

Yeah, I mean I'm actually half amazed. I really am, because I mean, how many receivers, let's just say, end up in the coach's doghouse because they're not blocking, right, the old adage no lock, no rock, and usually if you're a receiver, you know, past or president, it's not necessarily you know something you want to do by choice.

Yeah, I mean it's it's a good time you enjoy I enjoyed just the physicality. It's it's, uh, you get to compete every play. I feel like you don't really get that.

At receiver.

You're not always running outes versus another man in coverage, you're not always blocking somebody. Obviously, in the league is a little bit different. Receivers are a lot more involved in the run game. But at the college level it's not. You're not competing as much every play and play out.

So Higgy, tell me where you from? Where do you say that you are from? And I say that because a lot of guys differently, we might move all over the country, you know, and actually have a lot of different homes. Where do you identify with? Where was where were you born and raised?

I was born in Florida, my dad's in the military, so he moved to Texas. Boy going into middle school. So I like to say I'm from Florida and Texas because it was kind of split in half of all kay good, yeah.

Okay, so that's all You're Florida and Florida, Texas all town. Did you grow up in Texas? So I grew up in Austin. Okay, Texas.

Oh that was bare Yeah, okay, it was Bowie High School. There were you guys any good?

We were pretty good.

Do you remember Kyler Murray? I do remember as a high school legend in Texas, because every guy that's going through Texas remembers Kylie. Did you used to watch his highlight reels?

I don't know if I did or not.

I probably have seen him before, but I didn't really understand, like recognize that it was him or not when I was younger.

But I'm sure I saw them at some point.

Okay, Friday night lights, I mean in Texas as big as everyone says it is.

Yeah, it's a big deal.

It is a big deal when you when you see other high school football teams in other places, it's not nowhere.

Did you play any other sports in high school track in basketball? Do you ran track?

Ran track?

Okay? Discus? Or I did shot put, trouble jump a lot of jump Yeah, okay, did a lot of different stuff.

Here's here's a question. What was better Friday Night Lights? The movie or the TV series? Didn't see either? You lived it, though guys like me are watching it. You lived it. You know what, I'm gonna have to watch it. I'm gonna save myself. I'm gonna bring in Drew Patsy and Jonathan Gannon talking about this is from late last year when you started to blossom right as a rookie. Here's what they had to say about Elijah Higgins. It's a big transition.

I think he's done a really nice job of leaning on the guys in that room. Ben Steel's done a great job kind of preparing him and teaching the technique and helping him make that transition.

And I think he's done a really nice job.

Higgy Bear has done a great job with asy Calm.

I don't know why.

I don't know why.

I think he's probably mad at me, but you know we obviously you see we have confidence in him and he can play.

Okay, let's get into it. Wolf you're gonna ask the question, Am I gonna ask the question? Higgy Bear? The nickname, yeah, presumably comes from the TV show from the seventies Starsky and Hutch Huggy Bear Wolf. You know, Wolf kind of looked like Huggy Bear when he went to his prom Just google that up later, Elijah. Okay, I've seen the pictures. Stop it. You know, he thought he was the man. So your reaction to the head coach nickname? Was that his nickname or did you come into the Cardinals with

That was his nickname.

At first, I didn't know where it was from, so I was I was a little bit confused.

So yeah, it was he brought her up.

Okay, but you're all about it, You're good.

I like it from him. At first. It was cool.

As a rookie is cool, but I think going to my second year, I prefer other things from j G. I love it for him, but I prefer other things from other people.

Okay, Now, listen, PAULI likes to sip soup.

And eat salad.

Okay, that's what he likes to do for the most part, right here, but being from Texas part at least half of the time in Texas. You must know Texas barbecue. You know, barbecue pretty familiar. Do you like barbecue first of all?

I do? Okay, Yeah, what's your favorite play brisket?

Oh?

Yeah, see the brisket right there. What about sauce? What do you like for sauce?

I mean, I guess there's just barbecue sauce, right, Is that wrong?

Well?

No, no, see, I mean this is interesting because some you know a little spicy barbecue, like you know.

I sweet spicy, okay, sweat sweet baby raised. I don't know if that's necessarily Texas Barbie, okay, but I have no idea.

Are they a sponsor on the show right now?

You never really get Wolf's full attention on the show until we start talking food. Now, now, Wolve's completely and that's that's how that works over there.

Okay.

So it's interesting. So how many different scholarship offers did you have coming out of high school? Too many to remember anywhere on forty Oh no, are you serious? So how did you decide on Stamford?

That's tough.

I mean obviously, like the academic side of it was huge.

That was a big part of it.

Kind of made Stanford stand out, and then when I went to visit the campus was beautiful. But I think the biggest reason I went there was actually to get away from football, get away from walking around the campus, people bugging you, people praising you.

As an athlete.

I kind of wanted to be a regular student, be a regular person, and just kind of camoufage my way through through college, be treated as a regular person, not really be put on a pedestal. Did any degree. So I really enjoyed Stanford for that reason. It was a cool place to go.

It's a great answer for that is blowing my mind, a really good answer, honestly.

It really is. You know that that's rare, right.

You don't see a lot of guys walking around saying that I went there because I just wanted to go to school and be left alone. I didn't want people praising me. You know what, there's a lot of there's a lot of younger guys. I mean, you were talking about how old were you seventeen eighteen?

Yeah, probably about seventeen eighteen, seventeen eighteen years old.

There's not a lot of seventeen or eighteen year olds who would say that. Would you agree with that? Have you always been different. Have you always been?

Yes, I guess. I mean, I don't know. I guess this is pretty normal for me. I don't know how different it is.

When you were in high school, what was your favorite subject of study? What did you love?

I enjoyed math for the longest, and then once I got accepted into Stanford and finished my math, I just school was kind of done for me. I wanted to take a break for my senior year, so I started doing some easy stuff. But up until my junior year was math. Okay, what is easy stuff? What would you say is easy?

Don't know?

I mean I just go to cal Berkeley.

Wow, Okay, wait a minute. Who's who has ESPN College Game Day coming to their campus system? This guy? Here we go, Here we go. Yeah, they're playing Miami. They're playing the Oh that's that's why they're going. Okay, we played Oregon number three and they came, so I figured that's the only reason they came to us, So they a good Actually, as the story goes, they're coming for the Calgarithm, which is all the social media that has

Yeah, my birthday, actually, I don't know. Being there was it was tough. Obviously, that was the first taste of playing tight end and I had no idea what I was doing for the longest time, so it was tough.

It was difficult.

It was definitely a learning curve, challenge, uphill battle for me. And then once I got here things sort of smoothed out a little bit. But yeah, it was it was. It was challenging.

Leijah. When did they tell you that they were going to move you to tight end or was that where they Senier Bowl?

Actually at the Senior Bowl and then at the combine as well, the interviews and whatnot, it's kind of started to get a feeling all the teams wanted me to make that transition.

Okay, well you to make that transition and you were okay with that?

Yeah, I was fine with it. I was excited.

Yes, Miami very very physical scheme. Is they do Yes, they do well.

Speaking of in the off season, we talked to your position coach, Ben Steele, and he commented on you and you're blocking and the evolution from the tight end position. Here's Ben Steele.

The best part about him as a former receiver. He doesn't have any bad habits as far as footwork and inline blocking as a tight end, and so he takes on the coaching and does exactly what I tell him to do, and it's it's awesome because he really works at it and he's willing and able to stick his nose in there.

True.

I mean you came in and you were like a I know you know mold you like Clay from the very beginning.

I mean, I had no idea.

You could tell me to do the complete wrong thing and I'd probably do it because I had no idea at all. Like I said earlier, I didn't know how to get at three points stance. For the longest time, I didn't know the difference between a nine tech and a six technique and I didn't I mean, I didn't know anything.

So how about when you got to some of the blocking drolls one on one against outside linebackers where there's some rough moments in the big Yeah.

For sure. Yeah it was rough for a very long time.

I think it was rough up until I figured out that it was all about technique and not about you know, just trying to hit them because usually that doesn't work well. Usually oftentimes the guys are twenty pounds bigger than you. So that's when I this off season really try to hone in on the technique of things and understand it a little bit better.

So where you are right now in your revolution, what do you think you need to do to get better?

Continue to be critical with myself for one, great answer, I think for two is just continue to learn the game, because I think there's a lot of things that technique can fix, but also understand the game can fix as well.

I don't know. I think I think I'm going in the right direction.

I think it's just doing the things I continue to do is being critical by myself and continue to learn and ask questions and just play fast.

I think That's what it comes down to. You know your job and just play fast.

So just continue to do those things and develop a better understanding of the game. And in the position, the fact you played multiple sports growing up, you know the fact, I mean you come from an athletic family, right, your brother went to Cols. Now it's Sack State, right, your sister is beach volleyball player at Florida State.

If I'm seeing this correct, that your mom played hoops, I mean, how much does that help you and your ability to transition to a new position.

Yeah, I mean it definitely helps, just having that background of doing a lot of different things. And then I think just always being involved in sports is obviously come to fruition now because that's all I do. But yeah, every week, every weekend was baseball or basketball, football, And if it wasn't my tournament, it was my brothers. If it wasn't my brothers, it was my sister. So we always had sports going on, and I mean we still do it now. They're all playing and my parents are

At what age always going to be about sports in regard. Yeah, you know how much you loved playing.

Yeah, I mean it's just once it's a thing of what you do and how you identify It's it's hard to know anything else. So I don't know if I made that distinction at any age. It was just kind of normal. So that's just what we did and what we continue to do.

Did you ever meet any famous alums at Stanford when you're there, like you know Elon Moss or Yeah.

No, there's yeah, Connor Leeza Rice was there often. We saw her like at least once a week, to be honest, coming from the she would go lift at like five am in our weight room. Uh C Mac would come by a few times. Andrew Luck actually took classes with my girlfriend. He's a really nice dude, down to earth. I think he's still going to school there.

That makes sense, That makes total sense.

Yeah.

One of the things that's cool is I'm sure Andrew Luck could ride around with this helmet on and nobody would know who he is at the stay for campus. That's pretty special. I'm pretty sure he's another guy that that enjoys that. That that's very cool.

Cool.

I love the stories when Tiger Woods went there. He used to putt on the basketball court because it would replicate the fast greens at Augusta. That was always good stuff. Hey, we continue Elijah Higgins here on the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert at Trophy in shader.

Free wide receiver set on fourth down and one at the two, and they're not gonna put Murray under center.

He's in shotgun here.

Murray waiting now the shotgun snap, He's gonna throw a faite left side of the end zone. Harrison pulls it in a touchdown. Cardinals, there's the fad. It worked on fourth down and it looked like they were stealing.

Oh, Kyler Murray just dropped the little spam in a can. Marvin Harrison Junior ran the corner fade and Kyler Murray put it out in front of him in Marvin Harrison Junior snagged it and stabbed it.

Kyler Murray, with his one hundredth career touchdown pass at ties it with Kurt Warner for fifth on the franchise list for career passing touchdowns.

So congratulations to Kyler.

Yeah, that's outstanding. In fact, there's a century mark for Buddha Baker. We'll get to a little bit later, but there was Marvin Harrison Junior as we are visiting with Elijah Higgins Cardinals tight end here on the Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert At Trophy in Chandler Price Road and Queen Creek. So tell us about Marvin Harrison Junior and what you've seen from day one to now. He actually is currently tied for the NFL

Yeah, he's a special talent. He's an even better person.

I think he's extremely humble, maybe to a fault. I mean, the things that he can do on the football field or are awesome to watch, and I think just the type of person is off the field is even cooler. I think we've all seen him kind of come into himself obviously as a rookie, is always challenging those first few games, just you know, finding your confidence and whatnot.

So higgy when you watch the tape, is there a comedy denominator as to what teams are trying to do to Marvin Harrison Junior.

Yeah, I mean trying to double him more often than not. I mean that's that's what happens when you have you know, you're a good talent, and I mean it's good for the rest of us ride. It opens up some opportunities indors for the rest of the guys on the field. But obviously, if that's what happens, that's what happens. If not, then be single, then he'll do his thing.

But yeah, well, and that's part of the addition A wide receiver one, right, what it can do for your offense. Now you know whether he's producing or he's get doubled, and how it trickles down. And what if you would have given him some advice on the night he got drafted, since you had just gone through your rookie year, what would you have told him? What was key, I know making that transition to the league.

I would say, just be patient with the process, be diligent, be patient, work hard, just all the all the you know, all the basic cliche things that people usually I'll say to you, and but those are usually the most true things, right, the cliche thing.

So, and he's made a point to your earlier point that you know he came in, he realized a lot of fanfare. He said, the heisman, you know, ceremony right with Jayden Daniels, right, I mean he's a household name. The moment he gets drafted and being number four, he made a point just sort of okay, I'm gonna know my role, my place as a rookie, and from what I can tell in that locker room, that's earned him some immediate respect. If he didn't have it already, he

Would you agree with that, Yeah, agreed completely.

Like I said before, I mean, he's a great, a great human being, very humble, and I think that's one of the things that are most respected, you know, by athletes in general, is just being a humble guy and being down to earth and that sort of thing.

So it's cool to see.

So when you think of the opponent this weekend, the San Francisco forty nine ers, what is the first thing that comes to mind for you? Personally?

Good weather, being in the Bay, good websited for the nice weather. But it's gonna be hot.

It's going to be hot. Yeah right, I mean you guys are going to be used to that. Do you think that is going to be an advantage? I think JG said it best.

It's going to be an advantage of the team that uses it as an advantage who you know, whenever the weather's rough, whatever team you know makes a point to for being rough as usually team that doesn't do as well. So just embracing it, I think is the biggest thing. And I think we were more than capable of doing that.

Wait, come on, it was one o nine today. I drove over here with my windows down. Okay, so my goodness, you know, forty nine ers, you better get mentally talk. Okay, here's Kyler Murray. I'm facing that forty nine ers defense.

It is year six for me, and they've been great ever since I've been in the league. Got a lot of great players. Obviously, Fred and Nick you know, two of the guys that you know make it go, but a lot of great players surrounding them.

For sure.

I'm excited for the opportunity. You know, it's always fun. We gotta have a great week of practice and be ready for them.

All right.

So two weeks ago you got ninety seven eight in Hutchinson. This week you get ninety seven Nick Bosa, and we know that can be a team effort, right, trying to slow down one of the premier pass rushers in the league. So tell us about that challenge.

Yeah, we're excited and we're ready to embrace the challenge. And I think we'vet we got a really good plan for him, and then it just comes down to executing that plan.

So tell me, Richards seeing from Fred Warner to the line table, he's one of my favorite.

Yeah, he's to watch. He is awesome to watch. He flies around, he has a lot of fun playing the game. You can see and that's something that as a young player I'm still a little bit envious of because I feel like I'm still learning how to play at that speed and enjoy it that much. But it's cool to see a guy with hit like him, with experience and just out there having fun making plays flying around. I mean, he's he decided to see for sure.

When you play these Division games, and I get it, you know, you're you're one year in, and but I mean, to what degree do you go in kind of knowing the challenge just because you played him twice last year? Is that familiarity you know? Or do you expect them to change things up for the sake of change because you play him twice a year.

That's a tough question. I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm not sure. One game at a time, then I'll say that I'll say this answer. It's probably easier On offense. Kyle Shananan has a track record.

I've always thrown in a few wrinkles every year, a little something, especially early in the season that he innovated.

Right.

Yeah, he's got a he's got a very creative offense, and it's probably tougher on defense and his offense, you know, with those changes and whatnot.

You know, it's so interesting when I look at the metrics of the forty nine ers defense right here. A lot of top ten stuff in major metrics like yards per game allowed. Of course they have sacks per attempt at number four first downs? How many first downs they allowed their number four of course, number ten in points. These are big metrics right here. All of a sudden, I get to third down defense and they're number twenty

I mean, it's just taking advantage opportunities, to be honest, and I'm not going to speak down to anybody or about anybody, but I think, like I said, it's just about those matchups and usually it's man.

Coverage and just winning those one on ones. And we got the guys to do that.

And obviously they play teams that also had the guys to do that or us it wouldn't happen. So I'm excited for the opportunity for the guys that you know.

Make it happen.

I think third down is going to be a big, a big area of concern for Hoss offensively and defensively. Right, third down is going to be maybe a decider at this game.

Yeah, I mean they're down always, is right? Yeah?

Yeah, Well, I mean think about it. The Cardinals on offense led the NFL after two weeks, and third down conversion rate in the last two weeks not so much, right, and then the deep pass was there in two of the games, hasn't been there in two of the other games. So these are some of the things that these games always come down to, and whether the Cardinals can get it clicking and get it rolling. You've seen it in some games. You didn't see it last week. So we'll

Hi I'm Christophernandez and I'm Colo Bikini, and we're from Ted Lasso, and we know I think or two about football. No, this is American football, right, So we have no idea what we're doing here, but we're having.

Lots of fun.

I moved the hundred and nine seventh pick in the two pousand and twenty three NFL Draft.

In Miami Dolphins select Elijah Higgins tight end.

Stanford's football is line.

He's here, he's there, He's every freaking where.

Elijah Higgins, Elijah Higgins.

That is one of the most unique draft selections in the history of the NFL draft. And we have that guy alongside Elijah Higgins, Cardinals tight end here on the Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford and Gilbert Live at Trophy and Chandler at Price Road in Queen Creek. We'll get to that location here in a moment, but first let's talk about Ted last. So, Elijah, did you ever think in a million years that somehow your draft pick would be tied into that TV show?

I had no idea what was going on when that happened.

To be honest, they they played on the screen, the people were on the screen. They were in like a stadium, and they had said something about Ted Lasso, and I had no idea what was going I'm not gonna lie.

I didn't.

I never heard of Ted Lasso. I didn't know what it was. I still don't know what.

Cal Berkeley they loved Todd last Okay, Stanford doesn't know anything about Ted la By the way, it's cal Berkeley. They they love cal. I just got love. I just got it.

I just got a text from Lorenzo Alexander cal Alum telling me, Hey, you're now rocking with Stanford Cats. You're being way too nice, says so and so I got to avoid him in the near future. Note to self on that one. So have you since watched Ted Lasso?

No, I haven't known about I don't know the premise that.

Okay, all right, well I've been watching either.

So I've struck out him over three Friday night lights of the movie, the TV show, now Ted Lasso, I'm over for three. So it's let's talk about Buddha Baker. Okay, And here's what he had to say. Kyler threw his one hundredth career touchdown pass. Booter will make his one hundredth career start on Sunday against the forty nine ers, and here's what he had to say about that. In the Niners quarterback.

It doesn't feel like it, of course, you know, you see one hundred plus tackles a season. Some people might say it does feel like it. But you know, I'm blessed and I have the opportunity to, you know, take care of my body and do all the appropriate things to make sure that I'm one hundred percent each and every week. So yeah, shout out rock parity. Hope you throw it to me a couple of times.

It's pretty good. Buddha Baker there. And it's worth noting that Brock Party was the twenty seventeen Arizona Cardinals High School Player of the Year when he started at Gilbert Perry High School, which our Jim ol Monro points out is exactly eight miles east of here. It is exactly down Queen Creek Road, eight miles east of Trophy here and Chandler. And how often do you ever watch the other team's offense?

Do you ever? You know?

And what do you Because brock Purty the final pick of the draft three years ago, and he was the Pro Bowl starter a year ago. I mean, it's remarkable what he's been able to do from when you've can glean so far. What makes a really good quarterback in the NFL? What are the two or three qualities you must have? Is a guy who catches passes from quarterbacks.

Decision making, leadership, and then just the factor of getting it done.

Yeah, you gotta have the physical talent, you gotta have the ability to do it, and you have to do that. But man, the decision making, that's what I love. It's it's inside the gray matter. You look at something, what are your eyes telling you? Are your eyes lying to you right? And you've got to make that decision like this, whether it's pulling the ball down to run or whether it's reading the coverage, whatever it may be. It is

Last week, he averaged over nineteen yards of completion. Think about that. They ran the ball and they threw deep shots and that's how they beat New England.

Yeah, let me just ask Buddha Baker. Okay, your thoughts on Buddha Baker as a football player and what it is you see.

He loves the game. I think that's the biggest thing. He flies around, he loves the game. He takes care of himself off the field.

Yeah.

I just think he loves the game. I think that's the biggest quality that makes me the player that he is.

You know, I watch him as a former player. Of course, I watch him play and I immediately am challenged by Buddha Baker. Here, I am Elijah. I'm sixty one years old. Are you kidding me? I'm sixty one years old, and yet I watch Buddha Baker play the game, and I'm challenged because of how he plays the game. I'm talking about everything that he has and he doesn't play after play after play. It's unbelievable to watch him on tape. Do it? Is it a challenge to some of the

Do you see the way this guy's playing? He's done this before.

They actually have a mic on him saying that Buddha Baker, that Buddha Baker is a football player.

Man.

He gets the attention of everybody on the field, whether it's your guys or whether it's their guys watching him. He challenges you as a man as to whether or not you're going to play the game the way that he's going to play the game. That's pretty incredible if you ask me.

Yeah, there are a few guys who play with that zeal, right. I mean we mentioned earlier Trey McBride like a big kid. Here's Kyler Murray this week. Just on having eighty five back as a target against the Niners. That's huge.

I think you know, alwa say we missed him last week. Move, I think we missed him last week. You know, just having him out there, another playmaker, another guy that gets a job done no matter what, and you know his confidence is going to continue to grow. So I'm definitely excited to have him back out there.

And you know what, had a really big game at the Niners last year week for Michael Wilson, two touchdown catches, had a huge game. You know him better than anyone did. All four years line up together, you and him at Stanford.

It was a year he was there a year before me, So he's a year older than me.

Okay, but you guys are in the same position room all those years, right, Okay, So how about how cool has that been and how much does that help your assimilation to Arizona?

Yeah, he helped a lot.

I mean always, you know, having something familiar with a new place is always helpful.

Definitely miss seeing him as much as I used to in college.

We're always in different rooms and whatnot, with him in the receiver room, me in the tight end room.

But it definitely helped out a lot, for sure.

So when you guys get together, I mean, at some point in time, you know, you're you're not always in meeting rooms. You're in the locker room with the other guys. You and Michael Flexing because of Stanford, are you and Michael Flexing got everyone else?

Because maybe they went to pitt We don't flex on anybody. But people have to make fun of us for going to Stanford. I think it's an inferiority thing.

Okay, yeah, we're going to Stanford.

Yeah, okay, it doesn't make sense, right.

See, the only downside of going to Stanford is if you ever make a mistake, then someone says you went to Stanford.

I get that allot from my sister, my younger sister. That's funny.

So, by the way, he got engaged in the off season, right, you know, Sophia Smith.

I was no, I didn't.

Oh Michael Wilson. Michael Wilson got engaged and okay, so what's the deal? Are you have? You shop for a way gift? Yet, what do you get a guy like Mike Michael Wilson? What are you gonna do?

It's tough. I don't know.

I haven't give him that much that Actually, that's that's something I need to think about because that is going to be a typical decision.

Yes, it is, so, Elijah, were you ever recruited by Pitt No?

No, yeah, would you have gone to put that?

Probably not.

See if Larry Fitzgerald was here right now, you would take exception wollfed Larry Fitzgerald have a long running for few because Wall went to West Virginia and so the whole thing.

Okay, yeah, well if you don't say anything about West Virginia. Okay, we're talking about Pitt right now. Pitt, and you heard it by it. He would not have gone to Pitt, by the way, just for the record, FO you have gone to Stanford if.

I could afford it, I would have. I didn't get a scholarship like you did, Elijah.

Okay, that's great.

You got a future in this you want you won in life. You got a scholarship to Stanford. You have to pay a dime Stichel Thanks Jim, I'm on Hunter, Cody Fincherwald Ellis Lawrence, Elis Allen Eriny for Elijah Higgins. This is been the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert at Trophy and Shamler.

You've been listening to the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert right on the price right on the corner of the Santan two oh two Freeway in Valvesta. The Rage is brought to you by Arizona Cardinals Podcast. Visit Azycardinals dot com.

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