Big Red Rage - In The Trenches With Billy Price

Tan by Arizona Cardinals Podcasts. Visit Hacy Cardinals dot Com, Slash Podcasts, The Reds, Rising Guard, Temperaturizing Vision, flurring, Rage taking over. Here's Paul CALVICI. I'm ready. I'm one hundred percent ready. I'm telling you I'm ready. And Ron Wolflee, it doesn't get any better than that, boy, unleash the fiar. You know enough enough of my own New Year's resolutions, Ron Wolfley, I'll keep those to myself. Please do Paul this year. I have a bunch of value added suggestions

and resolutions that I'm going to offer to you. Ron Wolfley, I'll reject them. Just think of it as like an old school suggestion box. Okay, I'm going to stuff that suggestion box with some free advice for you as to how you can improve your life going forward in twenty twenty three. We'll see if you're receptive or not, and if you're if you're not. I brought along some muscle in the form of Cardinals starting center. Billy Price, our guest on the Big Red Rage, presented by Santan Ford

and Gilbert Billy. Welcome. If Wolf ask you for New Year's resolutions, dist ignore him. Okay, we got bigger and better stuff to talk about here tonight. Welcome. Appreciate it, man, Thank you for having me. Appreciate you. Billy, thank you for showing up right now. It says here in my notes that you were born in Austintown, Ohio. Buddy, I gotta ask you right now, where is and what was the like growing up there? So Austintown we always tell

people it's directly between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. It's a steel city. So growing up on the west side of Youngstown in Austintown m a city of grit. We always talk about a city of grit and people who people who understand and you have to you have to get down and dirty to earn the respect to earn what you have. UM. So it's a great mindset growing up, especially, you know, having the aspirations go play Division one college ball eventually one day. UM, you know that what led to the

aspirations to play in the NFL. So being in high school, you work for everything you get, you know, and it's very very competitive, especially in Northeast Ohio with football. UM ended up getting a full right scholarship to Ohio State, UH and then being able to continue that that same mindset of grit to earn what you get and then which led me into being selected in by Cincinnati in the first round in twenty and eighteen and it's been

it's been a journey ever since. All Right, So I'm going to guess there are two kinds of people in the city of Grin. You're either a Steelers fan or you're a Browns fan. True or false. It's one percent accurate. And when I was drafted, that was one of the first questions they said, Hey, okay, hey, being in Ohio, being an Ohio guy, were you a Cincinnati fan? And unfortunately had to disappoint the entire fan base immediately and say no, Actually, I was raised the Pittsburgh fan My

stepfather was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was raised on Jerome Bennis, Jerome Bettis, heinz Ward pen Ben, Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, all those guys, and to watch the continue to watch the rivalry, and obviously it's kind of a little bit lopsidedly, not recently as recently with Burrow there now, but just that mindset. It just I gravitated towards Pittsburgh, and so every Sunday Pittsburgh and Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, you know, every now and

then he catched Pittsburgh Cincy. So it was started to start off the right foot with the fan base and sinc. But hey, it's it is what it is. It's where I was raised, it's you know, the people I was around. So so, Billy, I gotta ask you this right now, you're telling me that Austintown is a suburb of Youngstown, Ohio. Correct, on the west side. Yes, on the west side, on the west side of Youngstown right there. So are you

familiar with the Zorditch family? Very familiar? Oh you all keep yeah, Mike, Michael Zorditch right, very very one of my fast buddies, dude. Interesting so you're also forty five miles from Akron. So here's the next hard hitting question, Lebron or Michael Jordan. I gotta go. I gotta go Michael Jordan, just simply because the numbers speak what they are. I would say, when Braun gets to that level, he's an incredible in today's era of sports. He is. He

is the goat in today's era. But if you're looking from the history of from myself, from some of the other guys in the locker room, I mean, it's hard to deny what Michael Jordan's been able to do. So in high school, you were All State. In fact, you were a co defensive player of the Year in the state of Ohio and high school. So how did you end up an offensive lineman? Take us through that all, right, When and where did you make the switch to the

dark side? So play defense, played both sides in high school. Just again, you play both sides and Friday nights and it's a little bit shorter quarter, so it wasn't as hard. I got to college first day. Mike Rabel was a defensive line coach at Ohio State. It took me about four days of training camp at Ohio State for me to realize if I wanted to continue to play football at this level, I was gonna need to change sides. It was very thankful to be recruited to play both sides.

And the guy, the offensive line coach who was there at Ohio States, Ed Warner, who recruited me when he was at Notre Dame as the offensive line coach and said, hey, you know an opportunity, I would love to have you. And then he ended up under Urban Meyers staff at Ohio State and then gave me the opportunity. I went to coach, I mean, you're an eighteen year old, your boy, you really are a boy. Tears of my eyes and said, I just I don't know if I'm gonna be able

to do this. You know, after you're getting pancakes three or four times, because it's it's the freshman in there versus the first team offensive line, who was Taylor Decker who's with the Lions, Andrew Norwell who's with Washington now played with the Jags, Jack Muhart who spent four years with Indie and all those guys, and I mean it was it was ridiculing in Pat olf Line, who was with Carolina right now. Wow, So you're against NFL offensive line your first day there, and I said, I just

I don't know if I can do this. Um, I said, I need to change sides, and you know, go from their urban allowed me to do it and said, hey, we're all about it. Got you into the offensive line room with with coach Warner and the rest of his history and Billy, yeah you did. You went to Ohio State, of course, and you actually played three seasons at guard

right before they moved you to center. Yeah, we kind of got this little program now for interior guys, you end up you end up learning the offense playing guard. So for me, I went left guard for two seasons, right guard for a season, ended up at center. And pat olf Line did the same thing. He was at left guard, went to right guard, that went to center and ended up obviously he's doing very well for himself

in the NFL. So it allows you to understand and learn the offense from a less less critical position because you're not snapping the ball, so you're it's still important to have the pass game and in the run game and everything you're doing in there, but it's able to slow your mind down for then when you get to center, you understand the offense as a whole, understand formations, adjustments, and then you're accountable for snapping the ball. So it

was a nice transition into it. Um it's a little o Hio State Hio State interior program as we call it. So I haven't seen anybody else since do it. Um. Let's say the kid who is in there now, he's been playing center since he's been there, So it's man, Billy.

That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, And we were able to do I mean, having the size to be able to do it, especially at a power five D one level, being able to you know, handle you know, some of your b blocks, your douce blocks, and then being able to transition inside and still be athletic enough to go and do those things that center requires you to, being able to pull backblock on some of these super athletic three techniques that there are. UM, So it was

it was a good transition. It was a good grooming process, especially to be to be the guy in that offense. But think about it, and Billy Price is our guest Cardinals starting center. You moved to center as a senior and then won the Remington Award as the best center in college football. To what degree did that exceed your own expectations? Um? You know, I had a really good, really really really good group of guys around me, and it just it's nice, but trying to be humble about it.

But as as you go, as as a team goes, you go, Okay, we were very very good that year. I can't tell you the amount of you know, top round draft picks that Ohistate has been able to produce over the last six seven years. So it's as a team goes, you go and you get that recognition. So for so Billy, there are so many interior offensive linemen that play guard and center. Um, do you have a preference. Do you have a preference in the NFL? Would you

rather play guard than center? Um? I'd rather play center. I think for me especially, this game has slowed down so much for me now, you know, and Rodney and

I have this conversation often, Rodney Hudson. The game slows down, you start to see things slower, people start moving slower, and they're still freak athletes, but you know, you're back blocking on a three technique, You're able to see those adjustments and him move and I think that that was the best thing for me my true rookie year was to play center, to get groomed to the speed of the NFL so that you're able to continue to develop and grow in this league and to be successful at it.

So I'd preference the play center. So Rodney Hudson hasn't played since week four. You came in from the Raiders, and it was a couple of weeks and then you took over and you've been the starting center I think since week seven. Are you finally at a point where you're playing and not thinking? How much of a process was that? What was the degree of difficulty in picking

up a new playbook and scheme on the fly. Yeah, it's difficult, especially when you were relied upon to make a lot of the calls, make a lot of the calls. So in Vegas, the quarterback makes the calls. It's a very very patriot like system. So the quarterbacks make the calls, which blew my mind when you said that our conversation at Mexico City, Billy, when you were saying that you weren't making the calls in Vegas, that kind of blew

my ba. Yeah, I mean, but look at it look what Tom does in Tampa, what he just did against us, And it was the same situation. And it's there you have a growing relationship and again centers are able to start to see some of the adjustments, rotations and some tendencies that you have that relationship with the quarterback. But when the offense and you've got the greatest quarterback of all time, run it that you let him run a show. So it's a situation there, but you learned. You try

to pick up the playbook. In three weeks in Vegas and then all of a sudden, you know, boom, hey they want you taking you off a piece squad. You want to go over and you know, picking up the offense. It's a little bit a little it's a little simpler, which is not a bad thing. It's you know, hey, you see the adjustments here, your adjustments here, your can criteria here, your potential calls. Go play. And that was the first thing Cook said to me. It was like, hey,

we want you to stop thinking so much. We want to make this simple. Go play. You're talented enough, you're you're a baller, Go do your thing, Go play fast. And so it's gotten to that point and in each week in the NFL outside of your divisional opponents, there's a different scheme. There's a different game plan there. You know, we want to run the ball these types of plays or protect and have a protection plan for this type

of player in the division. It makes it a look because you have consistent tendencies and consistent guys who you see like what Seattle we played twice in four weeks, five weeks or something like that, so it's like, okay, hey boom, you remember that kind of stuff. So it's a little bit of a different situation to that, but it's I mean, it was tough. And then on top of it, I had a child, which that makes it even more because again my wife was in Dallas, Texas.

We're trying to figure it out. All of a sudden she came out here. We had a kid. On Friday, I played Women and we played Minnesota on Saturday. I mean, the turnaround to what the mental side of this actually was and the last x amount of week, I mean, it's been it's been a whirlwind of a season. I can tell you that. Well, we did not know that, so we buried the league. Congratulations being a father to

you and your family. Appreciate it. Here will be nine weeks this Friday, so it's he he hasn't gotten a chance to see a Cardinals game yet, but he's doing well. He's healthy. I don't know, I'm super super happy to be a father. I think you've been a Cardinal nine games right about. Speaking of how is your season gone, Billy h he has some bumps um as expected with that.

It's you know, there's different quarterbacks, there's different cadences. There's things again, as you learn an offense in the little wrinkles, some of these things you get used to in OTAs, and unfortunately I wasn't here for OTAs. You know, there's free agency decisions, et cetera that were made, but having

that valuable time makes a difference. You know, some of the cadences that we use, some of the motions, formations, things, It would have been very helpful for me to get to the point where, you know, the last three or four weeks, I've really felt like I've settled down. I've really starting to play consistent and not you know, my

mind is not spinning and that makes a huge difference. Well, speaking of quarterbacks, Colt McCoy is back and we will see him in Atlanta and Cliff Kingsbury was asked about Colm McCoy thirty six years of age and what he brings. Yeah, he obviously brings the calmness. You know, he has a great field for what we're trying to do and the leadership of getting people in the right spot, getting the

right calls, checking the right plays. I mean that that's a comfort level that we all have when he's out there, and I'd love to get him some confidence and play really well a couple more times hand in an offseason. Anybody who's seeing hard knocks realizes that he's a coach in the making if he so chooses right. What is that like on the field? How does that translate from the huddle to the line of scrimmage. I would definitely

agree that there's a calmness to him. He's seen a lot, he's played a lot of ball, and having that calm presence behind you and his ability to seriously get everybody on the same page as well as trust the guys around them to do their part as a professional. You know, we have protection meetings and I run the protection meetings and it's okay, I see that. You know, if there's any questions, it's okay, hey, what's your thought process behind it? Okay,

hey you see it that way? Cool? I know my answers instead of oh no, we're gonna do it this way, or we're gonna do it that way, or it's it's it's a collective effort. And that's what I think. I mean, I know, you know he got a game ball. I believe he got a game ball for the Rams game. That's a perfect, perfect example. Everybody's collectively working together on what's going on, what our game plan is, how we're going to attack these guys to protect these guys. And

that's just Cole. I mean, if you know him, if you see him, the way he operates, what you've seen on Hard Knocks, that's Colt. I mean I think he's a father of four, grew up in Texas. I mean that is cold. His dad was a high school coach. Yeah, man, and it really is. I do I agree with you guys on the coaching aspect, because if you you listen to him speak and you listen to, oh, hey, this is our answer if they do this, this is the anticipation,

the answers, the adjustments, It's incredible. It's incredible, and it's not to age him by no means, but I want I used to want to go to Texas. I wanted to go to play for Mac Brown And whose jersey did I have? Quote McCoy's like, it's kind of a you know, my dad said the same thing when I went out there. He goes, hey, you know colts out there right, and he's like, do you want me to send you the jersey to get signed? I go, no, please,

I'll do that. So he's just incredible. It's calm, but you're like, Dad, you know, cold will think is starting center as a stalker or something might come on. You know, easy is crazy how we used to do. It's like just wild, but well we have him when we come back. We want you to share what you can of your conversation with JJ Watt earlier today and just what an offensive lineman makes of j. J. Watt and what he's been able to do this year in his Hall of

Fame career. We're visiting with Billy Price, our special guest on The Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford and Gilbert. We're talking about a guy who was the twenty first pick overall in the two eighteen draft. He started every game at Ohio State ever since his red shirt freshman year won a national title. We continue with a big red rage right after this second down and ten man in motion is dorch exolely under center. Give to Connor looking laugh, runs off tackle left side twenty ten. The

races inside the five and into the end zone. James Connor houses it from twenty two yards out. That's the Cardinals run game, wearing down the defense in the fourth quarter, and it pays off with the first touchdown of the game. And it all started by putting the quarterback under center with twelve personnel, one back, two tight ends, run the ball, tackle zone concept. James Connor houses in there you go. That was from Christmas Night, Sunday Night football against Tom

Brady and company and that Tampa Bay defense. All right, so it's a rare opportunity. Ron Wolfley, Paul Calves. You heard us right there, Billy Price, our special guest, the starting center. True or false? Hear me surmise the Cardinals wore down that Tampa defense in the fourth quarter. Then you heard wolf Site the quarterback under center. Were we

correct or incorrect? Billy? This is your chance now you were definitely correct all that it was, been pushing for it and finally being able to get the call and get them in the right defense. Right look, bot a boom, here you go touchdown. So was that, Billy? Was that more of a stretch play a zone concept than you guys have run before. You guys also run double, you run the power without the polls, So that was more of a zone concept, correct, correct, Yes, something we haven't

put a ton of on tape. So again, being able to hit those guys, and you see a lot of successful teams running the wide zone against Tampa, So getting that look especially, I believe it was ended up being to a strong side as the tight end motioned across just the way that they adjusted to it and id the backside make sure we cut that off. And it was up to the tight ends to make sure that we got a lane for jac and go hit your head off the goalpost. But guy, yep, James Connor fifteen

carries five point three yards a carry. Um. You know, as you might imagine, Paul pencil Neck here has never played offensive line, Billy, So I'll ask you this question, what do you guys use to gauge and judge your performance and where is yards per carry? Where does that rank? What else do you guys assess when you grab the box score after a game? What are you looking at? First and foremost? Sacks first and foremost and some of the sacks that all sacks are not created equal. Again,

it could be a coverage sack. It could be I got beat, It could be you know, somebody was hot and involved and get out. You know, situations, So they're not all sacks are treated equally. But again, a sack as a sack. And if we can avoid those and get you a nice big zero on there, that's the best. And then secondly, yards per carry. I think that that's a correlation to how successful one year, how successful your

run game is. And two two I put two B to that is how many carries did you end up getting? You know, I think what last week I said, what was a fifteen fifteen Connor fifteen carries? You know, obviously offensive line being biased. Hey, we want more, we want more, but for five point three a carry on fifteen, you know it's a decent night. So um, you know, we

just continue to push for it. You know, we love the duo runs, you know, the power without the Poolers getting JC rolling here on the wide zone that we've been we've been pushing for recently, just haven't really got it run into game. And then again it's it's smashed mouth football. It's tight zone. It's beat the guy across from you, and you know you have to be physical.

And again it gains a defense like Tampa um intention to wear them down, and eventually you do wear them down and all of a sudden, there you go, there's a twenty two yard run for a touchdown. So just it's it all ties in with it, Um, but definitely sacks boy yards per carry and then touches boy Billy. Just listening to you talk right there. You know, what's all I can think of is Steve Hyden right now? Um, what has Steve Hyden brought to this offensive line and

the mentality they're off. It's Steve is putting a tough spot. Um. Any type, there is an in season coaching adjustment. Everybody's got to pick up a little bit, and I think it also has to pick up within the room itself. And I think that's a representative reflection of the men and the leaders that we have in this room. Again, Rod Hudson. I mean, if he go give him the gold jacket, now, Calvin Beacham, go go give that man and his honors and now how he deserves it. Hum Pugh.

Will has been in there, you know, being inconsistent, consistently being in there in that room and understand the offense. And everybody's picked up a little bit. Hey, you know, our film studies increased a little bit with the attention to detail and understanding how our run fits need to be have increased, And it's just everybody's just trying to continue to elevate it. And I know one thing for sure,

no matter who's in there. You know, if I'm playing guard, if I'm playing center, if Max is playing right guard, or Max is playing left guard, or Will's in there, no matter who it is, We're just going to continue to keep swinging. And that's the mentality we take into it. Starting center of Billy Price is our guest here on the Big Red Rage presented by Santan Forn and Gilbert. So when you're on the bench and you're getting the gatorade, you're looking at the jumbo tron. You're seeing what JJ

Watt has been doing recently to defensive lineman. Man, you tell us from a first person perspective, Man, what sort of deal has he been lately? He's been something he's been on in practice too. He's incredible. You're glad to have him, oney, I'm on your side, even at his age, you know, getting up there, especially you know, defensive line, it's a very physical position. And to see it still see his production just absolutely incredible. And what a last

home game to go out on. Unbelievable. And again they have a couple of plays against Trisan Worfs all Pro right tackle the Bucks. I mean, a phenomenal, phenomenal player, a phenomenal athlete and still being able to do that and have that high production. I mean, that's that's who J. J. Watt is, man, and he just continues to go. You know what's amazing about ability too, Just it brings me

back seeing a great player like that. There are great players, of course that not only go out and impact games on a very tangible level, but they also bring the intangibles to the field and inspire so many teammates around them. They're not even trying to. But when you're out there playing with a guy who basically is a living legend, a guy that's going to be a Hall of Famer man that that can fire you up as a player, can it? Absolutely? I mean the energy is in infectious.

Is infectious to be around somebody like that, to continue to elevate your game, to continue to try to even match theirs as that. So it's it's always you try to match the people around union and continue to elevate and continue to just just match the talent and the people around you, because you don't want to be the guy who's not doing their job on the field. You don't want to be the reason that Saca Thoup or you know, the TfL or whatever the case may be.

I mean, when Buddha finishes a game with what turns out to be a fractured shoulder, I mean, as if you need any more cred in that locker room, my goodness, I would say playing safety, and especially Buddha. Buddha's more of a box safety. I mean, Buddha can go and cover the deep third. Don't get me wrong, but my goodness is often and as active as he is inside

that box and have a fractured shoulder. I mean, seriously, what else needs to be said about about the kids as as a player and who he is, and it's just unbelievable those two individuals that are in our locker room and to be able to be around them, just their way they operate, the way that they prepare and how they take care of their bodies. I mean again, I got a little Nick dub knee right now, But single morning, buddhistre in there, J J. Watts out there stretching.

So it's just it's one of those situations that, again, it inspires you to be a better pro. What else can you do to be better? There's no doubt about it. You're watching a Buddha baker go about his business right there. Um, just a pros pro through and through. And then JJ Watt of course, as many years as he's played and yet he's still going out and he's making plays and he's finishing strong right here? Does it make you think how many years you want to play? How long do

you want to play in this league? Billy, We're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna hold them and ride the lightning as long as we can. Then I'll tell you that, Um, that's what's that's what's fun about this league to me, because again, playing playing center, you've there's a lot of there is a lot of thinking to it. There's a lot of reactions. You understand, Okay, what kind of personnel we're in a formation? What's the adjustment potential, can criteria

for plays? There's some there's some thinking to it, and that's what makes it fun for me in a challenge. Okay, if they're going to react in a week side says he's coming down, how are we going to do this differently? Protection it just it makes it fun. And so I always continue to tell my wife that too, you know, I said, you know, with my son being there and stuff. Now you obviously the career might be a little shorter, but we're going to continue to ride this thing out

as long as we can. Right, quick answer your high school alma mater, what was your nickname for that team you played for? The Fitch Falcons. Falcons, which is the opponent this week, And here's Cole McCoy on that Atlanta defense. The Falcons are extremely well coached. Demp's has been coaching

for forever. When they press you, you know, it's everyone's in the right spots, you know, whether it's fire zone or they're playing man or they're playing trap coverage behind like, my eyes have to be great this week, right, they're they're going to be flying around everywhere, you know, and they know our situation too, so that we'll probably get

more than most teams. So, now, are they really gonna dare and try and bring bring some exotic blitzes against the guy who's seen everything at thirty six years of age. That's not going to stop demps, is it? Oh? God no, But we expect that, we expect the house. So you throw, you throw the whole house in the kitchen sank catcha

especially for players who could miss last week. And although he's an experienced veteran, again, the timing of things, the speed of things and making getting the ball out fast enough or what the adjustment is on a can right here for a run, that's what there will be the challenge. And it's again you raise your level of preparation to make sure that everybody around you is ready to go. Make sure everybody else. Hey, we're gonna we're gonna go from power to tight zone power to wide zone power

to this if this protection of that protection. So we're gonna make sure colts okay, So when you watch this DMP's defense on tape right now. I mean he is known for running complex packages and complex defenses where he goes to great lengths to disguise his coverage. Have you seen that on tape, Billy, Yeah, I've seen a lot of stuff on tape in their front seven, specifically, Again, you've got and that's this is what the NFL is now turned into. Some of these defensive ends run like linebackers,

and these linebackers run like corners. So you've got to and especially too with the number changes as well, you have to track personnel and understand who that personnel is. You know, number three used to be a corner, but hey, that's a linebacker now these days. So you've got to make sure we track personnel, understanding our rules for protection, be cued into that and keep them up right. So as a guy grew up in Ohio, was drafted by Cincinnati, played in New York, how much you enjoy in this

weather right now? When you look around the rest of the country and it's like subarctic. Yeah, my wife in Texas, let's dealt with some like ten degree weather. I was like, oh, it's sixty five out here, baby, don't you have your two dogs here in Arizona. You get you know, I hope the dogs are appreciated not freezing their key stars this time of year. You know, you better, you better reiterate that to them. Yeah, they're missing a little bit of snow being labs. But I said, hey, we'll get

you some snow. We get back in Texas in February. Well, hey, congratulations on everything and the addition to your family in particular. Congrats on that. I appreciate that. All right, Yeah, God blows. Billy appreciate you guys. There you go, Billy Price Cardinals starting center. We continue with the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford and Gilbert. We are santan Ford cousins. Four man rush back, the passing him in his face. It's JJ Watt and he sacks. I'm inside the thirty

at his Hall of fay. J J. Watt hit and Sack absolutely mauled by J. J. Watt. That's like turning around and all of a sudden, Jaws is there ready to swallow you up. Hit by J. J. Watt and Sack back at the twenty one. JJ Watt gets home fresher coming in Herbert a sack at the forty yard line. JJ Watts sacked by the future Hall of Famer J J Watt. JJ Watt making a huge play men in the backfield and taking down and JJJ Watt is there. Boy.

He continues to make big plays when the Cardinals need a most cousins in the pocketing trouble hit sack by JJ Watt. Oh my goodness, JJ Watt, are you kidding me? Stafford back to throw in trouble and sacked by j J Watt at the twenty yard line. The Hall of Famer there again when you need a motion. And how many times have we called the name JJ Watt both especially on Christmas tonight, right, I mean at Denver in

the first half, first half against the Bucks. Full name justin James Watt, his real middle name could be just first ballot, because that's the way it's gonna go. He's going right into the Hall of Fame as the three time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, five time first team All Pro, and you know what, he's going out the same way he came in as an Cardinal right via Twitter, his announcement, his news. He broke it his way.

Remember he was in the squat rack. We're in the Cardinals the Cardinal's shirt, and he said, source me this time. He announces the retirement this week and he's got two games to go, both as an Arizona Cardinal. Boy, PAULI, it really is, you know, um, I did not think that this was gonna be JJ Watts last year. I did not think that. I know you and I have had some conversations about this, but you know, I you know the way I feel on this many every gray player.

I think every player has truly got to see his own athletic mortality. I don't care if you're playing in the NBA, the NHL, major League Baseball, whatever it may be. You've got to see your own athletic mortality to truly

be able to walk away from the game. Do you have any idea, Poulie, how rare it is that a professional athlete will leave the game that he loves and walk away while he's on top and still capable of going out and having the kind of games we just saw JJ Watt have against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Christmas. I mean, you just don't see a lot of guys that walk away from the game when they can still play it at an incredibly high level, and that's exactly

what JJ Watt is doing. I mean, there's really only one or two per generation, the Barry Sanders, right see Andrew Lucks. I mean, there's just not that many. So of course J J. Watt was asked by the media why he's retiring after this season. It's been an unbelievable ride. And if you told me back then when I started that I'd be able to play twelve years in the National Football League and live the life that I live, I'd have been extremely thankful and probably would have told

you you were crazy. But I'd much rather go out playing good football, knowing that I could still play and knowing that hopefully people remember me playing good football, then to go out limping out and being forced out and knowing that I probably should have done it earlier. I'll tell you, based on the last couple of months, he's

a long way from reaching that stage. And he did also cite wolf the heart scare mid season, where his heart had to be shocked back into rhythm a fib He did mention the arrival of his firstborn, his son, which has been a recent happening, how much he enjoys being a dad. So I think all these things come by now. I hope that a four and eleven campaign

hasn't contributed to maybe part of the frustration. He's a guy who's all in all the time, so he did also psy just the mental stress of being committed as an NFL player, and that has worn on him as somebody who's been so committed every single day for so long. So I think everything combined boom led to this decision. Yeah, I think you're right on that, Paully. Yet at the same time, man, I mean, it's such a rare mentality,

it really is. I know back when I was playing and I realized, Paul, oh my goodness, that was ancient in it. Yes, here, you're probably right, it was a long long time ago. But I can tell you, Paul that the mentality back then was make him rip the jersey off your back, make you hang on as long as you possibly can. And you know that is not the mentality that JJ Watt is aspiring to here. Well, look, I wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't have a conspiracy theory. So here we go. Thanks for asking you

ready for this? Oh no, you can't tell me that he doesn't have another game plan out there to be involved in football, maybe behind a microphone. He did some network stuff earlier this year, did he not in the month August? And he was very, very good. As you might imagine, he's got a great personality. He's blunt, he has the credentials, he's opinionated, he's fine. I mean all the above. So maybe just maybe his business agent has something lined up and he's going to be in front

of a camera somewhere effective next season. We'll find out. All we know is earlier today we had a chance to talk with DeAndre Hopkins in front of his locker, and of course he's been a long time teammate a JJ Watt both Houston and here, and yeah, he was like us, he was thinking JJ had another season or two in him. Always thought JJ was gonna be one of those guys that, you know, just just do it to the wheels fall off. But I'm happy that he's going out the way he's going out, finishing his career.

You know, with all the accolades, he has an end off the field. You know, obviously championships are what we play for. My thank JJ. You know, he wants he won a Championship of life. That's well son, that's well said. And look, Wolf, it's going to be a big void, is it not. I mean, just his level of play and the defensive line, and then the leadership which we have seen firsthand all access behind the scenes with hard knocks. I mean, he's lead in both regards. Yeah, Paul, he

know it really is. I mean the tangible of JJ Watts still going out and playing football at a high level, playing that three technique, playing a five technique at a high level, going out having nine and a half sacks, Paul, is there any doubt right now that he's going to finish with double digit sacks over the course of these next two games. I think that's a given right now, the way that he's playing, and you can tell he's inspired, and yet he inspires so many guys around him. And

that is the intangible that I keep talking about. It the intangible we were talking about with Billy Price as well, just the fact that this guy affects so many other guys around him. And I know what that's like, Paul, I know what that's like to some degree. I mean, I know that Kevin mack oj Anderson, these are names

that people really don't know. But I can tell you when you were in the huddle with Kevin Mack for the Cleveland Browns great running back Jerome Bettis as well, and you were O J. Anderson, You're in the huddle with these guys and you know that your job is the block for him. You have no idea what that would fill me with. And some of these offensive linemen as well, the way that they would come off the ball be more intent. Yeah, it does. It speak to

a weakness in us. Yeah, because you should do that every play, regardless of whether Kevin Mack is running behind you, or Otis Anderson is running behind you, or J. J. Watt is lined up alongside you. Yet the harsh reality is we're human beings, and JJ Watt inspires people around him. I walked up to the corner of the locker room

with some of the rookie defenders. Cam Thomas was there, my J Sanders is their second year guy, Vic D. Mukag was there, and I just said, hey, you guys, tell me what do you think you took away the most from this last year or two? A? JJ Watt and Cam Thomas said, and I think we heard some of this in hard knocks. You know what, do what you do best, regardless of what the matchup is. Katie to your own game. And then both my j and Victimukaji said, just how hard he goes all the time.

They're in walkthroughs, they're in meetings. He's always locked in, always improving his craft. And that's what those young guys get from that. By the way, you can join the season ticket priority list and select your seats before the general public. I mean. The opponents next year include the Cowboys, the Ravens, the Bengals of Giants. Go to Azy Cardinals dot com slash priority lists for more info. We continue with a big red rage sec in five. Now the

Atlanta forty two. They're gonna keep it on the ground with James. It's a flaflicker Warner gotta throw deep near sycling for fancies and double coverage. It doesn't matter he caught it anyway, touchdown Cardinals. You can't stop that guy. I'm the flea flicker. Whoa whoa play Larry Fitzgerald stabs the ball out of the air. About it out of the archives Wolf. The two thousand and eight wild Card playoff win against rookie quarterback Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons.

This series, it's crazy. The last eleven meetings in this series between the AC and the atl the home team is won. That's the way this is gone. So we'll see about Sunday. Two games to go in the season. Cardinals on a five game bender. Atlanta has lost four in a row, and we'll see. Look, both teams are saying the right things. Both teams appear to be playing hard. The Falcons have lost a lot of games. Cardinals obviously went into overtime against Tom Brady in the Buccaneers, but

just did zoom out these last two weeks. How much can be gained? How much should be gained by this Cardinals team that obviously is going to see a significant amount of change in the off season. But you know, James Connor was asked that question a couple of weeks ago and his answer was, quote some respect, but it

does go beyond that, doesn't it. I mean, you do get a chance to evaluate a lot of different players, and it's going to factor into a lot of different decisions if nothing else, no doubt about it, Paulie, You're going to get a ton of that, right now over the course of these next two games, of course, it really is a situation do you want to be here? Well, if you want to be here, you know, go out and ball out. Of course, leave it onto the field.

And this was something Vance Joseph was actually talking about on Hard Knocks, the last Hard Knocks that came out. He was talking about the fact, you know that we're watching guys on the backside of plays that are dogging it. Why in the world would you be dogging it? Why what does that tell us about you? Well, you know what, it probably tells you don't want to be here. And if that is the case, you're not going to be here next year. It's PAULI, this is about being a pro.

These next two games is about being a pro and going about your business as a pro, which means you go out and you ball out because that's who you are. You take pride in your purpose, pride in your job. You go out and you ball out. And that's what I expect to see out of a lot of these guys. Whether you want to be here or you want to go somewhere else. Man, you got to put some stuff on tape. That's good because we're a full service show. Here the Big Red Rage or jim Omhundro fine producers,

some complimentary broadcasting. Here Wolf, you cited that club. Guess what it's ready to go. Here's bands Joseph in the defensive meeting room. You've got two guys in Vuddha Baker and JJ waff. The best treat is effort. The profile for NFL safety is not that it's five eleven six foot tall. It's two hundred and twelve pounds. That's not that, but you can't measure. It's hard in his effort. I was in Houston with that to JJ. His effort and

how he plays the game. JJ, that's why you Hall of Famer Bans Joseph NFL films Hard Knocks on HBO. It's some powerful stuff right there. Just the looks on everyone's face when he's citing those two guys. Here's the thing. Well, they're gonna be without Buddha Baker against the Falcons on Sunday. And you know, look, Bans Joseph calls him the human racer for good reason. He makes everyone look good. And if there are mistakes, there's Buddha Baker a lot of

times as a safety net. What do you make of this Cardinals defense minus the only full bowler on this team, Buddha Baker. Yeah, boy, this is gonna be rough. It's gonna be rough right now. I have no idea what to expect, but I do know this. The Atlanta Falcons can run the ball. They do an excellent job of running the ball. Think about it. Their offenses number three and number four and rushing yards per game and rushing

yards per play. Think about that. That's what they can do right there, Tyler Algier, of course, is they're running back Paully. This guy runs the ball in a very very physical kind of way. And what's so fascinating about the Atlanta Falcons as well, is all of the power personnel groups that they use. Polly, think about this for a minute right here. Twenty seven percent of the time

they're in eleven personnel. That is something that's every NFL team is in for the most part, eleven personnel, one back, one tight end, three wide receivers. But their number one personnel group is twelve personnel. They're in twelve personnel thirty percent of the time, which is two tight ends. They're in a power personnel group over seventy percent of the time. They're in a power personnel group in first and ten and second and one to six, Paul, they run the football.

That's what they do the best. And I think they're gonna line up and despite J. J. Watt having the great game that he did, get ready for J. J. Watt to have four more tackles behind the line of scrimmage, right, get ready for another JJ Watt game like that because he's going to be given the opportunity because the Falcons run the ball. Yeah, there's that old Santa on defense. You stop the run and earn the right to rush the passer. Right, that's gonna be this week. That's what

Vance Joseph was telling the media. Stopping the run his first, second and third and then you get the right to go after the rookie quarterback Desmond Ritter. Interesting, he lost his first two starts, Desmond Ritter. This will be career start number three. He's a third round rookie at a Cincinnati longtime teammate of My J. Sanders. Fact, My J. Sanders has been given some info to Advanced Joseph. That's

what they were talking about today. Doesn't have a touchdown pass, doesn't have an interception in his two starts, and he's mobile. He's totally unlike Tom Brady. He will pull it and run it if necessary. So that's going to keep the Cardinals defense on it's when it comes to stopping the run. It could be the quarterback as well. Yeah, and you know what else is really interesting too. The defensive quarterback rating for the Arizona Cardinals over the last three games

has been really, really good. As a matter of fact, they're number five in the National Football League in terms of their defensive quarterback rating. Now you know me, Pauli. Passer rating to me is a big deal. At the end of the year, you look at who's in the top ten of the passer rating in the NFL, and year after year, guess what the usual suspects are there.

If you're a good if you're a good football player, if you're a good human being playing the quarterback position in the NFL, you're going to appear in that top ten. The same thing could be said for defensive quarterback rating. The Arizona Cardinals number nine over their last three games, number nine with a seventy nine point zero defensive quarterback rating. They've been playing better overall and yet you know, the score hasn't always indicated that, or maybe the schedule hasn't

always indicated that. The Falcons number one receiver is top ten pick rookie Drake London on a usc We'll see what the status is a man Antonio Hamilton, Marco Wilson. They could be thin at corner again. And then you look at the Cardinals ability maybe to run the ball in this one. You know James Conner, he likes to look at the other team. And there's been a lot of accolades about the Atlanta running game. So what does that mean for the Cardinals because Baltimore last week ran

for a buck eighty four. Yeah, and we know the Ravens specialized in that. And look, we know a seventeen degrees a kickoff in that game, Tyler Huntley only through its seventeen times. But I'm thinking, Billy Price, our guest tonight, in that old line, they're gonna have a chance to establish the run. That's a great point, Paul, he really is. I mean, this is what I think you're going to do. The Atlanta Falcons defense has been the veritable Achilles heel

for the Falcons all season long. They just have not played well, but especially the run. You know, number twenty four in their rush defense and yards per game allowed. And I would suspect that the Arizona Cardinals are going to line up and Billy Price was talking about this, this evolution over the last half of this season, in particular where they're starting to run that tackle zone, starting to run that wide zone is what he called it. The stretch play that everybody is running and has run

for the last decade. I would say in the NFL. Now, all of a sudden, you're seeing a lot more of it here with the Arizona Cardinals, and that is something I'm really interested in seeing because that's where you put that quarterback Pauli under center. You put him under center, and Colton McCoy is very comfortable under center. Look, I think it's also going to come down to red zone. Atlanta has been terrible in the red zone as an offense. They were over four last week against the Ravens. The

Cardinals sort of like Atlanta. They've been moving the ball, but then they'll bog down to the red zone and they'll have this self inflicted So who can be clean, who can execute? And the red zone we'll see Cardinals have been much better on the road. We know that, and two games to go, quote McCoy will be running things and look, Colt McCoy could be the starting quarterback for a good stretch next season. So we'll see if you can get even some more coff and see where

they can glean from this Cardinals offense. Special Thanks once again Cardinals starting center, Billy Price, Jim Amahundro, Cody Fincher, Fron Wolfley on Paul Calveci Cardinals at Atlanta. That'll do it for this edition of The Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford in Gilbert. Number one. You've been listening to The Big Red Rage presented by Santanford in Gilbert. Are you Santanford State Farm Talk to an agent today at eight hundred State Farm and by Arizona Cardinals Podcasts.

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