Lots to Say: Cutdown Week and Fmr NFL RB Steven Jackson

Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel are ready for the start of football, but is it still exciting for players on bad teams? The Browns trade Kenny Pickett while Dillon Gabriel seemed to outplay Shedeur Sanders.  How long will Cleveland stick with Joe Flacco?  With Terry McLaurin and Trey Hendrickson signing deals, Bobby doesn't trust trade demands much anymore because it seems like Micah Parsons will stay in Dallas.   Bobby is choosing between TWO teams to root for this season, the  and Broncos. While teams are making cuts and signing deals, Matt recalls his contract negotiation.   BREAKING NEWS brings the engagement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift....is the timing a bit suspicious? 

Fmr NFL running back Steven Jackson talks about his path to the NFL and the influences he had along the way.  Steven talks about playing at Oregon State then becoming an all-time rusher with the Rams. What is his relationship now with the team?  Steven weighs in on running backs like Saquon Barkley bringing the importance of the position back to the game. Steven remember the best moments of career then discusses his chances at the Hall of Fame.  

Bobby and Matt try to name the Top 10 All-Time NFL Running Backs.  Plus, Matt will be in Michigan this weekend for College Football while Bobby is upset that his Fantasy Draft is scheduled for Saturday!

Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Cassel is part of the NFL Podcast Network 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Lots to Say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is
a production of the NFL and iHeart podcasts.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
We Got Lots, just.

Speaker 3 (00:15):
We got lost?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Just what better here?

Speaker 4 (00:21):
And we hope you stay because.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
We got lost?

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Just say, yeah, we got lots.

Speaker 5 (00:28):
Just say.

Speaker 6 (00:31):
Here's Bobby that we're almost to the starting line. We're
almost almost.

Speaker 7 (00:37):
There to the starting line? What is it a week
and a half away? Yeah, I'm pretty fired up about this.

Speaker 8 (00:42):
And it almost feels like it's starting anyway because college
starts this weekend.

Speaker 6 (00:45):
Yes, so it's like football starts.

Speaker 5 (00:48):
Football's here, baby.

Speaker 6 (00:49):
Yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 5 (00:50):
It's so cool.

Speaker 7 (00:51):
I mean, is there anything better than the start of
a football season. Everybody's undefeated, Expectations are high for everybody,
maybe not Arkansas.

Speaker 5 (00:58):
But at the same time.

Speaker 6 (01:00):
Dang, I got me, shoot, got me shoot.

Speaker 7 (01:03):
No, but it's an exciting I'm a year for sure,
especially the start of football season as fans. But also
I can go back to when I played. There's nothing
like opening day environments.

Speaker 6 (01:13):
Even if you're on a bad team.

Speaker 7 (01:15):
Well, if you're on a bad team, it's probably not
as exciting. No, it's exciting because, like I said, everybody's
undefeated and you go into a season and you know that, look,
it's up to you to go win a game here there,
and you've got an opportunity, and you don't know how
good or bad you are at the beginning of any season.

Speaker 8 (01:32):
That was my next question. Do you know you're on
a bad team if you're on a bad team, or
do you think you're probably in between a middle and
a bad team but you don't know yet.

Speaker 5 (01:40):
Well, there's great players on every team.

Speaker 7 (01:42):
It's whether or not you come together as a team
and you gel and the different aspects of your team
excel the way that you want them to. Now, you
definitely can go into a season and know, we've got
some holes right at the wide receiver position, or depth
at this position, or whatever it might be. So you
understand that that also, though doesn't dictate the entirety of

(02:04):
the season by any means.

Speaker 8 (02:06):
What team were you on that was projected the worst?
It ended up being not a Super Bowl champion by
any means, but way better than maybe they thought you
would be.

Speaker 7 (02:15):
Well, the first season I got to Kansas City, I
definitely knew we had some holes, we had some rebuilding.

Speaker 5 (02:21):
And it kind of showed on the field. We were
four and twelve.

Speaker 7 (02:24):
But then that next season, I don't think anybody was
predicting us to win the AFC West, and so we
brought in some pieces. Tony Moyaki was tight end from Iowa.
We brought in Dexter mccluster from Old Miss Man. He
was crazy. He was crazy good and you would never
imagine it just when you first meet him. I mean
he's five eight, one hundred and eighty pounds, soaking wet,

(02:47):
and you're like, this guy is going to be our
running back.

Speaker 5 (02:50):
But he also played some wide receivers.

Speaker 7 (02:52):
So we added some pieces Steve Breston as well to
our team. But then early on that season, we beat
San Diego, and I think that that kind.

Speaker 5 (03:01):
Of woke us all up, like that was probably the front.

Speaker 7 (03:04):
Runner to win the division that year, with Philip Rivers
and all the great players that they had, and so
to go out and exceed expectations that year and actually
win the division, I don't think anybody had marked us
down to do that.

Speaker 6 (03:16):
I remember watching mcluster ole miss dude.

Speaker 7 (03:18):
He use a savage, a lightning bolt, lightning bolt, and
like with his agility and ability to change directions was absurd.
But he also played so much bigger than his size.
He would run between tackles like he was two hundred
and twenty pounds.

Speaker 8 (03:33):
Yeah, haven't though about him in a while, but man,
I think about him all the time because he used
to run circles around that's in Arkansas.

Speaker 6 (03:38):
Yeah, Okay, let's go back and forth.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
I'll go first.

Speaker 8 (03:40):
Let's start with well, and it's a whole situation. But
Kenny Pickett got into the Raiders.

Speaker 7 (03:45):
We talked about this last week. He said, one of
these guys are trade bait.

Speaker 8 (03:48):
So Canny Pickett goes to the Raiders. Well, O'Connor got hurt,
and no Connor gets hurt. He's a backup, right, so.

Speaker 6 (03:54):
Then Vegas has got to go find a back up.

Speaker 8 (03:57):
Well, turns out Cleveland's got five quarterbacks on the roster, right,
they cut Snoop and then it's okay, Flac goes starting.
We got picket, we got the two rookies, so they
try to pick it for a fifth round pick. So that,
I won't say eases the tension in the quarterback room,
but at least there's a little more understanding of who

(04:19):
is now the backup, because if it were Picket in
either one of the rookies. You to wonder, like, who's
really the second quarterback.

Speaker 5 (04:25):
Here right now?

Speaker 7 (04:25):
I don't think that their intent was ever going to
be let's keep four quarterbacks on the roster and use
up roster spots. I think eventually they were either going
to cut picket or trade them. And it just kind
of fell in their lap that the Raiders Aidan O'Connell
gets hurt, broke his wrists, he's out for six weeks.
They know that they need a veteran guy to come
in that has played a little bit to back up
Gino Smith. God forbid because of the volatility of just

(04:47):
the position itself.

Speaker 8 (04:49):
And so now Gabriel's second quarterback, should there's third quarterback?
We can talk about that for a second, because I
think Gabriel outplayed Shaudor. I think what everybody was worried
about with Shador being in the pocket and drifting a lot,
you started to see that out a lot in that
last game.

Speaker 6 (05:05):
He couldn't stay in.

Speaker 8 (05:06):
The pocket and then he would hold the ball and
he was His completion numbers were good, but it's because
he took a lot of sacks.

Speaker 7 (05:12):
Right, and what he gets sacked five times in that game,
and there's something to be said. Look, you're in preseason,
you've got your backup offensive line in the LA Rams
got after him, and you feel that pressure consistently as
a young quarterback.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
And the one thing.

Speaker 7 (05:26):
That he'll learn is that as a quarterback in college,
there's such a difference in just the overall speed of
the defensive line and the ability for them to close
gaps and get to you.

Speaker 5 (05:37):
So you hold onto the ball.

Speaker 7 (05:39):
For any long period of time that allows them to
get to you, and you try to extend plays. It's
just different in the NFL. So throwing the ball away,
getting it out of your hands, doing those things. It's
something that's going to take a little bit of time
on task for him to realize, Okay, I can get
away with certain things, but I got to get stay
ahead on down and distance and I got to get
the ball in my hands.

Speaker 6 (05:59):
A couple questions about this situation.

Speaker 8 (06:01):
Number One, I do now think that first preseason game
was a bit detrimental to his overall health, his his
his quarterback room health because it was so good and
people were just loving on it so much. We were like,
this is not good because the pendulum is going to
swing back the other direction. And now you're seeing kind
of the circus that comes with having a high profile
player like Tebow when he wasn't starting Shade when he's nasty,

(06:24):
su're just third string quarterback, and we could go through
the list, even Cam Newton with the Patriots. I don't
think it's that he wasn't good enough to be a backup.
It's that you don't want the circus for a second
or third string quarterback.

Speaker 7 (06:37):
And that's that's part of this whole process that as
an organization in the front office, when you take such
a polarizing figure as Shadoor Sanders that.

Speaker 5 (06:47):
You know along with that it's going to be the noise.

Speaker 7 (06:49):
But if we know anything about the Cleveland Browns, they
don't care about the noise because they went out and
got Deshaun Watson in the middle of that poor deal
and and guess what, we we know that you might
have to sit out and be suspended for an entire
So organizationally, I think it goes hand in hand with

(07:10):
and aligns with who the Cleveland and I mean Cleveland
Indians great call castle Cleveland Browns are because I don't
think that they care about that. But at the same time,
you don't want it to become a distraction. I think
as they get the season, Flacco plays and it's a
defined role that Dylan Gabriel's two and he's three, it'll
slowly but surely lose its power unless this unless as

(07:33):
they get going early in the season, Flacco struggles early
throughout the season and they go to Dylan and then
all of a sudden, there's all the stuff that goes
along and the rumors and the media jumping on board,
like just play Shador and see what he can do.
So that's I think it'll settle down now that I
got to season.

Speaker 8 (07:52):
I think both quarterbacks will get a shot to show
if they are it's hard to say starting quarterback.

Speaker 6 (07:58):
They're rookies.

Speaker 8 (07:59):
And that's not even that their first round or second
round draft picks. You're looking at Dylan Gabriel third round,
should a fifth round. So that's what the team thought
of them. They drafted them in a backup quarterback position, right.
I think both players will get a chance to shine.
I think they'll both get a chance to play. Flacco's forty.
And also, the Browns aren't good. Their offensive line is
not great. It doesn't matter who plays there, They're going

(08:20):
to struggle.

Speaker 7 (08:21):
They're going to struggle, and at some point they're going
to want to see what the future is and they're
going to put these young guys in the game and
let them play a complete game and see if potentially
they're the future of the franchise.

Speaker 5 (08:33):
And that's just how the league goes.

Speaker 7 (08:35):
But again, that won't happen unless they're truly out of
the race. If Joe Flacco's playing consistently, but they're five hundred,
five hundred somewhere around their team, they're going to continue
to roll with Joe Flacco because at the end of
the day, for Kevin Stefanski his staff, they know the
job security is only when you win ball games. It's
not just given to you just because you know, all

(08:57):
of a sudden you're you're in a position where you
might make playoffs and you're like, oh, let's roll the
dice and put one of these young guys out there.

Speaker 5 (09:03):
All right, you're up, all right?

Speaker 7 (09:05):
Well, I mean I think that there were some big
contracts being finished this week, right Trey Hendrix finally gets
his deal with Cincinnati. It's a one year deal worth
what thirty million dollars, but That's a huge signing for
Cincinnati to have him on the field, because again, he's
a guy that had seventeen and a half sacks. He's
a leader of the defense, and with the offense being

(09:25):
as explosive as they are, they needed a guy like
that on the defensive side the ball because still to.

Speaker 5 (09:30):
This point, I don't know what their defense is going to.

Speaker 7 (09:32):
Look like, but at least they secured their number one
player on defense and got him to come back and
he'll be on the field this year. And then Terry McLaurin,
I thought was a huge finally getting him done. He
signed a three year deal, and for Washington, Terry McLaurin
means a lot to this organization because he's a dog
out there. He's a true number one and to give
Jayden Daniels going into his second year that security blanket

(09:55):
and a guy out there that can go win for
you consistently, that was a big signing to have him.
To get that done before the season started.

Speaker 8 (10:03):
I start to trust trade demands less and less now
because you're seeing people demand trades like a Terry McLaurin,
And really it was just a negotiating tactic right back
in the old Back in my day, whenever you said
you wanted a trade, they found you a trade.

Speaker 5 (10:21):
Yep.

Speaker 6 (10:21):
Now you have guys like McLaren. You have guys.

Speaker 8 (10:25):
You can go to the franking Dallas Cowboys and look
at Michael.

Speaker 7 (10:28):
Parker Parson's or Jacobe Meers out the wide receiver and
the Raiders. He's requesting a trade, They're like, we're not
trading you.

Speaker 5 (10:34):
Same thing with on a contract.

Speaker 7 (10:36):
The thing about Parsons which is so interesting to me
is Jerry Jones. Usually it finds a way to get
the deal done right before season, whether it was Dak
or Ezekiel or one of these guys. But at the
end of the day, when is Parsons going to be
football ready to go out and play, Because.

Speaker 6 (10:52):
Well, that's a you question because you've played.

Speaker 5 (10:54):
Well, that's what I'm saying.

Speaker 7 (10:55):
Because they say he has a back, Now, okay, does
he really have a back? And then what type of
conditioning are you doing on the side, because conditioning is
one thing, running sprints, lifting, I understand physically you're probably
in shape, but football shape is different. Contact hitting, being
out doing drills, having your timing down with your different

(11:15):
stunts that you have up front and what you're trying
to get accomplished.

Speaker 5 (11:18):
Now.

Speaker 7 (11:18):
I know he's, you know, the premier pass rusher in
the league and probably will adapt pretty quickly, but still,
are you game ready to go out there and play
four quarters. You haven't stepped on the field since camp started.
You've laid on the table, though you've laid on the table.
He's definitely got a massage. Yeah, definitely got a massage.
He's in the hyperderberic chamber right a role. But to
think that he'll go out there and be as impactful

(11:40):
as he would be if he went through an entire
camp and was out there grinding with the rest of
the guys every single day, I don't know if he's
going to be the player that even if he does
play against the Eagles.

Speaker 5 (11:51):
You know what I mean.

Speaker 8 (11:52):
So weeks ago I told the story of not growing
up with a favorite team. Obviously, I'm a massive fan
of the NFL and play fantasy and follow religiously, but
I never had a home team in Arkansas.

Speaker 6 (12:07):
We didn't have a team.

Speaker 8 (12:08):
Most people like the Cowboys, but the Cowboys when I
was young, they were really good, and I refuse to
jump on the bandwagon of a team.

Speaker 7 (12:14):
I just you should have definitely jumped on that bad.
That was a fun time. I was a big Cowboys
fan growing.

Speaker 6 (12:18):
Up, but you were naturally like you.

Speaker 3 (12:20):
Wasn't your dad My.

Speaker 5 (12:21):
Dad was from Yeah that's all good. Yeah me.

Speaker 6 (12:24):
Nobody made me be a Cowboys fan.

Speaker 8 (12:26):
Jerry Jones played at Arkansas, Barry Switzer played at Arkansas,
so there were those ties, but they were winning so
much when I was a kid, I felt like a
fraud to jump on to be a Cowboys fan. And
so I said on the show, I'm going to find
a favorite team. I'm going to follow them religiously this
year and hopefully more so. And I had four teams
that I suggested. The Cowboys was one, they have one.

Speaker 6 (12:46):
And so long.

Speaker 8 (12:46):
I don't feel bad now if I were to jump
on the Cowboys. The Cowboys was one, which, by the way,
if you watch the series.

Speaker 5 (12:51):
At all, I just started, it's awesome.

Speaker 6 (12:53):
It is.

Speaker 5 (12:53):
It is awesome.

Speaker 7 (12:54):
I mean they're sitting down with Jerry Jones and you know,
with his draw, and he's kind of going into how
they started drilling and going after these holes, and then
he hit the honey hole and in that one honey hole,
one hundred million dollars and then it was the negotiation
and the previous owner gosh, it's it's evading me right now.
But nonetheless they went in for a negotiation. And at

(13:14):
that point, who's the previous owner before Jerry Jones.

Speaker 2 (13:18):
Hr bum Bright?

Speaker 6 (13:20):
Oh, hr bum Bright. Duh.

Speaker 3 (13:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (13:22):
So he goes in to negotiate with hr bum Bright
and they're arguing over I think it was something around
thirty to fifty thousand dollars and at the end he says, well,
let's flip a coin for it, and so they flip
a coin. Jerry loses, He loses whatever it is, thirty
to fifty thousand dollars. But it was interesting just how

(13:43):
he came in and he was seen as an outsider
that they might want to move the team to Arkansas.

Speaker 6 (13:47):
In all the day, that was a thing. They might
want to move the team to Arkansas.

Speaker 7 (13:50):
That's what all these fails like. And so they're going
a team, they're going into this a whole part of
the negotiation. And when he took over the team and
just he came in with this aura about look, I'm
gonna go get my guy, Jimmy Johnson do this.

Speaker 5 (14:05):
Are going to do it?

Speaker 7 (14:06):
My way, But it's it's very cool insight about the
organization itself, Jerry Jones and where where he started and
then how they just took off, especially in the nineties.

Speaker 6 (14:18):
Well, I eliminated them, so they're not my team.

Speaker 7 (14:21):
So they also weren't Arkansas supposedly, I know, and then
I would have definitely would have had a team.

Speaker 8 (14:26):
I had three other teams, the Broncos, the Panthers, and
the Vikings.

Speaker 6 (14:30):
Yeah, weren't you leaning toward Vikings?

Speaker 7 (14:34):
Did because you don't like Kevin O'Connell, even though he's
been a guest on our show.

Speaker 8 (14:38):
Has nothing to do with Kevin O'Connell, you know what
I had to do with it's cold in Minnesota.

Speaker 5 (14:44):
You don't think it gets cold in Denver?

Speaker 6 (14:45):
It does?

Speaker 5 (14:46):
You watch the games?

Speaker 6 (14:49):
Denver's awesome.

Speaker 7 (14:50):
City is awesome, And I'm pretty sure you're just acquiescing
that because you kind of want to go over to
Aspen and jump on the mountain and go.

Speaker 6 (14:57):
Get It's just awesome. I've never been scamed before ever.

Speaker 5 (15:00):
Seriously, what does the matter with you? Dan?

Speaker 3 (15:03):
Okay?

Speaker 8 (15:03):
First of all, you grew up somewhat your skiing somewhat
being in southern California, but like four Hour Mountain high
great in Arkansas, we don't have skiing. We have water skiing,
and I grew up broke. We only rich people are
people that live near skiing went skiing.

Speaker 5 (15:17):
So you'd go float the river. We would go wash
it out for the water moccasin, you hater.

Speaker 6 (15:23):
So I think Denver to me is different than Minnesota.

Speaker 5 (15:25):
What am I to do?

Speaker 6 (15:26):
Mall of America?

Speaker 3 (15:27):
Huh? Now?

Speaker 5 (15:28):
The Mall America is pretty sick.

Speaker 6 (15:29):
It is legitimate.

Speaker 5 (15:30):
Have you been on the roller coaster in there?

Speaker 6 (15:31):
No, I didn't get on the roller coaster, but we've
got the.

Speaker 7 (15:33):
Same store at like three different areas of that mount
because it's so much, so massive.

Speaker 8 (15:38):
So my two teams that I'm deciding between are going
to be the Panthers and the Broncos.

Speaker 7 (15:42):
Any thoughts, Well, Panthers is definitely warm weather climate, It's
close in proximity. You could get down there. Not thrilled
about where they are as an organization. I mean I
do like Bryce Young, so uh yeah, I mean you're
kind of rolling dice with that one.

Speaker 5 (15:57):
Denver.

Speaker 7 (15:57):
I think some on the on the come up, Sean Payton,
you know, I think you'd get along real well with
him Bo Nicks young quarterback, had a great first year,
and it's Denver.

Speaker 6 (16:07):
It's gonna be one of those two teams. So next
week I'll probably let you know.

Speaker 8 (16:10):
So that is my second little story here, is that
I'm down to two teams and that I'm in.

Speaker 6 (16:16):
I'm gonna be die hard for a whole year.

Speaker 8 (16:17):
We'll see how they treat me and then we'll see
if I want to say, but it's gonna be Denver
or it's gonna be Carolina.

Speaker 5 (16:21):
All right over to you. Let me ask you a question.

Speaker 7 (16:23):
Have you ever been a contract negotiation where you didn't
know whether or not they were going to pick up
your contract or you thought you were going to get cut?

Speaker 6 (16:32):
No?

Speaker 8 (16:32):
No, no, no.

Speaker 5 (16:36):
Because I just think about this week.

Speaker 7 (16:38):
It's always a difficult week because I've been in the
position before as a young player in the league where
it is so stressful because you and even before well
now they've got a whole two weeks to figure out
their roster. Before it was literally finished that last preseason
game on Thursday, you're playing the following week, and so
the cuts happened really quickly. But I remember just sitting

(17:00):
by my phone just nervous, biting my nails and going,
oh my gosh. So this week always brings back some
of those memories because I know rosters are getting set,
but there's so many guys near the bottom end that
are fighting for a position on that team. But I
always feel like there's guys that were next to you
in the locker room that one day they're there, the

(17:21):
next day they're gone and you might not see them again.

Speaker 5 (17:24):
Now, some of these.

Speaker 7 (17:24):
Guys come back on the practice squad, and I think
they expand the practice squad since I played. But at
the same time, it's an eerie week all together because
you go from this massive locker room with like eighty
five guys in it to now a fifty three men roster,
and it just looks different when you get on.

Speaker 5 (17:40):
It's crazy.

Speaker 8 (17:41):
I was thinking, I'll eyed, I've been in a situation
where I'm like wondering if a TV show is going
to get renewed and you're just waiting waiting to see
if you get the call or not. So I think
that's probably similar where you're like, oh, I'm gonna.

Speaker 7 (17:54):
Have a job, yeah, and that's it because it's your livelihood.
And then if you do get released, do you have
enough time to get picked up by another team? Because
also in the quarterback room normally and in camps and
stuff like that, you carry four five quarterbacks. Some of
the guys you know, kind of are on the cusp.
But you spend a ton of time with these guys.
But then all of a sudden, the next day they

(18:15):
come in and he's like, yeah, I just got the call, man,
let's keep in touch, and you never see him again.

Speaker 5 (18:20):
It's just a crazy dynamic.

Speaker 6 (18:22):
Was it ever with you?

Speaker 8 (18:23):
And I can give you a story but related to football,
because you have me now in the contract space. I
remember my first year at American Idol. I made very
very little money because they were only hiring me to
do one episode at a time, and I was making
Union minimal, which was like twenty three hundred bucks an episode,
and they didn't know I didn't live in La So
I was like flying back and forth, not telling anybody
paying for everything.

Speaker 6 (18:43):
So I was losing money, yes.

Speaker 8 (18:44):
And so I was losing money, But my agent was
negotiating with them for a year two and they came
back and they offered me like to do the whole
season for like eighty thousand dollars and my agents like,
do not accept that money?

Speaker 6 (19:00):
Oh seriously, He's like, do not accept the money.

Speaker 8 (19:02):
So I know you want the you want to be
on the show and what it'll be with it, but
we're not. And honestly, it was like, we're not going
to take anything lessan a million. And I'm like, there's
a big difference in eighty thousand and a million.

Speaker 5 (19:12):
Yes, one hundred percent.

Speaker 8 (19:14):
And I was like, if we ask for a million,
there's a chance we don't even make We don't even
we're not even on the show.

Speaker 7 (19:20):
I mean they're offering eighty thousand, like you're making a
massive jump ten x.

Speaker 8 (19:24):
And he goes major goes, trust me on this, and
so I did and ended up making a million two
for that year. Hell yeah, but I would have taken
eighty thousand dollars.

Speaker 6 (19:35):
I was ready to jump in.

Speaker 8 (19:36):
And take eighty thousand dollars because I was like, oh,
I do want to mess this up. Whenever you're negotiating contracts,
is that ever a situation where it's.

Speaker 6 (19:43):
Like should I are we sure I can ask for
this much?

Speaker 7 (19:45):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (19:46):
One hundred percent.

Speaker 7 (19:47):
I remember I got franchised in New England when after
the season I played, I got franchise, so I signed
that franchise center, which is a top three or four
salaries of all the quarterbacks in the league. I was like,
oh my gosh, I've got a golden ticket. And then
I got traded to Kansas City and you're looking for
that law long term deal, some security there. But the

(20:08):
negotiation process is so stressful because your agent's trying to
get the most for you. But you're like, am Sometimes
you question, am I deserving of this of getting paid
the same amount as a Drew Brees that has been
doing it for years or one of these other great
quarterbacks that have been played and number two, is it
all going to go?

Speaker 5 (20:29):
Go for not?

Speaker 7 (20:30):
Because at the end of the day they might come
back and say, are you out of your mind?

Speaker 8 (20:33):
You know that's what I was working about. No chance,
we're not giving you that, and we're going to move
on to another quarterback.

Speaker 7 (20:36):
And at the same time they offer you a contract
and the first contract comes through and you're like, this
is more than I ever imagined that I would make
in my life. Let alone, this will set me up.
This is great, Let's sign it. And he's like, no, no, no,
I don't sign because the last thing you want to
do is work so hard get to that point where
you can sign it a contract that, in anybody's mind

(20:57):
would be amazing.

Speaker 6 (21:00):
Yeah, but I was going to take it. I was
going to take it.

Speaker 7 (21:02):
Yeah, and I would have taken it probably three times.
But that's also when you start to learn you've got
to remove yourself from the situation.

Speaker 5 (21:09):
Let them do their job because they know better than
you do.

Speaker 8 (21:11):
Let the experts be experts one hundred per That was
hard for me, and now I do it all the time.

Speaker 6 (21:16):
It's like you're the expert.

Speaker 8 (21:17):
You do what you think because they're also tied in right,
Like they don't want the deal to fall through because
their money relies on my money, your money.

Speaker 7 (21:24):
Right, they don't want the deal to fall through, and
they figure out a way to negotiate and make it work.
But it's always like, no, there's no way we're accepting this.
I was like, what are you talking.

Speaker 6 (21:33):
I was like, it's eighty thousand dollars. What do you
mean we're not accepting eighty thousand dollars?

Speaker 5 (21:36):
Oh, sign that, yes, He's like, no, we're getting more.
I was like, oh, you're kind of being greedy right now.

Speaker 6 (21:40):
Do you have anything else? Do you have another one?

Speaker 7 (21:42):
I thought one of the interesting signings this week was
the Minnesota Vikings signing Carson Wentz, who was a free agent,
but sending Sam Howe to the Eagles in a trade.

Speaker 5 (21:52):
Sam Howe's a young player, done a lot of good
things in this league.

Speaker 7 (21:55):
But Carson Wentz they bring him in, who hadn't been
with them all camp and has to get caught up
to speed. There's got to be something there. I just
thought it was really interesting that they made that move
this late in the preseason.

Speaker 8 (22:07):
It's got to be a dynamic with somebody who's done
it because they're about the same level now, right, but
one's done it at a higher level before.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
Right.

Speaker 7 (22:15):
And the personality fit maybe like between the two players themselves,
because we know that JJ is going to be the guy,
maybe less threatening to have a guy like Carson Wentz
who knows that he's in that position, has been through
all the crap before. I just thought it was interesting
because again, Sam How's still a young player, but at
the same time, from a skill set standpoint, probably more
similar to JJ than Carson Wentz's.

Speaker 6 (22:36):
If that kept Sam Hollett had been a Vikings guy,
But soon as they traded moment, I was like, I'm
out on the Vikings.

Speaker 5 (22:41):
No how, no Bobby Carolina, Denver period.

Speaker 8 (22:43):
My final thing is this happened right before we came
on Big Engagement. I heard, yeah, so it's a day
old by the time you hear, but Travis and Taylor
got engaged.

Speaker 7 (22:52):
I thought you had this conspiracy theory that this was
not the day they were broken up or.

Speaker 5 (22:57):
Something like that. Didn't you have that?

Speaker 6 (22:59):
I did not have that theory.

Speaker 5 (23:00):
Somebody had that.

Speaker 6 (23:01):
There are people that I work with that are constant like,
this isn't real. This isn't real.

Speaker 5 (23:05):
Seems pretty real now.

Speaker 8 (23:08):
Is it weird that she's getting engaged up before her
album comes out?

Speaker 6 (23:11):
Is that weird?

Speaker 5 (23:12):
Or right before season starts?

Speaker 8 (23:14):
I think that's bad for football. I think it's good
for her album, But again, she doesn't need it. She
doesn't need it, right, so I don't think it's that.
But that just feeds the conspiracy.

Speaker 5 (23:22):
But it's also not going to bring any more notoriety
to her.

Speaker 6 (23:25):
It's like the Super bowlftime show. She doesn't need it, right.

Speaker 7 (23:27):
But those were actually really interesting takes last week about
the little little hints.

Speaker 8 (23:34):
Yeah, we're going to break and come back with Stephen Jackson,
who was a beast from TV. He was a beast
about him play with you played against him, yeah, and.

Speaker 7 (23:44):
He was always that guy that every defensive coordinator would
stay up late and have nightmares about because he was the.

Speaker 5 (23:51):
Guy that you had to stop.

Speaker 7 (23:52):
But he was such a physical runner that even if
you were in the right position, he'd run through your face.
But then he also had the long speed to go
break it long. He was a remarkable player.

Speaker 8 (24:01):
All right, coming up, Stephen Jackson, we are about to
talk to legendary NFL running back Stephen Jackson.

Speaker 6 (24:22):
You played against Evehen I did.

Speaker 5 (24:24):
He was an absolute beast.

Speaker 6 (24:26):
From what I remember, he was an absolute beast. But
you had to play against him.

Speaker 7 (24:29):
Yeah, I mean he's six two forty, agile, athletic, would
run through your face, make you miss.

Speaker 5 (24:35):
But the other part.

Speaker 7 (24:36):
A lot of times when you think about running backs
that are big in stature, you think about just a
downhill runner. No, he'd come out of the backfield. He'll
catch the ball gracefully. A lot of those guys have
brick hands, right, I mean, I'm no offense, Derek, You
were my teammate, but at the same time, he didn't
have great hands.

Speaker 8 (24:53):
Stephen Jackson, the LA Rams all time leading rusher, had
over ten thousand, one hundred rush yards with his Rams career,
eighteenth all time NFL rushing list, eight consecutive one thousand
yard seasons.

Speaker 6 (25:03):
He was a twenty fourth overall pick in the or Draft.
And here he is. You can follow on Instagram.

Speaker 8 (25:08):
I am SJ thirty nine Steven Jackson.

Speaker 6 (25:15):
Steven really good to talk with you, man. Thanks for
the time, no problem, Thanks for having me.

Speaker 8 (25:20):
I do want to start off because I was watching
on YouTube your NFL Legends show, and I was watching
a little bit about Sterling Sharp and how you're advocating
for Sterling Sharp. So why this project? Like, what did
it make you? What was the passion behind it to
get started?

Speaker 3 (25:36):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (25:36):
The quiet arms with you. I think you know. I'm
a football head. So growing up, I was a guy
that collected trading cards. I was watching all the highlights,
and I slowly began to favorite players over teams and nostalgia.
Looking back at stuff like that, I'm like, Yo, what
happened to that guy or what's his story?

Speaker 3 (25:55):
What they're doing in life?

Speaker 4 (25:57):
I go in great, I would go on and then
retire from football and join Legends community, which is about
uplifting the legends of the past and making sure or
that as we transition from the playing days to our
retirement days, that we still feel supported, we still feel
like we're in the locker room together. But each and
every year, I would look at the highlights or the
promos for the upcoming season and NFL will always feature

(26:19):
the same guys, and I'm like, well, there were.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
Other guys that I had really great careers.

Speaker 4 (26:23):
Let's reintroduce them to the new generation so they could
be familiar with them as I was.

Speaker 7 (26:28):
So you're advocating for these guys that you've seen play
and all that stuff. My real question is who's advocating
for you in the hall big way? Because you used
to run the rock had an incredible career.

Speaker 5 (26:39):
I mean, talk to me about that and what's your
view is on that.

Speaker 3 (26:44):
Well, I appreciate that.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
You know, I took great pride in every carry, every
time I tested the field. I wanted to leave it
all out there the game. The passion that I played
with it was true and authentic, and I think that's
why a lot of my fans connect with me. Who's
advocating for me now, I would just say you know
the most high and also guys like yourselves and other
sports writers that I remember I did in Saint Louis.

(27:06):
Unfortunately for me, though, when the Rams picked up and
moved back west to LA, the beat writers that covered
me weekend and week out a year in, a year
out annually, I would lose their voice and maybe they're
even their vote of consideration of going the argument for me.
So I have to argue for myself. I'm not really
good at that because I don't like to speak about
myself in third person or talk about the things I've done.
I feel like I left it all on the field,

(27:28):
and then I got to do is pick up a
tape and watch some old games.

Speaker 3 (27:32):
I think you will see the passion that I play with.

Speaker 8 (27:34):
You have the show called Legends, which people can watch
on YouTube, but you did one on Bo Jackson.

Speaker 4 (27:40):
I'm reintroducing some of those older videos that I did
season one and redoing them giving them justice. So Bo
is one of those athletes we all know when we
were at that age. He was a true talent and
he his time and the sun was just too short.
But that being said, you know, I think that guys
like Darren Woodson, a safety for the Cowboys, someone like

(28:03):
you know, even like a war done a smaller running back,
had a great career. You wouldn't think someone his sides
would have the length of career that he had, but
he had great impact on the field as well in
the community.

Speaker 3 (28:14):
What he's doing.

Speaker 4 (28:14):
Now you have the likes of Reggie White, I think
histories get lost their time, not only because he's no
longer with us, but we have such great defenders putting
up these crazy stats that we forget.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
Some guys in the eighties.

Speaker 4 (28:27):
And nineties and even before that was putting up just
as oppressive stats that wasn't always tallied like they are now.
So shining light and introducing to this again this generation
to let them know that it's not necessarily you have
to have the most social followers to be famous or
to be popular. Is actually you know, being committed to
the process and playing the game the right way and

(28:49):
inspiring the next generation football players who are.

Speaker 7 (28:51):
Some of the legendary running backs that you grew up
watching that you kind of wanted to model your game
after and really looked up to when you started your career.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Oh, for sure.

Speaker 4 (29:01):
I wore thirty four all the way up until I
got to the NFL, and that was large behold because
of Walter Payton. You pray that thirty four with Bo Jackson,
and then you go down the list. There were other
running backs I looked up dearly too. You have the
Ricky Williams, you have the Eddie Georgies of the world,
but also you have some smaller guys Marshall Fault, who
was a teammate of Mines, as well as going back

(29:23):
into early nineties, a guy named Terry Allen. He had
played for the Redskins, and he was an amazing gap runner.
I learned how to be patient and run counter and
power due to watching his film. So there's a number
of guys that I looked up to and followed their
career and took a little bit of their game and
added it to minds. It just so happened that I'm
a bigger packet than some of those guys I mentioned.

Speaker 6 (29:45):
Steven, how did you end up at Oregon State?

Speaker 4 (29:47):
My senior year was the year Chad and TJ and
those guys went to the Fiesta Bowl and would go
on to beat up on Notre Dame.

Speaker 3 (29:56):
But the level of.

Speaker 4 (29:58):
Groundwork and the foundation they were laying there in Corvallis
made me want to be a part of it. Coming
out of Las Vegas, Nevadas particular, in the early two thousands,
it wasn't an area that was recruited heavy and didn't
go to a private school. I went to a city
school here, and so the schools that wanted me to
play or was going to allow me to play running
back was largely on the west coast. You had some

(30:20):
of the bigger universities, like in Nebraska that wanted me
to be a middle linebacker. I didn't want that for
myself in my future, so I decided to stay west
of the Mississippi, and it just kind of bowled itself
down between Oregon State and you had a Colorado State
and Arizona State. Those three schools were big on me,
but eventually they will all weave themselves out, you know.
Coach Snyder, Bruce Snyder at the time for the Arizona

(30:43):
Arizona State, he was fired, you know, so there, you know,
so those kinds of processes of elimination began to play
itself out for me, and I wanted to be in
a big conference, which was to pack ten at the time,
and Oregon State and coach Dennis Erickson did a great
job of making me feel wanted and definitely lived up
to every every commitment they said they were going to
allow me to come in and compete as a freshman,

(31:05):
and I did it, played right away as.

Speaker 3 (31:06):
The true and you know, the rest is history, as
they say.

Speaker 7 (31:09):
So you also were drafted in the first round by
the Saint Louis Rams at the time, and you just
talked about it. One of your teammates is Marshall Fox,
who's obviously a legend in his own right.

Speaker 5 (31:19):
How what type of impact did he have on your career?

Speaker 3 (31:22):
Well, his impact for me was indirect.

Speaker 4 (31:24):
You know at that time, some of the older veterans
wasn't They didn't feel like they had to hold your hand.
It wasn't their job to get you ready to take
their job. So what I appreciated about our relationship from
Marshall was it was one that if I asked a question,
he would answer it truthfully. He didn't treat me as
if I was a project. But he also treated me

(31:45):
like a man, which was really big for my master
ration and growth. Is because I knew. Marshall studied the offense.
He knew every aspect of the play of the game.
So he made me step on my game. If I
was going to try to compete for his job and
replace him, I needed to be able to do those
same things. Catch the ball out of the backfield, know
that route tree, being able to be able to ass

(32:05):
protect and not have to come out the fielding third down.
So as he went to film study and as he
did those things, I was dissecting him as he dissected
defense and the game preparation. It really helped me out.
It helped me stay around for a very long time
because of that. You know, your first, your rook your
rookie year coming in, you just think it's all about
the run game, But in the NFL it's a whole

(32:26):
different monster. You have to be able to pass pro
and prove to the coach that you're going to stay
on the field.

Speaker 8 (32:32):
Did you feel like you had to at times assert
a tone as a running back at the beginning of
games and actually run through people so they knew what
they were going to be dealing with all game.

Speaker 4 (32:43):
Absolutely, I think you know to the point you just
made it's a tone setter. You you set you know,
you let them know this Sunday or whatever game day
it is, there's going to be a long four quarters
for them. It also gets the offense, It gets the
team fired up, you know you you know, so not
only are you setting the tone for the defense, but
you're getting your team on alert that say, hey, we're
playing now and we're playing for real. And lastly, that

(33:06):
game film goes around, you know, so for the next
three to four opponents, they're looking at that game field.

Speaker 3 (33:12):
So be it the.

Speaker 4 (33:14):
ROMs playing the forty nine ers or the Rams playing
the Miami Dolphins. Whoever plays us that next month, they're
going to see that anticity that I play with and
they know that coming into that game, they're gonna have
their hands full. So not only did they put that
team on alert that day, but they put the whole
league on alert.

Speaker 7 (33:29):
That is true because anytime we played them, whether it
was Coach Belichick or any coach that we had, they'd
always talk about you.

Speaker 5 (33:35):
As this guy's a game record.

Speaker 7 (33:36):
We got to wrap him up, we gotta get hats
on the ball, because they knew the physicality in which
you played with was different than a lot of the.

Speaker 5 (33:43):
Opponents that we'd face.

Speaker 7 (33:45):
That leads me to another question, because I think about
these last however five years or so, where there's kind
of devalued the running back position. They say, you know,
we're not going to pay them as much money there.

Speaker 5 (33:57):
We can put anybody in there.

Speaker 7 (33:59):
But then you look at a team like the Eagles
go out and get Sae Kwon Barkley and they go
and win the Super Bowl this last year, and a
big primary reason for that was Saquon. So can you
talk about your feelings about when you hear people and
express themselves in saying, well, the running back's not that important.

Speaker 3 (34:16):
I love that you bring that up.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
So I had another campaign over ten years ago called
save the running Back. It was toward the end of
my career, but I was with that Atlanta Falcons at
that time, and I've definitely saw what you're hitting on,
you know, the de value of the position. General managers
and head coaches feel like they could get anybody to
put in the backfield, and you know, whila, here goes
two or three yards in a cloud of dust. But
it's like anything you it's what you pay and what

(34:40):
you invest in and at what level you're going to
get that back.

Speaker 3 (34:44):
So as a team they look for insurance.

Speaker 4 (34:46):
So are your insurance factor is making sure that the
god is carrying the ball or the difference maker on
the field feel that he's wanted and he's going to
be there for a long haul. So that security makes
that player rise to the occasion when you need him.
As well as the running back position, I'm not a
believer that anyone can do it. It's the shortest way
of position in the game. It's two and a half
year as a running back for those it's not special.

(35:08):
But if you make it four years, you're almost guaranteed
in making another four eight years. That's nearly a decade
that you could depend on. That God is going to
be a game a game wrecker, and it is going
to be someone that if you have a young quarterback
typically is their formula for winning a Super Bowl on
a cheaper salary. You got to lean on the run game,
and in late in the January and February games, you

(35:29):
need a run game again to keep the ball away
from maybe a dynamic offensive player maybe like a Mahomes
or as well as you know bad weather games like Foxborough,
so those kind of games and those players are special
in the moments, but you have to make sure that.

Speaker 3 (35:44):
You have to write one and not just anybody.

Speaker 8 (35:46):
Back in the day, it was you and Seawan Alexander
in fantasy like you were the two fantasy gods. You
had to get either you Sean Alexander if you wanted
to win the league. Now fantasy is a lot different
now though, But did you feel that from fantasy football
when you were playing, Oh for sure.

Speaker 4 (36:02):
You know some of those lean years you hit on
in Saint Louis, there was a stretch of my career
where we went three and thirteen, two and fourteen, one
and fifteen, and that was six wins in three years.
So a lot of team wins was you know, kind
of thrown out the wind, though, So gassing up at
the gas station or a weekly calling for a radio call,

(36:23):
most people let you know, not only do they want
to get a win that was so rare at their time,
but we need you to get your stats so we
can win our fantasy football league.

Speaker 3 (36:30):
So you're right.

Speaker 4 (36:31):
So I was definitely aware of how how much people
valued me during that time.

Speaker 7 (36:51):
You are the all time rushing leader for the Rams organization.
You surpassed Eric Dickerson when that happened. At the time,
did you understand the significance and leading up to that
moment in that game, did you understand where you were
in terms of yards and that it might happen this game?
Talk to us a little bit about that and what
that experience was like.

Speaker 4 (37:11):
Sure, it happened in Tampa Bay. We were in Tampa Bay,
So I definitely recall when it happened. I'm going into
the game. I knew I was a good chance I
would break his record, and I'm someone that value history.
So when I would get ready for the season, or
you know, even getting ready for practice, I posted certain
stats up that I knew that I was within reach

(37:31):
or wanted to break. One of the goals was to
be the all time leading rushing for the Rams. Probably
should have let it set that gold a little higher,
and I said I wanted to lead the NFL in
rushing as well. But that said, I was very conciosative
of what I was trying to do and what I
was approaching.

Speaker 3 (37:48):
It meant a lot to me.

Speaker 4 (37:50):
Ed still holds a single season rushing record, He's a
two thousand yard record, and when most people think of Rams,
they still think of ed so he's a special player,
and rightfully so, he deserves that kind of respect, but
as someone to go on and break his record and
a franchise, it has such a rich lineage with running backs.
It means a lot to me saying that I'm number one,

(38:12):
I'm first on that list, but you know, it still goes.
Records are meant to be broken, giving that the game
is more passing now it may stand who knows for
how long, but it's something that I'm very proud of.
Unless you know that again, hitting on my respect for
the game and my respect for legends, it means a
lot to me.

Speaker 6 (38:30):
Is there a current running back you see yourself in?

Speaker 4 (38:34):
I wouldn't say necessary to see myself then, but I
I do enjoy watching, as you said, Sakwon Barkley, I
do enjoy watching Derrick Henry. I'm looking forward to seeing
some of these, this younger crop of guys at Bijon
Robinson down there in Atlanta. I enjoy Karen Williams. He's
a Saint Louis kid that's now in La rocking the horns.

(38:57):
So there's a number of guys that I watch. I
followed their careers. I wouldn't necessarily say that they, you know,
mimic or have my exact running style. I know I
was quite a unique runner, you know, being six too
and over two hundred and forty pounds, still having some
versatility and flexibility in my you know, my athleticism.

Speaker 3 (39:16):
A lot of that can't be duplicated.

Speaker 4 (39:18):
But I do enjoy watching these young guys take the
game to another level.

Speaker 7 (39:22):
What's your relationship now with the Rams organization now that
they're in LA and have you met Sean McVeigh and
what what's that relationship?

Speaker 4 (39:29):
Like, I do have a good relationship with the franchise.
They do a good job of keeping myself and some
of the other guys involved. I was there, I would say,
late winter, and I had a chance to talk to
the team and we talked about not only the passion
heading into the playoffs, but also Man of the Year award.

(39:50):
Those things that you know, differentiate differentiate those guys off
the field and on the field of saying, you know,
we're our community leaders. Then there's a younger generation that
looks up to us, so doing anything in the community.
I was, you know, always say go out and do that.
You never know who lives you can touch and who
you inspire, but as well as take advantage of the moment,

(40:12):
because these moments are not guaranteed. I made the playoff
my rookie year and I made the playoffs my twelfth season.
Those years in between was just a void. So going
into it, I just wanted them to be realized the
moment that they're in and appreciate it.

Speaker 6 (40:26):
What age did you get bigger than everybody else?

Speaker 4 (40:30):
I was a late gloomer, I would say my junior
in high school, I was the smallest guy and the
shortest guy on the team.

Speaker 3 (40:39):
Is why I played running back.

Speaker 4 (40:40):
Start playing at Pop Warner at seven, but I didn't
get my growth sport till about sixteen, seventeen years old.
And it's oddly enough, I stopped playing basketball at the
same time. I was like, I'm never going to make
it in basketball. I'm just too short. Focus on football,
and then I just grew into there's a long, lenky
body and once I got to Corvallis kind of started
to fill out that frame.

Speaker 7 (41:00):
You know, it's interesting because you mentioned that the average
for running back is two and a half years. Played
twelve years in this league at a really high level
and My question to you is, with the demanding nature
of your position in general, how did you stay healthy
for that long duration of time.

Speaker 4 (41:18):
I was very cognizant them and aware of my recovery.
I had a whole I had a whole routine down
in my basement. I had a recovery room where I
had an ice tub. I had a hyperbaric tint around
a mattress that I was sleep at in between the
game days. I was also very aware of what I

(41:39):
was putting in my body. I was no to little
gluten right, so that's all retention of inflammation. So I
was a guy that constantly was working and tweaking on myself,
even when I wasn't in the building at the practice
facility with the trainers. I was trying to make sure
that I was putting myself ahead of schedule, being able
to be ready for the next game. So I think

(42:00):
these younger guys that they're going to last, you know,
they got to treat themselves just as pressures that they
treat their sports cars. Make sure the fuel you're putting
yourself is worthwhile you're getting something from it. But also
you get in rest at night and you know you're
playing you're playing with a sense of passion that coaches
and general managers feel like they want to reward you
and keep you around.

Speaker 8 (42:18):
It's got to be weird to play for a team,
put your whole career in a team that's in a city,
in the city changes because organization, like the bones are there,
but it's not that. It's like going back to your
hometown and your house is torn down, like it's still
your hometown, but it's not the same.

Speaker 6 (42:30):
Like that's got to be weird a little, right, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (42:33):
I mean that was a really good analogy and that's
how I feel, right, Yeah. So even you know, sometime
I go back to Saint Louis for maybe a nonprofit
event or something that's still going from my years there
and having those relationship in tax still but you're right,
it's just like going back to your hometown, which your
home's not there. It's weird. It is truly a weird feeling.

Speaker 5 (42:54):
You know.

Speaker 4 (42:55):
Do I fit in in LA Maybe maybe not. Saint
louis not quiet anymore. So I'm a journeyman. I'm a journeyman. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (43:05):
I always like to ask guys like yourself, do you
have a moment or one of those the most memorable
moments from your playing careers that you can describe to
us that you remember and you're like, oh, this is awesome.

Speaker 4 (43:19):
Yeah, I have a number, but I will say Seattle.
Playing in Seattle one was a special to me. It
was going back to the Pacific Northwest where I played
my college ball at, so you know there was a
connection there. I wanted to put on always a good
show for them, but also the rivalry the twelfth Man.
It's always allowed stadium, And there was a particular run

(43:42):
I think it was a draw, and made contact with
the linebacker or a couple of guys at about the
five or six yard line and just kept driving my legs,
kept driving my legs, and then all of a sudden
the pal start to move and lo and behold end
up in the end zone. That help me ripped off
from going crazy. But there was a big score, big

(44:02):
momentum shift. But I think that's the fining moment of
my Nothing really truly came easy. I had to fight
for every yard, but at the same time I was
that I was that spirit stick for the team and
it was one of those those runs that always played
back when I think of my playing days. And when

(44:23):
I think about favorite places to play in Seattle, it's
truly a run that sticks out to me.

Speaker 8 (44:28):
Let me give you one final question here, and I'm
going to force you to put shine on yourself because
I know you're not that type of guy to do so.
So do you feel because I feel like you should
get bonus points for putting up Hall of Fame numbers
for with an organization that struggled to win games like
you still did it even though the team at times
wasn't doing it. I feel like your top twenty and rushing,

(44:50):
I feel like that should be enough to get you in,
don't you?

Speaker 3 (44:54):
You're kind?

Speaker 4 (44:55):
I believe that you know my resume speaks for yourself.
And when you compare apples to apples, I'm up there
with some of the best. How does that shake out
with the voters? What are they looking for style points?
I don't know, but I tell you I was a
determined player. I believe one day I will be there.
It's some matter of win. And I appreciate you saying

(45:16):
that he's.

Speaker 8 (45:17):
So humble he won't even shine on himself, like I'm
begging him to shine up.

Speaker 7 (45:21):
I was a beast, I got hit, he said, at
first he made contact with one running back, I mean
one linebacker, and then there was multiple and then I
just basically put them on my back and ran into
the end.

Speaker 5 (45:30):
Zee. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (45:31):
I just wish that people would go, the voters would
go and just watch. We just watch old tape, right
and it's everywhere now. I think the benefit now is
you can go to TikTok.

Speaker 8 (45:38):
And just watch like I was watching a lot of
your highlights on TikTok because it's so readily available. And
I think if you can just get the voters exposed
to some of the things that they may not have
seen firsthand, but they're making decisions on people who they
didn't get to see firsthand, I think it's all there,
and so I would encourage people to go and and
just watch his highlights and also check out legends.

Speaker 6 (45:56):
But you can get a couple of ways.

Speaker 8 (45:57):
You can go to YouTube or go to s J
thirty nine dot com to find out more and find
out more about Wes Stevens doing. Hey, big fans, was
a big fan of you back in the day. I
love what you're doing now. We really appreciate the time,
and hey, good luck and and you know what you
deserve that's all.

Speaker 6 (46:11):
I'm just gonna say.

Speaker 3 (46:11):
You deserve it.

Speaker 6 (46:12):
You deserve it.

Speaker 3 (46:14):
Beg you guys, I appreciate it.

Speaker 6 (46:30):
All right, let's go over to kick off. Kevin, who's
got a game for us? What do you have? Yeah?

Speaker 9 (46:33):
I want to see how many players you guys can
name in the top ten all time NFL rushing leaders.

Speaker 2 (46:38):
Okay, and you can work together.

Speaker 5 (46:40):
I like it.

Speaker 6 (46:40):
I'll like being a team.

Speaker 2 (46:42):
And you're out.

Speaker 6 (46:43):
Okay, so top ten, top.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
Ten you can eliminate.

Speaker 6 (46:48):
You want to go first and me go first because
I can. I can hit number one.

Speaker 8 (46:51):
Emmate Smith number one, yep, Emtt Smith number one.

Speaker 5 (46:55):
Ding ding, Adrian Peterson.

Speaker 6 (46:59):
Yep. Let's see he is number five, number five okay, Okay,
we talked about earlier. Eric Dickerson correct.

Speaker 5 (47:10):
Number nine, by the way, number nine. How about Frank Gore.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
You guys are on a roll now, he's number three?

Speaker 3 (47:18):
Wow?

Speaker 5 (47:18):
Yeah, wow, Yeah.

Speaker 6 (47:21):
That is time spent right there. He spent a lot
of time.

Speaker 5 (47:24):
He played a long time in the league. Wow.

Speaker 6 (47:26):
Okay, so we have walk with him. We got em
it at one, Gore at.

Speaker 9 (47:30):
Three, ye, Peterson at five okay, Eric Dickerson at nine.

Speaker 5 (47:34):
Got it.

Speaker 8 (47:35):
Okay, how about I mean two, it's got to be
Walter Payton?

Speaker 2 (47:43):
Right, is that what you're going with.

Speaker 8 (47:45):
I'm gonna I'm not gonna say it's for sure too,
but I'm gonna go Walter Payton.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
Okay, he's two.

Speaker 5 (47:48):
Okay, he is too. Okay, Hey, we're doing pretty good,
pretty good?

Speaker 2 (47:54):
Maybe one striking here?

Speaker 5 (47:55):
Pretty good?

Speaker 6 (47:55):
So we have four, six, seven and eight.

Speaker 2 (47:58):
We have four left, four, six, seven, eight?

Speaker 6 (48:00):
Ten?

Speaker 5 (48:01):
Dang, how about Fred Taylor? That a final? Yes?

Speaker 3 (48:05):
Here?

Speaker 5 (48:06):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (48:08):
Wrong?

Speaker 5 (48:10):
Shoot? Where's he on the whole?

Speaker 2 (48:13):
One strike?

Speaker 5 (48:15):
Is he up there?

Speaker 3 (48:15):
Though?

Speaker 6 (48:16):
Not in the top ten?

Speaker 2 (48:17):
Not in top ten, not in.

Speaker 5 (48:18):
The top ten. We don't care about anything. It's not
in the top ten.

Speaker 6 (48:22):
I'm going to go with TCU alum Ladanian Tomlinson.

Speaker 5 (48:33):
Correct, Oh nice, rab right there?

Speaker 6 (48:36):
Number seven went to tc right, yeah, okay.

Speaker 5 (48:40):
How about what do you think about Earl Campbell?

Speaker 6 (48:44):
Dude, I don't know, I.

Speaker 2 (48:46):
Don't didn't the sound very convincing there?

Speaker 5 (48:50):
I mean, so we.

Speaker 6 (48:51):
Got one, two and three.

Speaker 8 (48:52):
So who is between Gore and Peterson? Like, who are
the most dynamic backs ever? Like if we go to
the forty nine ers, there's nobody there because like the
Roger Craigs, like when Rice was playing. Like, I don't
think the right like the Rathman Roger. I don't think
the forty nine ers would have one, No, because it's
not any new ones.

Speaker 6 (49:13):
It's not like Christian McCaffrey. So okay, forty nine ers gone.

Speaker 7 (49:16):
I'm thinking of the time. Could could Derrick Henry already be?
I mean he's played a long time.

Speaker 6 (49:22):
That's a good I was. I'm shocked at Gore's at three.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
I was too.

Speaker 5 (49:26):
Yeah, that's he played for like eighteen years.

Speaker 2 (49:29):
Yeah, sixteen thousand yards.

Speaker 5 (49:31):
That's a bunch of yards.

Speaker 8 (49:33):
Like in La, Well, you have Ladaian Tomlinson and you
have Eric Dicker Simmath that was also Saint Louis. I'm
just trying to think of the Cowboys. You would only
have Emmett that would possibly be on there, right, The
Giants and the Jets, yeah, they I don't nothing.

Speaker 6 (49:53):
Well, he had Tiki Barber, I mean nothing, top ten.
There's no way Tiki Barber's top ten.

Speaker 5 (49:59):
I don't think so. Like the other power not the Patriots, Miami.

Speaker 8 (50:05):
I'm thinking best running backs from these teams ever, the Houston,
I don't know we can.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
Get I mean he has a role to start, he
gets hard, I know.

Speaker 5 (50:16):
I mean who the pool is shrinking?

Speaker 8 (50:19):
There is a no no hints, no no hints. Saints Buccaneers,
herschel Walker, I mean, I don't know that that's a no.

Speaker 7 (50:32):
But Earl Campbell, herschel Walker or two guys that are
legendary backs.

Speaker 5 (50:38):
But I don't know if they're up there in that.
I mean sixteen thousand yards for Frank r.

Speaker 2 (50:43):
Yeah, I'm a dot too.

Speaker 6 (50:45):
I don't know who form.

Speaker 5 (50:47):
Oh what about Corey Dillon? No, I don't know. He
played for a long time.

Speaker 8 (50:52):
No way, I mean you get I could for sure
be wrong. I'm gonna go no way on Corey Dyllon.
But you can take guess more team and you have
the only strikers with you have the only striker.

Speaker 5 (51:04):
Well, and you go ahead and pick one. I'm throwing
out three dang names, but I don't know that, right.
Who are we missing that?

Speaker 6 (51:10):
Okay, most legendary running backs of all time?

Speaker 3 (51:13):
One?

Speaker 8 (51:15):
We know Amo Speth is one, but like ever, Barry Sanders,
I don't know that he is.

Speaker 5 (51:22):
All right, let's go Barry.

Speaker 3 (51:24):
Where you go?

Speaker 8 (51:24):
Barry Sanders, it's your pick, and I want to you.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
Guys are a team here.

Speaker 6 (51:30):
But he's got the only strike, you know what I mean?
All right, Barry, No, Barry, what do you got?

Speaker 2 (51:36):
All right, let's go Barry Sanders number four? Barry Sanders?

Speaker 5 (51:39):
Was he number four? That's remarkable?

Speaker 6 (51:42):
Let's go.

Speaker 8 (51:43):
Okay, So we have one, two, three, four, five, we
have three left?

Speaker 5 (51:49):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (51:50):
Is that right?

Speaker 3 (51:50):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (51:51):
Six, eight and ten?

Speaker 6 (51:52):
Who we are any of them? Like, we're probably not
going to get in a millionaires?

Speaker 2 (52:00):
Maybe one's a pretty big surprise.

Speaker 5 (52:03):
Baker Mayfield.

Speaker 7 (52:06):
What's his name for that played for the Jets and
somebody else.

Speaker 5 (52:10):
Curtis, Curtis Martin, Martin.

Speaker 6 (52:12):
That's a good guess. That's a good guess.

Speaker 5 (52:15):
I'm gonna go with Curtis Martin. It's my pick, it's
your pick. I think Curtis Martin might be on there.

Speaker 8 (52:19):
That's a good I would have never got to him.
I would have listened one hundred running backs and never guessed.
I'm gonna let you. I want to save that one
for you.

Speaker 3 (52:26):
You can.

Speaker 2 (52:29):
Don't give it up.

Speaker 6 (52:29):
Don't give it up. Okay, what about.

Speaker 5 (52:34):
Churs Martin played for a long time.

Speaker 6 (52:35):
Yeah, I think that could be a pretty good guess.
It's you know what you took. I don't know what
about the bus?

Speaker 5 (52:41):
I know I thought about that too.

Speaker 7 (52:42):
Jerome Bennis Bettis, Yeah, isn't like egging each other on?

Speaker 6 (52:51):
Okay, it's my pick, it is your pick.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
Jerome Bettis, number eight, Dern Bettis, let's.

Speaker 6 (52:59):
Go okay, we have two left?

Speaker 5 (53:03):
Three?

Speaker 6 (53:04):
Yeah, but you did it. Yeah, so your picks are
all right.

Speaker 5 (53:07):
I'm going with Curtis Martin.

Speaker 2 (53:10):
Number six, Curtis Martin.

Speaker 6 (53:13):
Nice, I would have never got that.

Speaker 9 (53:16):
I appreciate the very first Yeersey ever had Patriots Curtis Martin.

Speaker 5 (53:19):
Let's go see. I knew he was.

Speaker 6 (53:21):
So we have one left? And what number is he?

Speaker 3 (53:24):
Ten?

Speaker 2 (53:25):
He's number ten, last guy in the list?

Speaker 6 (53:28):
How many strikes we have one?

Speaker 5 (53:30):
We only have one?

Speaker 8 (53:31):
Okay, So if we were to talk out running back,
because you got to Curtis Martin. Now, I haven't passed
over the Jets Earlier I was like, what can't be
a Jet because they suck?

Speaker 2 (53:37):
Yeah, that's fair.

Speaker 5 (53:41):
Played for multiple years? What years? Derrick Henry in? Can
we at least get asking?

Speaker 8 (53:47):
And it could be Derrick Henry it could be is
any Still I don't like hants because I think that
We're not gonna ask for any hint until we get
three strikes.

Speaker 6 (53:55):
Okay, is my pick or his yours?

Speaker 2 (53:58):
Because he just had Curtis.

Speaker 6 (53:58):
Okay, I'll take one for the team. Derrick Henry strike
number two.

Speaker 5 (54:05):
I think Earl Campbell played for a really long time.

Speaker 8 (54:09):
Well, I mean, listen, you're married to Earl Campbell. You've
said it eight times.

Speaker 7 (54:13):
I have, and I'm just thinking thinking about him. I
don't know herschel Walker. I said those two multiple times.
Those are I'm trying to think of.

Speaker 5 (54:25):
Another.

Speaker 6 (54:27):
Okay, what about what.

Speaker 5 (54:31):
Tony dor Set?

Speaker 7 (54:32):
Who was Seattle, Sean Alexander, Sean Alexander? He could be
up there.

Speaker 8 (54:39):
So okay, let's let's wait out who we think it
could out of, and you just tell us if it's
one of these people.

Speaker 6 (54:43):
Okay, I'm gonna listen for you.

Speaker 5 (54:45):
Okay, he wants to.

Speaker 6 (54:47):
He's got a bone of Earl Campbell.

Speaker 8 (54:48):
So Earl Campbell, Sean Alexander, herschel Walker, Tony dor Set,
Are there any others?

Speaker 6 (54:54):
And did we say Derrick Henry?

Speaker 2 (54:57):
You just guessed him?

Speaker 6 (54:57):
Okay, I missed him. Okay, those four? Is it one
of those four?

Speaker 2 (54:59):
It is one of those four Okay.

Speaker 6 (55:03):
I don't think it's Sean Alexander.

Speaker 5 (55:05):
Don't.

Speaker 3 (55:05):
I don't.

Speaker 6 (55:07):
I don't know.

Speaker 8 (55:08):
I did bring him up in the Steven Jackson interview,
so maybe that was a signed But I okay, let's
eliminate somebody. I don't think it's Earl Campbell. I think
it's too old. I don't think they even measured in
yards back.

Speaker 7 (55:19):
I think it's Sean Alexander. Who you do I do?
I have a feeling I could be completely wrong. Well,
there's only four on here. Say well, you won't be
completely completely wrong. Yeah, we have a twenty five percent chance.
I think it's probably one of one of the cowboys.
That's I'm only doing fifty percent. Like I've cut my losses.

Speaker 8 (55:39):
I think it's either herschel Walker or Tony dor Set.

Speaker 7 (55:43):
I'm going to Seawan Alexander. Okay, you're a pick Seawan Alexander.

Speaker 2 (55:50):
Matt He's not even in the top twenty five.

Speaker 5 (55:53):
Darn it?

Speaker 6 (55:54):
Hey is it Sean? Is it his boy? His other
his oiler Earl?

Speaker 2 (55:59):
It is not early either.

Speaker 5 (56:00):
Oh, Tony door Set or hershel Walker. Oh, hershel Walker.

Speaker 6 (56:03):
I'm wanna go Tony dor Set.

Speaker 2 (56:04):
It's Tony door Set.

Speaker 6 (56:06):
We didn't win.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
You guy, are so close?

Speaker 5 (56:09):
That was hard.

Speaker 6 (56:10):
You really wanted Earl Campbell?

Speaker 9 (56:12):
I sure did. Where is Earl Campbell? I just have
the top twenty five here. He's not in the He's
not even in that.

Speaker 7 (56:19):
I mean I met him one time at the Cowboys
facility and I'm telling you, dude, his hands were so
mangled from just all of his days Ryan and stuff
like that.

Speaker 5 (56:28):
He was a beast though.

Speaker 9 (56:29):
Derrick Henry is nineteen, by the way, at number nineteen. Yeah,
right behind Stephen Jackson. Yeah, and Fred Taylor.

Speaker 6 (56:35):
How far is he back behind Stephen Jackson?

Speaker 2 (56:37):
He is, oh, fifteen yards?

Speaker 5 (56:40):
Oh one quarter?

Speaker 9 (56:41):
What about behind Fred Taylor? Yeah too, he's next two
hundred and forty.

Speaker 6 (56:47):
Who do you think he can break this year? Where
does he end up this year? If he rushed us
for nine hundred.

Speaker 9 (56:52):
Yards three nine hundred, he'll just break Thurman Thomas we
were behind? We think of no, actually, Franklin, he'll be
right with Marcus Allen at fourteen.

Speaker 5 (57:03):
Oh cool?

Speaker 8 (57:04):
Wow, Yeah, I didn' think of them. With Thomas Therma.
Thomas played with who in college?

Speaker 5 (57:08):
I don't know. Did he go to Oklahoma State?

Speaker 6 (57:11):
Yes, he sure did. Who do you play with in college,
Gray Sanders.

Speaker 7 (57:17):
They played together. That's amazing. That's a great trivia question.
I had no idea.

Speaker 6 (57:24):
That's a pretty cool backfield.

Speaker 5 (57:25):
Yeah, i'd say what.

Speaker 2 (57:27):
Year was that?

Speaker 6 (57:28):
That was before me?

Speaker 5 (57:29):
Like, I just know that was before me for sure.

Speaker 6 (57:31):
I just I just know that from.

Speaker 5 (57:34):
That's that's an incredible though. Thomas was eighty eight.

Speaker 9 (57:40):
Thomas eighty eight and then eighty six and eighty seven
Pro Football Hall of.

Speaker 8 (57:44):
Fame running backs were teammates at Oklahoma State University. Barry
Sanders and Therma Thomas. They were arguably the best backfield
in college football history. After Therma Thomas graduated, Sanders had
a famous Heisman Trophy season at a issue.

Speaker 6 (57:56):
But they were there together.

Speaker 3 (57:57):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (57:58):
Yeah, that's crazy.

Speaker 5 (57:59):
That's unbelievable.

Speaker 6 (58:00):
Speaking of college.

Speaker 8 (58:02):
You on the road this weekend, on the road, this weekend,
boys going to Michigan.

Speaker 5 (58:06):
Going to Michigan.

Speaker 7 (58:07):
Get to see they just named the young stud Bryce
Underwood the starter. So he's going to be a true freshman.
I think only the fourth time in Michigan history or
something like that. So I'm excited to see him. Now
they're playing New Mexico. New Mexico is going to have
to pull few, you know, rabbits out of their hat.
But at the same time, it'll be a great environment.

(58:27):
I mean that that place, the Big House is exceptional.
Big Ten network NBC W No, NBC Wait what Yeah
it's on NBC.

Speaker 3 (58:38):
I thought we.

Speaker 5 (58:38):
Cover the Big Ten for NBC network.

Speaker 6 (58:42):
No, big you're on the actual network.

Speaker 5 (58:44):
Yeah, on the actual network with NBC.

Speaker 6 (58:46):
I'm working with the network guy.

Speaker 7 (58:48):
Yeah, this is awesome, network guy.

Speaker 6 (58:51):
The third season with NBC, that's awesome.

Speaker 5 (58:54):
Yeah, it'll be fun.

Speaker 8 (58:54):
I will be And this is the stupid thing that's
happened here, and I'll end on this. My fantasy football
league is having their draft this weekend. They're doing it Saturday,
first of all, on week one of college football.

Speaker 6 (59:08):
And I get it.

Speaker 8 (59:09):
It's the NFL and these guys are big NFL guys,
not so much college guys. But they're doing Saturday at
three o'clock. You know what happened Saturday at three o'clock
Arkansas places. Oh no, So I'm not going to the draft.

Speaker 5 (59:17):
I'm gonna you're not gonna have like just put it
on and then just draft draft.

Speaker 6 (59:22):
From my phone as I watched the game at home.

Speaker 5 (59:24):
So you're definitely not going.

Speaker 8 (59:26):
No, I'm not going that is why would you even
do it on Saturday week one of college football.

Speaker 2 (59:30):
That's worse than a wedding.

Speaker 8 (59:31):
By the way, I gotta, I gotta let's I gotta
find out where MBC is. I thought he was on
Big Ten Network because to be fair, we didn't work
together while you were doing television last year. We came
in at the end and you were like, I worked
for the Big Ten.

Speaker 5 (59:44):
No, I covered the Big Ten.

Speaker 6 (59:46):
I don't know what you said. No, I don't know
about that. But anyway, he's.

Speaker 8 (59:51):
NBC boys big let's go big timer, like NBC dot
Com like nb network.

Speaker 7 (59:58):
Wow, you're gonna turn on NBC for pregame and you're
gonna see the old cast dog up there.

Speaker 3 (01:00:04):
That's crazy.

Speaker 5 (01:00:05):
Be like, I know him. That's wild.

Speaker 6 (01:00:09):
Thank you, guys.

Speaker 8 (01:00:10):
Thanks to Stephen Jackson, kickoff Kevin executive producer Brandon Ray
running all the video.

Speaker 6 (01:00:16):
That's Matt Castle who.

Speaker 8 (01:00:17):
By the way, there was a documentary crew in on
the Matt Castle documentary.

Speaker 7 (01:00:20):
Yeah, and I'll tell you your glowing remarks really filled my
heart up today. I'm gonna get a copy of that.
I'm just gonna play it over before I go to bed.

Speaker 5 (01:00:28):
How do you see this?

Speaker 3 (01:00:29):
Listen to this.

Speaker 6 (01:00:30):
I'm Bobby Bones. We'll see you guys next week. We've
had lots to say, if I have, everybody.

Speaker 1 (01:00:39):
Lots to say With Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is
a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcasts. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts.