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The X Clown Game with Steve Smith Sr. | 2003 NFC Divisional Round: Panthers vs. Rams

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Published Nov 19, 2024, 8:01 AM

Steve Smith is in studio! The legendary wide receiver is with us to relive the 2003 NFC Divisional round game aka "The X Clown Game." Steve joins us on the couch (2:26). We go back to January 2004 (46:23). We go through the rosters (1:04:33). We dive into the game (1:28:26). We score it (1:41:23). We wrap it up with an NFL teams as foods segment brought to you by DoorDash (1:48:46). 

If I hit you down low, that was because I didn't respect you. But if I didn't respect you, that means also because you hit me down low. So we have no regards of each other's career. So guess what, let's do it there.

The head's different. You know, you knock someone out, that's that's considered a kiss. You taking out knees, that's considered a career.

Yeah. I got to the point where guys knew.

I was like, bro, if you hit me low again or you cheap shot man, I got one question for you. When I cut you and they gotta do surgery, my question is what kind of flowers you want me to send you.

Welcome to Games and Names presented by door Dash.

I'm Julian Edelman.

They're Jack and Kyler, and we're on a mission to find the greatest game of all time. And on today's episode, we are covering the two thousand and three NFC Divisional Round game between the Panthers and Rams with sixteen year NFL AT five time pro bowler legendary Panther Steve Smith Senior. We get into talking who was the toughest corner that tried to cover?

Steve Smith, I hate it going against Revis. I just remember he was like, really smart, real smart.

What's it like having a walk off touchdown?

Once I got it, I was like, ain't nobody catching me?

You were fast? I kind of was.

I was surprised.

A fun story with how he almost ended up becoming a Patriot.

Do you know how close I was?

I do?

Talk about bags packed?

You ready what happened to the trade.

Then we wrap it up with finding out what NFL teams are, your favorite game day snacks with door Dash, our favorite food delivery app.

You gotta stick around to the very end.

Let's go Games with Names is a production of iHeartRadio.

Let's order something, hire it up, Let's go what are we gonna order? Jack?

This is always the hardest part of it, Jack feeling. I'm feeling something that's easy.

Pizza.

Pizza's always good, fucking Let's order pizza wings.

You ain't go wrong. Let me order baby. One of your superpowers is your ability to order.

DoorDash Audience Jules great orderer, never miss skill set, never misses.

Gets enough for everyone. He you know, peruses the whole menu.

He's a great order man of taste, both in delivery and in restaurant, which is a different skill set.

Yep, I just like to I like to share the wealth of my my knowledge of food, at least my stomach's knowledge of food with my friends.

Did you order?

Ye? I ordered? I ordered good? All right? Quick order? Nothing crazy, nothing crazy.

Don't don't pat me on the ass right now.

My shit in your goddamn hand with this order?

All right?

Should be here, no time.

All right.

Thanks to door Dash for helping us there. Let's go to the Steve Smith interview. Let's get into this thing.

January tenth, two thousand and four, Edward Jones, don't Saint Louis, Missouri.

The Panthers Rams are tied twenty three to twenty three, heading into.

A double overtime third and forty Dell home jobs back. He's got Smith streaking down the field on the next clown.

This is next clown game. Why are you talk about that? Boys?

My dog? Do you do?

Welcome to games with names today, we are looking at the two thousand and three NFC Divisional round game between the Panthers and the Rams with legendary Steve Smith.

Steve Smith in one sentence, why did you pick this game?

You guys? That was the only game you guys gave me?

Is this the only game? Is this the only game we gave? I recommended this one hard man. I love this game.

Jackson from North Carolina. This is when he was watching football. He was, if we don't do this game, he's gonna I'm not complaining, But you asked me, so I was. I appreciate you. You agree with Steve. I give him thumbs up.

So in one sentence, why is this game so impactful in your career?

Again? Because this is the only game you guys gave me?

The two throw interesting. I have to talk to the people in the back. I'll just stop.

See this is see when I do this, this is when people get irritated with me.

He's he's such a.

Right, No, I because of my personality or like how people feel. They kind of think prankster is more of like a it's kind of a hole, but I'm kind of a goofball goofball?

Yeah really at the house, I.

Can see that. Is this the greatest game of all time? Though?

I think for the Panthers. For us, yeah, one, because we won the game and we've obviously you know. Several weeks later, we played New England, Patriots and and and all that stuff. But it was really cool one because of this game. You know how football is, you know how practice goes. There's so many nuances, there's so many little small detail things that happen and don't happen. And we had practiced the play is called X clown. We practiced that play so many times and me and Jay could not get on the same page.

I run it this way, he threw it that way. He threw it this way.

I wouldn't run it that way, and it just just seemed.

Like it was not gonna work. And then when they called it a game, it worked twice.

You guys hit it twice now the X clown. So there's verbiage, probably for the protection and there's something else or does that tell everyone what to do?

So this is where ball is.

This is the part where some people don't like that I actually know ball. You know, they kind of think that I don't know ball. And people always talk about, you know, especially with my stuff, they always talk about Steve just he just talks.

And the offense we were running that year was Dan Henney.

Yeah, a tree from him.

That tree is from Charlie Weiss, which means we had maybe if these words sound familiar to you, ol A recircle Max delly.

XQ Yeah, olay is that out with the flag? Yes?

Two man concept too many concepts of X clown's backside telling the X what to do, but there was probably something in front telling the other guys what to do.

Yes.

And then we had like toga they called it ten ten two ends, two ends.

We had topper topper two posts. Yeah.

Yeah, so that that was That was the offense.

And you know I had to learn how to play receiver in a way that I just really didn't know how to play receiver at that time, you know, going to Utah, I was I was actually in college, Dunior college.

I was a Z originally. Yeah.

Well my wide receivers coach in college switched me to AX because I'm right handed, but I'm left hand dominant. So I would be at Z with the ball in my left hand and I was stiff on my right right. Well, they come and just poke it out, so they moved me to X. And that's how I became an.

Axe because of how you handled the ball.

Because I high handled the ball.

Bro not only did carry the ball in my left arm because I was a four back, everything left left. I was the same way because I was in Pop Warner. I was the four back and a wishbone offense, and I always ran left, and so you always kept it on the outside, and so I would always, even to this day that my most comfortable side was my left side holding the ball, which is very unorthodox for right handed guys.

That's crazy.

So you turned into an X in college because your right hand, you're better with the ball in your left, so you give the stiffy And in this point in your career, you were still kind of feeling your feeling on how to learn how to play receiver in this offense, that Charlie Weis's style offense.

So is this clown route? Is it like a bow post?

Yes, it's so, because you inside released and then you stemmed up and then you hit them with the outside with.

The couple because it was it was it was it was built off Q.

You was just a bow.

Yes, So it was built off the Q because I ran it so well, Yeah, stem inside.

Get vertical, get vertical, go to the corner.

Yeah, so I'll stem inside and I just went but I I ran out on and I leaned, but the reason I leaned to make him think it was going a shitty bow. Yes, but it was also the lean was to put my foot in the ground to yes, sir.

Yeah.

People people don't realize you were primarily an X like. People try to put you in like categories where you were No. Steve Smith was the most you're probably the most dominant X in my eyes of all time under six foot like you like and you, but you didn't play like you were. It was fucking amazing to me to watch you play. When you could run by people, you could run the routes that I ran and I specialized in, but you could win on a go route. You could stack a guy, run away from a guy, and you were so dynamic with the ball and strong bottom legs like you never got down like and you like. It's fucking crazy that it all stemmed back to the coach in college.

I say, hey, you only hold it in your left I think we got to put you at X.

It was it was a problems.

There was a problem, man my But the guy that that that coached me recruited me out of San Monica Community College.

Right down the road. I run there, Yeah, it's ship.

Now your turf, yeah, Fred Graves. Yeah, at University of Utah. Yeah, And he was like, man, we gotta put you as we gotta put you at OX.

This is working. You're giving up the football.

Yeah.

So I was like, all right, man, that's crazy. So you went to Santa Monica Junior College.

How like, how I know you? You talk about it all the time, but you and Ocho? Is he Ocho? Or is he Chad?

He was He's always been Chad.

Yeah, you guys went to the same juco. Now did you guys take pride in who talked ship the craziest at that time? I just gotta I can only imagine you two in the same fucking huddle at that time.

We we didn't like each other.

I can see that because he.

Was from the South and I was Cali, and so he had he had got He was a bounce back, so he had got in trouble. So his grandmother had and was like, hey, goes live with your mom in California. So it was you know, you know how it is when you go with when you're playing on new teams or you're playing on a new team, that your old team and that old that that guy would always say man, when we were at this team, we did this, and I used to be like, we'll go back there then, bro, we don't want you here, you know.

But you know what I'm saying.

They were like, well, we ran this, and you know we were here and you know, and I was a guy zero filter zero, and I would say what everybody was thinking out loud.

You'll be like, won't you go back there then?

But you can't cause you know, and I'll be like, just go back there, and it was the awkward silence.

But and what's funny about that is my wife.

Says, she goes, what what are you thinking when you say stuff like that?

And she asked me that and I paused and I was like.

Yeah, that's probably problem. I don't I don't think. I just go yeah, I understand. I used to.

I do that a lot. I've had to control it a little more, but I was as a kid. I do that a lot, unfiltered.

I was adult.

The crazy thing is you don't never turn it off. Though. Yeah, you have gotten better, bro, it's now.

It's like it throws people off because they're like, who's this guy? Yeah?

Or I've gotten a question, are you under anything? Are you Ron just chilling under the influence of something like what gay smoking that dough?

What? Why are you saying? I'm like, I just kind of chill.

I've I've kind of learned and getting better with just being okay, with being okay, like just like.

What you hey, what you're doing today?

Nothing, that's about it? Small talk. I get it. I'm not I get it. I get it. What's life looking like these days?

Uh?

Playing golf? Yeah? And you got your show on YouTube ironed out?

Ye? Yeah, yeah, she's fire. I'm waiting for my invite. I gotta get my golf game better before I go suck it off.

And we played twenty seventh. I pause. We played twenty seven the other day. Bro, whoa whoa? Hold, she was just gonna say that and just let that go. That's something Bill always used to say.

You just say, oh, he fucking assholes sucked off this goddamn drive like he would say, ship like that.

Bro, So we gotta let's let's take a sidetrack.

Sidetrack from golf.

Do you know how close I was? I? Do you know the story?

I remember you may have told me, but I forgot the story. Explain the story, all right? What we are talking.

Well.

First of all, I was, Uh, my agent had worked out a trade to go to New England, and Dave Gottimo was the general manager, and he gave me permission to talk to the sam Sitisco forty nine ers. But my agent had worked out a deal for me to go up there. I was with under Armour. Under Armour was starting to make my cleats for the Patriots Colors. And that year a former teammate of mine was on the team, a couple of months before Damian Lewis d lou He was on the team, and so he already had gave me information on where to stay.

And man, you're talking about bags packed ready, one foot in, one foot out.

What happened?

Trade didn't go through because they gave me permission to talk to the sam six forty nine ers.

Uh.

And at that time I did not want to go to the Samitixco for my wife was pregnant with Deuce, my my our youngest, and I was, you know, trying to find all that.

And so what year was that?

Great question?

Was it thirteen twelve, thirteen twenty twelve? And so you would have came in thirteen.

Now I was coming a year of twenty twelve. Twenty twelve, I was yeah October, and then off season came and you were a visit. You went on a visit to Baltimore. Oh, three days before I went.

I was about to go on a visit to Baltimore.

Oh, you didn't go.

I didn't go because you got it.

Oh and I didn't get my trip to New England because then I signed back.

So it's your fault. Okay, Cool, we've established that I went to the Niners.

Nah.

No, it sounds like you just admit it with four cameras that it's your fault.

Sounds like it can't blame You can't blame it on the black guy this time.

You know, I had to overcome a lot of things and that I overcame though. You know how I got my opportunity. Gronk had to break his back, tragic, Danny had to tear both his groins, and one of our teammates had to go on a killing spree.

So there is no one else to That was.

Very insensitive, bro, whatever that was. I was just trying to be you know, that was kind of filter. But I didn't use his name. We all know, but I didn't. It's true the truth billboards right now. No, the actor is on billboards. That's sad we talk about that.

How was he in the locker room crazy?

Yeah?

Yeah, like one of those guys that you thought was a wankster, like he acted a wankster, like, he acted tough, but no one took him seriously. Little did we know? Yeah it was it was gnarly bro. But that's how I got my opportunity. So I'm going to give it up for no one after that. Yeah, back to golf, So what's with this golf? This golf show?

So I started doing some counseling just because like trying to figure out like, man, you know, forty five years old, you know, obviously grew up here. I grew up one hundred and twenty six in Avalon. So just saw you know, scene and saw a lot of things that probably a ten, fifteen, sixteen year old probably need some help processing. And then I just started to realize, like, you know, when you retire with doing something that you I've been doing since I was in the third grade down to when I'm thirty eight years old, like just to shut that off as if it never happened. It's kind of different.

Yeah, and so.

I was like, all right, how do I grieve? Like, how do I figure out? How do I grieve well in a healthy way. We, you know, we were in COVID, ended up selling. We sold our house because my daughter, my son, they were all gone. It was just me, my wife, dog, and our two boys in this house in like half of the house.

We had a basement.

Half of the house we didn't even turn on and so, you know, like everything else, this guy was falling COVID and was like, hey, there's a great opportunity to sell. So we sold and downsized. But what was crazy is in downsize and I had to pack up all my stuff and bro I like for the family, it was like, yo, what are you gonna do with all this stuff?

You know, the.

Helmets, the balls, the leeks, and that's cute, but that doesn't that doesn't fit in the in the new house. So what you're gonna do with it? And I didn't realize that. It was like, oh, I gotta throw this stuff away. But this stuff when I was starting to pack it up, meant, oh, this is my touchdown passed back in you know, back in forty four, you know, back in two thousand and three and two thousand and five and twenty thirteen, and I still had my shoulder pass, my only pair of shoulder pass I ever wore my whole career, and then some gloves and then some under armour cleats and then this and that, and it was like, yeah, that's cool, find a place for I was packing up my stuff, trying to decide on what's important and what is discard. Bro, I started crying.

Yeah.

I started realizing like bro, yeah, and I'm like, oh.

Yeah, and I'll never ever play again. And I was like, yeah, well not me. My wife is like, yeah, this is normal.

And so I started to like start to realize that, like, man, I got some stuff in there that's really holding me back that I've been holding on to that I didn't didn't know I was holding on to, and just how it's affected me. And so in those sessions as I've been doing it, and I'm huge on mental health just because I've learned, like you know, in COVID, there are some things like you learned about yourself, you learned about other people, and so I just because like you know what, I just need to unload some of this stuff that I'm carrying.

And when I.

Started to realize.

I was like, Yo, I'm I'm kind of fucked up, Like this isn't normal.

I shouldn't be this way. I shouldn't be angry all the time.

I shouldn't be concerned that the dude that's mowing the grass he's maybe trying to steal from me and he's been on the grass for a house for like the last eight years. Or I would like see people that I knew and like I didn't talk to him, and so so I started doing that stuff.

And then.

In my last session, probably about February last February was it twenty twenty four, twenty twenty three. And then in twenty twenty four, right before the Super Bowl in Vegas, my counselor said, Yo, what do you do for you? I was like, yeah, you know, like the vacation, hangout to kid, No, no, no, what do you do for you? And it was a great question that I didn't have an answer to, and I didn't I don't really know how to chill, and so I started kind of through the PA. At golf Tech, you can get like six months of like once a week, four times a month, you can get at golf Tech, you can get a free membership. And so about three months saying I'm doing it, and the guy's like, man, do you want to continue to do this because your membership is going to be up, you know, and you're actually getting pretty good.

What do you think? And I was like, you know, I think I want to do it.

And so started playing and that's when the bug hit me and I realized like, oh, man, like this is something that this is not the football player. It's not the dad, that's not the husband. It's just kind of this is Steve, and I like it. And then my boys it was like poplis go play all right.

But even on the course, I.

Was still a little edgy, a little bit like you know, pace of play. When you pace play wasn't up. It was kind of like hey, hey, hey guys, let's let's keep it going. Let's let's hurry up. And then it's just kind of like okay, ease. And then I just I like playing, but I didn't love playing. I like playing golf now. Man, it's like like it's it's my wu saw Like I'm out on a golf course, good badd and different.

One.

One of the one of.

The agreements that I have with myself on the golf course. Is I don't rush. If I'm rushing on the golf course, I don't play. Now I go to driving range. But on the golf course, if I'm playing eighteen, I'm playing eighteen. If I play nine, I'm playing nine. I'm not playing six out of the nine. I'm not playing ten out of the eighteen. I'm playing eighteen. And man, I and when I go play eighteen, bro, I got me some snacks and crustaballs, water, drink kterade, whatever it is, and I just chill. Now I'm gonna have me a fresh pair of kicks on sock sures. It don't matter, Bro, I'm just chilling. And so we're going on vacation, and the wife should be like, hey, we're going to hear here and questions. It used to be is there golf course a golf course plumb, yes, golf course. And now so now on the family vacation, it be my three boys. We'll go play golf and then I'll get my wife and my daughter they'll get the massage.

It sounds to me you found another outlet to compete in and compete with yourself and give you that kind of like you're investing something where you can see result and you you've got you've got a chance to go out and feel like you're you're competing. No, man, when I'm on a golf course, bro, even if you're not doing that, but you're you're taking those mental reps and those No.

For me, what playing on a golf course is actually relaxing in regards of I'm not playing against you, and it's the dang course, Like the course is beat me up, and it's actually the only place that I kind of tiptoe.

Yeah.

Like I get a sandtrap, I'm like, oh my, I'm scared because man, we could be here for four hits.

Or you know, or we're gonna hit that. You know, we're gonna you know.

Now I'm gonna take that stroke. I'll walk up to the sand trap like, oh, you're.

Gonna be cool. Two inches behind, open the stands, open the face.

I just so like for me, man, I just I enjoy I enjoy the piece and quiet. It's why I discover why I love country music. Yeah, so I'll be bumping some country music.

My boys are like, who is this dude?

Yeah, that's awesome.

I was out earlier this week I was out at the driving range. I go this place in the valley because they have grass. You hit off the grass. And I'm sitting there and there's this there's this older dude got a lawn chair and he goes and he takes about eight balls and he chips a couple of balls and then he comes back and then he sits in his line chair and you hear him on the phone for a second, and then goes back and he chips like eight more like little chips. And this is a huge ass driving range. Like I just got chipped right here. I was like whatever. He comes over and he's going to get a new new basket of balls. He goes, hey baby, you need you need a basket. I'm like, it's fucking Smokey Robinson. Smoking Robbinson brought a lawn chair to this fucking this driving rage and he just sits there and he's hitting chips. And I was like having a rough day, and I went out to the driving range to just kind of like chill and it made my day. Like smoke your Obbinson. Just he's like, hey baby, you need you need a basket of balls. I'm like, no, man, go you smoking Robinson.

He goes, yeah, what's up, baby, I go, I met you at the client you know, so that I met him before.

He had no clue or anything, but it was so fucking cool, and it's such an outlet I use as an outlet as well. For me, it's to compete with myself and try to put something into something like I did when I was playing, and be able to see some kind of result that's positive in my life.

Yeah, so somewhat. You know my wife.

Again, if she sees it, she'll say, uh, just stay in the shallow pool.

Stand in the shallow pool.

You go too deep. But for me, golf is not an outlet in there.

Sometimes when I'm playing golf and it's a time where like it's uh, it's it's where I'm learning life, where think about this. Or we playing nine holes, right and you hit a Generally you either hit a good or bad shot on the first hole and it sets the tone. But it's somewhere in the middle you don't play very good. So let's say whole three, you hit the whole two, you get a par or God bless you, you get a burden.

Circle boom hoole three or four you hit the ball and it goes wide right and you start ye yelling and cussing and you're getting upset.

I used to look at.

That and I'd be like, man, I don't threw a club. I done got mad and I'm going And then it hit me it was like, yo, two holes ago when you got that birdie, you forgot and now you're complaining that you can't find your ball, but you didn't actually even appreciate the birdie.

Yeah.

So for me, it's like it's a God moment is going bro. Sometimes if you can find your ball, you just need.

To be thankful.

That's my that's how we play.

But there's so many people who have this expectation that you're gonna play even golf and you ain't never played even golf in your life. You are twenty two, Yeah you are fourteen. I'm a fourteen to nine. I was like twenty five. I've getting better and better, But sometimes I just like going out there and remember what am I doing? Going wrong?

Oh?

Well, yeah, you're trying to swing like you're hitting the baseball. Oh you're all upper body, and I use are you going back? And so it's like golf of me is the only time that I'm kind of tiptoeing and it's great because it's like hmm and the kids are like, Yo, who's this guy?

This pop?

Oh?

So, how is Steve Smith the golfer different than Steve Smith the football player?

That's why is it?

Do I call you senior?

I mean I prefer all right, then.

It don't bother me. I just I'll just mess around. I mean, that's why I quit playing Bro. It's like it's too much. It's too much to be angry all the time, right, to be miserable.

That's what I used to call I was in the same mindset, Bro. I used to keep going, You're you're preaching me, and so I was like, bro, And so I was like to go backwards because people will be like, oh, I know, you miss it.

Huh nah.

Bro.

Like the stuff that I would have to do to get up for.

A football game, like I was. My boy was in a car with me. I was he was like I was showing him. I was playing all the songs I used to listen to before I go out of.

The pre game ship, pre game pre after I do my warm up. What is it?

It was young Buck.

Bang? What else was it?

Yep?

Black gloves, black mask, Biggie Tupac, like all that stuff that was like super inappropriate. Like if my kids are listening to it now, it's like we need to go, we need to talk.

Yeah.

But and then I come out of the tone like ah, and it was like my outlet.

Now it's like.

I don't need that, bro, like I don't need.

To be takes a lot out of you. Yeah, it's exhausted. It's very exhausting, right, Yeah.

The self motive, like you said, when you do it for a long time, it becomes you, becomes you. But it's also you know, like because of how good you played, you always had a constant standard of what people looked at you, and for you to go out and meet that standard every week that you created because of your play. You know, sometimes when it's week eight, you're playing goddamn Chicago Bears that are fucking dog shit. It's hard to get up sometimes when you're banged up, you know what I mean, you have to go out and create. I would have to create stuff in my head to get you up, and that's exhausting, you know.

I would create my dislike for you in watching film. Yeah, I.

Don't like the way he did that.

Right seat belt. They all do this. It's what about but the little Superman cape? No, I was I never really five nine. You can't never ever be Superman, you know what I mean? More Mighty Mouse, you know, like people always say, like, oh, man, he's he has a Napoleon complex.

Man, I've been five to nine pretty much my whole life. I'm pretty comfortable at my height.

You were so you were big five nine and since you were young.

No, I wasn't a big five now, I was like five to five. I've been short my whole life. Yeah, it hasn't bothered me.

Now i've been I do have hope for a gross spurt because I've been wearing.

Well was that so funny? Though? Hey, I'm still waiting on that thing too. Man, I'm five five still.

Bro.

Like when I was in like ninth grade, I was wearing a nine, so my foot was going on. I was like, can you imagine five six? We're in the size eleven and a half size ten shoe and like I'm a size twelve and I can I never filled in my shoes.

Yeah, so he still might have a spurt there.

Yeah. My son, one of my boys got it though, my son Boston. He's six to two.

His name is Boston. Yeah, that's tight. Was what's the story behind Boston.

I just like to name what it was not a Jackson, Boston and Noah. And there was a car salesman. We were buying a car. He was a car salesman. His name was Noah. Oh no, I'm sorry Jonah Jonah after that transaction, Nope, took.

That name off the het. That's the film right there.

That's like when you watch film.

So I have to bring up, uh oh, the first time I really started. I mean, I knew you as a kid when I was playing not a kid. I wasn't like that much, like seven years younger than you, so whatever.

But it was when I got drafted by Scotty Oh, Scotti O'Brien.

He made me sit with him at five o'clock in the morning and he gave me the whole game plan of what he would tell to thee the special teams meeting that day.

So I had to sit in all the meetings and he was sit and watch.

He made me watch punt returns of you and Medcalf and he would sitting there.

I had to watch of Metcalf.

Yeah, Scotty was Scottio is crazy.

Yeah, I love him. Though I love Scottio, you like.

Him probably not, I respect him.

Yeah, man, he was so tough on me and just the way he was, and I just, uh, I didn't take that kind of coaching like as yay, yeah you love me.

I took that as like side eye. Yeah, so I kind of like.

He loved you, bro.

Bro, he didn't even know what.

Because he's like that, you know.

He was like he was like he's like that with Matthew Slater. Really Matthew Slater.

I love Matthew Slat, the.

Best human being in the world, bro.

But Scotty just.

He was tough on me, man, and just he just like, well, I said, how can I describe Scotty.

Oh, it's like a.

Like onions, Like onions, how I mean you need it, like if it's a burger, you need it on there, but then when you bite into it, you're kind of like, oh, man, too much onion, but.

You but if you take it all out, you're like, no, I need some onions.

The onion can't be too thick, but it can't be not not enough enough.

Yeah, so you can taste it when it's not there, Yeah, but you're kind of like, do I need this much?

Yeah.

It's kind of like when you go to a place that's a little lazy that just cuts the onion straight and hot, like it doesn't mince the onion or cut the onion up where you have pieces of onion and then you get the fat.

Chunk on it. Yeah.

It kind of like, Well, the reason why I say that is so when he left Carolina he went to Miami. Yeah, and Miami, which we've gotten over Sam Madison.

We played against each other.

And Scotty kind of made and like suggested Sam do some things to get me riled up. And I knew where it came from, and at that time I was here only in my fifth year. Man, it kind of hit my soul a little bit because a guy that I respected and admired, Scotti, and how he had them do that, and so it just kind of was like it kind of what it did, and I'm connected with us now. It kind of traced back to growing up to where so you can't trust people. See the people you think that really are in your corner when they move on, is how they they're He's instructing you. He's instructing Sam to do a few things that indicse how he really feels about you. Yeah, and so that was like for me, it was like all right, it actually for me, I got you.

I got you.

But my got you is I'm done thought done, not not.

Gone like the wind.

No, like man, damn saying what happened now? Yeah, take a moment, people moving?

Yeah, pretty crazy, pretty crazy?

I was awkward. You like getting people awkward?

No, bro, I just realized, like I just you.

Like people walking around you on eggshells. You love it.

I actually I don't. I don't.

It sucks because there's a lot of assumptions. There's a lot of assumptions about you. I know what you're thinking, really how that's amazing. I don't even know myself, but you do unique wow. Interesting. So I don't. It's it's one of those things where I've created this whole persona that people actually think they know me and they don't. And the reason I say is because I'm discovering myself of little things about myself.

Said earlier in the fucking interview, I know them, but I don't know them.

But I know them but I know clearly. I don't clearly I don't.

Nah, but it's like now that I'm done playing, a lot of guys that hit me up or they like what's up, bro, and I'm like nothing. And when I come up to them, it was like like wow, because when I played, like I didn't talk to anybody. I mean, how many times we've been on same field and I was You'd be like hey, and I'm and then I go back and I was like, man, I miss opportunity.

Like Bro, one of the craziest things, Jews.

I loved your game, Yeah, Bro, just the way you played, how you played, how they took you from quarterback and then the receiver, and how like all these people old this, he came out of.

Nowhere knowing how much you grind and all that stuff.

Man, and hell of a football player, your acrement, understanding how how to do things, set up the corner, set up to play, knowing that your quarterback is very high strung. It has a huge, huge threshold and responsibility and expectation. You met that every single day with practice in preparation, and you did it in a game. And so like, I love And when I look at players now at the age I'm at, like I can actually look at their game and I admire, but I also look at it in my head as an athlete what they need to work on. Yeah, because I believe that defensive players have they have they know your deficiencies, the good ones, yes, and the scout. So I believe that you have to know what you're not good at, like.

If they know it, you need to know without a doubt.

And so like you know, so sometimes I come across as a hater, but it's more of like, well, we all know what the cake tastes like with all the ingredients cook perfectly, but do we know what the cake tastes like when you're missing the bacon, soda.

It's a little floppy, it's a little nasty. It's nasty.

It's true. I agree with that. It's tough to be in on TV and promoting the game, and we have to be real without hurting people's feelings.

Yeah, I didn't know I was promoting the game.

Well just in general.

They're still figuring that part out.

Yeah, but you know what I mean exactly.

So, uh So I grew I played with you remember Anthony magazine man, I played with him in college.

Okay, and then I went back to quarterback quarterback.

Yeah.

Yeah, a little Mags, a little Max. He used to be they used to all be in practice.

Man.

Yeah, he was telling me some stories about me. Yeah, he goes, I go, I got Steve coming on. I remember you used to talk that he was close with your family because he you know, he said, you.

Guys are very close, very close, very love you.

Oh man, his family and Mags passed away, man.

And you went and he it meant the world that you went to that funeral.

Well, because that's who he was. Man.

It was unfortunate, but like we used to have a true When Anthony graduated high school, me and Jake were at.

His uh his graduation party at at.

Thomas playing hoops.

Yeah yeah yeah all the time. Oh, absolutely dominating kids. And then he said, he said, you and Dell are you and mccount Yeah? Played in a flag of football fucking league. Yeah man, uh man, Josh, here was my quarterback. I was receiving, played a little dB two, was clamping them, clamping them.

Now, what were you did you get? He said?

I rebroke my arm that I already had broke.

You couldn't get enough on it? Is this an off season? It was off season.

So what makes you sign up for a fucking y m c A just fucking to have fun, to go fucking compete against my mother?

What made you sign up to go play this? Well, first of all, I had donated. So we're playing on field eighty nine, so I.

Mean it's your field, my field.

I just liked playing. I just loved playing football.

And I always felt playing flag helped me in tackle because it helps you process spacing, thinking fast.

Right, So I was just playing. It was just chilling.

Maga said, he got in so much trouble because when you got hurt, big pop Mags fucking yell let him chewt him out. He's like, you knew you couldn't have him playing. He's like, I'm not gonna we can't play out there. I just still couldn't believe you were playing flag.

I was having fun too. How many games did you play? This was his multiple game? Was this like a weekly like prep? It was a spring league? Was playing in the spring. How was Joshua count of the field.

Oh, josh is a heck of athlete.

He could light it up.

Yeah, he was playing wide receiver. I was playing quarterback too, Yeah, yeah, safety, linebacker, balling.

We have fun.

What do you think about the Olympics in the flag football if you were playing, if you were in your prime and the Olympics had a flag football, would you try to play?

I would, and then I probably wouldn't be on the team because just too intense.

Yeah, I would have loved that would be insane to go and try to get gold medal?

Is the games completely Is it different though? Or is it the same?

Like?

Is the flag is like the lead the flag LEAs now it's it's a lot of laterals. It's it's pretty good, like it's some they be running some plays they can play now to say now, I would say, there was the guy talking about he's just good as Patrick Mahomes that that remember the quarterback? Yes, yeah, I no, you ain't like everybody was letting that slide. No, he ain't not even close. Bro, I don't care what he's saying that he can do it, and and God bless him, I believe him.

He ain't.

He ain't could could Patrick go and not even know the rules of that?

And I don't know, but I know that dude is not as good as Patrick Mahons.

That's all I'm saying. You're not you're not like it's what we do.

Like you know this whole debate can football players play basketball? But I don't think so. I can dribble the ball. I can dribble, it doesn't mean I can play in the NBA.

Yeah.

I found out very quickly that I'm not a good basketball player.

I had an accident with an accident. I found out I couldn't play.

How can you what what was the accident?

The accident was me trying out for who high school?

What? So? How can you explain the scenario?

This wasn't very good. Just it was I was not a basketball player.

You just too physical?

No, bro, I just was not a good basketball player.

I did not have all the key fundamentals of being a good basketball player, like scoring points.

Yeah. Yeah, I wasn't like I was a football player.

I played a lot of basketball, but I was always a football player playing in basketball.

I was just quick. I could steal the ball.

I never had the I never knew basketball like the vision like I didn't know.

It didn't come close to.

Me, like on when you're running a route or when you're on the football field and you're setting someone up. I didn't know the cutting that well. It just didn't come to me.

Yeah, I just don't think everybody can play. Everybody's without a doubt. They think they can and ask grat not me.

Yeah, we'll be right back after this quick break. What's up? Everyone?

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Is delivering game day greatness right when you need it. So fire up door Dash, get your order in and settle in for kickoff. Door Dash your door to more. Download the door Dash app now to order your game day favorites. Well, let's go back into time around when the game happened. This is a segment where we talk about pop culture. This game took place. On January tenth, two thousand and four, the number one movie was Lord of the Rings Return of the King, Lord of the Ring Guy.

Yeah you like that one?

Yeah, dude, Me and my wife are actually rewatching it so we could watch the series.

Yeah, it's on Amazon right, Yeah, I've tried to watch. It's tough.

Outcast, outcast. Okay, are you a big boy orre you Andre? Three thousand?

Both both both like because they were outcasts at that time.

Yeah.

Yeah, this was.

I was in Height, I was in call uh prom and that song that was this song was out.

So when you were going, uh, that's what you took out Jerry Rice's uh yeah.

Exat we were like. Picture was.

Britney Spears has her surprise wedding after tying the not with the backup singers at the backup singer.

This was the Yeah, the backup dancer, backup dancer.

Jack for what I think like her tours only lasted fifty five hours.

Yeah, crazy times.

Big Fish, along came Paulie and you got served. Were all popping off in the yeah along King Poly Did you watch movies when you played or you just straight ball guy? Or did you go you have ball and then you went home and just was like family, what was your how were you back in twenty two thousand and four?

I watched movies. I watched a lot of them. I still watch movies. I mean I grew up. Where you go you know that goes to the video store you rented out, you know Blockbuster?

Like that was a big time bro Friday night, Yeah, Saturday.

Or like uh like Christmas, break Man, go rent Mario three when the little uh when he was the right cool?

Yeah? And that was three with the when he got the Flower or the leaf? Yeah, I love that.

Yeah, you know I was.

Yeah, Now when you went home in twenty fourteen, like two thousand and four, what kind of guy were you in the locker room? Like like what how did you get away from the game? Or were you all like during football season? Was it football season always? Because for me I was football. Everyone knew it was football. I had like an hour where I would play video games kind of catch up with my boys over the internet before I would do like.

Shit, Internet wasn't that good back in two thousand?

Was dial up?

Yeah?

Yeah? Baby?

Was I had ah.

That zero net zero?

I don't even remember it. My parents were I was still a kid there. Wow, you were like an adult. Bro.

You's seven years older than.

Me at this time.

So in this year, yeah, how old are you in two thousand and four? Uh, twenty twenty three, I was like seventeen. It's kind of different slightly. You're making millions of dollars in the NFL. I was still I was. I was under my parents.

Bro, I was.

I remember two thousand and four, that was one twenty nine. Oh see you remember that was one twenty nine, one hundred and twenty nine thousand. I remember that first check. I was shocked and surprised. I think thirty five hundred dollars.

I said, who's check? Is this? Surprised? Why it was three thousand dollars? Is that a lotter? Is that?

No?

That was not the the dream I was sold. I was like, who says, where's the rest of my money?

Yeah?

So it was one hundred and twenty nine thousand dollars for rookies, Like my whole when I got driving, my whole check was not complaining.

So take this complaint.

But when you say everybody's a millionaire and then you get a check and it ain't no millions on there?

Where are they at where they're.

At, and I think my whole contract is like one point two. I got my signing bones was five hundred thousand. It was three seventy five. That thing was tricky.

Yeah.

I was seventh, three hundred and forty nine grand to my name bro forty nine grand I had.

I thought I was rich.

Six grand I had to pay seventy five thousand, So I had six grand left April sixteenth, after.

My rookie year. Yeah, I blew it. He learned though, right, Yeah, I learned.

Good, good good.

In the sports world, Patriots went on to win the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning and Air McNair where the m v P loves Steven is one of my fucking favorites.

White, Jason White.

He hasn't done anything since.

Since USC won the Natty.

Now you grew up around here, how come you Did you ever have dreams of going to u C l A or USC. No, they didn't recruit short people. Yeah. I just wanted to get it. I just wanted to go to go anywhere.

Yeah.

So my two options was sam Houston State, San Jose and Utah. Yeah, and then Sam Houston State decided that I wasn't eligible, which is interesting. But I was eligible for Utah, but it wasn't for Sam Houston State and then San Jose State was kind of like where everybody went. Uh that was from West LA and all that stuff and a track record with UH. That was kind of like going back. It was kind of like going back to californ you know, going back to high stood.

I was like, yeah, turn worn out, turned out really good.

This was the year the Ravens swept the Defensive Award or the awards. Ray Lewis with Defensive Player of the Year, Turell Sugs with Today's his birthday, Happy birthday, and Jamal Lewis, who was a fucking didn't you have three hundred yards this year?

I believe, So let me check on that. What was it like playing with the Ravens.

It was dope, a good time.

Yeah, yeah.

I got close with Ray a little bit when we did inside the NFL.

Oh yeah, that was that was after I was doing inside of the NFL.

Too, probably, so I kicked the.

No, no, no, you don't.

I did not know you did not.

Well, we'll talk about that offense, we guess it. But Ray hilarious.

So you come from the Panthers, Yes, you were part of being a huge foundational piece. I'm making that organization relevant. That was an expansion team when I was a kid, and then you guys went to the Super Bowl, competed, fucking played your guys nuts off a bunch. When you go to the Ravens, they're in this era doing the same thing.

Yes, Ray was already gone.

Sis was there, Elvis Duomerville, Chris Canty and reed uh Ed was already gone.

Was he gone? Yeah?

I remember because when I was in Carolina he was with the Jets.

Oh yeah, yeah. So it didn't look right. Texans too, Texans too and so.

But it was great because I was just at a place I just you know, I.

Just need a new scenior. I wanted to know what it was like and loved the city. City City still shows me. Love goes out there. My daughter Baylor, she's a huge Ravens fan. Like yeah, she like she loves them, bro, Like it's crazy.

It's because of you.

She's got into football.

My son, my oldest Peyton, started getting her into fantasy and he created a monster like she's at like when we're at the house and we're watching, she's I'm watching. I watched two games at a time because I like to see the game. She's like, yo, change it, and she's watching four, and I like, I can't watch four.

I need two.

Yeah, it's too too much. You don't do this the new what is it YouTube TV? Where you split the box.

Yeah, she's split it in a four. I like to split it in the two.

I do three on the one o'clock games with the red zone. Yeah, and then I go reback and I and then I watch I'll like do the condensed versions, like of the games.

We really need to see forty six minutes?

Yeah, forty six or you hit like the highlights and then you hit some of the forty six.

You know what I mean? Yeah?

I do.

I generally I watched half of them and then on a Monday, Monday morning, I'll get up and then what I started doing is during Sundays, actually walk on the treadman watch the game.

Yeah.

Now I heard you you watch you still watching film? Where I getting that from? Who do you watch film with? I heard myself?

I remember there was was there a few Did you just do a feature or you're watching still watching film?

Or you were talking about it? Oh?

Yeah?

On my podcast eighty nine, I think, so yeah, yeah, So I watch film on guys, like I'll try to like look and see what's going on, just because you know how you watch the game and you're like, something's wrong here, what's going on? And so I'll go back and then I'll go back and look. So what I generally do is if I see something, I'm like, I'll just write myself a note and then I'll go back and watch it, and then i'll at the research, and the research confirms my intuition. Sometimes the research is like nah, bro, you off okay again? Yeah, and so that's what that's what I ended up doing. So I'll look at a guy, see it, and then I'll go back and study him, and then i'll get and I'm kind of weird with numbers, so I'm kind of like, okay, let me see how many times he was lined up outside? Who well, when he was targeted? Was it on the number two? Why was a corner or the number one corner?

You know? Was it on the top tier?

Guy?

Was it on the bottom tier?

Oh yeah, you bothering against the number two, but you're getting them clamps on, you know. So I look at all of that stuff, you know, averaged up to target. What is the quarterback rating when targeted? What's your how far are you going? What's your yack? How many first downs have you really helped the team get? How many mistackles? So I try to see, like what about that individual his his game is good or you needs to work on.

And I just that's just kind of how I look at him.

Who are some of the guys that impress you right now in the league? Give me two you two.

Two guys that you look at You're like, that dude's a bad motherfucker.

Justin Jefferson.

What makes him so well?

His his length and the way he moves his breaks in and out of breaks the offense he end Uh, he's mastered it.

He knows exactly what to do.

Uh.

He can change up his tempo so well. His releases off the charts.

But then I.

Also favor because I was old guy. I favored the old guys too, Like so I still think Davante Adams is still that guy. He's not gonna he's never been a four to three guy, but his releases are remarkable. Just the way he does his hands, ball placement, catch, radius, body control, tempo, sudden burst, really good sudden burst and then his his his creativity to stack you even though he's not faster than you, So just him being able to use his leverage.

So like, I look at that.

But then there's other guys I think that that are promising who have the ability.

Who's someone that you think that kind of reminds you of you? If there's anyone, see, So people ask that and.

Hard to do that. So the reason why I.

I'm not judging you, The reason why I have a hard time answering that question is because I also remember that I was supposed to be a far front draft pick. I was also told I was just a returner. So now that I'm done playing, everybody's like, oh, he minds me. You But when I was playing, people didn't like me, and so you didn't like me. And then there's you know, we read our stuff on there and they're like, oh, you know, people like, oh, Steve was just a slow receiver, and really it was I didn't know that. I think the game has changed, but I also think there are players out there who I don't remind me of myself, because I think they are significantly better. I played the way I played because I was obviously I did like I didn't have quick feet like Chad like I can do. I couldn't do great cone drills. I round in my routes. I never ran the right I never ran the same route the same way. So they were things that I did that I used as my advantage. But I ran my routes kind of add like I was never consistent on doing things.

I did it my way.

Yeah, and but I was really just kind of like covering for the fact that man, I was just playing on hope of the prayer. Yeah, and so that's just kind of like, I know I was playing with house money, right, I know that, So just roll the dice, say, man, put all the chips in. So when I go across the middle and I know I'm gonna get hit, you got a choice to get hit with the ball, oh without the ball. And so a few times like all right, I get hit with the ball. Now I get up and I'm like, man, you know a guy used to hit me and he'd be like, oh, what you want with that? And so I started getting up like if you think you crazy, I'm crazier. And so it was more like the feed into like to intimidate and show bro, I'm be here all day.

Your best didn't hurt me, No, and.

Then I'll get and then old school football, so then I'll go. And I really didn't like blocking, but it was like, all right, I got a block, and so it was like they're gonna hit me, so I can hit them. So I really would block and just kind of lean and I realized with my leverage and the way the angles, I can hit them. And then it was like, oh yeah, I could tee off. And so then you know, a guy hits you, or he'll be talking and then they'll run, you know the uh toss crack, and it was like, oh, yeah, yeah, you hit me. Or so I'll run and then come back and I get the corner.

Yeah, Or I can hit this. I can hit this linebacker that's chasing. You're going to chase her. It's a bigger hit.

Oh and I'm gonna and I'm trying to knock his helmet off. But I would hit him. I would hit him up high. I always respect the game. I never hit a dude down low. If I hit you down low, that was because I didn't respect you. But if I didn't respect you, that means also because you hit me down load. So we have no regards of each other's career. So guess what, let's do it there?

Head is different. You know, you knock someone out, that's that's considered a kiss. You're taking out knees, that's considered a career.

Yeah. And so I got to the point where guys knew.

I was like, bro, i'mna hit you up top if you hit me low again or you cheap shot me.

I got one question for you.

When I cut you and they gotta do surgery, My question is what kind of flowers you want to send you?

They look at me, just let me.

Know, don't And you see they go back to the huddle and they're trying to They're trying to decide do I really want to go there with them?

Because I was thinking they're designing tulips or roses?

Yeah?

Nah.

They was like really thinking, like, bro, where do you come up with?

Like did you you've thought that before?

Oh?

Yeah, you've said that before. Oh absolutely.

Now is this spur of the moment ship talking where it just comes to you or are you like a poet where you have a couple of these you've you've thought about these situations, you have a couple on the tool belt for when you see him.

Say, is is this just free free burden?

It's just some of it, just like some of them. I'm kind of embarrassed that I like said that. I was like, dang, that was bad.

What's the most embarrassing?

So I remember Stuart was telling me one time, Jonathan Stewart he had played with one of the DB's that were out there, and so the dB had did something and I just was like held him down and I held him down until the referee came and Grabbler and Stewie said, man, why'd you do that?

Steve?

What did he do? And Bro, just like I was just like he was born. He was like, hold up because he was born.

Bro.

That was just the first thing came out of my head because I didn't have a legitimate excuse. He was like everybody's born. But then I was like, I have my head down, but I'm not engaging in that. That was my answer. Okay, accept it or don't accept it. But that was the kind of dumb stuff I said and did.

I mean, but that's you.

But you know how he didn't finish a game, Bro, that is you gotta put it out a goddamn T shirt.

Is it? You got it on a T shirt yet?

Yeah, they got some dude trademarked it and offered it to me.

I watched it, and I remember as a kid, I remember when we played against each other. And but you have some fucking straight poems out there with how you talk shit to fools right on the spur of the moment postgame interviews anything. I was sitting there like this, motherfucker should be a rapper. You should be a fucking rapper. You spit like nine right after a game.

The story. It's some kind of funny ass way of doing it. You should.

You should have a marketing company or something appreciate it.

It's fucking gnarly, Jackie. Let's get into the game. Should you talk about these rams? Real quick? Real quick?

This is the twelve and four rams. Mike Martz, Lovey Smith leading that defense. Uh, Steve Fairchild the OC. This year, Mark Bulger took over for Kurt Warner.

This year he got Kurt warnered.

You got Kurt warnered six fumbles in the first game and was a little banged up coming off a seven.

Is that why he went to the glove?

I think it will because he went to the glove after this year in New York for the first time, then kept it when he went to Arizona.

We'll get into it.

I think we got to do a little, but I'm pretty sure he told us that when he was on waver.

I trusted a quarterback with the glove.

I never trust a football player wearing ASEX. I've seen several. I don't know what it is. You just can't trust a man, just a football player wearing ASEX in practice.

It's a weird brand to see on the field, I'll tell you that.

And a big story with this team was the home win streak eight no at home fourteen game home win streak coming into this game. The offense this is like late era greatest ye one turf, but still led the NFL in scoring almost twenty eight points a game. Five Hall of famers on this team. You got Marshall Falk, Orlando Pace, William Kurt and Isaac Bruce. Tory Holt should be in What do you think, Steve.

Yeah, you should be Tory Holt, Isaac Bruce. Isaac went to Santa Monica. Yeah yeah, dude.

Mike Ferry, what did you now when you played and you played against guys like this group pre game?

Did you Brandham? Uh, I'm not gonna butcher his name. Well, yeah, he went to Arizona. He was a big boy, eighty six tight end. He was huge, huge.

But when you would play against a guy like Tory JL or Isaac Bruce, I used to watch him bro we watching Oh definitely, yeah.

I mean Isaac went to Utah, he went to Santa Monica and like we always knew, like so it was like I was like, wow, Like, man, I remember my rookie year.

We played.

Saint Louis Ramsy.

We were one to fifteen and Marshall was out there just he was just like he had one hundred and twenty yards. At halftime, Trump candidate came in and I was standing up watching. I was like, dang, I was like a fan. Yeah, he was getting molly wopped. I was just just watching him.

Marshall fulk was unreal. I watched him in this, we watched the game.

He was so dope.

Now, yes, Christian mccaffee or Marshall fault because they're kind of that same player.

They're both the focal point of that offense. Now they are. But San Francisco runs it more though.

I like both. But I'm just be honest with you.

I'm favorite of Marshall because I grew up in California knowing Marshall.

Is from San Diego State.

Like this dude, like Isaac kan is on this team, right, No, he was, he would he had actually went to New Orleans by then, but Isaac King went to Fairfax. I went to UNI, right, So it's like, like, these are guys on this team that like I grew up morning. I remember, Bro, I'm friends with Johnathan Ogden. I remember seeing Johnathan Ogden with that afro walking at Third Street prom when I was a kid at University High School. Yeah, Bro, I met I'm at uh Stokely at the super Bowl in Detroit. Bro, it was like I used to have the Stokely eighty three uh forty nine ers. Yeah, Like so for me going to get some of these dudes, man, I was they got?

I was?

It was dope.

Man.

So going into this game though, did they still have that? They were they still like the big dogs the NFC, and you guys were still not like were you knocking? Were you the hungry guys and they were kind of like that or were you guys not intimidated, but like, was it like a feat to beat these these guys at this time were fucking flying high now they were, but we felt that we you know, we just were tough. Yeah, it was a tough team.

Ran the ball. You had you and Mohammed.

Slick Rick slick Rick Ricky pro was on there. Oh Dad, damn look you know, damn looker. Uh, Tommy Polly, I remember Tommy pop. It was Tommy Polly. And then before that they had uh Brandon ba Brandon Allen who it was out of Tommy Polly and Brandon Allen they had actually drafted those two guys instead of me, uh that year.

Yeah. Yeah, And so then they had Travis Fisher twenty two.

He was a corner. He was from uh University of Central Florida. Uh, Fred Warner, he Fred Weary, he was he had played with New Orleans so he was a special team guy. So I went against him.

And then Nis Williams he was he was great, knew him, I saw him recently.

Yeah.

Yeah. So, I mean a lot of these guys.

Were you Rams fan at all growing up because they were there.

You're a forty same here for my dog's name of Dwight and Montana. Really yeah, I love the Niners. I love him too, man, Jerry Rice freaking JJ Stokes t o but be careful, Roger Craig Roger huh hey. Ricky Waters, Ricky Waters was a monster. Charlie Gardner back in the day. Charlie wasn't the Raiders. Don't hear with the Eagles too, and he went to the Eagles those Niners teams Ken Norton when he beat up the bag and they went to I hate him because he went to Dallas Cowboys.

Uh.

Morton Hanks, Burton Hanks, he was he find guy, Tim McDonald did you ever find you? Burton Hanks? I used to trying to sunk up to him so much good to be nice to the find guy. I'd be over throw a ball in the stands. You get an eight thousand dollars fine Merton Hanks. I'm like, yo, bro, like you remember you used to do the little next Yeah it was cool, dude, Like he wouldn't give me no money back, like slap it.

We're laughing. Jordy Nelson's a fine guy now.

Now Jordy Nelson's Jordy Nelson is a fine guy.

Wow, that's unique.

We just randomly saw that the other name. We're laughing. Yeah, let's Jackie break down the Panthers.

Panthers squad eleven and five, second year of the John Fox era. It's just two years removed from a one in fifteen season. That was the end of the George seafferd era. Speaking the Niners, Uh, Jordan Gross's rookie season, Steve's third year, top ten defense Jake Diloane replaced Rodney Pete week one, that Jacksonville game, and the rest is history.

The best damn Sports show Rodney Pete, like that show.

John Sally, Sally, Chris Rose, Chris.

Show, Rock bro in Fox Sports.

Uh, Steve had a thousand yard receiving season his first. This was also the keep pounding season with with Sam Mills. Uh so that was that was a big narrative throughout the season. But uh yeah, really right, the redular the ship quick after a one in fifteen season.

Now, how'd you guys turn around? How would you describe this Panther's era.

We were kind of surprised.

How well, like when you look at the roster man, just looking at the roster of these names, Rod Smart, he hate me Kevin Dyson.

He was a first round draft pick. They kent.

The Tennessee Titans drafted him over or before. Randy Moss, Carl Hankedon Big Bank. He was from New Orleans. Make you say Muss and Muhammad, Ricky pro myself fifty two linebacker Brian Allen. He was actually drafted by the Saint Louis Rams. Will Willerspoon Leicester Towns. He was linebacker. Hammer feet. He had some bad feet. Greg Greg favors. He was pretty good. Vinnie Churchill was a great UH special teams guy. Colin Branch he was pretty good. Gerro Cooper from Kansas. He was especially in guys. Tecuz was an acquisition from Miami Dolphins. Dion Grant h d G was great. He was a safety. Will Hamilton he was pretty good. Reggie Howard, he's from Memphis. Ricky Mannuels from UCLA. Mike Minner big Man was hit you.

Till Man. He was kind of there.

Dante Wesley he was a special teams guy from Historical Black College, Al Wallace who acquired him from the Miami Dolphins. He was actually a school teacher. Mike Rucker went to Nebraska. Ken rash Mussen was pretty darn good.

He ended up going to Seattle and now he's a fireman back in Charlotte obviously.

Julius Peppers. Kendall moorehead is a He is now a strength coach.

I think at Alabama for a long time. Chris Jenkins, big jank, he had went on and went to uh the Jets. Heck of athletic dude. Brencha Buckner. He was an acquisition for the Samisipsco forty nine ers. Shane Burton was a guy journeyman. He was pretty good. He had blocked a lot of kicks. Matt Willing. You still see him now on on commercials. He was a big six seven six ' eight guy who was also knock knee. Todd Stucey was acquired from Minnesota too. Tom Res he was pretty good. He was He lives in Atlanta. Bruce Nelson, he was a second round draft pick who we discovered had a He has the jener of hips. Jeff Mitchell. He was a older guy, you know. James ended up playing well.

Then he went on to Miami, signed a big contract, got hurt, never played again.

Jordan Gross played that. You tald me.

Kevin Donnelly was an acquisition originally for the for the Houston Oilers. Then Miami it came here. Jermaine Wiggins was with you guys. That's when, That's when, that's when.

Wiggy came from uh new from you guys with Dan Henny, Chris Mangum.

Pretty good dude. Lived in Mississippi. Ricky pro or the Brad Hoover. He was Coastal Carolina Nick Goings. Uh he was a full back and uh kind of like a utility player. Ended up retiring because he got some concussions. To John Foster obviously head coach c LA. He was dope. Stephen Davis, I call him radio. He was coming from uh the Commander's Chris wink. He was a fourth round pick. He was drafted after me, but he got a bigger shinning bones than me. From Florida State. He was Heisman Trophy. Yeah, he played baseball as well. And Rodney Pete great dude, sweet meat Rodney Pete, that's what he was called him.

Then Jake DeLong.

Many talk about know your fucking team. You know you're a good teammate. That's impressed. I could never do that, Bro. You spit a fact about everyone.

John Casey really good friend of mine taught me about business. That a kicker.

Wow.

And then uh Todds Stucy no toss owerbro big big bomb unique.

And then uh Lefty he was just unique.

That's he left.

He was unique. And then Jason Kyle, he was the long snapper. Uh long snapper for a long time.

Damn.

That's a first in the nuthouse of any guests. It is like that knows their team that well, guy, But that's awesome.

Who's the unsung heroes of this team?

Den Morgan?

I think in that Super Bowl he ended up having like, uh seventeen or twenty two tackles.

If I'm not mistaken, Jesus Greg Favors.

Uh, there's a linebacker you're missing that we didn't Mark Fields.

Mark Fields is not on here?

Yep. Mark Fields was supposed to be on there. Where's Mark Fields of the season? Sometimes?

Yeah, Mark Fields? He was on their unsung heroes man. To be honest, it was a lot of them because we were like kind of the band of misfits, Like we really weren't supposed to like be where we were being and how we were being there. Yeah, And so it was unique, right, you had a five to nine receiver at X. You had an old man who uh Moussin. Then you had Carl Hankton, Kevin Dyson, Eugene Baker. He went to Kent State, Eugene Baker. Yeah, he went to Kent State.

Uh.

I probably shouldn't say what I was just thinking, so I stopped myself. Good dude, Eugene, what year was it?

What did he go to Kent How long did he was on the team.

Uh, Eugene Baker's a good dude, man, It's good he played Kent State.

Kent State drafted nineteen ninety nine.

I told you, Boom, you don't even know your school.

I didn't even know Ken.

I didn't even know what Kent State was until I went to on my visit. Yeah, but he still went there though I did. No, he still went there.

But I've heard his name.

How much are you guys still in contact, because like this was such a unique group of guys, Like you still talk to these dudes all the time.

Uh, Kevin Donald, he's uh he is at UC Chapel Hill.

Nice.

Jordan Gross just moved a couple of years ago, just moved back to to the whole Idaho. Jeff Mitchell is Skinny had two help replacements to Tom rads is in he's in Atlanta. Matt Williams out here acting he hate me. He kind of comes and goes. Nick Goins is down at the beach in North Carolina. Brad who was head coaching. Stephen Davis is in South Columbia. Chris wink Is, Uh, he was coaching a little bit. He's all over. Rodney's moved to Calabasas. Kevin Dyson is a school teacher and me and him play every year. We played golf together in Bandon Dunes. Uh, Bannon Due. It's in Portland.

It's probably nice.

Oh, super nice. It's public too. It's a Muni. It's outstanding. Ricky Pole is doing stuff and soon coaching. Yeah, he's coaching and coaching. Steve Smith's Uh Steve Smith now he's Steve Smith Senior.

Chris Mangum.

When I was with Baltimore, he came down from Mississippi and drove down and came to the game.

Uh.

Jermaine Wiggins, Uh, he's doing radio. I believe Al Wallace is in Charlotte. Mike Rutgers in Charlotte. Ken Raths musa as a fireman. Chris Jenkins moved back to Maryland. Shane Burton is I think he's up at the Lake Brischard Buckner was coaching deon Grants in Atlanta. Will Hamilton, I think is in Atlanta. Reggie Howards and Minas in Memphis. Ricky Manning Junior is coaching with the Las Vegas Raiders. Mike Mannard just retired from coaching at Campbell. Dante Wesley I see him in Dallas every time, so.

You're seeing the team, You're seeing a bunch of the guys.

Dan Dan Morgan is the general manager for the for them. Will Witherspoon is doing I saw him a couple of years ago. He's actually he has a farm out in Saint Louis because after that year he resigned and got a big deal with Saint Louis. So he does that stuff. So I mean I talked to him. I try to talk to him a lot. The guys make sure. Me and Jake talk probably once a month, Dope just checking checking in. Me and Moose talk.

So where were you guys in the chemistry factor this year? Was this like your breakout year with him? Or how many years did you have him at that time?

Who Jake so this is so, this was great. This is when we had went to Super Bowl. Then opening week against Green Bay, I broke my ankle, so I was out moose ball. Then he went to Chicago and then next year I came back and I won a triple crown.

Yeah.

First you were the last person to do it before Coop did it. Yeah, and then Sterling Sharp was before you, right, Yeah, jer crazy Jerry Sterling, that's fucking gnarly. That is crazy to be a triple crown yards tugs and receptions.

He hate me. If you played in the XFL, what would your name have been?

I didn't have enough confidence like that, Like people think I have a lot of kind of I really don't.

You wouldn't make a stab at it? No, well I probably wouldn't have either.

I wouldn't have.

Now can we talk about you were there for so long? You play with Cam? Yeah, I played with Cam.

I was up. I liked Cam.

Cam was Caim. He went to his I was just he went to his own beat. Like Kim would be out there and four he'd be there at four thirty in the morning. It was different because it was COVID. So I only got him for like COVID year. He'd be there at like four three in the morning on the treadmill and like doing his thing, and he's just like and then he would do some crazy ass ship that make you laugh and stuff. But I had never been around that. It was just different. But Kim was a great dude, worked his dick off, worked hard. He worked hard.

Yeah, how you like him? You liked him? He was.

I was at a different I was at.

He told me that about you. I asked him about you. He goes, he goes. I was a he goes.

He said that exact same thing. I think he goes. Steve was at a different point in his career when I was there. I was twenty two or I was twenty years old. He was a grown ass man, you know, Like, so we were in that's the exact same thing he said. I was not or about anything other than ball. Yeah, I don't care less, that's what he said. Hey listen, No, yeah, hey, I was thinking, don't think that's it was. I love him for that specific for us though, So here's what I would say, right.

I really tried not to really talk much about it, because one looking back at how I was and looking back where I was. I wanted to win, and I was so concerned about winning. I didn't really care about all that other stuff. That other stuff to me was irrelevant. And I was fresh traded there. Yes, I wanted to win, and I knew that my time was coming up. And so there were times people would like in the organization, would say I'm jealous. I wasn't jealous. I wanted to win. You're right here, it's not oh, I'm jealous. No, I wanted to win yesterday and today's the day.

So I was.

I was in a hurry. I was all about man. Seeing Marty Herney before they drafted camp Man, I had an off site meeting with the general manager, and man, we had a crazy meeting. When I say crazy, like I did and said stuff in football, Bro, it was just like what are you doing? Like I go back and I like cringe, like, oh, my wife does that? Like oh, I had a meeting with Marty Herney one time we met at one of the country clubs I was at and I had my notebook and I wrote down stats and I was like, bro, I am so tired of losing Marty, and I just want to win. And so I had looked up Lynn swan stats and I put lynn Swan's stats of what he had and what I had, and I said, you know, statistically, I have passed Lynn Swan four years ago. I said, but you know the difference between Lynn Swan and me. Lynn Swan understood that if he satisfied his personal goals that he would exceed anything he can achieve because the team goals were so much bigger. I said, my statistical goals are less and the team goals are less. Why am I here? We're not win and I'm not getting stats. He looked at me and that was the first time like he was like he thought it was going to be like a cussing out section. I was like, no, I'm trying to figure out. I remember saying Lynn Swan's when he was with the Pittsburgh and his goals were so high, he knew that he would surpass anything personally he can do. Because the team goes statistically, we're gonna be remarkable. I said, I'm not doing either, So why should I stay?

Yeah?

What am I holding out for? And he looked at me and he was like And then I stopped and I said, now it's your turn. He said, I need to get back to you because he thought it was a bout and I was just like, bro, I'm just I want to play. I love this game so much, but I also know what this game is. This game is about statistical stats, and so it just like so when Cam got there, man, I was so burnt out and so I was such a complainer about not winning that I did not have patience for all that other stuff. Didn't have patience for him to develop. I was thirty something, I get it, and so it was very complicated and it was a loaded situation. And then we had you know, coach coach Rivere. He was getting his feet wet and he was trying to figure it out, and it just I was like, man, this ain't for me.

You get old in the same spot for a while when things started going, I was a cranky old guy for a while.

But what's funny is when I left and went to Baltimore, like the Ryan Khalils, the guys who were young, the Louke Keigley's, they started when I came. When I was playing, they were like, I'm starting to be like Steve now I'm all grumpy.

I'm like, oh, you know, that's how it goes, Yeah, what is it? What is the Batman quote? You long enough as a hero, you died the villain or some Oh yeah, that's my quotes movies.

Jack. Let's see what this game is about real quick, all right, let's get into this thing.

This is the number two seed versus number three seed Panthers, coming off a win against Dallas. Steve bald out that game that was a Bank of America one hundred and thirty five yards in a tuddy of the week before, so coming in riding high, this was the best first quarter offense versus the best first quarter defense. So we only see three points in this first quarter, three to nothing. That would be a theme throughout this game. Field goals eight combined field goals this game. Some field goal misses also. Then in the second we get this weird first score, the touchdown for the Panthers, weird bamboozle fumble pitche moose recovers it in the end zone.

Panthers get up.

This was to put them up seven to six, tack on a field goal, up ten to nine.

At the half.

So fewest, I mean, this was like a very low score game, which was surprising given given the offensive prowess of the Greatest Show on Turf, so just kind of a you knew it was gonna be a weird game, a long game, a war of attrition.

Uh after that first half, what was it like playing that turf, bro and.

That turf was dope? I mean I don tennis shoes, so you I think I was rebock then rocking rebox this game, Yeah, I was, I was rebok. I was moving too.

We saw one of the rams guys had on some sixteens looks sick the Golden Blue sixties.

Jordan's yeah, oh yeah, that was Marshall.

Oh yeah, yeah, Folk used to play in those, usually playing see this football mine, I got steel trapped.

Baby.

He fucking just rattled off every teammate, their their dog's name, there where they live, and their investments.

Hey, Dan Looker, Dan Looker was supposed to be that dude though, dang Dane Looker.

He's he was supposed to be that dude, was he?

Yeah?

They were, they were. He was supposed to be the guy that replaced.

Ricky pro He probably Ricky Prol had it. He had some really good seasons with you guys, and with the Greatest Show.

He won did anyone. He was in that Super Bowl. Yeah, with them. Griggy Pole was a good little players, Like is he how tall is he? I think i've met him? Is he?

Everybody's stall me?

So I don't know five eleven? How tall you? Five ten?

Yeah? Yeah, I just I'm short, So I'm just kind of used.

To it and I get it same.

I was just hoping he would be in the short game they list at six feet.

Once you hit six, it's not as cool.

Yeah, now that it's over, it's cooler that you're shorter, because then you let you know that you were able to go and do what you did on the field against those guys at a That's that's.

How I think bro.

I didn't even know I had one hundred and sixty three yards.

Yeah, And John Fox was opening up the playbook earlier. This one two into rounds at the beginning. You threw one up early, no tragic.

So this game's going on, you guys are going into overtime. What's the mentality of the team, like going in that second overtime after like, I.

Mean, we weren't even supposed to be there.

You're playing with house money, You're feeling.

Like yeah, and then you can see I had a visor on because Travis. Uh yeah, he poked me in an eye four.

Yeah hurt. It does, especially when you got your eyes open too.

That was back when they had the major in the minor face masking penalties. They threw the major on him that one. What like the like remember you could get the fifteen yard face mask or like the uh yeah.

And then when I came back after the visor, he jammed me again. And the thing in the rep that was the first time the ref was like another one of those.

I was like, shout out to the visor. That's crazy. They didn't call that stuff back in the day. Really it was. It was very very It was very I was watching some of these guys.

I saw a fullback he broke out and he kind of went out of bounce guy like a second later.

Yeah, but this one was you can see it. It was like he hit you with the three students, was it? No, it was a straight accident.

He's an offhand jam guy. That's usually where they get. You get the offhand jam guy. Sometimes they missed you.

Nah, he was double jam that's how jam. Yeah, and I kind of lowered.

Yeah, yep.

What was the turning point of this game, though.

I'll be I mean I had hair back then. I don't know, bro. It was so back and forth.

It was so it was so back and forth that it was just like we were just holding on for their life.

Man.

Now walking through the walk off, you do X clown again.

You hit it in the fourth quarter, I believe, and you have like a thirty yard game. Yeah, when you guys line up to call it, it's first play, what do you think and they're giving you Are you thinking this is just for a chunk player?

Are do you know that you're going to be covered? Well?

I knew it was cover too, Yeah, So I stemmed inside, I run, I lean, But when I leaned, I leaned so much inside this time that when he threw it, I wasn't sure in cover too exactly.

How far or how close, well, how far the safety was.

So when I leaned, I kind of had that lean like you know that WinCE, and went there and he wasn't there.

It was like, oh, I can't go Yeah, and so that's that's what it was.

But but then once I got it, I was like, ain't nobody catching me?

Right?

You're fast? I kind of was.

I was surprised.

What do you mean, Kana was that was crazy I had but because I had a long stride and so it took me a little bit of time to build up.

Nah.

But there's very rarely a film of you getting getting caught.

I got caught.

But for being a five to nine guy to be able to hold your high.

Speed, that's insane. And you get them young legs. Those are young legs.

Yeah, as your third You know, when you start looking at your legs when you're watching film, you watch your older film, You're like, man, you look like a different At least I could always see what year my career is through the film of how my legs looked.

Really through the speed, I don't watch film like that. When you hit the ends and what did you do? Bro?

I was so shocked, man, I was like, oh man, yeah. And then they came and it was.

It was dope. How did you guys celebrate?

Oh we got back on a flight?

Uh was it was it celebrate time? Or did you guys know you had another job?

We knew we had another job, but it was it was dope though, Like mister Richardson at the time, who was the owner, like my family was there, so it was. It was great, Like it was a whole bunch of uh people there. Man, it was dope.

You got like, we can hear walk off in baseball all the time, but to have a walk off in double overtime, what's that? That's fucking gotta that's insane, that feeling it is.

But a lot of times, just like I mean, I remember when you were with I was with the Ravens and you threw that pass like you don't really know it until like it's kind of like over.

You don't appreciate it until it's gone home. Man. Yeah, you never enjoy it.

No, I never got to enjoy this because the next year you just trying to go again.

Yeah, I get it. I get it.

Just a sum that went up before we put a bow on it. The Rams came back from down twenty three to twelve in the fourth quarter, touchdown, two point conversion, on side kick recovery tie it up at twenty three.

Convert a big fourth and fourth.

After the game we've done in the last two weeks, I had an on side kick recovery. We did the twenty fourteen patter the Seahawks Seahawks Green Bay, remember remember that game where Aaron Rodgers and I would get Rest Wilson through five interceptions, they still won.

Yeah.

Crazy, It's crazy because when you.

See who dropped that pass, his career has never been side Oh there was the running back who was a He was a running back and wide receiver, a green Star.

Yeah, Brandon Bostik dropped it on the on side kick because Jordy Nelson was behind him. He was supposed to be the blocker. He jumped up to catch it like this. They hit him right in the face mask.

Yeah.

I was to watch the on side kick now, like, no one's getting on side kicks nowadays, not with these new rules and stuff. Even you gotta you gotta like tell the team somebody.

Got an onside kick.

Not yet, not in the new dynamic.

Somebody did get onside kick a couple of weeks ago, two weeks ago. Damn that just I'm dead.

It's certainly been someone just did it out of the new rules.

How do you like the new rules? I like it.

It doesn't matter.

Like I don't think it matters what cowboys first one told you, bang man paying attention analyst, You were analysts.

I've been trying to get this you know I've been having to do all this research for this interview.

Dude, he's too busy watching young Legs on the film Legs.

Jokers. Everyone's got everyone's got a joke. Now, huh, everyone's got jokes. That's right, that's right, that's right. Is this the most memorable player in your career for you? Or is there a different play?

There's a lot of plays, like I remember certain little things about nuances.

What's your favorite play that you made?

I think this, I mean, this is the most memorable in my Panther history. I mean the biggest play is I always leave. To be honest, man, is just making us to the league? Yeah, Like I respect that because you know, I was man. I used to ride the bus back and forth here on Woolsher the three one. Yeah, man, I used to day dream, fall asleep on the bus hoping to play in the league.

Yeah.

So man, every you know, every every chance.

Like That's why now I never say, you know, act like you've been there before, because I know, you know, what's this over?

It is over. It's no takebacks, no givebacks.

No take backs, no givebacks. He's deep, Yes, that was I was profound. I love that. What's the what's the legacy and what's the wrap up aftermath of this game?

And then in overtime we get two missed field goals in the first overtime to end overtime one, Mark Boulger throws an interception which would set up third and fourteen.

From the game.

Bulger reminds me of a little bit Bulger I was looking at the film, kind of reminds me of Jimmy G.

The way he throws it.

I've never called it Jimmy G pass Well, Mark Bolger that thing like butter bro I called it one of his passes in uh in the Pro Bowl.

Yeah, but like how they're throwing motion, They're both kind of keep it low and they kind of that that little quick release.

I'm a little bias whole quarterbacks. I think they get way too much credit. Yeah, so, I like I'm very critical of quarterbacks. Yeah, Like I'm very judging of quarterbacks. Gotta be super judgy.

I mean, the they're the ones that gotta be judged the most. They're making the most money. I Yeah, just I'm very judging, Like, like who everybody, all.

Of them judgment on.

Tom Nothing, Thomas Crafty, Crafty, he.

Was who's your favorite quarterback growing up?

Steve Young?

Steve Young, I.

Like Randall Cunningham. Yeah, uh, I like uh Troy.

Troy was good, you know how I love though like two, I thought he was just he was crazy good. Keith Buyers, Keith Byers, Yeah, he's like a full back slash half bag going number forty one?

What team?

Uh?

He was with?

Philadelphia Eagles, Dolphins, Dolphins, Pats, Pats for a minute, yep, past for a minute.

Wow, your your football acromen is very disappointing.

Been hitting the head a lot too?

Oh wow, is that what you're going with? That excuse doesn't work, Steve can No.

Jaggie final scoring this one twenty nine twenty three Panthers walk it off. Baby would go on to beat Philly in the NFC Championship get to the Super Bowl, as we talked about earlier. And then one little last fun fact here. This was an old NFL Europe matchup. Jake Delone backed up Mark Bulger for the Frankfurt Galaxy.

In nineteen ninety eight.

Galaxy for all you NFL europe Heads at home, just throwing that one in there.

Fighting dude, I wish they had Europe when I was younger, that would rock.

Man. I probably would have been over there. I could see you over there. It wouldn't that been.

Cool if you were a practice squad guy or something you got to go live in Europe for a year and play football.

No, not not at my rookie I was ignorant. Nope.

Yeah, now that I look on it, like, now, yes, I'm like, let's go. Yeah, but no, who's the mount Rushmore Panthers?

Man, you ain't giving me a troost pass? Except pass, I mean for me, it always starts with Samuels. Yeah, shout out everybody else other than that, everybody under that.

Do what you may.

I don't.

I'm not. I'm not getting involved in that.

Yeah, if you don't have to keep pounding wristband back in the day, I don't know what you were doing.

Yeah, we'll be right back after this quick break. We gotta name the game. What's the name of this game? These are a couple of things that we came up with. The X Clown Game, the Turf Killer Rip Greatest Show on Turf, Pretty versus Gritty or do you have a different name. The name is the It's the ex clown game. That's the name of the game, the X Clown game will go with it. Score the game presented by door Dash. Is this the greatest game of all time? Let's score it? Steak zero to ten decimals? Okay, the stakes of this game. What you gotta score it like the steaks, like the importance of like ten ten ten, I go with a nine win.

You you gotta watch the show.

I did watch it. I didn't watch it till the end.

Yeah, they got watched the very end. If it's a super Bowl, it's it's like a nine to five.

If it's a super Bowl with like importance, like they're going for a double repeat or something, you know, then it's a ten.

Ok.

Sorry, like space jams games like ten because like world was at risk, that's the standard.

No star power of the game zero to Ooh.

Is it based on today? Or is it based on back then? Back then? Back then?

Back then?

Were five? Dam back then?

What about today? What would the today score be? Bro fifteen fifteen? So back then a five six.

Hall of famers in this thing, six hall of famers and some futures and some futures in some futures.

See Jason Sehorn was out there. He's a he is the Michael Irvan killer. Jason Seahorn.

I was, I was playing against Seahorn. I don't know.

I ran past him.

He's due.

He lives in Charlotte, though our kids went to the same school.

Great, dude, that's right.

I forgot about that.

Yeah, star power for me. I'm gonna go with like eight. Jack had a seven nine out of seven. The gameplay of the game. How the game played.

Out, Oh, it was. It was very uh it was white knuckled. So I said seven.

Seven, I go, I go. I mean there was a lot of fun plays in this this game for the.

Viewer, kick miss field goals, nail biders, first double ot game six, I remember, the longest game in NFL history.

Yeah, I gotta go, probably eight and eight and a half. Jack had a nine point three. The game was awesome.

The name of the game, the X Clown Game. Okay, score in and importance of all time? How people are gonna remember this game?

Oh, I mean our history is a ten ten.

Yeah, ex clown people know what you mean?

Yes, I knew what it mant.

I'll go with the eight point eight wow jacket A nine point one at eight or well, I mean we've had the immaculate reception game.

There's like listening to you.

Eight point four four.

That puts us tied for like sixteen seventeenth with Wrestlmania thirty five with two belts in the double comeback game Ravens Patriots twenty.

Fourteen, right by the double comeback top twenty. Oh okay, it's really good.

I'm just I've never watched till the end, so I'm kind of I'm like double Like I'm looking at this.

All the games we've thought, oh wow, we've done the Bananigans, we did the Yankees Red Sox.

Oh, the wheelchair game? Is that what Paul pierce his pants?

He didn't confirm he'd no, we confirmed he didn't. Technically, that's what he says. What we go by it he didn't shit his pants.

I don't believe Steve, Where do you stand on that one?

On?

What did he or did he not? What poop on himself? Problem? In the right white the wide right game? That was tough.

Before we wrap up, I'd love to ask you a question. This season you went on to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Tyler is a friend of the show. I would just love to hear going against with That's like it was dope, Like Tyler is very skilled.

I ended up man going against something of the Patriots was was cool because.

We had this whole deal.

We weren't going to get pushed around, like uh, they pushed around the coats and I was like, bro, they are that is not happening with us.

Uh.

But ty like he when he went to the Jets, we had like a little I had emotion and it was a play coming this way and he recognized it by aligneman and assignment and shot the gap and I got yelled at, like man, So I just remember he was like really smart, real smart Hall of Famer. Yeah, but you know what I'm saying, Like, it's just there's a little small things that like, you know, you're like, oh, he's a good player, but they were like little small things.

It was like, man, this dude, if.

You're a Hall of Fame corner, you're a guy that knows the game.

If you look at all the Hall of Fame corners, they were all revis is gonna be one.

He's yeah, he is one.

Though he's in.

I hate going I hate it going against with it, and and uh when he was waiting with you guys.

Yeah, Pat, Yeah, we were battling out. Bro.

You you got a good ass game. Didn't you score in the first half of the second half? We got adjustments? Yeah, adjustments yeah yeah.

Steve, we missed anything about this game? Well, I don't think that was dope, Bro, that was awesome.

Anything you want to plug ironed out on YouTube, go check it out, folks.

Then go check it out.

Anything else. Eighty nine.

I ain't know, underdog. I mean, we can exchange numbers. I keep talking to your handling.

Why didn't It's not even that, It's just I mean I didn't know what.

Yeah, it's sometimes asking for guys numbers, you don't know how they're going to react.

I mean you got a child, right, Yeah I do. I'll do thirty eight. You've been told no once or twice in your life a few times.

You would be all right, then, Bro, will be all right.

Yeah, but no, I wouldn't.

I would say, Man, I have not done myself for good service by like kind of how I've kind of carried myself when I played. But Bro, I'll be honest, Man, I come humbly, come in like Bro, I want to keep the brotherhood, and just like hanging out and chilling bro all day. And the fact that you have lived here so many years.

I've only been here for eighteen months.

Bro, You've been You've been coming back and forth to l life. I'm inn into the year for how many years?

Like ten?

Okay, but you already said you're in North Carolina. You out here, man, My family's out here.

Like when I got your home address, I was thinking about sending some boys up just to knock on the door and just let you know.

That's how close.

Gotta check in, just check in, se what we'll exchange numbers. And I would love to hang out, play golf, play gold. I would love to. I just didn't know. You know, I didn't know. I'm like a rook to you. You're you're Steve fucking man.

You're like one of my heroes is a kid. I'm not just gonna slide up in your fucking.

Hey man, it's Julian Edelman. Bro, how are you doing? Would you like? No, that's dope, That's how I feel. No, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, so let's do it. Let's do it. Yeah, what show?

Thank you, Steve, appreciate it man, Steve Smith Senior, legend, senior legend guy.

We've been waiting to get in that house for a minute. Such a fan of how he approached the game.

You know everyone everyone has that that thought, Like he even talked about it. What what what is Steve Smith really like? But to sit here and go name for name and like put a fact a location, uh like a Snapple fact on every teammate he had from twenty five years ago. Bro, that's fucking impressive. And as a first something that's like, that's not only like intelligently crazy that you can remember that, but like your eq like to like know who you're playing with. And I don't know that. I feel terrible. I felt like a shitty teammate. After that, I went and called David Andrews and Brian Hoyor just to call him and say, hey, guys, how you doing, dev what's going on?

Bro? Gott to keep in touch with the boys? I know. I love that.

That was because usually we throw the we throw the rosters up, we go through them. He look, Oh he was good. I remember every guy where he's at, what.

He's It was incredible. And also just listening home, we cut down a lot too. There was more there.

It was way more there that we will have retroact cut down a lot of that too, because he had all of it.

Competitor. He might have dropped a couple of Social Security numbers. I think address literally.

I just wanted to hear some like bayou stories of him and Jake DeLoone, like down in the Bayou doing something.

I know, retire.

Those commercials were so funny. They Yes, there's a Jangles commercial. Did we ask We didn't ask that.

We didn't get to ask him about the Bojangles dukes that had you know all time Steven make it nervous.

I know, I was shrunk. I was a little bit. I like. I like that you're a little under hills too. I like when you get uncomfortable. He got me, got me a little nerve. I just didn't.

I mean, this is like, you know, one of my childhood heroes, and he's for real makes me nervous.

Great all time game all overlooked awesome. I think there's a hear a ring at the door. There, A ring is our food here? I think our foods here. He liked he and I love how I and Ninco rocked the the turned up bill. Yeah, the bill. I'm more slared to him than Ninco, though, well, Steve's been doing it forever. Nino just started it. Yeah, Ninko copied him. Oh it's here the big dog e.

All right, let's see this postcast segment, so we can eat this delicious food delivered by.

Door dash like three slices like Jack explain this segment.

All right, So we're what we're going to do high level Kyler and I will be naming all thirty two teams go through one by one. You say the first food, snack, edible item that comes to your mind.

Fuck, we'll do a question. We'll example here. It sounds hard to me, and Jack did a test round. Yes, it's easy. Yeah, it's not that hard. There you go that kind of.

Anything that's your mind goes to that's emblematic of that team, that city.

We'll let it rip. Are you ready all right? Fastest key rapid fire? You want to uh?

Okay?

Yeah, a FC East, Bill's Wings, Dolphins, Tuna.

Patriots, Chowder, Jets, Italian.

Okay, go to the a FC North Ravens, Crab Cakes, Good One, Bengals, Skyline, Chili, Brown gold Star Guy, honestly, Brown's Rock Kneys, not dog food.

Stillers, Pardini's Brothers. What are those? Sam?

Yeah, I went there once, so good old teammate of mind at ken State, Drager used to talk about it all goddamn time.

Keep going a little overrated.

A FC South Texans, Wing Ribs, Ribs, Colts, uh sant Elmo's freaking little uh shrimp cocktail that makes you want to throw up because it has a lot of shit in it.

Horse shrimp cocktails, shrimp cocktails.

The Jaguars, Jags Uh Applebee's.

We were thinking of Don and Jacksonville Baby, Hey, that's what I thought. Titans Barbecue, Nashville Hot chicken s.

Yeah, I never I don't know Nashville that well, Barbie never really been, but you always get those Nashville Hot chicken sandwiches.

Yeah, they have that. What Dave's over here chicken.

Is in Nashville style. I think so and BBQ allright, keep going.

I do like a Memphis style barbecue. You know. Drake is an investor in Dave's. Drake Davis Okay.

AFC West Broncos Denver, Denver, The Rocky Mountain, Oyster Breakfast Burrito.

Chiefs, Kansas City.

They have really good like barbecue too, it's that's what I think of them.

Yeah, Lewis rib Yeah, styles of barbecue.

Yea, the Raider Steakhouse, Like I feel like I'm in Vegas, Oakland Chargers. You know in Oakland there'd be some like Steve Korean or ship over there. They used to have a place in Berkeley that was really good. Loved it when I go visit all my friends there, Curti.

Chargers, l A. I'm going with the little.

It's like the little squeal of tacos, little pickled tacos that have ground beef.

They are like fried, a burger taco.

It's like a burger, a ground beef taco, A ground beef taco.

That's what a charger is. I like when you order those for the crib. Yeah, they're fire.

They use they call it the white Boy taco. That's what I call it because they use cheddar cheese. They don't use like the real ship. It's pretty yeah whatever. Hell yeah, Off the East the Cowboys, Dallas, Big d just want a big steak, bigtak.

We can we can amend dancers, Jerry. That's yeah. New York Giants.

I was gonna go a whole pizza, but they're a slice of pizza.

Slice of pizza. The Eagles Philadelphia. We already said, it's cheese steaks easy, the Commander's commanders, what's something like political bullshit?

They got the Mumbo sauce over there, they got the Ben's Chili bowl.

I don't I don't know DC that well.

I had a bunch of friends from college that were from DC area, but I don't know. And the go go, I know the go go. But for food, this is esppecially rapid release or rapid fire. First thing that comes to your mind, where is that one spot? Wasn't there something in one of those political shows.

Freddy's Barbecue. I don't know if that's really well, I don't think it is.

If if the Crabcakes or Baltimore d C's like real crabcake ish, it's real close. So they probably have good crabcakes. So they have like the little ones.

Okay, d C crab Cakes.

D catch some smoke for that, that's okay.

The Bears they'll get so mad about that. Hey we're going bareland fucking Oh my god, what you're talking about? Bullshit? Hey we know, Cliff baby, it's blue blue crab.

I believe right, because where I'm from over in the you know, little dungeness, dungeness.

A little sweeter, smaller, the sweeter.

The Bears deep dish, but they're not actually deep dishes, like tough type pizza there.

They can't run the ball.

Different style Chicago pizza.

They're the bar the thin cracker style, the bar cracker. That's what the Bears are right now. It's good pizza, but it ain't deep dish.

How about the Lions.

Lions, They're a fucking double cheeseburger to me right now, double cheeseburger, double cheese packers.

There is one answer here that's correct. Yeah, cheese.

It's just like a cheesehead, right, But I want like a good Wisconsin white cheddar mm Vikings, Vikings, Dude, I went to Minnesota and I had a really good burger there at Red Cow.

I think brought worse too.

I feel like, oh they got that's what brought.

Yes, yours just brought. It's a real cast.

Did you write that?

Are we still going?

Yeah? We got.

In this league?

By else NFC South Atlanta Falcons, Falcons, Chicken and Waffles.

Feels played out.

It feels like two thousand lemon pepper wings magic city, we gotta go.

I've heard it. I heard nothing like the Wings Panthers. Did we say lemon pepper here? Yeah, the Panthers's Carolina style barbecue. Can you put more mustard and vinegar?

No?

I was thinking more like a sardine. I like that. That's and sardines.

I'm sorry for the fans that that support that organization.

I don't even mean you mean.

Some people love sardines. A little salty for me, New Orleans, give me some Cajun chicken.

Or some Casun down. Give me some coach o, you know, some gumbo gumbo. No, some crawfish. Crawfish Ridley he had this dude. He was lsu. He had drive. The same day of.

Catching the crawfish, we did crawfish bake up in New England. This guy came from early in the day, caught the fish, brought his whole fucking boiling thing, towed it up. We had like a crawfish bake. Whoa at the like on a. It was a Friday.

It was awesome, like the whole dump thing.

Yeah you dump it. He brought tables. I mean he brought the whole kitten kaboodle. It was so spicy. I mean the corn was great, but like I couldn't eat for like I had to drink milk for twenty minutes after.

It was fucking spicy. When I was little.

There you do all the work for a little piece of It's just not my style.

I'm with you. And you can only eat so many potatoes.

I liked.

I liked the the what did they put They put.

Sausage in there and dewey, Yeah, you get the sausage in there.

I can't wait for the super Bowl. It's so spicy.

It's really good, really good, But you can't like it takes you hours.

You gotta start playing a proper i'member. I've done like a cross, like a like a low country boiled, but never like and I don't know how to do it like that. Like the guys that live there, like rid and all the guys.

Are sucking it things. They are like this, I'm over here to fucking dissect it or something. For five minutes, It's like, what is this meat?

Is this meat? I don't know if I need a hammer my hands, like what, I don't know what to do a little crack snap and go. I know, I know it's the crack snap and go. But it's fucking hard.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I tip my cap to all those people that can just go through. Maybe like they go through like fifty they'll eat like fifty of those things. No, they probably like one hundred. They sit all day like Rid was there. Just a lot of the Louisiana guys are on the team just for an hour. You don't get full though. Yeah, it's because it's such little bites. Yeah, it's crazy. Alright, what's our next? Tampa Bay Bucketeer, Tampa.

I don't know. Chili's sounds right, I don't know. I don't know, Tampa.

I heard beautiful place, Grudens because you got a steakhouse.

I think you post where we're eating.

We're reading at Gruden's house and we're talking like icy football were icy Icy?

Oh my god, got me Arizona.

I always try to whenever I'm in because I when I lived in Boston. Anytime I'm in a state that has any kind of Mexican population, I'm I'm sniffing out. I'm trying to. I'm on a search like National Treasure for like the mom and pop Mexican joint.

That's what I want.

Pop Mexican mom and pop Mexican joint rams. I like some enchiladas Enchiladas, like some Enchilado's, Bang Bang Niner Gang sour dough Baby, the San Francisco treat rice seahawks. He's just a nice big fish, catching, throwing, eating. But I would want that fish like a beautiful whatever fish they the specialty fishes. I just want a little salt and pepper, some lemon juice, olive oil around that bad boy. Then pack it in salt, and then you fucking bake that bad boy. Yes, shout out ken Orangers. We're talking little it used to be with like a brand Zeno. But I know they got some nice fresh fish over in the Northwest.

Recently tossed salmon. What does that mean?

Those are pretty hard to catch there, like some given to it. I wonder I gotta go try it. I want to go try it, but I want to train for it. I want to go out there looking like a like a slap dick at your gloves. No, no gloves, but you gotta like I think it's you gotta bring it in. You gotta watch that bitch in.

And then came Chancell will pop out and you.

Oh my gosh. Oh, thanks DoorDash.

That was fun.

Let's go eat that food. Well, what a game. Thanks again to Steve Smith Senior. You gotta get out there and play some golf with him.

No, I fucking I would love to play golf with him. Actually, it made me think about golf in a different way. Very very connected to that, very connected to that. Let your mind just go.

You know you're out there, You're out team. Don't bother me. Don't don't bother me.

That's been another episode of Games with Names, presented by Door Dash, Door Dash.

Your Door two more.

Download the door Dash app now to order your game day favorites. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to your podcast and comment a game you want us to do.

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Theater Slater.

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Games with Names

Hosted by Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, Games with Names is a sports history podcast on the search … 
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