April 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Hour Two of the Good Morning Football Podcast begins with the Browns bringing Joe Flacco back to Cleveland. Hosts Sara Walsh, Kyle Brandt, Isaiah Stanback, Jaylon Smith, and Mike Garafolo discuss the Giants options at #3 and wonder if the Cowboys are keeping up. Chargers CB Tarheeb Still looks back at his Draft night and the 4 INT's he had in his rookie season! RB Prospect Tahj Brooks talks about being an every down back and wanting to win an Angry Runs scepter! Plus, we look back on Jaylon Smith's Draft day experience!
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good Morning Football is the production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Good Morning Football. Welcome to GMF.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
It is Friday, April eleven, Sarah Isaiah, we got Jalen,
We've got Kyle. We've got an insider. And this is
the part of the show where usually I'm instructed to
do the camera turn and say we want to bring
in an NFL network insider. We didn't even have to
to script this. We got one seated out there with Kyle.
This is there's nothing in the prompter, but Mike Garrifollo,
we have news, so help us out what's happening with
(00:46):
Joe Flacco.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
We do have news.
Speaker 5 (00:48):
We had Joe Flacco back to the Browns and a
one year deal worth four million dollars here incentives on
top of that that he can earn. But the comeback
Player of the Year just a couple of years ago
for what he did late in the season in Cleveland.
Now going to join the Browns for a full run
here in twenty twenty five after kind of a weird
year for him with the Indianapolis Cults in twenty twenty four.
(01:08):
I remember the Browns didn't bring Flacco back two years
ago because or last year, I should say, after what
he did two years ago, because a little bit of
a worrisome situation potentially with the crowd clamoring for him
while they had Deshaun Watson. Don't have to worry about
that at this point because Deshaun Watson is not going
to play this upcoming season, may never play for the
Browns again, certainly with what Jimmy Haslam said. So now
it's Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco for the Browns. Potentially
(01:33):
could be adding a rookie to the mix in the draft.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
We shall see.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
But Isaiah, your thoughts out there in La on the
Browns bringing back Joe FLACKO, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
To me, it's not the most exciting piece. Well, first
of all, kudos to Joe Flacco. He's been playing since Jesus' birth,
I believe. But he's staying on rosters and that's awesome.
Speaker 7 (01:51):
I think for.
Speaker 6 (01:51):
Cleveland this is just assurance for them, right, you get
insurance policies for the what ifs, right for the just
in cases. You hope that you never have to use it,
but it's there if you need it. And I think
that's exactly what Cleveland is doing. They went out there
and traded for Kenny Pickett. They added him there just
in case. But I don't believe that either one of
these guys, can you Picktt or Joe Flacco is their
guy that they wanted to rock with. I still believe
(02:13):
that they're going to go out there and use a
high draft pace to try to bring it in a
quarterback because I think if looking towards the future, it's
what they need.
Speaker 8 (02:21):
Joe Flacco is very seasoned.
Speaker 9 (02:24):
He's a guy that when you talk about being productive,
he's done it. And that's what we love. When you
talk about the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland Browns, they have failed
when it comes to finding their quarterback. Joe Flacco has
recent success in the Cleveland brown uniform.
Speaker 8 (02:40):
So bringing him in, even.
Speaker 9 (02:42):
If they draft a quarterback high, he'll have an opportunity
to be able to learn and educate up under Joe Flacco.
You talk about drafting a cam Ward or Shad or
Sanders high, he'll be able to learn from Joe Flacco,
who also has a Super Bowl championship.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Just a little cleanup on the math of he's been
playing since he turned forty in January.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
FI, there you go.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Isaiah, we want to go back to Mike g now
and go to New York where the Giants hold the
third overall pick. You know a little something about that
area at Garri Folla. What can you give us on
the Giants and what they are thinking with that third
overall pick.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Well, they're thinking about the possibility of grabbing themselves a
franchise quarterback in Shador Sanders. If you're there, and they've
got a ton of work on Shador Sanders going back
to late in the season when they were attending practice
there at Colorado and all indications pointing toward interest in them,
the interactions. I know we've had some reports out there
about Shador sanders interactions with teams that have not been
so great. My understanding is his interactions with the Giants
(03:40):
have been really good going back months on end to
this point.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
So they're going to have.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
A decision to make because it's going to be potentially
Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter available to them at number
three while also the quarterback of the future, but a
guy who may not play this upcoming season because you've
got Russell Wilson and you've got Jameis Winston as well.
And a guy in Sanders who's going to need some
seasoning at the NFL level. So you can get an
impact player right away at three, or you can get
a franchise quarterback potentially in the making, but it's going
(04:07):
to take some time before he sees the field. I
think it's high drama for the Giants on draft night.
I hope that we do see that scenario that we're
talking about right now with them on the clock impact
player or franchise quarterbackcause I think it's going to be
quite the theater for the Giants on draft night.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
But we're coming like this is me like reporting via sources.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
I have thoughts on what the Giants should do, but Isaia,
I'm going to throw it to you and let you
answer it first because I want to come back.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
I do have an idea for.
Speaker 7 (04:30):
Them, ok right, I'm just gonna throw this up.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
I believe that this decision this year for the number one,
number three pick overall for the New York Giants is
not in the hands of the GM and I don't
believe it's in the hands of a.
Speaker 7 (04:40):
Head coach as well.
Speaker 6 (04:41):
I think that this is going to be a Mara
and Tish family decision because they have given both the
GM and the head coach opportunities to figure this thing
out and they are on their last leg. So I
believe that the ownership in New York is going to
ensure that their future regardless of that means that this
year on the last year of the contract for them,
won't say, possibly the last year the contract for the
GM and a head coach coach Dabo out there is
(05:03):
not going to rest in their hands. I think that
the ownership wants to ensure that their future is in
good hands, and I can't believe that they would miss
on an opportunity to bring in somebody that they might
deem as a franchise quarterback that's good for either this
coaching staff or the coaching staffs to come.
Speaker 9 (05:18):
The New York Giants have done a horrible job, and
I love the New York's I played for the New
York Giants, love Lamar family. Done a terrible job at
for one, not signing Sae Kwon Barkley when you had
the chance to that was something that hurt all of
our hearts.
Speaker 8 (05:35):
But when you talk about Dable and.
Speaker 9 (05:37):
Joe Shane being on the line on the hot seat,
they got to get this thing right, allowing Daniel Jones
to go.
Speaker 8 (05:45):
They need to ensure the future.
Speaker 9 (05:48):
And Brian Dabile being an offensive guy. Drafting Shador Sanders,
Shador getting a chance to learn from two veteran quarterbacks.
When you talk about Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the
Heisman winner, college football Championship winner, there's a lot of
nuggets that Shador and learn up under these two. And
the New York Giants, I believe they make the right
(06:09):
decision by drafting Shador Sanders.
Speaker 7 (06:11):
That would be.
Speaker 10 (06:12):
Cool, and I would love Shador here in New York.
But it does lead me to another scenario that I
want to ask you about, Mike. You're talking about the
Giants spend a lot of time with Shador. They like them,
they're into them. Okay, let's say right now that they're
in on Shador and they're ready to pick him.
Speaker 8 (06:23):
If the draft was.
Speaker 10 (06:24):
Right now, cam Ward goes to the Titans, Shadoor Sanders
goes to the Cleveland Browns at two. Yeah, the Giants
are sitting there wanting to take Shador.
Speaker 7 (06:32):
He's gone.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
What happens then, Oh, I mean, at that point, I'm
assuming they take Travis Hunter.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
That's all I would do it.
Speaker 10 (06:38):
And they go to Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback
this year, Yeah, because they got to win some games.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
And now where you are in this regime with Brian
Dable and with Joe Shane, you've got to win some games. Now,
I do you're asking me right now? I do believe
Cleveland goes Travis Hunter at two. Okay, so now you're
looking at Abdua Carter or Shador Sanders at three.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Now, look, I.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
Did the whole with what I'm hearing, did the whole
reporting thing.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
This is a different question. What should the Giants do?
This is not a report by making an opinion, this
is been a pick what they should do.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
Ashton Genty Ashton the Boise State running back at number three.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Now you might say we're drafted a running back that
HyG They once drafted a running.
Speaker 8 (07:16):
Back even high.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
I remember, and then John Marraw walked into Joe Shane's
office and said, this guy is our most popular player
by far, and they got it on camera because of
an amazing.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Show called Hard Knocks, the off season edition.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
Which they should absolutely bring back and force a team
to do because nobody wants to do it because of
what happened with that show. But it was amazing insight
into John Mara saying, this guy is a popular player.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
This dude right here on the field, off the field,
everything I hear about him, like there.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Was there was talk is he a top ten pick?
Speaker 11 (07:46):
That's over?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
It's now is he a top five pick? And I
think the answer might wind up being yes. By the way,
and you could see some jockey position for Ashton genty,
but John Marra, you'd get your popular player right back
at that position. He'd have an impact. We're starting to
see teams value the running back even more. I would
absolutely consider it now they were there and his pro day,
but not out and Mass the way they were at.
Speaker 8 (08:06):
The other one.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
So I don't think it's going to happen, but I
would certainly st So.
Speaker 10 (08:10):
You are reporting that the Giants, Here's what I say,
and I when I go back to LA but here's
what I say. If the Giants do love Shador and
we're talking to hypotheticals and they're like, you want him
to be at a quarterback, you have to entertain trading
with the Browns because we've seen this before. Teams in
the top five have swap picks because the Browns. That's
why I think that Joe Flacco signing is interesting. The
Browns quarterback room is very important to the entire draft.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
They got Kenny.
Speaker 10 (08:34):
Pickett, which is n and they got Flacco, who's just Flacco.
You're not going to the season with Picket and Flacco.
So if I'm the Browns, I am screaming to everyone
how much you want to draft a quarterback in this draft,
even if you don't, to get the Giants' attention so
they're not left out in the cold. My last question,
I have one more question from Mike and every big back.
I want to know what a marriage between the Mara
(08:56):
family and the Sanders family would be like. Those are
families that the mara is just since we love Eli
Manning and they were kind of quiet, dignified in class,
whereas the Sanders are unapologetically about flash and dollar signs and.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Money it's all wonderful. Does that work in New York
and in that program.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
I absolutely think it works.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
And I also believe that there's a second half of
this equation that you have to look at, which is
the Tish family and Steve Tish being involved in Hollywood,
so not a stranger to these kinds of personalities. It
is the New York Market is a team that needs
a little bit of sizzle right oh now, and they
didn't shy away from it when they had Odell Beckham.
There were other reasons why they moved away from but
it's not like they looked at this and we.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Got to get this guy out of here.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
There's too much attention and all that stuff. John Merrow
will lean into the attention. Go back to their team
back in twenty seven, twenty eleven. They had some huge
personalities on the nam. They're not afraid of that.
Speaker 7 (09:48):
Of course.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
He just got to get the football part of it right, Ella, and.
Speaker 7 (09:51):
I want to just double down.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
I think the part that a lot of people are
not paying enough attention to in regards to teams and
quarterbacks in leadership right now is we're seeing a researchence
somehow of people trying to hold on to that old
thing like they're trying to get you, trying to get
your groove back, right o, Stella, trying to get your
groove back, and it's like Kirk Cousins trying to hold
on right Aaron Rodgers trying to hold on Joe Flackle.
(10:13):
We're trying to hold on to these guys that had
success early on.
Speaker 7 (10:15):
In their career.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
You've got to start developing the next the next generation
of player. And when you start talking about who's available
in this year's draft, if you're the New York Giants,
and if Kim Wod does go number one, and if
Cleveland somehow passes on your door, I don't believe that
you can pass on a quarterback who has always shown
you that they have built up the programs and the
players around them. I don't believe that you can pass
(10:38):
on a quarterback who, for the long behold it is
probably the only person we've seen in a very long
time who is capable of handling the market and the
scrutiny that comes with being the quarterback of the New
York Giants.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
And I don't believe that, if you're the New York Giants.
Speaker 6 (10:51):
That you can rest your hat on two veteran quarterbacks
who are not going to be a part of your
organization for the years to come. You do not want
to be in a position after the twenty twenty five
twenty twenty six season where you're now looking.
Speaker 7 (11:03):
For a quarterback again, because all you're going to do.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Is try to either hold on to it like Stella,
or you're gonna end up trading away too many assets
to go get somebody else's backup quarterback.
Speaker 9 (11:13):
The NFC East is loaded with quarterback talent Dak Prescott,
Jaden Daniels, Jalen Hurts. Getting an opportunity for New York
to bring in a star studded quarterback is essential. Back
in twenty two, we had a playoff run where we
made it to the playoffs.
Speaker 8 (11:31):
Back when I was with the New York Giants.
Speaker 9 (11:34):
Playoff victory in Minnesota and the Big Apple celebrities are
treated phenomenal. The Sanders family would ignite the city even
more so the New York Giants draft Shaduur Sanders.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
While we're talking the Giants, let's just stay in the
division there because and New York hang with me a second,
taking knee out there for a second, because I'm sitting
here with a bunch of cowboys. So if you thought
we weren't going to get to the cowboys, and some
Dallas talk that you are mistaken, We'll start with you
because we've been picked. Isaiah's brain here for a while now, Jailen,
you're the fresh take on this. Give us your thoughts
on the Cowboys offseason. Is this the year we see
(12:12):
a different Dallas team?
Speaker 9 (12:13):
So back in twenty sixteen when I was drafted, I
was drafted second round. Dak was drafted in the same class,
but our number four overall pick was Ezekiel Elliott, a
running back. Dallas Cowboys needs a running back. Jerry Jones
and the Jones family and the Dallas Cowboys they love
(12:35):
Boise State talent. I played with Kellen Moore who was
the quarterback at Boise State, and I was coached by
him as the offensive coordinator in Dallas. Leyden vander esh
was a Boise State player. DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford. There's
some Boise State connection, and I think Dallas is ready
(12:57):
to make a real push come draft night.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Listen, we talked about it earlier in the week. The
Dallas Cowboys are being Vinny Betty sneaky. Now, okay, they're
channeling their inner mister Deeds. If you guys remember that
vine VEDI sneaky, sad. And the reason why I say
that is because they have invested.
Speaker 8 (13:13):
In their line right.
Speaker 7 (13:14):
They went out and got one.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Heck of a coach from the New York Jets on
a defensive front right considered to be the best D
line coach in the league. They got the best offensive
line coach in the league, stole him, Clayton Adams out
of Arizona.
Speaker 7 (13:27):
He's now your offensive coordinator.
Speaker 6 (13:28):
They went out to college, the Kansas State and got
the best old line coach out of college. So they
have the best old line coach in the NFL, and
in college they have the best D line coach from
the Jets, and they are focusing in on the trenches.
What else have the Cowboys done? They have created a
ton of cap space, right. They restructured everybody's contract. They
started moving money around, and everybody is pretty much saying, well, yeah,
(13:48):
they have to move money around, they have to sign Micah. Yeah,
but when you signed Micah there could be a lot
of guaranteed money, and guaranteed money's not hurting your cap.
Speaker 7 (13:56):
So why are you creating this space? Well, let's look
at it.
Speaker 6 (13:59):
You have one of the highest paced receivers in the
league in Cdee Lamb.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
Who is there assisting him?
Speaker 7 (14:04):
Who's your number two?
Speaker 6 (14:05):
You've lost all your number twos right, there's no more
number two.
Speaker 7 (14:09):
So you have to go out there and get a guy.
I believe that the Dallas.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
Cowboys are positioning themselves for a big boy trade coming
up in this year's draft. I think they're going to
draft the receiver, and I also think that they're going
to trade for a big time receiver that's not going
to be a question mark, that's not going to be
a developmental piece, that's not going to be somebody that
they hope to fans out.
Speaker 7 (14:28):
They've done that, they've been there, they've done it.
Speaker 6 (14:30):
They need somebody to come in and be an impact
player across from CD.
Speaker 7 (14:33):
I think they have something in store.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
The Cowboys right now are looking about making things better
in the trenches, playing more physical. This is what Brian
Schottenheimer is about. They want to make sure that they
brought Clayton Adams over as a new offensive coordinator, a guy.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Who is strong in the run game.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
I think everything that you're going to see in the
draft is going to be strengthening the trenches. They have
done that this offseason. They added Sadiq Charles, who's a
former starter in the league and was going to be
a starter for the Titans before he up and retired
a year ago and now back in the league, worked
out for the Cowboys, brought him back. I'm just looking
at this Cowboy team is going back to what we're
used to seeing with the Cowboys, which is that presence
(15:09):
in the trenches and building things through the running game.
Speaker 10 (15:11):
I mean, listen, is this the most boring time for
the Cowboys in twenty years? What do we got today?
Maybe it's good, you know what, Mike, Maybe it's good.
We can talk all day about trenches and O line coaches.
This is America's team. What the hell are we doing
there at the third, maybe fourth, most interesting shiny object
in the NFC East. Even when the Cowboys are faulted,
and they always are, and even when they have tough years,
(15:32):
they usually got a little more punch, a little more pizazz.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And yet I'm going to turn into a positive Mike.
Speaker 10 (15:37):
You're right, Maybe it is not about selling jerseys for
ten seconds, and we'll bring in new O line coaches.
Speaker 7 (15:43):
Maybe we'll draft a.
Speaker 10 (15:44):
Guard at twelve, and you do something practical, because over
in the AFC we got the Raiders doing really sensible
things like bringing in Pete Carroll and Gino Smith, and
not just lighting their hair on fire and throwing parties.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
So maybe, just maybe this will work.
Speaker 10 (15:58):
Because it may be good because I am bored as
hell talking about the Cowboys, right, and I haven't said
that a long time.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
But maybe it'll work out.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Or maybe Isaiah's right and the big trades are coming.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Or or we'll just go back.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
We'll just go back to the good old days and
we'll reminisce about Jalen's draft class of Ezekiel, Elliott and
Dak Press got back in the day sixteen twenty sixteen,
Take us Back. Coming up next on GMFB, Chargers' quarterback
Tarheed Still joins us live in studio. We're gonna ask
him about his phenomenal rookie year, gets some insight on
his head coach, a guy by the name of Jim
Horrorbad Kyle.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I'm always here for horrorball talk.
Speaker 10 (16:34):
And plus we're doing the Angry Runs watch list very
soon before the draft, and this guy is he at
the top of the list in the draft prospects?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Is this the number one guy?
Speaker 10 (16:43):
Headed Decepter City Todds Brooks, Texas tech blocker, trucker bad
dude coming to the draft.
Speaker 7 (16:51):
Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Good morning football, Let's.
Speaker 12 (16:53):
Go boom, good mon football.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Play action all day for Cousins downfield intercepted.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
He still the rookie snap looking right, growing.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Right in accepted, Tar he still touchdown?
Speaker 12 (17:22):
Shutters?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Are he still responsible for nine Charger points? What a
rookie campaign for that young man.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Two picks in that game. One of them was taken
to the house. We want to welcome in the player
you just saw do that. Chargers cornerback tar heat still
joining us at.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
The table this morning.
Speaker 13 (17:39):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Let's go, guys.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I don't know if you can tell, but if you're
been dazzled, you sit on this side of the table.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
So tar Heap's over here with me. The draft is
around the corner.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
So we've been doing a lot of reminiscing. If you
were fortunate enough to be drafted, which you were, take
us through what that experience was.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Like for you.
Speaker 14 (17:56):
I would just say it was a really good experience.
I had a lot of people that supported me, a
lot of people close to me at my grandma's house
that day. So I was sitting there waiting on the call.
I've seen the area code. I seen it was LA
and I couldn't be more excited to be out here.
Speaker 7 (18:10):
That's dope.
Speaker 6 (18:10):
Hey, all right, so you gotta take us into the
helmet man, all right, we need we need, we need
the old gold pro helmet vision of this. You have
four interceptions of your rookie season. Two of them were
against the dirty birds, all right, including your first pick six.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Now take us into the moment. How to go down?
How you see it?
Speaker 6 (18:25):
I saw the mouth, he's hanging out. We didn't know
exactly what well how to win down?
Speaker 14 (18:29):
So the first one, I would say, okay, So it
started with Christian started backside. He alerted the formation. So
something that we've seen all week. He alerted the formation.
He talked to the post safety Elijah Moulden. He alerted
it to me. So now we're our intenders are up.
We're seeing what's going on. Boss snaps and we get
what we think we're gonna get. So he says, push push,
I dropped the route. I fall off. He double clutches,
(18:51):
throws it. I catch it. And then the second one,
that's a great call by coach Minner. We showed Blitz.
I think it was fourth down actually, so we show Blitz,
show pressure drop out of it laid to a cover two.
Speaker 8 (19:02):
Look, Kurt didn't really.
Speaker 7 (19:03):
Know what was going to happen. Yeah, he threw the
ball sit me to the house, So y'all hit him
with the.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Little love for Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter right there.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
I love that tar heap.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
They asked us before the show, would you like to
hear some Jim Harball sound and we said yes. The
answer is always yes. Here he is talking about you
and his assessment of your game.
Speaker 15 (19:22):
The thing impresses me the most is how locked in
he is for you know, a young player. I mean
they can they can get a little drifty, you know,
just in their in their in their preparation and you
know as the season goes on. But he has been
his has been locked in. Cool as the other side
of the pill. Stuart Scott used to say.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Yes, yeah, you remember Stuart Scott.
Speaker 5 (19:46):
I don't think you saw him back on Sports Center
when you were two years old.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
But listen you hear that.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
How does that make you feel?
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Knowing that Jim Harball loves the way that you're not
drifty and you are locked in, You're not hitting that
rookie wall.
Speaker 8 (19:58):
It really makes me feel good.
Speaker 14 (20:00):
Knowing that I'm bringing something to productive to the team
and also helped.
Speaker 8 (20:04):
To win games.
Speaker 7 (20:05):
But coach Hardball's my guy.
Speaker 14 (20:07):
I have a lot of conversations with him, allowed to
talks with him, and it's just really about staying the course,
staying locked in, and taking advantage of your opportunity. So
I really just try to do that, try to follow
the older guys in the team, the veterans, and really
just put my head down to work.
Speaker 10 (20:20):
All Right, you got You're taking us right where we
want to go. Conversations with Harbaugh now, he is one
of the best coaches on any level in any sport.
Year one shows up, you guys playoffs. He's an amazing coach.
That is a different dude, a unique, unique man in
his communications and his methods. All of that take us
into some conversations with Harba. Do you remember a time
(20:42):
when he says something and you were like, huh, well,
that's different, Like I've never heard that from anybody before,
let alone a coach.
Speaker 8 (20:48):
Tell us about this.
Speaker 14 (20:49):
There's a lot of moments like that, I would say,
whether it's in the team meeting, whether it's talking to
him in the hallway, on the field, anything. But he
told this one story one time where he talked about
he always wanted the same thing for breakfast every day,
and his dad basically, like to some of the story
of his bad his dad basically said, like, don't settle
for less because what he wanted for breakfast wasn't really
(21:10):
that good or wasn't really to him, it wasn't really
that appealing, but really just saying like, there's more out
there to get, so don't really settle. But I feel
like everything he says, all his stories or anything he
talks about, there's always a hitting meanings or there's always
a lesson in it. So I would just say when
he talks, everybody really listens and really thinks about what
he says, and they really take it and try to
(21:32):
apply it.
Speaker 9 (21:32):
So when training camp comes around, obviously you're in La
wonderful weather. What's that experience like when you're in the
grind of training camp and you get an opportunity to
pick off justin Herbert in practice, tell us about that experience.
Has that happened, has it been closed? What's that like?
Speaker 14 (21:53):
I would just say, Justice's ultra competitor, That's my god.
I love him to death. I would say that first.
But to clear that up, it only happened a couple
of times, so I can't say.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
It happened too many times.
Speaker 14 (22:03):
A couple look, but I can't say it been something
that's just like, oh, it happens all the time because
he's super elite.
Speaker 7 (22:11):
So I would just.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
Say it was a good moment.
Speaker 14 (22:13):
The first time I did it, it was really fun,
like competing and going against him just as ultra competitor.
Speaker 7 (22:18):
So you try not to smile.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Just a couple of times, just a couple of times.
Derwin James said his favorite thing about you is your
swag and your energy. I don't even know if the
camera is picking up how cool this sweatshirted. I mean,
there's like sequence all over it, right, It's not look
the camera's not doing it.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Does it's got to like bling a little bit. It's
blinging in studio.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Give us some tips on how to pull off the
swag that you bring. I mean, not everyone can rock
a sequence hoodie.
Speaker 14 (22:45):
I would just say, my swag and my style is
kind of different. There's a lot of great stores out
here in the LA to shop at, but I just
try to, you know, bring something different to it. See
what I like in the store or what I like online.
Speaker 8 (22:59):
Know where he's from as love right fashion fashion?
Speaker 7 (23:04):
All right?
Speaker 6 (23:04):
So, hey, word on the street is that your favorite
non football player is Lebron James, Right, King James himself.
Speaker 7 (23:10):
I got a two part question for you.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
If King James was playing football in NFL, what position
would be playing? And what is it that you love
about him so much?
Speaker 14 (23:18):
If he was playing football in the NFL, he would
definitely play tight end probably or like edge rusher if
he was like a defensive guy, all right, And then
what I like about him is like he shows how
to really be consistent at a high level year and
year and year again. He's been doing it for almost
as long as I've been alive in twenty two. He's
been playing basketball for like twenty years. And also really
how to take care of your body, like the little stuff,
(23:40):
the stuff that matters. So I would just say he's
a great role model for the younger kids. He's even
a great model for me, even though I didn't play basketball.
Just showing how to do it at a high level
over and over again.
Speaker 8 (23:51):
He's a winner.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Well, we appreciate you stopping by the studio day. If
you want, you can leave that specsher behind. I'm just
leaving it up in a lot from someone will take
care of that for you.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
We appreciate it.
Speaker 8 (24:00):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Have you seen have you seen the shoes on this stumer?
Speaker 2 (24:04):
I mean we're talking about flag.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
I mean this one's got some shoes on, So.
Speaker 7 (24:10):
Your approof definitely for sure. Welcome out to Good Morning Football.
Speaker 10 (24:16):
We are meeting all kinds of different NFL draft prospects
from all around the country. And I love this guy
because he is just good old fashioned productive. Give him
the ball he produces. Don't give him the ball. He
is the best blocking running back in the country.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Right now.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
It is Texas Tech running back Taj Brooks. Get in here, Taj,
what's up baby?
Speaker 7 (24:34):
How are we doing good?
Speaker 11 (24:36):
Hello? Everyone, I'm doing good man. Grateful to be on
this show.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
That's awesome, man. I love that you're here. Let's get
right to it.
Speaker 10 (24:43):
There are runners and then there are angry runners. This
is something called the scepter. I know that's strange. It's
a little out there, but it is something that has
gone to Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, all these other running
backs the NFL. For whoever is the most pissed off
with the football I've seen the tape, TAJ you run real,
real angry. Where does your style come from? And are
(25:04):
you coming for this once you get to Sunday?
Speaker 16 (25:06):
Definitely, that's something I'm chasing every game. Something I have
an opportunity to chase it each and every game. And
then my run style, man, it just comes from just
my talent and then just where I came from. I
came from Austin, Texas, where a lot of guys that
I also don't make it to the next level, and
I'm trying to be the next great one.
Speaker 7 (25:21):
I'm mad.
Speaker 9 (25:23):
The biggest thing I want to ask, is it tas
when you talk about your dream, is finna come true?
You're so close man, thirteen days away. Talk to us
about what's the one thing that you want them to
know about you to make it known that you're the
right guy for them to draft.
Speaker 11 (25:39):
I think, man, I'm very consistent. And then another thing,
I'm every down back.
Speaker 16 (25:43):
I feel like that's a lot of slept on a lot,
especially just watching my tape of things. I can catch
the ball backfield very well. I have violent hands and
passed bro and I can have explosive runs when.
Speaker 7 (25:54):
That time needed to be.
Speaker 16 (25:55):
So I feel like just every down back is just
a futil part of myself.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Tis this is crazy. You rush for over one hundred
yards in every game you played in last season, So
at some point, you know we're in game two, game three,
game four. Now we're on a streak, right, So at
what point do you start thinking about that and do
you start getting superstitious? Take us through what that entire
run was like.
Speaker 16 (26:20):
Definitely, I would say, just like how you said, I
had one hundred yards in each game, which which was
a blessing just because sitting my teammates and things.
Speaker 11 (26:27):
But man, it's really when I.
Speaker 16 (26:28):
Get hot, but like once the ball touching my hands,
I'm very explosive that way, I know that I can
change the game, you know what I mean. And then
just and then I was chasing something last year, I
was chasing a Russian record, which I broke my school's
Russian record on the top of the Kingdom now and
it was just something I was chasing within my teammates
and me and just knowing that I can do it
at a high level.
Speaker 11 (26:47):
It was very chasing it.
Speaker 7 (26:49):
Man, Taj I had the opportunity of calling the East.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
West Shrine game this year, and I had a chance
to see you practice. First of all, I would never
get in your way because I've seen the size of
your leg, So Jayla.
Speaker 7 (26:58):
I don't know if you want to smoke with that one.
Speaker 6 (26:59):
However, usually on the other side of your runs, you
end up in the end zone. At Texas Tech, you
had this thing called Tage Time that was your celebration dance.
I need to know how did that come about and
do you plan on bringing that to the league.
Speaker 11 (27:13):
Definitely?
Speaker 16 (27:14):
So, man, the Tas Time celebration. Every time I score touchdown,
I point to my wrists and I just touched my Yeah, there,
that's the game.
Speaker 11 (27:23):
So man, it was I want to say it was
my sophomore year. I scored like a sixty yard.
Speaker 16 (27:27):
Touchdown or something like that, and then I pointed to
my wrist and then announcer said it's Brooks time, and
then the brook pomb turned into Ta's time, and then
that's how I really just stuck with me and I'm
definitely bringing.
Speaker 11 (27:37):
That to the league. So I can't wait for that one.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
Oh yeah, but can we go back control room. I'm
sorry to do this thing. Can we go back to
the b roll. We just had the previous question because the.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Mike there we go ty was great.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
But I love the high five going into the end zone.
Who was that you were?
Speaker 5 (27:54):
Was that planned or is that just spur of the
moment there?
Speaker 11 (27:56):
It's crazy, man, it wasn't being.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
Uh, it was not playing something.
Speaker 16 (28:03):
That was just like, okay, we open, it's open field,
nobody's behind us.
Speaker 11 (28:06):
Man, I'm gonna just have over And it was just
just turned to a big moment.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
So yeah, that's great.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
You can't give you can't give the peace sign or
anything like that, like that's can't do anything.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
But you can high five a team in the NFL
you find there, Okay.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
Texas Tech question number five the proverbial Patrick Mahomes question
to every Texas Tech ever eligible the rest of the time,
forever he has spoken to your team, what has he
told you and the guys around.
Speaker 16 (28:29):
You really just focused on being in the moment, controller
what you can control, and then every time you step
in the building, just put your best foot forward within
as being watching more film, being a great teammate, bringing
a guy off the field, that's just in the community,
things like that. So that's a great guy. That's a
guy I've listened to. I've seen the work and seen
what he's done in college. So it's a it's a
(28:50):
great a great wat to look up to.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Well, TODJ, you're someone to look up to too.
Speaker 7 (28:54):
I'll tell you why.
Speaker 10 (28:55):
You're not only an angry runner, you don't only block,
You're a completely versatile football player. You are a first
team academic All American, which is an incredible thing you
should be.
Speaker 8 (29:05):
Very proud of. We're all impressed by it.
Speaker 10 (29:07):
What's your favorite school subject and what's also the one
that gives you the most trouble man?
Speaker 16 (29:12):
To be honest, I really I love school was just
like something I did just.
Speaker 11 (29:17):
Because I wanted to play football at high level.
Speaker 16 (29:19):
But my favorite subject was I want to say my
favorite subject was science. And then the subject I really
struggled with growing up was reading.
Speaker 11 (29:27):
I had it was something it was just.
Speaker 16 (29:29):
Something I couldn't read at a high level and something
like considered 's some grades and then I have to
learn about that. But then actually when I got to college,
I actually learned more about it and then fell in
love with reading.
Speaker 11 (29:39):
So those were probably like my two subjects. Which was
one which was worse awesome.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
We'll talk when you talk about growing up, But who
would you idolize is a running back growing up?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Who was your guy?
Speaker 11 (29:47):
Marshaun Lynch was one.
Speaker 16 (29:49):
Yeah, Yeah, that was that was my guy man, just
the skittles and things like that.
Speaker 11 (29:52):
And then I had I had like his uh, what's
his socks? It's like little fat head socks when I
was younger. So he was another guy.
Speaker 16 (29:59):
And then another one just watching was DeAndre Swift and
Josh Jacobs's the other two.
Speaker 6 (30:05):
All right, Taj, I need I need you to finish
this for me.
Speaker 7 (30:07):
Bad Boys, Bad Boys? What you gonna do?
Speaker 11 (30:11):
What's he gonna do?
Speaker 6 (30:12):
Yeah, so the rumors are true.
Speaker 7 (30:16):
You like the Bad Boys series? Which person do you
like better?
Speaker 6 (30:19):
Will Smith, right, Mike Lowry or do you like Martin
Lawrence and Detective Mike Markus I?
Speaker 11 (30:25):
Oh man, it's hard. I'll probably say Will Smith.
Speaker 16 (30:28):
I like the daughter scene when the daughter, when the
daughter comes over, when Reggie scene yep and comes over
and he's like, uh, you know, asking for like who
is this and he kind of interrogating them, So that's
probably I like the Will Smith man just to you know,
kind of looking over Mike Lowry's daughter and just making
sure he going through the right path.
Speaker 10 (30:45):
Listen, if you read behind the scenes about that moment,
that that poor actor who was the young guy at
the front door had no idea what they were doing.
They didn't tell him. He thought that they were really
messing with him on camera.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
That's a true story.
Speaker 10 (30:56):
You gotta watch it again with different eyes.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
But before you go, tajs like, there's a million things.
Speaker 10 (31:00):
We get asking We've covered a lot of ground, but
we can't close out asking this what is going on
over behind your back? What is that photograph? And who
is looking at us? And all the people in that picture?
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 11 (31:11):
So that's my weird that's the trip to Colorado. So
that's my dad and then my mom.
Speaker 16 (31:16):
We're on the hiking on this on this mountain or
this like little hill thing and we took a family picture.
Speaker 11 (31:22):
And it was like my family, those my wives. So
that's my family, my dad and my mom.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
So yeah, we appreciate it. Hey, everybody were in the box.
Everyone put the arms up to time to time. We
gotta go to get to the NFL.
Speaker 7 (31:36):
What you're gonna do, what you're gonna do.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
When he runs over you to Brooks. Thanks time, we appreciate.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
How about the high five on the way out.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Give your part. That was awesome.
Speaker 8 (31:50):
Hi five, that's just.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Good money money welcome back. For NFL prospects, the draft
journey is the most demanding and inspiring job interview in sport.
Let's take you along for the ride with Oregon quarterback
Dylan Gabriel and Missouri wide receiver Luthor A Bird and
the Third. Here's a sneak peek as they embark on
their draft journey in Destination Green Bay, presented by Toyota Abriel.
Speaker 8 (32:27):
The grind, the work, the preparation, that's all the fun.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Are conductive quarterback in FBS history.
Speaker 11 (32:35):
Everything I'll do, which is Sean prove.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I'm going to bit He's going to be electric and
everybody's going to know his name.
Speaker 16 (32:42):
So good.
Speaker 8 (32:44):
He really hasn't him yet be in the combine.
Speaker 10 (32:47):
Best players in the country by position, one after another.
Speaker 11 (32:50):
And you gotta put in the time, you gotta put
in the work.
Speaker 7 (32:52):
And that's what I've been doing.
Speaker 5 (32:59):
They are interviewing for one of the best jobs in
the world.
Speaker 16 (33:02):
We're propping his body of the hardest four month period
of his life.
Speaker 8 (33:07):
Any working with you, toy for granted you know it
would come back to haunt you.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
NFL Draft is now underway. This is a night where
dreams are made.
Speaker 7 (33:16):
This is what I'm bill for.
Speaker 8 (33:17):
Once you get drafted, it's game on.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Check out full episodes of Destination green Bay presented by
Toyota on the NFL's YouTube channel. Now to our NFL
Networking center. Mike, Gee, what do you got? That was
a very formal intro to you.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Thank you? Yeah, thank you. Sarah.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
Kyle Brant here with me in new Or Kyle, who
was your physical education teacher?
Speaker 4 (33:40):
If you had multiple? Just named one at this point.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
Yeah, Mike Fitzgerald, did mister fitz Did mister fitz have
an agent?
Speaker 10 (33:46):
I highly, highly maybe like a real estate agent.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
He did not have a professional football agent. Vanita Crouch,
a physical education teacher down in Texas, does now sign
with athletes?
Speaker 13 (33:58):
First?
Speaker 8 (33:58):
Yesterday?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Who is Beanita Crouch? A unbelievably accomplished.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
International flag football quarterback for the United States. Yeah, welcome
to Wow Songers family.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Yesterday.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
Venita thirty three and one in international play. A Dallas native,
wares number four just like another quarterback down here in Dallas.
Dak Prescott, who she has spent time with before. She
has her own apparel line, by the way, called Forward.
She's all about paying it forward. Her family, Cambodian refugees
through the Philippines, came to the United States in the
(34:31):
Texas area. She got introduced to football. She said, I
played quarterback as nobody else wanted to. Now signed with
a full fledged agent here in Athletes First, who has
represents Dak Prescott by the way, along with a bunch
of other quarterbacks, including Jordan Love. Plenty of guys at
that firm. So now Vanita Crouch in the mix as
well as we head toward the twenty twenty eight Olympics.
In flag football, it is blowing up the NFL annual meeting,
(34:52):
they were talking about the future of women's sports. Caitlin
Clark was there, Serena Williams was there.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
Vanita Crouch now and there is no relations to Cornhusker
great Eric Crouch, different spelling, different everything right, clarity, no, no, no,
not that I could come up with. But she has
everything else going on. Number four and the charity and
peril line and the flag football. We love you and
we support you always Bevanita Crouch. Awesome name, and I
hope she's well represented. I'm sure she is by her agent.
Speaker 8 (35:17):
Yes she is.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
Justin Shulman, by the way, who represents her, was with
the w NBA when it first started out. He started
out in basketball the Olympics. The Olympics and the women's
performance there helped kick off the w NBA, So he
knows a little bit about taking women's sports to the
next level. So congratulations to Vanita Crouch and athletes first.
Speaker 11 (35:33):
Yeah, now's Texas.
Speaker 13 (35:38):
Thus, Hello, Jay, lending this Jerry Jones with all.
Speaker 8 (35:42):
Are you doing Terry Jones?
Speaker 13 (35:44):
Well, we're doing fine, and I just keep talking to
a doll's cowboy.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 13 (35:50):
Well, listen, we're excited. You've got a lot of support
around this lay and so we're very excited. You're a
hell of a hell of a player, but you kind
of a place some great coaches.
Speaker 7 (36:02):
Yes, sir, thank you so much.
Speaker 10 (36:05):
Well, that's spectacular and that is so cool, and it's
very cool because Jalen is here with us. I'm going
to Jailen. I'm going to talk to you. I want
to give a little context for those who might not remember.
I remember extremely well twenty sixteen Jalen Smith is one
of the best football players in the country.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
He is a linebacker for Notre Dame. He is going
to be.
Speaker 10 (36:20):
A top five pick, top five pick projected in the
Fiesta Bowl. He tears his knee badly, has this big injury,
and then he is thrust into uncertainty with some draft
prospects saying he could be a fifth round pick, a
Day three pick.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
You decide to go in the.
Speaker 10 (36:36):
Draft anyway because you wanted to bet on yourself, and
sure enough, Jerry Jones calls you and you are the
thirty fourth overall pick, completing an incredible six months and
one of the most memorable draft stories ever. Can you
tell it to us, please from your perspective, because this
is really really cool stuff.
Speaker 9 (36:52):
Coming out being the top three player in high school,
a Buckets a War winner, going to Notre Dame, starting
as a true freshman. I'm having success all three years,
winning the Buckets Award, my junior year, first team All American,
a sure top five pick. We're in the Fiesta Bowl
versus Ohio State, which is my brothers alma mater, Roy Smith,
(37:16):
and getting a chance to play against Ohio State, which
was my second choice. Being from the Great State of
Indiana playing Ohio State.
Speaker 8 (37:25):
You got Ezekiel Elliott.
Speaker 9 (37:27):
There's like a projected nine first round picks in this draft,
Taylor Decker, Ronnie Stanley, Mike Mcglinchkey, myself.
Speaker 8 (37:36):
But when you talk.
Speaker 9 (37:36):
About running back linebacker, best running back in the draft,
Ezekiel Elliott versus myself, there was no doubt that I
was not going to play in that game. I was
going to play in that game prior to my injury.
It wasn't okay for players to sit out of bowl games.
So it's essentially the Jalen Smith rule that I created.
(37:57):
I knew that getting hurt was a threat. I knew
it was a threat. When you do a swat analysis,
you go through your strings, your weaknesses, opportunities, threats. I
just didn't believe that it would happen at that moment.
So getting a chance to have that injury, the first
thing for me was like why now? But then after
(38:17):
that it was just about how do I embrace this moment?
Speaker 8 (38:20):
What do I learn from this? And I've developed a
clear eye view, which is my core values.
Speaker 9 (38:26):
It stands for focused vision, determined belief, and earn dreams.
So having a laser beam focused on what I want
to accomplish, which was to play in.
Speaker 8 (38:35):
The National Football League.
Speaker 9 (38:36):
A determined belief, a self belief, a belief.
Speaker 8 (38:39):
In God that he has my back.
Speaker 9 (38:40):
That and belief in others that you know, there's a
supporting cast that believes that I can accomplish this goal
and then earn dreams. Is all about how bad do
you want it? You know what work are you willing
to put in to accomplish that goal. So with Jerry
Jones drafted me and the third pick in the second
round after doctor said I may never play again, you know,
I was just about, okay, how can I make sure
(39:04):
that at the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 8 (39:06):
Get their return on their investment.
Speaker 9 (39:08):
Me never wanted to be remembered as just being a
great athlete.
Speaker 8 (39:11):
I'm a serial entrepreneur.
Speaker 9 (39:13):
As I took that time, my rookie year to learn
to develop my team and to understand the game of football,
but then most importantly myself and my mental I was
able to learn from it and was able to have
a successful career and with the Dallas Cowboys and some
success with the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints,
(39:36):
I've been able to do some great things playing on
eighty percent. Jaylen Smith, I got drop foot acl LCL
peronial nerve damage. I couldn't lift my foot up for
an entire year. So getting a chance to have my
dream come true and still be able to play at
an elite level Pro Bowl and big, big contract, all
of these different things, I'm I'm just thankful to have
(39:58):
the opportunity, but then also the story to be able
to inspire the youth.
Speaker 6 (40:03):
Yeah, well man, you overcame a lot. You you have the
men supported to it. Obviously, you had you bet on yourself,
You proved yourself. You proved it to the Cowboys, you
proved to the rest of the world that you can overcome,
and you're encouraging a lot of guys are gonna be
coming out in this year's draft. So real quick, what
would you tell these guys that have a lot of doubters.
What was one thing that you would give them in
terms of advice?
Speaker 9 (40:23):
Know who you are, take fuel from the people that
do believe in you, and you can accomplish anything you
put your you put your mind to.
Speaker 8 (40:31):
You just have to do the work.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
I was at that Festaval game. We were covering it
for Sports center back in the day and so to
hear you tell it from your perspective, and to be
standing with you here all these years later, really cool,
really awesome to have you on today.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Kyle, Mike, everyone, Jalen. What a couple of hours. That
was awesome. It was awesome. We appreciate it. Thanks everyone,
See you back on Monday, folks,
Good Morning Football is the production of the NFL in
partnership with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Good Morning Football. Welcome to GMF.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
It is Friday, April eleven, Sarah Isaiah, we got Jalen,
We've got Kyle. We've got an insider. And this is
the part of the show where usually I'm instructed to
do the camera turn and say we want to bring
in an NFL network insider. We didn't even have to
to script this. We got one seated out there with Kyle.
This is there's nothing in the prompter, but Mike Garrifollo,
we have news, so help us out what's happening with
(00:46):
Joe Flacco.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
We do have news.
Speaker 5 (00:48):
We had Joe Flacco back to the Browns and a
one year deal worth four million dollars here incentives on
top of that that he can earn. But the comeback
Player of the Year just a couple of years ago
for what he did late in the season in Cleveland.
Now going to join the Browns for a full run
here in twenty twenty five after kind of a weird
year for him with the Indianapolis Cults in twenty twenty four.
(01:08):
I remember the Browns didn't bring Flacco back two years
ago because or last year, I should say, after what
he did two years ago, because a little bit of
a worrisome situation potentially with the crowd clamoring for him
while they had Deshaun Watson. Don't have to worry about
that at this point because Deshaun Watson is not going
to play this upcoming season, may never play for the
Browns again, certainly with what Jimmy Haslam said. So now
it's Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco for the Browns. Potentially
(01:33):
could be adding a rookie to the mix in the draft.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
We shall see.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
But Isaiah, your thoughts out there in La on the
Browns bringing back Joe FLACKO, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (01:41):
To me, it's not the most exciting piece. Well, first
of all, kudos to Joe Flacco. He's been playing since Jesus' birth,
I believe. But he's staying on rosters and that's awesome.
Speaker 7 (01:51):
I think for.
Speaker 6 (01:51):
Cleveland this is just assurance for them, right, you get
insurance policies for the what ifs, right for the just
in cases. You hope that you never have to use it,
but it's there if you need it. And I think
that's exactly what Cleveland is doing. They went out there
and traded for Kenny Pickett. They added him there just
in case. But I don't believe that either one of
these guys, can you Picktt or Joe Flacco is their
guy that they wanted to rock with. I still believe
(02:13):
that they're going to go out there and use a
high draft pace to try to bring it in a
quarterback because I think if looking towards the future, it's
what they need.
Speaker 8 (02:21):
Joe Flacco is very seasoned.
Speaker 9 (02:24):
He's a guy that when you talk about being productive,
he's done it. And that's what we love. When you
talk about the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland Browns, they have failed
when it comes to finding their quarterback. Joe Flacco has
recent success in the Cleveland brown uniform.
Speaker 8 (02:40):
So bringing him in, even.
Speaker 9 (02:42):
If they draft a quarterback high, he'll have an opportunity
to be able to learn and educate up under Joe Flacco.
You talk about drafting a cam Ward or Shad or
Sanders high, he'll be able to learn from Joe Flacco,
who also has a Super Bowl championship.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
Just a little cleanup on the math of he's been
playing since he turned forty in January.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
FI, there you go.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Isaiah, we want to go back to Mike g now
and go to New York where the Giants hold the
third overall pick. You know a little something about that
area at Garri Folla. What can you give us on
the Giants and what they are thinking with that third
overall pick.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
Well, they're thinking about the possibility of grabbing themselves a
franchise quarterback in Shador Sanders. If you're there, and they've
got a ton of work on Shador Sanders going back
to late in the season when they were attending practice
there at Colorado and all indications pointing toward interest in them,
the interactions. I know we've had some reports out there
about Shador sanders interactions with teams that have not been
so great. My understanding is his interactions with the Giants
(03:40):
have been really good going back months on end to
this point.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
So they're going to have.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
A decision to make because it's going to be potentially
Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter available to them at number
three while also the quarterback of the future, but a
guy who may not play this upcoming season because you've
got Russell Wilson and you've got Jameis Winston as well.
And a guy in Sanders who's going to need some
seasoning at the NFL level. So you can get an
impact player right away at three, or you can get
a franchise quarterback potentially in the making, but it's going
(04:07):
to take some time before he sees the field. I
think it's high drama for the Giants on draft night.
I hope that we do see that scenario that we're
talking about right now with them on the clock impact
player or franchise quarterbackcause I think it's going to be
quite the theater for the Giants on draft night.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
But we're coming like this is me like reporting via sources.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
I have thoughts on what the Giants should do, but Isaia,
I'm going to throw it to you and let you
answer it first because I want to come back.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
I do have an idea for.
Speaker 7 (04:30):
Them, ok right, I'm just gonna throw this up.
Speaker 6 (04:32):
I believe that this decision this year for the number one,
number three pick overall for the New York Giants is
not in the hands of the GM and I don't
believe it's in the hands of a.
Speaker 7 (04:40):
Head coach as well.
Speaker 6 (04:41):
I think that this is going to be a Mara
and Tish family decision because they have given both the
GM and the head coach opportunities to figure this thing
out and they are on their last leg. So I
believe that the ownership in New York is going to
ensure that their future regardless of that means that this
year on the last year of the contract for them,
won't say, possibly the last year the contract for the
GM and a head coach coach Dabo out there is
(05:03):
not going to rest in their hands. I think that
the ownership wants to ensure that their future is in
good hands, and I can't believe that they would miss
on an opportunity to bring in somebody that they might
deem as a franchise quarterback that's good for either this
coaching staff or the coaching staffs to come.
Speaker 9 (05:18):
The New York Giants have done a horrible job, and
I love the New York's I played for the New
York Giants, love Lamar family. Done a terrible job at
for one, not signing Sae Kwon Barkley when you had
the chance to that was something that hurt all of
our hearts.
Speaker 8 (05:35):
But when you talk about Dable and.
Speaker 9 (05:37):
Joe Shane being on the line on the hot seat,
they got to get this thing right, allowing Daniel Jones
to go.
Speaker 8 (05:45):
They need to ensure the future.
Speaker 9 (05:48):
And Brian Dabile being an offensive guy. Drafting Shador Sanders,
Shador getting a chance to learn from two veteran quarterbacks.
When you talk about Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the
Heisman winner, college football Championship winner, there's a lot of
nuggets that Shador and learn up under these two. And
the New York Giants, I believe they make the right
(06:09):
decision by drafting Shador Sanders.
Speaker 7 (06:11):
That would be.
Speaker 10 (06:12):
Cool, and I would love Shador here in New York.
But it does lead me to another scenario that I
want to ask you about, Mike. You're talking about the
Giants spend a lot of time with Shador. They like them,
they're into them. Okay, let's say right now that they're
in on Shador and they're ready to pick him.
Speaker 8 (06:23):
If the draft was.
Speaker 10 (06:24):
Right now, cam Ward goes to the Titans, Shadoor Sanders
goes to the Cleveland Browns at two. Yeah, the Giants
are sitting there wanting to take Shador.
Speaker 7 (06:32):
He's gone.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
What happens then, Oh, I mean, at that point, I'm
assuming they take Travis Hunter.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
That's all I would do it.
Speaker 10 (06:38):
And they go to Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback
this year, Yeah, because they got to win some games.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
And now where you are in this regime with Brian
Dable and with Joe Shane, you've got to win some games. Now,
I do you're asking me right now? I do believe
Cleveland goes Travis Hunter at two. Okay, so now you're
looking at Abdua Carter or Shador Sanders at three.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Now, look, I.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
Did the whole with what I'm hearing, did the whole
reporting thing.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
This is a different question. What should the Giants do?
This is not a report by making an opinion, this
is been a pick what they should do.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
Ashton Genty Ashton the Boise State running back at number three.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Now you might say we're drafted a running back that
HyG They once drafted a running.
Speaker 8 (07:16):
Back even high.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
I remember, and then John Marraw walked into Joe Shane's
office and said, this guy is our most popular player
by far, and they got it on camera because of
an amazing.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Show called Hard Knocks, the off season edition.
Speaker 5 (07:27):
Which they should absolutely bring back and force a team
to do because nobody wants to do it because of
what happened with that show. But it was amazing insight
into John Mara saying, this guy is a popular player.
Speaker 6 (07:38):
This dude right here on the field, off the field,
everything I hear about him, like there.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Was there was talk is he a top ten pick?
Speaker 11 (07:46):
That's over?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
It's now is he a top five pick? And I
think the answer might wind up being yes. By the way,
and you could see some jockey position for Ashton genty,
but John Marra, you'd get your popular player right back
at that position. He'd have an impact. We're starting to
see teams value the running back even more. I would
absolutely consider it now they were there and his pro day,
but not out and Mass the way they were at.
Speaker 8 (08:06):
The other one.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
So I don't think it's going to happen, but I
would certainly st So.
Speaker 10 (08:10):
You are reporting that the Giants, Here's what I say,
and I when I go back to LA but here's
what I say. If the Giants do love Shador and
we're talking to hypotheticals and they're like, you want him
to be at a quarterback, you have to entertain trading
with the Browns because we've seen this before. Teams in
the top five have swap picks because the Browns. That's
why I think that Joe Flacco signing is interesting. The
Browns quarterback room is very important to the entire draft.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
They got Kenny.
Speaker 10 (08:34):
Pickett, which is n and they got Flacco, who's just Flacco.
You're not going to the season with Picket and Flacco.
So if I'm the Browns, I am screaming to everyone
how much you want to draft a quarterback in this draft,
even if you don't, to get the Giants' attention so
they're not left out in the cold. My last question,
I have one more question from Mike and every big back.
I want to know what a marriage between the Mara
(08:56):
family and the Sanders family would be like. Those are
families that the mara is just since we love Eli
Manning and they were kind of quiet, dignified in class,
whereas the Sanders are unapologetically about flash and dollar signs and.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Money it's all wonderful. Does that work in New York
and in that program.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
I absolutely think it works.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
And I also believe that there's a second half of
this equation that you have to look at, which is
the Tish family and Steve Tish being involved in Hollywood,
so not a stranger to these kinds of personalities. It
is the New York Market is a team that needs
a little bit of sizzle right oh now, and they
didn't shy away from it when they had Odell Beckham.
There were other reasons why they moved away from but
it's not like they looked at this and we.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Got to get this guy out of here.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
There's too much attention and all that stuff. John Merrow
will lean into the attention. Go back to their team
back in twenty seven, twenty eleven. They had some huge
personalities on the nam. They're not afraid of that.
Speaker 7 (09:48):
Of course.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
He just got to get the football part of it right, Ella, and.
Speaker 7 (09:51):
I want to just double down.
Speaker 6 (09:52):
I think the part that a lot of people are
not paying enough attention to in regards to teams and
quarterbacks in leadership right now is we're seeing a researchence
somehow of people trying to hold on to that old
thing like they're trying to get you, trying to get
your groove back, right o, Stella, trying to get your
groove back, and it's like Kirk Cousins trying to hold
on right Aaron Rodgers trying to hold on Joe Flackle.
(10:13):
We're trying to hold on to these guys that had
success early on.
Speaker 7 (10:15):
In their career.
Speaker 6 (10:16):
You've got to start developing the next the next generation
of player. And when you start talking about who's available
in this year's draft, if you're the New York Giants,
and if Kim Wod does go number one, and if
Cleveland somehow passes on your door, I don't believe that
you can pass on a quarterback who has always shown
you that they have built up the programs and the
players around them. I don't believe that you can pass
(10:38):
on a quarterback who, for the long behold it is
probably the only person we've seen in a very long
time who is capable of handling the market and the
scrutiny that comes with being the quarterback of the New
York Giants.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
And I don't believe that, if you're the New York Giants.
Speaker 6 (10:51):
That you can rest your hat on two veteran quarterbacks
who are not going to be a part of your
organization for the years to come. You do not want
to be in a position after the twenty twenty five
twenty twenty six season where you're now looking.
Speaker 7 (11:03):
For a quarterback again, because all you're going to do.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Is try to either hold on to it like Stella,
or you're gonna end up trading away too many assets
to go get somebody else's backup quarterback.
Speaker 9 (11:13):
The NFC East is loaded with quarterback talent Dak Prescott,
Jaden Daniels, Jalen Hurts. Getting an opportunity for New York
to bring in a star studded quarterback is essential. Back
in twenty two, we had a playoff run where we
made it to the playoffs.
Speaker 8 (11:31):
Back when I was with the New York Giants.
Speaker 9 (11:34):
Playoff victory in Minnesota and the Big Apple celebrities are
treated phenomenal. The Sanders family would ignite the city even
more so the New York Giants draft Shaduur Sanders.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
While we're talking the Giants, let's just stay in the
division there because and New York hang with me a second,
taking knee out there for a second, because I'm sitting
here with a bunch of cowboys. So if you thought
we weren't going to get to the cowboys, and some
Dallas talk that you are mistaken, We'll start with you
because we've been picked. Isaiah's brain here for a while now, Jailen,
you're the fresh take on this. Give us your thoughts
on the Cowboys offseason. Is this the year we see
(12:12):
a different Dallas team?
Speaker 9 (12:13):
So back in twenty sixteen when I was drafted, I
was drafted second round. Dak was drafted in the same class,
but our number four overall pick was Ezekiel Elliott, a
running back. Dallas Cowboys needs a running back. Jerry Jones
and the Jones family and the Dallas Cowboys they love
(12:35):
Boise State talent. I played with Kellen Moore who was
the quarterback at Boise State, and I was coached by
him as the offensive coordinator in Dallas. Leyden vander esh
was a Boise State player. DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford. There's
some Boise State connection, and I think Dallas is ready
(12:57):
to make a real push come draft night.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Listen, we talked about it earlier in the week. The
Dallas Cowboys are being Vinny Betty sneaky. Now, okay, they're
channeling their inner mister Deeds. If you guys remember that
vine VEDI sneaky, sad. And the reason why I say
that is because they have invested.
Speaker 8 (13:13):
In their line right.
Speaker 7 (13:14):
They went out and got one.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Heck of a coach from the New York Jets on
a defensive front right considered to be the best D
line coach in the league. They got the best offensive
line coach in the league, stole him, Clayton Adams out
of Arizona.
Speaker 7 (13:27):
He's now your offensive coordinator.
Speaker 6 (13:28):
They went out to college, the Kansas State and got
the best old line coach out of college. So they
have the best old line coach in the NFL, and
in college they have the best D line coach from
the Jets, and they are focusing in on the trenches.
What else have the Cowboys done? They have created a
ton of cap space, right. They restructured everybody's contract. They
started moving money around, and everybody is pretty much saying, well, yeah,
(13:48):
they have to move money around, they have to sign Micah. Yeah,
but when you signed Micah there could be a lot
of guaranteed money, and guaranteed money's not hurting your cap.
Speaker 7 (13:56):
So why are you creating this space? Well, let's look
at it.
Speaker 6 (13:59):
You have one of the highest paced receivers in the
league in Cdee Lamb.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
Who is there assisting him?
Speaker 7 (14:04):
Who's your number two?
Speaker 6 (14:05):
You've lost all your number twos right, there's no more
number two.
Speaker 7 (14:09):
So you have to go out there and get a guy.
I believe that the Dallas.
Speaker 6 (14:12):
Cowboys are positioning themselves for a big boy trade coming
up in this year's draft. I think they're going to
draft the receiver, and I also think that they're going
to trade for a big time receiver that's not going
to be a question mark, that's not going to be
a developmental piece, that's not going to be somebody that
they hope to fans out.
Speaker 7 (14:28):
They've done that, they've been there, they've done it.
Speaker 6 (14:30):
They need somebody to come in and be an impact
player across from CD.
Speaker 7 (14:33):
I think they have something in store.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
The Cowboys right now are looking about making things better
in the trenches, playing more physical. This is what Brian
Schottenheimer is about. They want to make sure that they
brought Clayton Adams over as a new offensive coordinator, a guy.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Who is strong in the run game.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
I think everything that you're going to see in the
draft is going to be strengthening the trenches. They have
done that this offseason. They added Sadiq Charles, who's a
former starter in the league and was going to be
a starter for the Titans before he up and retired
a year ago and now back in the league, worked
out for the Cowboys, brought him back. I'm just looking
at this Cowboy team is going back to what we're
used to seeing with the Cowboys, which is that presence
(15:09):
in the trenches and building things through the running game.
Speaker 10 (15:11):
I mean, listen, is this the most boring time for
the Cowboys in twenty years? What do we got today?
Maybe it's good, you know what, Mike, Maybe it's good.
We can talk all day about trenches and O line coaches.
This is America's team. What the hell are we doing
there at the third, maybe fourth, most interesting shiny object
in the NFC East. Even when the Cowboys are faulted,
and they always are, and even when they have tough years,
(15:32):
they usually got a little more punch, a little more pizazz.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And yet I'm going to turn into a positive Mike.
Speaker 10 (15:37):
You're right, Maybe it is not about selling jerseys for
ten seconds, and we'll bring in new O line coaches.
Speaker 7 (15:43):
Maybe we'll draft a.
Speaker 10 (15:44):
Guard at twelve, and you do something practical, because over
in the AFC we got the Raiders doing really sensible
things like bringing in Pete Carroll and Gino Smith, and
not just lighting their hair on fire and throwing parties.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
So maybe, just maybe this will work.
Speaker 10 (15:58):
Because it may be good because I am bored as
hell talking about the Cowboys, right, and I haven't said
that a long time.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
But maybe it'll work out.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
Or maybe Isaiah's right and the big trades are coming.
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Or or we'll just go back.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
We'll just go back to the good old days and
we'll reminisce about Jalen's draft class of Ezekiel, Elliott and
Dak Press got back in the day sixteen twenty sixteen,
Take us Back. Coming up next on GMFB, Chargers' quarterback
Tarheed Still joins us live in studio. We're gonna ask
him about his phenomenal rookie year, gets some insight on
his head coach, a guy by the name of Jim
Horrorbad Kyle.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
I'm always here for horrorball talk.
Speaker 10 (16:34):
And plus we're doing the Angry Runs watch list very
soon before the draft, and this guy is he at
the top of the list in the draft prospects?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Is this the number one guy?
Speaker 10 (16:43):
Headed Decepter City Todds Brooks, Texas tech blocker, trucker bad
dude coming to the draft.
Speaker 7 (16:51):
Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Good morning football, Let's.
Speaker 12 (16:53):
Go boom, good mon football.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Play action all day for Cousins downfield intercepted.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
He still the rookie snap looking right, growing.
Speaker 5 (17:16):
Right in accepted, Tar he still touchdown?
Speaker 12 (17:22):
Shutters?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Are he still responsible for nine Charger points? What a
rookie campaign for that young man.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Two picks in that game. One of them was taken
to the house. We want to welcome in the player
you just saw do that. Chargers cornerback tar heat still
joining us at.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
The table this morning.
Speaker 13 (17:39):
Let's go.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Let's go, guys.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
I don't know if you can tell, but if you're
been dazzled, you sit on this side of the table.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
So tar Heap's over here with me. The draft is
around the corner.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
So we've been doing a lot of reminiscing. If you
were fortunate enough to be drafted, which you were, take
us through what that experience was.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Like for you.
Speaker 14 (17:56):
I would just say it was a really good experience.
I had a lot of people that supported me, a
lot of people close to me at my grandma's house
that day. So I was sitting there waiting on the call.
I've seen the area code. I seen it was LA
and I couldn't be more excited to be out here.
Speaker 7 (18:10):
That's dope.
Speaker 6 (18:10):
Hey, all right, so you gotta take us into the
helmet man, all right, we need we need, we need
the old gold pro helmet vision of this. You have
four interceptions of your rookie season. Two of them were
against the dirty birds, all right, including your first pick six.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Now take us into the moment. How to go down?
How you see it?
Speaker 6 (18:25):
I saw the mouth, he's hanging out. We didn't know
exactly what well how to win down?
Speaker 14 (18:29):
So the first one, I would say, okay, So it
started with Christian started backside. He alerted the formation. So
something that we've seen all week. He alerted the formation.
He talked to the post safety Elijah Moulden. He alerted
it to me. So now we're our intenders are up.
We're seeing what's going on. Boss snaps and we get
what we think we're gonna get. So he says, push push,
I dropped the route. I fall off. He double clutches,
(18:51):
throws it. I catch it. And then the second one,
that's a great call by coach Minner. We showed Blitz.
I think it was fourth down actually, so we show Blitz,
show pressure drop out of it laid to a cover two.
Speaker 8 (19:02):
Look, Kurt didn't really.
Speaker 7 (19:03):
Know what was going to happen. Yeah, he threw the
ball sit me to the house, So y'all hit him
with the.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Little love for Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter right there.
Speaker 4 (19:12):
I love that tar heap.
Speaker 5 (19:13):
They asked us before the show, would you like to
hear some Jim Harball sound and we said yes. The
answer is always yes. Here he is talking about you
and his assessment of your game.
Speaker 15 (19:22):
The thing impresses me the most is how locked in
he is for you know, a young player. I mean
they can they can get a little drifty, you know,
just in their in their in their preparation and you
know as the season goes on. But he has been
his has been locked in. Cool as the other side
of the pill. Stuart Scott used to say.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Yes, yeah, you remember Stuart Scott.
Speaker 5 (19:46):
I don't think you saw him back on Sports Center
when you were two years old.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
But listen you hear that.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
How does that make you feel?
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Knowing that Jim Harball loves the way that you're not
drifty and you are locked in, You're not hitting that
rookie wall.
Speaker 8 (19:58):
It really makes me feel good.
Speaker 14 (20:00):
Knowing that I'm bringing something to productive to the team
and also helped.
Speaker 8 (20:04):
To win games.
Speaker 7 (20:05):
But coach Hardball's my guy.
Speaker 14 (20:07):
I have a lot of conversations with him, allowed to
talks with him, and it's just really about staying the course,
staying locked in, and taking advantage of your opportunity. So
I really just try to do that, try to follow
the older guys in the team, the veterans, and really
just put my head down to work.
Speaker 10 (20:20):
All Right, you got You're taking us right where we
want to go. Conversations with Harbaugh now, he is one
of the best coaches on any level in any sport.
Year one shows up, you guys playoffs. He's an amazing coach.
That is a different dude, a unique, unique man in
his communications and his methods. All of that take us
into some conversations with Harba. Do you remember a time
(20:42):
when he says something and you were like, huh, well,
that's different, Like I've never heard that from anybody before,
let alone a coach.
Speaker 8 (20:48):
Tell us about this.
Speaker 14 (20:49):
There's a lot of moments like that, I would say,
whether it's in the team meeting, whether it's talking to
him in the hallway, on the field, anything. But he
told this one story one time where he talked about
he always wanted the same thing for breakfast every day,
and his dad basically, like to some of the story
of his bad his dad basically said, like, don't settle
for less because what he wanted for breakfast wasn't really
(21:10):
that good or wasn't really to him, it wasn't really
that appealing, but really just saying like, there's more out
there to get, so don't really settle. But I feel
like everything he says, all his stories or anything he
talks about, there's always a hitting meanings or there's always
a lesson in it. So I would just say when
he talks, everybody really listens and really thinks about what
he says, and they really take it and try to
(21:32):
apply it.
Speaker 9 (21:32):
So when training camp comes around, obviously you're in La
wonderful weather. What's that experience like when you're in the
grind of training camp and you get an opportunity to
pick off justin Herbert in practice, tell us about that experience.
Has that happened, has it been closed? What's that like?
Speaker 14 (21:53):
I would just say, Justice's ultra competitor, That's my god.
I love him to death. I would say that first.
But to clear that up, it only happened a couple
of times, so I can't say.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
It happened too many times.
Speaker 14 (22:03):
A couple look, but I can't say it been something
that's just like, oh, it happens all the time because
he's super elite.
Speaker 7 (22:11):
So I would just.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
Say it was a good moment.
Speaker 14 (22:13):
The first time I did it, it was really fun,
like competing and going against him just as ultra competitor.
Speaker 7 (22:18):
So you try not to smile.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Just a couple of times, just a couple of times.
Derwin James said his favorite thing about you is your
swag and your energy. I don't even know if the
camera is picking up how cool this sweatshirted. I mean,
there's like sequence all over it, right, It's not look
the camera's not doing it.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Does it's got to like bling a little bit. It's
blinging in studio.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Give us some tips on how to pull off the
swag that you bring. I mean, not everyone can rock
a sequence hoodie.
Speaker 14 (22:45):
I would just say, my swag and my style is
kind of different. There's a lot of great stores out
here in the LA to shop at, but I just
try to, you know, bring something different to it. See
what I like in the store or what I like online.
Speaker 8 (22:59):
Know where he's from as love right fashion fashion?
Speaker 7 (23:04):
All right?
Speaker 6 (23:04):
So, hey, word on the street is that your favorite
non football player is Lebron James, Right, King James himself.
Speaker 7 (23:10):
I got a two part question for you.
Speaker 6 (23:11):
If King James was playing football in NFL, what position
would be playing? And what is it that you love
about him so much?
Speaker 14 (23:18):
If he was playing football in the NFL, he would
definitely play tight end probably or like edge rusher if
he was like a defensive guy, all right, And then
what I like about him is like he shows how
to really be consistent at a high level year and
year and year again. He's been doing it for almost
as long as I've been alive in twenty two. He's
been playing basketball for like twenty years. And also really
how to take care of your body, like the little stuff,
(23:40):
the stuff that matters. So I would just say he's
a great role model for the younger kids. He's even
a great model for me, even though I didn't play basketball.
Just showing how to do it at a high level
over and over again.
Speaker 8 (23:51):
He's a winner.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
Well, we appreciate you stopping by the studio day. If
you want, you can leave that specsher behind. I'm just
leaving it up in a lot from someone will take
care of that for you.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
We appreciate it.
Speaker 8 (24:00):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
Have you seen have you seen the shoes on this stumer?
Speaker 2 (24:04):
I mean we're talking about flag.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
I mean this one's got some shoes on, So.
Speaker 7 (24:10):
Your approof definitely for sure. Welcome out to Good Morning Football.
Speaker 10 (24:16):
We are meeting all kinds of different NFL draft prospects
from all around the country. And I love this guy
because he is just good old fashioned productive. Give him
the ball he produces. Don't give him the ball. He
is the best blocking running back in the country.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Right now.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
It is Texas Tech running back Taj Brooks. Get in here, Taj,
what's up baby?
Speaker 7 (24:34):
How are we doing good?
Speaker 11 (24:36):
Hello? Everyone, I'm doing good man. Grateful to be on
this show.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
That's awesome, man. I love that you're here. Let's get
right to it.
Speaker 10 (24:43):
There are runners and then there are angry runners. This
is something called the scepter. I know that's strange. It's
a little out there, but it is something that has
gone to Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, all these other running
backs the NFL. For whoever is the most pissed off
with the football I've seen the tape, TAJ you run real,
real angry. Where does your style come from? And are
(25:04):
you coming for this once you get to Sunday?
Speaker 16 (25:06):
Definitely, that's something I'm chasing every game. Something I have
an opportunity to chase it each and every game. And
then my run style, man, it just comes from just
my talent and then just where I came from. I
came from Austin, Texas, where a lot of guys that
I also don't make it to the next level, and
I'm trying to be the next great one.
Speaker 7 (25:21):
I'm mad.
Speaker 9 (25:23):
The biggest thing I want to ask, is it tas
when you talk about your dream, is finna come true?
You're so close man, thirteen days away. Talk to us
about what's the one thing that you want them to
know about you to make it known that you're the
right guy for them to draft.
Speaker 11 (25:39):
I think, man, I'm very consistent. And then another thing,
I'm every down back.
Speaker 16 (25:43):
I feel like that's a lot of slept on a lot,
especially just watching my tape of things. I can catch
the ball backfield very well. I have violent hands and
passed bro and I can have explosive runs when.
Speaker 7 (25:54):
That time needed to be.
Speaker 16 (25:55):
So I feel like just every down back is just
a futil part of myself.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Tis this is crazy. You rush for over one hundred
yards in every game you played in last season, So
at some point, you know we're in game two, game three,
game four. Now we're on a streak, right, So at
what point do you start thinking about that and do
you start getting superstitious? Take us through what that entire
run was like.
Speaker 16 (26:20):
Definitely, I would say, just like how you said, I
had one hundred yards in each game, which which was
a blessing just because sitting my teammates and things.
Speaker 11 (26:27):
But man, it's really when I.
Speaker 16 (26:28):
Get hot, but like once the ball touching my hands,
I'm very explosive that way, I know that I can
change the game, you know what I mean. And then
just and then I was chasing something last year, I
was chasing a Russian record, which I broke my school's
Russian record on the top of the Kingdom now and
it was just something I was chasing within my teammates
and me and just knowing that I can do it
at a high level.
Speaker 11 (26:47):
It was very chasing it.
Speaker 7 (26:49):
Man, Taj I had the opportunity of calling the East.
Speaker 6 (26:51):
West Shrine game this year, and I had a chance
to see you practice. First of all, I would never
get in your way because I've seen the size of
your leg, So Jayla.
Speaker 7 (26:58):
I don't know if you want to smoke with that one.
Speaker 6 (26:59):
However, usually on the other side of your runs, you
end up in the end zone. At Texas Tech, you
had this thing called Tage Time that was your celebration dance.
I need to know how did that come about and
do you plan on bringing that to the league.
Speaker 11 (27:13):
Definitely?
Speaker 16 (27:14):
So, man, the Tas Time celebration. Every time I score touchdown,
I point to my wrists and I just touched my Yeah, there,
that's the game.
Speaker 11 (27:23):
So man, it was I want to say it was
my sophomore year. I scored like a sixty yard.
Speaker 16 (27:27):
Touchdown or something like that, and then I pointed to
my wrist and then announcer said it's Brooks time, and
then the brook pomb turned into Ta's time, and then
that's how I really just stuck with me and I'm
definitely bringing.
Speaker 11 (27:37):
That to the league. So I can't wait for that one.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
Oh yeah, but can we go back control room. I'm
sorry to do this thing. Can we go back to
the b roll. We just had the previous question because the.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Mike there we go ty was great.
Speaker 4 (27:50):
But I love the high five going into the end zone.
Who was that you were?
Speaker 5 (27:54):
Was that planned or is that just spur of the
moment there?
Speaker 11 (27:56):
It's crazy, man, it wasn't being.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
Uh, it was not playing something.
Speaker 16 (28:03):
That was just like, okay, we open, it's open field,
nobody's behind us.
Speaker 11 (28:06):
Man, I'm gonna just have over And it was just
just turned to a big moment.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
So yeah, that's great.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
You can't give you can't give the peace sign or
anything like that, like that's can't do anything.
Speaker 4 (28:15):
But you can high five a team in the NFL
you find there, Okay.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
Texas Tech question number five the proverbial Patrick Mahomes question
to every Texas Tech ever eligible the rest of the time,
forever he has spoken to your team, what has he
told you and the guys around.
Speaker 16 (28:29):
You really just focused on being in the moment, controller
what you can control, and then every time you step
in the building, just put your best foot forward within
as being watching more film, being a great teammate, bringing
a guy off the field, that's just in the community,
things like that. So that's a great guy. That's a
guy I've listened to. I've seen the work and seen
what he's done in college. So it's a it's a
(28:50):
great a great wat to look up to.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
Well, TODJ, you're someone to look up to too.
Speaker 7 (28:54):
I'll tell you why.
Speaker 10 (28:55):
You're not only an angry runner, you don't only block,
You're a completely versatile football player. You are a first
team academic All American, which is an incredible thing you
should be.
Speaker 8 (29:05):
Very proud of. We're all impressed by it.
Speaker 10 (29:07):
What's your favorite school subject and what's also the one
that gives you the most trouble man?
Speaker 16 (29:12):
To be honest, I really I love school was just
like something I did just.
Speaker 11 (29:17):
Because I wanted to play football at high level.
Speaker 16 (29:19):
But my favorite subject was I want to say my
favorite subject was science. And then the subject I really
struggled with growing up was reading.
Speaker 11 (29:27):
I had it was something it was just.
Speaker 16 (29:29):
Something I couldn't read at a high level and something
like considered 's some grades and then I have to
learn about that. But then actually when I got to college,
I actually learned more about it and then fell in
love with reading.
Speaker 11 (29:39):
So those were probably like my two subjects. Which was
one which was worse awesome.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
We'll talk when you talk about growing up, But who
would you idolize is a running back growing up?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Who was your guy?
Speaker 11 (29:47):
Marshaun Lynch was one.
Speaker 16 (29:49):
Yeah, Yeah, that was that was my guy man, just
the skittles and things like that.
Speaker 11 (29:52):
And then I had I had like his uh, what's
his socks? It's like little fat head socks when I
was younger. So he was another guy.
Speaker 16 (29:59):
And then another one just watching was DeAndre Swift and
Josh Jacobs's the other two.
Speaker 6 (30:05):
All right, Taj, I need I need you to finish
this for me.
Speaker 7 (30:07):
Bad Boys, Bad Boys? What you gonna do?
Speaker 11 (30:11):
What's he gonna do?
Speaker 6 (30:12):
Yeah, so the rumors are true.
Speaker 7 (30:16):
You like the Bad Boys series? Which person do you
like better?
Speaker 6 (30:19):
Will Smith, right, Mike Lowry or do you like Martin
Lawrence and Detective Mike Markus I?
Speaker 11 (30:25):
Oh man, it's hard. I'll probably say Will Smith.
Speaker 16 (30:28):
I like the daughter scene when the daughter, when the
daughter comes over, when Reggie scene yep and comes over
and he's like, uh, you know, asking for like who
is this and he kind of interrogating them, So that's
probably I like the Will Smith man just to you know,
kind of looking over Mike Lowry's daughter and just making
sure he going through the right path.
Speaker 10 (30:45):
Listen, if you read behind the scenes about that moment,
that that poor actor who was the young guy at
the front door had no idea what they were doing.
They didn't tell him. He thought that they were really
messing with him on camera.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
That's a true story.
Speaker 10 (30:56):
You gotta watch it again with different eyes.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
But before you go, tajs like, there's a million things.
Speaker 10 (31:00):
We get asking We've covered a lot of ground, but
we can't close out asking this what is going on
over behind your back? What is that photograph? And who
is looking at us? And all the people in that picture?
Can you tell us about that?
Speaker 11 (31:11):
So that's my weird that's the trip to Colorado. So
that's my dad and then my mom.
Speaker 16 (31:16):
We're on the hiking on this on this mountain or
this like little hill thing and we took a family picture.
Speaker 11 (31:22):
And it was like my family, those my wives. So
that's my family, my dad and my mom.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
So yeah, we appreciate it. Hey, everybody were in the box.
Everyone put the arms up to time to time. We
gotta go to get to the NFL.
Speaker 7 (31:36):
What you're gonna do, what you're gonna do.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
When he runs over you to Brooks. Thanks time, we appreciate.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
How about the high five on the way out.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Give your part. That was awesome.
Speaker 8 (31:50):
Hi five, that's just.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Good money money welcome back. For NFL prospects, the draft
journey is the most demanding and inspiring job interview in sport.
Let's take you along for the ride with Oregon quarterback
Dylan Gabriel and Missouri wide receiver Luthor A Bird and
the Third. Here's a sneak peek as they embark on
their draft journey in Destination Green Bay, presented by Toyota Abriel.
Speaker 8 (32:27):
The grind, the work, the preparation, that's all the fun.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
Are conductive quarterback in FBS history.
Speaker 11 (32:35):
Everything I'll do, which is Sean prove.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
I'm going to bit He's going to be electric and
everybody's going to know his name.
Speaker 16 (32:42):
So good.
Speaker 8 (32:44):
He really hasn't him yet be in the combine.
Speaker 10 (32:47):
Best players in the country by position, one after another.
Speaker 11 (32:50):
And you gotta put in the time, you gotta put
in the work.
Speaker 7 (32:52):
And that's what I've been doing.
Speaker 5 (32:59):
They are interviewing for one of the best jobs in
the world.
Speaker 16 (33:02):
We're propping his body of the hardest four month period
of his life.
Speaker 8 (33:07):
Any working with you, toy for granted you know it
would come back to haunt you.
Speaker 4 (33:11):
NFL Draft is now underway. This is a night where
dreams are made.
Speaker 7 (33:16):
This is what I'm bill for.
Speaker 8 (33:17):
Once you get drafted, it's game on.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Check out full episodes of Destination green Bay presented by
Toyota on the NFL's YouTube channel. Now to our NFL
Networking center. Mike, Gee, what do you got? That was
a very formal intro to you.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Thank you? Yeah, thank you. Sarah.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
Kyle Brant here with me in new Or Kyle, who
was your physical education teacher?
Speaker 4 (33:40):
If you had multiple? Just named one at this point.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
Yeah, Mike Fitzgerald, did mister fitz Did mister fitz have
an agent?
Speaker 10 (33:46):
I highly, highly maybe like a real estate agent.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
He did not have a professional football agent. Vanita Crouch,
a physical education teacher down in Texas, does now sign
with athletes?
Speaker 13 (33:58):
First?
Speaker 8 (33:58):
Yesterday?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Who is Beanita Crouch? A unbelievably accomplished.
Speaker 5 (34:02):
International flag football quarterback for the United States. Yeah, welcome
to Wow Songers family.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Yesterday.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
Venita thirty three and one in international play. A Dallas native,
wares number four just like another quarterback down here in Dallas.
Dak Prescott, who she has spent time with before. She
has her own apparel line, by the way, called Forward.
She's all about paying it forward. Her family, Cambodian refugees
through the Philippines, came to the United States in the
(34:31):
Texas area. She got introduced to football. She said, I
played quarterback as nobody else wanted to. Now signed with
a full fledged agent here in Athletes First, who has
represents Dak Prescott by the way, along with a bunch
of other quarterbacks, including Jordan Love. Plenty of guys at
that firm. So now Vanita Crouch in the mix as
well as we head toward the twenty twenty eight Olympics.
In flag football, it is blowing up the NFL annual meeting,
(34:52):
they were talking about the future of women's sports. Caitlin
Clark was there, Serena Williams was there.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
Vanita Crouch now and there is no relations to Cornhusker
great Eric Crouch, different spelling, different everything right, clarity, no, no, no,
not that I could come up with. But she has
everything else going on. Number four and the charity and
peril line and the flag football. We love you and
we support you always Bevanita Crouch. Awesome name, and I
hope she's well represented. I'm sure she is by her agent.
Speaker 8 (35:17):
Yes she is.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
Justin Shulman, by the way, who represents her, was with
the w NBA when it first started out. He started
out in basketball the Olympics. The Olympics and the women's
performance there helped kick off the w NBA, So he
knows a little bit about taking women's sports to the
next level. So congratulations to Vanita Crouch and athletes first.
Speaker 11 (35:33):
Yeah, now's Texas.
Speaker 13 (35:38):
Thus, Hello, Jay, lending this Jerry Jones with all.
Speaker 8 (35:42):
Are you doing Terry Jones?
Speaker 13 (35:44):
Well, we're doing fine, and I just keep talking to
a doll's cowboy.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 13 (35:50):
Well, listen, we're excited. You've got a lot of support
around this lay and so we're very excited. You're a
hell of a hell of a player, but you kind
of a place some great coaches.
Speaker 7 (36:02):
Yes, sir, thank you so much.
Speaker 10 (36:05):
Well, that's spectacular and that is so cool, and it's
very cool because Jalen is here with us. I'm going
to Jailen. I'm going to talk to you. I want
to give a little context for those who might not remember.
I remember extremely well twenty sixteen Jalen Smith is one
of the best football players in the country.
Speaker 2 (36:18):
He is a linebacker for Notre Dame. He is going
to be.
Speaker 10 (36:20):
A top five pick, top five pick projected in the
Fiesta Bowl. He tears his knee badly, has this big injury,
and then he is thrust into uncertainty with some draft
prospects saying he could be a fifth round pick, a
Day three pick.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
You decide to go in the.
Speaker 10 (36:36):
Draft anyway because you wanted to bet on yourself, and
sure enough, Jerry Jones calls you and you are the
thirty fourth overall pick, completing an incredible six months and
one of the most memorable draft stories ever. Can you
tell it to us, please from your perspective, because this
is really really cool stuff.
Speaker 9 (36:52):
Coming out being the top three player in high school,
a Buckets a War winner, going to Notre Dame, starting
as a true freshman. I'm having success all three years,
winning the Buckets Award, my junior year, first team All American,
a sure top five pick. We're in the Fiesta Bowl
versus Ohio State, which is my brothers alma mater, Roy Smith,
(37:16):
and getting a chance to play against Ohio State, which
was my second choice. Being from the Great State of
Indiana playing Ohio State.
Speaker 8 (37:25):
You got Ezekiel Elliott.
Speaker 9 (37:27):
There's like a projected nine first round picks in this draft,
Taylor Decker, Ronnie Stanley, Mike Mcglinchkey, myself.
Speaker 8 (37:36):
But when you talk.
Speaker 9 (37:36):
About running back linebacker, best running back in the draft,
Ezekiel Elliott versus myself, there was no doubt that I
was not going to play in that game. I was
going to play in that game prior to my injury.
It wasn't okay for players to sit out of bowl games.
So it's essentially the Jalen Smith rule that I created.
(37:57):
I knew that getting hurt was a threat. I knew
it was a threat. When you do a swat analysis,
you go through your strings, your weaknesses, opportunities, threats. I
just didn't believe that it would happen at that moment.
So getting a chance to have that injury, the first
thing for me was like why now? But then after
(38:17):
that it was just about how do I embrace this moment?
Speaker 8 (38:20):
What do I learn from this? And I've developed a
clear eye view, which is my core values.
Speaker 9 (38:26):
It stands for focused vision, determined belief, and earn dreams.
So having a laser beam focused on what I want
to accomplish, which was to play in.
Speaker 8 (38:35):
The National Football League.
Speaker 9 (38:36):
A determined belief, a self belief, a belief.
Speaker 8 (38:39):
In God that he has my back.
Speaker 9 (38:40):
That and belief in others that you know, there's a
supporting cast that believes that I can accomplish this goal
and then earn dreams. Is all about how bad do
you want it? You know what work are you willing
to put in to accomplish that goal. So with Jerry
Jones drafted me and the third pick in the second
round after doctor said I may never play again, you know,
I was just about, okay, how can I make sure
(39:04):
that at the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 8 (39:06):
Get their return on their investment.
Speaker 9 (39:08):
Me never wanted to be remembered as just being a
great athlete.
Speaker 8 (39:11):
I'm a serial entrepreneur.
Speaker 9 (39:13):
As I took that time, my rookie year to learn
to develop my team and to understand the game of football,
but then most importantly myself and my mental I was
able to learn from it and was able to have
a successful career and with the Dallas Cowboys and some
success with the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints,
(39:36):
I've been able to do some great things playing on
eighty percent. Jaylen Smith, I got drop foot acl LCL
peronial nerve damage. I couldn't lift my foot up for
an entire year. So getting a chance to have my
dream come true and still be able to play at
an elite level Pro Bowl and big, big contract, all
of these different things, I'm I'm just thankful to have
(39:58):
the opportunity, but then also the story to be able
to inspire the youth.
Speaker 6 (40:03):
Yeah, well man, you overcame a lot. You you have the
men supported to it. Obviously, you had you bet on yourself,
You proved yourself. You proved it to the Cowboys, you
proved to the rest of the world that you can overcome,
and you're encouraging a lot of guys are gonna be
coming out in this year's draft. So real quick, what
would you tell these guys that have a lot of doubters.
What was one thing that you would give them in
terms of advice?
Speaker 9 (40:23):
Know who you are, take fuel from the people that
do believe in you, and you can accomplish anything you
put your you put your mind to.
Speaker 8 (40:31):
You just have to do the work.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
I was at that Festaval game. We were covering it
for Sports center back in the day and so to
hear you tell it from your perspective, and to be
standing with you here all these years later, really cool,
really awesome to have you on today.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Kyle, Mike, everyone, Jalen. What a couple of hours. That
was awesome. It was awesome. We appreciate it. Thanks everyone,
See you back on Monday, folks,
Hosts And Creators
Jamie Erdahl
Jason McCourty
Kyle Brandt
Peter Schrager
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