Derrick Brooks And The Greatest Linebacker Of All Time

flash cards. I'm really bad at the Roman numerals. Anyways. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Rams in the Cincinnati Bengals. Wow, even just saying that out loud, who would have thought? Did you think? No? I mean, no Brady, no Rogers, no Mahomes, no Josh Allen. We're going with Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow Baby and fifty six actually the age I believe of our upcoming guests. I just wanted to point that out. It's a very random fact. You're always

good for a random fact. Don't kind of started on Dulye. You told me about fossil fuels and dinosaurs and all that. Okay, the Rams opened as a three and a half point favorite on bed MGM on Sunday night, so you could go as early as Sunday night and get a minus three and a half. Now they are four point favorite. I'm sure that number will continue to move a couple of points, so we're going to monitor that over our

next two shows. Although those Bengals have covered seven straight games and outright one it's last five games as underdogs. I mean, it's incredible. I've got to say my early feeling, if I'm to put money on this game today, I'm taking the Bengals plus four, and if it creeps up anymore, all the better. I think it'll be really close. But we've got ends the time to think about it. Wow, it's so much fun. I've also got to say I'm happy in this game whoever wins. And I don't mean

to sound really soft. Both of my teams are out of it, so I don't care. Honest, your team was never even in the conversation. But I just I love Joe Burrow in the Bengals. But I want this for Matt Stafford. What's your like early feel? I want this for Joe Burrow. I'm going to I think it's a great game to put some money on for the quote unquote underdog there on a roll. Just like you said. I love the story. I love the turtleneck, I love the swag, I love I love his pedigree. The kid's winner.

I love his confidence. It's all about Joe Burrow right now, man. And uh, everyone's gonna get Joe Burrow fever. You're gonna see this kid on Wheati's boxes. He's gonna be everywhere. Yeah, you know, it's funny. When we were watching the game, my mom says to me, do you think Joe Burrow has ever considered a spray Tand she was dead serious. Now, he is a little pasty, I will say that, but as someone who uses a lot of fake tanning products,

I can always hook him up. Can I tell you one quick Matt Stafford story, which is why I've been a fan of him forever. Yeah, hopefully it doesn't involve you. Yeah, it does involve me. Why would it not? And so obviously he's a Georgia guy. He's the number one overall pick out of Georgia. He married his college sweetheart, who was a Georgia cheerleader. I went to Georgia. I was friends with her cousin. Yeah, her her cousin was my

grade at Georgia. Anyways, one time when I was working for the Atlanta Hawks, we had a game at Detroit and the Pistons. I was in the hotel lobby and I was walking out. I was gonna go meet some of our ownership group and some of our media and all that. We were having a big team dinner in Detroit. So I'm walking down at our hotel in Birmingham, Detroit, Birmingham, Michigan, and Kelly Stafford's in the lobby and she's really really pregnant with twins there first, and I kind of went

up and introduced myself. I was friends with Merit in college and blah blah blah, big fan of you, a matt and blah blah. She was so nice. We talked, talk talk. All of a sudden, a big truck pulls up to pick her up, like one of those lifted big trucks, and it's Matthew Stafford and he's coming to pick up his wife. She was interviewing Nanny's. Anyways, we say hi, thanks, great luck next season, blah blah. I start walking a couple of blocks, snowstorm freezing Detroit, and

they leave. They pull away. All of a sudden, the truck circles back around and they rolled down the window and they say, Olivia, get in, we'll we'll drop you off at your restaurant. I was like, Wow, are these nice people? I jump in the car, we chat a little bit. It was like three blocks. I get out to go to my dinner and it's like Dominique Wilkins and all of our Hawks people. And I sit down and I'm kind of stunned, and I go, you guys are never going to guess who just dropped me off

at this dinner. I was. It was so cool, And that's my one encounter with them as a couple, and I just think they are real salt of the earth people. What they did with that ticket giveaway for this last game, I thought was really cool. How can you root against a guy like that, well, you know, who knows? Maybe he was moonlighting as an uber driver and did you give him five stars? Were they good? I didn't, and and he was a lion at the time. I'm a huge Packer fan. I can't believe I got in the

car with a lion. Anyway, I wanted to share that story. But just because they are, they're not, you know, fake ease. And in a world where so many of these people are so fake, they are not so perhaps Matt Stafford he never had won a playoff game and now he's going to the super Bowl. It's pretty incredible. Two great stories, two great stories. And Cooper Cups a great story too. Underdog his his woman too stuck by him through all those hard years for supporting him, for him to fulfill

his dream. Nobody saw him coming. Now he's arguably the best receiver in the league. And also if bet MGM is not on this already, they should be because I'm trying to help you guys with your social media. There was a clip of his wife running towards him at the end after the victory and jumping his two into his arms. If you don't make that into a dirty dancing meme and put that song over it when she jumps into his arms, then you know what, you're all fired. Wow. Yeah,

that was a great moment. I mean I live for that. The family coming out on the field to congratulate the player, It's pretty incredible. Oh b J is also a great story. O h D. That is a great story. O h D. Has to give it up to oh b J. I mean, the guys playing in his hometown, you know, written off and now he's a huge part of that offense and playing unbelievable. So it's incredible and you know he's gonna

go wild. I'm predicting the Super Bowl. You're gonna see an unleashed O b J. Now that's the that's what I worry about almost I worry. You know, it's Matt Stafford's first time there, Cooper Cup oh b J. Like, wait, did ob J win with the Giants? No? No, no, no, no, no no, But that too soon? So yeah, but yeah, you don't want anyone to try to do too much, you know what I mean. Well, I think his role with the Rams protects him from that a little bit

because he's really not the first option. So no, he's not a quantity guy. He's a quality guy with him. Yeah, definitely. Well boy, we had a great week just watching these incredible playoff games. It's been such a good playoff. Like I again, major applaud to the NFL. This has been a lot of fun to watch. But there's someone who did not have as good of a weekend as every NFL fan watching, and it's our bad beat of the week, Brad Beat of the Week at l f GM on Twitter.

He needed the seventies sixers to cover minus five and a half alternate spread against the Kings when they are originally minus eleven favorites. They only one by two after being up by ten points with two twenty eight left on the clock. The odds, honest, we're plus three thousand seven my man. Oh so he is hands down our winner. Hashtag bad Beat Monday. Make sure you send us yours and you could win a hundred dollars of site credit to at bet MGM on the app online. We're getting

legal in every state. It's coming, and just send us your your bad beat on Twitter. All right, there's so much to get to. Let's do our favorite segment of the show. Jannas papas it's time. It's time. Let's take the chains off and unleak y'all. You're up first, my friend. All right, Olivia, we were so close to getting an absolute star studded spectacle of a Super Bowl, as you mentioned, between the Chiefs and the Rams, but I gotta say

in this one. You know, I'm no Chiefs fan, but I gotta say it wasn't so much that you know, the Bengals one. It's more I think that the Chiefs lost. I mean, they were on the road to victory, but big fat Andy Reid had other ideas. We don't listen same on the show or height shame. I just did because I'm fat too. So it's not you know, it's fat on fat crime. It works. It's okay, I'm fat too right now? Yeah you are. Um, I don't mean that. I just mean you're pregnant right now. I feel like

Kanye the m As right now. Bengals. Um, So, I'm sorry, but I'm happy for you and everything. But I'm gonna let you finish. But just give me a second. The Chiefs are the greatest offense of all time. Okay, first of all, let's talk about leaving points on the board at the end of the first half. Could have gone up twenty four to ten, but instead Andy Reid let's mahomes go for it. Or it was Mahomes is called who knows and the play called didn't even make it

to the end zone. Maybe that was on Mahomes, Like I said, but this is the playoffs. We know every point matters. Just kicked the three, you know, get points on the board. And then in the second half the Chiefs took their foot off the gas that couldn't convert third downs. Andy Reid was making sushi at gas station level, bad decisions in my opinion, And now he wasted another year of Mahomes in his prime, another year where you know,

the focus was on him and not Jackson. Mahomes probably going to prison for whatever crime he's going to commit in the future. The only reason I'm not more upset is because I called it and I won the punishment picks this week. I did take the Bengals because I'm schmot so unlike Andy Reid again, I looked like a genius.

I mean the guy, I mean Mahomes. It was like the fumble and then basically through two interception passes, I mean the one, it was almost like he didn't do over like he said, guys, I'm gonna give you another. I'm gonna do that ag and and you guys can intercept this one. So it was just brutal, brutal watch They played horrible, but shout out to the Bengals. You know, but I just gotta say, I think the Chiefs lost

this more than than the Bengals won. Yeah. It's almost like when they won the coin toss in overtime and they started with the ball. I was more nervous. It was like, Oh, they just looked horrible in the last couple of drives on offense and and Mahomes just scrambling for his life, losing yardage. I don't know what was going on. It looked obviously like Nolan was open, but I don't know where. He didn't throw it away. He just eating up clock and running backwards. It was it

was hard to watch as a Chiefs fan. It looked Mahomes looked like he did during their losing streak, you know what I mean. He went back, he regressed. I don't know what's going on. And I've heard a lot of people say, you know, we got plenty, plenty of years with Mahomes. We don't have that many years with Travis Kelsey. He's like thirty three, thirty four. I just feel like, and then you look at free agents who

are up. I think Tyreek kills up this year. So it was a shame to watch the Chiefs go down. I feel like they should be in this game, to be honest, but they looked really uncharacteristic and they they did. They lost it. It was hard. It was hard to watch. They actually looked like you'd expect that from the Bengals who haven't been there. You know, they almost looked at the team that hadn't been there making those types of decisions and mistakes. So it was very ironic. It was

it was ironic. Okay, my turn, and this has been the weirdest story to follow. It's obviously the one man who could steal headlines from the Conference championships, not Antonio Brown. It's Tom Brady and his almost maybe now confirmed retirement that was so weird to watch Tuesday morning. Tom confirmed it himself. And I've got to say, for a guy who pays the social media team probably a ton of money, I don't know, but they do such a good job. I was wanting some like fireworks. I was wanting a

really good retirement video. Instead, he kind of put up a low budget Instagram slide. It's of you know, like he typed on his story, screenshot at it and then posted it. Do you know what I mean? Was an IBM, a typewriter. And also I kind of would have liked a press conference retirement, not a Instagram post. Do you know what I mean? I know exactly what you mean. I mean, come on, Tommy, You're not an influencer. You're

the greatest quarterback of all time. Like, let's get some cameras, let's get some lights, and let's make it very lebron esque going to Miami. Yeah, I kind of would have liked more of that. Obviously, he had his back against the wall. I think he would have waited till after the super Bowl to announce it. First of all, these guys don't wake up and decide to retire, like when he said, I'm going to think about it, I'm going to think about it. No, he knew. I bet he

knew before training camp this year this is it. I bet he told some close confidence this is probably it. If they had stayed healthy and A B had stayed on the field, I think they could have had a shot. Man, it's it's almost tough to watch him go out not even making the conference championship, Like I wish he had gone out last year after the Super Bowl win. Anyways, but the whole thing was messy because Schefter broke the news, ESPN ran with it, Bruce Arians didn't confirm it. Tom

obviously didn't confirm it. Tom's dad came out and said, I haven't heard anything from him that this is not confirmed yet. So sloppy, It was messy. It was like me in college. I just don't really know why this leaked, Why Schefter, who's such a pro, would have done that, because it put Tom in a bad position, and it made it made this whole thing sloppy. And I'm just as a fan of football, as a fan of Tom Brady, who's the face of the NFL the last twenty two years.

You could almost argue he's the face of American sports the last twenty two years. Like you go overseas somewhere, everyone knows Tom Brady, you know, more than they know like a Tiger Woods. Uh, you know what I mean. Tom Brady is an international superstar, and I wish he had had a little more pomp and circumstance for his retire It is that the right phrase, pomp and circumstance. Yeah, yeah, we can we blame chef there a little bit here? Can we blame the digital media is rushed to get

the first to the story. I mean, you'd think the right thing to do would be to get a statement from him right before you release that news. But you know, it's like the media doesn't have any respect anymore, and it pisces me off. I just thought the whole thing was was not right, and I would love to ultimately hear what led to this, because clearly someone confirmed it. And then Ian Rappaport with the NFL. The NFL tweeted like the verified NFL account tweeted, thanks Tom Brady for

all the blah blah blah. So I mean, it clearly went through some levels of vetting. I just cannot figure out how this went down because it seems very unfair that Tom Brady didn't get to break the news himself. The timing he would have wanted would have been after the Super Bowl, and I think with a proper press

conference anyways. Also, what's really shady is when Brady did finally instagram his retirement, not one mention of the Patriots, not one mention, not a good look, which makes me think that things there went down way messier than we know. We've heard over twenty years in New England that Brady and Belichick never once got dinner. I think that's kind of sketchy, and that Brady was trying to get a b back with the Patriots. Beltic wasn't having it. We

know that's kind of a factor. There's a lot there. Brady kind of fell on the sword for the Flate gate. I don't think he feels like the Patriots had his back so much. There's there's bad blood there. But you know what just on a tangent, too, is you never hear Brady talking about it, whereas I feel like I've heard an earful from Aaron Rodgers the last couple of years of the way he feels. And maybe that's the difference between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, so that that

could be a whole another unleashed segment. What do you think? I love it. I love it, and I love the little insights you're giving because yeah, I mean that's the elephant in the room, right, I mean, he did not mention the Patriots at all. There's got to be some bad blood, shady stuff there, shady stuff. Well, let's go

ahead and get to our guest. It's Derrick Brooks. He is a living legend and he has coming to us from the Senior Bowl, which is one of the big shrine games where these college players get to talk, meet, interview, and impress NFL scouts, and there are some big names on this year's list. It's a little noisy where he's at, but it's gonna be awesome to pick his brain on his prolific career and the upcoming Super Bowl. Let's get to Derrek Brooks. Let's go ahead and bring in our guests.

Over fourteen NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Bucks, he never missed a single game. That's incredible, a total of two consecutive games. He's a former Defensive Player of the Year, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame, a Super Bowl champion, and a National champion. Wow, I'm exhausted just saying that. I imagine it was exhausting doing it. Derek Brooks, thanks for

joining us, my pleasure. Guys are happy to be here. Well, we'll get to the Super Bowl and we definitely want to talk about your prolific career. But first, you are a Tampa Bay insider. What have you been thinking this weekend and this week watching Tom Brady's retirement announcement, all leading up to him announcing it himself. Well, I think

one I saluted by clapping. You know, job well done for him to be in this position of influence, and you think about all the relationships that he's been able to have, uh during this time in the NFL. I'm in awe, to be honest with you, the athletes, all those things that speak for themselves and probably not gonna see anyone eclipse those in my lifetime. But for me to just say that, you know, he's affected this game and built tremendous relationships through the competitiveness of being on

the football field is out standing. And again I salute him and and I'm very grateful that he chose to come to the Buccaneers two years ago help us win our second Super Bowl. Derek, I gotta just emphasize that you played every single game of your career at your position. How's that even possible? What do you need? Well, You're honest, I don't necessarily know if it's all about what I

eat or what I drink. I just think in my career I made it importance to take care of my body and make those decisions to do that and now you know, taking care of your body is a science. Guys are making that investment into doing it to live live health your lives. But for me, I just stayed on the routine. Uh, knock on some wood somewhere, because

it definitely was some love and accomplishing that. But to go through and play every game of my career with no major injuries and and pushing that clock every single day, it's something that I took a lot of gratification into really once I retired. While I was playing, it was all about standing to the moment and making those decisions as well as the investment into taking care of my body. How do you do that the city like Tampa, how do you avoid partying? I mean that's a tough well.

I was trying to go there by saying making wise decisions. Uh, I made wise decisions, you know, through my entertainment actions. But for me again, never smoked. Man. I stopped drinking in college. I mean that was part of it, but it's it's more to that. I mean, from deciding your eating habits. You know, you can't be eating certain things,

you know, late at night during the day. So yes, it was a regiment that went it to It is I treated everything every single day I got in the cold to every single day I got in I signed every single day that I was in that facility, and I just built a habit in a routine working out yoga, which I discovered later in my career, was something that I enjoyed and I still do today. So as I said,

you know, it was those conscious decisions. And again knock on wood, because you know there are positions that I ended up on a football field that I see guys getting hurt every single day when I played, and even now that when I was in those positions, I was blessed to walk away uninjured. Ye honest, I keep telling you to stop smoking, drinking, eating late at night, you start working out. That's all I keep telling you. You

know I've done all that. The problem is I'm gonna be performing in Tampa, and I think there's just no way to avoid eating unhealthy and going to strip. I'm glad your wife doesn't listen to the show. I know, but that's why I say best decisions. Yeah, yeah, Now, Derek, I want to get to the teams you were on, especially the O two season. You all allowed just over twelve points. Per game that season, you were defensive player of the Year. Obviously that defense was so good. Yourself,

John Lynch, Warren Sap. I've heard you talk about how Warren was such a big personality, he was even hard to control and practice. Can you give us an example, Well, I don't necessarily say control in a bad sense. I think all of our personalities, you know, for years, was part of our strengths. You know, the stage of football is big enough for everybody to stand on and be yourself and I think that was more so really important

to me. And being the leader of that team was given everybody that personal space to beat themselves at the same time they put in the work. It was necessary for us to be great. And that's one thing that I can't say as bigger personality as Warren Simeon, Ryan's Keyshwan, You're Rande John myself, you can go down, you know, Brad Johnson, a whole list of them. At the end of the day, we collectively came together and when it was time to work, we put in the work. And

that's to me. Whether the personalities stood out to most, you know, whether it's me could beating against Michael Side and wanted to be the best, you know, whether it was Keyshwan and Brian Kelly and Rande Barba going against each other, wanted to be the best for bragging rights. But that's that's competitiveness brought us together. There were times where I had to step back and let them beat themselves, you know, and give them the stage to do that.

And I think, to me, when you could find that chemistry on a team, that makes that chemistry go, and that sometimes ends up being the secret sauce in terms of araderie that most people can't put a finger on when they see great teams do it. You mentioned Brad Johnson. He was never necessarily a big name quarterback, and we see so many teams in the playoffs getting there with a big name quarterback. Do you think the quarterback takes too much pressure or too much glory after a win?

You know? I mean in today's game that the quarterback position, you know, it starts and in there, I mean, let's let's be honest the game and the rules of change where that position has so much influence on the outcome. Back when I played, yeah, you go down two touchdowns, three schools game maybe over, you know, because the great defense is being played. But as we can see now, being down to three touchdowns in today's game is nothing.

Teams could come back because they have the talent at the quarterback position, and you see the game changing towards that. So I would like to say that if Brad was playing in today's game, he would make that adjustment, just like some players that that I played with say they would have made that adjustment. But I like the air

that I played in where defense was dominant. If we if we went out and it was able to keep low scoring games, where now the game has adapted and you know you gotta dat with the changes that code twelve points per games. Do you think quarterbacks should get fined when they get hurt because it's like, how did you get hurt? Everything is made for you not to get hurt. Well, I will say fine when they get hurt, but yeah, when they do certain things that cross the line, yeah,

you treat them the same as everybody else. You know, where it's a quarterback celebrating where you shouldn't be. Its taunting, Yeah you're fine him, but getting hurt, No, should be fine forgetting hurt. You used to hit guys hard. There's actually like a great compilation on YouTube of a lot of trash talking going on. Things you before you hit guys and you knock their lights out, Did you ever

make a before you blew their lights out? No? No, you know what, I probably should have did a little bit more wishing me and I have another Super Bowl ring. But then when I listened to those things, I actually laughed at myself because I don't remember myself being that

talkative on the field. And I guess that's why they had the video, because I when I'm in the moment, I'm in the moment and when I played a playing But now when I go back and I see some of the the NFL films and YouTube, I was like, damn, I should talk a lot on the field, and I never realized that while I was playing. I want to go back to that Super Bowl win with the Bucks against the Raiders. It was a complete route. The Bucks intercepted rich Gannon five times, you ran a pick back

for a touchdown. People in the theories about that game that John Gruden knew what the Raiders were going to do, so what was it? Well, John grew knew the personality of key players on that team. That's what John did, and he he did a great job of laying those personalities out to us in practice, and he actually would you know, especially got the risk get and he knew Rich so well that a couple of times he portrayed that personality by playing quarterbacks. That's how in detail, yes,

that he wanted. It's like, came if we do acts we do, why he's gonna show you Z He's gonna do t. So he gave us those scenarios based on their personalities. And that's what I would tell people when they say that no coach didn't know the players, he knew their personality. And once we saw that it was coming true that what we were doing in our disguises, in our manipulations, those personality trades started to showing the game. We got on it and we just kept applying the

pressure and tilted the game and our way. But more importantly, we took advantage of those opportunities because that offense that year they were number one in the league. Where he gave you a chance to get a pick, you picked it off. You didn't turn it into a missed opportunity. And I think that's where our defense doesn't do us not get enough credit that we made those opportunities, but more poorly we executed and did not miss them when they came our way. Speaking of that, I just unleashed

on the Chiefs. I almost feel like the Chiefs this last week didn't win as much as they lost that game. What do you think about that? Oh, yeah, that's one. You can't just give credit to the Beings. Credit to the being goals, can't. You have to? You have to give credit to them because one they stayed engaged the entire four quarters. The energy never shipped. Now, I do think the decision by Kansas City not to kick the field goal going into halftime it affected the mindset. I

personally think that. But I want to give all credit man to the Bengals. They made plays when they had to, and they did not miss opportunities. The one opportunity they did miss was when Patrick Maholes fumbled that last time before they kicked the hut go. They didn't jump on the fungo and they could have ended the game. But the Bengals and Joe Burrows made plays. He punished them with this athleticism. So I'm more so on the same side,

get credit to the Beagles. They're more so sated with Kansas City did not do Maybe that's because I'm a defensive guy. Yeah, I would think, especially after losing the coin toss, that you would just deflate, But the fact that they didn't, and they still came back and got the ball second got to come away with the wind was incredible. I'm team Bengals now and I'm born and raised Kansas City, but I'm giving a lot of credit

to the Bengals now. I love watching them play. They've been so clear that they don't want to be considered underdogs, but they literally have been all playoffs and they are again in the Super Bowl. Have you ever been up part of a team or remember a team that had that mentality and used it to their advantage. They kept

overcoming odds. Of course, I played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Okay, people with nineteen when I was drafted, Okay, twelve tene more losing Sea So I understand the underto more than any but just as important, I understand what it's like to turn around a culture in a franchise too, and I think that's the place where the Beagles are at right now. It's Hey, we can't do anything about the teams from nineteen eighty eight until a few years ago.

All we know is this team that we are now, and we're staying in this culture and building moving forward. And I definitely understand that because that's the way I felt when I got to the Buccaneers in nineteen ninety five. Hey, I can't do anything about going on twenty six back in nineteen seventy six, But what I can do from nine moving forward? This is the culture that I want to be around, and this is the culture that we're gonna build, and it's gonna be a winning going into

the Super Bowl. If you were if you were on the Rams, what would be your mentality considering you know, Joe Burrow hits the deck a lot, the old lines a little porous. What would be your game plan and mentality if you were the Rams? Well, first of all, you're trying to eliminate distractions, And I saw our Buccaneers team go through that last year and hosting the Super Bowl. They did everything they could to eliminate distractions. The advantage

of practicing at their own facilities. I think coach Aions even you know, kind of had them state in the hotel to kind of get them away from all distractions. So l later, distraction is gonna be even three times as much as it was in Tample. So I think the players got to do a good job, especially this first week, get all the non football things taken care of it. You don't want to be dealing with tickets next week. You don't want to be dealing with travel,

et cetera. You want to get all those things out of way so you get your body focus back on to exited those other games. So Obama rams player. That's the thing I'm trying to do as quickly as possible is eliminate distraction. What is that Super Bowl Week like? As a player? You mentioned there's family, there's people asking for tickets and travel, all of this. Uh, there's more media than ever. How do you stay focused on excess

and those Well, I was fortunate enough. I was the last year that they did not have to buy week. So we went from Philadelphia in the championship game. We landed in Tampa about one am. We had to be back at the airport at four am to fly out west because it would go to different times on the West Coast, so we didn't have that weekend between to go through this and that was the last Super Bowl

that did it. Now all the Super Bowls have the weekend between and now you have time to do that, and most teams they try to do it on the Monday and Tuesday of that first week so they could start winning the excuse me, the game playing for preparing for football start the Wednesday up, so you try to stay on as much of a normal week as possible. So the first four d eight hours, hey, they hadn't called anybody in or get your ticket a lot and get to travel, get all those things out of way,

because you you hit that building Wednesday. It's all about the team we're playing. Yeah, you can't have any more cousins coming out of the woodwork now asking for tickets, right and God. As much as people talk about that one with players, it's even more so on the coaches because family member think coaches have way more time than players, So the coaches go through that level of stresses as well. So it's really an organizational focus that it takes to

get past that. Von Miller obviously mid season edition for the Rams, little passes prime. But how did you see his impact on their season? I think his impact came at the right time he went in doing that, Hey man, I'm behind and learning this system, different system, different players, and he was patient with himself and learning it, just getting a little bit better each week, playing a few more plays each week, but more poorly staying healthy during

this stretch. I think that was a key for for Bob Miller is the fact that he stayed healthy the second half of the season sister trading. Now, if he had been trading and got hurt again, obviously that's not good. But I think the fact that he was able to stay healthy the last six seven day games was a

big part of the ram success for defense. Watching Matt Stafford in his thirteen season, going from winless in the postseason to winning out and going to the Super Bowl as a former player, is it hard not to root for a guy like that? Well, again, I can't have any rooting interests because I got got I have coaches and relationships both sides. Through the interest that I had was last year everyone knew I'll do for the Bucks. But again, you just appreciate there's a story for everybody.

Then get to this moment, but Little League overcoming something professionally, being told you can't do this, You can't do that. One thing I can assure you of this live is gonna get changed the winner of this game, the loser of this game. Lives are faked and lives get changed by the outcome of this game. And to me, that's the beauty of this game. That's awesome, meaning the Super Bowl, Yeah, that's awesome. Not to backtrack too much, but you know, it is such a you know, it's a popular topic.

Everyone wants to know. Since you're such an insider, can you give us a little insight on what happened with a B down there in Tampa Bay. Do you think if he was on the field, they would have won that game? And what's going on? Who do I believe or A B. Well, I appreciate your confidence and my level of access, but I'm a very hupeful man, and what I don't know, I don't know, So I have no problem telling you will remember I do not know. Honestly,

I I saw it. Everybody saw it in real time, unfold a situation that had reached a point of no return on both sides, and it played out on national TV and some of the most unfortunate circumstances. And to me, it's not a matter of who. I believe it's a matter of if everyone understands what their role is in the dissemination of the relationship, how do you correct that moving forward so that doesn't happen again in your organization

or in your life personally. That's the focus that that I would address on either side is there's some circumstances that happened that each each side reached a point of no return. Well, how do you avoid that moving forward

to grow as an organization and to grow as a person. Derek, you mentioned that lives will get changed for the guys on the winning team, but it kind of piqued my interest because you also want a national championship with Florida State, Joe Burrow and obviously some others playing in this game are trying to do that, win a national championship and then a Super Bowl. How do you compare the feeling of each because college teammates sometimes are closer, there's no money,

it's more pure, there's less fame. That's got to be a very different experience to win that with those guys. It isn't. It was for me because I was part of those Boutin's first national championship out there so many disappointments. So yes, it is a big difference. When you talk about collegiate athletes win a national championship and you know,

winning a Super Bowl. I think the impact of winning a Super Bowl is probably more because now you're dealing with the business side of the number one event in the world. You a partner, your life is going to change immensely from that standpoint. Your life going a change in college because you did it with a group of

guys in that finite time of a relationship. In college, it comes and go so quickly, but those memories never leave you versus a transactional situation in the NFL, where you know that relationship could be more than four years, but you don't have the camaraderie in the in the sense of struggle that you do in college. Just because the games are different, I like to say one is more of a business field and one is more of

a personal field. But at the end of the day, I was blessed because I had a chance to feel the ultimate feeling by winning them both. Man, that's pretty special. What's your person to t J. Watt, obviously a shooting for Defensive Player of the Year, What's your opinion on what do you see? I see an impact player that make plays. Uh. Man, he's he's been able to make his presence felt for the Pittsburgh still is in in

so many ways. And you know, for me, when you see a defender that's that impactful man, you become a fan, to be honest with you. But the one key is to him is how do he continue to make the players around him better? That's what I look for in all great players. How do you make the ones around you better? If you cannot accomplish that, you then you're not a great player, You're not a great leader. You have to do that, you know, all your greatness, how

do you elevate those around you? Follow up question, let's just put it on the table. Who's the best linebacker of all time? Is it you? I would definitely always start with me, of course, but but then I then I'll go to some other guys obviously. Uh. When you you talking defensive player impact, you know, it's hard not to start with the word the two words large tabor, you know, and I can say I'll put Derrek Brooks

a very close second. But it's always fun man to go through these arguments because Now, when when you start talking linebackers and being leaders, man, you go through errors. You know, because subtated the linebackers of the seventies was better than the ones in the eighties and the ones in the nineties. And they say all they did was

rushed the passer and the guy to two thousands. They never rushed, they covered, you know, when they covenance filled the space with a lot of us get around each other. It becomes more of a whose error was better when it came to the lineback position more so than you know anyone person. And I like being a part of those arguments. I'm way too young to know all that. So Janice, after we record, can you fill me in on the linebackers of seventies and eighties. Well, I'll tell

you Lord's Taylor. I'm a New York Giants fan, obviously I'm from New York. Lord's Taylor. You there's a few, but you know, you gotta give l t some credit because he had a different take care of your body regiment than you did, and it still worked out from somehow. So that's what that's what I said. Man, I'm gonna they say it's uh, it's over. I forgot the number of Hall of Famers, but whatever that number is, says over three hundred in some ways to get to Canton, Ohio.

So so I agree. So you know, that was the best decision for me, and obviously it worked for LT obviously too. If Matt Stafford is able to win this Super Bowl, do you think he's a lock for the Hall of Fame? You know, I hate to say that one's a lock outside of Tom Breen, you know, that's just Yeah. I thought with my good teammate Rande Barber, I thought he would have been in the Hall of Fame by now, and hopefully he'll get he'll get in

it in a couple of weeks. But I thought Shannon Shark when he retired that he was a lock, and he waited. So it's never a safe thing to say that anyone is a lock to me outside of Haide Manny and Tom Braden. Yeah, probably true. Yeah, there's a lot of talk about that this week is what will his legacy be and how important this is. I don't know how much longer we have at Stafford. Well, Derek, you've been incredible. I know you can't really give a pick, but if you had a feeling of who's gonna come

out stronger next Sunday. Who would you feel like it's gonna look a little bit better? Well, I said, I can guarantee you this NFL team is gonna win the Super Bowl. I just don't know. Come on, I just wanted I just want the trend to remain the same. I think the two thousand season, in the twenty two years, the playoff games have been outstanding, and I just want the Super Bowl to follow the same trend that got

everyone excited about the game of football again. Not once have anyone's talked about having an extra regular season game. And what team losing a bye week in the number one seed is everyone? So you fight for the number one seed? Didn't mean anything in the playoffs because both of them lost. So I just want the Super Bowl to follow the same trend as the NFL playoffs and being what the greatest games to be played. Absolutely, that's incredible, Derek,

thanks so much for joining us. You are a living legend and this was a ton of fun, great insight. Thank you. I can't wait to do it again post Super Bowl. We'll be careful now. We're going to have people take you up on that you can follow on Twitter at de Brooks fifty five. Derek, thanks again, I thank you guys. Been a play Okay before we talk to bet MGM betting expert Peter Andrew quick reminder that bet MGM gets you ready for Championship weekend with a

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are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non withdrawable free bets or site credit free bets expire seven days from issuance. Please gamble responsibly. Oh man, you guys, we are getting ready for the Super Bowl. And guess what your girl and your boy are going to l A. That's right, joannas Papas, pack your bags. Unleashed is headed

out on the road. So if you're in l A, come see us because we're doing the show live at one of my favorite bars right across from Staples Center in l A Live. I used to go there before Clippers games. It's Tom's Watch Bar. Tuesday February eight, five pm live episode of Unleashed. It's gonna be so much fun, you guys. The food is great, the atmosphere is great. Come where your team's juror Zee. If you're in l A,

get there. And if you're not going to be in l A, you can stream it on bed, MGMs, Twitter. The full show raw and unedited, which is Janice's stage name during another part of his career. We've got a very special guest joining us. That's that's my bedroom name. That's how roll in the bedroom. That's what I was implying you. Honest, see, you need ton't learn comity. Oh sorry, I said stage name? Well yeah, your stage name? Yeah?

For yeah, that's what I call myself. You know what, I'm vertical, I mean a hard corespont Can I announce our guests because we finally have the okay to announce it? Well, yeah, go ahead, it's it's big news. I'm excited. It is big news. It's t O the t O Show. Ryl Owens is joining us. Huge personality, really really white smile. I need to ask what white ning strips he uses. I cannot wait to see him. Fun fact, TiO is the person who taught me how to do a push up.

Now you're if you want to know the background of that story, you're gonna have to watch the live stream on bed, MGMs, Twitter. Make sure you see that. It is gonna be a lot of fun, you guys, and if you're in l A, come join us. I'm looking forward to that. Something I'm not looking forward to this week as punishment picks that is going to come at the very end of the show in a couple of minutes, because I lost again for the Championship round. I picked

the Chiefs. I was a loyalist. Janice always tells me to follow my heart and I did and look where it got me. So Jannae, first off, congratulations my friend. That was I can't believe you somehow did it again. Well, you got punished for having two teams. That's what you get. That's karma. You can't have two teams the packers of the Chiefs, so you got punished. And yeah, when you bring in, when you bring in our beloved Peter Andrew, I just want to ask him if you've gotten your

prozac prescription yet. What milligrams are you on? And I know that you're taking this tough buddy. Well, first off, I heard that whole surprise get appearance announcement and I was thinking it was me because I'm finally getting the invite to a watch, so I got super excited. Then I realized, oh yeah, that t o guy man, that must have really stung. Stung almost as much a Sunday night. Rough couple of days for you. Rough, it's been a tough couple of days. The prozac comes this morning, so

much needed. But yeah, I mean we had it. Jakoss guitar. Appreciate him taking the blame, but that was the real game. You're right there, I mean dropping that ball and Rams come over and and score and and that's the game. So it was a tough one. You know. It's okay. They weren't supposed to be in that game anyways. Peter, it's all right, it's all right. They got farther than they could have dreamed. That's all I've been hearing for the last four years. We've had Getty Garoppolo, and now

it's gone. I'm sure it's the Trey Lancer. So we'll have a new excuse for next season. Where do you think you'll go? What? What do you guys think? Jimmy is an interesting one. It's got to be a team that I think has some tool because well maybe that too. But he can't. He can't go to a New York

Giants as an example, that is just so unproven. I'm not saying he's going to be the busing quarterback, but maybe his team, like the Saints, have some weapons, they have a run game, a game that's very well established. I think those are the opportunities for him. He can't go. I mean, I'm a I'm a Jimmy G loyalist, but you can't go and say he's going to change a franchise around completely. No, that's not what he's going for.

I have another question. My mom and sisters and I believe it or not, we're talking about this watching that game. Why is his beautiful face not on a bunch of national ads. I'd rather look at him do State farm commercials than anyone else. That's a good question. I mean, yeah, I think you have to have a certain level of skill to be able to get stuff. Again, I take it all on the chain about Jimmy because I love him.

I think he's an awesome guy, but you see the flaws, and to be on those commercials, you've gotta have a rifle side arm throw like Patty Mahomes and obviously be a premial All star like Aaron Rodgers. So yeah, I think that's that's the flather. Oh just wait next year, though, it's going to be Joe Burrow on every commercial. He is here to stay my friends, and I'm here for it. I love me some Joey be so good. Yeah, I'm here for his turtleneck to his little his little turtleneck

and chain look, bring back the turtleneck the rock. I thought the post of human Jamaar Chase smoking stogies and then Mr Chase and Mr Burrow in the parking lot smoking stogies too, I mean that was just perfect there. I mean, they're just the team you're you want to root for at this point, unless you're obviously a Chiefs fan or are they beating you along the playoffs? But Joe Burrows the man. Yeah, let's get to the game in punishment. It's again the same story for the Bengals.

They're an underdog right now as we record on Tuesday, two weeks before the Super Bowl. They are plus four and a half. It's a road game, home game for the Rams. I mean, I don't know, the Bengals love being an underdog. I think this is an advantage. What do you think, Pete? Yeah, I agree. I mean, you'd be foolish after the last couple of weeks, and we've all been foolish, especially last week. I mean I had the Chiefs too, You'd be foolish to go another week

when they're dogs and not take them. I mean, plus four and a half, I think this is a close game anyway, So that's a safe bet, but I think it's plus one six right now. On the money line. You have to sprinkle a little bit there, and I think, similar to a lot of their games, you have to consider the over two because they're going to throw the ball. They're well rounded in a sense, but Borrow is gonna

throw for over three hundred yards. I think you gotta take a lot of those overs, or really consider them. There's gonna become a point where I think they're gonna be potentially chasing a bit. They're gonna a band in the run. They're just gonna be airing it out, and somehow, some way, he always finds someone opened by five ten yards, So I think that opens the game up quite a bit. Pete, tell us some player props you you like right now, give some people some tips. Yeah, I got three. I

just mentioned kind of one of them Borrow yards. I think it's at two seventy eight and a half or something around there right now. This guy just always throws for three yards. I feel like every time I've ever bet is over, it's always hit. That's my lock. If

you will second one. Given the aggressiveness of their offense, I think I might take the rams defense or special teams anytime touchdown from a special team's point of view, Cooper Cup from a defense point of view, I mean, we saw what they can do, uh this week, and obviously what they've done all season long. I might take that as a little bit of a flyer plus five and then last one. I mean, there's not really value

in Cooper Cup scoring a touchdown. It's minus. I think it's a pretty sure thing, but you have to lay a little bit. I mean plus five fifty first touchdown. If they get the ball, it always ends up in his hands. I mean, he's just the man and obviously such a good route runner he is. I think probably you know, proven that he's the best receiver in the NFL. I know I went and said Jamar Chase a couple of weeks ago, but my god, this guy is so good.

And seeing him live on Sunday, I mean, you just get a whole level of respect, or a whole different level of respect for him. He really gets loose, like that first move, that little stutter staff and he always jukes the defender. It's amazing. He's he's got the perfect balance. Like Okay, you've got guys like Davanta Adams, who's an amazing route runner. You have Jamar Chase who's an incredible deep threat. Cooper Cup is a little bit of everything.

He's the jack of all trades, but to the highest Pro Bowl type of level where he somehow knows how to shake the guy on third and three with a little out route. He somehow finds himself open to win a game against the Bucks with a forty five yard pass. I mean, he really does it all and it's freaking incredible. Well, I can't wait. We're gonna get way more granular here with Super Bowl betting in l A next week for the live show. We record February eight, Tuesday at Tom's

Watch Bar in l A Live. Come join us or watch it on the stream at bet MGM on Twitter so you can hear way way way more in depth betting analysis for the Super Bowl. You know, I mentioned robvously go in l A. But Jannice, you and me are going to Vegas right before for the Pro Bowl. And here's what I'm envisioning. My friend. I think I'm gonna take you to that little dak rebar I know you like, and get you one of the big boys. Get y'all souper up. I'm gonna have them double it up.

So I think that's four shots. I'm gonna get you one of those. Then you and me are headed to the bed MGM Sports Book and I'm gonna put a unit on Joe Burrow over passing Yards. I'm gonna put a unit on Bengals plus four and a half, and I'm going to think more about my others. But right now, after talking to Pete Pablo here, I feel pretty good about those two. I love it, and you know what, I'm looking forward to that. And when you read the outro,

I'll tell you where how I'm gonna be betting. Oh God, Okay, let's get to it. I Olivia Harland Decker, do promise to name my son Janice. His name will be Janice Harlan Decker. That decision is made, Sam. Also, this upcoming trip in Vegas, I'll you beat me to it. I will lend Janice three thousand bucks of my Harlan legacy money out of my hundred billion dollar dressed account. Thanks Graham, pap God, I wish to bet on the Bengals. It is only right to do payback, Yannice to Janice's people

the Greeks for inventing civilization. I also hear by their that I love Marjorie Taylor Green and Me text regular lady. She is a fearless, a brilliant leader needs to be reinstated to Twitter. Also, California, if you think I'm wearing my mask when we go to l A, you got a night in company. I can't read. See something big here. Someone's going to clip one of these and my career will be over. Oh God, I should get in between every sentence. This is a joke. I didn't say this.

This is a joke. Okay, COVID isn't real. And there's no way I'm letting this d NA therapy into my body. No way Bill Gates is crawling into my body. I have strong American anti bodies, a hundred million tiny little Joe Rogan the fight this lab created ccpeed bio weapon. Jesus. Oh you know what. Also, next time I board a flight to go see my husband in Turkey, they're not gonna let me board. They're not. Oh, don't forget the USA chat you wanted to do. Oh I do see

that's coming up. Okay, USA, USA, now anyway, Marjorie Taylor Green. Most of her tweets I collabo on I loved your girls. In fact, I'm thinking of getting out of sports and going into politics after my son is born. Also, oh, this is this is so good. This is great. Catch. Jan is this weekend in Philly. I'm February five. That sold. Joe was in on February tenth in Tampa. For all

other upcoming dates, go to Janice Papa's comedy dot com. Okay, we'll see you guys in Vegas and l A where for the first time, I'm going to have a bigger stuff than Janice. Keep out.