Big Red Rage - Zaven Collins, Cardinals Set Focus On Rams

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Let's pick up where the d Backs left off last night.

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Maybe we'll take those brooms out to so far you know what I mean. It is beat La week for both the d Backs and the Cardinals. And if it turns into beat down La, well that's perfectly fine as well, is it not. Absolutely, it's The Big Red Rage presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert. We are live from Trophy in Chandler, located on Queen Creek Road between Price and Dobson. Paul Calvi's here, Danny surrec everyone over there in for Ron.

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Thanks to Phil tonight and Danny. You know our policy, No I don't, but I'm scared.

Under no circumstances for more than two decades do we ever permit cowboys on this show.

But that's strictly the.

Dallas Cowboys, okay, and they were disposed and dispatched of early this season, the Dallas Cowboys now small town Oklahoma Cowboys who happened to be Cardinals' first round picks and first stringers on defense. All absolutely, everyone give it up for Zamon Collins tonight on The Big Red Rage.

Hell you guys, thank you, it's awesome being here.

And your answer to that, right cowboy?

Sometimes depending on the reference.

But yeah, well, if Danny you tell us what was just posted on the Cardinals YouTube page today, right fitcheck I'm gonna kick it over to you the eighteen to thirty four demo to explain exactly what's up there right now.

I don't know, Paul, You've got better style than I do. No Fitcheck is a new series. It was really interesting. Zamon was the first player that was shown in this, and it's pretty much players breaking down their outfits really just on game day, explaining their style. And I got to say the outfit you wore, Zavon that they were doing close ups of you walking into the stadium.

I don't know what game that was, but it was a nice like eighties flair you were talking about. You had like a custom belt buckle.

You were going into detail about the cowboy hat and the feather and the shirt you're wearing, and talking all about your style which is pretty interesting, which you you said is vintage and western.

It's a pretty good, I feel like description of yourself.

Somewhat.

Yeah, I would say it's very vintage. It's not a new new school or like the new street stuff. I kind of mix that in sometimes when I want to, But yeah, it was fun. They brought that idea to me, and I was lucky because I had order a few pair of jeans a couple of days before. It didn't even wash them, do anything, just threw them right on and walked out. They were a little tight, but it was fun. It was a good time.

I'm told it's all about the accessory savment. Okay, the accessories. So I was impressed, Like the hat was from where.

That was from Nashville. I got that in Nashville and went on a One of my best friends was getting married, so we went on a bachelor's trip there. I had a few hats made and I came home with a box full. Like, you know, walking on a plane with a hat holding one, Everyone's looking at me crazy.

It was like, as in Nashville, I had to get hats made. But yeah, the belt buckle I bought that we were walking through.

You know, if anyone's been to Las Vegas, there's all these shops everywhere inside the casinos and they're you know, I'm sitting there and all of a sudden, like there's one shop out of all these that had like cowbo hats, and they're like I better walk in there. Walking there and they have these crazy boat buckles and everything. So I was like, I'll get one. So I ended up you didn't go one. It was fun. And then the boots right uh yeah, takoves just right up the right

But I will say in the Fitchack, I liked the throwback to your college Fitchack, which was a suit that you you know, quickly had him. But it was all based around this big coat.

Yeah.

So my grandfather, my grandfather, I'm Frank, he had get uh had he had gave me that coat a while back and I was like really and he's like, yeah, I had this from whenever I tried to find it the company had shut down like nineteen seventy five, so it was like it was something crazy. There's like no records of it. So it was the cold. The coat is super old. Yeah, I'll break it up maybe in like Chicago.

Game some fur on it.

Yeah, it's crazy. It's it's super old school for sure.

Something you'd see like in a Godfather movie.

Right, Yeah, that's something. Yeah, it's like it super big too.

That's good.

All right.

So that's up there on the Cardinals YouTube page. Let's throw it back to last Sunday and the game against Cincinnati, yet again, a game the Cardinals were in until you got to the fourth quarter in this last one, And here's Jonathan Gannon talking about that aspect of the season.

I mean, we're in the game, you know, you had a chance to win the game in my opinion, you know, and they made a couple more plays than we did. But our guys fight. We're competitive right now and every game we're playing. We got to start winning some games, you know, And so we talked about that, how do we do that? So we laid out a blueprint for him and go back to work this week.

You know, I'd say in a lot of regards, at least based on the national media, those who aren't around the team on a daily basis, the Cardinals have already exceeded expectations. Right, Cardinals have looked different on film. Almost every one of your opponents has said based on what they expect to come into the season. So you just first tell us about JG and the culture and how things are different and where things are trending right now.

Yeah, so definitely things are trending up. I've you know, we've been.

We're on a team last year where I felt when you're in kind of a situation we are now with the record, guys kind of look at that and I kind of, you know, they kind of just you feel that ore of guys and you know they tend to not maybe care as much, and that's kind of left. It's not there anymore. It's you know, focus on this day, focus on this, focus on this task, and move in, you know, try and get to the games, and you

It's a results driven league, but we've heard from Gannon that it's all about the process and that's going to lead to the results. And defensive cordiator nik Rolis actually shared the metaphor he shared with the team this week about a flower and that when the flower is growing, you don't just see the flower itself, right, you see the roots, the foundation, even though it's not always pretty, the foundation is being set.

How would you describe the foundation that is being set.

Yeah, I mean, like I said, the culture is completely different. The foundation of how guys work, how guys are here in the off season, how guys operate. You know, you want good, good, hardworking people just like any other business and any other job. You want them in your locker room. You want them contributing to the team in a positive manner, which I think we've built. We've built that team chemistry. You know, guys aren't getting onto other guys when things

I smiled when you brought the flower analogy because Nick Sirianni and Philly. When he brought that up at the press conference, Philly a tough down. He took a whole lot of heat when he made that flower analogy.

What are you talking about flowers in football?

Right?

Okay?

You know, and Joe at the bar was all I rate. Well, it turns out he was right. They went from a four win team to two years later they won the NFC and win the Super Bowl.

Yeah.

And from what I can tell, you tell me true or false? MANI I support Jonathan in and reset this roster in the off season.

And really the top criterion was we want players who are.

Serious about football. Yeah, would you agree with that? I would definitely agree. You know, guys, they want guys to come in the building and be ready to work. And you know, this isn't it's it's more than a sport. Obviously, when you're playing at this level, it's a you know, it's a lifestyle that you have to live. You have to breathe it, you have to love this game. You know, you operate Like I was telling her earlier, it's like this might have been the earliest I've gotten out this week.

Don't want to lose.

You don't want you know, to put those you know, like in the past, like some things have been out there about the Cardinals.

You don't want that by no means you.

Know, everyone spends her harder and money to come out while support us, you know, so we want to play the best, be the best whenever you guys are coming out twenty four to seven.

And it's not just big name players.

I feel like when you're looking at the defense right it's it's players who are stepping up, whether that's from injuries or whatever it might be. And I think a great example from Sunday would be safety Cavan Wallace, who was acquired just before the regular season started.

He had that interception, he had the big tackle for a one on the goal line stand.

I mean, how have you seen those type of players who are stepping in and stepping up?

Yeah, you know, those players are high level players. No matter where you go, if you're on a football field in the NFL, that you're a high level player. I truly believe that. Because NFL is very hard across the board. It is very hard. That's why most guys, you know, it's you're kind of in and out of the league. Sometimes it's a very hard, very hard league. It's very tough. But those guys that have come in, they've been around

You know, how do we respond? How do we do that?

I will say too real quick that off that interception, you were miked up for the wire because the Cardinals mike up a player every game and put a whole piece together. So if you don't renew that, you can go to our YouTube channel and.

Check those out.

So Zavon was miked up this past week, and I loved After Kevon Wallace had that interception, everyone on the defense is running to the end zone to celebrate, and you're you have your mic on your run, You're looking like I'm tired.

You get to the bench, you look at Dutch like I'm tired.

It's definitely it's definitely better whenever you catch it. When we get your interception closer to you know, our uh their end zone down there, that way, we can just walk right there to the end zone. Uh you know, I ran all the way down there. I looked at k Why, which is Kayzer Why. He's the number seven, our middle linebacker, and he's like, man, dog, I'm tired. I said, me too, I gotta go. I took a picture.

So I've noticed a trend. Dennis Gardek isn't running all the way down there to strike a post. He refuses to do it.

He won't do it that. That guy has many talents. He's on special teams, he's on defense. I mean, he can do so much. But that's he has his ways and those are his ways. He will not change from that.

Because in the Dallas game, Kaiser White had the interception to seal it right, and he wasn't on the field, and instead.

Of running all the way down there to join.

The celebration, instead he gave props to Cam Thomas because Cam Thomas had the stop on first and second down. Yeah, that led to the third down interception, and I'm like, wow, that was really thoughtful. He went over and congratulate a Cam and then I talked to him later after the game. He said, well, it was mainly I just want to run down there, so you know, I had to congratulate someone, so I went up to camp because he was sitting next to me on the bench.

Sometimes, though, you look at the pictures the next day and you see all the guys in the picture and you're like, dang, I should have ran down there, So you gotta bite the bullet.

Sometimes you go run down there for sure.

Well, look, we're gonna talk about your sack. We'll talk more about the transition from middle linebacker.

Think about it.

He had one hundred tackle season last year wearing the green dot, meaning he was calling the defense. He had a position switch and so a lot of change for Zamon Collins in year three of his career.

We'll talk about all that.

We'll hear from Dennis Gardeck himself what he had to say about you as a former school valedictorian.

By the way, we'll get into that.

And a reminder you're going to get single game tickets on sale Azycardinals dot com slash by tickets to secure your seats today. It is the Big Red Rage Zavan Collins all presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert.

Firing.

Your sight is tipped and picked off by Zavan Collins had the forty yard line of tackled at the thirty seven.

That is a huge play for the Cardinals.

Bumbled the ball.

The Cardinals have it in their hands and it's their ball. Savan Collins comes up with it. That the two takeaways for Zavon Collins here in the first half, short set in trouble steps up and takes a sack at the forty yard line. Saving Collins with the takedown. By the way, did you see the lasso sack? Did just see the celebration from David Collins. Prescott sacked back in the twenty eight yard line by Savan Collins.

Savan Collins did not take the bait.

Burls got it back to throw facing pressure. He's sacked back at the thirty five yard line, Savan Collins with the takedown.

There was the lasso again.

How about it on the sack and you're the montage there Weeks one through five, Zavon Collins our special guest tonight on the Big Red Rage, presented by sand Tan Forard in Gilbert. We are live from Trophy and Chandler located on Queen Creek Road between Price and Dobson. So you had that Washington debut week one you had to pick and the Fumbel recovery and ever since two and a half sacks, three quarterback hits, a dozen tackles and Danny Serek, you know he's been doing it from a

Wise, Yeah, I think, you know, the job of being an athlete at the high level you have to adapt and you know, be ready for change. You know, the situation that we were in as a team, I was kind of like, you know, I'll do whatever the team needs me to do at the time. Obviously, you know, we have a great coach, Rob He's unreal the way he lets us operate within a you know, a gray area. It's not so black and whity. It's not his way

So that's nice. It's been going well.

The transition has been well, it's ongoing, just like any other position at any other let you know, if you've been playing it forever or you just.

Kind of change to it.

It's not something that I was, you know, not new to, but it's something that I'm doing a lot more of now, predominantly doing that being off the edge, being off the ball. There's obviously there's chances in the future to see me do that, depending on packages and stuff. But yeah, it's there's you know, it's always open to everything.

When We were talking the throughout the off season when the season was getting started about this position change to your teammates in that room, your coaches. The first thing everybody said when asked what does Zave and Collins have that's going to make them successful in this position switch was your intelligence. It was always very quickly followed by your size and how big and strong you are, But

Yeah, it's you kind of just hear their job and go do it.

Translating it can be in hassle sometimes because you know there's different formations, different sets. You're having to tell ten other grown men. You know, some guys have been in the league ten years what to do, and sometimes you got to be able to tell them, you know, hey, you're screwing up right here. You got to get this right. You have to know all the checks, all the you know, anties at third and two, third and one. They're doing

Well, here's Dennis Gardak talking about that. Okay, all right, your partner in crime. And this was this is over the summer, this is the off season. Here's Gardack on Zavian Collins.

He's got to be one of the smartest outside beckers there's ever been, just coming from inside. He knows how everything's tied together so well, so he's incredibly smart. And then he's actually huge. Yeah, if you guys haven't noticed, I saw a picture of me next to him, and I look like his kid brother.

So he You know, you look at your outside linebacker room and nine different guys have sacks on this team right now. And there's guys everyone's like a little bit different. Gardak is nothing like you in terms of body type.

Victor d.

Mucage right, just a raging bowl. And then you got bi Jo jolr my A Sanders coming back. I know I'm missing guys right now, but everybody seems to be a little different. Do you think that works to your advantage because these you guys get into a location. I mean, these tackles can't really lock into one sword of rush.

Yeah, that's kind of the upper hand that you have on the offense as a defensive ends. Outside linebackers, I kind of you know, it's kind of like the the bullpin of baseball. You know, you get in there, they throw different pictures. Everything's ever oh new pictures up. So whenever you're throwing different guys at a tackle, his set will change. Sometimes. You know, if it's Dennis, they're going to be scared of his speed. You know, has been

He also said, by the way, that it's much easier to play outside linebacker than what you were doing last year. He's like, look, outside linebacker, let's boil it down. Either the place coming at you or it's going away from you.

Yep, you right, that's about it.

The two of you are pretty close.

And for the last couple of years Dennis has we've really just seen sparks. He was more of that special teams player. He has been phenomenal this season. He's been starting, he's been very active, a big part of this defense. Knowing how hard he works and how close the two of you are, what has that been like for you to see this season he's had so far.

Dennis is someone who, like I was saying, the culture, he's one of those guys that he was already had that culture within him, so you know, he didn't have to change at all. It wasn't nothing anything new for him to come in work every day, take care of his body, eat right, study all the film, know what to do all the ins and out, to be adaptable, be ready to change. That's something that was already built with inside of him. So he does that every day

You know, he's very good.

He played a little bit of off ball early on in his career like I did, and then you know, so we're trying to help guys that are younger and understand that have been probably more predominantly just rushing the edge and not dropping that much sometimes trying to help them with understanding coverages, understanding route concepts, stuff like that.

So he's very smart.

You mentioned the switch off ball to Now you're on the line of scrimmage. Here's your position.

Coach Outside linebackers coach Rob Rodriguez on Zavian Collins.

That Saban you see today will be a different Zavan In December. We ask something very difficult of him when we asked him to move here.

This is not easy.

Not everybody can do it, and so the work that he's had to put in just to get to this point has been extraordinary. He just shows up every day and keeps fighting. I know how far he can go, and I know how far he will go. I don't know how long it's going to take, and I just love that every day he doesn't take steps back. He keeps pushing and pushing. Even when he runs into some roadblocks, he just keeps coming back.

You know what's interesting in Minnesota during training camp, I talked to some of the personnel guys, some of the coaches. They said, because they were with different teams at the time when you were coming out in the draft three years ago, they had you earmarked as an outside linebacker.

Yeah, we played a very different off defense in college. We were at three three five and it was very weird. But sometimes I'd come off the edge, sometimes I'd blitz in the get in between the tackles. It was very very weird, unorthodox for sure, So guys really didn't know what to do with me. And it's kind of been like that since I was going into college. So it's nice now to kind of finally just have a home and stick with it.

Here's a rando question I saw in your bio. I didn't realize this that you won the Bronco Nigersky Trophy when you were at Tulsa. I mean, that is big time. I was thinking, like, the Bronco Nigersky Trophy, that's gotta be pretty dang cool. I mean, I could google it up right now, But tell me, what does that thing look like? It's it's well and where do you have it? Where's it residing right now?

The Nagurski Trophy was actually the plaque okay, the bed and airquin was.

It was a big trophy. Yeah, so it was a big one.

So it sort of belies the name is what you're saying.

Yeah, yeah it was. But those are some awesome trophies. I actually don't have those. My mom has those. If you walk into my mom's house, it looks like, I don't know, it's it's like a memoir of me in college and all this stuff. So it's like, Mom, you gotta you know, let's put something else up.

Do you still get a text from your mom on game day?

Every day, every game, every game? Yep, every game.

Can you share as a class of iron info? What does she say?

Uh, yeah, you guys, do I have time?

Sure? Right, So it's good Danny.

How about that mom still texts big time tough guy outside linebacker Right. NFL budding stars Zaman Collin still gets a text from his mom before kickoff every game.

She said, good morning, sunshine, be great today. I think it's a three sec day. I said, you want a lot?

Mom? Keep got close to do you? I love you so much? Yeah?

So she texts, she text me stuff like that. I was I was raised by single mother. She's me and her very close. But yeah, she text me all the time, and she yeah, but she always She's someone that's always, you know, been in my corner. But she's also expected a lot. Always she's you know, she requires the most, which I think has set me up for success.

In life for sure.

When it goes back to Rob Rodriguez, your coach, we've seen all off season with this change, you were getting a lot of one on one work with him off on the side during practice. How has he helped really speed up this process for you.

To make this switch. Yes, is first his first time too working in the NFL.

Well Yeah, he as a true positional coach. He's always, you know, been an assistant, and he's worked around some great guys. He's worked around JG and Nick obviously for a few years back in the past when they were

You guys have been at the bottom of the league in blitz rate this year. I mean did you expect that, right? I mean last year, man, you guys blitz you were like top three.

Yeah, we putched a lot last year.

It's a lot of a lot of pressure calls this year kind of just you know, playing defense and that we've been playing well, I believe, So.

It's kind of refreshing actually in a lot of ways. Episode sixty five of The Day Pash Podcast faturing Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs. This is a really good listen to pash pod and you can find it via Twitter at pash pot. In fact, when we come back, somebody asked Josh Dobbs if he believes in UFOs and aliens.

I don't know.

Somebody got really bored during the press conference and asked him that question at the end, and so we'll hear the answer. We'll also hear what Zaman had to say with JJ Watt last year when it came to hockey. Oh that's can't miss. That'll be interest. We're live from Trophy and Chandler. Look at a Queen Creek Road between Price and Dobson. It's the Big Red Rage with Zaman Collins presented by Santan Ford in Gilbert.

And there's an injured Cardinal and boy that Cardinals cannot afford to have anybody else go down in the defense, but got a man down at the thirty eight yard line and at Zavon Collins.

Oh boy, he looks to be in a lot of pain right now.

He's motioning to the team doc as if he got poked in the eye and kind of looking at his right eye.

There's something going on there.

You have to wear a patch for a while. Yeah, I wore a patch for the first two days.

I'm telling you, this right eye was all over the place like I was seeing double of everything.

Did you talk like a pirate? No? I didn't.

I had a lot of people text me though, and just send me like emojis of yeah, pirates or whatever it was.

It's funny, you're a slimy dog, baby me.

Articles are kidding me.

Hoists see what happens, and then past laughs and he just.

Encourages it more.

Whenever Wolf talks like a pirate, he doesn't need any I mean, any sort of excuse. Wolf's gonna talk like a pirate. And that's all we needed. Was Jimal Mahundral asking Zaven Collins in the locker room about the eyepatch he had to wear for a while after the Dallas injury. And you could hear all of us holding our breath on air because true or false, you were in a lot of pain, correct, Yeah, I was.

It was an injury that I've never really had happen before. I've kind of been poked in the eye, comes with you know football. I've had hands go through the face, mask hits you give you a black eye, but this was like, it was pretty vicious. I don't think it was on purpose. But he got Dennis too, not as bad, but yeah, it injured the you know, the upper right part of my right eye, caused some nerve damage. It took like chunks of my eyeball out.

It was crazy.

So it was I have some pretty brutal pictures on my eye right after that I would not share.

But you don't think about that, like with injuries with football players. You think of like broken bones, right or just look you shoulder. You don't think about hearing someone like Xavi and say, yeah, I looked in the mirror and it did not look good because I was looking straight ahead with my left time I right, I was looking right up.

Now, come on, now, you're exaggerating that, right, No, it was so like you know, you look at yourself in the mirror, you know, brush your teeth and so like when you look in the back of your eyes, each wanted left one was good, the right one was I mean like straight up in the area.

Was pointing it up. So at that point I'd freaked out.

In the blue tint, you can kind of tell when something's wrong whenever, you know, if you have a cut on your face, everyone's like, no, you're fine, you're not bleeding, and then you see, like you touch it and you're like, oh, there's blood. You know, everyone kind of freaks out when you're a kid. See, this is the same thing, except there's no I know, there's no blood or anything like that. And I'm pretty usually calm with injuries. It was a

Wow.

Savan Collins is our guest on The Big Red Rage, presented by Santan Ford and Gilbert were live from Trophy and Chandler, located on queen Quek Road between Price and Dobson And if JJ Watt was around, I'm guessing he'd probably give you a hard time about that he retired. He's living the good life, his best life right about now. With hockey season now officially underway and the Kytie's open their season in New Jersey against the Devils tomorrow, let's

On hockey Rufen rules. How many people are on the rings? Are on the ice at one time? Five players? One go in and then if you get like a foul, you have to like set in the box, right, So if I put you in. Giant asked, what are those shoes called?

They wear skates? Ice skates. I couldn't think of it anyways. Okay, no, I'm not. I just skipped my mind. Where we're gonna go skating here in Arizona?

Skating? No, what if we fell through, We're not going on them. Going a pond.

Is what you do, right, you would call a flat on your face with that center of private this.

Is what you do. Yeah, you got you do like a speed skater. Make Bonnie Blair.

That's what happened.

Standing when one guy's from Wisconsin and the other guys from smalltown Oklahoma.

That that's rights. Not a lot of hockey. Yeah, how many Oklahoma?

Yeah?

That that brought me back to childhood memory to my mom. Actually, so you know when it'd get really cold your kid, you know, it snows, you go outside, you're out of school, you're doing all that stuff, right, it was always hate stay off the ice, you fall through, it's dangerous. Yeah, you know you still walk out there on the ice. So that was what I was thinking. You know, you right on the ice, skating on the ice.

Oh so did you go skating with JJ.

No, we never made it out.

I wanted to, but unfortunately that was right during it was right as the season, in his offseason. I ended up going back to Oklahoma, so I never got to make it out with him. I'm sure we will one day, though, I'm sure we will.

It's good. It might be a violation of your contract, so it's.

Probably a good big contract.

You dend on that one. That's good.

Uh. So here's one Josh Dobbs earlier this week, and Danny didn't believe me. Danny didn't believe me that I was going to ask him the question. And at the end of the press conference, you know there was a moment there and Josh Dobbs, for those who don't know, aerospace engineer does internships at NASA in the off season, speaking off seasons, and you know, Congress had these hearings over the summer about UFOs and aliens. I think it's topical, and so we asked him, Josh Dobbs, do you believe.

I do not believe in UFOs and aliens. It was funny though, So when I got traded this crazy story, I was sitting in my apartment and so me and my friend Trey Smith, who's a really good offensive guard for the Kansas City Chiefs, when we start a little podcast, so he's a believer in UFOs and aliens, I'm not. So we're having a very tense debate for one of our podcast episodes, even support where we had Congressman Tim Burchett,

Little bit later, how about that they're having the intense debate, they bring in a congressman and all of a sudden, his phone rings. I gotta take this. It's the GM of the Browns. You've been traded to the Cardinals. Yeah that's quite a story.

That's a change of direction in stories for sure. Yeah, that'll make that conversation real, serious, real.

So you got an aerospace engineer, You got a bunch of guys from Stanford like Zach Ertz right and Michael Wilson. You got Rondell Moore went to Purdue and got his degree in two and a half years. Yet you were a four point zero guy in high school, the valedictorian. So you know, I don't know what's the power ranking of brain power right now in the locker.

Room, I don't know.

I think I'm above Zach and Rondell for sure. I'm not sure about Michael, and definitely not Josh. I went to Tulsa. Tulsa was a small private school, you know, very prestigious school in the Midwest. Yeah, it was fun going there, very hard, It wasn't It was no easy ride for sure. But yeah, I think Josh is probably the smartest on the team by far.

Yeah, i'd say something, yeah, that'd be my guess.

Yeah, how did you end up at Tulsa? Like, well, how did you? I guess we should take it back even further.

In a small town in Oklahoma where you grew up, how did you get into football?

Because you were a quarterback in a safety right.

Yeah, So going back to Oklahoma, small town, it's very rich in football history where I was from. We had actually a few guys from a long time ago play in the league. Was a very long time ago. But you know, every once in a while have some guys go to smaller schools. One or two guys go to

I mean the high school pictures, it looks like you're playing against the kicker.

Yeah, it was like.

Twenty one kickers out there. That's what it looks like.

We were beating the breaks off of them for sure, and but yeah, so no one really take me in. You know, Tulsa, That's where Bill Young was at the time. He's a big coach. In college, he played, he was in the league for a little bit a long time ago. He offered me, and that was my only offer. I signed as an athlete and not know when I was gonna play. We started off ball linebacker and kind of just went from there and this is kind of where I've end up now.

It's amazing.

He ran for four thousand yards and like fifty touchdowns in high school. If I was a parent, I'd come down and take my kid off the field. I mean, you're running six foot four now two hundred and seventy pounds.

How has that been? I mean, what was your weight when you first entered Tulsa.

So first entering Tulsa, I was like six three growing still, and then I was two hundred and twenty pounds and so now I'm yeah, and then it's changed. Obviously I got kind of too heavy in college. They wanted to bring it down, so we brought it down to like two sixty. And then in the league that he didn't like that, so I was like, Okay, we'll get to two fifty five. And then now since new change of

So like, when you did that in the off season to two seventy, did you like just walk in and order the left side of the menu?

Yeah, I just walked like I kind of Yeah, I just eat more, that's about it.

Yeah, I'm gonna have ice time. I have ice cream at now.

Yeah, that's a good deal.

I was gonna say, it's is there something you can't eat now that you miss that you go in on the off.

Season in the off season that yeah, I kind of just eat whatever.

You know, there's not not too many.

So I grew up in a town there or town populations two thousand people and that's large. I graduated with forty people in my high school. That was in my class. The entire you know, freshman through senior just two hundred people maybe maybe probably like one hundred and fifty, but so we did so growing up there, there's not much to eat. It was my grandmother. I grew up every night religiously going to my grandmother's house of eating dinner or there.

So in a small town, would you do to stay busy?

Uh? Not much? I mean hunt fish? That was about it. Yeah, soside.

So if you could have like a dream hunting trip in the off season, where would you go? What would you hunt?

I don't know.

I think here in Arizona. The big Horn rams are pretty cool here. Very hard to very hard to be able to do that. You got to go into a draw. It's a big, long, complicated process. It's funny.

You know a guy it took more than forty years, an older jentle and he finally got one.

I'm like, man, you know what, I'll just I don't know what I'll have to do. You just go to Texas and hunt about anything you want. Now, So everything's great down there.

What's amazing, Danny is you look at his file and once again true or false, your first sport was gymnastics.

Yeah, when I was young that was. I told my mom. I don't know why I told her that, and she was like, all right, let's do it. And we did it and then I got way too big.

You know, there is a rookie that I've talked to who also grew up doing gymnastics.

I want to see if you can guess. I'll give you. Hey, it was a rookie. Can you guess all that?

I think it might surprise people to know this was one of his first sports?

Yes?

Really?

Wow? Did you know that? That was just a good guess.

It's good I think for kids to be in obviously not context like I mean, yeah, contact.

Sports, but for sports for kids to fall over.

And then be able to get back up, you know what I mean? Like that teaches. I don't know what it is. Buddy Morris is the one who told me this. He gave me like a fifty minute spill about this on like a random Tuesday morning about kids need to be knocked down picked up, and I'm like, okay, Buddy, I gotta go work out.

It's Buddy Morris. The most strength coach the Rever was or Albert. The saying goes about Buddy. You know what's funny is I was trying to get some intel, like on what makes Dennis Kardek so lethal? Is a pass rusher and a lot of guys cited his balance and what he does in boxing and like MMA in the off season.

Yeah, it's all about hands and eyes. You know, it's combative sport obviously, and it's very combative hands on whenever it comes to engaging with a tackler, engaging with guards constantly, you're catching hands. Sometimes you're matching each other's hands. And yeah, he does have an off season. A lot of guys do that.

By the way, you're avoiding the topic. Do you or do you not believe in UFOs and aliens?

Oh?

Sorry, Yeah, I think I'll believe. It's a vast it's a vast space.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, how does Josh Dobbs know? I don't care what.

I might as well take off my head's at this point because Paul can don't do the rest of.

The show about Yeah.

I mean, I don't look past Arizona much more or less the space.

I don't get into that. I mean, a big thinker like Josh. I mean, it sounds a little myopic to think there's no UFOs and aliens.

Might be legally binded not to tell us.

That's, you know, to do the NASA internship, you probably signed something.

You've probably got level of free clearance that we don't know about.

He's probably seen stuff that he just can't tell us about.

Yeah, I agree with him on that. Yeah, I do agree with that. And that's no doubt he is. Uh, he is impressive though. I mean, have you had a chance to talk with Josh Dobbs, Like.

Yeah, We've had a little bit of conversation, not you know, in detail like that about what he does. But he's very intellectual, dude, very smart.

I mean for him to come in and just take the offense over in like eight days, and I know, I know he's in Cleveland, he's familiar with it, but to get up there and actually you know, and he's changing plays at the line and he's audibly and stuff.

I mean, it's that position's hard. I looked at one of those scripts compared.

To ours, and it is. I mean it's a lot.

Yeah you thought playing middle linebackers, right, that's hard? Yeah, that's yeah, no joke. Single game tickets on sale now. I got to Easycardinals dot com. Slash buy tickets to secure your seats today. All right, Cardinals going to LA. It's beat l a week. Right, you got to pick up on what the d Backs did against the Dodgers.

You're gonna go into Sofi and guess what last time you went to Sofi?

You gotta win.

So what is the formula this time around? Well, last Damon Collins.

When we come back, We're live from Trophy and Chandler located on Queen Creek Road between Price and Dobson. Is the Big Red Rage presented by santan Ford in Gilbert.

Had On Connor up the middle into the end zone, touchdown, Arizona. James Connor pays it off with a touchdown run to give the Cardinals a nine to three.

Lead, and he's stoked it. Touchdown, Baby, that was sweet.

Give the Connor pop the left side, trying to get the edge, stip farming at the ten, the five, the end zone, he's in the Pit's a touchdown for Connor, his second of the day.

Give the ball to an angry man with an angry run.

James Connor. And that was last year at LA.

In fact, it's been beat LA each of the last two regular season games in La by the Cardinals. It's the Big Red Rangel presented by santan Ford and Gilbert down the Stretch we call him with Zamon Collins. Everyone live from Trophy and Chandler located on Queen Creek Road between Price and Dobson. I don't have to tell you

I mean, I just I honestly see that. Yeah, And then I see some of the hits that he takes. I'm like, man, that has to hurt. And then because you know that we're just talking about, you know, how guys get hit in the league. You know, Yes, full size man coming out another full size man, full speed, And yeah, I see the some of the hiss he takes, and he just gets right back up and keeps going and keeps going, keeps going, and I'm like, man, he's definitely runs angry for sure.

The crazy thing is is recently he was talking to the media. If someone was asking about those hits and if he wakes up on a Monday fin like he got hit by a bus.

He's like, no, not really, I'm like, how is that possible?

Yeah? I do.

Yeah, what is what is a Monday morning like for you?

Uh? Well, in the morning, you'll get up and it's that's like obviously, like when onset soreness, everything can barely move, every joint hurts, and then you kind of get up, work that out of you do a workout, do a run, and then pretty much it'll be gone by Tuesday for the most part, unless it's been a brutal game, you know, playing people like Sam fran very you know downhill, very

What's the worst last year when you were basically playing every single snap at middle linebacker?

Yeah somewhat somewhat.

Yeah, it wasn't some vicious hits as it is like against O Liman the whole time.

That's true. Yeah, you're right, you trade one for the other.

Yeah.

Yeah, Well here's your defensive coordinator. Nick rawlis just talking about the Rams, their quarterback who was big time.

They got some big time skill players. Obviously, here's nick rawlis.

Right now, like they're playing at a at a high level quarterbacks. Obviously elite player can put the ball anywhere, and he's willing to put the ball anywhere, knows how to get out of get it out of his hand fast, and uh, the skill are good. Obviously you saw Cooper Cup came back. He was definitely featured in that last game. He's got huge route tree that you got to account for. And overall mcveigh's offense is good.

No doubt.

He's one of the still one of the great minds offensively in this league. Their top five and passing in almost every category. So what what jumps off the film when you assess the rams Aapan.

Yeah, like you said, they spread the ball out very well. You know, they get the ball to a lot of different players. They've had some young guys to up them be very very con contributing to their team. Obviously, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Cupper unreal players. Like they're saying the route that he you know, if you're playing, okay, we'll switch it up. We'll play outside leverage, he'll run something

Matthew Stafford's very smart.

And the way he checks in and out of you know, coverages, blitches, all this stuff.

It's it's unreal.

It's interesting because Matthew Stafford might be so far this season the most immobile quarterback you would have faced in terms of he doesn't typically extend plays the way that some of the other quarterbacks you face have. But what you were saying, he's been in the league for so long he can see everything or read it so well that that doesn't really matter.

That's not going to stop him from finding success.

Yeah, he he He can definitely split the ball out whenever he wants to whoever he wants. He can make any throw on the field. Great arm, great at reading coverages. And you know, we'll expose you if you can do. If you do some things wrong, well you're gonna like this number.

He's been sacked a dozen times in the past three games. So we'll see, we'll see if the Cardinals can get hold. I'm curious, like last year, you're playing middle linebacker, so to what degree is it middle line back against quarterback? You're checking into something. No, he's checking out as something. How much of that cat mouse game goes on?

You know?

For a QB, I think it's more about the disguise of the defense. You know, you want to make some things look like it's an umbrella in the back end, and then some things you have what's called post close where there's just one single guy high back there. And if you can disguise things on quarterback and change rapidly and suddenly you know, you can mess up some of their progressions, some of their reads. Because some quarterbacks like him,

You've made it clear you're not one to really trash talk, but when it's a divisional opponent like the rams A team, you know that you're gonna end up seeing a second time.

Is it get a little more chippy out there?

Uh?

No, It kind of depends on how the game goes. If some dirty things have been done on the field, definitely can get more chippy.

But yeah, I I don't like to talk too much.

I'll get out of breath and we'll fumble my words and do all kinds of things.

I feel like that's what most people say.

Who there's got to be someone on the defense who trash talks for everyone, right, who's the talker?

Uh, there's really no talkers, honestly?

Yeah, yeah, Now, he says, yeah in the past, when I was a rookie in last year, there was there's trash talkers, But there were really.

A couple of talkers who got let go after the Niners game, a couple of dbs who were part of that down on the field. In fact, I'll say this, in that locker room at the Niners after that game, I got the sense the Cardinals both sides of the ball looking forward to the rematch in December against the Niners. That was an energetic game.

Yeah, you know, playing the Niners playing you know, I believe the OC for the Seahawks. You know, the Seahawks, the Niners, and the Rams are all in our division. They all stem that often somewhat stems from a West Coast Shanahan tree, so they're very similar to how they do some things. So it's like you know, you get to play them quite a bit each year. See their techniques.

I hear from guys that like McVeigh and Shanahan try and steal your What do they mean by that.

You know, they're gonna have a guy flash this way. You'll look and then someone's hitting you from this way and the ball will be spit out, you know. Or they'll run concepts where they try and get one on one with an advantage that they think is great for them.

Uh, you know, they'll they.

They'll make you think they're doing one thing and then bam, it's where they'll set things up. They'll run the same play over and over again, and then right when you think it's coming back to that, they'll pop it over the top.

Saman we really enjoyed it. We really did great stuff, great stuff.

Thank you guys, Thank you, thank you all for coming. You know.

And once again you go to the car page, you'll see his fit check. He was wired up in the last game. So it's multi media.

Busy, busy. The last couple of days.

You need to go sit on your couch.

Yeah, it's a good food from Trophy here and just chill out the rest of the night.

Yep for sure.

Hey special thanks to Zamon Collins for Danny Surrek on Paul Calvic Special. Thanks as always Jim Almahundro, Cody Fincher, Lauren colebel Walt Ellis, Lawrence Ellis as well. This has been The Big Red Rage was Zamon Collins and presented by Sansan Ford and Gilbert.

We are Sansan Ford. We'll see you next Thursday night from Trophy in Chandler.

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