Channing Crowder

And on today's show, I'm joined by a very special guest to discuss a variety of topics from his time as a Dolphin and also his opinions on the current team. All of that and much much more with Channing Crowder. All of that and much much more. On This Monday marks the sixteenth edition of the Drive Time Podcast. Going After and Cat, I'm got the football, but you get Channing Crowder with an interception at the thirty yard line and this football game is over the Miami Dolphins. You're

gonna win this game. And I am so excited to welcome in the Dolphins third round draft pick in two thousand five. He spent his entire six year career in Miami, racking up four hundred and seventy tackles. He's the co host of The Hawkman and Crowder Show on five sixty w q A. M Channing, Crowder Channing. What's going on? Man?

What's up big? It's good to see you two. Got this gype going on the other end of the other end of the country over there, And I think that's a good place to start here on the podcast because it's a crazy time right now. Channing and sports have largely been put on hold. You mentioned you've got the day off today from the radio station. That never happens.

Can you give us a player's perspective on events that get like canceled like this, or something that has transpired in the same vein as the coronavirus, the Corona pandemic, and how you have to respond to that as a player. Yeah, I haven't. I wasn't part of this obviously. I don't think you know in my time time. I'm thirty six years old and never been a part of a pandemic.

But athletes are so scheduled, bro Like, they tell you every day of your entire life, what you need to do, way you need to be, what time you have to be, or what time you have to be there. And for something like this to get thrown in NFL, right now not so much. I know that they might push back free agency because they can't visit, they might push stuff back. But for like the NBA guys, they had seventeen to twenty games left and all their seasons and now they're

just stopping. So like, this is for an athlete and for you know, continuity with the team, you know, getting to know your teammates and understanding that you're suppsed to be playing your best heading into the playoffs. The NBA rights now is about to just start and jump in the playoffs. So yes, this is something none of us you covering sports your whole life, meet playing in our covering sports man. This is nothing that I've ever seen,

I've never been a part of. But I would say from an athlete's perspective, being scheduled, having everything scheduled for you kind of like the reason why a lot of guys struggled to retire is where they don't have that schedule. So to have this just stopped. And I've talked to some guys where NBA guys are saying, I was like, are they practicing, are they going back to camp? Like what are they doing? And nobody knows because no one's

dealt with this. Pat Ridy and Erik Spolster down with the Miami there are two of the greatest of all time. But how do you deal with a pandemic? I think all sports league, you see MLS, you see n C double A canceled their tournament. Just no one really knows how to deal with this, because, to be honest, no one has ever dealt with this. So hopefully after the thirty day hiatus that the NBA has taken, I think

Adam Silver doing a great job. He's kind of setting the president athletical league for what leagues and and and and associations are supposed to do. So after this third day hiatus will have a lot more information. And be honest, guy's a lot smarter than me. And you need to figure out what to do with these leagues because yeah, and if they called asked me, I like my phone was about to die, I wouldn't know what to do. That's exactly right. And I keep seeing all these hot

takes on Twitter and whatnot. It's like, why don't we just have the people that are in charge make these decisions. I'm right there with you all the way. And you mentioned the regimented idea of an athlete, and that was kind of my next question was how big of a challenge is it to get off of that everyday routine, because even for me in this position, it's I mean eight to five, I have every fifteen minutes or so

blocked out. I have to imagine when it comes to an athlete and getting your body right and taking you know, naps,

are getting the proper nutrition into your body. It's just got to be such a change to all of a sudden stop operations completely and get to this point to where, like you said, we don't know what we're gonna do, and I mentioned, what's something that you've been through that was a bit of a curve ball, and I came up with a game from I think it was two thousand five, might have been your rookie year when the

Saints were going through Hurricane Katrina. Yeah, that's when. That's when Katrina was So it was two thousand and five and you guys had to play at baton rouge. Was that was that any different for you as a player or just the same Because it was a road game, it was a lot easier for us because it was a road game. You hit it on the head where instead of going to the you know what as a superdome, we just went up to bat room. So we got off the plane just like we do when we played

the Giants, the Jets, the Charge. It was the same for us, you know, the Patriots, but we just went to another stadium. But I remember just being and I've actually played l s U in college, so I remember walking in and the little Eddie bittie college locker room, and you know, just the different atmosphere used to these elite stadiums. Well, the old San Diego was a college stadium, but most of them are real nice. So even that, I'm sure for the same too, it was a lot harder.

I'm sure you know, with with all the you know, natural disasses that going, it is tough. But I'll give example like that. Thomas, no exaggeration. He had every second of his day plans. He had his he had his his four four hundred grams of protein, his sixteen hundred grams of cards, He had his vitamins in like a little lunch box. He took a four four or fourteen in the morning, eight sixteen. He had everything regimented. A beside guy, he had a stretching guy come to his

house at night. I used to go over his house after practice and he would watch film until he fell asleep in his in his theater. Like he was so regiment on what he did. And I know that going to and the win to New Orleans, I know that affected him because I would talk to him and Bro, this ain't right. Bro is how it's supposed to be. It's a how it's supposed to be. And it was a longer drive from New Orleans down the Baton Rougen. Also, like I know those elite athletes, those guys that really

treat their body like a high woman's race car. You change that, You change them, you change their approach it. It might be a lot of psychological, it might be a lot more psychological and actually, you know, affecting the guy's play. But once you're used to something like that. When I got in the league, exactly in the league for oh five, he was a ten year vat, he was a multi was six time profile. By the time I got there, he losed what he knew what it

takes to be great. So now you're changing his greatness. A lot of mental stuff, A lot of guys second guessing theirselves, second guessing the decisions people make. We had I played of the Chiefs down here, I want to say six or seven sometime, and there was a storm coming. They moved the game to Friday night, and that messed up everybody because now you couldn't get your Friday massage.

You had to move your Friday inside the Wednesday. You had to move everything back, and that Ferrari that that race car couldn't get ready like it was used to getting ready. So for an athlete, it's gonna be tough. I think the I think the the the style of play and the quality of play in the NBA. If they do I heard I was reading day they said n C Double A might do like a six team team mini tournament over a weekend. The quality of play

is gonna go down. The style of play has to be a just it's not gonna look like playoff and tournament basketball because of the fact that that regiment changed, that that that greatness push that everybody has at all levels has changed now. So I'm hoping that they figured out and give us high quality sports. But right now, man, I'm waiting to watch a UFC fight in Brazil this weekend. Bro I I can't do that every weekend XFL. I thought I had the xfilm. Man, they're not even giving

me that. Man. But it's it's it's gonna be tough on the athletes and be honest now and outside hell, it's tough on the spectator. It's tough on the analysts. We were talking, we were talking about you know, the best salty snack today and Mount Rushmore Viney's in the history of sports were you know, we're reaching out to do stuff. But it you take sports out of this world, you take a lot of be honest, a lot of passion, a lot of love, and a lot of money and

a lot of jobs. I think the NBA salary cap goes down next year for the you know, for the first time, I want to say, and seven eight years goes down because of the fact that the coronavirus is messing up the TV money at all, and the stuff that happened with China and the owner of the Rockets earlier this year. I think that can bind. That's gonna take the money down. So a financial aspect of this as well, I think you're gonna be left with just darts and bowling by the time this is all over

with in terms of what's on your television. Maybe NASCAR, but I don't know how far you venture into that type of stuff. But you mentioned that that Dolphins Chiefs game back from the mid two thousands, and I remember that as a fan because you talked about the impact it has on players, on analysts, on fans, you know, as I was back in that time and it wasn't on direct TV, and so I didn't get a chance

to watch that game. I had to fall along along with the old like game the NFL game center, like a little dots and the Dolphins helmet, like here's a tackle for lost channion cry, I'm like, yeah, celebrating my computer. Yeah, like you see I go. You see it move a couple of inches? Like no, no, I get a stop. It's it's, you know, a tough way to watch a game. But those with the old times were in modern times

and things have certainly changed. But I want to transition now chanting back into what it looks like for a normal year because one of the things that always fascinates me as a lifelong football fan and now journalist is the expectation of rookies coming into the NFL I asked

Christian Wilkins about this on the podcast last week. And the off season for a rookie coming into the league, you go right from your season ends to Combine preparation, to the Combine to Pro Days, then the draft, then you got rookie mini camps for your experience from the last day of Florida up until the day the Dolphins drafted you. How are juist or just how I guess would you describe that experience in that three or four

month period. Most stressful time in my life. Being in the league is not as stressful being in college, even getting recruited because they love you, Like when when you're coming from high school of college that they love you. They tell you you're the greatest of all time. You're gonna be the next Ray Lewis, You're gonna be. You know, they love you because they want to come there school. In the NFL, you're you're they're hiring you. So it's different.

And then these guys come and I remember sitting down with Mike type, sitting down with Belichech, sitting down with it was um uh green Bay Jim Jim Bates. He was very interested. He was a Green Bay at the time. It was right after he left as the interim head coach with the Dolphins. I just remember sitting down with all these prestigious guys, all Ron Rivera's and those guys, and they're not loving on you. They're trying to weed out the trash. And that's what that that draft process,

and that's the thing I tell everybody. The combine drills, they're stressful. The goal. I didn't do anything at the combine because I was Mail Kuiper lied to me I was real first round guaranteed. So I can't stay on mal Kaiper to this day, but I was I was gonna be one of the top three linebackers taken, so I on even do nothing. I'll work out of my

pro day at all. But even that the stress of looking at They give you a note card when you get to Indianapolis and it says ten fifteen AM Colts, ten thirty AM Jaguars, eleven fifteen Falcons, and you just have this list of all these teams and you're walking in with owners, head coaches, deep deep coordinators, linebacker coaches, and now you have to put on your best like it's like almost like speed dating. I have to sell you the best of me in fifteen minutes, real fast.

And then after you go through that entire process of the of the combine and all. Now you get a couple of men, a couple of weeks off, and now every coach in NFL is coming to your college. So now I gotta perform. Now I gotta go out here. Well, now, at the time Florida they let people. You know, there's a lot of spectators that pro day. So now your buddies are out there. Now all your teammates are out there,

the same coaches that are putting pressure on you. Bill Belichick actually worked me out personally when it was linebacker real time. He went and grabbed the ball and started doing it, pointing each way and getting to see one of my hips moving all. So now that's stress. So now okay, I'm done with the physical side of doing the interviews. Where am I gonna get drafted? Am I going? Am I going? You know? Top twenty? Like Mel Kraiper told me, is my multiple multiple, multiple multiple arrest is

gonna affect me. My knee surgeons gonna affect me. So just the stress of that. So now actually then you go through the draft, my drafting I thought I was going first round and go to third round. It was still on the first day. Back in O five it was the first and third round and oh five, so dredraft started at twelve. I went fishing with my buddies. Had a big cooler for the bill when he got a bunch of wings. You know, hey, I'm going first round.

We'll be out here on the lake fishing. You know, the Green Bay packers will call me, and you know, and and give me this big contract couple eight ten million dollars guaranteed I'm good to go at Tory and pick. And then they don't call me. And then the Patriots actually promised me if I'm available at thirty two, they were gonna take me. They might have done some more research on my off the field activities will call them and they end up passing on me. I didn't get

drafted Hill eight fifteen that night. So the first rounds around about ended about two to thirty. For the next five and a half six hours, I didn't know where I was going, how far am I gonna slip, What's gonna happen. That's just a lot of stress. I was twenty years old. I came out of the sophomore. That's a lot of stress on, you know, with a lot of people. My mom's there, my sisters, my mom's hope, everybody's in games Bill because I'm about to go and

change the family's outcome. I'm about to go and get this generational wealth of all this money. And the money doesn't come. I still get drafted in the first day. But that's stressed there. That's not even the hardest part. Bro. Now you get to a team and I walk into a linebacker room. These are the starters when I walked in that room, So I'm they drafted me third round to come in and you know, play the run. I was a run stopping guy. I was two fifty. I

was a big old boy. The starting linebackers were junior Sayale, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas, and me. I was the weakest link. I went from All American in high school to All American in college two time. All that sec to the weakest link. Like and it's not even it's not it's not it's not an art. It's not art. You can't argue it. I was the weakest link. Sam Madison was still there past thirteen, just got traded when I got there,

Keith Trailer, Vanni Holiday, Kevin Carter. I'm looking around like these are the guys I played with on video games, and now I have to go out here and perform for them. The hell with Nick Saban. I want to form Nick Saban when I walked and so I'll have j T and Zach to look at you if you mess up. I had to perform for them. I don't. And let's that down. I said all the time that the three people I get credit for from for me

making an NFL, not getting there, but making it. God number one, my mom number two, Zach Thomas three four. He taught me how to be a pro. He taught me how to train, he taught me how to work, he taught me how to watch film. And now you're going out there with the best of the best in the world, as you respect so much, and you have to perform on that level with guys that have four or five mortgages, have three or four baby mamas, have

child's import to pay. They're not coming out like college like, hey, bro, let's go out and have a fun time. At that point, I hear the grind and get paid and get these contracts and it just keeps building up and building up. I would say that starts that pressure and that that that demand of yourself that you put in your body, your whole life. That doesn't subside until probably the regular season starts and you're locked into your position. You're locked

into your job, you're locked into the defense. You know what to do. But man, from my last game, which was the Peach Bowl against Miami, we got whooped, until my first game in the league, which was the Denver Broncos at home the year they went we end up beating him. Were one of the four teams that beat him. It was a hundred and twenty degrees on the field. They called it the twelfth man. Champ Bailey will steal their ball like they had a team, and they end

up they want to playoffs one, two o four. But from Miami in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta to that first game in Miami against the Broncos, that stress was the most stressful, mentally demanding and physically demanding time in my life. That's a tough stress for all these young

guys that are going through it right now. It kind of reminds me of the old saying, Like they say that the hard part is supposed to be practice, and you gotta go out on game days and have the fund all the poking and prodding, that's just the stuff that an athlete like yourself definitely not gonna enjoy. You made a couple of comments and that I want to get back to you real quick. I do want to talk more about Zach Thomas, because I knew he had

a great influence on your career and you personally. But you mentioned going to the draft and possibly to go into Green Bay. Now I want to circle back to a story Utah on the Fish Tank about your recruiting trip to Penn State when you got out and you said, you know, you went into a dorm room and it was fine, and then you look outside and there's six inches of snow on the ground. So maybe going to Miami over Green Bay not the worst thing in the world. Right,

Oh yeah, man, I look at it. I'm a I'm I'm not I'm not going to church every Sunday, but I ain't a lot to it. But I am a spiritual guy. If I got drafted a Green Bay or New England or the teams that were interested in me, I wouldn't have came down here, I wouldn't have, you know, met my wife. I wouldn't have got around these great coaches. I wouldn't have got an opportunity to be in the media like I am. I might have, but I don't

know for sure. I wouldn't have met Zach Thomas. I don't know if there was a guy in Green Bay or New England or who else was it um Atlanta that would have took me under their wing that would know how to not just play ball, but how to teach. And Zach knew how to teach ball and play ball. So everything happens for a reason. Did my four A c L reconstructions, then my multiple arrest? Did all that stuff come back to bite me financially? Early on? It did,

but wasn't a blessing in the skuise. As I look back as a thirty six year old, now I was. I was pissed on Draft night. Now I'm not gonna I was pissed us now going from ten million dollars guaranteed to third round. Man, I'm not making a million dollars. If I'm making a hundred tackles this ship, you know, it was a big difference financially, But it was a blessing in the skies. End up getting to my second contract, end up having just the most amazing coach, George Edwards,

who was now the d C of the Vikings. Just all the people I met, all the people I were around. I think that was a blessing in the skies. But I'm with you in that cold. I can't deal with cold. Now, my kids love the ski. I don't leave the lodge, the shellette, whatever they call it. I sit there and I drank beer and whiskey with all the old, rich, fat guys the entire ski week. My kids going, I'm not going out in the snow. We got off the plane from Pittsburgh, and now the paternal name is is ruined.

Ja Pa turned Joe Pa turn On. That's ruined. But jay Pa Turno flew to Pittsburgh to pick me and my mom up and brought us back on the little plane. It was. It was when we when we were flying and I'm looking down and seeing the snow. I said, Coach, I can't play here. He said, what are you talking about? I was looking at that. And then Courtney Brown end up being my host, the guy that got drafted. The

Browns end up being my host. Were in their apartment and he's like, hey, we're going out, going leaving this place for what it wasn't six and it was about the foot of snow. I said, I said, how do you party in this? They go to the party. Everybody's wrapped up in jackets. I'm like, man, I'm used to Atlanta in Miami and I was in Gamesville. Everybody with girls were basis, Yeah, I was a shirt off guy. I had a six pack, but I was a shirt off.

I would get naked in the club. But yeah, man, I I saw that snow and that's the new Pine. State was the only Northern team that that I showed any interesting because my dad was a multiple time All American. Damn. My dad played for the Dolphins as well. But they brought me to two summer camps, which made me love it because State College is a great, beautiful, beautiful place. They brought me on my visit January eleven, and that was that was the reason why I did not be

a coming ninny lion. I didn't follow my dad's footsteps and liniens and all that stuff because I am not going to live in two ft of snow. I've never to do it. And if somebody put off me a lot of damn money to move north of the Bible Belt somewhere because I don't like this, you know, well, that's a good part to the kind of segue into the part after your rookie year. In the first four years of your contract you mentioned kind of that financial hit you took. But then eventually you did get the

extension with the Miami Dolphins, and that happened. I want to say, was it a week or two before free agency? Was it really close to when the market opened up? Yes? They It's funny because when they when the Dolphins called me and Joel Siegel, he he was my age of big time agent. Now he's still he's still you know, represents a bunch of guys. And when they asked me, what contract do you want after my fourth year? What contract do you want? Brian Urlacher just signed his big deal.

So we got Brian url his contract. We we literally just put white out over his name and put my name on top and sent it to him. Because if you asked me to do it. Now a car dealership they say, hey, Mr crowd, and how much you want to spend. I say five bucks, like you want to buy a car from five dollars. I said, you're asking me what I want. I want to buy a car for five dollars. Well, and we're going to it. So I approach free agency the same way. How much are

you asking me do I want? I want Brian law Lacker his money. I want the forty million dollars guaranteed. Whatever you had at the time. And we went back and forth with my injury history. They didn't want to sign me to a long term deal five six years because I had, you know, a bunch of these surgeries, microfractutions. I'm I'm at seventeen knee surgeries now, you know throughout my life starting in the grade. Now, so I you know, I knew I was damaged good. So then we got

to three years. So we sent him a three year deal. I want to say the first second week of the season, early in the season. They went back and forth all the way through the season, all the way through the off season, all the way up to life this time, right before free agency started. I think I would have been I wouldn't have been I would have been out

of contract. I wouldn't have had I'd had a little a little NFL symbol next to my face on TV at like eight midnight that night or the next morning whatever, And they called Joe Siegel at about four or thirty and told them the first deal of the first three year did you you you know, three for fifteen whenever we gave him, we'll sign the first deal. So they were back and forth to agree on the first deal we ever sent them for three years, but that was

the game and that's how that's how negotiations happened. So I locked in them between four and twelve hours before I would be a total free agent. I guess it's nice to know that you never really had that lag, that gap, like you mentioned, to get the NFL logo next to your name on Sports Center or whatever it

might be. We're here with Channing Crowd on the Drivetime podcast with Travis Wingfield on the official Miami Dolphins podcast network, and you mentioned at Channing, we do have the legal tampering period coming up on Monday at noon today actually on this podcast, and I'm curious to get your take because we just put out a film on the Miami Dolphins socials in the Miami Dolphins website everywhere about Brian flores background and growing up in Brownsville, a tough neighborhood

up in Brooklyn, New York, and just a really fantastic job by our video team, And I wanted to get your feeling about You mentioned the impact that Zach can have on a guy, because that we we talked so much about the environment a guy goes into is everything in terms of what his career means. Sure, there's talented players that are more talented than others, but the surrounding cast and the support that player has to make the best of his development and his career can have such

a big impact. But I'm curious to get your take on what it's like to have a well respected coach like Brian flora Is. Like you see that video, you see his his previous players talking about him so glowingly. What is having a guy like that in the building do for not just recruiting outside players, but also the program as a whole and the guys that are already there. Communication is one of the biggest things in the NFL

that UM I love. UM quick Mike Nolan story. Mike Nolan, you know well in respected guy San Francisco head coach. You know he went to Atlanta. He actually wanted to bring me to Atlanta before I retired when the Dolphins released me. But Mike Nolan came to me and I used to cuss all that. I used to just cus cuss, cussin practice if somebody missing assignment, m f is that that that? And I would just go crazy because I

was middle linebacker. I thought, that's what you need to do, get to be a look look different, big dudes in a damn face. So Mike Nolan came to me when he finally got to Miami and Nolan Carroll he I think he just retired. Nolan Carroll just out the league, and Nolan Carre was a rookie. We tried to ind and out the tighten in and slot receiver and Nolan messed it up and I cussed. I dog custom Mike Knowling for me to the side and said, Channing, I'm a teacher. This field is my is my classroom. I

can't teach while you're yelling and cussing. I need to teach these guys what to do. I don't need to scare him into what I need to do. And it's just it put a light ball before me, I stopped cussing and I stopped. I just stopped cussing. I stopped screaming, and yeah, I stopped going crazy. And teach periods, you know, eleven or eleven playing ball, I was still custing out everybody, but on like a teach period, it made sense to

me whether this is a teach period. They call it a teach period because these coaches slash teachers are trying to explain what we need to do. And that's the main thing with a coach and communication. Now, going back to Flora's where he comes, where he came from, and what's it called humble and hungry? Where he comes from? Um, you know, living the project, didn't have a lot of money. Football got him out of their Football got him to

that private school. Football got him to Boston College. Football got him what he has today. Just like I would say, I don't know exact numbers, but bro I would say, seventy to ninety percent of the guys are were Brian Floryes at some time in their life. He can relate to him, he can I remember, like telling coach Saban, now I get I would fight a practicing what's wrong with you? I'm be like broke coach, the dude tried me?

What What does that mean? What does tried me? Flores knows what to dude trick like you know What'm saying. He knows the link the language of what I'm talking about. He knows what I'm saying. He knows how to approach a guy. He he he. He thought Cube Steak was good at me like I did when I was a kid. I thought can corn and green beans were great vegetables until I got a little money and decided they work.

I'm not even no more, damn can cor him. The relatability of a coach is so big, and the understanding of where these guys come from, the understanding of okay, he has money. Now people saying when you get money, oh, now you're a different person. You're actually more of the person you were before you had money. You just have resources to become more of what you want to be

or what you have been. His relatability and guys knowing, and it's kind of genius to put it out because on social media now number of free agents are gonna see that film and gonna say this isn't this is to be honest, this isn't like Belichick. This isn't you know and never a coach. I love Andy Reid. This isn't Andy Reid. This is a guy that grew up like I grew up. This is a guy that knows the grind I went through and passed all that. This

guy can communicate to me. This guy can sit down with me and not talk down to me, but talk to me like a man, because he understands if you're talking down to me. A lot of guys going to the tank that grew up in those situations. You're yelling at me. You're a you're you're uh, you know, a figure, You're a higher figure. You have some power. Now I'm looking at the ground. I'm kind of scared. You remind me of a police officers. Remind me of a principle.

You remind me of that. Florence says, me and him were in college together. He played Frank Gore on his highlight reel. I played Frank Gore on my last Like me and Floren's at the same age. So he can sit and talk to guys and communicate with guys. And like I said, going to the story I was telling about Mike Nolan to teach guys at a communication level and at a relatability level that I think he can

be very successful. And that's all all on top of his lineage from New England singing how Greatness was done. I don't like Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck. I respect Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck. And it's a big difference. You can like somebody like somebody. I like going to strip club. I don't respect the strip club. I like going there. It's a big difference. Respect is what people want, and that's that's why I think Flores learned that New England learned how to learn how to game play and

learn how to do all the football side stuff. But his past and what he became and where he went and all that part on top of each other. I am excited about Brian Flores. I knew they I knew maybe they wanted to Cam Cameron wasn't that guy. I knew Tony Sperano was in over his head and about a couple even during the good year, the O eight year Tony Sprowno just wasn't that lead eater of men, you know, God rest his soul, great human. I still talk to Jeanette his wife. We still text on how

today a great person. But there's great people and then there's great coaches. And you could know when I met Flores, when I talked to Flores and I saw his approach, When I saw him getting guys like Nick need Hum and getting heart edge and these guys out on the field and playing at a high level. You just saw a coach that knows how to teach, knows how to

get the best out of his guys. And I think we'll have I think we actually have a real coach now for the first time since if you want to say one Stead, if Wanni a little love maybe since je Stead the first real NFL head coach. You mentioned Nick Needham. He played a U tep in college. And so that jump in competition for the first year to get out there and produce like that, that's just it's so rare for I got to make that jump in terms of the of the competition and have production like that.

Montreal Hardest change his position. So I'm with you, a Hunters that changing and let's go ahead and stay in that lane. Because you talk about Brian Flores not just the football savant, the leader and the and the great character and the great man that he is clearly, but you mentioned the lineage he has from New England, he was the play caller and a Super Bowl where they hold the NFL's highest scoring offense to three points of field ball. They don't let him get the ends on

that entire game. And so, from your experience as a classic stack linebacker a scheme standpoint, what are some of the things that you like about Flores defense and what you saw on tape this year in your number one winning winning before the snap and the scheme of what of what them knowing to take away the best the best option the other team has, and that's all Belitte talks about. And that's all he did. They can go to a three four and go to a four three.

They were in a it's kind of like a five one. They would walk um walk a linebacker down on the center and go with through two three techniques and two ends and now you have a man the man across the board. He would he didn't have much talent, but he was doing everything with those guys to try to make him play. He he put Jerome Baker in the middle of everything and try to keep him unblocked to let the rome run because the roan fast, he slide him to the tight end. All guys down in the box.

He knows the X and so well that when he starts getting pieces on the board, not playing with pawns, when he starts getting some damn some some look I don't even know the name, what it looked, the the castles, and the damn stage and and those good pieces, the ones in the back. When he starts getting some of those good back pieces of chest, he's gonna do it. But his multiple defense. And I talked to Patrick Graham last year and a couple events and things. I ask him, Hey, man,

what defense do y'all run? Because Belichick is a legit three four guy. He's the winds will four big three pound three and fifty sixty pound. No, he's a three or four guy because of the even set and the nose and the mic have to move back and forth to get that six man lean with eleven guys on the field. I know that's where he comes from. I

know that's what he loves. But to watch him not have the personnel to watch him, have Divon Gottschow and and and and Christian Wilkins, who are all single gap, guys shoot up the field. You know that old school colts played the run on the way to the past type guys. To see him adjust with what he had, but to watch, to watch how Flores schemed it up.

I saw what happened in those first four or five games when they're getting their mouth bashed in adjusted out start, you know, running his shells and running different things, making guys trust each other, teaching guys the system, his multiples, the defense. Everybody thinks, uh players one after the ball snapped, bro I was more than half the players on one before the ball snapped. We know where you're going, we know what you're doing. In New England this year, if

you double teams Edelman, they play was over. That's why they couldn't score. And people figure out double team Edelman plays over those defensive want snapped before the ball was even in Brady's hands. And Brady's a goat grags of ball time. I really feel that way. He's winning plays before the ball snapped. And as I look at when I sit back and really look at football, that's what I look at. I don't need commentators. I'll listen to Romo. Romo pretty good. I don't need a book McFarlan, little

crooked fingers telling me what's going on. I know, football man, But when I watched the game and before the snap, I'll say, oh, they got him, And my buddies knowing, they laughed when I said, what, you're watching football and it's just be randomly in the second quarter and I'll see it and I'll be like, oh, they got him, they got him out, just see the safety role, just certain things they got him. I said that a number of times about what what Flores and Graham were doing

last year. And now the Graham's gone. I think Florida's gonna take more if he's gonna really step up more now he's comfortable in the head coach role like Belichick did. If it's it's very similar now, I'm sir. Belichick helped out Floors with his play calling. When Flores was calling those shutouts in the foot ball against the Rams, the Belicheck would help him and also go and manage his team.

Flores is the first time head coach. I don't know if it was comfortable doing that being you know, people give Adam Gates hard time because all he talked about his offense only thinks about his office. When his defense on the field, he plays Damn Sadoku or Candy crushed on his iPad. And now Brian Flores in his second year to now see the see the lamb scape be

on the field. I understand what his players are doing, understand the sideline demeanor and uh and the moving around and when he needs to be places when he has to make decisions and bring to his guys to help. Last year that was the first time in the head coach. It seemed like he posted a lot of New England guys. And now he's in it. Now he can really bring in guys he agrees with. He brought him chan Gaily to replace Chaddosha. He's making a lot of moves which

I loved. He came in as a first time head coach and nobody knew of Brian Flora, to be honest,

and he gave my respect very fast. But with Flora's now being at head coach, being understanding what he was doing last year and now like I was talking about, you know, how I led into this was him now being comfortable being a bigger part of defense and for me to be impressed with their priest snap pre snap, a look, pre snap adjustment, understanding what the other team is trying to do and take away the other team best best guy you play Tennessee Titans. Stop Derrick Henry,

make Tannehill beat you. It's easier said to done. And now seeing that Flores can do it, seeing what he did, you know, five and eleven, they should have never won those five games. There was no chance they should have won five games. But seeing that, I have a lot of respect for Florenes, his communication at tactics, his style talking with them, saying how he he'll joke a little bit with you, but he's not a he's not a

player's coach. Now. He's not gonna sit and you know bs all in the locker room and sit around and talk about girls. He's gonna keep his his pedestal as a head coach. But he can also be relatable and everybody on that team. And I've talked to the number of guys from Rashad Jones who they just released, Christian Wilkins. We did a bunch of mes together during the Super Bowl down here. I talked to enough guys about Flores and about his approach. He fully they fully gained respect

from him. He gave everyone's respecting that first year. Now the second year, now they take off what they get, what they having to pick the now six teams. Something with those compensatories, like getting weapons to now implemented to that defense and implementing what he's trying to do. I think moving forward, I think we might have found that. Dude.

I think, yeah, absolutely, I'm on the same page, and I think that one of the big things you look at there is you talk about establishing the culture of the you know, the locker room, and that might be a cliche thing to say, but like you mentioned it as an impact, and also the fact that these guys are everyone they developed this year just gives them further depth on top of those draft picks, on top of the free agent capital they have to spend this offseason.

So you really do establish this kind of next man up mentality because you can get to forty five fifty three players deep on the roster to where everybody can come off the bench and contribute. I think it's a big part of what they accomplished this year. You also talked about taking away the best option or just having the right pre snap look. The biggest difference to me Channing was you look at third down defense like third long.

I recall Dolphins teams in the past. You'd keep the base defense on the field, or maybe your nickel defense, and you've got four receivers out there, and you've got linebackers running on receivers and it's a third and thirteen conversion, whereas last year team's gotten the third long and they struggled against this Dolphins defense. So knowing the situation, knowing that down a distance, that was a lot of fun

to see. And one thing that we I want to talk about law on this particular podcast now and in the future. Channing is just the exs and nose of the game, and you kind of mentioned it was Zach Thomas there. I want to get back and kind of dovetail back into that conversation. And I know a lot of folks love you're off the field stories, and they're great, they're they're absolutely hilarious. But I really enjoy picking your

football brain man. And on top of the linebackers, the topic of linebackers, can you kind of walk our audience through some of your basic keys as a linebacker, you know, whether it's reading the pulling guard or recognizing formational or personnel tendencies. Just how much goes into the cerebral aspect of playing the linebacker position. Well, first, the simple part of it is alignment. Assignment. Nowhere you're supposed to be

and know what you have. On run plays and past plays, you're gonna have a gap and everybody a gap, b gap, whatever you name it. Center guard, gap, guard tackle gap tackle tied in, you're gonna have one of those gaps or in the three four you have to go and take the guard off. It's people say two gaping. A lot of people. People say two gaping. People don't know what two gaping means. It means that everybody has a

man that hit in their face. If the guy runs to your left, you make the tackle on your left side, and guy run to the right, you have to make that tackle, but there's a guy next to you also having a half of body at the gap. People. It kills me when people talk about two gaping, I don't know what the hell is going on. When I got in the league, I went to nixty three four. That's all he likes to do. He'll get the nickel and

dime on those third downs, but he's he's three four guy. Yeah, so saving being a three four guy and you know Zach Thomas driving in that. And so you line up a linebacker, you gotta know what your gap is or what's your run responsibility if it's two gall people over a single gap, and where your responsibility is as a

as a pass guy. If you have a tight end underneath for the safety high, if you have to tighten man, if you have the running back anywhere on the field, if you're in the other linebacker anying out in the running back and tidy if they crossed low there there, there's the assignment side of it. And that's what you could teach. That's why I can teach my high school players. I can line them up and get through camp and let them know if we're running this, you have the

a gap and you have the running back man. And that's what a lot of guys in college go off of them. I got with Charlie Strong. He was he was my decordinator of college and that's who really taught me football. In high school. I just ran around. I was six six to ten pound of running the four six. I would just fly around and hit and hit people. I was bigger and faster than everybody. Then when I got to the SEC, I had to learn football, and that's what he taught me, was just the alignment and

assignment of what I had to do. And I was a better athlete stell the most guys when I got to the league. And this is where it gets interesting. You have to read the guards pre snap alignment. How far he is away from the tackle. If he's tied to the center, that might mean he's trying to reach a guy on the other side of the ball or pull around. So now you can kind of lean inside. If he's leaning inside. If if him and the tackler down, you know they're running his own because why would they

condense the line? Why would they get one foot splits between them where you're trying to run. You're not trying to create space right there on the right side of line if y'all would foot to foot. So what you're trying to do now is you're trying to let us spread out, you get tight and run away from us. It's so many little nuances to the pre snap stuff

we were just talking about with Florenz. Before the ball even snap, before you have to get off of blocks, before you have to know your leverage on blockers, before you have to know your leverage on receiver, before you have to know all these small nuances to your assignment. You you can look at so much stuff pre snap, and that's where Zach Thomas or Ray Lewis or Brian or Lacker Mike sing that's where they win. And that's

what I try to play people football. They're like, hey, I play Madden's like a maddened You can't see if the guard is leaning, or if his shoulders are turned, or to the simplest one bro a fullback has to look at who he's gonna block. Like if you line up in the fullbacks in the game, he can't look at the sideline, snap the ball and running block a defensement or a linebacker. At some moment that lines, that fullback is gonna peak at who he needs to block

because he has to see where you're at. So after you see your guards, after you get your line, but after you know you're in your thirty technique, you're off the guard, you're stacking your de tackle, whatever it is, look at the fullback. A lot of the bad fullback Lorenzo Nia wouldn't do it. Mike all stop. Wouldn't do it. They were, they were Hall of famers. But a slashy, big doogle fullback, he's gonna stare, stare exactly at where

he's going. That's the simplest one. Just those small keys you can get where Zach would still tapping from me all the time because he would have those keys. So I'm in the B gap, I'm in my gap. They're running at me. Zach would see the keys to know they're running at me. So when the ball snap, Zach would move before I moved. So I'm running up, I break down and make the tackle. Next thing I know, I hear from and then Zach's laying there shaking. The

running back laying there shaking. He does not to do. Now, that's that's where you become great. You can be good by just reading post snap. You get great by getting so much information pre snap. It's it's almost like a computer. It's almost I don't know if people watch West World or something, it's almost just it's like a computer where you can get so much information pre snap that wants the ball snapped. It's like it's like playing a video game.

Oh you're running, you're running his own left you can only run here. I know the d NZ here, I know the safety is coming down strong. You're gonna cut back to my gap. I'm gonna shoot my gap. Zach used to yell at me shooting my gap. He would see something at the tighten and stepped off the ball. CC shoot, CC shoot. Never when he called me CC, he would say c C shoot, and he was telling me he figured it out. Just run through your gap.

I would say most of my tapnics for loss. Who comes back telling me CC shoot because he saw so much. He processed so much receivers where their feet are lined up. I saw a video of Oto Sinko and Dion Sanders recently. It was on Twitter where Oto Sinko line the bar receiver and Dion got in front of him and Alto Sinko turned his foot inside and Dion looked and said, I know you're running inside route, look at your foot,

and then Otoo kind of laughed and walked away. He saw too much pre snap, Oto Sinko, before the ball was snap. He knew what Ratty is running, how his hand, where he's lined up, how deep he is off the line. That small stuff pre snappers big and then post now there's a triangle, especially for inside off the ball backers,

both guards and the and the near back. So if the full backer, line or running back, if you can see, if you could open your vision up enough during or when the ball snap to see front side guard and he's right in front of you. The front side guards right there. You If you can't see him, hell, you're

Stevie Wonder. You should be played football anyway. If you can see that guard right in front of you, but open up to see the backside guard if he pulls, and also see the tailback or fullback whoever the cloes back to the line. Every run play goes through them. The two guards in the fullback take you to every single run play on the field. If that guards stepped down in this one pulls, go hit the guard, they're

run the ball behind him. If both of them step left and the fullback comes right, it's either it's either zone cut or it's some kind of league back side. If they would have a tight end the wider league. The guards and the near back show you everything in the run game and pass past plays two. If you can see those guards, the rules are they can't step out if it's a pass play. They can't come at you, so the ball snapped, they back up, go to your responsibility,

and then you have to play ball. That's the funny thing. This is all before you have to tackle Sean Lynch. You have to cover West Welker. You have to cover Reggie Bush who was held Jared. Reggie was a monster in the open field. This this is what we talked about here last two or three minutes. This is before you played football. This is before you have to go against guys running four two four three, stay inside out.

You know where your leverage is. You know if I spill this guard to a linebacker, or I boxed this guard out to another you know, to a safety, all that other stuff you need to know before you physically have to do it. And that's where you see these guys that are just built like gods in college, fast, strong, big, big arms, you know, just just monsters running four threes. And it goes to the NFL the flame out. They couldn't do it here. This this wasn't where they up

and up in there. They could not process this much information as fast as does a accidum do it. If Zach is an A plus processor, I was a B minus, maybe C plus on if I drank too much, But I could still get in there and make a player too. You know what I'm saying. Just the processing of what's going on and me. When people see me and Zach standing next to each other, you would never say Zach was the All Pro and honestly should be a Hall of Famer. I'm six three, I was too fifty, I

was you know. My next started under my ears, like I said to fifteen, didn't wasn't really much. Feler has so many shoulder surgeries. The shoulder was cut up the

like Swiss cheese. Once. Once you walked down and put a jersey on and put a helmet on, you would automatically say, oh, fifty four, that's the dude because of his mental side of the game, and all those guys, even the bigger guess why ray is ray Lewis is what it was, and all those got Pastrick Withers was the same when he processed past, like, I really respect linebacker play. And that's that's a quick little gist of just what you need to know before you have to

go out there and physically do it. With the greatest athletes in the world. The mental side of it where a lot of guys fall short and that, Yeah, that's the part that makes the game so fascinating to me as a fan and a person that just loves to try to digest as much as I can, especially you know, I've been I've been watching film for only you know, a short amount of time compared to someone like yourself.

But when I go through a play I'll watch it, I'll bring it back, I'll slow it down, I'll watch it again, and it takes me two or three times to you know, really get the gist of what's happening. So when you consider these guys out there making plays at the snap of a finger like that, it's so remarkable.

And I want to ask you as a two parts here, as a pro, is there anything that you can do besides just getting in the playbook to really make that instinct kind of improve and get better because it seems like me inherent and you wouldn't be able to work on it. And number two, when you go to the combine and you meet all these players, and you meet potential free agents that you've never you've never been around how they work before, how do you in a half

hour meeting or an hour long meeting. How do you figure out which these guys has that and who you know might be short in that area. I'll go the first, the first, the second, plans of first. I don't think in that fifteen thirty our meeting. You know what a guy can do and how much of God can retain.

You can watch what he did in college, but college playbooks are minuscule compared to the NFL playbook and what you have to know and to know that there's an Amy Reid or there's a there's a uh mcfaith or there's a guy like that and he's watching you. Andy Reid used to stare at me on film and find every one of my weaknesses and you can't. You can't figure it out a guy and that we used to call it the bitch. You find out that the team has has they have put a target on your back.

Either you can't cover or you can't tackle or something. But you're the target. They would say there's some brailroads on you. Wild cut too much. They say there's some brailroads on you where it sounds like it's prestigious. Oh, you have the some breirerows on you. Hey, no, that means you're the weakest link and they're coming after you because they've assessed you as the weakest link. And so I think, guys, you can't know what power guy is gonna respond when he becomes the weakest lake. When he

is that guy they're attacking. It might not bro it might not be every place. They wouldn't run at me. But when it was in the past, cover they're going to empty, they would look at me. And I got said in the Saints game when they had um who was it, uh, the big white tight end? What was his name? He was hell out of Miami, Um, Jeremy

Shocky Shocky. They had Shocky and they put him in tight end and they would have Reggie Bush and put him at number two weeks So the quarters on one, corners on one, niggles on two, Me and Yarra Mia Bell had to decide and might have covered Reggie or Shocky.

And they would sit and they said it was I want to say, and my probably was I think it was a Monday night game down in Miami, and they would sit and wait for us to decide if I'm covering Shocking or if I'm covering Reggie and whoever I covered, they would throwing the ball. This guy's a safety, he's a better coverage guy than you. So if you go on Shock, we're gonna throw Shot the ball. If you go on Reggie, we're gonna throw Reggie the ball. And they would decide that. So it wasn't like they were

picking on me. It was that that was the most intelligent approach to the game. When they've got an empty and that's what you know, how guy's gonna respond in that situation. I would say I was the guy who wanted to step up. I would cheat, like hell, I grab him, I go choke him. I would try to hit him and hit him in the private parts, and all the little tricks you could you can play in the game, but you don't know if a goot, how a guy's gonna respond with a fifteen in a meeting

at the combine? Now, can you can you progress? Can you learn? Can you get better at that? It's all grinding film, study and implementing it on the field at practice, like the whole practice makes perfect thing. It's an old cliche and people say it all the time, and coaches

say it all the time. They pound in your head if you can't do it in practice, You're not gonna wake up Sunday and be an amazing coverage guy if you're out there, like if I'm out there getting beat by Anthony Fasano and and Randy Nick Michael and the Titans I played with, there's no way I'm gonna cover Shock. I'm gonna cover Tony Gonzalez who killed me in Atlanta one time. He really made me the bit he royed me and then land on the back side of slot

one time. But if you can't, if you can't do if I couldn't do it against Eddie Pisano, there's no chance I'm doing it against Gonzalez or an Tonio Gate who ate me up and say there goo like those. It stays in my mind when I prepared for a guy well enough in my mind, but then I walked out in that second play, I would say to myself, Yeah, bro, this is this is Genette, this is the d n A. God.

God did not make me the cover Tony. People to cover Tony come Salles and and like that's the part that you just have to grind and work and work and work, and you're gonna get beat. That's short. You have to have a short memory. That's big time too. And Sam Madison had the best same Madazine could get destroyed on the play. He's still come back talking trash because he's the best in the world. Short. Let it go, Let it go, Short, let it go, Let everything go.

But get to progress and get better. It's just overall working and working, watching film, grinding and the last thing about you know, making those plays and psychologically or mentally getting to another level. You can't prepare for every playoff team has. You can't prepare in high school. I I coach high school. Bro. They have six runs. Every team has six runs. That's all I do is just run six runs at my team the whole time, and then my kids would be like head coaches the same run bro. Yeah,

that's what they do. They have six runs. In the NFL, they do so much window dressing, moving, slop turning. Quipped the Titans going. Titans being fullbacks receivers now go to running back and they put the tight You can't really just lock it in NFL on what to do, but you can get between five and ten plays of runs and passes that you know they're gonna do. It's the bread and butter and whoop their ass on those plays, like Andy um, Andy Reid did it, Bill Belichick does it.

There's a number of coaches I played throughout my career where when they come out in the third or fourth series of offense, they would throw a formation at you and a would like zactly sometimes looking at me a smile, or he's like, this is gonna happen when you play the good coaches, just understand it's gonna be something they throw out here. If you have not seen I don't care if you watch film for sixteen years of him coaching, He's always gonna have something new. They called everybody calls

to the wrinkle, a new wrinkle. They always have that new wrinkle. You're not gonna make a big play on the new wrinkle. But if a team gets in near I and run the power, and you know they run the power. Um Ladai and Tomlinson when he had there was a twenty six touchdowns and oh six or seven they ran power fifteen times a game. They had Nick hart Heartwick. Hardwick was the center. He could get up

to the backside wheel. They had guards that can move, they had they had a hell of a tackle and they would run the power to the defensive left side over and over and over again, and you had to stop there. And we went up there and beat him because we stopped the power. And I made a bunch of plays stopping the power at the mic linebacker. But that was I said, and myself and Zach and all we locked it in and we stopped this power. Let him run the league. They get six on the league,

they get six on the league. Let's choke him out running this power the same. They have to come down and just destroy everything, and Mike has to roll over top the wheel, gotta get off the center, and we just we pound that in our head and that's how that's how we beat them. But that's what you have to do. You have to get those five to tim run plays and those five to tim pass plays that you know they're gonna do. They do every game. They might do it in the first series, they might win

to the second half. To do it well. Once you recognize it, that's when you make your big place. And it's a lot easier said than I can definitely understand that going against the best in the world, the best in the profession. And you mentioned, you know, you talk about having those wrinkles that can get you. You guys got an entire team throughout the course of entire game. Back in two thousand and eight, you mentioned the Division championship.

You're the Wildcat game, the first game y'all broke it out and went rough shot on the Patriots. Now, that was a successful season, and one of the reasons you guys went into twenties two thousand six with high expectations was because of the close to that two thousand five season, And one of those games was that Chargers game. I believe Chambers had a couple of big touchdowns. You guys played really good on defense, and so that six game winning streak at the end of OH five brought about really,

really strong expectations. The Dolphins were Sports illustrators pick to represent the a f C in the Super Bowl that year. How much different is it in a locker room when there's expectations that are that high compared to maybe a more runner the mill season where maybe you have playoff aspirations or Division championship aspirations. Like does having Super Bowl expectations like that really changed the game for you guys?

It does, and especially what happened that year you're speaking of when we added Dante cold Pepper and you saw what he deal with christ Christi Carter and Randy Moss in Minnesota. You just knew he wasn't that you know, he wasn't anybody to play. He was one of the top guys. We know history, everybody knows. He ended up, you know, his knee wasn't healthy, end up retiring a couple of years later, playing for the Raiders, I think

for a year or two. But when when we knew that we brought in Cold Pepper, we knew how defense could play. We knew we could play I think, oh oh five, we were top I think top five and a bunch of categories and top ten and most categories. Indeed, we knew our defense was say, let's get a quarterback to get his ball to run, and Ricky and all these damn players we had, and let's just show out. Let's go out here. We knew West West an Centian team, West Welfare. We knew we had Randomy Michael was a

hell of a titan. Like. We were like, hey, we if we lock it at quarterback, this is the run. And that's what Sports Illustrated talk. Hell the defensive top ten's we we bringing cold Pepper. If he plays like he did in Minnesota, this team can make a run. The approach to the to the season saving what lets

you really bs. But it was just something different when you really thought you had something, Guys would compete, Guys would go out there and talk about it and and and if you want to you know, it's it's no secrets in the NFL. If you want to be great, top grade, work great at great. You know, just greatness should be all over you. And we really felt that way. I'm not gonna lie. After the first couple of games with Pelp, we were like, I don't see Minnesota Pelp. I see it do it with a bad need Pep.

But the camp and leading up to it and all that stuff, it was a different field. And it was only my second year, so it was a different different field going in. And that's one of the reasons I think Nick Saban left, which he couldn't find that quarterback and in college you can get safe. Does it now? He could get any quarterback and run this big these big as dudes on defense and get a good running game and go to NAS championship NFL. I hate his going this way. I love the I'm a Bucaneers fan.

The Trent dilferd. I mean Brad Johnson left Buckaneers with Sap and Lynch and Derrick Brooks and those guys uh Barbrown outside like I love defense. The Ravens two thousand Ray, that's the trip Dealver Ravens. When Brian Pillicking, if I love bro you give me a seven team game thirty to thirty to thirty to thirty to thirty thirty, I can't argue with that. That's football to me. Nowadays football is changing. You gotta throw up at least twenty four,

twenty eight points. You have to be able to get into mid twenties to really make a run in this day and agent NFL, because you just can't choke people out anymore. It's tough to choke people out if you look at those top defense forty niners wrote every level. Four first rounders up front this year, great linebackers, pretty good secondary. Kansas City. It was a matter of time until Kansas City figured out how to get them. That's all it is. It's a matter of time. Give me

ten plays, Oh, we're gonna do it. Thirty plays. Okay, they got told about forty plays, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid said, we got you. They started running Travis Kelsey on the deep overs. They just they figured out what they were doing so that that this damage. In the NFL, you have to score and that's where the game's going in. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of but

I'm adjusting to it. I'm getting used to it. But the team that we went into the O six year with, we thought we were gonna do something until we saw that Pepper wasn't that guy. And that's what that's what that's what it became. I think that's why Savan left because he couldn't find a quarterback. But Dante Colepepper was the epicenter of that of the excitement and once we

saw that wasn't there. I don't give a damn how many points We're here on the other team too, they were gonna score enough to beat us, and it was what was as a fan, I was so excited for that season. The season opening game on Thursday night against Pittsburgh. You know, that was that was new to the Dolphins at the time, so there was a lot of expectations, like you mentioned, so we it happened pretty quickly, because I think he got injured after three or four games

and didn't play the rest of the year. You mentioned the high flying offenses like Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes. It's like a shooter in basketball. It takes one quarter to wipe you out, like a thirty five point quarter for in basketball, or maybe like a four touchdown quarter like Mahomes has had so many times. It's it's crazy. And you talked about your era with the Dolphins, and and I grew up in that era as a as a fan of my childhood. Was the third teen to

ten win, you know. And you guys had so many of those thirteen to ten games or sixteen to thirteen, just tight affairs that were back and forth, maybe a couple of field goals here and there. And one of those games, I think it was more of the twenties, but it was a two thousand nine game against the Patriots. And I played the sound at the top of the show of your interception when Cam Waite got in there, blast and Brady you pick it off game over. That was the clip to open the show. Is that your

favorite moment as a Miami Dolphin? Yes, it was it's the moment everybody talks about. It's stuff. I'm sitting at the bar drinking beer with the buddies and uh, the seven year old guy walks in with his wife and he walks up and bumps my back and he Brady interception and gives up that. That's that's what people still

talk about. Football was now the media stuff I do dolphin post game, you know, on on the fifth quarter CBS, so you know, people see me more now, But when it's football and bro, I'm my last year was eleven ten. I retired. They cut me eleven and the retirement so I've been out for you know, going on going on ten years, and they still come up out the Brady even that talking about like the mental side of football,

and this is this is a Tom Brady type. This is where the this is the next level of football where there's a guy called the rat. People that don't know where the rat is. He's a free player. He just reached the quarterback size. So everybody's covering somebody you can run as call people call it lurking. If a safety is the rat and he's just a free player, he lurks. If a linebacker the player he's a rat. So we end up ratting, and we had we had a beat on their place. West Worker was there and

they would always run him on these crossers. Brady could read the wrecked he could. He would. He would identify who the rat was by where the linebacker to the the running back to his right. The linebacker that way is covering him, so the other linebackers the rat. It was simple. If the other linebacker was removed, the safeties

coming to rat. He could read all that. So to trick him wherever you wanted to rap to, you would have to turn your back that way for a second to let him, to show him your eyes aims left to come back to rat where you wanted to rac. So we had the game plan. If it was between me and Zach, you know, wherever the wherever the or me was, Zach still there, Me and the other back I think Zach might have been gone, whoever the rat was.

If west Workers on that side when the ball snapped, look away from west Walker and you're still peaking at Brady. When Brady looks at you, and then he looks away. Now you can turn back and rap. If you go back and watch a game, I missed an interception on the same exact play in like the second quarter, almost at the same point in the field. He was west, was to the boundary and they were running across it

to the field and I turned, I turned back. When I turned back, I didn't get that back far enough and it just hit my finger fingertips hit in the ground because he threw it to west and west west four ft two, so he was a tidy looked baster. So earlier in the game, the same exact play, you had the trick Brady to rap away and then come back, and in that play I tripped. I looked away to when I came back, I saw Cam beat the tackle and then he affected the ball and I looked right

back and turning my back. Now he was throwing it to the crosser and it literally it came right to me. I was standing there. I was about to go down, and actually I was a bank I will trying to knock west west to sleep and the ball came right at me because Cam affected the throw. But that's just the mental side of football I'm talking about. Even in that play, and it was my biggest player as a Dolphin was the psychological part. The mental part. Oh. Even

in the fourth quarter, we were up by four. There was a minute twenty four left. Brady's known for doing that. You're up by four, a minute twenty left, Brady's gonna go get the mad yards for a touchdown. Like everybody knew that the whole You can fill it in the crowd, everybody playing, oh this is Brady. We gave you too much time and to seal that win with film study, with a great game plan. We planned to do that. We had the rack there for the crossers. I end

up being a rat. I end up doing it, you know, doing it correctly. Cam got his pressure and can't wave the free agent. Now. I don't know if we want I wouldn't mind bringing them back, but it is what it is. He's little older, but Cam got his pressure and me being in the right position to make that play. That was kind of It was a big play when

the game people know before. But the bigger part of football we're talking about earlier, the psychological, the adjustments, working through that on Monday, talking about that Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then seeing it work game day, Like that's the part of football that I love is the X and of it the lining up eleven against eleven, and where everybody has somebody to to cover, everybody has something to do. Who's gonna win, Who's gonna be better on that play

that snap? And I'd have to say, can't wait helped a little bit, and he helped me a little bit, But I would have to say I made that play. I was the best. I was a better guy on that snap to win the game against the Well, the way you break it down, it's hard to argue with you.

So and and like you mentioned, you you put whatever a player puts in for a week, sixty hours of getting your body right, getting the mind right, getting the practice reps in, to have it all kind of come to uh to its conclusion on a three hour clip on Sunday. I can understand how that jubilation kind of comes out the entire week of work. I can't even

imagine what that feels like as an athlete. Now, everybody knows you for that pick like you mentioned against the Patriots, and I want to ask you changing this is entirely for me only. I was at a game back in two thousand eight. It was the Matt Light game. I won't ask you to go into that that part of the detail I want to ask you that I know. Yeah, we don't gotta put that on air. The part we can put on air that I want to ask you about. So two thousand eight, I must have been twenty one

years old. I was very very young. Still am young, obviously, but I went to the players parking lot after the game because I wanted to get some autographs or some photos, and I was told that was the best place to go. And you you exited the game early, but you left in your car at the same time as the other players, and you rolled out in this particular car that I'll never forget. I have a picture on my Facebook still. I snapped it because I was like, why is this

dude driving that car? He's a professional football player. And for those that don't know, forgive my ignorance. I don't know what it was because I don't I don't know the automotive industry whatsoever. I don't know the maker model of the car, but I know it looked old and I know it was distinctly very brown. What was going on with that man? Like? What was that car? And why were you the one driving it? Um? I needed to hang out sketchy neighborhoods. I need to hang out

sketching neighbood I'm not a flash to do. I have no too around where shots still people make fun of me. I have like shots. They calls. I changed a little faces every now and again. I don't spend money. Save all my money. Yeah, I'm not gonna be on broke. If Billy Corbyan does another another one, I'm not. I'm not gonna be that guy. But I was in a I was in I was in the hood and there was a dude and he said he's setting a car

for four hundred dollars. And it was an old Oldsmobile, like a nineteen seventies seven olds mobile, something big boxing car, everything torn up in it. I said, four hundred dollars. I had that car. I'm messing with me. He was a crackhead. Let's be honest. He was a crackhead. So I'm like four hundred bucks. He said four hundred bucks. I said, where's the title? I will get it. I said, okay. I would say I thought I was in the conversation.

I was just messing around. I think I was waiting for my buddy and he was at some girl's house and I'm just sitting there and I was like, give me the title. He said, uh, okay. He comes back with the title with the sign with the title signs. I kind of look at it. I'm like, so, I give you four hundred dollars, you give me this title, and this is my car. He said, yeah, man, I said, okay, put four bucks out game before hundred. He gave me the kids. I went in and cranked it up. I

drove around the block, came back. He was still there. I thought he was gonna run. He was still sitting there. I said, cool. I left. I wouldn't got to registers. I wouldn't got this shirt. It was like sixteen dollars a year to ensure that car. It was. It was nothing, and I was like, okay, I drove it to the game. So yeah, I drove it to the game. I think that I only got to drive the four games because

it broke down the side of the turnpike. But even when it broke down and broke down the side of the the turnpike, my family was driving my um My, what I happened? I think I had in affinity. Then they were behind me. I pulled to the side of the turnpike. I took the license plate off, I took my stuff out and I left it there and they I don't know what happened to it where it got rid of it, But yeah, I paid four hundred dollars for a car. I drove it for about about a month a month

and a half. It broke down and I let him happen. It's just a sound investment. You gotta take advantage of your opportunities when you get him. That's what about Think about that six weeks, four hundred dollars. That's if you can't run a car for that in a car for a month and a half, or four hundred dollars, the opportunity, dude, I love it, man, That's what makes you the best Channing And I want to get to this before we get out of here where we've run four times as

long as my normal shows. But people are gonna love it, so I'm more than happy to do it. But you've transitioned so well, and this podcast is proof of it from a player into the radio personality role. Like, how are you enjoying the second career and how did you like How did you get to the point to where you're so comfortable and just so like admirable to listen to on the airwaves. Um it was. I was always a talker. I was always in a like more of

an entertainment. But I was from like the country, Like I didn't. I wasn't in a big city. I was out on the outskirts of Atlanta, you know what I'm saying. My mom got she got a better job. And then I went to games the middle of the country. So I grew up kind of nowed skirts and I'm with the games when that's the day and that's cornfields out there. So like I was just I always enjoyed the country. And back then, bro, I didn't have Twitter and Facebook and my Space is the guy that got blah blah

blah this crap. You had to talk to humans. You had to talk when you're sitting around drinking beer or you're it on the porch, like you're just sitting and make fun of people. You're sitting your dorm room and and tease guys and just joke and tell stories and tell a story about the girl back in high school then and my uncle this and that. You had to do it. And then as I got in the in

the league. My opportunity actually was with one of the news stations and during the during the media sessions when the Dolphins locker room, and they put me way in the corner and they put me next to these damn Polynesians because they didn't speak with English. They put me next like Paul Soliai and Reagan Mauai and Samson's a Telly.

They put me next to all these guys because they didn't speak in English, so they didn't think I could influence them badly, so they put me over in his corner and just leave me there to my own devices. And this crazy little A D D mind would be going.

So in the media sessions, I would just start making fun of everybody, teammates, media members, Um, David j Neo, he's a he comes to dolfers, he wears the keys I used to kill him with coming to America jokes, all the Barry Jackson's and all the how Habib's and O Mark Kelly. I just kill these guys just choking around. They knew I was joking. So the TV station came up to me and they were like, hey, do you mind have a cameraman? Just put your camera on you

and record you here, like what edited it? You know, take the cuss words. I won't make you look bad. But there's like fifteen seconds when the credit runs after the news. They were like, and we'd rather set up paying something doom dum dum dune some song. We'll just playing fifteen seconds that you're messing around and call the crowder's corner. And it was like on Friday nights. I was like cool when the Dolphins a proved it and that was mine end to five six at the time,

and it was Beasley at the time. So when I in two times level when the Dolphins released me and I was still getting some I was still getting you know, percentage of my my salary because I was after the lockout, so I was gonna take the year off. And they came up to me and Steve Goldstein end up choosing TV over radio and it was a big ordeal. They had a slot open and they were like, hey, you know you like to talk, You're funny, you like to mess around when you want to fill in on radio.

So I filled it on next show midday. I went on Joe Rose and said Rosenberg Show and just messed around, just wonderingful hour here out there just just just messed around kind of saw like you get paid. And I was watching them, and I'm like, you have paid. You get paid to have an opinion. It's the easiest thing in the world to get as an opinion you have to work for. Like think about what you have to work for to get you have to work for an opinion that yours. Like, it's easy to have ton opinion.

You need to do no research, you need to look into nothing, You just have to just talk. When they stopped and I saw it, I'm like, bro, I don't need to go to communications class to give an opinion. And I worked on. I did doing some work. I went to some seminars and things, and I went to the in the NFL comed by some of these little combines that do the weekend thing. Just kind of understand the business. And now, like I said, I'm on on ten years of doing it. But I always knew there

was more than football. I always knew like I was, I wasn't the you know, the caveman, the near and the thought people want to thank football players are the sea ball, hit ball or to run this way? This is my gap. Paul that I was never that guy. Like I could really think about stuff and I would joke around on the lot. I messed around a lot.

So it was a natural transition to be able to talk give an opinion that people have trouble coming up with their sales, which is still amazing to me, but have an opinion, and to be able to articulate it correctly, you know, I could alway. I could always, I could

always articulate myself. I could always talk, and like, it's it's funny that when people tell me, like when I'm sitting around my boys, they're like, you can talk, and then you can entertain, and like there's a there's a there's a level where you can you can tell a story, and then you can really tell a story and make it good, line it up and give people the visual of what's going on, and you know, explaining the small details so that people really feel what you're talking about.

And once I figured out that was a guy giving gifts, I just kept doing it, kept grinding at it, you know, work my way and wasn't making when I started, I wasn't making. I was making peanuts. I wouldn't get paying for like a couple of years, but just to learn it and get used to it. And a lot of guys aren't. They're not ready for that to come me to the league minimums now what five hundred thousand something

like that. So the guy going to make a half a million and plus every single year of his life to hey, you're gonna come in every day and make thousand dollars a month, well grand like So a lot of guys aren't used to that. And trying to get sponsors and going to meetings and also once I figured out how it's how it's done, and really media's money if you can sell, if you can get sponsorships and all, I figured out the process, and I was just I stayed with it long. I didn't do diligence enough to

really make a career out of it. So I can say I'm ten years in, thirty six years old. I do it for another ten fifteen years and then hello, I don't know, I'm trying to coach or something, going college, go to the NFL, Go coach after my kids grow up.

But it's a buch of fun job now, and it's something I'm noticing now guys have trouble transitioning and I didn't, So I didn't realize until a lot of my other friends started retiring and guys started retiring, and guys that made way more money than me that I respect, that were better than me, And then I see that a lot of people who have trouble with that second career. I do hope we get ten fifteen more years you because,

like I said, you're just fantastic on the radio. Love having you on these podcasts and speaking of kind of pay your dues in the media aspects. I'm going to be moving down your way sometime this summer. We're not quite sure yet. The wife is pregnant. She's doing may so when she has our firstborn, our daughter, we're gonna be moving down there sometimes shortly there after. So we'll have to catch up at Twin Peaks or somewhere and

get a beer together. Man, sound good, yea, sir, I got one dude, June Tip Man, you coming, June Tip I got a little boy companies my third. You said it's your first, So yeah, that'll be they'll be in school together coming up and oh yeah, hopefully. Yeah, they're gonna be friends coming up in jail. Then you come now, I can show you all in South Florida. Channing, thanks a bunch with you this man. We'll do it again real soon here. Okay, no problem, man, I really respect

what you do. I'm glad you're coming down to the market because I I follow everybody that loved the Dolphin and follow Dolphins, and you you do the film breakdown, you do the Twitter like you really, you really do the X and old football side stuff. So we've talked in the past. I don't know people know, we've talked to games and thinks. I really enjoy following you. Man. I'm glad that you're coming down to really be a big part of Dolphins because you're gonna adk so much

to this organization, to be honest, means that means everything. Channing. I can't wait for it personally. It's it's only a couple of months away and I'm already counting the days down. So there he is, ladies and gentlemen, your Dolphins linebacker number fifty two, Channing Crowder again. Man, fantastic stuff. I'm going Man, how good is he? Off? He goes, And let's just go ahead and cut the podcast off right

there because we're not going to improve upon that. So all you, please be sure subscribe, rate, and review the Drive Time podcast on Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and follow me on Twitter at linkol NFL, follow Channing at official Crowder, and of course, the dolphins at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank podcast. Channing did two episodes of that think about a year ago. Check those out. Check out the audible podcast Miami Dolphins

dot com. Until next time, fins up.