It's time now for another episode of Pats from the Past podcast. Matsmith alongside Paul Babrillo pleased to be joined by number seventy on your scorecard, but number one in our hearts at least today, Paul, right next, Yeah, and you better be careful.
Yeah.
And that's Logan Mankins. Logan, thanks for coming in. How you doing, man, I'm doing great.
Thanks for having me us.
Yeah, I really appreciate it, all right, Logan when we start these with everybody, because I don't you mean, like maybe people know what some ex patriots are doing, but I think there's a lot of people that go, Logan, Mac, it's where is he these days? What are you up to? I think fans would love to know that.
Well, I'm still here in New England. We live in North attle Borough, still just down the road from Foxborough, and we have a little farm and we raised beef, cattle, hay, firewood, all that kind of fun stuff.
Why is a California Northern California kid? What is it about New England? Because I think, and I'm being very stereotypically stereotypical, I think people would be surprised. Patriot fans will go Okay, his career is over, finish it in Tampa. He's going to go back to northern California at some point in time. Why still New England? I mean, and this is somebody who loves New England, has lived here his entire life.
Yeah. Well, we had lived here for nine years before I got traded, and then the timing of the trade was school was about to start, so my wife and kids stayed here and I went there just for the season at Tampa, and then we did that. Then I came back after the season and my daughter was in high school, so we didn't want to make her move while she was in high school, so I went to
Tampa for the season again and they stayed here. And then by the time I retired, we just made the decision that our oldest is in high school, let's let her finish high school. And then she was graduating in high school, our next one was coming into high school. So we just made the decision to stay here and make this our forever place.
So that's great.
Yeah, because I was one of those that I would have said, you know, Logan Mankins, be back on the ranch out and it was a Kathy's Valley.
Yeah, Kathy's valley.
I figured you'd be long gone and hot to find, and then I show up at Bishop Fian. Matt, Yeah, you know, so one of those classic Bishop Fenwick, Bishop fee In tilts right in the Catholic Central League Mankins.
So Logan Paul's office is now next to mine, and I'm regaled weekly with you know how great Fenwick is. Fenwick kicked his team's ass, blah blah blah. And he tells me, he goes, oh, you wouldn't believe this. I read into Logan Mankins other than Bruski, who he knows obnoxious on the sidelines, is all the most obnoxious parrot of a kid that you've run into a high school game. And he's got to be right.
Well, I don't know. I don't get to see him during the game, but he's always very gracious in defeats.
So well, see he's he's being kind. I usually bitch about the referees for about a half hour. But it was funny. This is this is a kind of a funny story. So last year when Logan sun Case Mankins is a trumendous two way player for Bishop Fiann and my oldest son Will, they're the same same age, not as tremendous a two way player for Fenwick, but he
does well. So we're at Fenwick two years ago and it was one of those games where I was, you know, held bent for a leather, like if I could have found an official in the parking lot, things could have been bad. And I see Logan at the I go, did you see that whole day? Missing that touchdown?
And Logan goes and then holding if they don't.
Call it so, but he was spoken like a true offensive line right.
But what was great was my friends are constantly, as you probably get a lot of this, they're constantly busting my balls. Oh, oh, big tough Paul like, oh, he talks to Tom Brady, he talks to Toty Brusky.
Oh why don't you where's all you boys? Where's makings?
Where's all you?
Bud?
So don't you know Logan comes over at the end of the game. You talk about being gracious in defeat, gracious in victory. He comes over after the game, says goodbye to my wife and I and I get the bro hug. I got a little bro hug. And there what you like to make fun of me about? For people fraud. So all my friends now looking like, wow, you really do know those guys that go what do you think I worked there for twenty years. I never met anybody, so it was it's been kind of nice.
Case played some basketball last last winter, so I bumped into Logan a few times, and he was here in Foxboro at the draft party too, So he's been around.
And Logan and I'm I can verify Paul, because Paul was saying this to me when he came back. He goes, You're not gonna believe it, And I'm not surprised, he goes, I think Patriots fans would not be surprised as well. Regular guy, nice guy parent who isn't screaming and yelling and swearing at the referees like most of the other parents are fie and hoodie.
Right with his hat probably just like that was it Draper Farms.
Yeah, you know, a heart, you would not have any idea that this is a you know, decade long NFL player, well ten plus years NFL player, with the amount of Pro Bowls and All pros, and you would have no idea just sitting in the stands watching his kids just like everybody else, right.
And I hope this doesn't come across in a way. It's sort as I'm saying, think about in my mind that somebody could take it as an insult, and I hope it would never be that way. But Logan as the second greatest guard in franchise history, You are you okay being behind John Hannah?
Yeah, that's fine.
Who by the way I spent.
But they wouldn't change my life, and I get it, I'd still be the same.
But I don't know if you ever had a chance to really, you know, watch Hannah or anything like that.
During little days.
And I spent some time with John a couple of summers ago down on his cattle farm down in Alabama. Crusty, great patriot and great guy. I think you guys would connect.
Yeah, I've got him a few times. Yeah, we uh would swap stories and it was it was great meeting them and hearing all the great things he had to talk about.
And he just started yelling at you about not running the ball enough.
Well, he said he liked running the ball because he didn't like the pass block, and that pass blocking is pretty tough, so especially against the talent they have nowadays.
He loved watching you play. He loved watching you play. And I would say, as an outsider, for somebody to get a stamp of approval from somebody like John Hannah, that means a lot more than Paul Pirillo or Matt Smith or any other Tom Dick and Harry because here's a legit guy. Well, he loved watching you play.
Yeah, and John, he was respected by everyone, his teammates, his opponents, other coaches. So that's always what I wanted to If they wrote I was good in the paper, that was great. But I wanted my teammates. I wanted to earn their respect, and I wanted opponents not to want to play me. So that's how it was.
Did you think when you were coming out, did you think you were going to be a first round pick?
I didn't know. I everyone told me probably the second rounder. And it was funny. The day of the draft, I was. We had me and my wife had a little apartment in Fresno and we had a little draft party and just people kept showing up more and more. Like my dad, he's a he likes to have a good time, so he was inviting everyone he saw, whether he knew there were not, So that was always great.
Does it make him a bad guy.
No. But we're sitting there and my offensive coordinator from Fresno was one of his best friends was with the forty nine ers and he calls me. He goes that I just talked to my best friend. They're taking you with the thirty third pick. I was like, oh sweet, right down the road from here. And then I was like, hold on, someone else is calling me and I click the phone over and it was Scott Pioli. He's like, we're taking you right now. I was like, oh, okay, So it was great. I was. I think I was
very fortunate to come here. I'm it worked out the best to come here. I'm glad that the nine Ers weren't picking thirty two and the Patriots were.
So you obviously it did work out. You were part of a lot of wins here and you had a great career. Did you think it at the time, You know, like, you were so close to being close to home and now you have to go to New England, which I can't tell you how many players will tell you. I didn't really even know where New England was because they
think it's a state, not a region. And what were you thinking about the culture, you know, the both the culture with the team and the culture shock of going from West coast to East coast.
Yeah, I wasn't, like you said, totally aware of they said in New England. I was like, Okay, that's on the East Coast, but I didn't know it was like right outside of Boston. I didn't know where the stadium was or Foxborough or any of that stuff. And guys are like, oh, You're gonna go play with Tom Brady and I'm like, I'm not even sure who Tom Brady really is. Right, I didn't watch that much in NFL football. I didn't Up until my senior year of high school.
I loved watching NFL football, and then once I got to college, I kind of stopped paying attention and had many other things going on.
So is that because you Is it because it was so much for you to play? It took so much physically, mentally and everything like that that when the time came that you had quote your own time or downtime or however you want to call it. I got other things I need, I want to do that interest me rather than sit and watch this. Because I'm living and know in a division in school, you're working. It's a job.
Yeah, and uh, and the schedule kind of makes it that way. So in college, you play on Saturday. Sunday, you go in for lifting, you watch the game, and you have your conditioning, so that's most of your Sunday while NFL football is on, so you could watch games on Monday night and Sunday night, but other than that, during the day, you were usually busy, so we didn't watch a lot of it. And as I got older in college, I already had my first daughter and everything
like that. So the longer I was in college, the more responsible I had to start becoming, and we had a lot of other things to do to support her and my future wife.
So so when you were drafted, it was you know, tackle out of first No State, and then you got here and almost immediately it was guard. Yeah, did you know that that you would be a guard or is that something that Bill had talked to you about beforehand?
I assumed it was going to happen. So my coach at Fresno was Pat Hill, and I got invited to the East West and the Senior Bowl and he goes He was an O line coach for for Eveland or Baltimore one of those Bill, and he goes, I think the best thing for you to do is go to these two all star games, go to both of them, and just play guard at both of them. Tell them you don't want to play tackle. I was like, all right, So I took his advice, and when I got there,
I said, I'm playing guard, not tackle. And then because he said I was going to get moved to guard, that's what his opinion was. So when I got here, I just assumed I was going to Garden. That's where they told me to go.
So then it was day one.
Yeah, yeah, it was uh yeah, the first day always Guarden. What I did play tackle a couple of games.
We're going to get.
About that athletic.
I mean, the transition, the transition from college chapro is obviously a big transition transition position wise. Did you think that that was a big deal guard to tackle.
I didn't think it was until I did it. Okay, it's uh so a guard, everything is way faster, Like everyone is lined up closer to you. Everything happens faster. The guys aren't as fast as you're going against that tackle, but you have more time before they get to you to set everything up and the guys inside are way bigger, way stronger. I thought guard was a lot more physical.
The few games I played at tackle, I felt awesome after the game, whereas guard, you feel it's like, guys right here, it he's too eighty to three point fifty every time, just bam, bam bam.
So I think and Paul helped me on this, if you agree with me or not. I think fans look at offensive line and maybe other than center, where there's an alleged you know, the center quarterback exchange that needs to happen, and it's got to be consistent. But I think fans will get offensive linemen and maybe other than left tackle. I think they think they're all the same. Yeah, and when you see there's current players on this team and around the league, Hey, you know, we recognize you've
got position versatility. Oh, we like the fact that you can play guard and play tackle. And I think fians think that it's just interchangeable and can get on a guy. Geezh, why is he You know, it's not as interchangeable as maybe us dummy fians like to think. Is that a fair statement?
Oh? Definitely. It takes uh for a guy to be able to do multiple positions well, between guard and tackle and not so much center and guard. But for a person to be able to do guard en tackle, they got to understand the game very well and have a lot of athletic ability, which they already do. But I mean, like position, I don't know how to really pronounce it or say it, but they've got to be able to flip all that in their mind all the time. You've
got to be smart. Definitely got to be smart to be able to do both of them, because it's different ways and techniques to do both those spots.
Now, did you have to move sides?
No, thankfully side, which was nice because I was always right handed, and then once I got the I always played on the left side. And once you get stuck, well, for me personally, once I got in that left handed stance, that was the only one I was ever gonna be able to do again, I get in a right hand stance and I feel funky.
When you got here, Logan, you know, rookie first rounder. So you come with that kind of baggage, you know, I mean, oh, here's a guy I gotta guarantee blah blah blah. Who is there somebody that you can think of that helped you the most to help make that transition to NFL offensive lineman from college. How do you recall that rookie year and who helped you along? And because I think what people say now they consider they
they don't remember it, but they should remember it. We're talking about a plug and play guy started just like that. And then again another thing, I think, Oh, anybody can do it, No, nobody, not everybody can do it. You have to be a Logan Magans kind of person to do it well.
There was a lot of bumps in the road. It wasn't always beautiful. I remember getting yelled at plenty of times and nothing Scar Scar Bill whoever you didn't think of in there, but let Tom get hit plenty of times. But you learned as you go, and by the halfway part point of the season, I felt pretty comfortable and what I was doing and it wasn't as bad as those first few games. But there was lots of guys
that helped. First of all, I had an awesome O line coach that was I'm so lucky and fortunate to play for him. I wouldn't have wanted to play for anyone else. So I had that going for me. I had a lot of older guys in our room that they were here to win, like Matt, like Cop and Neil, those guys, that's all they wanted to do was win. And they just because you were a rookie didn't mean anything. They would help you. You were their teammate. So that
was awesome. There was like we didn't have rookie Hazy and the craft like that. We were all there for one purpose. Matt was awesome. I remember we got here and was that rookie camp for OTAs or something, and he invited my wife and our children over to meet his wife and children, just to make the whole transition easier. So having guys like that in your locker room makes life a lot easier when you're already dealing with stuff
you have no idea. You're learning every day as you go as a rookie, so having older guys that are willing to help you is great.
So I found it interesting when you said, you know, you got drafted by the Patriots, and oh, you're going to go and block for Tom Brady and you're like, I'm not really even sure who Tom Brady is. How long did it take you to sort of realize that he was a little different than just the other teams starting quarterbacks. And what was it like sort of getting indoctrinated into that.
Well, it was great Tom. He's a special player, as everyone already knows, but he's also a special leader and a special guy. He was a great teammate to have. You wanted a block for the guy. The coaches wanted you to make every block for him, and just that makes it so much better when you really respect and you like the guy, and you know he cares about you and you care about him. And that's why we wanted to make the blocks for him. We didn't do it just because it was our job. We actually liked
and respected him and wanted him to do good. So, but there was lots of guys on this team I didn't know anything about. I remember my rookie year, Richard Seymour was here and he was holding out and I was like, who's this guy everyone's talking about. I found out the first day he came back. He was a handful. So I got a lot of welcome to New England moments.
Was what was that like lining up against Richard Seymour when he comes back.
Oh it was. I still didn't know who he was but I or what he did, but I was like, damn, this guy is big. What the heck? And then of course where he lines up every day for practices right over me, and the first one I want he ran me over. I was like, holy shit, I better better figure out how to block guys like this. And then we went to the first game and I was like, oh man, everyone's not like I was like, thankfully not everyone's like this guy does it?
Did it not surprise you? Logan? I mean it took him probably a little longer than I think, maybe he wanted or some of the people a little closest to him. But is it no surprise? Do you have to get knocked on your asp by Richard Seymore that he's in the Professional Football Hall of Fame?
Oh yeah, he should have been there. There was no question he was special talent. Not everyone has got his a bilit He's so tall and long, and he's strong and athletic, and he had the right mentality and he was just a very good player. He was smart too, So maybe playing here is first. I don't know. However, many years when he was asked to take on double teams and not get the sack numbers. That probably slowed him down, But as far as impacting the game, he
made a big impact. And I know he helped me too, because I practiced against him every day for like four or five six years something like that, and we had lots of fights and all kinds of stuff, But when we got to the locker room, we always talked about how to. I would ask him what he looked at sometimes, and he would ask me, like, how do you get the hands off? And this kind of thing and that thing just from guys that a different point of view than a coach's point of view, like the guy that's
actually doing it. So I always had a lot of respect for him.
You talked about being, you know, selfless and you know, like Richard was, but you obviously displayed that you talked about. Don't forget that you played tackle a little bit, Matt Scott. You know that the anecdote from Dante about the day that you had to play tackle like on a moment's notice.
So we were this was your first year. Both Paul and I are kind of embarrassed about it. To be perfectly honest with you, I don't want to put words in Paul's mouth. But we're part of the Hall of Fame committee to select people to get on the ballot, and then legitimately when the people get on the ballot, it's a fan vote, you know, and as you can imagine skill position, guys, you know we're gonna get the fan vote. But this is the first year that you
were on that ballot. And so it's part of one of the things that I do here is, hey, who can who's a great person as an ambassador for Richard's, for Ty Law, for Teddy Bruski, for Logan Mankins, that can really speak to who that person was as a player and why they deserve to be why did they think they would be a great Patriot Hall of Famer. And of course we went to Dante, and so we're talking to Dante and he's giving you all the platitudes that you could think of that Dante would give you
nobody tougher comparing you as somebody who did coach. He wasn't maybe an offensive line coach, but he was on the team when Hannah was here, So it's not blasphemy for him to mention your name and to me that that's an awful lot of credibility, but we stopped after one point. All right, Dante, that was great. He goes, I'd like to say one more thing. This is really important to me. And he talked about again how selfless you were and the fact that I don't know, I
guess it was light probably who got hurt. And you're playing the Ravens and you're, hey, guess what, Logan, you're playing tackle this week? And that's the Ravens with Terrell Suggs and somebody like that. And he talked about how you nearly pitched a shutout that game, but you were pissed on one particular play that maybe Suggs got a hand up or maybe like sort of swept and knocked
Tom down. And he talked about how pissed you were about that, and he goes, you know, it's okay for the quarterback to get rid of the ball too, Logan, don't blame that one on you. But that's how he thought. That's how he felt about you. Do you remember that game in that week having to kick out?
Yeah? I still remember. I shouldn't got beat on that one. I just went sit a little too far. I got feeling too comfortable and he got me on it up and under. But yeah, those games we uh. I actually liked going out to tackle every now and then, just I don't know. It was fun just to change it up every now and then. But that was the second time. The first time I played tackle, I didn't find out untill like twenty minutes before the game, So that one
was a little tougher. But the one against the Ravens was nice because I actually got to practice all week at tackle, so that was a lot better. But it was I like tackle, It was fun.
What was the other one?
Miami am home? And then one time I had to play the second half I think against the Texans or something. So how was the backup tackle?
It amazes me, Like what does he say? Like, yeah, I got I set to what I got. I got up and under it like it was probably twenty years ago at this point, Like exactly.
You remember your bad places, remember the good ones.
Oh, I can tell you about the Tate measure home runs I allowed in college, but I don't want to have to get to that's another podcast for a different time, right, Just you know, again, I want to stay with the teammate and the selflessness and the season you played on a twenty ACL. Well, you know, Philip Rivers played a quarterback, you know, in the AOC Championship game against you guys on a twenty ACL, and I think it was one of the more heroic performances I've seen.
You played a whole season like that, Like, how do you how do you do that?
I don't know. They said maybe always loose, used to having a loose knee or something. I don't know, but I had to wear one of those weird braces for most of the year, and uh, it hurt for the first couple of games and then it just kind of went away. So and then after the season we went and saw the doctor and he's like, this thing's been torn a long time.
Oh so you didn't realize it until.
We didn't know it was fully torn.
It's one of those don't ask doctors just kind.
Of shook it around and said, well, what do you think. And I was like, well, let me give it a shot this week at practice and he's like all right. And then I got through drills, I was like, we'll just go with it. He's like, all right, well we need to get it checked out later.
So see, people think that sometimes you overstate just how matter of fact people are about things. This is logan, Manking, this is how he was in the locker room after games. He would talk about, you know, the game plan and what they did well, and it was the same level of intensity and just.
Matter of fact everything. Yeah, well you know what do you think? Yeah, well I can give it a shot a practice. I can see if I can play.
He had a twenty cl right, and it's like it's his job. It's no big deal. I'm just going to go out and get the job done.
Do you get embarras when you hear that logan? Like people like Paul and I want to keep praise on you for that. You're an offensive lineman. You probably don't give a sugar about like, yeah, that's what I was supposed.
To do well. Everyone loves to be praised, but I do get embarrassed when it's in front of me. I'd rather.
I don't want to embarrass you believe me, and I'm not like you know, I've been. I've been Matt and I have been here for over twenty years. So it's like, you know, it's not like the wide eyed Chris Farley on Saday Night Live, like that was awesome. You know, I'm not in awe, you know, but but that's an awesome and are inspiring.
That's season.
Most people sadly today at work have the sniffles and they're down for three days, do you know what I mean? And so when somebody says, no, it's important to go to work, and I might not be feeling one hundred percent, but I still think I can do my job. Yeah, it's that's different.
Yeah, that's well. I think people used to ask me why I did it, and I was like, well, my dad always said, if you can go to work, you go to work. And he always joked to just tape an aspirinto it and you'll be all right.
Did you try it?
No? But it was it was fine. It hurt for a while and then it went away, and then it just uh. I really noticed it. As the season went on, there was no more squatting in the weight room, like that stuff was not happening anymore. Or if you like tried to walk down an incline, you could feel your knee sliding. But so thankfully the football fields aren't inclined.
I think you know, your league is filled with really really tough players and like, yeah, I mean, I see what you guys go through. I remember the other Algae Crumpler was here. I don't know if you guys crossed. I forget the timeline, but what he went through to play every week was ridiculous and you could see the toughness. But I think a lot of people in your situation Logan would have said, this is my career. I have a finite amount of time to earn money, and if I play in a torn a c oh it might
affect my performance. It could affect my salary down the look they're gonna probably look to, you know, makee me take a haircut next year, or if I'm going to be a free agent. But yet you put all that aside and just said, no, I have a job to do and I'm going to go out and do it.
Well. I was fortunate. I just signed a big contract and then all that I say fun of the guys around the league that would get this big deal, and then they would get hurt, and I was.
Like, this is what people do, and dis guys are tough too.
Like in our locker room. I would make fun of guys like that, and so then I'm possibly hurt, not one hundred percent knowing if I'm hurt or not. And I'm like, well, I don't want to be that guy that I've been ragging on for my.
Whole career already, right, you don't want to be a fraud.
Yeah. And up until that point, I what was that my sixth year. I'd never missed a practice or game. So I was like, I can't I can't start getting hurt now. Then I did get a few practices off that year.
So then logan is is that all part of maybe your principle and your values, because I do think Patriot fans remember that you wanted to take a stand. You felt like that Paul helped me out in the language of it, you know, with a rookie contract or something like that.
Right, you got I mean, you got screwed. I mean, let's say like you're going to be a free agent. And then that uncapped year came in, I think in ten something like that, right after night, and they changed the minimum years for you know, went up to six years. And that's what led to your.
Yeah, hold led to an argument in a holdout.
So but in that case, you're you're not doing anything different than playing on a torn acl it's I'm here to do a job. Wait a minute, I'm here to do a job. But why are the rules changing on him? This isn't fair and I need to take a Stanford. Is that all part of the principles that make up logan makings?
Oh yeah, definitely. And technically we called a hold out, But it wasn't a holdout because I wasn't.
Right, right, you weren't. Yeah, really absolutely.
I didn't refuse to come to work. I just chose not to be on a team yet, right, And it was all about money and all that stuff.
But was that hard for you Logan to do that?
Oh? Yeah it was. It was hard at first until I made up my mind. And then once my mind was made up, it was easy because I'm very stubborn when it comes to stuff like that. So I didn't want to do it, Like I hated it came to that situation. I did not wanted to do that, but I felt that to me personally, I felt that was the right thing to do. So maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't, but to me it was, So that's why I did it.
You'll be glad to know that your buddy, Andy Hart and I never called it a holdout just for that exact reason that you just said. We were very much pro pro player in that and.
The fact that that changed. Do you feel like, I'm not saying that you know you were the impetus behind it or anything like that, But are you happy now for the future players that maybe that's something that they, you know, in the negotiation that helped work to their favor.
Oh.
Possibly the money right now is I thought it was crazy when I played. It's out of control. Now it's awesome for the players. But that's why every other older player says, guys ten years before me thought I was getting paid crazy money, but got it. Yeah, I don't know. Each guy has to do what they feel is right for them personally, and everyone's different and some guys are stronger minded than other people. So it just all depends on who you are, all right.
You talk about the old man status. Then, I don't know how much football you watch today. I think to the lay person, and I would consider Paul and I both the late kind of person. You look at offensive line player around the league, it just doesn't seem like it's as good as it was maybe in years gone by. Do you agree with that.
I haven't watched it close enough to say that, but I do watch some of it, and I don't feel it's as physical I see. I've talked to people they're still playing coaches, and they're like, a lot of the things you guys used to do you would get ejected for now. So like we used to blindside everyone like
I was. I did watch the game where David Andrews got uh yeah, and that was legal when I played, right, Like, we ran down the field looking on interceptions for d linemen because we knew they were coming because we did it to them a few plays before, right, But those kind of players are out lowed now, and we used to do that on a consistent basis, or diving into people's knees and all that stuff. So it's a lot different now.
When you look back.
The seven season obviously bittersweet for everybody. Do you feel like the team sort of ran out of gas? Just the sort of the pressure of being unbeaten kind of caught up to you.
Possibly. I was still so young, only my third year. I was just happy to be playing football and just don't but we had so many older guys that really knew and understood football. At that time, and maybe they they did. I know it was a very uh, I guess you call it stressful season. Well, as the year went on, it got more stressful and more pressure on you, not just from not to lose, but like Bill that
year had his foot on the gas pedal. Every game felt like when we'd watch film, like we lost the game and we would be someone by forty or twenty year and then you'd come in and feel like you lost the game. But I didn't feel burned out by the end of the year. We just didn't play well. I know, me and the offensive line we didn't play good enough that game. And usually if the old line doesn't play good, you don't win. So that's how it goes a lot of times.
When you look back at that logan in you say, you know, it felt like a loss even though you're trashing teams. Yeah, how did that manifest Like in the film room when you're looking at it and stuff like that, Does that motivate you or do you have to have a special kind of mentality to like, look at I know what he's trying to do here, He's looking for almost literally perfection on these plays. Does that help drive you to be a better player.
Oh, definitely. And our offensive line coach Dante, he said, we're not gonna be perfect, but we're going to strive for it every game and every practice. So he preached that already. And as an old Lignman, you could have eighty great blocks. On the eighty first play, you give up a sack and that's all everyone talks about. And you had a horrible game, right, So it's uh, we're used to that as oligneman. That one bad play ruins
it all. So you've got to be perfect on all of them, unless it was always best when you had to play and you got beat by someone and fortunately you were running the ball the other way or something and it didn't effect aim play at all.
Do you think, and this is another great fan debate, it would have been better for them to lose, you know, and then you get that monkey off your back. Did you enjoy the pursuit of perfection?
Yeah? I loved it. When we squeaked out the win was that week seventeen in New York when we win by three or something, Yeah, I was so happy. We want that to keep it alive. So because then after that, you only have what three more games to win. I wouldn't change it. I'd change that we lost the last game, but the rest of the season, I wouldn't change. People are like I have a lot of people say, don't you wish you just lost the Chief Championship and didn't
get there? And no, I'll take the shot if we lose, we lose, but I'll take the shot of winning.
Yeah.
I mean, I tell this all the time, being on all those plane rides back and forth, you'd be hard pressed, Matt, you and I talk about this all the time. You'd be hard pressed to ever know based on the mentality of the players, the interaction on a way home, if you guys won, are lost. You guys were just businesslike. There's one huge exception, and that was the Indianapolis game
that year in seven. We came I think right ten down in the fourth are two touchdowns to beat the undefeated Colts, and you guys went crazy on on that flight home another one bites. The dust was going and I think Glonnie might have had that cranked up. It was amazing to me how business like you were otherwise, and then to see that like, oh this really was a big game. It wasn't just like the next thing. You know, well, you know, maybe on to Cincinnati. It
wasn't like that. You could see it with the mentality of the team, and then I felt like that kind of carried you through the rest of that regular season. To your point, it did mean a lot to go unbeaten.
Oh it did. And like you said, that game against Manning and the Colts, we had such a big rivalry and for both of us to be undefeated that late in the season and to get that win was big.
Did you enjoy that rivalry Logan, I mean you were talking about you know, we were only a young player there, still in your third year or something. But did you get a sense of, oh, this is its year, every day, ordinary NFL game when you're playing those guys.
Yeah, especially well I first came in, we started, we were playing them every year because we're both division winners, right, and then my second year we had to go lose to them in the AFC Championship game, which we would have won that Super Bowl for sure, but absolutely that was a heartbreaker losing that game. I was a second year guy sitting on the sideline going, holy crap, I don't know where we went it By twenty one or something. I was like, We're going to go to the super Bowl,
and then we craft the bed the second half. Oh my gosh, I can't believe we lost that game.
Those in particular, so they had one three in a row and then one not three in a row, they had one three and then they went three after you like, is that the hole in the resume?
Is that do you have?
Oh? Yeah, you look back. People ask me all the time and I'm like, yeah, I wish I would have won a super Bowl. But at the end of the day, I try to tell like my family members, would that make me a better dad or husband? Or now I want to be a farmer? Would it changed my life at all? No? Did I want to win one. I tried my absolutely hardest to win one, but it just didn't work out.
And then, as you said, you know in six you're gonna beat Chicago If you don't play that league, oh seven, you're thirty seconds away from perfection. So it's not like you weren't on teams. You know, some guys play their whole career. You know, Joe Thomas, another tremendous offensive lineman, plays his whole career in Cleveland.
He never had a sniff.
Yeah, so yeah, sure, I'm sure he would have liked to win a super Bowl. He never came close it. You know, you were on teams that had a lot of success.
Yeah. I came close a lot bunch of times, a bunch of AFC championship games and lost to super Bowls. So I would give up I don't know, some accolades. I give up all my accolades to win a super Bowl. But I only got those because I was a decent player. But other than that, I I don't know. It wouldn't change anything for me now. So I'm okay, I'm content without winning the Super.
Bowl, isn't it? You know you talked about things that you tell your family members. Okay, in life, you're gonna get knocked down.
Oh yeah, it's.
How you get up or don't get up that really defines you. You know. So if you're gonna sit there in your room and suck your thumb because you lost, you know, to the giants, what you know? What kind of person are you? Does that help you as a as a parent? You know? As to say I live this? You know, now, what do you do about it?
It's so true? And if that's the worst thing that happens during my life. That'd be awesome. Like, there's so many things that people go through way worse on a daily basis than losing. It's your livelihood and your career and what you're striving for. But at the end of the day, it's it's still a game, and so many people are going through way worse things. So you just got to remember those kind of things.
Perspective, Yeah, perspective, right.
So we talked a little bit about the Colts Ravens.
I think we brought up with you know, any team in particular that you were like, that was the rival, that was the one that.
I always god to Pittsburgh. I hated the Jets and the Ravens, and that's because we played him every year and they had good players on defense.
So what about Channing Crowder?
Yeah, we didn't like him either.
I was going to get to my individuals.
One of my all time great Logan Mankins postgame meetings in the locker room. I believe Matt Light had his way a little bit with Channing Crowder. Yeah, and I was asking you, so what happened because I don't know. I just looked up and I saw Matt pounded him on the head, So that was pretty cool.
It was midlight. Always had an understanding there was The only words spoken were be ready. And he wasn't usually next to me on field goal and I look and he that year he wasn't because that was the year he had like a broken hand or something, so he had this cast on his hand to begain with and he's lined up next to me, and I'm like, what the heck's Matt doing. He's like ready, sounded like long? Did? I look over and Matt's like holding his helmet off and then try to hit him on the head with
his cast. And then it turned into a whole melee.
So yet you see that smirk on his face. That's how he told the story. It's like, yeah, you just pounded on him on his head.
Yeah it was great. But Crowder he had been he'd been antagonizing Matt the whole game, and we were beating him pretty good by then, so Matt just lost lit the fuse a little bit and lost it. And Matt was always he was a great teammate too. I remember we played Detroit one year. I don't know if it was on Thanksgiving or not. But me and Sue had been fighting the whole game and it came time for field goal, and I just that year Matt was next to me on field goal. I just said get ready,
and I knew I jumped. Sue came low on the field goal. I jumped back and I was pulling his helmet off, and I looked to my side and Matt's just punching him in the ribs as hard as he can and as fast as they can. Those are kind of teammates you.
Want, right, absolutely absolutely, and that.
Was even better because the referees only threw a penalty on Sue, no one else.
I mean this with no disrespect to a guy like Chinning Crowder and Sue. She was still playing today, which amazed.
And I have no problems with Sue. He's awesome player. That's just how I played football, and he played it, so he would have done the same thing to me. So I'm not worried about.
Who were the people Logan, when you think about it, when you knew that you were going to play them that week, that you said, I better put more time in, I better study more, I better get my body even more right? Who are the guys that gave you the most difficult times.
There was Sue's number one at that you had to be ready. It was always a long, hard day, and he played hard and he was he was a special strong guy, and you had to be ready for that game. There was numerous other guys. When I played against Richard in Oakland, he was he was still a very good player then, and of course that was the game the first time played in New England, so he was going like a five million miles an hour. He was wanting
to kill us for trade. Of who else. Albert Hainsworth in his early career was so good and then he just I don't know, he got paid and just quit. But his first like five years he was special. I got to play Aaron Donald his first two years in the league, and just his athletic ability is phenomenal for someone inside it a three technique. He's special, special talent. But I watched now and I see some of these guys there. There's just so many good athletes that are so big now it's it's pretty amazing.
So I wanted to get back to that Tom Brady thing that you mentioned, you know, just kind of getting to know him when you got here He certainly knew who you were, because when you got dealt to Tampa. And I don't know how much of this you know. I'm sure you talk to him privately. It was basically a wildcat strike. Tom Brady grew a beard like yours, and he was not happy for.
A long time. Right, How could did that make you feel? Like? To know that you had that kind of respect from a guy like that.
Oh great, Tom Sola respected, So to be respected by him was always great. And he knew how much the team in football meant to me. And I wasn't just here collected a check that I actually was doing all I could to make the team better, make myself better to win football games. And I knew i'd be missed the day got traded. There ended up being a big party at my house that night, and I didn't throw it, just a lot of guys came over and we tore it up pretty good that night, and so it was good.
Didn't know that I meant something to most of those guys.
That I mean, when you get kicked in the in the in the privates like that, but to know that you have the support of the people that you were going to battle with every single day. Yeah, it probably doesn't take the sting away, but it makes you feel like maybe you would doing the right thing if you had. Because you were saying earlier, you know, all you asked for was the respect out of your teammates. That's what you're playing for, right.
Yeah, Yeah, and your teammates and your coaches. I always wanted to make my coaches happy and earn their respect. So but I knew there was a possibility I could get traded. There's there always is, and we'd had discussions on things and we just couldn't come to a mutual agreement, and then that was one of the possibilities. So I have no hard feelings on it. It's a business, right right.
You know you mentioned you know still seeing Sue play, You can still watch Tom play. Are you surprised? Did you think when you were here that something like that was he talking about it? Then? Did you think that could you even entertain the fact that this guy would be playing into his mid forties.
I didn't think he'd be playing that long. But before I left, he was definitely in his taking care of his body trend and his new those new workout regimens and all that stuff. So but the amazing thing is he's still going and he still plays very well, and it's I couldn't go that long. I was done mentally. I think I retired at thirty three, and my body was fine. I could have kept playing, but mentally I just wanted to do something else.
Was part of that Tampa just sort of not being in the mix anymore, or was it just that you had you'd had.
Enough well that that did play into it. That's probably what wore me out mentally.
Yeah.
So I went to Tampa my first year and it was just a shit show. They had a new coach, a new GM, and they were trying to rebuild, and there was just so many people in that building that not building but locker room that just didn't care. They were just on a team to be on the team. So the second year they got rid of at least a third of those or third of the team, and brought in guys that they found, guys that cared, And
the second year was so much better. I think we only won six games, but just the effort and the the change of people caring and getting guys that wanted to play football. They might not have been as talented, but they did the right things. They worked hard, they studied, they were where they were supposed to be. They might not have been able to make the ninety nine yard touchdown, but they'd get you down there in five or six plays. So it's not all about being the best athlete. It's
you got to be able to put in. You got to be smart study because everyone's good, So you got to be where your teammates expect you to be.
Do you think that that's why you clicked here? Logan? Is because the things that maybe people can't put their finger on, the study time, the caring, the doing, the little things and the extra things, the details, the fundamentals, that's what this program. Those are kind of the tenets that this program's built on. And that's what you believe.
I've fed in perfect I loved it here. I laugh when those guys say new eng no fun team or something. We had a blast.
We see Bill, you had a pretty good group though, don't you think IOUs group?
Yeah? Fun guys. We worked hard, and we played hard. We had fun together and we but we worked hard together. And I always said, Bill doesn't care if you joke around and have fun, but you better be doing what you're supposed to be doing. You better not be screwing up at practice, screwing up in the games, late to anything. If you do everything you're supposed to do, then you're allowed to have fun and joke around and do dumb
things at practice and in the locker room. But then when you're number plays called, you better not screw up out there.
So and you knew that seventy two had your back or sixty seven had your back, or sixty one had your back. You guys were close and you held each other accountable, didn't you.
Oh yeah, definitely. We worked out together. We ran together. We uh, we did stick together. There was one year. Uh so when we would run the we would always stick together on the sprints. And we were all pretty good, uh guys at running. We could run pretty good. And uh, when you're dirt OTAs Bill starts yelling at us because we're all in a line just running. He's like, you, guys, I know, Neil, you're faster than so and so, and Maggie,
you're faster than him. You guys should be ahead of him. Light, you should be up there passing everyone. And Light just keeps saying, don't break, don't break. We stick together band of brothers. So the next one we run Light, we stayed in the same line, and Bill's getting pissed, and then pretty soon Bill tells everyone else to stop running. Now it's just the old line. We have to run and stick and stayed and we stayed together the whole time.
I don't know how many extra ones we had to run, but the whole time Light's going hold, hold, and no one broke though. We stuck together. So finally Bill gave up.
Let the team leaves.
Again, right right, But that was just like he loved to do stuff like that. He's like, we got to stick together, no one break you.
Still it sounds like you're still in touch with with Matt. Yeah, you see any any other teammates.
Yeah, Copan's still he lives right down on Rhode Island. Russ Holkestein lives in the same town as I do. Lights in Foxborough still, so I see those guys that are around the area and still talk to a few others.
Still get together for barbecues.
Not as much anymore. So My kids are older now, and Light's kids are older, but the other guys, their kids are still young and they're running around like crazy. So not as much as we used to.
Everybody's busy, right, And I mean I don't mean. I don't mean that everybody's busy, busy with life right.
It's crazy how busy you can get. And now it seems like I don't remember this when I was a kid. But my kids sign up for every sport that's available. I'm like, we had to sign up for everything, Like, can't we take a season off on something? But no, you're just year round sports. It feels like driving kids everywhere.
You know. We started this off and I was busted Paul's balls about you know, being that parent in the stands. Do you like being in the stands? Do you enjoy watching your kid and watching him play? It's such a great feeling, isn't it.
Yeah? I do. Uh So I coached my boys of football sixth, seventh and eighth grade, and then when they get to high school, I stop. But I was offered to coach at the high school and I told him I just want to be a fan and sit and watch and enjoy watching them. And then I told him I could complain about his coaching, so but no, I just like watching them. We talk about stuff after the game, on what they should have done, just like every other day.
Yeah, yeah, Logan, thanks for stopping by. Man all right, it's a lot of fun. For a lot of fun.
Nothing else.
That's it easy one say.
Yeah, we aim to put out your gut. We're still we can still roll.
What do you got?
What do you want to share?
You guys have the questions.
No, I think we touched on everything we wanted.
Logan, thanks for coming in.
Man.
Our guest was Logan Mankins on this episode of pat From the Past. Thank you for downloading this podcast. Subscribe on Apple, Google Play, and everywhere else you listen.
Like the show, please rate and review us.
Listener comments and ratings help keep us high on the podcast rankings so new listeners can find us. Be sure to check Patriots dot com for more news and more podcasts.