2021 NFC Championship with Cooper Kupp | 49ers vs. Rams

The internet likes to compare us. For some reason, those guys were so similar. What do you think these reasons are?

I think I think it's a beard thing. It's a beard it's a beard thing. Maybe our pigment.

I never thought that once.

On today's episode, we have the Triple crown winner, the stud the Super Bowl champion, super Bowl MVP Cooper Cup talking twenty twenty one NFC championship between the San Francisco forty nine ers and his Los Angeles Rams.

It's a great win against the you know, a terrible opponent that they've had our number for a few years, and this is kind of the turning point of that. I remember looking up at the score and be like, gosh, I'm so Glass, not twenty eighty three. I remember paying Oh gosh, so Glass, not twenty to thirty. I want to talk with somem What do you want to talk about?

The shirt that you're in?

What's this show?

Oh?

This shirt, this whole thing, Oh, this whole thing. Games with Names a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome to Games with Names. I'm Julian Edelman. There, Jack and Kyler and were on the mission to find the greatest game of all time. On today's episode, we have Cooper Cup talking the monkey off the back game. That's right, twenty twenty one NFC Championship between the San Francisco forty nine ers and his Los Angeles Rams.

He's a Super Bowl MVP, Triple Crown winner, wide receiver. He doesn't need any credential.

No peace.

Numbers galore, numbers galore. There's barbecues galore that store, and then there's Coop Cup with numbers galore, stat chet stuffer and just a student of the game.

He is, he really is.

I mean, we get into we dive into that, We dive into the San Francisco LA rivalry. We we dive, we dive into However, one compares us, why is that? I don't know, find out, find out. We'll find out. What do you what do you think?

I We'll find out. We'll find find out. We'll find out.

And we also what it's like starting a coffee company entrepreneur, entrepreneur.

This beans miss is an entrepreneur. Huh, he's a beansman. He knows those beans.

Coffee dot co.

And we got some content coming afterwards where I mean he's got a particular way of making his coffee he's a coffee connoisseur.

We were, we were busy, Tom Brady, he's busy roasting some Ethiopian beans.

No, these were godmul Ands. And then the road to his first Super Bowl where he bawled out and had an MVP type game and you lost fifty thousand dollars and I lost fifty thousand dollars.

Light work, light work, light work.

And then we'll wrap it up with hitting the old hotline.

It'll be fun. Check it out.

Let's go though.

January thirtieth, twenty twenty two, SOFI Stadium, Inglewood, California.

The Los Angeles Rams trailed the San Francisco winers seventeen to seven heading into the fourth quarter, but.

With a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, do Matthew Stafford and Cooper Cup have another come back in them?

This is the twenty twenty one NFC Championship Game.

Welcome to Games with Names. Today we have a very special guest. We have the Triple Crown winner the stud the Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP Cooper Cup in studio in the nuthouse today. Welcome to the studio, Bro, Thank you, thank you for sure, that's Jack that's and uh, why you picked this game, bubs.

Yeah, I think this is a good one. This is a good one.

I know you've gone over some other games. You know that year whitworth, that one's covered. I mean this is a good one. It's a great win against uh, you know, a terrible opponent that you know you just love to. You'll be able to pull one up. Oh, let's be fair, they've they've had a number for a few years.

And this is kind of the turning point of that.

Yeah, I mean that was like that was you know, we won the one that was meaningful, the one that we needed to win.

We got it done.

So so hard to beat a team three times in one year, yeah, so hard.

Have you done it before?

I think we did it a couple of times, But then we also lost a couple of times where we smoked the Jets twice and then we were fourteen and two, and then in the like we blew them out like two weeks before, and then we'd go the first round of the playoffs. They can't wait, game fucking Bart Scott can't wait. They beat us in Foxborough. That shit sucks.

Yeah, yeah, because that was sin we we had them last Game of the Year that Yeah, and that was we were playing for the division division title, end up losing that game in overtime, but winning the division.

How about weird like conflicted feelings.

I hate that ship it is.

It was whenever Like we've had a couple of those where we were in Miami and we lose the game and you're pissed off, but they they passed out the hat scause else like.

Throw the hat in your bag. Yeah, want to see this thing right now. That's tough. It's a tough feeling.

It's a great feeling to have, though, if you're in that situation, coop, because a lot of people have never been in that even situation like ever.

No, yeah, I mean you got you appreciate that's just in that moment you just went. You just played it all on the line to go win a game. Yeah, especially a division opponent exactly. It's the worst overtime heading into the playoffs.

And you guys have had you guys had that thing where like, hey, Kyle Shanahan owned us for a while. It's a whole McVeigh shanahan thing. I mean, I mean, so we talk about it nauseum. Yes, did I use that word, right, that's really good. I'm working on the source. How's off season been going.

It's been really good. Yeah, yeah, it was.

It is probably my first off season having a full having a full off season and being healthy out the gate where I can go and just training how I want to really since you know, the end of twenty twenty going into twenty one was the last time I had a full off season, and so having that's been been great. Yeah yeah, I mean you just can't. You can't put enough value on just that time and the preparation it takes to get your body right to go make this push.

Well, people to put in context, what people don't realize is when you're banged up in an off season, you're not getting better. You're trying to get to where you were at. And the league is so smart that you have to reinvent yourself some my every off season because there's film of how you've played the year before. So

So yeah, no, I've spent so I've spent the last four years training with the same group at the same trainer who actually this off season was hired by Atlanta. So thanks to Rahiem for taking my trainer who can no longer program for me. He's playing the he's playing level five oh one ball over there in Atlanta. Yeah, I mean draft analysts. I would say someone different, but we can move past that. We were to talk about that right now.

But they took they took him over Bill, Yeah, they did. It's crazy.

But what I was touching on was the off season again, off again, all these rabbit trails off season I've been from with these gusts for four years. When you get to the end of the season, you go back and you like you hit your baseline that first week, right, and it's like you don't realize how much your body breaks down the course of a season where that off season you start so far are from where you went into the season because there's just no way, like you try to maintain things as you go.

Yeah, it's dang near impossible.

You play those these long seasons and your body is so broken down, there's so much just to build up, Like you said, just to get back to where you were physically, and then all the armory you got put on to prepare yourself, all the conditioning, the things you got to do to put you know, create some change in your body to be able to take the adaptation from this offseason going into OTAs and say okay, now

Now, what are some of the point of emphasis you have going in this offseason to your game? Now that you're healthy, you can self scout, you could check out what you need to work on. What's some of the things that you are trying to get better at.

Yeah, I mean I think I think the same mantra into every every year. It's a bigger, faster, stronger. I think the mobility side of things has been a huge piece, just being like coming off of the ankle surgery a couple of years ago. Things that come out of that, I mean, I think you get hurt, especially something as low to the ground as an ankle. How it affects things up the chain and you start compensating. And once your body starts compensating, things start tightening, things start loosening.

When you do that, your bodies that's.

Not optimum, right, vulnerable exactly, And so pulling back and finding what that optim is again, that's been the big focus, just in terms of how my body, how I want my body to work. And then you know, in terms of you know, skill wise, you're moving through into like

Yeah, And you're in the point of your career where you could watch film and you can go practice off a specific look of how it may not have went your way, and you could put that and play that game in your mind, and you're probably at the point where you're running routes.

Oh yeah, yeah exactly. I mean you get better playing football playing football.

Yeah exactly.

And I think there's there's a few different steps that just like the visualization side of things, of where you're like, you know, I'm I know, my wife knows, I'm laying in bed, and suddenly I'll just be like wow, flinch out. I look like, hu, what were you doing there? What was happening? Yeah, I got to take I was running this round, the safety was driving down, you know, like

Although we used to call that DejaVu.

You practice so much once you're doing the game, it's like deja voo's. That's a great feeling too. It is, you know what, People don't realize the amount of reps you put into a play for it to work, because there's like twenty different looks you can have, and when you practice it and you rep it over over and over with an intent, like Cooper said, and you use those reps once you get to game day, it's in

Exactly when your when your mind's on, your body's off all the time, right when you can get to the point where your mind's seeing it so much that that's now subconscious. Sean McVay calls it unconscious competence. When competent unconscious. I bet you he's got some sayings. What other sayns does he have? He's got.

All round up.

You gotta let him come, natch. I can't just start pulling him out of thing. Keep it in.

We had this rep right here, Keep that in your subconscious if something comes along. In this next part of the interview, pop flag It, Flag It Cooper, did.

You say that you like would wake up like dreaming about reps?

Oh yeah, No. This isn't just about.

This is like a full on like I'm awake, laying in bed, and I'm just visual it's it's playing so clearly in my head what's happening that my body is reacting to what's happening in those moments, and it's it's it's it's become it's honestly become a problem to the point where it's like, gosh, if if we're like my wife's like laying on me and I'm daydreamers like that, like she can get like like boom, I move actually like her head's popping up off my shoulder.

It's a it's a problem.

So we've had to we've had to figure out how to like, you know, balance those things a little bit so that.

We're not hurting each other.

Hand easy.

I mean, that's pretty plugged iny. Have you ever been that plugged in? You're dreaming about it, you're thinking about it when you're lying down.

Well, I never had a wife, so.

I couldn't tell you that, but I mean you you definitely when you're walking down the hallways you're working releases, you know, you see one of your teammates in the hallway. You know, you're passing by a fucking guy. You're using hands and it's always, I mean, you're on all day long. That's what people don't realize. You know, you don't become the Triple Crown winner, a fucking Super Bowl MVP and have the numbers that this guy had without doing ship

Who you're throwing with right now, you throwing anyone, matt Matthew, any any any Jimmy goo op, Yeah, you throw a jity go Jimmy a little bit. How's Jimmy been doing.

He's been good.

Is that awkward now that he's with you guys.

No, we don't.

We don't touch on it too much, you know, we just let him be, uh just kind of let it be what it ismate. Yes, No, Yes, he's he's been great and it's been really fun throwing with him. He's uh, you know, grabbing the offense. Like there's so much new terminology, Like as close as Shanahan and McVeagh are with some of the offenses the same ship, which is it's a lot of the same stuff, but terminology is completely different. Yeah,

But he used to go.

He was out there, you know, running the offense the other day and doing good.

Awesome.

Now I swear was I we used to throw back when you threw with golf, Yes, and we threw the was I there the first day you were with Matthew.

Or I wasn't there? No, when you were with Matthew. Yeah, I wasn't there with you for that one.

I could have sworn you were there.

What was that like though, that whole situation when you went like do you have any Matthew stories?

Any Matthew stories?

Yeah?

Yeah, when he came in, Like how was that? Because when you when you you had a starting quarterback, you go to the Super Bowl and then all of a sudden it's gone. Yeah, you probably have relationships the National Football League players and coaches leave every year, but it's it's hard because it is hard.

I think coming in that first so that first OTAs, coming off of going into the twenty twenty one season, OTA's got pushed back or come off COVID stuff. OK's. I don't think we show up until May. Matthew had just come off thumb surgery, I believe when he had gotten traded to US. So first week of OTA's we show up. He's at this point only thrown like the squishy nerfball, like a you know, tiny kids, squishy nerf ball is like all he's done. And that first day of OTAs, so I was like, all right, here we

Handoff now, which people think, like, oh, pro quarterback, pro receiver routes on air should always be one hundred percent. We've been over at that going west with some quarterbacks where you're twenty eight for thirty seven, like what are we doing, bubbs. But I remember I threw with Matthew that day one of those days, and we we hadn't even met each other. I think he just got off the plane. I think we went like forty five or

He's on a deep ball. Yep, he's just unbelieved.

But this is the thing with him is I think his like one of the best arm talents. I mean there's just yeah, there's very few throw the ball. I would dare say there's no one throws the ball the way Matthew does. And I think what separates him obviously, you know the arm angles and know all different stuff and no looks being able to throw on any platform whatever.

But he can.

Truly, he's he's making his decision as the balls out of his hand like he hasn't. He's making adjustments until the balls over there like the ball like he's he's dialed into it where he knows all that stuff right, all every point of his you know, throwing motion. That balls he adjustments right till it think comes off his point of fingers.

So that's his superpower.

I think that's just well, I mean he's got a lot, yeah, a lot that he's got going for him obviously, like the ability to process is phenomenal, and not just pre snap process, but being able to post snap, know what's happening, move.

Make throws.

I think that's that is why he's able to do what he's done, is because of his ability. He's not an athlete, as much as he wants to tell you that he was an athlete, He's not an athlete. But he knows how to move in that pocket so well and be able to buy, you know, a split second of time here or there, and he's he sits in there and will take a shot, but he's gonna get that ball exactly where wants to go.

Yeah, he's tough.

He's tough.

He's tough. You remember what we throw together?

Do?

Ye?

How?

What what year were you in there?

That was?

I believe that was going into nineteen, maybe nineteen or twenty. I was old, Yeah, you're just really gotten into yoga.

Well, I tell you about yoga.

We talked a lot about yoga. You do yoga.

I wouldn't say I do yoga.

Now, Jesus didn't didn't touch the right spot.

I guess old enough.

Well, no, yeah, what else are we talking about?

No? I'm telling you.

We talked about yoga a lot, a lot. There's a lot of yoga, but we did we did touch on some stuff.

You know.

I think one of the things that we talked about was and I there's there's a time for this. I feel like it's more for like a certain converseiver that can do it. But you do a lot of the almost jump stop routes, right Like, we talked a lot about how you get up to ten and you guys would run stuffhere. You'd run the like basic ten yard in or like the ten yard out, and then you have the ten yard basic to the corner, right. And you talked a lot about me like change your tempo

I was always different. I ran an orthodox that was because of Wes West. You say that where you get on their toes, you just and you you just explode to whatever they don't do. So you're reacting. You know what I mean by then, because reaction you create separation. Yeah, and really to me, so like I'll go a certain body types.

You know what I mean?

Body type?

Yeah, exactly because it is because I think there's it lends itself not that sense you're you're small in the NFL or in the NFL, you're a smaller receiver, right, So like that body like those guys that are you know, your superparer was quicker. You're quicker than whoever's going to be guarding you. Getting to the point where you can have both feet in the ground and have power off both feet. At the last scrimmage, I use to come to balance at lease all the time, where I bring

You got to speed up here. You're making that decision at the top of the route.

There's that you've got to be right and get You and Wes obviously we're the best at doing that.

Made a living on it.

You don't.

But it also it would change that'd only be a man covered drove.

Yeah.

So Tom was always good at reading us and the countless steps or reps that we had an off season. He knew which way we were going to go, you know what I mean, just through the technique of what the guy's given me. So like that's that's that chemistry that I'm sure you have to have you and Matthew wrong where you guys are finishing each other's sentences.

And it takes time.

It takes time.

When you guys would do routes on air, right, how would you what would the routes on air session look like for you guys? Would you guys just do the route tree or was it more in takeause I know, like you know, No, Peyton was more like we're doing three routes today.

No.

Tom was a two minute drill you could go when I was when I'd come out here to LA, he would work me to death, right and he would be like, all right, sub personnel, you're that so sub personnel zer out feeing ride one thirty four fo ice, I had a twenty hour bow all right, you're the zeneo would rangers, Rangers,

He wanted, he wanted to work. He wanted to see you.

I was tired, and he wanted to see me think when I was tired, and so then i'd be I'd be dying and I'd be like all right, off sides, off side. He made me come back and do more shit like he was like a full coach out there. But it made you think while you were tired and you were processing, and then sometimes you know if I was in the slot, he'd be like, well, we safety in his middle of his drop. You wanted to see if I break. Like he was constantly making cques and

I've never done one like that before outside of like, uh, we've done that before for strictly conditioning. Okay, we're gonna go eight play drive here as fast as we can, right, And usually that's just like, hey, Matthew, we're gonna I missed my conditioning today. We're gonna do it like at the end of the routes, let's get like some quick ones as fast as we can. Matthew's more of a route for you guy, like he wants to get all

We would do those.

So that was more of like in the off season where he was trying to get throws and he was conditioning his arm and he was trying to run me and I was young, you know what I mean. We would go post practice and do a lot of that stuff. So like we'd work safe routes, you know, back shoulder throws because you know he back shoulder throws take such a trust throw, but you still need to be zipping at ten yards and you can't like you can't dictate it, you can't show it, you know, And so we'd work

Yes, exactly.

So we designed, we made the show for this type of conversation. So just keep having it. It's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I want to talk with someone. What do you want to talk about?

The shirt that you're in?

What's this sho oh this shirt?

This whole thing? Oh, this whole thing? What is this thing?

That's an old one, it's very old.

Greatest show on turf here that.

We're listening to it is it's a super Bowl thirty six shirt Patriots.

It just felt like a little bit of a like you didn't want to go all the way and we're the one that I know you wanted to wear, but the producers were like, hey, I don't know if you should wear that one.

No, you want to know it was the only shirt I had to have. Patriots and Rams so forty seven brand. They've been sending us stuff and shout out and they sent this one over and I was like, what am ina.

Wear for Coop?

You know, he's probably gonna be a little swag dad. He's gonna have some sweet sweet kicks on, some like little surfer hoodie thing going with this beard all time. How do I how do I make it like kosher between us?

Yeah?

You know?

And so I picked this out nice?

You know what.

I know you've got another shirt?

Well, I have the super Bowl victory shirt.

Yeah, I have that one. Will you think of you after the game? But I don't have like that's the one somewhere here. Oh yeah, okay, it's just it's very deep. That's good.

Well, I mean I think it's other by other two.

Yeah, got them. That's good.

Now.

The Internet likes to compare us for reason those guys were so similar. Why are we still similar even though you're six one, six, two, five ten? What do you think these reasons are?

Couldn't for the life of.

A little deep dive of how our round and completely. I think I think it's a beard thing. It's beard it's a beard thing. Maybe our pigment. I never thought that once our pigment. Every white guy is the same fucking receiver.

You know what.

You know what it is though, So yeah, no, that is what it is. That's what it is.

He's got longs but I never had the long speed like that. I don't have the I don't have.

No.

Yeah, so I was compared, So who are you compared to coming into the league, this guy, Wes Welker. Yeah, so I was Jordy Nelson?

You were? You were?

I played against JORDI.

Yeah, you're You're better in the slot though, I'm about he was. We couldn't be more different, Yeah he was. Jeordie's game was outside vertical. Yeah that's not my game. No, but you can still run vertical routes.

Yeah, but that wasn't like, that's not how I've made my That's not what's made my game. But now I've seen a full circle now because guess who any receiver is, Like any white receiver becomes compared to me. It's kind of like a full circle thing now of like there's there's the exactly this is It's okay. At some point, at some point, all the draft people will get they'll get some creativity and it'll actually start like seeing the game and it'll be like.

I gotta watch the game with you.

I mean, coach coach coop, coach Coop got the you got the analyst, bro or well yeah, if that that's the word analysts, it is analysis analysis.

There we go.

What's what's up with this? How is Pooka is? He's been a cool addition?

He has been. He has been pretty sweet, pretty cool.

Obviously great story coming from a fifth throne pick doing what he did. I don't know how people didn't see whatever, like, yeah, you see someone play ball and you just kind of know someone can play ball. Kyudo stuffs though for forgetting him. Yeah, but he's been he's been awesome.

Yeah.

I mean, he's a sponge. He wants to know, he wants to talk football, he wants to know the game. He's got really pretty good IQ. Like we came from the kind of the same coaching tree where his his coach at U dub when he was there was my receiver coach at Eastern Washington. Oh yeah, so we kind of had the same thing. I've actually been in the

Did that Can that consistency help your game?

I think there I think it did.

But it also it did help me because there's that there's a lot of similar thinking. But then the other side is I'm like, I have to go find something new, Like it forced me to go out and find tools and talk to people and find other drills, find other stuff that I want to incorporated my game because I'm like, I know, I'm getting the same stuff from Yards that I got from coach Adams, that I got from coach Edwards. I've gotten from coach.

To another perspective exactly.

I wanted to have another projectives, receivers and art form. No one doesn't you do it different than it goes back to the same conversation. It's like, you know, there's there's Picasso and other artistise mil don Tello Raphael there is so like, uh, there's all these different ways to do it. Yeah, right, And so I I don't want to get stuck just knowing one way. I want to have some other stuff I can do and force me

Yeah, who's that the receiver? Yeah, from with Team Bears s Bears. So I I want what year?

Yeah, I think at the point I'm with Conway and where we show up on I show up on Friday, Like we're easy to take me through some girls I asks want to get, you know, perspective. I want to see someone else take me to through stuff. A lot of times I go with someone and I might spend a few days working out with someone and be like I grabbed one thing that I want to like take with me.

Right. Sometimes there's nothing.

Sometimes like man, there's just a treasure trove of stuff that I want to use here. Yeah, there with Curse Conway and we ran a curl route for an hour straight, an hour shift a curl route. Three days before camp. My toes were black. I pulled my cleats off, toes bloodied. Gone every year yeah gone, you know, so you go. Yeah, but I want to go here for someone. I want to hear some something different.

And what was his technique?

How was it different because he attacked the leverage guy or was he just goes straight up in the back?

We did attack, We did more attack the leverage stuff in ters, like the stems and things like that. But I don't even remember if it was from him that I like pull this, but it was kind of the beginning of this idea of like, as a receiver, I never want to think of myself as as slowing down.

I want to decelerate right.

I want to always be thinking I'm accelerating, So even when I get to the top of a route, I want to accelerate down into the ground right, Like what's the what one of the best stoppers in the world javelin right? Javelin comes down stops right. So I want to be like a javel where I'm running and I want that angle. I want to accelerate down at forty five and when I'm accelerat eating point foot down.

You know what Newton says energy potential.

Yes.

He also says every force is an equal opposite reaction. Right, So if I accelerate down into the ground, right, the ground is gonna stop me, push back against me.

Stop somewhere.

And now, as a dB, you see me accelerating from accelerating down towards the ground, and you're backing up, right, but I'm stopping.

Yeah, but you have to have your technique and right, and you're not all that stuff.

Oh there's so much I was saying, like they're running curls for an hour, get my feet bloodied. It's like, yeah, I probably didn't grab a whole lot of stuff from it, but it was like the beginning of this thought, like, man, how do I want to stop? How do I want to learn how to like cue myself to how we're run routes to the top. And it's developed and grown into this place where now I've got like these cues of how I want that stuff to look.

And you know, it's a.

One hour session five years ago that's developed into kind of a basis of how I do my stuff.

Now, you got to give a little shine of Curtis Conway here first, uh seventh overall pick him in ninety three draft.

Jesus out a USC. Yeah us So the Bears played.

From ninety three to four. Finished his career with the Niners. El Camino junior college.

Guy before USC, Oh Camino. Where's that Torrents? Oh, Torrents right out the road? Shout out to coach Curtis Conway.

What other guys you look up to when you were younger? Running routes?

When I was younger, so I played running back.

Yeah, so you were looking at running back.

I was running backs. So backs, Reggie, Reggie Bush. We had him, We had him on here.

We talked about the five oh five game stayed in five yards against fres State.

Remember that where he cut back against the whole team, We pulled the ball back. Yeah. Yeah, he's a monster. Yeah.

What other receivers in the league right now?

You are? You?

Do you study any of the guys because I used to study guys all the time.

Yeah.

So I used to be like, why the fun is he catching one hundred and twenty balls? I'd look at everything every catch he had, I said, what is he doing?

So?

I loved watching keenan Allen release game.

Hean Allen like the last few years, especially because he has some injury stuff come up. Right, isn't like he's never been a burner a burner.

Right, he's later in like later in.

His career, but you down still playing at a very high level. And I want to know, like, how is he creating separation? And I watched our watching the tape and guess what they never tell Keenan Allen to run. It's a go route. So now you're not moving great. You weren't a burner in the first place, and your team doesn't let you run vertical? How are you gonna get open? And his ability to snap down to like

We don't do it.

We do it off cross routes. Yeah, so six fifteen and you're you're the cross. Are either going across the twenty four or you bring it out to the bow, read it out.

What do you have on the backside?

Go go, It's just for you to get open and fucking win. Third, you know, if you knew you were getting man coverage, you can get it protected. You knew you if they weren't thief in or money or rob robbing you, that's where you go. Or you put a deep stopper on one side that converts so if they robber it, you can hit that stopper because you know you got It's it's true, one true, one man shows, one man show, fifty three yards to get open, just throwing me the coach.

You gotta get in there.

Come on, That's just not how we operate.

Really, we don't do the We don't do that.

What it's got to fit the system.

Yeah, but if you a man, if you have a and you guys don't play man teams though, no, we played.

We played man teams.

What man team do you played? Right now? Who's the man team?

Are you just saying that because you came from the Patriots, who play you know, just lay a ton of man man.

We didn't play man against you guys in the Super Bowl.

I'm third down, you did well.

Third down is always man coverage. Not always, but yeah, most of the time is always man. It comes down to man coverage.

We all know you did in the Super Bowl. We changed it up your six to one.

You weren't there.

I was there. I was there.

I was watching the whole thing. Third down double Robert Woods gil Moore on BC. You want to know it's a sweet play from that. I don't know if you guys, when you guys produce this, if you can put it in there. But Robert Woods ran a sale route on third down on our sideline, going from our sideline looking right to left against the double team, and that was unbelievable, unbelievable catch on the.

Sideline, but he sold it in.

He sold it in, sold any kind of stuck it, flattened it out, and he had the outside leverage guy and just shaved undernath the outside leverage guy.

Throw to the sideline.

I bet you that dB got murdered in on the sideline by Bill.

Don't lose your leverage.

Just keep your leverage. We're yeah, I'm sure he did. But it was a freaking a sweet route.

Did did be Cooks give you guys any info.

Go into that game?

Uh? Non't remember, I'm doing a ton, But this is a tough it's a tough thing. We got teams, like everyone thinks, like with all the players, it's it's too hard. It's too much stuff, putting on a defense and offense. A I always thinking about so much stuff. And then you guys came out anyways and did something you've never done any anyways. So it's like the worst thing about the Super Bowl is you get two weeks don overthink.

Everything, overthink everything, and over prepare for anything.

So you prepare based on the film, because why would you prepare for something you haven't seen it? War prepare for the film for two weeks.

Do what they do team guys.

And then they show up and you guys did uh you guys did the Uh Chicago?

What the defense you guys ran? It was?

It was it was it was it was blue zero.

It.

Was Fangio had done it earlier that year with Chicago.

I wasn't in on the defensive meetings. You guys gotta watch that.

I don't pay attention to you, but you guys are doing on I.

Just saw there was interceptions by Gilmore when third down and it was needed. Us sitting there on the sideline, like that's for the coach.

Let's go.

When mccordy ran out there and knocked it.

Oh my goodness. So that play wasn't even in. That play was not You.

Guys talked about it on the sideline.

Yeah, that was a That was a play that we drew up on the sideline that we had run before, but it was not part of the game plan, like we got to get this thing in there, and it's tough.

It seemed like coach was a little starstruck, though with with Belichick for stars.

I love coach.

We played against each other in colleague, Like, I love coach mcvagh.

That's my dog.

So we've gone and got hammered together and stuff.

But you know, he wasn't a star.

He wasn't starstruck. Little No, I don't think that's what it was. He saw Darth Vader for the first time. He's like, oh my, you watched any of these young guys. You watching any of these young guys coming out, Harrison or coming out? Yeah, you watch young guys. I watched just as much as you watched like college football. I'm not I'm not like pulling up guys film and like scouting them.

I watched highlights. That's not what you don't really get into out of the highlights.

Yeah, because you see the catch at the end yards well, you think you can see what his best is and then you can assume what. But you get to see the whole route all the time. That's the thing that kills me is all the time. It's like, okay, I saw you get off the line and then you disappeared and you caught it.

Yeah.

Usually they just go routes in college for verticals.

Yeah, I'm excited to see it, though.

I've heard there's some really good like some good guys coming out.

So I just got to ask one thing, what's up with this red turf at Easter in Washington.

What's up with that?

Dude?

The inferno just on fire. It's literally on fire.

Does it get hot?

It gets pretty hot, it does. And then how is it just a mess with your eyes? No, Honestly, when you're when you're playing on it all the time, it's not. So it's homefield advantage for real. It's one hundred percent homefield advantage.

Because guys are tripping when they go on there. Yeah, it's for sure an adjustment period, get used to it.

But like as I go back and watch, if I see a highlight or whatever of the red turf, now it's like.

Whoa, it's like blinding mind eyes.

But the but when you're on it all we practice on it every day, it was just that was home.

Yeah, we'll be right back after this quick break. We got a segment. Let's go back to January thirtieth, twenty twenty two. We go over pop culture.

What was going on?

It was that long ago, But the number one movie was Spider Man No Way Home.

Just watching my daughter, she loves it.

Every time we do this, always always a Spider Man.

I feel Spider Spider Man has been on somebody's done fifty of these shows, now fifty Everyone from Terry Bradshaw in the seventies to New Guys and Spider Man has been on like seven.

Just keep going, you all the way back to what was the og? You guys consider the og that Toby maguire, I like you. That's that's so from then on. How many Spider Man movies have there been?

Number two was a lot.

I think it's like it's like seven or eight. There's no weird licensing thing. I won't bore you with. That's Sony has I know Sony has it.

They have to do it.

Then we count animated, We count animated? Right, Yeah?

All the.

New ones are good. You like Spider Man?

Yeah?

You action for your guy?

You like no, But my boys are really big into superheroes. Yeah, so that's their favorite. Batman is probably the favorite Batman is that is real? Yeah?

Real? These are real tools he's using.

Jules always tells us how he's more of a Robin Man than a Batman Man.

Uh Dan, just as Robbie Robin.

The number one song was Easy on Me by Adele.

We like it.

I like adel Do you see that sphere? You see her at the sphere. You see, you've been in Vegas the sphere I was. I saw the sphere being built. I've been in Vegas one time.

Yeah, I miss so much.

Dan Campbell finishes his first season as head coach of the Detroit Lions with a three and thirteen and one record.

I liked him at the beginning. It was you don't like anymore. I like him.

I like Dan Campbell, but he there's a fine line between reckless and aggressive, and he's tinkering on that reckless side way too much.

Steering on what you perceive. No, it was like, no, I've done what he's trying to do. He needs to coach the Detroit No, I've been part championship teams. You have to your team never went for it on like fourth and thirty.

Yeah, those ones.

What are we doing? Bros By kneecaps man, we.

Gotta like them, but death I go to bat from all the time, But we gotta know.

I really like what he's got going on there. Players are super bought into their stuff. It's it sounds like a great place, a really fun place to play.

I bet there's a lot of They got a lot of juice right now. They got a lot of NFL coaches with that.

That's a cool that'd be a cool place to uh to win in Detroit.

Yeah, they love their fans.

Scream, liquorice Pizza, and the Matrix Resurrections were all popping off in the box office. I didn't like the Matrix that much.

You like it? No? I mean Matrix one was didn't do everything?

Can't you Maketux like Matrix?

I've seen the Ogs. Yeah, Resurrections, Scream was this a new Scream?

Yeah, there's a new one again. Didn't really cross my desk very hard.

Which liquor Spizza?

That's like an indie movie with Thomas Anderson, A big fan, big fan.

Who's in that?

Uh?

Tyler doesn't seem.

He doesn't like late era PTA, which I like, like most things.

Pretty miserable.

I've been working with him for going through life, just pretty much not liking anything nothing.

Bob saggett r I p alright. He loved him on Full House. That's how old I am.

Raised me bro I was raised on the reruns, but still TBS. After school was going on in the sports world. Wait, can we gotta give some shining to Kevin James bro. This is when Home Team dropped. He was playing Sean Payton man.

Sean Payton who?

All right, we asked the question who would play Sean mcvaannon movie?

Who plays Sean McVay?

Who would who would if Kevin James plays Sean Payton in this movie?

So you're saying the standards really low.

Yeah, I like Kevin James.

I like Kevin James, but that is funny.

In terms of how I liked. They need to look.

I'm not saying that I don't like Kevin James, was saying the standard. It was not like his acting. It was a bad movie, wasn't it.

Haven't seen it? Who's playing Sean McVay. I'm struggling there.

There's I know, I know, I know he's gonna want me to say someone that he has a ton of respect for, and like, I think he's actually referenced someone. I think the rams actually referenced someone playing Sean who. I can't remember who it was.

It was.

It was in the draft house, one of the draft houses.

They had him there. I don't know, I can't remember.

Huh, Glenn Powell, Glenn Powell.

That'd be pretty good. Yeah, right, made that good look good.

I just want him on the show. You just want him on the show. Jules who played Bill, who played Bill? Danny DeVito be a fun Bill.

That'd be good. It'd be a fun Bill.

You could do something fun with that. Danny de Vito is Bill Belichick. You can do some you can do some good stuff for that the trailer. Now, let's go back into Sports World. Super Bowl champions La Rams.

You guys won it. Hats off.

That was pretty cool to watch Stafford come over Day one, win the Super Bowl and the fl m VP Aaron Rodgers.

His corduroy suit.

I remember anti wide receiver bias.

Yeah, you should have been an i VP.

Bro Receivers got to stick together on this thing.

You had an insane year.

Didn't you break like six records?

I don't know, we were we were close. We were close to three. I think we were actually we were actually you know, we were eighteen yards off of Calvin's but it was but I mean it was the extra game. We did have the extra game that year still and actually know we had we had that the last drive of that game. That's the last game of the of the season, right, the last rid of the season, second to last We had a fly sweep that went for eighteen yards, but.

We handed it, gave it a little pick. You imagine if it was just it.

Was just matth You come on, would they have gave it to him?

If he would have beat the record?

Will give?

I think I think you have to have it as Yeah, Aaron Rodgers numbers, it looks like going forward from now though it ask to be asterisk as like a seventeen game, like from seventeen game thing going forward?

I mean, was Aaron Rodgers numbers that great?

For four hundred and fifteen yards, thirty seven tds, only four picks?

Yeah, good hundred, one hundred, eleven point nine passer rating.

But he's got he's got those laying around his house.

Lame, that's nothing compared to one hundred and forty five catches and almost two thousand yards sixteen receiving touchdowns. It was a pretty good season.

By that was a fucking monster season. Pretty good season.

National champions or was Georgia this old Georgia thing they go back to back this year, they go back to back.

To the first of the two.

Let me double.

I think Bryce Young was the Heisman Trophy winner. Man, he's been in a bad situation. Yeah, I feel bad for him.

It was it was.

It was tough, that whole thing. It's tough.

Winter Olympics kickoff in China, which was god awful I heard. I mean people were dying of I think breathing problems with the pollution, right, and then I think didn't didn't they not have enough snow? I remember they had snow.

It was it was a mess.

First NFL season to consist with seventeen regular season games. What were your thoughts on that. That's hard, It's hard.

It is hard.

You know what it's the hardest is when you finish your sixteenth game. Yeah, like we should really in the playoffs right now, we got another we gotta go to another game.

Young, we don't even have that feeling.

That's the thing.

It's the you know, if you're ignorant to the fact of like the fact that it used to be sixteen, or that it used to be fourteen and that's going to be eighteen.

We want the we want the health and safety of the players to be in our mind.

We're making about the health and safety of the players.

It really, it really is the.

Safety of the players. That's why we're gonna add one more violent car crash to their life. Yes, one more, one more, one more game of.

Violent car crashes, car crashes.

So I've heard people, I'm not going to name names, people have thrown out the idea of what if you did took out O t AS.

I haven't started.

Sloppy football right now exactly.

So that's that.

That's that is the fear right and innovation. You lose innovation if you have ots, you take out ot as, maybe you split part of OTAs, put it to training camp.

Be you cut training camps.

You end up with like a similar ish time where there's a build up of O t A s into training camp. Right, So like Oka's how OTA starts, you know, just workouts and meetings, then just routes on air and meetings and lifting and.

Then eventually training camp.

Right, if you were to do it like that, but you were to say you were gonna go like twenty one games, so you add games, shortened the overall season of work for a for players. I'm not saying I'm advocating for twenty one games because that sounds it's a lot, and then you've got playoffs on top of that. I'm

Yeah, I mean, that's that's the problem with our union and us as players. They throw this little bullshit and in front of us like hey, guys, look, we're gonna shorten your practice. We're gonna do this, We're gonna do this, and they slide in seven other games and they take all the revenues for all the guys. Damn the playoffs. Yeah, no, it's the same, it is. It is the same thing.

I mean, at the end of the day, you get to like the safety of the game and the players they're doing things. I'm glad I'm not playing defense because I understand the challenges of playing defense in this league now.

Yeah, but but when.

You add in all the player safety concerns, the things that are being negotiated by players that we don't want to do that, then it's like, well, we don't want to you know what, don't test me for drugs for a few more weeks. Speaking at the game on yeah, that's there's like the things that like everything we give up, we're also like, or everything we get we're also giving something up. Yeah, but they're like laughing the owners or

No, So but the thing is what what what will happen if they were to try to do that? The product will get so shitty because it's already been sloppy these last couple of years. As far as if you look at offensive line play at the beginning of each year I'm on TV, we talk about, oh, the offensive line play for this team, that team, that team, this team is terrible. Why is that you get fourteen padded practices in the regular season, you get what five to seven in training camp?

And that's like an art for these guys.

They have to have live reps in order to be able to communicate and do their job and get the situations that they're gonna have in games. So if you do this, the product is gonna continually get watered down and you're gonna lose fanship. So it's one of those things where they better not get too fast. Oh yeah, there is what is it like that, something like that, you.

Get hungry pigs get slaughtered, something like the hungry pigs slaughtered exactly.

It does because the league things are so good where they're just gonna keep on generating more and more revenues.

But they're gonna.

See gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, they're the hungry pigs. Yeah, gotcha. I completely agree with you. You have to protect the product of the game. And I think that also comes down to a responsibility on players who want less and less practice who already I think relative between maybe you started in the league what practice look like versus now, it's like you're ignorant to what football used to look like, right because you never knew it. Like this is like

But we've been seeing through statistics that that response and ability has not been getting taken by the player because injuries are through a fucking room.

Had exactly quarterbacks and this is where I think there There isn't one hundred percent. I don't want to. I just wish that more guys showed up ready to go, you know. And that's that's why I think I've i'm i'm I understand this in terms of the the issues between the league and the players, and the product needs to be good. And there's obviously that you is always gonna argue for less work, the league's always gonna argue for more games.

There's a middle ground here.

We gotta come together and figure out what's the way we put our best product forward. Give When the product's good, the money's gonna be good for the league, which mean somebody's been good for the players. It's all gonna go full circle. But we gotta figure out where that middle ground is. There is a responsibility on players to show up right to work, I think, and that's where I think some of this stuff could happen where guys in the summer take I'm like, if you don't want to

Guys used to back in nineteen sixties and seventies that played this goddamn game or mechanics in the offseason because they getting get paid.

Its professional Football'll get paid all of good money. Get your ass in the gym, on the field, get right, and let's go. Yeah, it's to Belichicky. Yeah, let's segue this in. Let's start getting into these games.

Hey, before we get into these games and these teams real quick. Twenty two. Prior to this season, we had some very notable retirements in the NFL. Drew Brees, Lashawn McCoy, Philip Rivers, Adam Vinnecciery, Demirius Thomas, Jason Witten, and yours truly, Julian Edelman.

I didn't retire this year.

That's right.

I had to give you a little shine in that.

Brother. Should we get into these teams.

Tough here, Sorry, San Francisco forty nine ers, let's hear the Niner game team though.

Let's love these guys. Grew up loving this team.

It's better than me wearing a San Francisco shirt.

That would be disrespectful. Yeah, but I grew up. This is my team.

Bro.

My dog's name was Dwight and Montana. I had two dogs, Tim Dwight and Joe Montana. There were my dogs.

I'm part of that franchise.

Kind of yeah, no you're not, but you know, yeah, I understand.

Like you've got your your you.

Keep saying your dogs, Tim DWIGHTE and Dwight Clark, Dwight Clark, Tim patri with him.

That's what I'm saying.

That's saying you have your allegiance, Like when you're growing up, you have your allegiance, but eventually you you're a Patriot.

Yeah, I'm full of full on patriot. Was a guy growing up was that you were a Seahawks guy or what. No, I'm from Washington, so I I yeah, I grew up Seattle. Seahawks were kind of the team.

And then he got to a point where I like bedtime was when the game was over, so I was rooting for overtime always.

I got that.

Yeah.

And then there's also a point where you know, uh, Hasselbeck had his this moment and then Seawn Alexander, Shawn Alexander kind of like started just he was just kind of done. I think he's only cover Madden. He's the same, and it was it just wasn't really the same. And that's why I really had tough. I'm like, you know what, I just want to see good football. And that's so I kind of transitioned. I just wanted I don't want to see good football teams, good football players. You mentioned

Largin loved large and he's he's the godfather, even though we don't play anything alike. But just being a white.

Dude that got up and went down that sideline, jumped and got it, loved them, loved them.

Call of Faber.

He's like a he's like a congressman. Now, yeah, look that up. Yeah, he's like he's fucking like sharp.

Damn shout out Steve.

All right, So this Niners team, this was the fifth year of the Shanahan Lynch era. Bounced back from his six and ten season the year prior started this year three and five, had to go seven and nine to make the playoffs. In that last year of the season or that last week of the season, it was winning get in against the Rams. As Coop mentioned earlier. Top ten in total offense, top ten and total defense. Pretty

Overall, how's that one working out?

But they also got brocked pretty right in that same draft.

No year, next year, next year, Yeah, next year. And then Pro Bowlers Kyle of used, Check, Deebo, Samuel George Kittle, Trent Williams, Alex Mack, Nick Bosa, and Laken Tomlinson.

Alex Mack was really good for a long time. He's probably the best center for our generation.

He's doing the splits no way.

Yeah, he's like really flexible. Damn I know that. Should we hit these rams real quick? Coop jump in anytime.

This is your squad, brother h Cooper Cup became the first player to win the Triple Crown since Steve Smith in two thousand and five. That was the big headline of this season. It's also Stafford's first year in LA. That was huge. He had a banner year career high in touchdowns, in completion percentage. As we noted with our former guest Andrew Whitworth, this was his sixteenth and final season in the NFL.

He went out on top like a beast.

Love that.

And then Obj joined the squad in week ten. Came over from Cleveland after his dad made those comments, and he.

Put it highlight the highlight film. It's like a Bill highlight film. It's a low light right there. BROI to Bill too. And then Pro Bowlers.

We got Cooper Cup, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, and kicker Matt Gay. What a squad?

Oh that's Pro Bowlers. Kind of weird, right, Team up North A.

Lot of mattered was at the end. What's that mean? Team up North. He's got a bunch of names. You guys are underdogs always, that's they're north of.

US twelve and five team won the NFC West by the way, McVay head coach and a lot of Uh we had Kevin o'connellosi, right.

He was yep, how do you like koc He's a man.

I really like him. I played with him, that's right. Yeah, my rookie year dream.

Well he was cool. I mean I was a rookie. He was a second year guy.

Oh gotcha, So you treat you will?

Uh yeah, we we hung out a bunch. There's like a slap dick group. He was part he was part of the Well, we were just guys that you know that weren't starters. You know, they were the Patriots then they already had like it just came off of two years ago. They almost went undefeated, three super Bowls and ship.

So like there's a group.

There's like socioeconomic statuses in the locker room. You understand that, No, we don't do that. How was the share of receivers Odell?

It was great. Honestly.

He came in energy, energy and he's he's he is himself. He's going to be who he is. I think anytime you, I imagine I've been with her. I've been looking enough to be with the Rams for you know, coming on eight years now. So I don't know what it's like going to a new team either do you. But so I would imagine you come in like you're trying to You're in a new place around, surrounded by a bunch of new people, trying to get a feel for what

He's got an aura, you know what I mean, when you got Odell, It's kind of like when Tebow joined our team, Like he came in and he had an aura about him. So it's it's always fun to hear about how they are in the room.

Yeah, how was that with the tibo?

Oh man, I've talked about it so much on this podcast. What makes Sean and Jay so special?

Oh?

Quick transitions? Okay, what makes Sean McVay so special?

Uh?

And all honestly, you get serious for a second.

He does.

He commands the room. That ane I've ever been around, right like comes in. His ability to communicate to people get a message across is a one. I think it's for any coach. If you can't, if you're not a good communicator, you're gonna make everyone's life miserable. And so for him, as from the very top, you're getting clear, concise communication that trickles down through through everything.

When we had wit on, he said he walked in on McVeigh watching game tape of himself giving speeches to the team, trying to break down his own stuff.

Why do you pause? After he said he walked in on.

The gate.

Traumatic effects?

I was like, doing what.

Linger for a second?

Yeah?

No, yeah, well, because I think that was a super important thing for him coming he was I mean, he was my age when he was head coach of the la As you're you're stepping in, you're my age, going in like I can understand being critical and wanting to learn from all this. This is your first time leading team meeting as players, we can opportunity to watch ourselves and learn. And you know, I think he wanted to learn and be the best that he could be for us.

I love that he he like just outside looking in and I mean, I've gone to practice, but I'm not there. But you could just tell he's got just leadership quality. He's a leader of men.

Is that?

And then the communication thing is is so.

So important in this generation. Yeah, just you know what I mean.

And he knows how to do He seems like he knows how to be a chameleon with each guy to make them get their best.

Yeah, exactly, find find ways to motivate people and connect with them.

I think he does a he does a really good job of that.

Yeah he does.

Now, one guy, you're probably gonna be missing that was on this team Aaron Donald, I mean that's how how like special was just to watch him in practice.

Yeah, he's I mean, there's nothing like what he was able to do. The chances that his it was really like, his ability to choose win, to take risks and take his shot was unbelievable because of his preparation, because of

Now, was he a guy that like lived in the weight room? He was alway, Oh, he's ridiculous.

He I think so AD's thing like he secretly wants to be like h Like he wants to be Dwayne Johnson. That's where that's where his Yeah, he wants to be that. He wants to be the rock and he's so he spends so much time lifting and it's not even like like functional lifts sometimes, you know, it's.

I've actually worked out with him.

I went and worked out with him one time, so I was like, hey, the off season's like you get to work on them together. Tells me the toime show up an hour and a half straight of arms an hour and a half, you amy muscles up in your arms, not there's not a lot like seven Yeah, that's saying like bicep, tricep, Yeah, shoulder maybe if you count that as part of your arm and the forums for.

An hour and a half.

I mean he looked like it.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, Like, you don't need to be doing arms for an.

Hour and a half.

No, but when your baby rhino, you do that, dude look like a straight rhino.

He is unbelievably strong.

And then obviously all the things on top of it that you have as a football player where there's like he just loves working out, loves lifting, and that just it was an extra little part on top of the fact that he is, you know, I think the best defensive player of all time and the skills and all the stuff stuff that he had going for him.

In that regard, how many dtackles in the history of the NFL have had abs, it's.

Not a lot a lot.

Who's the unsung hero of this game though, before we get into the.

Game unsung here of this game for the team, for the team, it's hard to say. There are so many guys that made plays throughout that entire game. I'm not sure if I choose one person it was. I think it was just a full team win. Yeah, everyone just everyone did their job and it was a good when that when they needed to be they were it.

Will make plays, definitely, don't.

I don't have anything I like that though.

I like when you when you win against the team and they were your they were your kryptonite for a while.

Bro.

That's big to do in the NFC Championship after losing them twice in the same year, Like, there's a lot to prove. Everyone had to do their fucking job to get that wine to go to the next game and play the last game of the year, the best game of the year, Amen.

Lead game lead up.

Yeah, let's talk about how we got to this game.

It was pretty decent amen. The The Niners come in as a sixth seed, the Rams come in as the four seed.

The path to get there the.

Niners had to win at Dallas and at Lambeau in the snow.

It's like an It was MVP Jimmy G.

Jimmy G takes out the MVP. Baby man, what we do Rogers jokes and the Rams their path was pretty crazy as well.

Easy win on the road in Arizona when thirty four to eleven, and then the crazy game down in Tampa taking out Brady Cooper coming through huge at the end.

That's got to be So is that January twenty third, that was Covers Area. Yeah, Jerny twenty third might be the best day in history for football because you guys more the game that was after that, that was the Chiefs Bills game. That's right, Oh, that was like right after that game.

Holy smokes.

Divisional round always crazy. That's a fun weekend when you get out and you start to enjoy this like you're in it, so you're still doing it, like, oh my god, Divisional but nothing like championships. Saturday is awesome too.

Yeah, dude, I think I think Coop just just brought up a point.

We got to do that as an episode that day like a grand finale, the greatest day in football in recent history.

It would be it would be competitive that game that day insane.

Those are two of the.

Wildest games because I thought that obviously both different too, like one of them were just a story of two different halves.

And then you know that game, which was just back and forth, back and forth.

Created an overtime role.

Tampa Bay game I think at one point was the game twenty seventy three. I believe we were up at one point, we were up. We were up a lot, and we turned the ball over right before halftime.

Too.

I didn't have money on them beating you guys. I had money of them going to the super Bowl on Tampa.

Yeah.

I put it like a what do you lose fifty k? Fifty k?

We were cursing your name a little zero.

Guess that's what we're gonna do with zero, not cover the fucking crown winner.

I believe that call. Let's put a.

Safety on the triple crown winner, folks.

I believe that the safety crowd winner.

Fifty thous kids going to junior college.

Now, no, you.

Are right, you are right, Cooper, twenty seven to three.

So with I remember looking up at the score and being like, gosh, I'm so glass, not twenty eight to three. I remember, Hey, oh gosh, so last not twenty to three.

Oh my god, that's the quarter of the episode. Yeah, with seven minutes left, y'all went up twenty in the third quarter.

Yeah, man, I remember being like that, being a sans. Let's jump back into the game lead. Yeah, yeah, all right, back to the lead up of the game at hand. Here, the Niners, as we mentioned before, had won both regular season matchups. Kyle Shanahan kind of had coach mcvay's number one six in a row against him coming into this one, which is crazy.

And the Niners front was insane. This playoff run five sacks in both the wild card and Divisional round games for him, that was crazy. And also that Niners playoff run against the Cowboys that was the first meeting since ninety four, rekindling the old.

Niners Cowboys rivalry which you remember growing up.

Jewels hated the Cowboys, and then crazy This game at hand we're talking about today, the title game. Michael Buffer did the opening kickoff. Let's get ready to rumble, guy, I do remember that wild What was up with this era of guys like La.

La they bring out, they bring out the stars.

The Rock opened up a game, then the Rock open up the super the Niners roster. Yeah this they went on a run here at one point over the last three years. I think we kindt of like, they're like seven first rounders on the defensive line. Oh yeah, but they just up front was man was pretty good.

They had like two number one overall picks or something.

Yeah.

Now, you guys played this going in, going into the postseason, you played them twice. Did you guys really watch those games to prepare or.

We did so?

This first actually this first, I think this first touchdown here in the second quarter, the sixteen yard pass, yep, it was in the Yeah, it was the corner, yes, but it was the cover two corner route that we ran. And we'd actually seen the way that they were playing some stuff, uh to the backside on in the last game of the year. They were getting lazy at safety covering what felt like a backside route, and so we put this based a really similar concept up but kept

And the running back goes out to the flat.

And yeah, try to get hold hold the guy down the corner. Yeah, we had a few things. Actually, Koc I believe was the one that had kind of caught that and installed that play for us.

Now in your second touchdown pass, were you supposed to break out and then go and then he just beat him and just went.

So the second one was against Kwan, right, So that's a man play that we had called.

And I'm not sure what happened.

Something got messed up out of clock was running down or what, and we we called it.

We had a second play on it.

We're like, hey, if we get manned, run if we don't, if we got zoned, get get out of the play. But we snapped the ball and they're in cover four, so we're in a we're in a packed formation. Were a tight bunch, right, and normally yes, I'm supposed to like wheel this thing out and count and like really, it's like it's like a stutter. It's really a play that we ran later on, or really a similar play we ran in the end of the the at the

Short post route that's coming right.

If I get that that corner attaches and I out leveraged the flat player, there's a chance that you can kind of like foop gap him down right back behind him. So I kind of sped it up to kind of basically kind of get lost outside of Kawan Williams and try wheel up to the front of Pilon And because I know where Matthew just did a great job game that ball. I mean, Kawan is like looking this way and the balls behind his head now on the other side just happened to be a good spot by Matthew.

We used to have a play like that called re pump that was specifically for cover four because once you go out and you run it out, that guy's gonna go, and then you have the you have the post that's gonna collect them.

You just got to make sure you grab that corner.

But you got to make sure you grab the linebacker and make him. You got to be patient with it.

Oh you're saying you, yeah, I'm saying, but the corner outside and grab the corner first.

That if the corner lets him go, you bang.

Yep, exactly, corners off and then if that corner touches you're trying to like high low and high low.

It's also a good cover six meter, which is cover three. Cover six is not cover three.

We will we use will for people out there. Cover six is to the strength of the defense. We didn't bring the safety to the tight end. That's what we used to call cover six sixty six six. Cover three is if he went away from Oh really yeah, so if the safety went away from the passing strength. Yes, called six was a version of three. Well, it's a version of three. It's just the guy goes different side. Yeah, but it's the same. We had the same They had

Scoreless first quarter. We remember that that tough interception on the second drive of the game for the Rams, Stafford thing the red area.

That was tough.

But the Rams bounce back with the touchdown we talked about earlier, ninety seven yard d D drive.

Cooper got his first TD.

San Francisco answered with a long debot touchdown forty four yarder. Uh Matt Gay misses a fifty four yard field goal just before the half. San Francisco leads ten to seven. At the half, the Rams are held scoreless. In the third, George Kittle TD late puts them up ten. So the Rams go into the fourth quarter here trailing seventeen to seven. The comeback starts when Coop gets his second touchdown of

We would have been in a precarious situation.

Yeah, for sure. It would have been brutal because they would have had the ball on their over the fifty. He drops it, the Rams stay alive, ends up.

It's obj. The next played in the soft spot cover too right, I believe so.

And then Matt Gay bangs one in with a minute forty six left.

Still give Jimmy g a minute forty six on the He throws a pick on that third down and long. That was it, taking the twenty to seventeen Rams win. We'll going to the super Bowl, but just stay at home.

Yeah.

First off, I got a question. What's Mickveigh like in halftime when you guys are down? Is he like guy, No, it's pretty Sunday. You usually don't see No, it's not usually not like the coaches. Once you get into the locker room, all the coaches go back, right, so it's to like do like make the adjustments, talk about whatever they want to make.

So it's just the players in the locker room, right like cool down, yep, yep.

It's oceans usually pretty quiet, there's a few conversations happening on like stuff that they're seeing.

Except guys are like with their you know, respect.

Line guys are with lying guys qbs. You're talking to past catchers exactly. Some like very communicating figuring out our stuff. Coach comes down, it's kind of like, hey, it's almost always like first half's over, here's here's the plane going for it, right, It's like very Derek, it's quick halftime, it's pretty quick. So he's pretty dialed in, like, hey, this is the stuff that we're going to do if

What how was that? Because yeah, I mean it.

Takes away from the experience, but it's also kind of like a baby advantage because you get to be in your own space.

Yeah yeah, I mean I slept in my own bed until basically the night before the game, which is a huge amazing Like I love that we were in our own locker room, you know, like it felt it what it did. I was thankful I had been to one before, even though I wasn't playing it. I was I saw how much of a build up there is to the Super Bowl and how much it lends it. Stuff like even when you're the game's about to start, they don't tell you, like there's so much more that's about to happen. Still,

Yeah, I mean it's gotta be. That's that's kind of an advantage. You're you get to stay away. You get to have your guys in their own area, because half the time there's at least one or two guys that are yeah out passed curfew guy out in Oakland. Raiders went to Mexico.

They never came.

But like there's always a story.

Yeah, yeah, yeah it is. Yeah, it is nice.

Go ahead.

Teams just have to start, you know, owners of teams just you start paying seven billion dollars to build a stadium and then they can host the super Bowl and then get to the super Bowl when it's your turn.

Or you could be an owner and you can have a city pay for your stadium and then have people come to your stadium that you own.

That's a tricky, it's just a tricky, tricky path. I think you just make the seven billions, make the billion yourself and do yourself exactly.

Men.

I mean, if you can do that, this craft owns it starting all out to do what it's up, Jackie.

What's aftermath?

This was wrap up this game. I know we talked Super Bowl, but in this NFC Championship Cooper finished with eleven catches one hundred and forty.

Two yards, two tuds.

And to make it even crazier, your third down stats alone, seven catches, one hundred and eight yards, two tds.

Third down alone.

I made a living clutch, Gene.

And then the aftermath of this game, the Rams would go on to beat the Bengals twenty three to twenty in Super Bowl fifty six. Hooper Cup would win Super Bowl MVP Andrew Whitworth would right off into the sunset. The Rams would go five and twelve the next season, and on the Niners front, Rock Party would take.

Them to the NFC Championship game the next season.

Crazy awesome. We'll be right back after this quick break. Let's name the game. We got a third and cup. Nice, We're going to the Super Bowl. Suck it, san Fran, the third times the charm game or do you have any other ones?

I'm partial to that third one, but I mean.

It's get sand Fran. I'll say it for you if you don't want.

To, but yeah, and do I have to say the name.

You don't have to say it, but you have to pick the name. You gotta pick it. You three option three or you have any off the top of your dome.

Uh, have anything off the top of my head?

Suck at sand fran It is score the game. Is this the greatest game of all time? Let's score it? Stakes zero to ten decimals? Okay, the steaks of this game?

What was on? What were the stakes?

Super Bowl?

Super Bowls on the line of stakes are hot. It's not super Bowl, so you can't go ten?

All right?

Nine five five five veteran move knowing that it's not a super Bowl, so it can't be a ten.

Veteran move.

Veteran move.

Star power in the building on the teams.

We're in LA we got yeah, star powers high We're going, Uh nine to two?

You got any star friends at our friends from being out here in l A. Do you have any star friends?

Uh?

Hex Zach King?

Yeah, dak zach Zach King?

Who's that too old to old? Who's that king? You guys don't know me? And looking up after this, thank you guys. You guys don't know stuff.

He was.

He was like big on vine. He does all like special effects?

Yea cool really stars straight family gameplay? How good was the game gameplay?

Zero ten?

Well, I mean you guys killing us on this thing.

Uh.

I don't want to let you guys affect me, So I'm gonna say there was there's a high level gameplay aside from one play in the fourth quarter that you guys talked about.

Eight point seven eighty seven. Good score.

It's good score, shut out Rob, It's right, eighty seven when you guys are just make some explanations for your guys to scoring here.

It's like the name name of the game, suck it, sam.

F it's a great name.

Name, it's a great name, pretty good name. Am I scoring what the name of it is? Or am I scoring the cultural impact?

So both?

Right?

So like some games have an incredible name.

Yeah, and it just lasts Oh yeah, yeah, the same that. Let's go seven, seven point three three?

What is that? What does that tell you?

Up?

Two folks?

See?

Yeah, seven five to one? Where does it go in all the games that we've done. That's a good score. It's a good score that puts us.

Just ahead of the two thousand and two Western Conference Finals Game five Lakers versus Kings and right behind the squish the fish.

Surprise at what your first one is?

Two dynasties fighting.

Each other to the torch the past the torch.

Tony Romo was calling it. He was on fire, Jewels was convertible and that was.

With a Chiefs fan.

That's right, Rob rib I guess he's he gave it perfect tens.

He wasn't a glacier though, So.

Yeah, you kind of missed the game. It's nuts to do a list and have twenty eight to three b number two on any list, But that's just how good that game was.

Could we miss anything?

No?

I mean, guys, you know what time it is? You know time it is? Coffee ton Yes, Dode Coffee Team Ela if we saw this coffee shop, Dodo Coffee co website's launching soon.

We've been roasting our own stuff. It's high level coffee.

Where do you get the beans from?

Uh?

The ones that we're gonna try today are Guatemala in origin, the top tier stuff. Yeah and bye me back to you. The top tier stuff. The top tier stuff is a Brazil Columbia mix Brazil.

I'm going to Brazil next week. All I'm gonna try some coffee.

Should everyone go go check out Dodo Coffee Company. And it's on Instagram, it is, It's on TikTok. We had TikTok yet, I don't know.

I don't think so.

TikTok we got TikTok handle. It's on internet. It's everywhere on the internet. Dodo Coffee co. Check it out, Coop, thanks for fucking doing this, man, stud. That was That was a fun show.

That was really fun. Coop was amazing.

He really is a sharp kid. He knows his stuff and you can tell he uses his time very efficiently and he takes his craft seriously, very seriously.

The grind doesn't stop, no days off. He can be a football coach after it all. I could see that, bro, I could see it. He had some coach in him. How about uh, how about that coffee you guys were sipping.

I wasn't It was good coffee. I need a sip of that after this. Yeah, Dodo Coffee Co. Shout out to Dodo baby, like I think they have they have a do they have a store?

Dodo Coffee dot co.

A couple of things, A couple of things to uh to touch upon before we hit the hotline. Here. We mentioned earlier in the episode, this is a great coaching game. A lot of guys on both sides of the ball that went on to become head coaches. Let's give him their shine here real quick. Raheem Morris, raheem d You see the rams. We all he's most famous for being a better coach than Bill Belichick.

We know that he's also a head coach of the Tampa Bay Bucks for a couple of years. That's right.

Now, he's the current head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

And they drafted Pennix over one. That's right, that was But they also paid Kirk Cousins.

A lot of money.

You know, hey, hey, maybe it works. We don't know when they zig, you zag.

So we drafted Kirk Cousins after they drafted Robert from the third and spind all those picks. And but it worked out, and eight large boys may not have a draft first round pick next year with a little Tampa in action.

Tampa action, they did it. That's why they did it.

Yeah, that's what people say.

Uh.

Kevin O'Connell, former teammate, current head coach of the Minnesota.

Viking, bet you we get koc in here. I'd I like that coach and talk.

I saw him on a flight once recently, like probably the last eight months.

Say what's up? We said, we were sitting next to each other.

That's hilarious.

What are the odds of that?

Yeah, it was, it was may have been at the super Bowl.

Okay, so the odds are a little higher higher. First class guys, first class guys.

Yeah.

When you start flying between places like New York and l A, or like Boston, LA, and you're in first class, I bet you sit next to people you recognize quite a bit.

Not really, I try to get that pod.

Pod Mint, shout out Mint.

So I think I saw LeVar Burton on my those the last famous person I saw on a flight reading rainbows.

More wait, hold on Kevin O'Connell talking about drafting quarterbacks.

Little j J McCarthy, Action J.

McCarty, Me and Jack saw Jim Harbor in the parking lot of the Roast.

I saw Jim mid roast, mid joke. I looked at him like milk drinker, crazy guy.

And then Kyle Shanahan was here too.

He was wild, he was he was looking suited and booted me GQ over g Q. He said, I'm leaving my formal flat bill at home tonight. I'm letting the hair breathe.

Baby.

Coach Shanahan, Man, he's you got some swag he does. Speaking of swag, Daddy's Tamiko Ryans was also in this game. He was the DC of the Niners. Now he's doing some cool stuff down there and h.

Town wearing the hell out of a long sleep.

He is. Man, still can keep It's not too It's not skin tight, is it? You can still still definition?

Yeah, it's good.

I like that.

He's kind of play.

He was three time All I think he was like a two time All Pro.

He was SEC Defensive Player the Year, two time Pro Bowler, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, first team All Pro, and O seven he led the NFL and solo tackles and O sick. That's pretty crazy ballin' yeah, balling ball so hard.

There's more and there's more.

Mike McDaniel and we all know him, the whiz kid down there in Miami.

He was the OC and the Niners this year.

You think this is when he was in the press box just vaping, just I'm sure huge cloud, just vape central. No camera in that time in the box, He's just.

Yeah, let's go with the ride.

One thirty four fo Ice, Hey, keep your eyes waight up, keep your eyes backside rangers person out.

Oh my god, I'd like to imagine that's exactly how it went down, probably exactly how real vapors. And then coaching under him was another guy we mentioned this episode, Wes Welker. Wes Wes a famous backwards hat coach, backwards hat coach, receivers coach that year pretty crazy.

And then I have to ask Colin Coward about that. Why, because Colin Coward hates people at the podium with a backwards hat.

I didn't know that.

Oh, it just went yeah. Colin Coward he talked about it. He hates when your quarterback has backwards hat at the podium. So I'm gonna ask him what does backwards hat on position coach mean?

Maddy p was another guy in the position that Yeah. And then to wrap it all up, this was a heck of a year for Cooper Cup. He puts a bow on it, puts the cherry on top with Super Bowl MVP. But we can't forget he was a triple Crown winner with one hundred and forty five receptions one

Did Barry hit that thing a few times?

Barry bones triple crown.

Now he's not on the list here, yeas, Before that it was yeas apparently, which is sixty seven. There's a lot of coaches on the c M team. And then oh yeah, it's crazy.

And then the last horse racing triple crown wasn't Justify in eighteen.

Yeah, yeah, so pretty recently crazy. Also American Pharaoh and American horse talk. Yeah, I would love to get a horse racing I was.

I never was like a big There's like guys that loved the horses on the teams, like Rabel Walker used to love, like those are horse Terry Bradshaw's a big horse guy, like those guys that.

Use I think that he's racing, Yeah, Raindy Moss Racing.

Yeah, Will Fork had horses. Like, there's a bunch of dudes that like loved horse racing. I just like the movie Sea Biscuit.

I'm with you. Shout out Elizabeth Banks from Western Massachusetts.

Yeah, that was a great movie. See Biscuit with though spider Man Toby. That was a great movie. Or the short lived HBO series Luck remember that one died.

Yeah, And on that note, it's the hot line.

Let's hit the old hot line.

Remember that number is four two four two nine one two two nine to zero.

If you had to pick one hit, it was the hardest you'd ever been hit.

Which hit would that be?

I personally think it may have been a Camp Chancellor hit in the twenty fourteen Super Bowl, But that's just me what.

You got hardest hit? You think it's the Cam Chancellor hit. Well, that was a very hard hit. But I was expecting that hit. I got hit my rookie year when we were playing in Denver against Josh McDaniels when he was the head coach there and they had those ugly mustard uniforms on in Denver where they had like weird it was like Mustard yellow and brown and uh, Brian Dawkins lit me up. I saw a star for like three weeks, like I had to teach myself how to catch with

What is Jay Loboody again?

Well, I got he needed me so hard on my butt. Yeah, I had a hemotoma. They had to drain my butt. I couldn't sit down for three weeks, like I wouldn't have been able to play if we won that playoff game because they like my my my butt blew up like it was so crazy.

Man, good question.

Hey, miss Reydleman. Is that question? What is your favorite route sing out that you've ever been? And also what is the most prepared who is the most prepared dB that you ever want to get?

Favorite route? The Reader route. We went over it with Coop. You got it's a one man like. It's pretty much one man show. You win, like you can go It's like six twelve. You could take it across or you could bring it out to the bow. It's like a great man covered drought. We hit it a few times in the Super Bowl against the Rams, and then you know that's when we first put it in. I love that route. And the most prepared dB was always throw Revis.

He was such.

A always on balance new formation wise, what you guys ran, situationally, He knew what concepts were coming, He knew your weaknesses like he was he was really he was always very prepared mental like on what was going on with the game plans.

How much individuals scouting, like scouting against individuals would you do? So if you know you're gonna be matched up against like you do a lot.

I mean there you get It's so easy in NFL because then you get all you got guys that do all the homework and the cut up. So I'll go and I said, I want to see every every play targeted to Revis or cornerback on third down.

Give me that of this season.

I want to see, you know, the last season, and you sit and you just watch if he has an offhand jam, what he does with his legs. If he does the offhand jam, is he does he freeze gate with you with certain moves. You know, you're looking at all little tendencies of what guys do at the line of scrimmage, and then also at the top routes. Does he like to undercut? Does he grab? You have to be physical with them. You can pick a lot of things up. How does this guy handle certain routes? Is

Is that mostly on like ALL twenty two? Or do you have like angles?

That all you want all twenty two because you get you get the wide and you can see techniques the back. They have a far back end zone shot, they have a close end zone shot for line.

Play the interior, and then you have.

The deep end zone shot where you can see everyone on the field, so you can see how a guy's lining up. You know what technique he is on you? Is he inside leverage, is the outside leverage? Is his head up? That's the stuff you look at. If I if I bring my split down, what does he do does he get you know, is he is he off and outside or is he off head up or is he off inside? So a lot of that that's what you want to look at.

But you'd never really look at like or if there's an angle that exist sports a lot you can see, like hand movement or anything like that. You want the wider you want to see how you can see that, and you can see and then you'll have like close ups too, like the guys behind the scenes that make cutups, they'll highlight and they'll give you like this his you.

They'll have write ups.

Each scout has to do a right up each player, so you get these right ups of each guy. You know where he went to school, what what his story is. You know, they'll give you background, like you know his power and his his his strengths are, he's got an offhand, jam strong, Atlanta scrimmage.

He's terrible.

His weaknesses, he's terrible his side to side movement. You have to get him running, you know, so like you can you'll see the right up and then they have a cut up for the right up and then you can go. And sometimes you just want to watch an overall game of how he plays just him. How's he playing the run game? How does he play when the balls not throw to him?

You know what I mean?

See if you can lull guys asleep and stuff?

Hey, you like Cooper Cup all time.

All time in regular season Cooper Cup man triple crowliner that season and five catches all time season Cooper Cup almost two thousand yards sixteen touchdowns.

But when it matters most in the player in the big games, I'm riding had a great sea. I'm riding for my guy. He's as one year. What about what about a body of work? Baby?

My guy's good.

He's a stud. Oh no, either or just studs.

We're different players studs. But I got to ride from my guy.

Come on, man, gets the rings.

Hot and ready the signs on a thank you.

Time, yo. Mis uh cake. Grew up in West Texas. I got to watch Wes Welter, Zach Thomas, those boys at the Red Raiders. To you see that Wes Welker is the piller of the position. What's your what's your take on? That dude was a game changers.

Yeah, Wes had a huge part of the whole slot position. But you know, even before him, there was Troy Brown, Dion Branch, There's a lot of other guys did it, but Wes was a kind of guy that was he's like a tweener almost like he was like a running back with his quickness and how he moved, you know,

Even then he's.

Probably you know, he helped create that, but it started with Troy Brown, you know, Dion Branch, a lot of guys him.

In that offense two thousand and seven kind of like put it on the map, but it was already there.

It was there.

Yeah, it just that was when you paired up. That's when you pair a really good slot with you know, top three, top two, greatest receiver of all time on that side that can just run and so you're opening up levels. And then they had Dante stellwar through, you know, who was also he was a one in a lot of places for a long time before that. So and he was fast and explosively, had Jabbart like, they had so many weapons and so many spots that you had to you couldn't just key out on one guy. So

Every year spread him out And so opposition's cool and all, but this guy is talking Zach Thomas. Let's talk about one of the glass great neck roll guys of all time. Five eleven. Yeah, fifth round draft pick, NFL Hall of Famer. Yeah, he's a monster. Got out Zach Thomas.

Yeah, shout out Sack Thomas. So I used to hear a lot about him just because they played. He played in Dolphins a lot, and we used to watch a lot of install tape of how to run certain routes and it'd be welker always on Zach Thomas and always you know what I mean, It feels like, but man, what a game. Thanks again to Cooper Cup and be sure to check out Dodo Coffee Co.

Dodo Coffee dot Co is the.

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