You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio.
Hall of Famer Charles Barkley Turners Sports Inside the NBA analyst back on the program. How are you feeling?
I'm great, brother, happy, Hanukah, Merry Christmas, all that good stuff.
Did you make any money in Vegas?
I want a little bit. I had a great trip. I didn't lose money, but I want a little bit, so it was good.
What is your game?
I played blackjack?
How much pert hand?
Twenty five thousand?
Okay?
And how many hands do you have in front of you?
I played one hand unless I want to break up the deck and I play two.
Okay.
You don't get like, could you just do one hundred dollars and be happy?
Hell no, hell no, no. I could not be happy. I'd be unhappy.
Okay. So we've been talking about the NBA. The commissioner's talking about the NBA. Seems like he's okay, ratings are declining a little bit. You got the NBA Cup. I don't know what that did for the interest of the game. I don't know. We start to look at this and I'm wondering, does the NBA have to do something like Major League baseball's doing things where they got the bases bigger. Where I mean that commissioner is trying to do different things.
Should Adam Silver be looking at that same model.
I think we have to do something. You know, Dan, last time I was on your show, you asked me a great couse and you said, is it load management or just two minuty threes? And I said, it's really a combination of both. And you know, anytime old guys like I said something, we're hating on the young guys. But I watched the Warriors. I was in the sportsbook all day Sunday, ME and the guys got up and watched football all day. And in one of the games
I watched the Warriors play. The Warriors played the Mavericks. It's one of the worst games I've seen. They just I think it was one forty one thirty. They just went up and down the court and shot threes like and I was like, man, this is awful to watch if you're just gonna have a three point shooting contest every night. So I think we got to figure out something because the most important thing of the game is the fans, and if they're not watching, you can't keep
your head in the sand. You guys say, what are we doing wrong? And like I say, it's frustrated for me because all it is now for three point shooting contests and a free throw contest. Uh, And I don't like it.
Uh.
And you know, like I said, they can get mad, but I don't want to go see a three point shooting tests every night. That ain't no fun.
What if we capped the number of threes that you can take? Each team gets twenty five attempts, you know.
I mean, I'm open for any suggestion. I mean, but like I say, we don't have to do something. I mean, ratings are down, down, down, And that's like I said that fans are the most important aspects of the game. We need the fans to be successful. You know, it's like it's like the All Star Game with throwing just stuff at the wall. We got a new model this.
Year, and what do you think of that model?
Well, I want to do anything to help the game.
Dan.
I saw Kevin Durant rip the new format. Dan, I don't know what you do because what we've done in the last X amount of years is not working. It's not fun. So I've always suggested we do the United States against the world. I think that would be fantastic.
I do.
I think it'd be fantastic. I don't know how this thing gonna turn out this year, but listen, let's be honest with what we're doing. What we've done the last few years is not working, playing and simple.
And it used to be that we kind of christened the NBA season at Christmas, that's when the season started. Just the fact that that seemed to be the logic is flawed, Like you don't really get excited about a game in October November, it's like, wait till Christmas Day. Well, now, the NFL just came in and said, hey, we're going to take over Christmas from you, NBA, and that's difficult. That's tough for them because it felt like they owned that day.
I've you know, the best ratings we've ever had. What a year we got. It went on strike Dan and started on Christmas. I think we need to said the seriously considered starting at Christmas because you get caught because listen, you're wasting your time going up against the NFL and college football. They own the weekends now. But if I think if we started at Christmas, we'd have all the calendar.
There's no other sports. I mean that we'd have to compete with and we started at Christmas, college football would be over. Pro football is winding down. We have the entire calendar late December, January, February, March, April, May, June. To ourself, I think it's something we need to really consider playing and simple because listen, NFL's King Kong and
you know in their greedy pigs. You know, first of all, I think what they're doing now is going to come back to bottomin Ass because to meet the kandisdatey Chief Chiefs played three games in like ten days. That's just stupid. I mean, you got Patch and Travis and Chris Jones, you got those guys. Like to make those guys play three games at ten days just because it's popular and you sold it to different networks, that's first of all,
it's not safe. It's kind of the same way. In my opinion, I'm really excited about this college football playoff, but I think it's very dangerous. You can't play as eighteen year old nineteen year old kids to play twelve thirteen regular season games then play four more games in the playoffs. I mean because ninety nine percent of those kids gonna have CTE or gonna hurt their bodies and
they're never going to the NFL. They've got to shorten this season because, like I said, the teams that win this playoffs gonna play four more games than it used to be two if you won a championship. But now if you're gonna play four extra games, the goal, especially if you're in a comference like the Big Ten or the SEC where you play so many tough games. I'm really concerned about those kids' bodies and brains.
Yeah, but I don't know if college football really cares. They're now kind of paid.
Nobody cares. They're making so much.
They're adding an eighteenth game in the NFL. Everybody soils the money. Yes, and that's what these players are gonna get in college. There's gonna be revenue sharing. They'll get more money with this, and they'll sign up for this. And you said, hey, the NBA should start on Christmas Day, Well you have these playoff games. Now this weekend college
football starts their playoffs. They're gonna what they would wipe away the NBA on Christmas Day because these games now matter, and you're gonna have your bowl season going into January. Then the NFL has playoffs. The NBA will get left behind if.
But it'll be a short, little lead behind. And first of all, listen, let's let's kill these other balls. Let's stop these come on, man, Like, if you're gonna have the playoffs, you don't need other.
Balls now, Yes, Charles, this is because ESPN needs programming, That's all this is.
I understand that. But why don't they show NBA games on those days? And listen, man, and listen. I'm against I'm fundamentally against guys bowing out of bowl games. But if your bowl game means absolutely nothing, there's no reason for you to play in a meaningless bowl game. If you don't make the playoffs, why would you play in a bowl game? Doesn't make zero sense to me? Whatsoever?
Are you betting on the bowl games this weekend?
Yeah? Probably? Of course.
Who do you like any upsets here?
What name a game?
Tennessee, Ohio State?
Oh?
I love Ohio State?
Notre Dame, Indiana?
Hey, but them idiots? I had them plus nineteen and a half. Man, I was I was throwing stuff at my TV. I was like, because you knew what It was really scary about that game. You knew in the first half they're not gonna win by three touchdowns, and I was so pissed. So I'm on bet on Ohio State one more time. Who else?
Notre Dame, Indiana.
I love Notre Dame. I know coach Sinnetti has had a great season, but I want to meet Marcus Freeman. I've never met him, and Notre Dame's on my bucket list. Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan. There are three stadiums that on my bucket list. But I want to meet Marcus Freeman. But I know the Dame's gonna win that game.
SMU, Penn State.
They're not gonna win a happy Valley. Dan, please stop they coach lastly, I got a chance to meet him one time. I'm a big fan of him. In the year he's had, him and coach Dillingham have been fantastic at ASU. They've done a fantastic job this year. But SMU is not gonna win a happy Valley.
Clemson Texas, now that.
Is a really good game. Probably gonna go with Texas because they're playing at home. Uh, but listen, whether you hate it or not, they got some they got some good playoff games. So the committee, you know, I don't think anybody had a grip. I don't think anybody had a real gripe this year. I know Alabama think they had a gripe. Uh they did not.
Uh.
South Carolina probably had a better grape. They're probably the hottest team in the country right now. Uh. But no, I mean these you know, they got some serious big schools. I mean, when you get Notre Dame, Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas, when you get all these big schools, I mean, obviously Georgia, Oregon, it's fantastic. So if you like college football, which I love football in general, you got great powerhouses.
Talking to Charles Barky, Hall of Famer Turner Sports Inside the NBA analyst, is your contract pushed over to ESPN's from Turner? Is that official?
I haven't decided yet.
How about we decide now.
I'm listening to NBC and Amazon. I want to know everything that's on the table for me before I sign in. I mean, I love those guys at the ESPN, and if we end up there, you know, I'm gonna do the best I possibly can. But I want to know First of all, they haven't even given us any type
of schedule whatsoever. But I be doing myself for disservice, not to meet with NBC, which I have, and meet with Amazon, which I have, And the number one thing I've told everybody, can y'all please give me a damn schedule? I mean, because nobody knows anything. Dan, I mean, like at least the TNT, I always knew day this is our schedule, neither not not one of the three networks. And like I said, I love ESPN. I got nothing to gain, but I want to know how much I'm gonna be working.
Oh or I mean, you're gonna think working a lot more than you think you're gonna be working. I think, well, no, you think I used to work there. I used to work there. I know what they do well, and.
I know what y'all's do. Y'alls is not gonna be They're not gonna works like no damn dog no. So so so seriously. Uh, like I said, I got a number of love and respect for ESPN.
Uh.
Well, like I said, but I'm taking my time with NBC and Amazon. I I wanted in writing, Yes, how much do y'all think I'm going to work because TNT is a perfect place to work.
Are you gonna work two nights a week?
We don't even know anything?
No, but what do you? You can tell them what you want to do.
Well, I want to know what they're expecting. Are we gonna have the same schedule? Are we gonna have to do ABC, ESPN and TNT because tn T? I think they originally wanted to keep doing something. So I'm not gonna be doing both and then and I'm not gonna be doing ABC, ESPN and tn T. That's not gonna happen. Like I say, if we go to ESPN, I got a number of love and respect for those guys, but I'm not gonna do ABC, ESPN and t n T.
So I took my time meeting with the other two networks. Amen, And I don't want to hear y'all talk to me. I want to know. I want it in writing. I wanted in writing. How much were it gonna work?
What was this silly free throw shooting contest that Kenny shoots left handed and Steven A. Smith gets to shoot right?
What do you do well? Kenny who wrote a check his ass couldn't cash and he tried to cover it by in case stephen A beat him shooting left handed and he lost, and that's it. But you know stephen A does, he does a good job. I'll at the mothership and uh we got Like I say, man, I wish somebody would give me some clarity.
Then wait, go back to the free throw shooting. If Kenny shot straight up against steven A, Kenny was an eighty three percent free throw shooter.
Yeah that was thirty years ago.
You don't think Ken, You never come on, I can go out make eight out of ten right now?
You can?
Hell, yes, bet charity, charity? What do you want to bet?
I bet your charity. You set it up. I'll come somewhere. I'll donate twenty five thousand dollars to your favorite charity.
You don't think I can make that eight out of ten free throws?
No I don't. Oh my god, I just said twenty five thousand dollars to your favorite charity. You'll be gagging out there. You'll be like talking like a dog.
I know I'm a better free throw shooter than you are. You Dan, you shot seventy three percent for your career. That's embarrassing. Yeah, that's not good no, damn.
Yeah, you act like you're thirty five years old. You old.
It's fifteen feet Dan, you're old. I know sixty eight.
You're seventy years old.
Do you know? Bird Bird could still make nine out of ten free throws right now, and Bird is old.
I'll bet him he can't make it again, Land Bird, I love Ladi Bird. He can't make nine out of ten right now? This ain't this ain't to eight.
Is a ninety Oh my god. It's just riding a bike. That's all it is. That's riding a bike. Okay, go back to the TV thing. Were you going to say something like getting some headlines here I scheduled. Did I interrupt you?
No?
Then then I want.
To use wag the dog. You wag the dog. You got to two nights that you'll work. That's him, you wag the dog. I mean load management. You you can be the Kawhi Leonard of TV analyst and you do load management.
What I'm gonna do what's best for the I've always did what's the best for the network. And if you go back and look at my history when TNTN T you are t thank you for the count. But think about this, Dan, anything tn T has asked me to do. They're like, hey, what you do college basketball? I'm like, what a hept team. I'm like, sure, I'll do it. Didn't get any money for it. They said, hey, Chuck, what you earned to do a podcast. I'm like, what a hepty team, Let's do a podcast. I ain't a
fan of money. They said, hey, what you start doing these matches. I'm like, what a hefty team. Sure, let's do it. I've never asked them for an extra dime for doing extra stuff. But if they traded, well we got traded to another network. I want to know exactly what's going on, because, like I say, I'm not gonna be doing five shows. I'm not gonna be working four days a week or any network, either NBC or Amazon.
That's not gonna happen. I'm gonna sit my fat black ass at home if it comes down, if they start telling if they, like I said, Dan, we work one day a week. I love our job, I love the people I work for. I'm not gonna go working one day a week to four days a week. That's not gonna happen. Now, when I go to two, I probably could go to two. But if people think that I'm gonna work three or four days a week, They're freaking nuts.
Way you're gonna have to do college game day, There'll be a basketball show, there's gonna be a radio show. You're gonna have to be on Greenies Radio, Like, hey, first Take, First Take, You'll have to be on first Take.
Let me tell you something. When you face time me, then it'll be from Arizona. It won't be from anywhere else. If people think I'm gonna work on all this stuff, that's not gonna happen. Dan, You have my word on that I'm not gonna be working all the time. Every time we do this a going forward, every time you face time me, I'm gonna be at my backyard in Arizona, on my on my pudt and green at the tennis court. I'm not gonna be working all the time. Dan, That's
not gonna happen. Man to man, Dad, you know I got a lot of love and respect for you. The notion that I'm gonna work all the time, that's not it's gonna happen.
Oh no, No, I'm just telling you, and I'm telling you, Okay, I'm telling you.
You can tell me and I first of all, you are correct, and I'm telling you that's not gonna happen.
Okay, all right, I hope that it doesn't happen, so you have Hey listen, why are you yelling at me?
Hey listen, Barack Obama, we don't have to keep hope alive. I am not gonna be working all the time.
Damn.
Okay, all right, on why you're yelling. I'm on your side.
But because you you think that they gonna just hey, we're gonna work you all time. No you're not. No, you're not. That's not gonna happen.
Okay, all right, Okay. I said the same thing to uh Jason Kelsey. I said, just protect yourself because there's so many different programs platforms that they have to have people on. And that's that's the only thing I would say, quality alike, And hey listen.
And I you know, first of all, I love Jason Kelsey. He is so such a wonderful dude. And uh, I gotta and I got to get back to him because he's doing a talk show.
Now oh yeah, oh yeah, Friday night. So I think they got like, you know, he's gonna be a late night Jimmy fallon type guy.
Well, because I he asked me to be on the show, I got to get back to him because I'm gonna try to make it work because I got a lot of love and respect for him.
I think you should go out there in your Philadelphia seventy six ers uniform that you had when you play.
You talk about skin tight back in the that was hot, but I would look so bad. You talk about skin tight in the eighties, it ski skin tight tight.
Now I could actually see Larry's birds through his uniform.
They would be so bad right now there.
John Stockton, How about John Stockton with the short shorts?
Oh yeah, they they'd be really short shorts if I tried to put on shorts.
Larry, good to talk to you.
Thanks you ay, all right, Brother Mary Christies, Merry Christmas and happy HONUKUAP to everybody. Bless y'all.
All right, that's Charles Barkley.
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He's Kevin O'Connell, third years, the Vikings head coach and a former backup NFL quarterback. What did you keep from your days as a backup quarterback?
What did I keep?
Yeah, Jersey, you know.
Some tough memories of uh you know, anytime it was windy or rainy and I couldn't throw the football.
But uh uh no, I I I've got, I've got, I've got everything. My wife would probably tell you that I keep too much stuff.
I got jerseys, I I uh you know, I got a pair of Ladanian Tomlinson's cleats from when my locker was next to him at uh you know, his uh my last year with the Jets.
Wait, did you ask him for those or did you take those?
I can't recall. Let's let's not go there this morning. Actually no, I did. I did ask him.
I did ask he might be one or he might be one of the most underrated players of all time.
Totally agree.
I mean his stats are crazy. I went over those two days ago. I was just looking and I go, gosh, he's not meant when we talked great running backs of all time, He's one of those we got to come back to and go, oh, yeah, you're right. LT was great.
No, there's no doubt and how he did it too. I mean there were some games he was thirty plus carries. There was other games he had ten plus catches. I mean, super super impactful.
You wouldn't have got your chance if Brady didn't get hurt that year.
It was you know, it was actually you know when it happened, that was back.
That was back kind of you know before some of the rules that we have now with the you know where you have to clearly define who the third quarterback is.
So you know, there was there was a moment in that in that when when Tom went down where Matt Castle and I weren't sure who was going in the game, and then Matt went out there and and you know we were if I if I were all correctly, there was a moment early there where we were backed up and he threw Randy Moss a big completion from you know, standing in the shadows of his own goalpost, and uh, he the rest was history from there. He he had
an unbelievable year. That was a that was a really interesting year because you know, you're you go to New England, you think you're gonna be watching the greatest quarterback of all time. Uh, you know, go to work every week and then something catastrophic like that happens, and then just to be there side by side through that with Matt and and and Matt and I became really close and watch him go through it, and he was so prepared for the moment, had been there for a pretty good chunk of.
Years kind of just learning and growing and developing.
And then watch him go out and extecute every week and shoot, we won if I don't if I recall, right, I think we won eleven games and didn't make the playoffs.
It was it was kind of a one of one thing.
Do you do the nobody believes us type speech?
Well, you know it was to me at the beginning of the year.
Dan, it was easy to say to give that speech because that would have been accurate at the time, you know.
But I did have a.
Feeling about this team, even going back into the offseason. New editions arrive and you're kind of just seeing the team come together, and it seemed like every few days. I remember vividly a conversation I had with Harrison Smith second or third day of training camp, and I just kind of walked up to him and we were talking and kind of assessing.
You know.
It was during special teams, and I said, Harry, I think we'd be pretty good, and he's like, I think so too, and and we kind of just kept on having good days. And my whole focus was just it really wasn't about you know, motivating from a standpoint of, hey, nobody's talking about us or the wind projections or anything like that.
I didn't get into all that.
It was just trying to get these guys to truly see if we can maximize every day. And it's it's it can be a cliche if you're you know, if you're if you're not authentically believing it that that's the
most important thing for this team this year. But I truly did feel between our you know, having a new quarterback and and and just you know, so many new faces on the defense and flow kind of bringing that group together every single day, we had to maximize the time we had and if we didn't, you know, I didn't necessarily think we would reach our potential or you know, as early as we needed to to have the kind of impact to get the confidence going to start really believing.
And we were able to rip off five in a row to start.
The season, and we you know, I tell our team this sometimes because I want them to remember it, especially the totality of our roster. But we won all three preseason games, Dan, I'd never won a preseason game before, so that was you know, I was hoping that wouldn't
be the marquee moment of the year for us. But you know, outside of losing two games in five days by two to Detroit and and then going out playing Seawan and the Rams on the road on a short week, this team hasn't hasn't lost outside in the other you know, fifteen total opportunities. So proud of what we are, but means absolutely nothing. Got a heck of a challenge this
wee going to Seattle. Mike McDonald's got a you know, that's that's a tough watch on tape for an opposing team because he's he's doing some really good things on offense, defense, and special teams.
Kevin O'Connell, who I think is going to win the Coach of the Year, I don't does that matter to you?
I you know, I'm lucky I don't have a vote because there's a lot of really good coaches in our league.
Man, who would you.
Vote for for Coach of the Year? If you can vote for yourself.
I can't envision a scenario like that, but if I can't vote for myself, I would probably say, you know, I think Dan Campbell in our division coaching against him. You know, that team is always really well prepared, tough. They've they've truly taken on the persona of their head coach, which I think is.
You know what what.
Means, what means the most in this position, having done it now for three years. I think Mike Tomlin would be there's nobody I respect more than Mike Tomlin and and what he has consistently done his whole career. And I just love anytime I get a chance to be around him. He you know, I always take something from it and and just love, love, love him. But I would say probably one of those two guys can't can't
sleep on Dan Quinn either. That's I know that's that's been a heck of a year for them as well.
Take me back to when you were offensive coordinated with the Rams so like Cooper Cup's year, How crazy was that? And and if you're calling plays, it seems like had to be pretty easy if you're calling plays with with Matthew Stafford playing as well, and Cooper Cup having the Triple Crown year.
Well, I think what people don't give Cooper enough credit for is the position he plays in that offense. He you know, he made everyone remembers the third down catches and and Matthew hitting him, you know, on on a you know, a huge play against the Niners to kind of kind of break a game open when we had to have it, or the Tampa Bay fourth down throw down the middle in the playoffs, you know, or two minute throw, I should say.
But what they don't see is when he's such.
An integral, integral part of the run game and the physicality and the toll that takes, you know, and and the jobs he's willing to do the football intelligence. So it was I mean watching him, you know, I used to say there should be a fourth column that year he won the Triple Crown, you know, pancake blocks and you know amount of times he had to block a defensive end or a linebacker.
And if there was that, I think people would recognize that year even more than what they did in the moment.
And just watching him and Matthew Stafford was one of the one of the kind of highlights of my career honestly, Dan, because you know, in the mornings, these two guys are are meeting as if they're almost coaches and really talking about the nuances of things that and I remember I would just sometimes just you know, get a conversation started or be present for one that they were having and just kind of sit back and recognize how one of won that situation was because of where both those guys
were at their careers, but also just the football intelligence of two human beings that can play the game at a high level. But some of the things they talked about were so beyond football five oh one. It was you know, you know, sometimes I would sit there and just hope they didn't call on me to answer a question.
What's your role with Sam Darnold.
I think my role with him is just I try to I try to not you know, be so heavily involved, because I think Josh McCown and Grant Udinsky in that room, we've got a really good kind of support system directly for him in that room.
What I try to really be is, you know, really three things.
Is the play caller given him as much play intent of what I'm thinking, so I can eliminate any Gray. I think one of the big things I've always thought a quarterback needs to know is that I'm not going to be standing or sitting in the room on Monday morning holding the clicker and say, hey, why didn't you do this? Hey, this guy's open, why didn't you throw that?
Like?
What I try to say is give clear, concise, Hey, this is what we're trying to get done.
If that doesn't happen, if I give you a.
Bad play, like, here's what I want you to do with it, here's here's where you know your your outlet or your checkdowns are going to be.
And let's live to fight another down.
Let's not try to You don't need to be Superman for for us here, although I do think he's made some superman esque throws this year with the talent he has and his ability to throw it.
And that's what I'm, you know, most trying to do on a one on one level.
And then there's the element of how we're going to manage the game together, because I do think the benefit of being the play caller and the head coaches a lot of times, you know, I can, I can, I can kind of help the management overall when we're gonna be ultra aggressive when we're going to be, you know, kind of in a mode of Hey, our defense is playing great, I'm gonna give you this play call, but let's make sure we ensure three points or let's make
sure that no matter what, we end this possession with or end this down with possession of the football, because if the way our defense is playing, if we don't do things to lose the game right now, we got a great chance to win it. And there's just a lot of times in the game where that can get away from you if you don't have that direct line of communication with the quarterbacks.
So I know those are probably the two things.
And and then just you know, overall, just you know, just how we put it all together.
Just making sure that he's an extension of me out there.
And I feel really good about Sam dunfinal job Dan, he really has.
I'll leave you with this. If every current NFL head coach took part in a passing contest, who.
I know, there'd be probably thirty two participants, But I don't know if we would classify all thirty two as passers of the football.
Hard ball you know thinks that he could win.
This No doubt. He's probably got cleats on as.
We speak in bed, and he.
He probably you know, I know for a fact I've seen him. He still throws it, probably as well as anybody. But I wouldn't sleep on on Cliff there in Washington. I know, you know, he would qualify as a coordinator currently, but I know he he thinks he's not eligible.
keV.
He's not eligible, he's not.
Well, then I'm putting myself in there. You got Zach Taylor, Sean Payton. Can he still throw throw it?
I don't know, I don't know.
Probably, But and don't sleep on the McVeigh lafleur.
You know, Kyle's a former receiver. But all those guys, they all think they can throw it.
Andy Reid won the punt passing kick contest when he was thirteen years of age.
It all makes sense now.
Of course.
Good luck with the game against Seattle. Great to talk to you and congrats.
Yeah.
I always appreciate you, Dan, I really do. Thank you for having me on.
Thank you about that's Kevin O'Connell, who I think right now would be the leading candidate for Coach of the Year.
Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio w APP.
JJ Watt, future Hall of famer, works with the NFL today on CBS, and he's working Christmas Day Chief Steelers game on Netflix one Eastern with Iron Eagle handling play by play color duties. There. So, how many times? How many games have you done as an analyst at a game.
I've called an actual game broadcasting wise live? Obviously I've done the studio and everything, and we practice together, but first one very much looking.
Forward to it.
Okay, what advice have you been given?
I think mostly it's be yourself. It's share your experiences, but also don't overdo it. For me personally, I've just this year watched games much closer, and I've just seen what I like when I don't like, And for me personally, I love it when the announcer watches the game like a fan and talks like a fan, but then subtly interjects here and there the knowledge and experience they have. But I don't want to be overly technical. I don't want to lose people with football jargon. I want to
kind of enjoy the game. The same way the fan does.
That's great advice and you're not asking for it, but I'll give it to you anyways, get those fifteen second moments where you analyze something and then get out of the way. For Irony Eagle, because it's really the most important thing is he's able to do the play by play. Your color commentary is needed, but you still have to give him that time to bring it back and say, you know, third and tent, you know for the Texans
or whatever it might be. But being able to compartmentalize something, say what you want to say for fifteen seconds and then get out of the way. That's an art And absolutely.
Yeah, he's the best.
I love.
I'm very very much looking forward to We had Nate Berlissa in the booth too, so it's it's going to be a lot of fun. I've I went and watched the Cardinals Bears game with Ian and Charles, so I got to sit there and just watch them work and see how they work together. And we've been we've been buddies for a while, so it's been great.
When's the last time you gave advice to your brother?
Yesterday about we were talking about his ankle and we were talking about just the recovery and all that. We talk every single day, so we we talk about the game, we talk about life, we talk about injuries, everything he's playing.
Yes, what advice do you give him a playing through a high ankle sprain.
I mean, it's much more about the preparation everything during the week and getting yourself to game day than it is on game day.
On game day, you kind of let the adrenaline take over.
I mean, there may be a couple things here and there you can do differently, but once the game starts, if.
You're thinking about your ankle, you're not going to have a good day.
So I'd rather him not think about it than be out there trying to think, Okay, if I do this move, it's not good for me.
That's no good.
The difference between pain and an injury.
I mean, especially with an ankle like things like this. I mean, a sprain is literally an injury. It's just been it's painful. But there's just different levels that you can play through. I agree with you, and I know the old school thing, like there's guys that can play through pain, and then there's legitimate injuries that you can't play through.
But there is a degree of difference. And I also think.
That depending on the team and depending on where you are on the standings and if you're in the playoff hunt or not, I think the willingness to play through either one is different for every guy.
Well just look at the lines with David Montgomery and Aiden Hutchinson. They're like, hey, we're Montgomery's going to hold off surgery just in case, you know, they go far in the playoffs. I mean that mentality and these games mean something too, so that you know they're extra motivation.
Yeah, yeah, And I mean I think there's that old school mentality as well, like let's just figure it out. I mean, there's been plenty of times in my career where they're giving you a decision. They're like, you can get this fixed now and you're going to be out, or you can hold off until the offseason, or maybe it gets better over time. But most of the time competitors are pushing it off until whenever.
Maybe I should have not pushed it off a few more times.
Well, I was wondering. You know, you look back on that you played through a lot of gruesome injuries there. If you had to do it again, could you have done it differently.
Yeah, it's more about the recovery from the injuries than it was the actual injuries.
I think twenty twenty.
Fifteen was the year that I was by far the most banged up and just crazy amount of stuff. So after the season we had to fix a lot. But it's the recovery process that I wish I would have done differently. I always wanted to be the fastest back from recovery. I always wanted to be back on the field quickly. I wanted to show my teammates, the fans, everybody, I'm doing whatever.
I can to get back out there.
And there's probably a few times that I didn't let the whole process play out before going back out there, which I should.
Playing in snow how much of an e.
For a pass rusher, Yeah.
Not fun for a pass rusher at all, because that's your whole advantage is edges, corners turning grip, and you just literally lose all of that.
So very very frustrating.
Okay, how does an advantage? How does an offensive lineman take advantage of that? Or a quarterback take advantage of you trying to rush in the snow?
Yeah, I mean in theory, you should have significantly more time. Now, the same issue plays out with his receivers. They can't cut the same they can't make the same breaks. So he's going to have a tougher time there. But in theory it should be more difficult. You're probably going to get some more bull rushes because a guy's going to try and run through you as opposed to speed.
Rushing around an edge.
Yes you can change your cleats, Yes you can wear seven studs, you can put longer, but it's hard.
We're talking to JJ Watt and he'll be on the call Christmas Day. It's Chiefs and the Steelers that'll be on Netflix at one Eastern. How will you be in for cheeking analyzing your brother doing again.
I'm gonna be, I mean, unless people are like, oh, he's going to be so biased for his brother. The same thing was on the other side. The Chiefs are the Chiefs, Like, I'm going to be talking good about Patrick Mahomes news flash. So people are gonna say he's biased for the Chiefs. I'm not going to deny the fact that he's my brother during the broadcast. He is still my brother. I am still We're still blood related.
But I have no problem.
Saying what I'm seeing. I mean, if I'm seeing that he's you know, he's getting caught on a certain pass rusher it's not working. Or if a run comes his way and it goes through that gap, like that's that's real.
I'm not.
I do want to be a good announcer, so I am going to do my best there. But he also on the flip side of that, he's also one of the best players in the entire world.
So if he makes a good plan and I get excited about it, news flash, that's what you do when great players make great plays.
How was your approach to Mahomes.
For the game, for calling the game, or for playing against.
It against him?
Sad they didn't have much success there because with the quarterback, what you do is you look for their drop spot. What yardage do.
They drop to because as a pass rusher, that's where you want to go. So most guys are somewhere in the seven and a half to eight and a half yard range. The problem with Pat is you rush to that point, and he knows he has the arm strength to throw the ball from anywhere on the field. So if you rush to that point, his first look is always going to be that big gap. He loves to rush up in the begap, which is between the guard and tackle, So if he can get away in there,
he's going to take it. But if that's closed off by a d tackle, he's just going to drop back paying fifteen twenty yards and he knows he can make that throw from there. So you can't just rush to a spot with Pat because he's not going to be at that spot, whereas some other guys can't do that because they don't have the arm strength. Him and Josh Allen are two of the best at that, and it's
it's extremely frustrating. So the number one thing in my opinion, you have to have against Pat is obviously a good edd rusher, but then you need that inside push because if you can take away that B gap and get those guys up in the space as well, at least now I know as an edge rusher, I can rush a little higher, so I can also take away that deep drop back.
Were there certain quarterbacks that you knew or thought that maybe they were going to get preferential treatment, so you had to maybe modify how you were going to hit them.
Hitting the quarterback is an art, and it is an art that I was very proud to have a high degree in because there are certainly ways to do it that you can are still allowed to hit them and not get fined and not get penalized. It took me a lot of fines and penalties to figure out where that line was, but I got it, and it really is a skill, and I think that you have to be able to utilize that skill because laying hits on a quarterback also does affect the game, even if it's
not a sack. So knowing that you have that step step and a half and using it is huge, I do think, and I'm not naive to the fact that I may have gotten a little preferential treatment myself in the fact that I built up repertoire and the refs understood that I knew the rules and so I was going to stay within him. But I was always gonna
push it. But yeah, I mean you can. It's extremely hard, and I get frustrated with some of these rough in the passers, but you absolutely can find ways to hit the quarterback legally.
I always thought that a quarterback hurry was an underrated stat that we do get focused on sacks, But I still like when I watch Max Crosby, he may not get there, but you know that he's there.
So I like a quarterback hit over a pressure or a hurry because that means that, like, first of all, it's a literal thing that you can quantify. You can see the hit and he hit him, and you know what it is. Pressures and hurries I get real iffy about because I don't understand how these people are saying, what's a pressure, what's a hurry? What happens if it's a screen and they let you through. Is this a distance to the quarterback before he throws the ball?
What are those?
So I'm a big fan of quarterback hit because that means you were within a step of him because you didn't get a penalty and you hit him. Either he threw it or he didn't. But I agree with you there, you can affect the play without sacks. But I will also say pressures and hurries are like saying would have scored a touchdown, like the receiver was open, the quarterbacks didn't throw it to him. Well, it's a results driven business. Either scored a touchdown or you didn't score a touchdown.
Either won the game or you didn't. We need to get sacks.
That's the goal.
Best team in the AFC is who.
I mean, you can't.
You can't say anybody but the Chiefs until they're proven otherwise. I mean, it's the it's the debate right now, like are they doing what the Chiefs do and figuring it out as the year goes on and they're just they have the clutch geam, They're going to keep it going. It's tough to say their defense is so good, but I mean the Bills are just the Bills are rolling right now. It's just their defense that scares you because they are giving up a ton of points that offenses.
I mean, Josh Allen's playing superhuman right now.
I'm calling the game in five days, so I'm gonna go to Chiefs one a great game.
What's it like to tackle Josh Allen?
I think I so I played against him more earlier in his career, so it was probably maybe a little bit easier then because he wasn't as settling and comfortable. So I've had some fun tackling Josh, but it's not fun chasing him around.
He's big, he's fast, he's mobile, and he also has.
A great arm, but had a good one on him in the playoffs down there in Houston.
I really enjoyed that.
I was amazed when I saw Cam Newton in person.
Cam is one of the only times that I really you know, we've we've collided and you get up and like, yeah, that was a collision. We both like it was a stunt and I wrapped around in the middle and he started to scramble right up the middle and we just neither of us kind of saw each other, and at the last second we did it. And it was one of those where we both went down right where we were, neither gave round and you're just looking right.
But you know, do you want those matchups there or would you rather, you know, try to chase Kyler Murray?
Oh no, I don't. Uh, I don't like chasing anybody. Dan. I'm gonna be honest with you. I prefer if they just stood there in the pocket.
But then you have the guys that do that Brady who gets the ball out in one point four seconds, and you're like, all right, I can't I can't even get there.
Peyton was nice.
I like, I like, you know, you know, uh, it was good, But I mean, he also tortured us. I think he threw his fifty fifth touchdown pass against US. So I can't I can't even say anything there. Luck was Luck was another good one, like chasing Luck around. We had some good battles, uh Me and Andrew Luck and he was obviously always very cordial afterwards.
Did you give your teammates Christmas gifts?
Yes? The D line generally what what.
Did you give them?
There's a there's a different levels.
So like actually early in my career, my first Defense Player of the Year, I gave the whole defense custom iPads. That was early and then as it went on, it was there's a lot of a lot of beverages over the years, very nice beverages. There was, you know, backpacks, designer and backpacks, things like that. Never never pick up trucks. That's a new one for me. There's a lot of I saw Ryan Fitzpatrick tweet it today, but.
He was right.
There's a lot of questions I have about that.
From a tax standpoint, from registration standpoint, from an insurance standpoint.
UH would love to see the logistics behind that.
Is Uh, you ready for Christmas at home that you're gonna be on that, like, how tough is that? Like, you got to go Christmas Day? How big is your son?
He is too, and he's large as you would expect, So it's it is tough. That's there's no question. That's tough. But I'm leaving. Uh So I'm going to see him Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'm just going to be gone literally for the game. So we're gonna we're gonna do our own little Christmas here.
He's he loves the Grinch. He is all in on the Grench.
So he tried to steal our Christmas tree the other day and I said, what are you doing because I'm taking it up the chimney. He said, no, No, that's not the hero part.
Is he already as tall as Kyler Murray?
Oh Dan, that's not fair.
That's not fair.
Merry Christmas to you. Have fun and you've got a great thought process going into that game of what we the audience wants to hear. Stick to it. And the Iron Eagle is his giving as any announcer that you'll work with, and that's really important. He will make you better.
Yes, that's my That's my whole goal in life, Dan is to let everybody around me make me look good because they're all better than I am. So I'm here for it just like you. I appreciate you. And I got to give a shout out to Fritzy. We've been trying to make this happen for a very long time. I think I might have more text messages in my phone from Fritzy than I do for my wife.
But I appreciate it. I'm glad we could finally make it work.
Thanks, no, no hold on, Remember we kind of have an over under of how many text messages before. You have to take this a little space between messages.
But he knows I actually wanted to do it, like that's I'm I'm, I'm with it. We just literally it's been it's been chaos over here.
It was always very, very genuine and kind with his responses. I not one time did I get a hint that it's like you're being a pain in the you know what. And he found time to do it on the last show of the twenty twenty four years. So that's very.
Awesome that he did that.
Okay, I have a good broadcast, my friend.
Have you ever gotten a mean one back Fritzy?
Has anybody ever said like to stop or just the big capital sp like the infomercial.
Derek Thomas came over and me back in the day at the ESPN Zone or in Disney World, and he's like, Fritzy, I got your first message, I got your third message, and I got your eighth message.
I knew where to be.
You got to relax a little bit with the messages.
Well, we had a problem with Bill Murray that Fritzy. Bill Murray reached out to me and said, hey, tell Fritzi to stop. And so I said to Fritzi, stopped. Bill Murray will come on the show. You must stop. And then Fritzi goes, should I text him to tell him that I got it? I go, no, don't text him to tell him that you got the message. To stop texting him, But he always gets his man.
I mean, well, I don't mean to be a pay of the that, but.
You want No, You're the best. You're the best.
Thank you.
You guys are great. I love I love it every time I'm here.
Thank you, buddy. That's JJ what.
Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio WAP.
During the live look in as we were eating, I mentioned that, uh, Marvin and Seton were not most Valuable Danete. I think a lot of people were surprised that Marvin was not amongst the final two. The most Valuable Danette for twenty twenty four and we'll receive tires from tire rack dot com, the official tire expert of the Dan Patrick Show. He garnered thirty six percent of the votes. Your most Valuable Danet gyes point.
By the way, the whistle this year is a little underrated as a show element.
Setan's whistle. Yeah, I really enjoy it personally. Thank you? Okay, So if I say and he garnered thirty six percent of the votes, Tod Fritz is the most Valuable Danute. The least Valuable Danette, he garnered just eighteen percent of the vote. So it went Fritzy with thirty six percent. This guy got half the votes. Say hello to Paul pa well deserved fall. I'm on the podium getting something deserved. Do I get like a tire tire? Uh? Yeah, we can,
maybe a lug nut. The suggestion has been made that the lvd's car get put up on blocks and I tired for Yeah, that was weeks. How do you think I'm giving these tires away to Fritzy? Ok yeah, uber home. Okay, So Fritzie had thirty six percent seat and had twenty four Marvin had twenty three percent, than Pauli at eighteen percent. We also have a pie bet to pay off. Should we do that now for the audience or do we do it in the plus block? Do we want to do that after the show? I'm thinking plus block.
That's that's kind of the way we've been doing it, and then it'll have to be covered and all that stuff while we're wrapping up the list segment.
Yeah, but the people on radio don't get to experience what that sounds like in the piste smashes.
I'm going to do whatever you guys want to.
Do, all right, I'm gonna how about we do a plus block?
All right?
Fire, Okay, we'll do that plus block pie. Now it's time for the Most Valuable back Room Guy MVBRG. This is the one I've been waiting for all year. Okay, this is the best one.
Now.
There was a it's like a committee like the college football playoff committee. You don't know who's on it. You don't know what they talk about there, but everybody in the back room eligible for a set of tires from Tire.
And you know, you have to know about the backroom guys as they're incredibly competitive, especially with each other.
So there's there's Ray who is the producer for the gambling podcast. Dylan of course is on the gambling podcast. He does graphics. There's the big german who heads up the whole enchilada here and he directs the show. You have uh, let's see Rob Diehard, Nicks fan and Jets fan, so he normally isn't used to winning anything. He does a lot of the videos, and he does the newsletter.
You got Mario involved with the newsletter. And Tyler Tyler who is supposed to fix the golf simulator every morning but non and he does answer calls and he takes care of my dog. And weeks are cameraman. Weeks are cameraman who's going to be a father here soon gonna be uh pretty soon. So the most valuable backroom guy for twenty twenty four Mario Yer.
And he's here on a Friday.
Yes, wow, Yes, So Mario is the most valuable BRG he does a lot. He does an awful lot. And a guy that I nearly fired twice. Actually true. Yes, I went to Paulie and I go, oh, there's Mario. Mary's coming out.
Because that really.
Sam darnold of this. He's almost lost twice and somehow got another gig. How about that? Yeah, I don't even know if Mario knows that I nearly fired him twice. I had to go to PAULI. I said, hey, he was your student, He's got potential, but I might have to let him go. And then paul goes give him another chance. And then it wasn't long after that I said, hey, he goes, can you give him another check?
You know?
And I said, and then thank god I did. He's done an unbelievable job. But my thanks to you know, the guys behind the scenes every single day and they come in a great attitude and they do wonderful work. So thank you for all the great things that you guys do every single day. Yes, Pum, I'd like to echo that some of the guys behind the scenes do a fantastic job. Some sorry, thank you, wow, thank you, thank you. We had a wonderful year. We'll talk to you in the new year. Great holiday, everybody