Brandon Marshall | Ep 58 | ALL THE SMOKE Full Episode | SHOWTIME Basketball

Published Nov 25, 2020, 5:02 PM

Former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall joins the show for episode 58. Marshall opens up to Matt and Stak about his long NFL career, the difficulties of not winning a Super Bowl and the mental issues he has faced. The 6x Pro Bowler also shares his Mount Rushmore of NFL receivers, talks about his short time playing with Russ in Seattle and his post football career working in media.

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Welcome to All the Smoke, a production of The Black Effect and our Heart Radio and partnership with Showtime. Welcome back Man, season two of All the Smoke. We got a real special guys. What's up with your Brodie with the virtual handshake? I'm gonna tell you something I never told him back. I want to smoke. Welcome back to another edition of All the Smoke. My brother Jack, what's up, bro? We got my man, Brandon Marshall, thirteen year in the NFL VET. I want to teut your horn a little bit, bro, six time pro bowler, uh all pro, only one of six players to catch a hundred balls in three consecutive seasons in the most yards ever without playing in a postseason game. That park only got to hurt a little bit. Huh, you do so good? No, but I want to talk because because you killed I mean, I mean, damn near twelve thousand, five hundred yards, but you didn't get a chair us to play in the playoffs. And obviously, looking back, we're all retired now, and looking back, you kind of look back and some of the most prominent things to me stick out our playoffs. How tough was it for you never to get over that hump. You know what. The first half of my career, it was all about me, and you know it was you know, everything I thought about was like how can I take care of my family? And I would say the first year of my career, I was out there having fun. I was excited. And then once I saw the guys around me, you know, living the way they were and taking care of their people, you know, and that's when it shifted for me, like, oh, this is a real business, and my mind shifted to business. But it was from a selfish standpoint. And once I got that contract and it was the biggest contract at the wide receiver position in NFL history when I went to the Dolphins in two thousand and eleven, two thousand and ten, excuse me, um, then I started thinking about team. Like me, I always thought like, oh if our ball, then the team's gonna be better. But like I literally thought every single day, like I want to win the championship. I want that confetti coming down on me. You know, I started thinking about the big picture. Uh So it was. It drove me the second half of my career and it kept me up so many nights, bro and and and you know, I'm proud of my career, but it is one of those things like damn, like I'm gonna live the rest of my life, you know, that's that's tough, but like I'm built for it, right because like it came. It came a point in my life where I realized, like, Okay, you know, football doesn't define me. And but at the end of the day, I consider myself an ultimate competitor and I know how bad I wanted it and it didn't happen that that was the one goal that I wasn't able to accomplish. Like I wanted to have a hundred catchers this season. I wanted to go to the Pro Bowl. It's like when I put my mind to something, it just happened. So like not thinking to the playoffs or the Super Bowl. It's like how did how does that not happen? So it is tough. You're gonna do. You want to could do so much. You know, as as a receiver, especially in football, you it's a team sport. You need everybody to have that same passion. Even with basketball, you need everybody to be on the same page. And football is more guys out there. You might have, but eight guys going to hunting a hunting in Tampa Center. You've got two guys just just just half ass, and so you need everybody had that same mentality to win the Super Bowl, just like an NBA one hundred percent bro. Like, well, I don't know, I don't know if I agree with you there. I always felt like in basketball, one or two guys can they dictate the success of the entire team, you know, Like I always felt even when I was when I grew up playing basketball au I was like, man, if I if I just go drop thirty forty right now, we're good and play lights out on the defensive side. So I was always my mentality. Obviously I didn't think it's the league. I didn't even play in college, so I don't know. But in football, man, it's like even at the receiver position, like you said, that could be really good at the wide receiver position. But if my quarterback stick then my career I'm staying offensive hoarder he can't dial it up, then I'm not gonna be Look at Odell Beckham Jr. That's a example the last three years, and that's you can't get the ball. So why is why is? Why is my numbers better than his at his point in his career, when he's the better receiver, he's the better athlete. M I think you made a great point when we came on your show, um Man, maybe a month ago, and and you and Jack were very similar from this standpoint, and you had a hard time Like wins obviously were great, but you guys took losses hard, and you took losses a lot harder than other people, and you would have a problem with sometimes, but guys just kind of being able to shake losses off. Explained where that competitive nature came from. Uh, comes from where I'm where I'm from. You know, I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and East Liberty, the east side of town. It's the poorest city and supported porest county in Pennsylvania. Uh So for me, you know, one, Pittsburgh, it's it's a it's a it's football country. In two it's a way of life. Right So like literally that was my life. It wasn't a game. It was never a game for me, like playing free for all in the in the parking lot on concrete, like it was you always serious, literally it was serious. So for me, I never had that that switch where it was like, Okay, when I go on the field, I can turn it on, but when I get off, the turn it off. So I think that's why I struggled so much earlier in my career because it was all personal. And even till I retired, it was always personal. I was like, Yo, this is not a game for me, this is my life. It saved my life. It changed the people around me, and and and so like, no, I'm not out here just to put a jersey. I'm not just out here just to you know, get a bag, like I'm out here to really, like you know, like this is this is everything for me. Yeah, you said something interesting. Earlier. I thought I was the only one. But you guys played tackle football in the street the contrete When he was younger too, we used to play that. We used to play that ship in the street. Like we used to play tackle football in the street and people are just like you did what I'm like, not for real. We used to tackle each other because we had no grass to play on. That's what we played at well, hold on what we we We did the same thing in the South, Matt but one thing we did we had grass on the sidewik so we only tackled when it was by the curb. Was yeah, yeah, yeah, we already talked about the curb. We we we was we was tackling in the street. But when you we were smart enough to where it's like, okay, let me get next to the curb. So if they do, I like that, that's crazy. On the South, man, really good football in the South. Yeah. So, uh, high school, you lettered in three sports. Uh, tell me how track and basketball helped you be one of the most dynamic receivers. Uh in the NFL. Yeah, so everything when I was six, I just talked to somebody earlier about this. We got a couple of young cats that opted out. That's training out of facility right now, and I was telling us, like, man, everything that I did from the age of six was about making it to the NFL. Like literally, watching the Pittsburgh Stealers played, sitting there in the living room, I was telling my mom like, yo, Bobby Bobby Brister, Bobby Foster, um, like you know, like I should be running the ball right now. Like I literally thought at the age of seven that I could go pick up that first down or make that touchdown. Like my mindset was just it was probably aniotic back then, but that was that was, That's what it was. So when I got to high school, everything I did was like how do I get better as a as a football player. So track track was about speed, Like I wasn't the fastest guy ever and and and in high school I was actually super slow because like I had two gross firs my freshman year, I shot up to six four or six too. And then my softore I shot at the sixth four, so I was still adjusting to my body. So I was slow. I went from a dominant little league player to high school, you know, not really putting it all together. And track helped me there. And I end up winning state my senior year in the triple jump, competed in the high jump, went to state, and also to long jump and ranting three hundred hurdles. And I could have went to play when not playing, I couldn't run, but I could have, you know, did the field events at the next level. Basketball for me, I like basketball is my first love when it comes to sport, not like you know, like whop dreams type first love. But when I talk about when you talk about playing the game and competing, I get more angry and basketball than I did do football still to this day, right, Like I love basketball, bro, Like you know something about the game. It's a beautiful game and it's like there's so many moving parts to it, and like, you know, I loved it number one, But number two, I always felt like it was another way to be conditioned. There was another way to help me develop as a wide receiver. Like being able to you know, develop my game above the rim helped me catch the ball deep. Like I never was a d threat, so like I literally would go in the gym and just catch AliOS, just but picturing catching a post route football picturing and like utilizing that in the rid zone when I got to the league. That that's how we that's how we would approach it. Like they would literally tell me, Brandon going to the league and going to RIDDS, don't be a basketball player. Box out. That's doughe I mean, I'm the exact I'm the same, but the opposite, you know. You know, although I played fifteen years in the NBA, my love is football, you know what I mean? And and it's crazy and I always thought, like what would have happened if I would have gave it a chance, you know, because being sixth aide and really being able to play it would have been a blessing. So we're on the exact opposite sides of we we made a career out of something, but our favorite sport with the other sport. That's right. But do people really know that story? Man? Like you know, I was shocked to here that you know, you were one of the best wide receivers in in in football and at the country level. That's crazy. I don't think you really know that. Well, you gotta think too, with us being a little bit older. This is back in the nineties seven, you know what I mean. So there wasn't really no you know, there wasn't no phones, there wasn't no social media. You just you gotta get old film. And I'm working on a documentary right now of of you know, a particular part of my uh my high school life, and that they shot me a bunch of film and me playing football highlights to me playing football the other day and I'm like, damn, I had these one handed diving catches and going through people, over people, all this kind of ship. So I'm kind of excited to show the world because, like you said, most people don't know because, like I said, there was no real interaction with everyone. Remember back then when we were growing up, Like you didn't know about knowing until you played against them, you know what I mean. That's why it wasn't for you, Like there wasn't no scouting or friends on the other side of the country, like we right when we right into each other. Yeah, or you know the couple of magazines they have, but when you ran into somebody, it was the first time you really had seen him or played against him, because there was no really way to see them on the internet yet, that's right, that's right. It's crazy now, how you know we're so connected worldwide with this, that's crazy. Yeah. So how is COVID has been treating you and your family? I know you're still able to work, you know obviously, but how has it affected you and your family if it has it all? Yeah, first and foremost, we're all healthy. We're good. So from you know, my wife and kids, got three kids, and my mom, my dad, brothers and sisters. Everybody's good. Everybody's still here. Um, there's been some people around me that's been extremely affected. I mean, all of us have been affected, but for us to still be here. It's a blessing during these crazy times. But as far as like covid Man, I just took this time to really just fall back and figure out like, okay, you know, let me put in do I have the right systems and processes in place to build what I'm trying to do post career. Um. So I was moving, you know, a hundred miles per hour. We were having a lot of success with House of Athlete, breaking mortar and supplement line, and you know, this gave me the time to build it so I don't break, you know, three or four years from now. So you know, I'm really appreciative of this time to really fall back. I kept our whole team on on you know, together we have around like fifty employees, and I just sat everybody down. I said, here's the here's the goal. When we get out of this, can come out stronger. Make sure that we have the foundation in place. I want this thing to scale. This is where I'm trying to do three years from now. So I took it on this end right now. Pay everybody's salaries, and I said, look, I want to see systems and procedures I want to see on boarding process, make sure the HR department is built right. I want to see the sales process. I want to see operations. I want to see our meeting cycle. How are we going to meet? What's our goal for? What's our goal for? What is the what is the themes of our quarters? Like we really broke everything down and now we're in perfect position to really scale for that's dope. I love that we'll explain to us what house of the athlete is. I mean, we see the logo behind you. Explain to our viewers and fans what it is. Well, look, man, we're the healthiest people on the planet. When you look at the right, like it's at four point five trillion dollar industry and we don't participate, right, Like everybody built their companies off of our lifestyle. Yo, Matt Brandon, Like, we need you guys to do this. Hold up this product. Yes, things that we take and the things that we may use and do, but like, no one has ever scaled athletic performance for the gym pop and when you look at the healthiest athletes in the world, we do these five things and we do it every single day. Is part of our routine. We train, we have to be in physical shape. Right, So that's a part of it. And and and you know there's a way of doing that. Um. The second thing is fuel, We fuel correctly. You gotta be able to understand where a healthy veggie is, a healthy protein, and healthy car a healthy fat. You gotta track your macro nutrients. You gotta understand supplementation. We know that we want to get all of our food through I mean all of our are nutrients through food, but it's almost impossible. So that's where the supplement line came in. That were mentally fit. But that is this tricky one because as a professional athlete, like one day you could be on the side of impairment, dealing with anxiety, depression or just how stress you could lose the game, right, you can win the game. So now we're looking at you know, high performance and just you know, how do I get more out of my brain more out of my body. So we gotta have a plan for both. And that's what we see the top athletes do, Like we find the way we figure out it. What you know, what's going on with our mindset. The fourth thing is recovery. Like like there's a lot of people man deal with an MC l injury or some type of ankle injury and their sideline for a year or even or they may stop all physical activity. Was a professional athlete, We're back on the court or on the field in two three weeks, so quick right now, no crutches. We just had a niece and you're back in ten days playing, So you know, recovery is create key. And then the last thing is his team is tried and and that's like none of us got to the top by ourselves. There always was somebody or a few people to help us get there. So community is key. So that's what we're doing. Man. We're going to scale athletic performance to the gym pop in the wellness and wellness space will open up forty three facilities and the biggest economies in the world. And in our supplement line. I'm looking at this suppletment line to be a two hundred million dollar revenue generator in two years. And we're also launching apparel, just a performance line to compete with the Lulu limits of the world. So we're super excited about it. Um, there's a lot of attention. Um, It's something I've been doing since two thousand and twelve and now that i'm you know, owner, operator and lead in a way the last year and a half, you know something I'm excited about. I think that's really dope. We don't hear enough about this side of us because we all have different things we're into. But you only hear the typical stuff for the bad stuff, but you never hear how we're trying to better our communities and and like you're opening doors for people in your in your neighborhoods quote unquote. So I think that's the beautiful thing man in best of luck with that. Appreciate it, man, I think thank you. I remember when you first retired, Um, you know, there was a few stories about you, and then one of the things that I you know, caught my eyes like there's something different about this dude, because like you were like, Yo, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna. I want to make a billion dollars, but I'm gonna do X with it. I'm like, what Matt talking about? You want to do a bill? You're like, what do you remember that? You remember that? Yeah? Absolutely? As you're retired, it's like Matt, what are you doing now? And he's like, I'm gonna go invest in these companies. I'm gonna build this, I'm gonna do a bill. You like what well you mean you got you mean you gotta shoot for the moon and land on the stars, you know what I mean? And like I said, I think too often, and Jack loves to say this. You know, we're able to tell our own stories now. And you know, for you had you had a certain reputation. Jack and I definitely had a reputation. So anytime we're allowed to step outside of that, people kind of side eye us, not really knowing that we're really on our ship and we are businessmen and we are you know, everything you thought we weren't post career, And I think too often it really surprises people when there's really a lot of people just like us that are still doing the same thing. It's just never highlighted, right. And and one of the things I appreciate appreciate about you guys, it's like you guys are creating a lane that we all can learn from. You know, you look at what you guys are doing with all the smoke. Like literally, I'm telling y'all right now, I just steal y'all templar, I say, what are they doing? I'm doing so in the same when if y'all see anything from my platform looking like all the smoke, like I'm gonna change up the aesthetic. Okay, I'm like, that's a compliment. That's a compliment people. But people don't understand what y'all, what y'all are doing, and what y'all did, and how fast y'all did it. And I'm like, yo, the game is right there. They've showing us how to do it right, So like, I just appreciate you guys for actually like showing us the way this. Guys just gotta pay attention. There's other athletes like we should have been doing this right. I'm I love what you guys are doing, man, appreciate that pivoting Right now, with the current climate of the world and social justice, how do you feel like athletes as a whole, putting us all in one group have done, continuing to carry the message, pushing you know, we just finished with the elections. How do you feel like athletes have done in this space when no one really wanted us to. They wanted us to shut up and dribble or just play football or do everything. But what we're doing right now, how do you feel athletes have kind of stepped up and met the challenge, uh, you know, to kind of do our part to help the country. I love where we're at right now, you know, I mean, this is what it's about. I go back to two thousand and sixteen when Cap took his first knee and standing in that locker room and having everybody on the beat and all those cameras in our eyes, like, Okay, well, what are you guys gonna do? We had no game plan. We we we weren't connected, we weren't on the same page, and I think you know that's why we didn't make as big of the impact. So now you fast forward four years later and we're seeing how the NBA took this, brought it all together, use their platform. And I know you guys see it differently. Jack, you didn't want to go to the bubble. Matt you wanted. You thought it was best to go to the bubble. You know, I'm with Matt. Jack, Like, I just feel like you guys had a platform every single day to tell the story. And you know, I would have liked to see the NBA back you a little bit more, you know, because what you did, what you did, like just I mean it was just like, I mean, bro, like you you really lead an entire civil rights movement and you're still leading it. Um. So like for me, like, I'm just proud to call myself an athlete to have a play a small part in it. But overall, I think the athlete from from you Matt to you Jack, to basketball to football, have done a phenomenal job of just keeping it in the headlines every single day. It was, you know, unfortunately your brother, your twin, you know, lost his life. He was brutally killed in the streets. Um, but it's you know, I would say it's not in vain because now he's gonna save so many lives because of what you stepped up and then so I'm just thankful that, you know, we came together and we kept the conversation moving forward because there's a lot of change. Man, there's a lot of people still complaining. But for me, I look back, I'm like, look how many things have changed so far in a short time. Right, we all have we all have a part to do, man, we all do on our part. We all got the same goal, we all had the same direction, so we all got a part to play. Absolutely, Uh, you know you mentioned that, you know, the NBA was able to bring the bubble and make it a success with nobody getting sick and continuing to press the message. What do you feel like the NFL can learn um from not necessary the bubble, because we know the NFL can't do a bubble, but kind of continuing to empower its players and allowing them to be really voices that are heard because there's a lot of superstars in the NFL, but the NFL has never really been as outspoken as the as the NBA has. What do you feel like the NFL can learn from us everything? I mean absolutely everything? Um wow, Like we're institutionalized as football players, man, you know, and I understand that it's a business. You know, um, they owned the team, but at the end of the day, you know, our platforms are so powerful and you know it's time for the football player, the NFL player that to continue to stand up and speak. Like I'll be honest with you with with when I when I watched the NBA games, the restart the playoffs, like I saw Black Lives Matter. I watched and they were talking about it. And then also the people who were covering the broadcast or the analysts. They were actually talking about it every single night after the game. First question, how are you doing? I don't see that in the NFL right now. I see some little messages here and there, but I don't see that. Like even give you an example. You know, on Instagram the other day they said, you know, uh, say there's worries. That's not that's not the movement. That's not what we're saying. It's saying saying her, say her name, saying his name. But see the NFL, we do this thing where we try to act like we're participating, but we're not really participating. We're just trying to let's give him enough. You don't the box to check the box? What is this like? I don't know. I don't know who said in that room, even something like are they doing a better job? Yes, they're doing a better job. I feel like they was forced to do it. What I look at something as simple is that, like why do we got to change the name and say, you know, say their stories. I never saw that on a T shirt. I don't know what that is. I know, say her name, but it's too controversial, right, it's too political. And I just think sometimes we straddle defense in the NFL. I think you hit it on the head too, because you know, more likely than not. And and no, I mean i'd say the NFL owners too, But I think your guys as owners stand almost on the exact opposite side of most of the players, you know, of the majority of the players. So when it gets to talking about police brutality or it gets to talking about the victims of police brutality, you know, these owners are aligned with a president or or hopefully a former president soon that sees nothing wrong with it. You know, that sees nothing wrong with what these police are doing. And this isn't a problem that obviously, this this administrator has created because this has been going on for a long time. But the fact that they don't condemn it is a problem, and it it just continues to leave the door open for other issues. Yeah, I mean, when do we put people over politics? You know, so like I can look at it. You know, we all made money, and to me is like, you know, people want to talk about what about the taxes or what about the market, And then it's like, yeah, I understand that, but what about my life? What about people? I mean, we was lucky, we were we I think too often that people like we're lucky enough to make it out, like you said, but it's too often and I'm not saying anyone on here, but sometimes when you make it out and make that money, you forget that you were the lucky one. And there's a whole ship load of motherfucker's just like you that didn't make it out. So that's who we're looking out for, and that's who we're thinking about when we're talking about it. We're talking about lives, lives or taxes, Like, come on, man, you are we talking about hate or taxes? Like to me, there's no comparison. We were lucky nothing. Yeah, we all want to keep our money because it was so hard to earn and you have to keep up with stuff. But at the end of the day, we were fortunate to be able to have a savings, to have money to put to the side, when the majority of the world doesn't. And a lot and and a lot of people don't understand. It's a lot of people that's in the undeveloped state. Like we're so worried about building these buildings and developing instruction and how how this place look. But we're not worried about developing the people, and I think once we get back to developing the people and caring about the people more, we'll start going the right direction. Well, I mean, we'll see what happens in the next couple of hours. Look, he just got Wisconsin right and Michigan soothing body is gonna be the guy. Luck out, look out, look out, look out. Um. Question, you know this is a transition Jack and I made Obviously you've made it seamlessly too. But did you find it strange or difficult to start covering and talking about the NFL um at any point uh post career. I'll be honest with you. Um, I never shared this with anybody, only my wife. Uh so all them. Yeah. Bro, every time I'm on inside the NFL sitting next to Ray Lewis, um Phil Sims and we're bringing Mike Irvin and we talked about Hall of Fame, we talked about you know, championships and all of that, that's when it gets awkward for me because that like I get I get angry, you know what I mean, Like that that competitive stuff that we talked about earlier in the show, like that's still there. So that's the only time that I feel a little weird talking about football where you know, we can laugh and joke about it, but at the end of the day, like it's not a game, right, so we'll make fun of it. It's almost like the Charles Barkley effect, right, you know, it's like Charles, like you never won the championship, you know, how shock be getting on them. So like for me, you know, that's the biggest thing for me when I think when I think about football, it's like I'm over that. I'm you know, I can I still probably go out there and catch a couple of balls one percent, but I'm over football. I love what I'm doing right now. But it's just a simple fact that I had a goal and I wasn't able to accomplish that. So so like when I see it, it's like, man, I'm still working through that. I gotta be honest with you, Man, it's something you know I'm good because I you know, I you know, it wasn't like I just start transitioning. Now I'm back in two thousand and fourteen, I spent three months with Harvard and I need a Bursey Versey looking at athletes who made that transition and what did they do, and I was preparing there, so I would have been on Showtime for seven years. I had I opened this up in two thousand and twelve. We start scaling this in two thousand and fourteen, so you know, I was already a top on top of it. But you know that's the only thing, man, that that that keeps me up at night is like, man, like I never won a big one. M m m m. Well, you mentioned inside the NFL, which is obviously a part of the Showtime family. Jack and I were fortunate enough to come on you guys the show last month. What I thought was so dope was just the chemistry between you guys, between you and Ray talking ship. To feel Sam's talking big a. Phil talks big ship and then fails. I feel it is funny because I didn't know. I just knew Phil as a quarterback. I never got a chance to meet him. He's cooled down to earth talk ships and then jb All throw a jab in there with his O G seal somehing once in a while. But that that dynamic between you and Ray is funny. I talked to us about, you know, obviously your team over that inside the NFL. Yeah, man, we approach like it's a locker room, you know, and we've been together for six seven years, like you know, Ray came in a year later, but like we've been together that long. So the more you're around each other, you know, the chemistry and the nudity just built. So the way we approach it is like we're still competing. Like I'll come in and I'm like, yo, don't don't just check the box, don't just clock in, like we're gonna We're gonna go win the championship. Y'all want y'all championship. This is my championship, trying to get a sports Emmy. So no, I don't want to talk to what I'm saying it really is that is the chemistry, and it's the continuity, and I think that's what makes a really good show. And we we like each other man, and we're able to push each other, call each other out on certain things, hold each other accountable, which makes even better TV. Yeah, I think that's that's been our secret sauce too is people how do you recreate all the smoke? But I think it's the chemistry Me and Jack share that we can talk ship to each other, crack jokes, be back and forth, the mad at each other sometimes, but the love we have for each other never waivers. So when we're when we're in our element, we're unfunk withable, you know what I mean. That's a T shirt. So who has up to this point? I mean, obviously no fans. The season has been a little different this year, but there's definitely some teams that are standing out. Are there any teams or players in particular they have stood out or caught your eve by surprise this year? Yeah? So, uh, preseason predictions? You know, I love what I was. I love the thought of what the Steelers could do and not a stand here under Okay, okay, hold hold the hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. So you mean it? So you mean to tell me at the beginning of this season, you said that Pittsburgh was gonna be undefeated. Right now, I'm gonna tell you all of my predictions preseason. I'm gonna tell yes to answer your question. Yes, Seattle Seahawks was my team that I picked on inside the NFL. And first thing, first, I said, come out the NFC. I said, Russell Wilson will be the m v P. I said the Pittsburgh Steelers will be my my a f C contender. I said, I also like the Coats as a dark horse. I like the Tennessee Titans. Right so that was my preseason my preseason pick now. And I also said the Saints will bust and right now they hanging on the Well one thing we know, you know football, well, it's it's it's hard to get. It's hard to get some preseason predictions, right. But I just think that the Pittsburgh Stillers. I still need to see Big Ben. Sometimes Big Ben revert back to that back your football stuff and just throwing around like you got a good defense man, play smart, protect the ball, go the way sometimes. M m. What do you think about the pickup that the Chiefs were able to get? Someone remind me we can edit this. What's the running back the Chief Scott? So what do you what do you think about the Chief's coming off of Super Bowl, coming off Patrick Mahomes and you know he's really doing this thing. Where do you think about them being able to pick up Levian Beil? All right, so let me ask you this question. When you think about the Chiefs, what's the first thing you think about? Like, Yo, this team is though, because of what my homes. My homes bam right. So what I love about the Chiefs is that now they're finding different ways to win. We know that my homes is dope. We know that he can throw for four hundred yards a game, put up for the points. But now you they before they added lady On, they was running the ball well, they was winning on defense, they was winning on special teams. To me, they're a better team this year than they was last year because they're more complete. So now you put lady on there, how you go? How you go? What? Yeah, he ain't got no work. How you go two years with the Jets, almost two years with the Jets and you never had a one rush over fifteen yards and you did it twice in your first game with the Chiefs. Come on, man, he never is That's about that? So you know, is it? Is it a nice pick up? Yes? And and and man, we can talk for another hour about you know, this topic. Because he's also one of the best wide receivers in the game him. This is scary. Man. They haven't even like really unleashed him yet. Let me hold on what y'all think about Tampa? I just love it. So we have it right now. I mean, Tom is being Tom and I just saw. I mean, I'm watching TV as I'm interviewing you that you saw today was a BS first practice, you know what I mean. So he's out there laughing with the guys. I want, I want to know your thought. I don't. I don't know if you personally know him. I know he's had obviously some some ups and downs on the field, a lot of downs off the field. I'm glad that he got a chance to kind of redeem himself. I know, I know Tom fought his ass off to get him. What do you think will happen with a B over in Tampa Bay. I think he'll be I think he'll be fine, man. But the reality is, you know, it takes it takes a lot of work, you know what I mean, to grow as a man, you know, and you gotta be intentional with it. We know him as the player, right And I'm not sitting here like I never made any mistakes. Like I made mistakes. But you know, in the locker room and on the team is where I grew up. Like in the locker rooms where I learned how to shave. In the locker room is where I learned how to time my first time, right. So I love that he's getting another opportunity, but he gotta be able to embrace, you know, his challenges and be better because we know you as the player, man, like, just go in there and do your job, get your career back on track, and everything's gonna be loved. It's gonna be good. But he gotta make a he gotta take a step forward off the field, you know. That's the thing that's been holding him back obviously. Yeah, I think it's unfortunate too, because I think some people get caught up in this social media trying to prove stuff to people. Because I mean, we could walk down this whole situation when he went with the Raiders and then he got on Instagram talking about he wasn't gonna do this, this and that, and then got cut and tried to flip it in the hole. To me, it was just, you know, less was more at that point. You know, you didn't want to be there. You got up out of there, sit back and get ready to go to work. But I think he was addicted to the attention and and and a lot of negativity came and it says a lot about his talent because people don't get as many chances as he's gotten, you know, I mean, and and and it's a testament to how fucking talented the dude is. But like you said, you hope he develops as a man, because if there's no development as a man, we're never gonna get to see that a B on the field again. Yeah that's right, I mean, think about it. After that situation um in Oakland, then he went to New England, he kept he kept with the nonsense. He went out and did a whole album, a whole rap video, crazy bro right. So but so he stayed, he stayed on that same path, and once they suspended him, he got off of all social media. Now, this is a guy for three years social media has been actually counter productive for him and pulling him down. And so like that's the only sign that he's getting it is that the last four months he hasn't done anything digitally and that's and you know that's hard for him. So hopefully he got Hopefully he's he started to work. He's still doing the work, and he'll get through this and get his career back on track, his life back on track. And it seems like everything be good. I have a question though, Uh, you know, obviously never playing in the NFL, I know plugging in a player in the n b A is somewhat difficult, but there's not as many guys, so he can find his footing faster. How hard is it to be plugged in the NFL because there's so many more players that are on the field. Yeah, it can't. I think it's it's difficult for a quarterback. Like if you're asking a quarterback to come in, it's like learning a new language. But a while conceiver slant robins, a slant route like body It's like it's probably the same and you know in all sports, but like it's like body language. You know, when I get to the top of my route, you know, like like what indicators am I giving my quarterback that he knows Okay, let me let it go right now. Routes and slam route, A go route to go route, it's all about me and you get on the same page. And the hard part is like it got to a point with me and Jake Cutler, like Jake Cutler would just look at me and I knew what he would what he wanted me to do. I would have a slant route on. He would just look out, give me a give me an eye, and I'll go run and go. Like we got We didn't have to give any hands signal to talk, right, And that's just that that chemistry that built over the years. But like coming in and being able to, you know, to to contribute right away, he'll be able to do that. Look, he did that in a half in New England, went in there fifty four yards and a half a touchdown, you know, and then obviously the next week he tweeted and then he was out of there. So Tom and him already have a connection, so that would expedite the process. But I would say that the quarterback position would be the position where it's like, yo, we this We need some time with him, but just haven't just haven't just having somebody to have your back, you know, and then not only having your back, it's Tom Brady. You know, you got you got time, you got Tom Brady vouching for you. Come into a situation where you know you're the best player, the best probably the best player in the league has your back and you can come in and just be a professional, trying to put everything behind you. I think that's the best situation for him when you got somebody like that. I had that when I had Tim Dunk and I had Tim Duckan I have my back doing when I was right, when I are when I was wrong. So Joah, I think that's that's the best situation he can be. And having the best player in the league behind you, it helped you make that transformation. Yeah. And one of the big stories right now around this whole deal with Antonio Brown and Tampa is like, you know, uh, Tom, Like he moved into Tom Brady's house, so I got, yeah, roommates. He did the same thing in New England and now it's in Tampa. Have y'all ever had a teammate live with y'all? Have y'all ever lived with a teammate for off season or through a transition period, trade or anything like that. I used to. I used to every time I go to Bay. I stayed in Matt House. We didn't live together, But I remember a lot of teams I've been all out. That was a rookie guys that come in that try out that I was cool with it. I was from my area doing training camp. They stayed at my house. Yeah, a lot of people don't understand that we've been talking about that on one of our shows. Uh you know what, we talked about it this morning, and people like, what, why, why why is he staying with Tom Brady. I'm like, man, like you guys don't understand, like it's a brotherhood. It's like my brother absolutely. I know. One thing I used to try to do, um was for the holidays, you know what I mean, because we were always on you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas unless you're playing. I was fortunate enough to play a lot of the years in my league, but the holidays are lonely, you know what I mean. So that was one thing I always trying to do is I would always try to have the younger players coming to my house and whether my mom cooking before she passed, Rest in peace, or we would order food, just to kind of have some sort of that family feel because people think we're athletes and nothing bothered us. And it's easy because we got but as we go through all those same emotions, man, of being lonely and missing our family, and like you said, ay be living with Tom to build that chemistry where he the beings to first and foremost, and you know, to try to make it as comfortable and as smooth as possible as a goal, especially with your teammates. That's right, Yeah, I got it. Let's I know you've probably got another question or two, but I gotta like change topics real quick. N b A go ahead. I got a prediction. The Clippers will win it. The Clippers will will will win it next year. Ship, I said that this year. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, and and and and he still owes me my tin cushupsh Ship, Hey, bro, tell me tell me why you tell me why you think that? Tell me why you tell me why you think that? Though No, no, no, no, be cushups, not push ups, cushups, oh, cush ups. Smoking every every pushup you inhaling or exhaling with a joint or blunt in your mouth. I don't smoke weeds or it's that hard. Yeah, you gotta breathe, You gotta breathe. It's it's yes. And he gotta record it. And he got to record it and put it online like I did too. You know, that's what we gotta that's what we gotta do. We gotta do that. Like if I decided to smoke, let me stop lying. I tried it before. I tried it before, um you know, uh for about a year. That's actually that's how I knew I need to go get some help because actually, when I smoked, I felt better. And I did that a couple of times. But as a whole another story. But if I get back to it, then I'm when we come at l A, yeah, yeah, yeah, y'all gonna have to we we got you. But but but here the Clippers. Here's why I like the Clippers, Like I mean, if Paul George, if Paul George, if he can get back into his rhythm. You know, now we're looking at two of the top you know, I don't know, maybe he slid out of the top ten, but you got two the top fifteen NBA players. You know, they can play ball, they play defense, and that's that's what's missing in the NBA to me now is you only have like three or four teams in the league that can play defense and offensively, you got Mr Consistent, uh Kawai Leonard, and I like Paul George. I need a little bit more of the Paul George on the offensive end. And I understand he said I was dealing with a little anxiety a little depression. Maybe he needed to do some some coushups in the bubble. He got his mind like some cusshups. If he can do some cushups this offseason, get his mind right, then you know we're gonna be right there. But that well, here's the problem, like in that locker room is divided, like you you gotta know, man, who the superstars is. So if if if duc and and and lewis saying, if they saying, look, we're gonna embrace low management, if we're gonna embrace like giving that superstar status, then you either speak your piece at the beginning of this season or you hope keep get upright like that's the superstar. So for me, I think Tyl Lose gonna do a good job of saying this is what we're doing. And everybody in that locker room they gotta they gotta they gotta accept it. If not, they gotta get out of there, because that's what broke that team down is everybody got a voice. Everybody. I used to hate that in the locker room, like, man, if you ain't the superstar, to shut up, like I mean, I want to hear your voice. I want to hear your voice. But when it comes to like, well, why is this guy sitting out? Don't make it a problem. Don't make it a problem, right, Why does this guy get to do that? Well, this dude putting up thirty five points again, thirty points eight points a game, this dude scoring two touchdowns a game, like, let you know, that's why it happens, that's why. Well, I think one thing about Tyler is Tyler is an excellent communicator, you know, and and being in that locker room before and him being an assistant coach and knowing that the love of Citi's biggest weakness was ourselves. You know, we had a talented enough team to definitely win a championship and we but it has too often and I did. That didn't rear its head for the Clippers until later and then after the season where people were chirped and why I didn't like this are so and so shouldn't have been And I'm just like, damn, Like that's why I thought we was way past that as as professional athletes. But I guess I guess we weren't. One thing I also wanted to touch on two was you know, you're big and and and have been speaking and outspoken on mental health. And that was the one thing when I got a chance to talk to PG while he was in the bubble because he was dealing with some mental health and anxiety and depression and separation. How serious is this because as black men first and foremost, and as black athletes, it was looked down before before as almost a weakness to talk about issues you had. Obviously we're passed that and it's more talked about these days, But what is your take on it? Being someone that has suffered from it? You know, I'm glad that you went back to that because, like you know, although I was making fun of the whole Clipper situation and and and that whole restore, but there was a lot of guys, you know, uh struggling U in that bubble, and there's guys in the NFL struggling right now. So you know, it's not a game. It is serious. But like that's why I talked about, you know, marijuana is because when I was playing for the Dolphins, that's when I realized something was going on, and marijuana was the thing that got me through that year. Like it is, like that was the first time I was able to smile again. And feel again, and then you know, you get to the office. I got to the off season and I went to McClain Hospital and I was there for three months in the outpatient programs diagnosed with borderline personality sort of the best way to describes like an emotional disorder being able to self regulate your emotions. Right, long story short. I took dialectical behavior therapy that's a group therapy. I took mentalization therapy. I took self assessment, you know, one on one with Dr Gunderson. I did a clinical evaluation, neurological evaluation, just to see what was going on in my mind. And I was put in this program and it changed my life. And there's so many of us that deal with I mean, this life is hard, you know, and you know have If you don't have a game plan around how you're gonna deal with stress, that stress can turn into uh mental health challenge and mental health issue for you. It may it may not be bipolar, it may not be borderline, it may not be anxiety, but if you don't correct these things, uh, then it can definitely hit you and hit you in a major way. So you know, even now, like now, we got people dealing with anxiety and depression for the very first time. So I just think that, you know, for me, I appreciate it Paul George saying it, you know, because there's a lot of athletes dealing with anxiety, there's a lot of athletes dealing with depression or understanding being comfortable with who they are in this big space. So you know, now you've got the Kevin Loves of the world, you got the Dak Prescotts of the world really using their platforms and talk about and highlight it. We still talk about it wrong in the media. You saw what Skip Bayliss said after Dak Prescott came out. So you know, there's a there's a's a long way to go, but I love I love where where we're at right now. And once again lad by the athletes. So it used to be a taboo topic not to not to press too much in your personal life. Is this something that's ongoing or did you get it fixed when you win? Or is this a daily still a daily battle for you? Yeah? No, So like now, it's interesting, you know, because there's so many ways it can present itself. You know, mental health can present itself in over three different ways. But just one diagnosis. So for me, going through that process really gave me the skills and tools I needed to self regulated. So you know, I could be in a moment and I'm like, well, with tools, with skills, do I have to regulate? You know what I mean to manage this? Do I kind of make it better? You know? I wanted to stay the saying, don't make it worse. So what I do now, and I'll go back to my last years in football, So what I did in the football season, I had a game plan. I knew that was the most stressful time of the year for me. So every every week I would sit down with a mental health practitioner before practice, I would jump in the float pod after practice, jumping the float pod. Like I was very intentional daily in my mental fitness in the off season. In the off season, what I do is as needed. So I'll probably like once a month check in um with the mental health practitioner, or I might check in with a family member or friends just like yo, how you doing? He checking or he or she checking on me. And but part of my daily routine because I feel like you need to make deposits because something's going to happen right, Like who who would have known? We you know, this year would have turned out the way it is, Like where you did? You have the deposits um that to be able to be strong enough through this. So meditation is big for me. Um, being able to recover get aways, turn off at night, you know, shut my brain off is important for me. So those are things that I do every single day to make sure I'm making those deposits. So when those stressful moments come up, I'm good, I'm ready to go. I think the key you said if anyone takes what away the tools you need to handle the situation, because we're not we're not equipped with them. We we we weren't raised with them. It wasn't something that was talked about. Showing emotion in our culture was a sign of weakness, no matter who you were. From a child to stop sucking crying to an adult, you know what I mean. So now that we're in a where in a space that we can comfortably talk about it, it's the tools, like you said that you learned from handling, doing your counseling, that that we're allowed you to get through the process, and not enough of us have that too. I was fortunate. I mean, I mean I came from a you know, functioning drug addicts, my parents for functioning drug adics, very abusive household. So I found marijuana at fourteen and smoked it from fourteen to this day. And that was really At the time, I didn't know what it was. I just knew it was an escape for me. And as I got older, I realized, Okay, damn, I can focus, I can sleep better. Uh, you know, a lot of different things are coming from this. So that's why I was so glad when the medical research finally called up, because I could have said everything it made me do until I was blue in the face, but until there was medical backup, medical research saying okay, well it does a B and C just like these guys are saying it was doing it wasn't doing any good. But I think if I didn't have cannabis, no bullshit, who knows what kind of deepened I would have went off of. Because you know, my life off the court was very well document. I was in a lot of ship off the court. But you know, to be able to be on TMZ and all these blows and then have to play on ESPN that night, that focus is essential. You know, no matter what the fun is going on in your life, for that two hours two and a half hours, where it's on the football field of the basketball field, there's no excuses and and my outlet is always being cannabis. So I'm very thankful now that, like I said, the medical research is catching up because I know a lot of these athletes, like you said, whether you use it or not, we need some sort of tools to deal with this ship because people think we're invincible because we have money. But that's the furthest thing from the truth. Yes, So is that is that why you're so passionate and investing in this space? Yeah? Yeah, because I believe in it, you know what I mean. I'll be the first one to tell you I in joy getting high, like the way it feels. But I'm more on the educational side, Like I'm not a snoop, I'm not a rapper. I mean, it's okay to kind of glorify in that aspect, but I'm coming from an aspect of a former player, a father, and someone who coaches my kids right now, So I'm coming more on the medical side and understanding trying to remove the word high and explain that the medical benefits of it in the way it makes me feel. And I think that's where we're finally starting to make headway because whether they like it or not, whether they keep find us a lot a lot of professional athletes use it and we shouldn't be penalized for it. Draft Day two thousand six, what's going through your mind? Man? Two thousand six? Draft Day? I literally thought like, Man, I went to UCF and we were Mad Major back then, playing in the Mad Conference. Just which to conference, you would say. And in my mind, if I you know, I felt like if I ran well as a big white receiver, I could have snuck into the first day. So the first the back then, you know, they did the first three rounds day one. So I was sitting there stressed out, uh you know, in the third round, thinking that I had an opportunity to go and it didn't happen, And it was the longest night in my life, you know, I was super stressed out. And then the next day I end up getting drafted to the Denver Broncos. And what's interesting behind that they actually drafted me as a tight end. So coach Shanahan when he called me They're like, Yo, you know, we don't know if you can play wide receiver. Just be ready to play h back when you come in. And at that point, I was like, man, just give me an opportunity. I'll show you what I can do. So you hit the ground running. Um, you know from two thousand seven to two thousand nine, three consecutive hundred season catches. What was it like after what you explained to us, they weren't sure you could be a wide receiver. To come out and experience so much success early on in your career, yeah, I mean, you know, like I said, that first year was about about having fun and and then just enjoying being in the league. And the second year, Javon Walker, we we just paid Javon Walker a lot of money to be our number one receiver. He went down with a knee injury. So when he went down, I just stepped up and Jay was just throwing me the ball. Like Jay was like, I'm dropping back and throwing the brand and it just took it just took off. So Um, that actually set the bar for me. Like I, I didn't really have any expectations when I got in the league. I knew I wanted to be great. But when I that first hundred catches, I was like, well, I guess I'll do this every year, so that that became my goal. My goal was like, I want to that's the that's the that's the bar right there. M hm. Who are some of the receivers you studied on? You studied uh in the process of becoming a pro, leading up to the pro and even after you got into the NFL. Yeah, So I looked at everybody. Every year, I would take the top ten wide receivers and I would break down all their film every year, and then also throughout the year, I would keep up with their film because I don't know if you'll have this in the NBA, but I can see every single play, every single snap from every angle, all thirty two teams. So I would take that and I would have our video guy just built out my films. I'll be on the plane, I'll be watching our games and studying myself, studying our opponent, and then also studying everybody else. So back then, it was Chad Ocho, Sinko, it was t O, it was Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Um, you know who else was who else was bawling back the Randy Moss, Steve Smiff, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson. Um, you know I was studying those cats I got. You know that was that way before me. Ankor On Bolden was one that I was studying. Well, Mega Tron came after me when you know, Um, but eventually he became that part of that top ten when he came in a couple of years later on. You know, that's when I start really studying my body type. I was about to say, you guys are similar, right, you guys are similar in body right. Bro, He's like you bro, like like I got a picture? Yeah, man, Like you know Megatron is like your side. It's crazy what and he moved? So think about I don't know as you were when you was playing back then, you know, but I ran, I ran, yeah, yeah, I ran a four three nine. Wow. Yeah. I can't wait for this documentary. And you touched on something that I don't think everyone understands and you may not get to understand it if and when you get to the league. But how important is film study not only of yourself but your opponent in your environment, Because I think that's something that people don't get and I didn't get maybe my first handful of years into the league, and I you know myself and Jack. You know, Jack was a little bit more more offensively minded than me, but we always had to guard the best players. And film was so crucial to me. So how important this film for an athlete is everything to set you up for success. And I think that's the hardest thing to do, is actually learn how to watch film, how a breakdown opponents. That's that was the hardest thing for me. I give you you know a cool story two thousand and sixteen, and I believe it was when I was playing for the Jets battling against the Patriots. We go up the fox ver the first the first game, and this is probably my best year. I'm I'm on payt halfred yards, fifteen touchdowns, another all pro year, Pro Bowl year, and you know, I go against I look at the roster, I'm like, who's this Logan Ryan Cat And then they got another dB on the other side. I'm like, oh, I'm manna, I'm gonna have it. I'm gonna have the day. But Bill Belichick always finds a way to take out their top wide receivers, their top threats, like that number one number two. You hear about it every single week. Oh, this is what Bill Belichick's wanna do. So I step in and I'm like, oh, you know, this is gonna be easy for me. They're playing me man to man. And when I tell you, I was strapped, I mean strapped, Bro. I couldn't get off the line of scrimmage and this is a dude. I'm like, I don't even know this dude's name at the time, like this Loogan Ryan catch and so the first quarter I couldn't get off. I'm struggling, and I'm like, man, this dude's embarrassing me. And then one time I come out and and I'm on the right side and I so happened to put up my right foot right. So if you're on the right side of the quarterback, nine times I'll tend you as you know, let left side up. I put my right side out just I don't know what I was thinking. And then he's looking at my fild and then he turned around and looked at mcquardy. They did some little some little hand gestures, bro, and I was like, holy crap, like it is this a you know, is this a Tennessee is something that they studied, and they study everything in New England. Right, So anyways, I started playing with my feet and then depending on what foot was up and what my split was determined how they played me. And that's why I couldn't damn because I was giving a tendency. Right fast forward, we played New England twice. We come back around and I'm I'm breaking down film for like a week. I'm watching them like, man, what is my tendency? Like? What are they seeing? And how can I use this? So literally, I it it out. I remember running out that it was like six in the morning. Seven in the morning. I ran out of my room and me and Fitzpatrick was the only ones in the facility around that time, and the coaches, right, I ran in the quarterback rooms like yo, I figured it out. Here's the game plan. All you gotta do is watch the guy over me and it's gonna dictate what they played. I ran in the coach Bowls office, who's now the defensive coordinator in Tampa. I was like, coach, man, look at this, here's the Tennessee. This how they stopped us week one the first time we played, and this is what we need to do. And so literally The game plan going in was all right, let me look at Brandon. If the dude is three yards off of Brandon, they're gonna go three bail, right, And basically that is, you know, this corner has this third, the safety as this third. This corner has that third. And when I say, we lit it up, bro, we lit it up like we knew everything they was doing based off of how they played me if he was three yards off, remember he was on if he was inside of his outside and so man, they like I went for a hundred something yards, Eric Decker went for some hundred something yards. So I say all that to say, film study is critical and something as as critical as that, like you we give tendencies and then also like when you know what you're doing, you can really dominate the game just off of your film. M hm. That footwork, that that foot with that line, that line footwork and getting off the line is crucial for people who have never played or understood the meaning of that bide receiver position. That's just important. Um, December two thousand nine, you said an NFL record, but one catch us. What do you remember that day? That's a lot of cash you was online? Yeah, so you had that, you had that Bruce Leroy glow. You had the Bruce Leroy glow that day. So I used to try to, like, um put together a mindset going into a week. And remember two thousand and I don't even know what album hold just dropped, but jay Z just dropped the album. And in my head, I was like back then, I was like, I'm I'm gonna embrace my inner jay Z. And you know what I loved about jay Z back then was like how he moved. It was like effortlessly right, like it was like I'm supposed to do this. So I went, you know, I was rocking, you know I was. I was jamming to his his album. I don't remember which one that was. And uh, I walked out and then Um Smith, one of the ESPN reporters, were standing right there, and I was like, yo, bro, this is gonna be the best game I've ever played. And I said, just remember I said this. So then we fast forward getting into the game. We get into the game, and you know, I was just catching the ball. I was just balled like I was, like I said, I was, I was embracing my enner jay Z. I would catch the ball, would get up to flip the ball to the ref, had my head down. Somebody trying to talk to me. I don't hear you, and uh, I think I was around like eighteen catches. I remember Kenny McKinley came sat next to me on the bench. He's like, bro, he looked at me where I'm like, Bro, what are you staring at me like this? He said, Bro, you got eighteen catches. I said what he said? You got eighteen catches? Bro, You're about to break the NFL record. I said, boy, whyite? You didin't been telling me this? So I was in the zone, man like I called it, which is crazy. And then I just remember being in that like that zone. We always talked about that as an act like man like. I don't even remember what happened. I was so locked in too, just bawling that. Um, you know, I didn't even know I had those many catches. That's dope. And that zone for real. You're traded from the Broncos to the Dolphins in two thousand and ten. Earlier in the interview, you said that you and j Cutler just had looks because that's what kind of chemistry you had. So you went with Chad Henny for two thousand and ten, Matt Moore for two thousand eleven. You had a thousand yards both seasons. How tough was it developing chemistry after having such great chemistry over in Denver with color. Yeah, that was the hardest thing, man. And it's crazy because I I used that story to talk about Odell in his situation in Cleveland this past two years. But for me, you know, like I made my money just beating man and man coverage, and that was our all fense in Denver. It was, you know, Jay and I just tooking into coaches just said all right, we're gonna develop our offense this way. Like one day we went out there and it was you know, I was single backside, one on one. We didn't like it. Jay looked at me, He gave me a go route. We connected, and then we came back. They did something else. He gave me a slant. We connected, came back. They gave me a look. I said, Jay, let's running out. We ran out. We connected. Come fast forward to that Monday morning meeting. Jeremy Bates was like, I don't know what the hell you guys are doing, but I like it. So what we would put plays and we would say front side, you gotta play Jay and Brandon, y'all figure it out. Y'all get out there. We would literally call you know, trips right, Z zing bingo? What were you the Z or the X hands? It I was ex I was backside, so they would say X hand signal, that was the that was the place. So we would go off right. So now you fast forward to going in the henty and that was really frustrating for me because I'll be one on one and he wouldn't even look my way and throw me the ball. He would be going through his progression. I'm like, this is why you got the money, paid me the money I came here because of that. Yeah, So that was that was frustrating. Man. How long did it take for you? Did you guys developed that at all? Or no? Henny, Matt Moore, Tyler Thick, Penn, who who I'm gonna sounding like on a minute. So I love playing with the way Matt Moore actually would throw it to me like he was like, yeo, I'm just gonna drop back if you want to want um throwing to you. So that was cool. He was little limited at quarterback, but I love playing with him. Um, but no, we never developed that. And it wasn't until like, you know, my second my second year in in Miami. I remember watching Sunday night football and seeing Jay Cut just being smashed and he was probably getting hit every time he dropped by back, and I just hit him out, like, bro, man, you all right? Man, I just watching this man, keep your head up. And yeah, we just started talking. It's like, hey, why don't we come to Chicago. I was like, man, I ain't asking for no trade. Bro, I'm just gonna pray on it and see what happened after the season, But I would love to come ball with you that offseason. Man. They called me and then and they were like, hey, you know, Chicago wing the trade for you. Jay stood on the table just like Tom Brady stood on the table for a b and and they brought me and JA was like, I need to X go right. You know. I went right to Chicago and we picked right up where I left off when we left off. I mean, you came in with the monster. You're a d eighteen receptions, fifteen hundred yards and eleven touchdowns and not your sixth one thousand yards seasons. I mean how did that feel? It felt good because, like I was, that was the first time I listened to the media. Was my last year when I was playing for the Dolphins. You know, I went from back to back to back, hundred yards, hundred kept seasons, Pro Bowls, back to back, and you know, that was the first time, like the newspaper clipp and I was reading it, and I was struggling, and I didn't have amazing numbers like a D catches hair a D catches there, three touchdowns, four touches, whatever it was. So what I ended up doing is I took all the clips of all my drop balls and I would go home after practice and I would literally catch twenty of those like in that same position. So like I we played in San Diego and I was running down the left side of the field. It was like I would have been like the seventy seven yard touchdown, but I lost the ball in the lights, and I was like damn. So I went home. I put the lights on on my basketball court and I had my trainer throw it up in the lights and I would track the ball coming out of the lights. And so what I did is I took all those catches and I just kept working on and working on, work on it fast forward. It didn't happen that next year. I mean, it didn't happen that year, didn't turn it around because I was trying to ball finish off the season strong. Then that next years when I had that hundred eighteen catches, man, and you know I ain't it felt like I ain't dropped anything. So I just that's what I remember from that season was how I put that work in the year before and how it ended up panning out. You know, in Chicago that sounds like some code ship they said code mr up. Was it a free throw or a jumper? I don't know if it's urban legend, but they said he worked one summer with just a bunch of lights right in his face, just so a camera flash would never funk with him. Again, Well, it's it's it's interesting I would I mean, you know, you learn a lot as an athlete, you know when you and when you're in those moments and and from that play, Like what I would start doing is actually before the game start, I would walk the entire stadium. That's find any blind spots, you know. So I don't know if you ever had a moment where you're like, man like I I got. If I knew this was happening, I could have prepared changed your preparation for me. It was like before the game, I would walk to the stadium and look at everything, every inch of the grass, if there was any debits, any blind spots. You were paired with Matt Forte that year, very solid offense. You guys ended up going ten and six, but not making the playoffs. How disappointing was that because, like you said, you came out with the monster year. You're reunited, but probably one of your favorite quarterbacks you played with you in your career, Matt Forte, was in his bag, and you guys still fell short with a ten and six record. That's I mean most of the time ten and six nine percent the time, that's a playoff record. So you know, you guys know how it is. Man Like you put so much work into it. And we talked about this earlier, like that mindset of a right now shift from you know, getting that contract to now winning the Super Bowl, and everything I did was for that moment, So like, I was so locked in every every waking moment, and for us to lose it was it was. It was devastating. I remember we win, we in with a Minnesota Viking loss. So as we lad we played Detroit, we beat Detroit. We we handle our business. We fly back to Chicago and we're on a bus heading to UH Lake four's tool to headquarters and we're watching the game as we're going and we just need Minnesota, I believe to win. I believe it was for Minnesota to win. And they lost or no yet and they lost, and all of us, just like you know, le Levy Smith was fired after that year. They let go of a cute a few key players, Brian or a Lacker, and nothing was the same sense in Chicago. Did it ever? Where on you? Obviously you said it's something you still think about, but it did where on your you off the field, your attitude towards your family or your friends, or your mental approach to the lack of being able to get to the playoffs and your job. Where in your personal life now? I think my uh, just my dedication weird on my family. Um, and that was part of you know, where I had to find ones, you know, as part of that whole mental health journey to man my my second anniversary, I went to Whole Foods, brought my steak norhamonal norh hormonal steak, all my season my pots and my pan because you know the bad you know they talk about different type of uh you know things and pans. Like it was. I was just on this health kick. So i go down to Prime one twelve at four o'clock or four o'clock that day and I'm like, look, I'm coming from my anniversary, but here's my food. This is how I want you to prepare it. Like bro, I was so I was that wow on my preparation, how I took care of my body. That it just I didn't have a life outside of the ball. That's all I wanted to do was just be great. You know what I'm saying to the point, and I always used as an example because I'm like, damn, looking back on it, that was crazy. Like one day in the off season. One day in the off season, I can't just go to Prime one twelve and say, you know, cook me, give me your inflated me on like I went to Old Foods, made sure it was norm hormonal, gave him my seasoning my pants right. My wife looking at me like, yo, you're crazy man, You how did the inside the NFL opportunity to present itself? Oh man, Bill, you see. So just studying, like I said, spent three months with Ania l Verse the Harvard class and just studying like how guys transmission and u let magic, Johnson lived Strong stood out to me. Boomer size and Dugs Low like a couple of guys stood out to me. It did well with their platform. And so after we got out of that case study, I put a game plan together. It's like two thousand and fourteen. I said, Okay, let me do it now, so I can actually make that transition uh seamlessly. So I said, every year I'm going tour, I'm gonna go do I'm going out the Bristol, get on ESPN, I'm going out to l A through some of the lifestyle stuff. But I want to meet the executives. I want to meet the producers. I want to get the reps. So when I'm ready to move on, it's already set up. So the first time I went on tour, I called it going on tour. C A A hit me up, wm me, hit me up. All these ages hit me up. I didn't even know you needed a broadcasting agent. I thought my football agent was going, you know, my TV deal. So all these ages hit me up in Josh Pott for W and Me. He's like, look, I love what I just saw. Let's work. So literally, you know, a week later, he's like, there might be an opportunity for you to go on showtime inside the NFL. Be the first active athlete doing full time broadcasting. So that's how that came about, and that's one of the reasons why the Chicago Bears shipped me out of there. It's like, we don't want that. Yeah, I was gonna get that. So that they had an issue with you doing stuff in the off season. I'm sleep, not the off season. In season, what I was doing was so you know, in the NFL every Tuesday, it's pretty much universal that guys are off. So everybody's off. That's your off. They do whatever you want, take care of your body, but just chill um. So we shoot inside the NFL on Tuesday. Ah in New York, that's right. So I would wake up. I would wake up at like four in the morning. The PJ would leave five thirty in the morning. I'll leave from actually like Indiana, it was forty five minutes away. From the city of Chicago, take off, landing Teterboro. From Teterborough, we would be on you know, we will shoot to the city. I'll be on set around ten thirty. We would start shooting from twelve at twelve, at twelve to two thirty, we're shooting at four o'clock. I'm back at Teterborough. I'm landing in Chicago at five o'clock. Right. So that was my days on on on Tuesdays. And they didn't like that. He thought it was a distraction, and I'm like, I just went for yards, Like why is it a distraction? You know? So the new the new regime, when they came in, they were like, look, it's either you stopped doing this or or or else. And I was like, well, you know, I'm gonna keep moving forward because then they got back to what we talked about early, like just being institutionalized. I'm like, I got once in a lifetime opportunity to do something built, something bigger than the game of football. I said, I'm still bawling. I said, what's more of a distraction me talking shop on Tuesdays on showtime about football or me going to the club every night, coming in drunk. It was more of a distraction to the team. It's that bullshit business side of everything. How dope was it though, to be able to actively be playing in the NFL to doing your thing but still being able to talk about the rest of the league on Tuesdays. It was challenging. Bro I absolutely hated it because you know, it was uh like an art to it where I couldn't like hell, hell, First of all, I didn't even want I wasn't even watching all the games, so I couldn't even really I had to finesse it because I didn't really know what was going on. I knew my matchups, I knew, you know, what teams I was playing against. So it was challenging because you know, we never want to, you know, give bulletin board material. So it was a way of trying to entertain without saying something crazy like now I get on there, you know, like yesterday on on first things First, I'm like, this is the worst year Bill Belichick ever had. He's like, yeah, he's the goat, but he's terrible. He's having a terrible year, right, Like, I would never say that when I'm playing, because there's going to be a distraction to absolutely you know, you couldn't speak Yeah, Like I couldn't go up there and say, Baker Mayfield is a bus I do it now, right, But like I tried to do it where you know, I was still entertaining, but I wasn't creating major headlines that could be a distraction to the team. Right. So you end up um with the Jets in two thousand and fifteen have another monster season. Hundred nine receptions, fifteen hunere yards again fourteen touchdowns led the NFL. What was it like, first and Foremus going to the Jets, but then playing in the biggest media market in the world. You know, I was the whole plan, man, Like I just I felt like being there, I would I could extend, you know, my time on showtime and then obviously get an opportunity to win. Like I felt like we were a quarterback away there. For some reason, I thought Geno Smith could develop. I didn't think he would get it year one, but I thought our our second year together with Todd Bowls that it could happen. To me. It was the you know, I was getting the best of both worlds. Off the field, I was exactly where I wanted to be on and field, I felt like we had an opportunity to compete. We went back and got the real reevers, Antonio Comarty. The deepense was was was you know, on paper, was supposed to be really good. They were really good that first year, and offensively I thought I was the difference maker. I thought, you know, if they used me correct act league, that we would be good enough to to to win ball games and make some noise. Mm hmmmm. Who was the one quarterback during your career you wish you got a chance to play with? Oh, I played with him, but it was too late. Russell Wilson bro Yeah, because that's my that's my style. It's like, just give me a chance, like Russell one on one, I'm coming to you and it's and I also like that set up in Seattle where they're going to run the ball, which gives me favorable matchups outside one on one. But Russell Wilson, I just loved how he played. He extended plays where you know the players never did. He's gonna get out of the pocket, keep running, keep going, try to find a way to get open. I'm throwing the ball. So he was that guy. But if you know another guy, you know I would enjoyed playing with with being like Aaron Rodgers, you know, obviously Tom Brady to go. But I love those guys because it's still a little bit of backyard football, like one on one, you know, like you know, and then also look out there running slam go out, you know, off scripted plays, favorite dB to match up against or who you loved talking ship to. So champ Bailey, I practiced against him, and then you know, he was on my team in Denver, and then we played against each other when I went to Miami. Cham Bailey was a dog. He was. He was my hardest matchup. He was one of the reasons why I developed. And then also um Drell Reeve was hand down probably the hardest matchup. Like this dude had a stretch where nobody went over a hundred yards. We're talking about Randy Moss, Reggie, Wayne Andre Johnson, Chad Ocho, Sinko, you name it, the Larry Fitzgerald Megatron. Nobody could get off on this dude. So revous Island bro. Yeah he was, he was alright, right, Randy Random, I was dead burned his ass and catching one hand and that was one. That was one. And then after that played and then after that played, he pulled his hand. He was out. He was a handstring. I just think pe was hurt. On a serious note, March two thousand and eighteen, you partnered up with Logic, UH, Glenn Close and his wife to start a group called can You Relate? Can you explain to us what that was about? Typically, we have our first break from the aide at the age range of eighteen and twenty two, eighteen and twenty two, where we're at on college, we're in college, so you know, what we focused a lot on during that time was how do we bridge the gap between our college students and mental health and then understanding what services they had. So what we did is we actually put together an entire week where we brought out Logic and some other folks to really highlight mental health and have that discussion. You know, a lot of people don't understand. It's like, man, I've been good all my life and now I'm having this first like what is this I'm feeling? Well, that's anxiety, and they don't even know what it is. They feel like they died, they're dying, they feel like they're having a heart attack, but the reality is anxiety, depression, you know, the sense of you know, m I work that. You know, you come from a place where you're you're the best person in your class, the best person in your sport, and now you in a pool full of people that's talented. So there's a lot that happens on the college campus, and I just think it's important for us to give our college students resources that they need to deal with these mental health challenges. That's all right, we're quick hitters. Now this is the end of the show. So I'll take the first one. Who are your top five artists? Top five artists? I gotta go with jay Z number one. Um, I love Biggie, I love Rick Ross and we're talking about rap, right yeah, all right, so so jay Z, we're gonna go with Biggie. We're gonna go with Rick Ross. We're gonna go with you know, oh man five five you need five Jack Jack Jack through Michael McDonald in there last week. So feel free to stray outside of rapp. Oh yeah, let me go some new school. Let me go some new school right now. So new school. You know, I like listening to I like listening to the Baby hel and uh, you know, I'm gonna go back to Park to Like, man, this is a leg I still listen to Park all the time. Like Park is one of those dudes where you know you can lift weights to it and also you can sit back and vibe to it. So I love listening to Park so many different ways and fight to them. And that motherfucker had a song for every emotion, every human emotion that was that was given to us. Yeah, Pop man speaking the pot and you're working out, give me three songs on your training playlist, So three songs on my training latest right now? Um, I'm listening to this just sounds crazy, But Fetty Walk got a joint from two thousand and seventeen that I just found me, I just found So Fetty Walk got a joint called a that I'm listening to heavy right now. Yeah, um, T I gotta what is it? T I just came out with something. His last project was nice. Yeah that that shocked me. And man, what else am I listening to? So those are the top Those are two that on rotation and then the also, um, what's the kid out in Detroit? Big Big Sean. Big Sean got a few projects out right now, a few joints out Big Sean. Yeah, Big Sean album is high. I'm still pop smoke. Hey, I didn't with all due respect, rest in peace, I didn't really know too much because I didn't. I haven't really give there's a handful of these young boys I listened to. But that pop Smoke album, you gotta give your hat to him. And and fifty did a great job producing that ship. That was a hell of album. Shout out fifty cent man for sure. And I know, and you know, like I didn't even know nothing about Nipsey for real, So that that that hustle that I still listened to that as well, Um, motivate call hustle, Yeah, hustle and motivate that joint go hard. That's always like a snowboard too. So like I listened to a lot of Nipsey when I snowboard? Is that right? Well? What got you in the snowboard? I would have never expected that you gotta go? You might be too tall, y'all, how snowboard? Now as snowboards a lot, how bigger the ball of us? And he snowboard? I remember sunny Bunno y'all can have that snowboard. And I just want to know what got you into it. Yeah, I don't know. Man. Like I was out there playing in Denver and we used to always used That's where I went and got my my surgery. I had three hip surgeries in bell Colorado, and everybody with ski and I never got it. So when when one trip my wife is like, you know, I want to go ski and I want to try and I was like, all right, I'll be down at the bottom of the mount Then the next trip she finally got me to just, you know, take a class, and I fell in love with it. Bro. I was just like, get the instructor. I'm gonna follow my way down the whole slope figuring out. And we've been snowboarding like my my my kids starts snowboarding at three. They five now three year olds, going down the mountains, going down greens and blues. I don't snowboard. I don't have snowboard on ice skate because black people have been skating out the ice the whole life. So I'm still still fed. Um back to the questions, who is your your wide receivers of Mount Rushmore, I'm gonna go with uh, man, No, I ain't gonna do that. I'm gonna get the O g s out the way Jerry Rice. Um, well, then there's a couple of them Jerry Rice, t O M Randy Moss, you know I and then like some new school dudes, Julio Jones. I think he's gonna go down as one of the greatest. Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson. But if I had to just give the top five Jerry Rice, Randy Mass, Terrell Owens, Julio Jones, Mega Tron Nice Nice, Okay, five five dinner guests Alive or the seas just your five dinner guess you want to have Denner with a love of the season. Plus Obama. I want to sit down with Obama. He's all he's on, He's on everybody list. This one's gonna trip you out. But I want to sit down with Trump. Wow, I want that? Yeah, bro, Like you don't think that'd be an interesting conversation, Like absolutely, absolutely, he's interesting. Um I met Hols before, but like he's up there. Like I respect how he moved out. You know, you know, there ain't too many people that really, you know, excite me outside of what they do. I just love how he's he's he's paving away. Um, so we got hold there. Number four, I would say, you know, I don't even know who would be for Martin Luther King. I would love to sit down with Martin Luther King. And the last person I would say is you know, man, let's throw it. Uh. I don't know who you got jack? Who you got? Give me one jack? Uh, I'd just give you what I'll give you. Uh, probably a mega evers nice okay, cool, a nice little dinner. All right. So last question, and we always have to pre prep you if you the way you answer this last question, if you have access to him, we need your help getting them. Who's one guest you'd want to see on all the smoke? Oh all the smoke? Drum roll? Please bring who would be Dope jay Z? Yeah? We that's what you need. He right there. It's just he's out here. It's just harder. Yeah, that's a rich motherfucker's just hard to get to him. He's out here though. Hold no hope. I think I think hoping me here that clip Hold would definitely come in because you know, like yeah for real, like he like what y'all doing. You gotta respect the movement like you gotta y'all had y'all had Kobe d Wade. I mean you got Biden, you got some like y'all. I mean y'all. Right there, we need hope, Hold, we need you, we need you all. We need you. Heard conversation. All right, let me ask you to will be your first question? You get hold, what's the first question. I'm I'm just waiting for the biggest segment. What's gonna be for? We need we need Puma contracts, we need a Puma sponsor. Yeah. My first question would probably be knowing where you came from, did you ever see yourself being becoming a billionaire? Oh? Wow? I mean he came from the streets slaying crack and he's a fifty year old billionaire. Now he's named another one that it's not dead or in prison, right man. That's a good question, you know. I think he would say no. I think he would say yeah, I definitely thought I would be super successful, but billion there I would I would who who? Who rooms up from the hood saying I'm gonna be a billy? Well now the kids now, kids now when I say that, but not back then his answer. I would like to hear your answer. Yeah, oh man, thank you, Brandon. We appreciate it. We apologize that we had to cancel on you last week, but we had to get some things done. But man, thank you for your time. Best to luck with everything you're doing. Me and Jack array to come on your show whenever you need us to let us know. Bro. Oh bet, Bet appreciate it. I appreciate it. Bro, that's a rap. Another episode of All the Smoke with our guests Brandon Marshall. You can catch this on Showtime Basketball YouTube, or the I Heart platform Black Effects. See y'all next time. This is All a Smoke, a production of The Black Effect and our Heart Radio in partnership with Showtime

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All The Smoke

ALL THE SMOKE pairs two of the most outspoken and controversial players of their time. Known as fier 
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