Lots to Say: 5x Pro Bowl DE Jared Allen

Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcasts.

We Got Lots.

Just we got lost? Just what better here?

And we hope you say because we got.

Lost, Yeah, we got lost. Just say.

Here's Bobby in that.

Jared Allen coming up in a few minutes.

Here, you have a song you would listen to before you like a specific song you would listen.

To before games.

Depending on the mood I was in, I went.

Through like this BDM like techno phase, kind of really get myself fired up. Then I went through a little bit of like ACDC Thunderstruck. Then there was a little bit of Dave Matthews in there every now and then. If I was in that the kind of like comp calm yourself down but kind of at the same time.

Give you good vibes. So I went through I was kind of all over the map.

If I did your Spotify rapped songs you listened to going into a game, what song or what one and two songs would be there?

And I can I can give you a second to think before I go on stage.

I have the same exact playlist and I go before my music hits to do my act, which I have a song I come out to, but I listen to Seven Nation Army White Stripes. I love that song, don't don't, because that's like I need to have this mix of I need to be up and fired up. But if I'm too fired up because I've got to communicate, too fired up is not good, right, So I need to come out with energy, but I need to be focused and that song doesn't just know.

It hits it hits hard.

That would be my number one on the rap list of songs that I would go that I go out to.

Is that one. Yeah.

The interesting part a lot of times I would listen to music, and when before the pre pregame, right, I'd listen to music.

As I came into.

The locker room is usually when i'd take out my take out my EarPods or whatever it might be, and stop listening to music and then go through the game plan one more time and get kind of just locked in focus, especially because a lot of people don't realize you're usually scripted for those first twenty plays, so you know what's going to be called in the first twenty plays of the game. Now that might differ a little

The big fight for our high school football was we were a diverse team. We were the only team that had black guys in our county, and so the black guys would always want Tupac and the white guys would always want a CDC.

Hill's bells.

So before every game we'vel had to flip a coin and whatever it was on. And it wasn't contentious at all, but whatever it landed on, and some of the black guys up wanted ACDC, some of the white guys ended up wanting TUPAC, depending on how the game went the last week. But we flipped a coin every game and whatever it landed on. That's why we went out to either TUPAC or ac DC. Hell's bells. I want to hear those songs. It reminds me of that time, like walking out. For sure, I give you my Since we're

I just need people to know that are a football not a football pier. But so I was captain of our high school football team.

Yes you were knucks Knucks and again high energy guy motor.

You know a lot of after technicians, good hands, good hands.

As captain, we go out for the coin toss and we're playing this team called Sparkman, who I think they were like nine to no. I believe we were eight and one at the time game. And so we're up. Yeah, like we're going and I'm fired. I was a little too fired up. And we go and they flipped a coin and they win the coin toss, and so they say we'll defer, and so they look at me and

And so what is your coach doing? Oh no, no, here's why he did. I walked off. He grabbed me by the face mask.

Now, luckily, pretty smart guy as far as like standardized tests life, I've been a pretty smart person.

He and I remember everybody could hear it.

He grabbed me by the face mask and said, you're the smartest mother effort on this team. And that's the dumbest effing thing I've ever seen in my history of coaching. We lost that game by six points. Oh no, you been stung worse.

Yeah, we lost it by one possession.

You know, believe it or not, I'm not lying to you. That happened to us. One of the captains on our team did the same exact thing. When I was with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the NFL. It happened. We kicked off twice in the first half. There's no way in the second half, No way. True, that's my hero.

We need to find out who that is because I need to talk to whomever it is to take.

Hold is probably me the smartest guy that was.

No, I don't even remember who it was did we kicked off?

Are both half? I'm positive that is the best news I've had all day. So you're not as dumb as you.

Oh I am, but acted that somebody did that professionally. Wow, what a day this is.

It happened. We are fired.

It happened again. Jared only coming by and just a little bit. Thank you guys for being here. Thanks for subscribing to the show. Please please go over to if you're getting this on the NFL feed a Buybone show feed, go over to our own feed.

It's called Lots to Say and hit subscribe.

Please, we would love that. We need it. We need money. Let's just be we need it. We need the money. Thank you. You're gonna be honest. I wish I knew Jared Allen. I don't. This is your buddy. How do you know Jared? Well?

I played against him for a number of years and then when I went to Minnesota he was there, so we became teammates and he was right next to me in the locker room.

Great time.

But when I called him up, I was like, hey, would you come on be here.

I know that he loves to talk.

He'd be a great guest and he's got great stories and he's a future Hall of Famer. So he was like, absolutely, and that's that's the cool part is when you have relationships with guys like that and they're just completely open and real and authentic.

And so he came on without a doubt. It was awesome. Here he is Jared Allen.

I would like to say that I have been advocating and many many.

Many super small circles that it's effecting on the Hall of Fame drives me insane.

I appreciate that. That's a heck of a way to start this segment too, because a lot I could go off about that.

I do believe it.

Give it to us. I don't know.

I don't know you, but I believe I say it.

It's even about me having a relationship with you.

It's it's a travesty that you weren't on the Hall of Fame.

I appreciate that. Yeah, I'll be honest, I really I don't. I tell you all the time, and I think people that know me, no, I don't. I don't think about it except when they bring it up, you know, three weeks out of the year, and they they have this unique way of making grown men get all like emotional about something that you have zero control over. I think that's what pisses me off the most about it. It's like you get me excited for something and I have

Unfortunately, collecting final ballads for the Hall of Fame is not a good thing.

Time sucks. Everybody gets the same.

So you know what I this last year.

I'll be real honest, just from the standpoint is statistically, there's nobody on the list that's not that's better than me, right right me?

SUGS is up this year. But if you.

Compare my average per year, you know, you know, you can hear the years I played to everybody on that list, nobody is better than me.

And that's to me, And that's what I actually told. That's all the fatim I said.

You can't sit here and tell me this is based on my merit, because statistically then I'm in. But so it's basically it's a popularity contest and either someone in the room doesn't like me or my presenters, and I get So the part I get frustrated with is there's no there's no they don't give you any guidelines, right, there's no basis for who, why, what where? When there's no real what's the word I'm looking for?

So they're voting on the pope, they don't only tell you what the vote is. Yeah, yeah, you know what they're looking for. Yeah.

And when you said, presenter, how does that work? So you have somebody that represents you to the committee, correct, so you go in and advocate on your behalf?

Yeah, so I I I it's one of my voters in Minnesota. Right, soone right, I'm going in as a Viking. Well I had vote my very first year, no joke, and I don't I don't know the guy, but I got rested sould my my I had uh uh Minnesota and chiefs was going in uh presenters and my presenter in Kansas City died. He was a young man, Like I was like, are you are you kidding me? I mean that's how that's how it happened. And so I haven't talked to the new guy in Kansas City. I

Who's got a lot of pool? You got Bill Polly in because you got a ton of poll.

I have to say I actually ran into uh, Steve Hudcheson at the Titans the d of the day and I'll never forget he got it. We were in the Super Bowl Minnesota, right and he was up for the hot. That might have been his first, first, first, or second bout. But back then they used to bring you out to

I was like, I'm not even going down, but I could.

I've never understood it.

And then I finally understood he got anything on his third or fourth, I think third time. But then you were talking to Day He's like, Brian, I was like, I get it now.

I give that that emo.

Beau's like, you.

Don't really care, but then you care in that brief moment. Then you're so pissed off that you allowed somebody to let you care about something that really doesn't.

Affect your life.

You know, from a standpoint of my wife's not gonna love him anymore, my kids aren't gonna think I'm cooler the dogs, and I gonna start.

I definitely, I'm not gonna lie have been better.

So, yeah, it's it's a weird it's a weird process. It's a weird deal.

But I appreciate you saying that I deserve to be in and we'll see, we'll see what happens.

There is somebody and I know who it is, and I will not say who it is, but they have kept it's a single person, an entity that has kept me from hosting the c M A Awards, which is the big yeah and so so and I and I am like I do the A c MS and like reab it did it and I did it like a second string up. I'm part of that television broadcast. But it's not the same as hosting the awards. I know the person's kept me posting CMAS.

Do you know that? Don't say who it is, But do you know who's keeping you on?

No?

I don't, well yes and no. And part of it is is you know less he hears it. Part of it is my presenter, right, my presenters, is what it sounds like pretty much. Yeah, Well that's the other thing about the process. I don't get like we should be able to choose our presenters, right, right, I have a

Right.

So, I mean, I nothing I would ever say anybody's up for the Hall of Fame is well deserving my book, Right, I'm kind of one of these things like, man, either if you're gonna be on the file listid I put them in?

Put them in, or don'tut them in. Don't put me on the list just to keep me on the list forever.

But again, so you go through and and I know there was a big push, you know, for Dwight to get in last year where they were having you know, other Hall of Famers were having video conferences with voters, and I'm not I'm not I'm not about that. I'm not going to kiss the ring. I'm not bound down like I'm not. You know, it's like, if you want me in on my merit put me in. If not, no harm, no fail. I really it is what it is.

I just think it's uh, the nature of the beast.

And and you know, when you play the game the way I played it, you know you kind of get which, which is crazy because the characteristics that I want to teach my kids that I think are positive hustle, try hard, right, you know, basically just you know, being out there making sure the fans know that I appreciate them showing up, but I love what I do. It actually ends up being a negative because they come back and say, like, oh, he got on the sacks, says he hustled more than

You know.

That's the label, guy, It's a label. But the thing that I always appreciate about is when you play the game. Though, the most exciting part for me was always to watch your youthful enthusiasm, Like you had fun when you played the game, and that that permeated throughout the entire team, right, and when you did your sack and you did the bull or whatever the heck you do, right, I mean that that's the type of stuff that you know, not

Man.

Yeah, I last year short not to have fun, you know. I got to remind myself of that retirement.

Sometimes you do your homework.

Oh my gosh, real life issues. No that, But I mean I literally was fortunate. I told my dad when I was eight years old, I was gona play professional football. Most parents are like, all right, Johnny, like go read the books. My dad would drop me off. My dad

He would make me run every night up to the hill. And his whole philosophy is.

Like, you want to be in the pros, you better eat, sleep, drinket because somebody out there is doing more than you are, so you better better make sure you're doing the most you could ever do. So most parents are like, yeah, okay, have fun, you know, go to go to school. My dad was like, you want to be in the boroughs, let's get it, and he uh it was. It was a hard nosed on it, and but that was that

This is dope.

How many celebrations did you have that didn't work out? Because we all know you for the tie, but did you ever do like.

The giddy did you ever have?

Like?

Well, that was the thing, my very first one, first one, I got fined five thousand dollars. So my my tied end, my buddy, my roommate in college are tied in. Never scored a touchdown, right, So I told him, I was like, and he had, he had this brilliant sat your a touchdown and celebration that he's gonna have, right, So we were gonna we were gonna high fight, you know, low five and then bring it back around, slap the thigh

Oh my god, that it was the outside of your side. Yeah right here are thinking, but he's probably trying to they said, they.

Said, I gotta find well, I didn't get a fine because I was a fourth round pick. So there's other people with my number on the team. Right, there was an undrafted free agent lineman with the number sixty nine.

They sent him a fine for five thousand dollars. It's like, what is oh what he called the league and got it sent to me.

And so in the preseason if you have fined, you don't pay it until you get make makes a team.

I'm like, bro, you know you're not making the team, like.

You know that. It still cost me five grand for that. And then I had the vets my first couple of years.

They would just pick celebrations for me to do, like, all right, this week, you're doing the lawnmower. Dallas had like two sacks against Dallas one year and jelly roll, the original jelly roll Lionel Dalton.

Uh, He's like, all right this year this game, you're doing spirit fingers and high kicks. I'm like, this sucks, bro. So finally finally caught on it, and I gotta give it.

I was actually telling Dustin Coke with yesterday Neil Smith, we went out to dinner. Neil Smith got put into the Ring of Honor and Hank Junior sang the national anthem my game. Okay, So I meet up with Neil and then we ended up going out and we went to dinner with with Hank Junior afterwards, which is.

All a whole nother amazing and uh. And so Neil's like, hey.

Man, I really appreciate you doing my celebration. He's like, but you know, you gotta come up with something.

Of your own.

So I grew up on a ranch. I grew up calf roping, and so that's how we came about it. Talkingbot He's like, yeah, it was time up. So when you calf rope, you know, you flink your calf, you tied through legs, through your hands up. That's when I stopped the clock.

So we just started doing that on our quarterbacks and it stuck.

And then, yeah, did you ever sack me?

I did several times?

Thank you. I appreciate that. I do actually cost you with the Chiefs.

You remember that you two with the Chiefs.

But no, Dallas, we were playing you, Dallas.

When I was in Carolina, we were playing Dallas Thanksgiving and I was clean off the edge, smoked my guy, and you like, just shuffle up.

I think you got like one yard of flicked it away off the castle. You could have just slid. I should have. I would have helped you out.

I think I think I would have tied Richard Dent if you were to just taken the sack.

I mean, I remember being with the Chiefs and you come around this edge and I kind of just see you in my peripheral and I spun out and I just remember.

You get back up. I got a take off running. I'm like running for my life. I'm like, blow the whistle, blow the whistle. Is there an honor amongst people that know each other?

If the shot is there, maybe you don't take you almost brother in law a bit.

They never know.

If I know you, I'm probably hitting harder.

So if he's their blindside done, Uh, he's gonna try to rip my head off. I know about it.

I mean I'm not gonna know ill will I I've never once in my life tried to intentionally hurt anybody. But absolutely, at no point would I.

Take it easy on anybody on the football field.

Buddy honey, Well, he's gonna not throw the winning touchdown, you know what I mean? Like that's I think, Uh, actually that's what I respect. That's what I respect about like m m A and you know, you know, like boxing mm A and uh and and and football, like contact, you know, athletic sports. It's like when you're on the field, you can be friends. We can be friends afterwards when we field healthy respect for each other. Absolutely, we'll laugh and joke.

But loud when you're when you're lined up a quarterback, you know where he is by by vocally.

Well one hundred percent plus. You study the film during the week and they always go through like early in the week, it goes through game wreckers, so you circle the game wreckers and he was always one of those dudes.

We got to block this guy. We gotta give him chip help, we gotta do this.

But on the field, there's a constant banter going on, especially with somebody like him who's got confidence.

He's a little brash. He's gonna let you.

Know I'm coming for you, you know, and you just you gotta tune it out, especially at my position because I've got a lot other crap to think about other than.

Getting hit from the backside of my head.

But I mean, so you just gotta I mean, and it's it's not just him. It's consistent banter, particularly linebackers and defensive lineman.

It's all day long. Who was the hardest physically guy to take down?

Oh? So Rolisberger is on that list. He's massive. But you know who was you remembers guarded.

From from Jacksonville.

He was David was a tank.

He was all for and then like lower body thick too, and you could you come in you you know, he was tough.

That really stands out. Roethlisberger was another one. You know that was probably the two that come up. Were you around could pepper at all?

I was?

He's another pepper. He's another massive human. Yep, Like some of these guys are just you know that set, lower half strength.

And all that.

And then when you think about Roethlisberg, he was just savvy and elusive and and for a guy his size, he wasn't like a quick twitch for example.

He just knew where to get where to be in the pockets to get you Like you know, were most guys you could probably come around, grab an arm or jersey and get that. But he's he's big and strong enough and knows exactly would be where he can shape that off and still keep his eyes downfield. Uh, that's that was a tough part about him. You weren't You

The game has changed at that position so dramatically. It's wild.

Who was the most mobile guy you played against?

Michael Vick? Yeah, that's Michael Vick, absolutely nuts. But do you know what scrangepart was?

We we destroyed him because we just knew how to beat him. And I'll never forget. I think it was my as my rookie year, and we watched tape and we this is no joke, how we practiced to sack him.

So we knew where he was going to escape.

So we our whole plan was, we're gonna blitz the living crap out of him, and we're gonna make him.

Escape, right, and when he escapes. We know you want to juke.

You inside, he's gonna try to get the corner, so don't fall over the first juke. So our whole, our whole practice that week, we would we would come We played like basically boot bout legs style. We squeezed that a lot of scrimmage, and then we would just run to the sidelines and no joke, I gotta sack. I tell people, I ran down, ran down Michael Vick because he broke out and I just ran this.

Now, did you shoe string him or you actually? Oh my god, Oh my god, that's that's one.

He did break one. I should have three that game.

I had two, but yeah, I hawked him down on a blot leg because that's coach.

I just ran to the sideline.

Anybody who didn't get the thinking back like I never got X and that would have been.

I never got Russell Wilson came very close there, but all the other ones. I think that's pretty much everybody.

It's funny to hear you talk about big quarterback. You're like, you're a big dude, but you're not.

A When I met Eli Manning, it was like probably the first NFL player that I.

Like stood next to, like stood, not just sit. And there's a different And I met Elin on television.

He looks like just a dude, normal dude, and he's kind of like, hey, I'm Eli.

He's sneaky.

He's a monster.

Sneaky's yeah, he's I had no idea, but that if that's normal, it's a land of months.

Well it's funny too because in our world either not, we don't consider them like a big quarterback like him.

He walks in here like I'm six one, he's six four, he's but he's not big.

Yeah, Matt, Matt's and I so we we we equate in the quarterback where I'm like, so Roethlisberger is a big dude, right, Yeah, you're like six six. You look at guys like Peyton Eli, I look, we kind of think more like on their physical prowess, like you know, Peyton, those guys they're gonna get.

They live on getting the ball out of their hands quick. But you, I mean, you breathe on Peyton and.

They're going to go.

Is not gonna set himself up to get either, like Brady's. Brady's a big athletic guy, but you but his demeanor is never like physically overbearing to where there's certain guys you're just like, holy crap.

You know those guys you got to worry.

About them beating the other physical attributes because they can throw the ball, but mentally they know where they're going before they go, right, that's what that's there, that's their secret sauces.

They know everything you're going to do and then they have a counter for it.

And so you know when we talk about guys that were like, man, these guys are big physical guys.

You know you.

You you often led more towards the athletic guys. But yeah, I mean, you can't be small and survive in the in the league.

I mean I get that all the time too. It's like you're a big dude. I didn't know you're that big.

I was like, I just look small because our offensive linemen are six six, three hundred and twenty and you've we just we we are presented in a different way. And then all of a sudden, you see me. I'm like, comparatively speaking, I'm yeah, I'm a pretty big dude.

Yeah. I went to Japan. I was a monster so good.

Oh dude, it was a great, like I'm taller than the average person here. But I'm in Japan on the subway, and I'm like, suck it, like I.

Am a gigantic human.

But that's what you guys still like you're here. Yeah, I don't know.

I'm always like I don't I guess I don't even think I'm that big at the time, and then.

People are like, you're hell big. I'm like, oh, hell, that's aid Norang Cow coming drop weight? Or did you gain weight after you finished playing?

No, I'm down probably twenty five pounds. I played like two. I played at two fifty five most of my career. I'm like thirty two.

Now is that natural?

Yeah? Meaning?

Was it hard?

Is it worked to drop weight? Where does it work to keep I?

Uh know, I but I'm we like.

I have my own little mini farm over here. I have my own orchard garden where you eat completely organic. I try to avoid all all big food everything and but no, and then I realized muscleway is more than fat.

So I just quit working out. So dropped quick. That's one to twenty pounds muscle mass.

And uh, let's be honest, though, how many players that we've played with over the years.

Go the exact Oh you only on one or too?

Did you guys see Tama Howley on the on the Chiefs Stay?

Yeah?

Oh gosh, my stepdad sent me a picture.

I'm like, first of all, let's not let's not talk about how Biky got. Let's talk about the fact that dude is rocking a legit skullet. He has no hair and he's got braids coming out the beat of it. I haven't talked to Tomba in years, and I just wonder if you're listening to this at all, Tamba, God bless you.

Yes, Love, rock Daley got skinny.

Yeah, you're right.

I mean a lot of these guys they go the opposite, the opposite way.

Kyle had to work hardest, Pat Pat Williams dropped one hundred pounds.

It's amazing. Give it.

Uh, what do you mean you've seen? How you seen Jake Long?

Right, it's drastic changes.

A lot of it's sucks a big guys that are just big because our faces are big. So when our bodies get small, our faces like, oh I just got a big ass head.

Your head does stay the same size. Why didn't my forehead shrink.

When I was a baby up until like six, and I didn't grow like you guys did. My mom had to go slits into my shirt because my head was so big because they couldn't didn't fit it through.

Now.

Luckily for me, I chose a life of doing television and radio and podcasting. So it works for me because there's a large presentation of a face here. Yeah, but as an accountant that was solid.

Yeah.

But when you walked into the form people like daddy his head, yeah, you would be the big guy.

I get the circumference of that face like I can just like man, that dude that is that is computing powers off the charts brain how is huge? I take a quick break.

We have more with Jared Allen coming up on lots to say, how are you competing?

Do you need to compete?

It something?

Is it the curl Yes?

I was up to this year.

I had a little uh snap foo with USA Curling. I got asked to be on Corey dropped in his team as an alternate. They kind of blocked it. So and the way the Olympic Trials is set up this year, the first the top three point setters, which are pretty much already set.

They're automatically and then.

I have a one like a one one tournament winner take all for the fourth spot.

So next year we'll probably put a team together, try.

To do that.

I don't feel the need. I love it. I mean, competing is always fun.

I don't feel the need to compete. I don't think I just like having fun, be honest.

Talking about the curling thing a little bit.

I got when you got done right, you put you compile the team of all x NFL guys, right, it was bold?

Yeah, it was when I moved out here about seven years ago. So I took a bet from a buddy of mine to make the Olympics and.

Bet, like, what's that be consist of? Like it money? Yeah?

Well money?

It really might matter.

Because he couldn't afford the bet anyway, as he was drawing it throughout a stupid number and.

Sow the best bets happened. Yeah. Yeah.

Well the first bet was I was supposed to make the PGA, a PGA Tour event within three years of retiring. So I was playing in the Tahoe Golf tournament and I sucked. I was just playing the crap. He's like, you have no chance, you guys. He's like, you might as well, pay the bet now. And that's so I told him. I was like, Okay, put the money in escrow right now. You will put the money in escrow and I'll match it.

I'll pay.

I couldn't do it.

So then we're over at the house nerves by the fire. I'm uh you want, I'm like two for one bearing him, you know, yeah, there you go. And so my final have my buddies are all there and we'll start talking about and I just watched Eddie the Eagle and I was like, Moles.

It was like, let's parlay this, you know, Moles, Yes, yes, beautiful human.

Oh gosh, what a train wreck. Love that guy and probably you'll be probably the funniest hum ving on the face of the earth. And he's talking about like small but he's got like a big nose and so nobody actually hit him because they feel bad for him, but he just verbally assaults everybody.

Uh so that's always fun. And so we ended up getting this bet.

And I just watched any Eagle and so I was like, Peter, how about we parlay this into me making the Olympics, all right?

And he was like done.

So I was originally started badminton and then Boulder.

That's tough. So Bulger I was like, I was like, what don't you do with somebody that you know? Right?

And I was like, all right, Bulger, I just happen to run a Bulger.

You want to try to make the Olympics as a badminton player, and he was like, I'm in.

I was like, let's get it.

So I literally signed us up for like an average Joe how dodgeball tournament, but bad meant up in like some Catholic church in Jersey. And he comes with me an email and he's like I can't do this. And I was like, China national team with these dudes are getting after it, Like man, there they're fine. Ten five shuttles wh twenty our show is pretty impressive. And he's like, my backbone, hold up. I'm like, yeah, I probably might not either. I'm like, so we started looking at curling.

Start in their forties. The loser, the winner has to buy the losers beer, and I'm like, this is fantastic. I'm in love this.

So then I was having the bullet.

Our kids go to school together too, So I'm like, Keith, you want to try to make it limbusy. He's like, yep, I'm in.

So then Roos has having done with Russ and Roos is like six six nine hundred pounds c literally talking about a big guy man.

He's like six seven I think six seven.

Six eight, like three thirty and uh my, rous you want to curl and get the dancing bear on the arts?

He was like, I mean, did you actually like it? Oh?

It's so much fun. I absolutely love it.

I love it now. It's it's tough because there's like.

A four they are like all four eight tournaments, right, but we've traveled all over the world in Switzerland played and uh uh we've we've qualified for four nationals. I've played four four nationals, no, no joke. I actually have a silver metal of a silver medal nationalist curler. So my first year Rich Runs team asked me to be the alternate for nationals, which is great. I'm like, lord, great learning experience. We just practiced all that, but they

I was. I was the guy coming in the fourth courting preseason.

I did it, and I did it a lot, don't worry, And.

I was coming in and getting after it right dead time, and and.

So I played a leader. I didn't even think.

I'm like, there's no way that they taking second place. They lost the shuster and I got a freaking silver medal in the in the middle, and I'm like, there's nothing about this sport that.

Makes your bed, But yes, it's fun.

I I realized though, curl I'm i'm i'm my competitive spirit. I am very competitive obviously, but my competitive scrilling doesn't necessarily or conspirit doesn't necessarily always translate to curling. Because they have a thing called in the spirit of curling, they're supposed to be nice to each other. And in my first couple of years, we'd get off the ice getting beat. I would shatter brooms in the locker room

Everybody's like, oh, some.

Of you're not allowed to talk any crap whatsoever on the ice.

It's fun.

It's frownd him.

I was very passive aggressive. It's like, nice shot, and you're like, you know that wasn't nice shot.

I just missed.

I know.

It so stupid.

Oh that's so good. You keep up with the vikings at all? Now I do. I do.

I don't watch a lot of football enough just to you know, not be dumb when I get on the radio or whatever.

But I do.

And I'm stoked that no one will thought we were going this route, and it makes my uh not keep Kirk Cousins comment make like a lot more.

Was that the big take for a while?

Well, yeah, well I got I didn't throw the bus, although I think the organization wasn't the happiest.

I got calls from everybody just because I was asked if they should resign Kurt, and I said, no, I don't know, Kurt. Kurt makes as much money as you can. Let's keep the game of the game, God bless you, and he has. But I'm like, we cannot go out and pay forty million dollars a year right for what he's you know, if he's supposed to be. We we went five. He was having the best year of his career and we went five hundred. Right, we were like four and four

Like four and five.

You know, like it doesn't make sense to spend money on that. Go get a draft pick, which they did. And I think Kevin's a phenomenal coach and Corazy is a great GM because Grazy does a great job of taking all the analytics right. So I mean it's kind of like two philosophy the NFL. Right, you got guys that are solely film driven or player driven, then you got guys are solely analytics driven. What I think the

Kevin's so humble.

That he you know, he he works with guy and you can just you can see the vibe that guys have. You can see what Brian Floor is doing there. You know they're gonna put guys in the best position to be successful, not necessarily put guys for their you know, for their system to be successful.

If that makes sense, Well, what do you think about the quarterback situation?

We're talking about it. We will not lead you in any direction. We have our thoughts. But what's happened with Donald slash? Do you sign them?

So?

I don't think, I don't think you pay them.

I mean you got to look at I mean I think, I mean, now you win a super Bowl with them, where you get the NFC championship game, he's going to get paid.

But here's the problem, and this is what Sam is probably going a lot long.

He's you're when you're a top pick, you go to a crappy team, and then he went to another crappy team.

So now we're on the team that has parts and pieces.

You got to Sam, Donald's not the guy, and you know, just in the same way like you know, but you have success if he if he takes them in and let's say you go deep in the playoffs, a crappy team is going to sign him to try to be the guy, and they're not going to surround him with

Hand the ball off, throw your time to I.

Mean with Justin Jeffers said, I think I can play quarterback and be decent. But I don't know that you can pay him what he's going to be acquired because now, but I don't.

I wouldn't.

I wouldn't be opposed for this star. I wouldn't be opposed if they could get him at somewhat a bargain. That's another one you wantin yeah, twenty.

In this in this market, twenty five a.

Year, I was saying, thirty five forty.

Yeah, I don't. I wouldn't pay him. Thirty five to forty.

Fifty is like top tier. That's the two. That's the I just don't think you.

Can pay him thirty five forty based on one but one year's body of work, right, because if you have, you got to look over the the totality of what he's done. And yeah, there's circumstances, but I if you, if you could get him for some thirty, I would say, yeah, let let JJ sit back there and uh and suck it.

Up for a couple of years.

I think also the from a quarterback perspective, he goes into this offseason says, yes, somebody might offer me that fifty forty five, say forty just based on what he did last year, but you're going to a worst team.

So I think Minnesota's bargaining power.

Is the fact that if you give me a fair market deal and within the realm of what we were just talking about, now he knows he can come back and has success because he's seen the other side of it, right the other side of the Jets, in the Panthers and now being thrown to the Wolves and saying, you know what, this guy, maybe he's a bus he's no good. Goes to the forty nine er, see how a real organization's run. Then he comes here and he has his first real team and supporting casts around him. He has

Oh, I agree. The only downfall is that you know, you have a top Where do they take jj att ten ten?

Right?

You have a top ten pit, So you have a couple of down games. You know how the fans are. I mean, it's every team. That's the nature of the beast, theajure the beasts. So I think, yeah, I would, I hope they would look at it. I think what he's done has been amazing. I think, I be honest, I just I love seeing I love seeing under I like to see like the rejuvenation of people's clubs.

Right.

But I think the most important thing to look at too, and I always say this, when you got guys that are clearly good players, right, You'll see it when guys switch teams and they have a dramatic dip or something. It's usually coaching, right, you know, It's it's how your coaches can make a huge difference on how they manage you, right, and and how what what that stress level looks like. I mean again, you got you have an overbearant coach

Russell Wilson is a great exam guy, went to what eight Pro Bowls in the ten year span, won a Super Bowl, goes to Denver. Not in the great situation with the with Hackett in there is their new head coach. He gets fired by the end of the season. Sean Payton comes in. He's one of those guys control. It's his way. There's no in between, right, there's no middle. It's black and white, you know. And he didn't have a bad season last year, that's the crazy part about it.

But what if they won nine straight?

Yeah, you know, it's amazing how much environment and situation impact players.

And I don't think enough players look at that when when they're making decisions, right, I mean, it's understanding the environment you're going into is huge. Like so I can see Donald now depending on what New York that the Giants do, right, I mean, the ball is supposed to be this offensive genius guru, But who do they have? So if I'm Sam, I'm going to this year, you know, I look at a who's who's my who's my offensive staff?

Right? And then who's my supporting cast?

Like you know, just I don't know what did they do down in Tampa if they paid you know, Mayfield or not.

They get alien?

So yeah, I just don't know where where does he go?

Well, did the Vikings have any I mean, we're giving Donald all the power in the situation, but did the Vikings want to pay him thirty million? Thirty five million? Would they do that? Do you think?

No?

I think I think the way Quazi's is going to look at it, I mean I.

Think, like, do they want them back?

I mean I think you'd be dumb to say you don't want him back. I mean because I mean, look look at the success you have. I think any coach, any organization wants consistency. So if you have consistency, they obviously know what they have. But you know, they put JJ down.

For a reason.

Best thing for him, I think, best thing for Sam because it created no tension, no controversy. Right, So again, I think it all depends on where you end up. Where you end up in the playoffs. I mean, look

Yeah, and it's just been one of those unfortunate things for Caleb.

He's had his own growing pains.

He hasn't played well of times, but again he's got a supporting cast around him. They've got to get better on the offensive line, absolutely, But like you said, the North is and they're young Detroit, Minnesota, and then you got Chicago.

So I think I think the Vikings are in a situation where they absolutely would would take them back for the right circumstances. And you got a top ten pick that you can groom for two years. I mean you look at the success guys that have sat for a couple of years have had. Look at Aaron Rodgers, look at Jordan Love. I think you can there's probably a

Know, seventy something like that.

I mean, maybe it's worth it two years sixty, uh, just to kind of stop you up that and have some consistency going forward.

Yeah, because the North is tough.

So I think they do want him back, but I think it's but the Vikings, I think are in a great position because they can stay strong to the price that they have. They have they have the guy that they want in the in the in the future, and where's he going to go.

But that's the thing with JJ, You're you're also you have to make the decision based on the fact you're rolling the dice. JJ has not taken a snap in the NFL. He came from a program in Michigan under Jim hart Ball where they ran the football. Now, I'm not taking anything away from j. J. McCarthy because I watched him in person, and this dude's legit, Like, he makes plays, he can extend plays, he's got a great arm.

That's the problem, right, I don't think any I'll be honest, I didn't expect to be tended too.

I didn't expect them, you know.

I was like, man, if we could get to we if we have a five hundred, or if we're slightly here, I am, I'm like, we like I'm still a part of the organization. I just well, well my name's in the stadium, so I figured I could say we got away with it. Crazy is probably like you have zero pool shut up. So but I think I think if they can literally I viewed Donald's as a stop gap, right, but you can't because you know, if if we would have been five hundred, maybe even.

Into the playoffs wildcard. I mean still might be the wildcard.

But you know what I mean, if you're if you're okay, everybody'll be like, dang o' conlin's gonna be coach of the year.

If he's not, Flores might be coach of the year. What he's doing there, d.

Just killing it. So he might be gone. We'll see what happens there. But then you tell Donald, so it's like.

You can't, like, you're right, you know, if you're not in this position where you're literally fighting, you know, one of the league's best records, you can't go backwards.

He's also twenty seven, which helps to if you are thirty three, it would be a different story as well.

Well, right, you're coming off an Achilles, you're coming off that. So the Vikers were like, we can't, we can't do that, right, And so you you you find lightning and bottle of Sam Donald, I think you got to write it on as long as possible. But and again, I just I'm trying to think of all the teams throughout the league right now. I don't know where he goes to get a big payday that's going to give him the supporting cast Minnesota. So I'm with you. I take a pick cut.

Yeah, but you guys are smart and retired, right, Remember when you were twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, did you smart?

Right?

Exactly what it was?

It was, I need to make sure I can get paid, so I can because what you know, the average player plays for so long and injuries.

Yeah, but I think I think he's in a situation where, you know, he's definitely he's caught the eye of the of the entire league, right right, and there's gonna be there's gonna be unfair expectations put on him. And I think, like you said, he's got the unique privilege though, of knowing what the other end looks like.

Here.

I remember most young guys like myself, I mean, we were just you know, I come off leaving the league in sacks from getting paid. I will go anywhere over my handle dirt, you know, let me come. But at the end of the day too, I mean I had a chance to go to Tampa. It was between Tampa Minnesota, and Minnesota was a better fit for me based on who they had with with the D line, I mean Pat and Kevin Williams, you know, Ray Edwards. On the other side, you had Antonine w Field, like we had

You want to win.

But my career is not judged, but my winner lost record. Sam Donald's career will be a judge by his winner loss record, right, And so I think he's got to take that into accountability or take that into account when he's when he's looking at this and again, I mean, he knows what it's like to be on a crappy team with all the expectations riding on you.

And I understand what Bobby saying, he's.

A year if it's not.

Everybody looks at it like as a player, a lot of time, you're trying to capitalize and make the most money that you can because you know that tomorrow's not promised because of the injury rate. You also know that hey, when you fall out a favor, you have an up and down year or whatever, they're looking for the next best thing, and you're replaceable. Everybody in this league is replaceable.

We'll figure it out. Make sure he's guaranteed, Yeah, make sure. And that's what.

So many of these guys now, they're signing guaranteed deals, especially if you're coming to be the franchise guy, that there's guaranteed.

Now, it's not Wan Soto money really, but what is what it? Ever has been talking about this.

But he's only fifty million year. Patrick Mahomes making fifty million year.

It's seven hundred million over fifteen years.

Fifty is good.

Pat's making five hundred over ten.

Yeah. But yeah, he doesn't get hit, true, he just has to.

Hit and it's guaranteed that dude could break his leg tomorrow and.

Make That's what I'm saying.

Three quarters of a billion dollars.

Wild and the difference is so to think about baseball and this is the strong and I love baseball and grew up, but I don't love it as much because it's not as fun. There aren't as many stars, it doesn't have the room. But think of just go, yeah, he's a big star. Let's go the biggest Starlet's watch. Let's say you're watching baseball, though you only see Otani bat one out of every nine times.

He doesn't even play the field. But even imagine plays the field.

He may make four or five plays a game, so you're seeing him a total of like six minutes a game, the biggest star in baseball.

So and again, how is the He's coming back this year? Guys, he'll be on the mountain this year. If you yes, I mean that's what makes.

Him Baseball football different.

You're the quarterback.

You're and I'm just like a marketing and amount of being of being seen quarterback. You're seen all the time. So when you compare my homes, you're like, but he makes it. But he is on camera at least sixty five percent of the entire broad in telecast. Right, yeah, so and sodo is not so true.

He comes about one of nine times gets a ball hit to him occasion.

Are they even on network television anymore? Once a week on Apple?

It's like the hard broadcast to find All right, we have one question each and we'll wrap this up.

I'll go first.

You ever have to hide an injury while you play so they don't take advantage of it.

Not so they won't take advantage of it, so you don't get a non football related injury.

I tore my peck. Most of my injuries came from doing dumb stuff.

Oh you didn't want the team to know.

Oh yeah, so I tore my peck. My right it's still torn. I never fixed it. I tore my right peck wakeboarding, and I was literally just like a couple of weeks before OTA's started and I was out wakeboarding screwing around dragging my arm in the water, and it caught.

I just freaking ripped it.

So I was like, oh dude, my whole arm was just beat just purple from my chest down to my arm. And so I iced it for like ten days, got it, got got through tas, and I never do anything. So they probably wondered why why Jersey It was bad as a mini camp actually, so I put my put my shoulder harness on because I had an acy joint issue before.

So I went out there, came back in after practice. I was like, ah, show you know. I think I tweaked my.

Pack a little bit. Man. He was like, document was like, tweaked it.

He's like, your peck is completely torn. I was like, so what what is that? What are we doing here? And he's like surgery is only cosmetic, Like what's your pain tolerance? Can you operate? I played the right side, so I went in my left side of the body. I was like, well, I'm good. How did you do it?

I was like, clearly, I was like other day, but this happened. Oh.

The other one was deer hunting. I fell. I was, I was Kansas City.

I still have the scar on my even rookie, You're sitting here and we get ready to play uh Indianapolis and I was out. I shot too deer and uh I did I SHO had three tags? I shot three. I didn't want to say. I felt like three was like three was like O noxious to say. But anyways, I felt all my tags, let's put it that way. So I'm dragging them back and are on the other side. Of the barber our fence.

I come over.

As I'm climbing over the fence, the little d ring on the barber on the on the post snaps right, and I got a barb stuck into my uh nether regions, so to speak, right into my I'm like, oh, crap in my fermal artery, right, So.

How do you blame that on? Mini? Can no come up with something?

I get the bar about right, I get these deer processed and everything, and I get my buddy and I'm.

Like, I'm like, man, I'm like covered in blood.

I don't know the world is blood's coming from deer? And that was that big of a deal. And I looked down at my hand is completely filayed back, I'll see the tendons of my thumb.

So I called my buddy was farm I want I'm like, I gotta get to a doctor, like.

Low key sorry, no, no, Joey, I think you took me to the vet, all right, it took me.

I was a small town of freaking Kansas city or up and sorry up in northern Kansas or up northern Missouri like Gallas of Missouri area.

And I'm in a small.

Town getting in there washing out and give me some pills because I got deer blood just mixed with my blood. And it was like, here, take this so you don't get limes and seas. I'm all right, stitch me. I think I had like thirty five or twenty five stitching or something like that, and I might So.

I go into the U, go into the training room. Next day, I'm like hey, but I was like, I need a I need a pad for my hand.

Why.

He was like why as the end of my truck last night, I slept on the running boards and uh went to grab the door, sliced my hand open, just went down to hear the carriage stitching up, like that's not min I just looked at me and he was like that story going with.

I said, well, I'm going you see my contract. There's a lot of red.

Pad right there, just too uh and I'm four backs the balls that game?

What the hell?

That?

So? Yeah?

Nothing never to hide, you know. I felt like if I'm on the if I'm on the field, like I'm able to play.

I played through torn MCL's a C joints, broken foot.

I played the Super Roll with a broken foot, busted L five in my back. I was fine, so kind kind.

Of way it is.

Yeah, I don't think I've had anything where I'm jumping over Barbara fences or doing anything like that.

I mean hiding injury. The only time is when I.

Thought I was going into a contract here and I knew that it was gonna like I sublux my kneecap coming from the Patriots and my knee was super swollen.

But I knew I got traded to Kansas City.

Hey, speaking of pay day, I'm going yes, So so I was like, gosh, I mean this thing was swollen like this, I'm supposed to go there that week, and I was like I was icing it, taking all the anti inflammatories, doing all that stuff. And I get in and they take, you know, all the X rays and the MRIs to make sure that you're healthy enough.

Like well, your knee, there's something going on with your knee hair. I was like, no, I feel good, right, like.

Obviously no, Seriously, They're like, yeah, it's pretty messed up, like they might need to do something to it. And I was like, no, I'm good, Seriously, I feel great. I played the later, yeah, and I passed the physical somehow some way, and like we're good.

To go. I was like, yes, let's go.

But it's a scary thought because especially when it's going to impact you. You're set up to go, you know, financially, make your pay day or whatever you might do, or even make the team next year. Because you get hurt and you go into an offseason, you've got an injury that is going to be long lasting.

You don't want to go and have surgery. Like I tore my bicep. Tended. There's a hole right there.

I know it looks swooll, but it's actually the bicep rolled down in there, and they said you can reattach it. I was like, how long is that gonna take? Like four or five months? I was like, no chance. They're like, do I need it? They're like, no, you just might use it, lose a little bit of velocity early on and all that stuff. And I was like, fine, not gonna worry about it, because when you're I'm not playing.

Wally pip.

I mean, that's the legendary Wally right. Yeah, lost his job because he got hurt.

Will they say, no one loses their job to injury. That's unless you drew bloodsone. That's true, so true, I mean that's not I mean, it is.

True that way.

I you know, I think most most great players feel like or even competitive players.

Guys that are on the field feel like, if I'm seventy.

Percent, I'm going I'm better than the guy you know behind me, and this is a distract the guy behind me. You just feel, that's just minds that you have to have. So yeah, I mean, and then if we have injury reports.

Too, so it's not like you can really hide injuries because you get caught hiding an injury.

EI.

There's draft picks, you know, there's all sorts.

Of punishment, you know, yeah, things Now they actually throw people on injury reports that don't even hurt.

Right, They'll check you to put everybody on it. Brady was on it. Brady was on it for like ten years straight with his shoulder. You have a shoulder issue. We have only created a segment earlier, we didn't know.

We call it the uh the text flex were he was gonna text Coach Belichick rafter here and be like congrats on the North Carolina job.

And so I decided to flex a text.

Dan Landing to text me today from Oregon, which I was like, off flesh break, So flex a text. Who's somebody you got a text from recently that we think would be super cool?

Nobody? Now come on, you got I don't.

I don't hang out in those circles.

I don't hang out with Landing out he's in an Oregon, Yeah, just to say what up?

Just to be like, yeah, that's uh, you need to get out of your little bubble, you know what you know?

Uh?

Kid Rock's brother texted me the other day to say, you know, he was watching.

Bob's brother Billy text me, honestly, I don't hang out in those circles.

Well, how about how about we don't hang out with the people either.

It's just like it was cool that did send you a text at all in the past A couple of weeks, A couple of weeks, let's go month, year, year, career.

No, so well last month or two, I guess Dan Smiers.

Okay, that's good.

Yeah, just because that's you.

Guys will know that's that's not to say what's up just.

Because they's my old neighbors.

Yeah, check it out.

So that they were coming over, I haven't talked to you, like six months of coming over about it.

I'm like, okay, perfect, we appreciate you coming on.

Oh my pleasure.

Yeah. This was actually brought Matt's tex. Matt was like, hey, you want to do the podcast with me about right there? Yeah? Boy?

Yeah, And then I get to meet Bobby BoA's on the radio all the time.

You know, we have mutual friends that love you. They're like, Jared is the best. So they lie Ali, but they weren't the time. They they're right on. So we really appreciate you coming by. And I won't even say it again, but I felt a little weird, and I don't want this to be weird as you walk out. But as you walk past the door, I was the youngest member ever in the Radio Hall of Fame.

You'll see that up there.

I don't want you to take that and like feel that as you walk. It's right, it's a big picture, says Hall of that's right, youngest person ever in it.

But it's not. I don't want you to feel anything about it.

I won't see that's that should be the flex Like, how do I how do I set down my guests and make them have an accomplishment?

Send me to pet for you, That's what I'm saying. I was shooting for the oldest guy.

Yeah, yeah, right, I will lobby those folks like they have never been lobbying.

And next up, fifteen times finalist, all right, walking in like, hey, thank you.

There's some of that.

But I mean there are some of those guys that switch over to the legend side. That's why I'm like, I like the way the baseball. This last thing I'll say about the last I like the way the baseball does it because I think, to me, it's very transparent. You're on there, they'll hake as many players, and you get seventy percent of the vote.

You should get in.

You can have one hundred in the class, you can have none in the class. Right, it's just there.

It is.

You need a percentage of the vote.

Yep.

And that's riders. I mean, riders are pretty dumb now. But I do like how I like the voter of the NFL Hall of Fame better generally speaking than I do the baseball. Yeah, because baseball you can just like Barry Boscas doesn't mean to you once as a writer and you're like, I'm never writing around Yeah, I mean literally so, but I agree.

I think that should be like that.

There's still a lot of rioters for the NFL, but it's not all.

No, it's not all. I do wish there was, and I know there's a couple like Hall of Fame. I wish they kind of would would segment it like you know, have like a you have a writer's vote, but you have you should have a coaches and GM vote, right, and then I think the people in the Hall should have a say. It doesn't have it doesn't have to weigh the same thing. But most of the time players

I don't care how big of a prick t O is or was whatever.

I don't know. The guy.

Dude was a monster on the fields. All that matters. He should have been the whole thame years before he was.

I appreciate you, buddy, thank you for coming.

By God, And that's a rat for our third episode ever.

In the whole wide world.

Thank you guys so much for listening. If you do not mind and you would like, good luck, share this on your stories, on your Instagram stories, say hey, everybody, listen to Lots to Say these you guys don't have a chance. We'd appreciate that very much. Lots to Say is a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcasts. Kick

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Lots to Say with Bobby Blas and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.