Here's Cam Jordan's here on my podcast, Off the Edge, but yours truly as I got my Steve Jordan's six time Pro Bowler jersey behind me, sitting next to my Pro Bowl jersey from a couple years back on let's call it the eighth Pro Bowl specifically. But I'm sitting here and I'm just so blessed to be here because we're finally back in the win column as Saints. It feels good. A lot of things to talk about. There was a head coach change, there was a d line
coach switch. Shup. You know, there's been a lot happening in building, but we're not here to talk about in building right now. Save that for the end because I got a spell I need to put out there, you know, a vibe, a feel of good energy and greatness to continue after our win against Atlanta. But being on this pod, you know we're gonna bring in Jake Ferguson. As I was talking about Pro Bowls with Steve Jordan, Cam Jordan here,
Jake Ferguson made his first Pro Bowls year. We're going to have him to come in and talk to about the us A A since we just passed up on Veterans Day, Jake Ferson here, I mean touching the pod. We only got him for a quick spell. I mean obviously, with things transpiring the way they have this last week, let's just talk about it. On the open Dak officially goes goes undergo season enduring surgery. How do you feel about it? Have you talked into Dek?
Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, you know, seeing him every day, you know, it's hard. That's the guy you go to war with every single day. That's the guy you prepare weekend with week out. You know how it is, and you know, when one of those guys go down, it's never easy, especially when it's season ending, and to have your leader, one of those guys who's up there like that giving you messages every day, not being there. It hurts you,
you know, hurts not only you, hurts the team. And I think in the NFL, you know, you talk about qbs all the time, and you know, when your starter goes down, it there might be a little hiccup here and there, there might be some wrinkles that need to be figured out a little bit better. And that's true, you know that that's just the way it is. But all the faith in Cooper Rush tray to hold it down.
But yeah, I mean, you know, just praying for Dak, praying for his recovery, praying for his mental and just quick road to recovery.
Yeah, I mean Pro Bowl last year, you know with Deck at Helm and now now you got Cooper Rush. I mean for those that don't know, tell me about the disruption of the timing, like, do you do you have to work do you have to rework on that now with Cooper.
A little bit? It's a little bit of timing.
Luckily I've had some time with Coop uh to be able to work some of that. But yeah, if you if you're not you know, if you're only working with the one QB when you're with the ones versus the two's, you know, you start to work with some timing. There might be some guys who might have a little bit of a timing issue, but we try to set our scheme up to where you know, we're pretty same on the timing through and through whatever QB is in. And you know, like I said, all the all the faith
a Coop. My first NFL touchdown was from Cooper Rush, so I got all the faith in the guy.
I love him.
They got it, got it, you know, obviously a glaring you know, since we don't have much time glaring. What did you say glaring? Uh? The glaring issue that happened this past weekend between uh CD and and Coop. Is there a dome problem? Is it? Is it too bright in the dome? Like, you know, as as the deepest man, I don't have to worry about Yeah, yeah, as as a receiver maybe, Like is there a is there a situation with the sunlight on and off the field?
Yeah? Uh, I mean the sun shines through the stadium. Yeah, the sun is there every day. I get both points of views. I don't know.
I mean there's a use, Yeah, you know, there's excuses.
I don't know. Yeah, go, I caught the ball.
If I would have caught that ball, ceed didn't have to look at the sun and see I should.
Right go go Politically Yeah, yeah, absolutely absolutely. Hey, bro, like this is your third year in the league. Is what have you learned? How have you grown in the last couple of seasons since he's entered the draft or entered from University of Wisconsin twenty twenty two.
Yeah, right, I think, Uh, you know, the league, everybody's a dog, you know what I mean. I remember we played my rookie year. We played the Titans and we're going through scout and they had some some guys banged up on the D line and they were like, yeah, this guy you're blocking, I don't know who he is. We've never heat dog and me the whole game just threw me down. I was getting tossed and didn't make a good block the whole game.
I was like, I thought, y'all didn't know who this guy was. And they're like, oh, well sorry, but.
Yeah, I mean, it's it's everybody's a dog. It's a doggy dog world. And you know it's it's the NFL. It's thirty two teams are the best dudes playing bond. You really got to bring it every week.
I love. I love with scouting departments, Like personnel come up and be like, hey, this guy's a great out with me. She's like fighting for a life every week. Or this guy is like, you know, a yellow dot, which means he's just rotational, and those like and you go play against and be like, yo, this is high caliber. I was like, there's there's starters that aren't playing as well as he's he's playing right now.
Yeah, that yellow dot just hit me in the square in the face's.
Uh appreciated, but like it's just it's crazy to think about. It's like, hell, every every Sunday they say eating and give a Sunday because we're comprised of the best of the best. You could be like, oh, he's not playing well and any like I said, any sunday, anytime that game starts, you that snapped to snap to whistle can get creal hectic out there, like you know, certified dogs, but there's there's Doberman's or watt Wyler's that you don't know about, just just out there roaming the gates bro
until they get their chance. But all right, so tell me, tell me about you, what you're here for. You can give me, give me, give me the spiel Man.
Yeah.
So, UH today teamed up with us AA, the City of Arlington, and the uh uh City of Arlington Fire Department and came together today to you know, promote safe cooking for Thanksgiving and you know, trying to prevent those house fires and the uh the fires that.
Come with cooking, you know.
And yeah, so we raised awareness and then we had this event huddle up for Home fire Prevention and Safety. We had this number come out. It was almost four hundred percent increase in insurance claims of house fires over Thanksgiving in one day, and so.
It gets pretty crazy.
I think it was something close to, you know, sixteen hundred calls or claims came in on Thanksgiving, just on fires and just came today. Demonstrated a safe way to cook the turkey and then demonstrated an unsafe way to cook the turkey. Fire went up, put it out with some of the fire. Firefighters out here in Arlington, and USA actually has a on their website USA dot com slash fires uh tips and information to just you know, help you get a go after cooking a better and safe way.
Mm hmmm yeah. Clearly clear that we're not going for Mom's big turkey. It's a new age, new way, bro. We're deep frying turkeys because they taste better. I just mean know, like, what can go wrong deep fried in turkey? A lot?
Apparently apparently fires happened, So.
I'm like, I'm like, who's cooking their turkey the right way?
At this point we're out there, they dropped the turkey in and lit on fire.
So I had to had to put it out with a little fire extinguisher.
Hmm. Okay, what's one important fire safety measure that we can take to help? You know? Just remember while we're cooking during the holiday season, right right right.
I think one of one of the biggest ones is, you know, never leave what you're cooking unattended. Mmm, especially when you're dropping dropping turkeys into a big thing of oil. Do not go away from that for a little bit. Keep your eyes on it. And I think even just the traditional you know, stove in the oven, keep an eye on it.
Man, you never.
Out, you never know. Four kids running around my house, bro, it gets a little hectic. I can I can see, I can see, I can see how you like. Hey, I'll be right back now. Don't don't leave. Take your time, take your time with your de fraud. All right, thanks you going coming up? In fact, veterans, they just passed right, Salutes all the truth, appreciation, free surface. Thanksgiving coming up? What are your top three Thanksgiving side dishes?
Stuffing?
Stuffing, uh, the little uh super tato cast roll with the mini marshmallows on top, and then.
Turkey. But it's gotta be juicy. It can't be dry turkey.
Ain't nobody asks. Ain't nobody asks for dry turkey? You're stuffings? Are you like one of those stofers stuffing guys?
Like mate, Fox, I hate So I got this thing with celery. I don't like celery. It's the only thing I don't eat. And then one time my grandma she's like, I'm making homemade stuffing, put celery in there.
Ruined it.
First of all, is that a thing? I'm not a stuffing guy. So it wasn't until I got to New Orleans and like they make seafood stuffing out here, seafood stuff bell peppers, crazy work. Then I was like, oh okay. I was like I like this and they're like, no, that's stuff in there. So I've never been to stuff with goin. First of all, what do you mean they put celery in it? That's like putting raisins in the potato salad. You don't do these type of things.
She's yeah, she's always trying.
She's mcguyver in the in the kitchen. She's always trying new stuff. Okay, what was happening in that Thanksgiving?
What do you what are you judging the Thanksgiving on? Like I judge everybody's Thanksgiving meal by their mac and cheese, and then I'll go for there.
Yeah, mac and cheese is big for me.
I'm always just what kind of sides do you have? And then the uh, the mass potatoes and gravy. How do you what does the gravy look like? The gravy's running? If it's thick, right, and I make a bowl out of my mash potatoes and put the gravy in there.
There's there's layers. It's layers to it.
There's there's levels to everything.
When you're when you're a certified big body, like, yes, when we really eat, there's layers to it.
I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I'm giving you you the certified big body bo. You know, when you when you're under two seventy.
When I was two seventy one time at Wisconsin, I had the belly button ring in my jersey.
Oh man, well that's that's crazy. That's crazy.
All right.
So the U were what seven games left? Eight games left in the season. What do you guys have to do? Uh to make this a successful situation?
Yeah?
Man, to me, it's all about execution. You know, there's some good to pull out of there. There's obviously a lot of bad, but there is some good. You know, run game got a little bit better last game, but we you know, turnovers killed us, and it just feels like, you know, we're shooting ourselves on the foot way more often than not, and it almost feels like sometimes we're not getting beat we're just beating ourselves.
So we just got to execute our.
Game plan, be really clean on our prep every single day throughout the week, and you know, just coming to the game with with supreme confidence that we're gonna just completely play lights out on our game plan, be sound, and just execute everything at the highest tempo.
Absolutely. This weekend is also battle Battle of Texas. You got the Texas versus them boys. What's it going to take for you guys to win?
Yeah, I think their defense, you know their defenses, Uh, guys on there a bunch of stout jokers on that defense.
Daniil Hunter, Dude, he tried to tried.
To hurdle Sam Laporta on a cut block. I was watching the tape and I go like, dude, just tried to hurdle them. But yeah, they were playing like their hair was on fire. Yes, I think we just got to execute on offense, score a lot, score early, and then off obviously on the defensive side, just you know, try to hold that QB and.
Making make as at least place as possible.
Man, last question I have for you, I feel like when you have a Battle of Texas, like if you have two teams in the same state, it should always be at a neutral site. I know you guys, I know it's at home, but I feel like, I just feel like, you know, if if it's a Houston, Verus Dallas, maybe you guys meet in like Arlington, I don't know, I don't know, just like meet me halfway Aington is where the stateum is in this home anyways, meet me and McKinney. I don't love.
I could see that. I could see that, or even like Austin.
Yeah, we're on the same page. Meet me in Austin for the Battle of Texas.
I get.
I could totally see that, especially because it's you know, it's not a division game.
Uh playing once? Playing one time? That would be cool in Austin college atmosphere, college.
College atmosphere athlete. That could be a fun time. Anyways, appreciate you for tapping with off the edge of the podcast. I appreciate you, Jake, stay blessed, be healthy the rest of the season.
Bron being here, brother, Indeed, Hey, there we go. Hey, you know we had it too.
I don't know if y'all been around the potfole a minute or a long time, but you know it's time for the final push. Let's just get right into it. I'm thinking, let's talk about Atlanta. Hate. We We just finished mission accomplished. Hate We felt good. I came in rocking and hate ring I had, you know, I had the yellow yellow presidential on me. I had the gold hate. It was from you know, many years back. I had a bedside dye radio Rahim shirt, which you know, iconic.
I had the love or hate, but the rings created and they sort of just stays. I like to rock the love. It's not you know a lot of things in this world that I hate unless it's black and red, dirty birds and so had. I had to push it out there. You know, it's gonna be good vibes when you hate the right team. That's why I don't understand some conferences where like we hate everybody. No, I don't hate everybody. I'm okay with with the other two teams in my conference. They can do well great, I could
care less. I'm like, oh, we'll get them next time, but can't. Lanta ain't Lanta. The foul cants, the fail cons a dirty dirty bird for them is a good term dirty bird. Anywhere else you'd be like, oh, it's ugly, that's a dirty bird. I got respect for the players. I ain't I like the team at all, you know, I'm like, man, David A, You're not a dog. Why you leave us? Why you trader? You know you said there like kay Nell is dog. Why you leave us? Why are you a trader? You traded for that? That's what
you left us for that. Anyways, like I said, you're supposed to hate a team. Some people. You either hate the Cowboys or you love them. Me on the team, I'm trying to hate well by birthright Green Bay at all as well as you know, being part of the Saints for the last fourteen years New Orleans, and it's
okay to hate a team. There's nothing Atlanta's gonna do for me to be like Man, I like those guys, and as you know, maybe when I was growing up Michael Vick, Algie Crumpler my guys, Warren Dunn, Mike for sure, by dude, them being attached to the falcons. Gross. Anyways, that being said, that's how you know the victory was that much sweeter coming against you know, back in the win column, but against them, the fail cons. They came to our dome. We locked the gates, We beat the
breaks off of them. They missed a couple of field goals, a few win by a point or lose by a point, like that's what your spoils go to the victor bro I get to say we beat the breaks off y'all. I know we won by three. I could care less. I know what they didn't do. They didn't win. So it is what it is. I feel like, you know, playing back a defensive end while playing in this game, while getting another win, was good. It felt good be back at the defensive end, not being rotated out every
other snap. You know, as a player, you have to catch ebbs and flows in the game, but you have to be you know, you're dealt with what you delt. You have to work with what you work with. I mean, there's just gonna there's gonna be things that happened that you can't control, whether that be coaches trying to move towards younger players, whether that be a D line coach who you know relies more on scheme than than players' abilities.
It is what it is. You've got to Last week we had a whole head coaching change, and you hate to see, hate to see that we couldn't win with Dennis Allen because Dennis how has been my guy for many years. Great great guy, great DC, and we wanted them to be a great coach, and I wish we would have won more. It's like two years in a row, you've got, you know, your starting quarterback who's been injured for multiple weeks two times. That's tough to win with that.
This year definitely hit by the the injury bug. I mean, both of our starting receivers not here right now. You know, hopefully one back. We talk about, you know, office of lineman being office of line being gutted early on this season, dbs in and out linebackers. You know, you need a guy like Pete Werner. The injuries, injuries take us toll, but you have to be able to find a way to win, and when you don't, the message is lader clear. Jobs are not safe in the league. It's at the
end of the day, the NFL is a business. I always try to get younger, cheaper, and try to win more. I don't know if that correlates, because you need good vets, you need but players that you know can play, and at the same time, you need that healthy list of young and upcoming guys that you're nursery. You know, It's just it's a part of the business. Darren Rizzy takes over this past week and automatically he starts changing everything from the locker configuration to how we sit in meetings,
how shoot, how active we're in the meetings. We spend more time going through walkthroughs than focusing on, you know, the length of film. My guy, Brian Young takes over for the d D line was a D lineman in the league. That's another thing, you know, when you have a guy who's in a position, a position coach, and he's younger, he's got vitality, he's got energy, he's played that position, versus a guy who has coached a position before or whatever else and has success but has never
truly played at a high level at that position. It's just a different mindset, mentality, perception as well. As you know, you you out of actually know like man, he said, this is works and it's going to work because he knows that feel. There's a different from you know, being able to create assimilation versus living that simulated play. And I think you know he's able to relate to defensive line and he's always been a good coach. And now
you see him. You see brother b Why as a d line calls a big big brother b why uh to take over And I think you have to say with that baritone, by the way, big brother b why Brian Young as our defensive line coach has been a great situation. Uh give me two claps of the woo up in this thing? Who every flair hype just for everything from practice to meetings to whatever. Rizzy came in was like, look, whatever we thought was gonna work has
been working. We got to shake things up to see if this is gonna be our way and came in and nah, ain't no status quo. He came in was like status on go uh And that's what you sort of know from Rizzy. Rizzy has been a part of our organization for like six years and especial teams coordinator. But I mean the last couple of years, people been trying to poach Rizzy to be a head coach. He was, you know, before we hired Da. I'm pretty sure he was in the process of trying to be a head
coach for us there. So he's getting a shot now his interim head coach. Wish, you know, wish he had a healthy rosters to see if we can see it, but you can see his potential. You felt the energy on the on the sidelines, the way everybody's fired up. We wanted this win. We want all these wins. Seven games left. We have to find a way to win. We have to be able to get after the quarterback.
We have to be able to straight man rush. We have to be able to cover guys number ones, even though we lose our number one corner Marshaw Latt to a trade last week, which is, you know, crazy. You can't replace a guy like Marshawn. He's over at the Washington Commanders, who will see later this year, so he's gonna be healthy and raring to show out. It's not what you want to see, but we'll talk about that when we get there. I just feel like as as a as an interim head coach tould come in and
get a win. It does nothing, but you know it's a it's a buy in for sure, from the guys from the city, from the organization. Uh, and just from the commitment from Darren Rizzy. I mean he comes in and this is what we're gonna do and does it. So it's easy to buy in when you win.
Uh.
But yeah, just the mind meant the mind and attitude of of of Riz, I mean, guys rocking, you know, especially guys are Rock and the Mirror, Mary Rizzler, Marry Rismus, just in support from from day one or two.
Uh.
It's just you know, I think crazy things happen this week. And at the same time, we knew what the blessings of the Lord was here. We felt it in the atmosphere. You know, you have Pope Francis come up and talk about the Saints. I don't think intentionally, but there was there was some tweets. I think I retweeted one. You know, there was some some tweets from from from from the Pope. I may not be a Catholic, but I understand that, you know, the Lord is always on our side. So
we knew we were gonna win. You know, we we knew we we couldn't lose, and all we could do was win. You know what Pope Francis said, let me he said to say, He said, we cannot become Saints with a frown. We must have joyful hearts that remain open to hope. Guess what, there's seven games left. There's a whole lot of hope. Head coach changed again, Deli position coach changed. There's a whole lot of hope. So you know, we went to that game, Rocket and that
and the fans, God dang them fans. Like when I tell you, you wouldn't know we were two and seventeen at the time. The fans came with energy. No city, new one is deserve a better team, you know, a team that like, he's seven and two, not two and seven at the time. Now with three and seven. You can feel it in the air, you can feel it
in the atmosphere. Saints Nation gonna rock. Oh. Speaking of the game, you know what a guy that I know, a guy who's been a pro bowler, all pro one of the best to do it, we will say, is officially the best at the best running back who ever do it. Alvin Kamura of course, six thousand, five hundred
and forty four career rushing yards to break. I think going into the game he needed twelve yards to break another running back who you know my guy would for mark Ingram at sixty five hundred, you know, to become the all time the Saints all time leading rusher. It's
just you know, Aka is special. From jump. I remember there was there was time and when we first drafted this kid out of Tennessee, which I just thought it was a simple Tennessee kid running back, and I was like, you know what, he got a welcome to the league. I'm about to smack him. This practice we went live and I went to I went to like obliterate Ak as he was headed towards the sideline, Bro. And when
I tell you, like I gave him everything. I came down hit him with that ooh wee same foot saint shoulder blasted him, you know at the time, two hundred and ninety pounds solid rock. Ak Bro like it sort of sort of like bounced back in the air, and I like I gave like everything. I was like, oh yeah, give him that ooh and he lands on his back foot and like had he not let it out of bounce, he would have took off again. And I was like, oh, his balance is special. His strides are dece evingly fast,
ak all day special. Now, It's just it's crazy how things work. So by the way, the Saints win, and we got to go ahead and win again and try and win again, and win again and win again and win, win, win the seven games left. I think that was for seven wins. I mean, that would be great to go seven to oh this last stretch of the season. That'll give us our best chance to be where we want to be because let's just let's just not lose sight of the goal. The goals to win it all. But
to win it all. You can't win it at three and seven, you can't win it at four. Hey, nah, we have to be able to finish the season out strong and hopefully the same way. I mean, I know this is fine to push you'll supposed to look out in the league, but there's a lot going on in the building knowing the Saints, let's win. Come on. I appreciate you guys for tuning in. It's been a hell of a pod for me. Can get a little breath
off my chest. I appreciate y'all, so just follow Share, give a five star rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to watch us on the NFL YouTube channel. Man, I'm blessed. I'm blessed to have a job in the NFL. For the last fourteen years, I got to hit people and to finally let me hit people again. So I'm gonna take it. I'm gonna take advantage of every opportunity, just like y'all taking advantage of listening to the pod.
Shout out to Off the Edge, Shout out to my producer, Shout out to you know, my family for let me come on in do this thing on my off day. Shout out to the to the school's visits that I've been doing for the last fourteen years. You know, this year I'm making special. I'm gonna drop bread at every school that I visit this year. For the ones past, I'm gonna drop bread. I don't know how much. Let's call it five No, probably like, let's call it ten
thousand dollars every school. I'm gonna visit at least seventeen school. Let's call it one hundred and seventy grand. We're going out to these schools who don't just give it to him. I would love for it to go to a good place. I would love for it to go towards books, towards the new science lab. And i'ma leave it at the school's aggression discretion. I'm gonna leave it at the schools discretion, which means, you know, let it go to let the
positive vibes go to a positive place. These kids, you know, with the elementaries, the high schools, the middle schools, the other next generation, then the next wave, they deserve to know that people care about them. And all we want is for our next generation to be better than what we have currently or what we're going to be, because if we're all going to be better than we were yesterday, how much better will tomorrow? B Appreciation for sticking around
off the edge of the pot. I got some money to go scramble up. Peace.