On the latest NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Ware sits down with Peanut Tillman and Roman Harper. The guys reminisce about playing each other in Super Bowl L and DeMarcus breaks down the game plan that allowed the Broncos to beat the Panthers. Then DeMarcus explains why he chose number 94, how he lived up to Charles Haley legacy with the Cowboys, and the quarterback that he struggled to sack. He also reveals why he decided to retire and how he’s giving back to the Boys and Girls Club.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
They said, well, another guy before you bore number ninety four,
Charles Haley. I said, I'm gonna make y'all forget about
number ninety four? Why did I say that? And me
just being a little arrogant, I did not know that
Charles Hayley lives like right down the street of Valley Ranch.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Did they tell him that?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
It was on the interview. I know.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm from playing at Troy. There was only one guy
named famous with the recorder. And then when you go
to Dallas there's forty cameras.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yes, and now it's on television, damn. And so guess what.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Charles Haley comes in and you know these crazy Charles
Haley stories. I'm sitting in the locker room and I
just heard a loud voice where s d w at.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I said that Charles.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I just start to see people like scattering. He comes
in with two doverman pincers in the locker room. So
I'm sitting there just like this. This guy got dog
in the locker room, two dopement pictures. Yeah, it's five
rings on And so let me tell you some young book.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
What's up everybody on Peanuts woman? And this is the
NFL Player's Second Acts podcast and with me as always
as my trusty co host, Roman Miami Vice.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Horrible. There we go. I was wondering what I was
going to get today. Yeah, I thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I appreciate it. I actually tried, you know, so thank you.
I'm really excited for our next guest right here. Continue
to celebrate Super Bowl sixty right here in San Francisco.
And we ran into this guy at another time in
this city as well. Yeah that you're not happy about that, Okay, I.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Don't blave you.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
We we should not be happy about that. Go well,
it did not go well.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It wasn't great for you.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
We'll talk about that, okay, all right, we'll talk about
that later. I'm looking at this resume. So he's a
super Bowl champion, four time first team All Pro, three
time second team All Pro, nine time Pro bowler, two
time NFL sack leader, he made all the two thousands
All Decade Team, two time Buckets Award winner. He's in
(02:24):
the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome to the pod. DeMarcus, what happened? Yes, that's a
long ass resume, dude, God dang.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Listen, man, I just put my head down at the
plow and said, when I wake up and see the light,
where are you. I mean, that's what my granddaddy always
told me, Like, don't worry about looking in the ribey mirror.
And he just pressed the gas and just.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Let it roll.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
And you know, the one part of the resume that
you left out is that he is one of the
state of Alabama's finest. All right, So anytime we get
an Alabama person in the.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Building, shout out to Alabama. He's born in Auburn, Alabamaama.
Went to school with my.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Brother, so I Marcus brother. Yeah, like they went to
college together. So I saw the Marcus I mean, eat
his whedies. The dude gained a lot of way universe.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, he went to Troy, so being there and saw
him grow, get older, get bigger, and man, they had
some really good players on that team too, so and
nobody knew at the time it was because it was
Troy State. Now that Troy, it's just so different. It's
just so cool because you know, I've known this young
man for a long time.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I see her here and I think about, like I'm
looking at Ronnie, uh, his brother, because I I played
college football with him, and all of a sudden, I
see Roman come up and I'm like, hold wait a minute.
And the first thing I said, why is your hair seal?
And you know, his brother always gets that's my older
(03:57):
brother or whatever. But it's just cool now to see, like,
you know, from all the way from Troy and now
doing an interview with you and then playing with you guys. Man,
how everything just goes full circle, right. So it's just
just a funny moment right now as I see him
right now, because we were almost like roommates and.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I know, right, yeah, So we're here in San Francisco.
What's it like for you being back? You posted about
it earlier this week on Instagram, sharing the stories with
your son, who's a lot bigger now.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
When I touched down in San Francisco, I mean, the
first memory that I thought about was the Super Bowl fiftyeen,
you know, all the memories that we had, you know,
just thinking about how we were the underdog. And then like,
I mean, it's been ten years ago, because it's super
Bowl fifty right, it's Super Bowl what sixty?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yes, so it's ten years ago.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So this is what the ten year anniversary and I'm like,
I'm touching down in a place where you know, you
ishton Stone something that's good, and that's when you sort
of solidify your career as a champion here. And I
felt that way when I hit the ground running.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Yeah, I kind of wish you didn't hit the ground
running when you when you got here, because I know
you got great memories of this player. So I was
going to ask you what was your favorite memory, and
I'm sure you would have said it is probably hoisting
that trophy.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Was I just I'm glad you here, but I'm not
happy to ask that question because you that was my
last year and I really wanted to go out with
a bang, and you you, you you messed up my
my exit of the NFL.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You you know what.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
And I rewind the tape and all the accolades that
were told, the one that was left off was Super
Bowl fifty, so I knew that it had a little
bit of twists in there, and I was like, I'm
not going to even say anything about that one.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3 (05:51):
What was what was your best part of Super Bowl fifty?
Like the game itself, like playwise.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Probably looking at Vaughn playing playing with a guy like
von Miller and Peyton at the same time. And we're
in the locker room and I remember when we had
a big prayer, you know, in the shower and we
you know how we used to pray, you know, in
the shower, and it was totally quiet right after the prayer.
(06:20):
I mean, everybody's bumping music, but it's totally quiet, and
I'm like, oh, wait a minute, and the only thing
we can hear is like you guys coming out. H
It's gonna it's gonna be a hard game. Yeah, And
Peyton said, Hey, I tell you what, I'm gonna manage
this whole game. I'm gonna I'm not gonna lose this game.
(06:43):
And you guys know where I am in my career.
But he looked at me and Vaughn and he said,
but the defense I'm gonna give you guys the most
rest is possible because I need for you guys to
get me close enough to score.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
In his foot game.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
And so when he said, I want for everybody to
break it in because I don't know, this might be
my last one. And as I sat there, it was
like totally quiet, just like this, and we started walking
down the tunnel and it was totally quiet.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
You can hear cleats. I'm talking about it.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Walking out. I mean, I'm getting chills right now just
thinking about it.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Man.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
He said, all you guys are ready to hoist this
trophy and me, von him put our hands together. I
looked at Vaughn and Vonne said, man, this is the
first time I feel like we're even. And I was like,
what do you mean. He said, I'm fifty eight, I'm
fifty eight and you're ninety four. Ad them both together,
(07:51):
he said with the arch angels of thirteen. He said,
let's go wake it up. And I looked at it
and I felt the Holy spirit. Yeah, when we went
out there, like, dude, I'm getting tears right now. Like
when we went out there, every single time I looked
at Vaughan like it's middle of time. Every single time
(08:12):
he looked at me, said d ware finighad didn't kill
I'm talking about. It was that type of mentality, and
like that was the biggest out of body experience I
ever felt. When you knew that you had your boy
playing right there beside you and you could not be stopped.
(08:34):
Like every play, I was like, what is going on.
So I mean just to that point that that was
my memory of the first time I felt like when
you put God in it, like when you really put
God in what he can do and not.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
In a person.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I mean, I feel like I really put God in
it too, and I was I felt like I put
God in it too. He didn't pick, he didn't answer
my call you. He was just listening to you the
whole time. I think we all prayed. Yeah, for sure,
I'm like bro like man, but I'm not.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
It's a great score.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
But you know, I love the story, I love the passion,
and you talked about it being God and being all
the presence of something bigger than yourselves. For me, I'm
just like, well, what was the game plan? Because you
guys had a specific game plan. You attacked our offense
in certain ways, the one on creating the one on
one matchups up front for you and Vaughn, and it worked.
(09:30):
I mean, you guys scored twenty some points and seven
of them were off the offense, and then you set
them up for another touchdown as well.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
So like, what was that game plan?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
The game plan going out? I think that the citate
when we played like Aaron Rodgers. When we played a
lot of running quarterbacks during the season.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
What we would do.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We would it'll look like three four, but it really
was like a four man rush. I was the spy.
I was the one that just fielled whatever gap. So
we practiced this the whole time. So we would let
the four guys just blast off the ball. I would
end up in the opposite sea gap. I would end
up in the opposite a gap. I would end up
(10:08):
on my side. Like people were like, who was a decordinator? Kubiak, Yeah, Kubiak,
and and so we were. I mean you could see
the guys rushing and you probably notice, like, how did
the Marcus get all the way to this opposite a gap?
What is he doing? And it'll be wide open because
we knew that like Kim was going to run, but
he didn't run as much in the game. So it
(10:31):
gave me an opportunity to where like I would do.
I mean, we would do a long stunt where Vaughn,
uh Malik and Wolf will come all the way to
the my side on the right side, and I will
actually loop all the way around to the front side
b gap. I was tired, but I was trying to
get it, and I'll be wide open right there, just
(10:51):
to create pressure because he couldn't run. So that was
like our whole scheme, and we play man Man. We played,
We played man Man. That was it looks like we
were blitzing. We weren't listening at all. I was a
spy guy and just whatever gap was open, I just
feeled it and just let the guys go.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
It worked, you know. That makes me feel a little
bit better, like you just wasn't whooping guys one on
one of the whole time.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
She had no acci.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Y'all hadf It just kind of worked out that way
because Cam.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
But you're right though, Cam was not.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
He's a scrambler, but like he didn't he didn't scramble
like that though he would run it. Yeah, but he
as far as just like he was going to be
in the pocket, right and he was so comfortable that
you're throwing the football in the pocket, that's where he's going.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
To be up.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Quick question for you two for y'all Super Bowl wins.
What did you grade out? Did y'all even get grants grades?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Yeah? Yeah, dude, nobody, Well when you win it, nobody
watched and nobody watched it. Yeah, like nobody there's no grades. Yeah, yeah, no,
that's a good that. It is a good question. There
aren't there was.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I got, I got one in forty one. Whatever we
still got.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
We got great, y'all. I think I got grated. Yeah, dude,
I got. I'm curious.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
I never got a trophy.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Wasn't great?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah yeah yeah, just something to think about, all right. So,
amazing career, Hall of Fame, sack sack leader, all pro.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Out of all that, what was your welcome to the
NFL moment? Oh?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Actually it was two maybe y'all let me get you too,
all right. So the very first one was when I
first came in as a rookie first round draft pick.
You know, I'm like, I'm good. You you practice against
all the rookies that are coming in. I like crushed
all them.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They were like, listen, people don't know those are like
like a walk on, like they're just kind of building
out a roster practice rookie rookie weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I didn't know that either. I'm good.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
They said, no, Larry Allen, he's going to come in
blose l Adams, and so they had we called them
the mom Stars. So when I when they came in.
I'm sitting there. We worked because the rookies worked out
early and the events come in like an hour late,
and I'm looking at him.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
He comes in. Is that a human? Like seriously?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Like I saw like my rookie guys they were big.
But when I saw like three fifty six six, I
mean they came in and they were like like limp,
you know, like, oh I can get them. Hey, Rooke,
come in here with me to the workout, to the
weight room. Okay, he said, I'll tell you what. And
(13:32):
this is not even warming up, no bands, no nothing,
dipping them out. Larry Allen, Yeah, put five plates on that.
This is incline.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
It's okay.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I play four two two. I can split. He said, no, no, no,
five on one side, five on the other side. And
I want you to put the chains on me so
them changing are about twenty five pounds, right, thirty five
pounds and you know when you when you.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
As soon as you are rack sha. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Literally I got behind him. I was about to like
take it off the rack for a spot. He said, no, no, no,
I got it. What He unracks it and lays it
on his chest and presses it he did it ten times.
He said, hey, real and these are the exact words.
You better get your mind right. He's pump po and
(14:24):
I'm talking about like it. I'm like, it took my
heart out. That was my first time that I knew
I had to get into the weight room. Number two,
Greg Gillis, he said, keep your head on the swoove
with dewear. Now, these boys around here they can crack back.
But all right, Donovan McNabb. He boots out to the
(14:45):
left and I usually don't play on the left hand side.
I think it was Silick, the tight end that you know,
did some type of little you know, out route, and
all of a sudden I see McNabb and he was pointing.
I'm like, oh no, you're not gonna trick me and
then do some type of you know, juke move on
me and then run like you do all these other guys.
So I just started running down the sideline. I'm gonna
(15:06):
cut him off as he was booting out, and all
of a sudden, I saw a flash from this way.
It was green, and when I got hit. The only
thing I remember is waking up at halftime and saying,
where's my helmet? I said, d way, you've been out
(15:27):
the whole time, bro, I said, what, Oh you just
came back to it. Oh what like I was there,
but I was not there. That was my first concussion.
It was very out about the experience and that that
wasn't my time to where like after that, anytime I'm
running pursuing to the football, take a take a peek,
I'm looking. So yeah, that was my welcome to the
(15:50):
NFL moment. It never happened again, never.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
What about you guys, was that your first time ever
getting cracked back like that? Because you always play D line,
D line.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
We don't.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
You never really see a wide receiver come down there.
But I was then from D line to linebacker, so
I had to go play in some space every once
in a while. And man, when I when I got hit,
like seriously, I feel like I swallowed my mouthpiece. And
when I woke up, like I knew that was my
welcome to the moment of the NFL that I got it.
(16:21):
I just I got to strap up.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So that's why you get the boiling bike. You can't
swallow the mouthpiece. Wrong, that's why you get boiling bikes. Now,
just I'm just saying I didn't wear a mouthpiece. I
wasn't a mouthpiece.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Got and we'll be right back. Why did you wear
number ninety four?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Number ninety four? I wore number ninety four. I was
actually number eight in high school. I was a wide receiver,
all right. And I remember when I got to Troy,
they said, well, you're gonna wear number ninety four, so
I'm gonna do what. Number ninety four is a defensive
line number. They said, yeah, you're gonna play defensive end.
(16:59):
I don't play defensive end. I'm one ninety five six three,
soaking wet, and you're gonna put me down down there
with them big guys like yeah, and I'm talking about
the jersey was probably about four times too big, so
you know me, I twisted up underneath the arms with
the tape folded it y'all.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Did y'all do that? You're right?
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Folded the back twisted, the back up, folded up underneath,
so I made it tight as possible. The nine and
four might have been twisted like this, but that's okay, right,
But I told myself, I said, okay, if I'm gonna
wear ninety four, I'm gonna make y'all remember this ninety four.
When I leave Troy, I was like, okay, So first,
that's why I got the number ninety four. It was
given to me because I was reminded by a guy
(17:41):
named Tim Bets and lo and behold, you know, ninety
four was ended up being my number. I ended up
owning it. And then the same thing with Dallas. They said, well,
another guy before you bore number ninety four, Charles Haley.
And I'm like, and I'm not a football guy, computer
(18:02):
science guy. I'm all on the other side of it.
I said, I'm gonna make y'all forget about number ninety four.
Why did I say that? And me just being a
little arrogant, I did not know that Charles Haley lives
like right down the street of Valley Ranch.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Did they tell him that? Oh? It was on the interview.
I know.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I'm from playing at Troy. There was only one guy
named famous with the recorder. Then when you go to
Dallas there's forty cameras and now it's on television, damn.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
And so guess what.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Charles Haley comes in and you know these crazy Charles
Haley stories. I'm sitting in the locker room and I
just heard a loud voice, where s g w atid that?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Charles?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I just start to see people like scattering. He comes
in with two doverman pincers in the locker room. So
I'm sitting there just like this. This guy got dogs
in the locker room, two Doberment pictures. He had his
five rings on. He said, let me tell you some
young book. Why did I choose this? And he said, hey,
(19:19):
I heard on the interview that you're gonna make them
forget about number ninety four. You got some big shoes
to feel. So you see this, and I'm looking like,
those are a lot of rings. So I went back
after that, because you know they recording every single thing.
I went back and looked at it. I'm like, oh
my god. He made me eat my words. And every
(19:42):
single day he came in. But one thing that he
taught me humility, a little bit of humility and what
to say in the media. He said, I always watch
what you say because it's they can get the bites.
He said, I'm a teacher. I'll teach you how to
be great. He came in every single day showing me
all the moves like everything. Man, he said, you'll make
(20:03):
ninety four great. So that was so he was a
real o g that kind of Yeah, yeah he did.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
He did.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
But when he came in, bro imagine somebody coming in
with Dobleman pintures.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
They were I don't even know how you get dogs
in the locker, Charles, I've never seen a dog in
the locker.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
He could two of them. Well nobody, Charles, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
they believe them. Yeah all right, all right.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
So being in Chicago, NFC NFC North, I got it
super excited going against uh Aaron Rodgers agreement packers love
that robbery, right, who was your favorite quarterback to go against?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Favorite quarterback to book against.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
He was just like, oh, yeah, we finna eat today,
and we're finna get the sacks.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Michael Vick. Really you know that. That is the craziest
thing to say. It was Michael Vick. The first time
I played Michael Vick, it was in Atlanta, and that's
when he had like.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
The roller coaster, the shoes. It was all that. Michael
was the experience.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
So the first time I came around the corner, I
have never He's left handed, So that was my first
time going against the left handed quarterback.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
And he saw me.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
And he was so quick that it was like two
steps and he like ran for sixty yards and I
was like, wow, like it's almost like that. That's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
And then one time Chris Canty came up and like
batted the ball and there was I mean, the ball
was in the air. He batted it from interception and
I'm We're on an hour like thirty yard line and
I'm like, hold on, I'm trying to run this back.
So I got an interception, man, I said, just stick
you on my d literally, So this was like my
Michael Vig moment. I stuck my hand out. I closed
(21:56):
my eyes seriously. And then every time after that, for
someon reason, I always got like two sacks, three sacks,
four sacks on Michael Vick because he ran. I used
to love running quarterbacks. I will run up the field
knowing that I'm gonna give you exactly what you want.
I'm gonna set you up and then like kay, I'm Newton,
not just you know, name a guy, but and I
(22:17):
would just use it against him. Instead of doing a
regular rush, I would say, hey, you three, just push
the pocket and then I'll be the spy guy rushed
up the field and then't gonna make the play or
he gonna come straight to y'all. I'm gonna flush him
to y'all.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
True team defense. Was there a quarterback that you hated
to play against? Oh, Philip Rivers? Why it took me
twelve years to get a sack? On twelve years?
Speaker 1 (22:42):
He knew exactly because I said it in the interview
one time that man I have I haven't sacked any
other quarterback than Philip Rivers. So even when I did
maybe hit him and get us, he would throw it
for an intention of rounding like d way, you'll never
get a sack.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
He would take the penalty. So I would.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
I'm talking about pissed every single time I got back there,
no matter who, if it was Big dun Lap or
anybody else that they had in there, didn't matter.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
The last game of my career.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Not last couple almost next to the last game, we're
playing against the Chargers. Philip Rivers a quarterback, this would
be like my it, I gotta get this sack. I
end up being the quarter being the tackle. He falls
down on the ground, and the only thing you know
you need to do is just go and touch them,
(23:35):
and that's your sack, so I just went and touched him.
He said, you finally got your sack, right? Do you
know how pissed.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
I Wasn't it? How could I wanted to hit him? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (23:45):
But I said, you know what, okay, all right, but
that he talked so much trash and it's like.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
It's his.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Boom, like you score a touchdown and like like bump me.
I'm like, man, and I never got that sack to
just let just the dump like the dump on more
to say like I'm here, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
So, uh, yeah, it was Philip Rivers.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
There is a video of Philip Rivers when he like,
I think there was a D line and he helped
him over something like that and they're walking back and
he was like, yeah, you like that, don't you? And
the D line was like seriously, bro, like I just
helped you up off the floor and you gonna throw
it in my face because I just scored a touchdown
and he was like, yep, I am.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
I was. Yeah. He was like, did you ever sacked
Philip Rivers?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
I never sacked him. I don't even think I even
on him.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
No, you know, yeah, that that was a guy that
I did not, and I always wanted to, Like, I
gotta make sure I get pressured.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Into interesting picks. I wouldn't have picked it. Loved Mike Vick.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
He going against Philip Rivers, not against that. I would
have thought that around out completely. I thought, I really
thought it would have been the other way around. But
I remember remorse if I didn't ask you this, because
in two thousand and nine, the Saints were thirteen to
h to Marcus where I have no idea, breaks his
back or something on a Sunday and then comes back
(25:05):
like Lazarus on a Thursday night, without even practicing all week,
comes out there and pretty much wins the game for
them again. And so what happened tell me that week,
because all week on the injury report, you were back
out all right, comes back on a Thursday night, Yeah,
and upsets a New Orleans Saints team that was thirteen
(25:26):
to know at the time, trying to remain undefeated.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
For yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
No, I we were playing against the Chargers Philip Rivers,
all right. I come around the corner, Anthony Spencer's right there.
I try to dodge them, bam, get hitting the head.
I just remember laying there on the ground and Marcus
spears over top of me and said do you wear move?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (25:47):
And I was sitting there like this and I didn't
know what was going on. He said, bro, and he like,
brab me move and I was like, I am sitting there,
laying on the ground like, and all of a sudden,
I just saw, like you know, everybody like corral over
me and I just I was getting strapped up and
(26:10):
it's really I really didn't understand what was going on,
but I know that when when we see that stretcher,
something's really something's happening. And I saw them cut my
shoulder pads and jersey off. I'm like, what is going on?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Said God? Like, what's going on there?
Speaker 1 (26:27):
And they took my they strapped my helmet down and
took my face mask off. I wasn't moving for like
two or three minutes, and so I'm sitting there looking
at my hands and I thought they were moving, but
they weren't. And all of a sudden, I get on
the the the ambulance and I felt everything.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
They had me strapped down.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I'm like, ah, let me out, and they let me
out and make it a long story short, end up
passing all the tests that night. And I'm just sitting
in the house and I go back and watch the take.
You know you're gonna watch the take. I was sitting
there paralyzed on the field. I got a call from
Michael Irving because it happened to him. He was like, Bro,
(27:14):
you don't have to go back out there anymore. You're good,
de I don't have to go back out there. So
I'm that's in my mind as I'm going through this
whole deal.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So they said, just come by the facility. I come
by the facility now the first day, right after it,
and you see everybody in the locker room looking at
me like like a ghost, looking like what what happened?
They thought you weren't moving on the field. Bro, don't
worry about it. We got we got this week. I'm like,
all right, I go through the whole week and going
(27:45):
through I mean, I'm doing exercises, all this stuff just
to try to get some type of confidence. And I'm like,
I don't think I'm gonna play ever again. Yeah, think
about not playing this game, play ever again. And the
only stadium in the NFL. You know that you got
to walk from the end all the way across the field.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
It's the Saints.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And so as I'm walking across the field, I'm just
looking around and I'm like, I got like my my
suit on. I'm not thinking I'm going to play. And
I walked into the locker room and I saw my
jersey with my shoulder pass up in there in my locker.
I just sat down and I looked at the team.
It was Jason Whitten, you know, growing on all of them,
(28:30):
and they were like, I know we're gonna lose.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Like I know, y'all were thirty.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
There was no way, there is no way the way
that they were playing. If you don't get any pressure
in two seconds on Drew Brees, he's going to crush you.
And I went back, said Jason, Gary, let me play
on third down. He looks at me, So, are you
kidding me? You haven't practiced all week. They're just third down.
(28:58):
They'd be like six or seven plays. I said, I
just want to just be out there. May put the
shoulder pass on at night the guys and just you know,
just and it'll probably get him riled up. And he
was like, all right, I put my shoulder pass and
stuff on. I'm trembling I'm talking about like, oh, no,
d I said, you know what, Deon Anderson, No, Don Anderson,
(29:21):
the fullback we had, crazy Dion Anderson. I said, let
me just go get maybe a couple of head butts
and just say he's pitbull. I go out there and
all of a sudden, all the guys.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Are like, what he's dressed.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna, you know, play
around a little bit. And I hit Deon Anderson a
couple of times and I'm like, I don't know about that.
And so the first player I went out there was
like third and twelve. I'm like, I know they're going
to pass the football. No, they did not pass the football.
(29:54):
Block down, I see the tight end coming.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Bam. I woke up.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
That man woke up in that incredible hope that I
usually say when I was slamming that slamming the quarterbacks
in the ground. He woke up and they were like,
d war no, I'm staying I'm playing. Like seriously, he said,
I'm playing that. It was like that that somebody hit me.
(30:22):
I think I got blew up on that.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Play too, so that it was our own fault. It
was your fault.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
I think the arrogance running at me, and he ran
right at me. And from that play on, I said,
I'm gonna kill him, like I when I'm out there,
I'm baptizing people when I'm out there, like seriously, when
I was out there playing, I want to run through
your heart every single play, and I'm gonna make you
(30:49):
submit to me, like seriously, That's how I wanted that
those offensive tackles to feel. And from that point, I said,
I'm out here and I was just going off and
that was like that said, Yeah, that was like my
wake up moment.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
When I was out there, I was like, I mean,
I just wanted to know personally, so.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Out there that's what happened. It was also still want
the super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Makes for fun, but I mean it was a great
Lazarus move. Like we literally talked about that in the
locker room for like a whole because, like, dude, he
didn't even he was on, he was injured, he was out.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
I was not coming to play. He was out. I
was not coming to play aid and won the game
for so we'll be right back after a quick break.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
So I want to talk about transitioning away from the game.
How was that for you when you stepped away.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
It was probably one of the hardest things for me
because I did it on my own wheel. It wasn't
like okay, well then there was a whole bunch of injuries.
I did have a lot of injuries my last year
of my career, but I rehabilitated myself to I'm like, oh,
I know, I got two more Like I'm good. But
(32:08):
it was hard for me because I had to give
up something that I really enjoyed because I wanted to
and I needed to, not because I had to. And
during that time it was a day that I was
after I had seven surgeries and one year broke my arm,
(32:28):
two back surgeries, two neckt surgeries. It was like d like,
what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
And then I get well for the off season. I
get a deal from the Rams and then like you
can come here and play two more years. We got
a guy named Aaron Donald Whitworth is going to be
the offensive coordinator. You're going to be the defense on defense,
not coordinator but captains. And I was like, all right,
I get on the plane. I started hurting a little
(32:56):
bit and I was like, God, you're telling me some
and I'm like, nah, we officing go get this bag.
That's what I'm about to do now. He said, you're
tired of going to sleep. It's like, what are you
tired of going to sleep? Every time you go to sleep,
(33:18):
a lot of demonic things happen when you go to sleep,
Like seriously, and I'm sitting there, like, what is going
on here? He said, if you stop playing football, I'll
hear you. And this was when I couldn't like really
even walk my last season, and I had all those injuries.
And as soon as I said I'm going to retire, seriously,
all my pain went away. All my pain went away.
(33:42):
I can jump, I can run, I can do all
the I mean this stuff, just like I can go
out and I mean, it's just an amazing thing. Talking
about that transition, it was a hard transition because as
as an athlete, you think that it's going to last forever.
You go through college, you graduate or not graduate. You're
(34:03):
in business, but not knowing how to sit down at
a disk as you know, you guys are saying you're here,
we don't sit. Yeah, We're used to going and going
after it. So it takes a little time to transition
to be patient, to be quiet, to be able to
sit and muddle over your thoughts instead of using your
(34:24):
body to be an outlet. So you can't use your
body as an outlet anymore. And I was like, how
do you wake this thing up? We've done it but
in a different way, and that was a hard transition
for me of how do you wake this up even
more to now do something that you know God wants
you to do.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
Was it helpful documenting some of that in the documentary
that you were part of.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Yeah, yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Very very helpful with when you When I started writing
a lot of the things down, I can go back.
I was able to go back to see, oh, this
is where you started at. This is how you transition
through it. Because it's a cycle. You cycle and that
feeling comes back. But you're like, wait a minute, already
beat you. I already beat this feeling of anger. Already
(35:11):
beat this feeling of depression. I already beat this feeling
of you know what I need to be like till
I need to be like harp mm hmmm. He the
God didn't make any of us to be the same
like somebody else's comparison game, right, we want I want
you for you to be I want for you to
be different, but can you actually own your space where
(35:32):
you are now to go to go and do something.
And you guys have done that, which is amazing, trailblazing,
y'all have done it.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
But it was hard, right, I.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Mean, transitioning from the NFL to to now, Like, did
you guys, like have any transitional things that you you
guys went through?
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Oh? Yeah for me absolutely.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
I think for me it was difficult because I didn't
walk out or I didn't retire on my terms. As
I forget one other one of our other guests, he said, oh,
I didn't retire when football football retired me. I think
it would have been a smoother transition for easier if
I could just woke home like, you know, one, I
(36:17):
think I'm good. I don't need this anymore. I'm good,
I'm done. So yeah, yeah, for me, I kind of
had reached that point. I was able to be like,
you know, I was ready to be done after ten,
but we lost the super Bow to you guys. So
you know, the same guy that you was talking about
earlier was like, now, I think you still need to
go out there.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
So that's what happened.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
So I went back out there again for another year
because I didn't want that to be my last experience
of what this great game of given to me since
I was a little kid, you know. And so I
played again and then I was really like, I'm like,
I don't really need this, I don't really care. And
so after that, you know, I brag about it because
I took three undred and sixty five days, did absolutely
(36:59):
nothing right, really kind of decompress, see who I am
outside of a helmet. Yes, And you know, I've seen
you kind of go through that, you know. I know,
Randy's my girl, you know, and so we've known her
since college, yep, since we got out there, So seeing
how much she's helped you. I know you've been in
the fitness space. You've done a lot of different things.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
You started a gym, you like to figure out what culture, yeah, right,
like and that's hard because not only do you not
know how to start a gym, but it don't always
know how to run the gym.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
So like learning all these things on the go and
trying to acquire enough knowledge of people to be in
your corner in your space that you can trust, because
when you go into the locker room, like you naturally
just trust everybody because you're in the locker room, so
like we're all in here for the same space, for
the same reasons. But outside of that, that's not real life.
I think that's a lot of things for us too
(37:53):
that we a lot of us struggle with is that
once you leave the locker room, you don't have the security,
the safety net, and just to trust that naturally, like
everybody around you is looking out for your best interest.
That's not true outside of the locker room.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Yeah, that is thanks. What are you up to nowadays?
Speaker 3 (38:11):
I hear you're about to go into another hall of
fame with the Boys and Girls Club?
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Yeah so.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Yeah, so the club. So I was a club kid
back home. That kept me off the streets, right, and
I remember not knowing anything.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
About the sport of football.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
A guy named Bo Jackson comes into the Boys and
Girls Club and he said, if you get a college scholarship,
you can eat for free. And a lot of people
don't understand when you come from a community where you
know you're just having bread and the meals aren't always
on the table. You guys know exactly what I mean
by that. And if you can get a college scholarship,
you can eat for free. I remember sitting down at
(38:51):
a college football game aubur University and selling cokes, and
all of a sudden, the whole crowd is just ignited.
And I look up at the jumbo trun and it
was Bo Jackson walking out getting you know, it was
some type of award that he was getting. And I said, oh,
that's the guy that was at the Boys and Girls
(39:12):
Club and he said, if I get a college scholarship,
I can eat for free. So now I'm in that
same position, Hall of Famer and going back into communities,
using the Boys and Girls Club, using a lot of
resources to try to help young kids because I feel
(39:32):
like if I can tell one kid, like somebody told me,
like Bo Jackson told me, Hey, you can get out
of here if you get a college scholarship. If you
do so on and so forth, that's what it's about.
So I'm just trying to figure out just how to
serve because that's what's that's what's that's what's really getting
me going here. And I mean that's what I've been doing.
(39:53):
And like I was just saying, I just got, you know,
put into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of fame
this year to be April. Can't remember exactly when it is,
but I'm excited because now I got access.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Yeah, that's all I want.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Is access, So let me in and then you know
the impact happened from there.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
Well, I love it because you know, I learned this
is that once you're once you're affected by something, you
become an advocate. And so you being affected by just
a visit. Yeah, and you didn't even know who bo
Jackson really was, and you're like, hold on this scholarship thing,
and I be hungry. Sometimes I can give you, yes, exactly,
(40:34):
this is what I need to do.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
So you're affected by it.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
And now I appreciate you going down the road and
impacting those because you don't know who's going to be
in that room that you talked to and just show
up for and what they do for them.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
So and I think that sometime your testimony, like when
you have went through it, it's authentic, and when you
talk about it, people look at you and those kids
will look at you and say, you know what, he's
been here, He's been here in my shoes. Because a
lot of people can go to the Boys and Girls
Club with all the resources, but you look at them like, well,
you're doing this because you want just this, or here's
(41:06):
what your business wants you to do, or you're doing
this because you feel what I feel. You've went through
what I went through, and you can help me get
out by just a conversation that motivates a kid the city.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
They can do it. Mount Rushmore. You get four.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Picks of people that have had influence supporting you, loved
on you, helped you, coached you, guided, you, prayed for you,
to help you become the man you are today.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
You get four picks. Who are the four people? All right?
Speaker 1 (41:45):
One person, oh Sor Oci moved here from London, next
door neighbor in Auburn, and I remember o Se helping
me get a college scholarship Detroit University. Me and Oci
became brothers, went to high school together. To me, yeah,
so we went to high school together. Oci was like
(42:06):
two eighty soccer player. Now I said, oh Sie, you
can play football. That's what Oci goes out there on
that football field, gets a college scholarship, goes to Troy University.
It's my junior and senior year. OC is in at
Troy freshman year, so he's coming back and forth and
he's vouching for me down there at Troy, and they
(42:27):
end up coming down to my house and saying, hey,
we want to give you a college scholarship. So that's
the only college scholarship that was offered to me. Now
an Alabama state, now a Jacksonville State, not an Albani state,
Troy State as Troy University right now. OC was vouching
for me, and I remember when he said you can
(42:48):
be better than me. I said what, So come outside
and this work got me balling and really want to
say I can go and get it. I remember my
sophomore OCI came down, he said, come downstairs.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
He came.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
He had just got drafted, second round draft pick, I
think fifty six fifty fourth pick. He came in a
six hundred Mercedes V twelve black twenty sixes. He drove up,
said get in the car. I got in the car.
Said you want this, don't you? You can be better
(43:24):
than me, and if you get your together and if
you go out there and get it, and for a
guy like me, I'm looking like what So he was
like that guy that like pressed him to me. So
that's that's number one, because that's that's my dude, all right, brother, Right.
Number two, I would say Coach Subway, my high school coach.
Speaker 2 (43:49):
He was like my dad.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
I mean, I get a little teary out about it
right now because I remember sitting there eating at his house.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
I remember him taking me to the football game when
he was like, you might not get a college scholarship.
I'm there selling cokes at the pro day looking at
the kids go across not the pro day, but the
signing day for the kids go across the field, and
I'm just sitting there and I'm like, Wow, this dude's
acting like my dad, and he's not. But it's just
(44:19):
one of the people that are just every once in
a while, just a person is said, I feel like
an angel in your life and just tell you, hey,
you can keep going.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
Another person I would say is my mom. Like my mom,
I'm gonna put her number one regardless, Like my mom
was always there for me, always working two or three jobs.
I'm staying at my grandma's house. She picking me up
at two or three o'clock in the morning and working
(44:50):
in every school I went to. She also worked in
the cafeteria, so every school from elementary school all the
way through high school. She just worked at the school
for me to see her, because I never got to
see her after school. So the only time I really
got to see my mom was when she was serving
me cinnamon rows, serving me Peter Boy and jelly sandwich.
(45:14):
She says, cool, yeah, And so then after school, Mom's
at work working hard. So I would say, you know
number you know, number one is Mom.
Speaker 2 (45:25):
For sure, and.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
I would put a whole like a conglomerate of family
for me. I have a really big family back home.
I go home, it's like sixty It's like sixty of
us when I come home. Cousins, music, playing barbecue, fireworks
is every day. It's fourth that July. So if I
didn't have, like my family, all of us together coming
(45:49):
together every single day, everybody's at Grandma's house every single day,
pitching in the food stamps, saying needs to.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
Go get the groceries. That that was.
Speaker 1 (46:03):
That's like, you know, I would say my top four
influential groups or people that got me to where I
am right now.
Speaker 2 (46:11):
It's a good group, man, It's a good group. Sure list.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
I appreciate you coming on this pod Man Blessing us
with that story. Yeah, thank you, congratulations, thanks about all
your Hall of fames because it's a bunch of them.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
But the thing is, it's like one of those things. Man,
as I sit here and have an interview with you guys,
I don't when the last time we did this minute.
It's been a minute, and it feels so comfortable. Yeah,
it feels so comfortable, like I'm talking to my boys,
like I'm sitting here hanging out. We're having true conversations
about life. It's not a it's not even an interview.
(46:53):
We can do this at the house and that's what's
so amazing about it for me. And so every single
time you guys say, hey, d you want to come
on the interview, tell me what to show up because
I get fit, like I truly get fit from not
just what you guys are asking me, but just the
conversations because they're real, the real conversation that athletes need
(47:16):
to be part of instead of it. It's not about numbers,
it's about how the of them exis and olds have
come together in our lives and made us to who
we are right now. So I think y'all have me
on the show too.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
Well, good job man, because everybody always gives you so
much credit because you showed up big.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
Time in the playoffs. Always do it for my goals.
What for it worked?
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Congrats man, everything you've been able to do as a person,
as a man, as a father, as an entrepreneur, everything, man,
So appreciate it man for sure.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
And thank y'all for having me on. Yes, what is
Speaker 4 (48:01):
Up about them?
They said, well, another guy before you bore number ninety four,
Charles Haley. I said, I'm gonna make y'all forget about
number ninety four? Why did I say that? And me
just being a little arrogant, I did not know that
Charles Hayley lives like right down the street of Valley Ranch.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Did they tell him that?
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
It was on the interview. I know.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
I'm from playing at Troy. There was only one guy
named famous with the recorder. And then when you go
to Dallas there's forty cameras.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Yes, and now it's on television, damn. And so guess what.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Charles Haley comes in and you know these crazy Charles
Haley stories. I'm sitting in the locker room and I
just heard a loud voice where s d w at.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I said that Charles.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I just start to see people like scattering. He comes
in with two doverman pincers in the locker room. So
I'm sitting there just like this. This guy got dog
in the locker room, two dopement pictures. Yeah, it's five
rings on And so let me tell you some young book.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
What's up everybody on Peanuts woman? And this is the
NFL Player's Second Acts podcast and with me as always
as my trusty co host, Roman Miami Vice.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Horrible. There we go. I was wondering what I was
going to get today. Yeah, I thank you.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
I appreciate it. I actually tried, you know, so thank you.
I'm really excited for our next guest right here. Continue
to celebrate Super Bowl sixty right here in San Francisco.
And we ran into this guy at another time in
this city as well. Yeah that you're not happy about that, Okay, I.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Don't blave you.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
We we should not be happy about that. Go well,
it did not go well.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
It wasn't great for you.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
We'll talk about that, okay, all right, we'll talk about
that later. I'm looking at this resume. So he's a
super Bowl champion, four time first team All Pro, three
time second team All Pro, nine time Pro bowler, two
time NFL sack leader, he made all the two thousands
All Decade Team, two time Buckets Award winner. He's in
(02:24):
the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor. Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome to the pod. DeMarcus, what happened? Yes, that's a
long ass resume, dude, God dang.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Listen, man, I just put my head down at the
plow and said, when I wake up and see the light,
where are you. I mean, that's what my granddaddy always
told me, Like, don't worry about looking in the ribey mirror.
And he just pressed the gas and just.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Let it roll.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
And you know, the one part of the resume that
you left out is that he is one of the
state of Alabama's finest. All right, So anytime we get
an Alabama person in the.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Building, shout out to Alabama. He's born in Auburn, Alabamaama.
Went to school with my.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Brother, so I Marcus brother. Yeah, like they went to
college together. So I saw the Marcus I mean, eat
his whedies. The dude gained a lot of way universe.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, he went to Troy, so being there and saw
him grow, get older, get bigger, and man, they had
some really good players on that team too, so and
nobody knew at the time it was because it was
Troy State. Now that Troy, it's just so different. It's
just so cool because you know, I've known this young
man for a long time.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I see her here and I think about, like I'm
looking at Ronnie, uh, his brother, because I I played
college football with him, and all of a sudden, I
see Roman come up and I'm like, hold wait a minute.
And the first thing I said, why is your hair seal?
And you know, his brother always gets that's my older
(03:57):
brother or whatever. But it's just cool now to see, like,
you know, from all the way from Troy and now
doing an interview with you and then playing with you guys. Man,
how everything just goes full circle, right. So it's just
just a funny moment right now as I see him
right now, because we were almost like roommates and.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I know, right, yeah, So we're here in San Francisco.
What's it like for you being back? You posted about
it earlier this week on Instagram, sharing the stories with
your son, who's a lot bigger now.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
When I touched down in San Francisco, I mean, the
first memory that I thought about was the Super Bowl fiftyeen,
you know, all the memories that we had, you know,
just thinking about how we were the underdog. And then like,
I mean, it's been ten years ago, because it's super
Bowl fifty right, it's Super Bowl what sixty?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yes, so it's ten years ago.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So this is what the ten year anniversary and I'm like,
I'm touching down in a place where you know, you
ishton Stone something that's good, and that's when you sort
of solidify your career as a champion here. And I
felt that way when I hit the ground running.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Yeah, I kind of wish you didn't hit the ground
running when you when you got here, because I know
you got great memories of this player. So I was
going to ask you what was your favorite memory, and
I'm sure you would have said it is probably hoisting
that trophy.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Was I just I'm glad you here, but I'm not
happy to ask that question because you that was my
last year and I really wanted to go out with
a bang, and you you, you you messed up my
my exit of the NFL.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You you know what.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
And I rewind the tape and all the accolades that
were told, the one that was left off was Super
Bowl fifty, so I knew that it had a little
bit of twists in there, and I was like, I'm
not going to even say anything about that one.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3 (05:51):
What was what was your best part of Super Bowl fifty?
Like the game itself, like playwise.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Probably looking at Vaughn playing playing with a guy like
von Miller and Peyton at the same time. And we're
in the locker room and I remember when we had
a big prayer, you know, in the shower and we
you know how we used to pray, you know, in
the shower, and it was totally quiet right after the prayer.
(06:20):
I mean, everybody's bumping music, but it's totally quiet, and
I'm like, oh, wait a minute, and the only thing
we can hear is like you guys coming out. H
It's gonna it's gonna be a hard game. Yeah, And
Peyton said, Hey, I tell you what, I'm gonna manage
this whole game. I'm gonna I'm not gonna lose this game.
(06:43):
And you guys know where I am in my career.
But he looked at me and Vaughn and he said,
but the defense I'm gonna give you guys the most
rest is possible because I need for you guys to
get me close enough to score.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
In his foot game.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
And so when he said, I want for everybody to
break it in because I don't know, this might be
my last one. And as I sat there, it was
like totally quiet, just like this, and we started walking
down the tunnel and it was totally quiet.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
You can hear cleats. I'm talking about it.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Walking out. I mean, I'm getting chills right now just
thinking about it.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Man.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
He said, all you guys are ready to hoist this
trophy and me, von him put our hands together. I
looked at Vaughn and Vonne said, man, this is the
first time I feel like we're even. And I was like,
what do you mean. He said, I'm fifty eight, I'm
fifty eight and you're ninety four. Ad them both together,
(07:51):
he said with the arch angels of thirteen. He said,
let's go wake it up. And I looked at it
and I felt the Holy spirit. Yeah, when we went
out there, like, dude, I'm getting tears right now. Like
when we went out there, every single time I looked
at Vaughan like it's middle of time. Every single time
(08:12):
he looked at me, said d ware finighad didn't kill
I'm talking about. It was that type of mentality, and
like that was the biggest out of body experience I
ever felt. When you knew that you had your boy
playing right there beside you and you could not be stopped.
(08:34):
Like every play, I was like, what is going on.
So I mean just to that point that that was
my memory of the first time I felt like when
you put God in it, like when you really put
God in what he can do and not.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
In a person.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I mean, I feel like I really put God in
it too, and I was I felt like I put
God in it too. He didn't pick, he didn't answer
my call you. He was just listening to you the
whole time. I think we all prayed. Yeah, for sure,
I'm like bro like man, but I'm not.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
It's a great score.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
But you know, I love the story, I love the passion,
and you talked about it being God and being all
the presence of something bigger than yourselves. For me, I'm
just like, well, what was the game plan? Because you
guys had a specific game plan. You attacked our offense
in certain ways, the one on creating the one on
one matchups up front for you and Vaughn, and it worked.
(09:30):
I mean, you guys scored twenty some points and seven
of them were off the offense, and then you set
them up for another touchdown as well.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
So like, what was that game plan?
Speaker 1 (09:39):
The game plan going out? I think that the citate
when we played like Aaron Rodgers. When we played a
lot of running quarterbacks during the season.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
What we would do.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We would it'll look like three four, but it really
was like a four man rush. I was the spy.
I was the one that just fielled whatever gap. So
we practiced this the whole time. So we would let
the four guys just blast off the ball. I would
end up in the opposite sea gap. I would end
up in the opposite a gap. I would end up
(10:08):
on my side. Like people were like, who was a decordinator? Kubiak, Yeah, Kubiak,
and and so we were. I mean you could see
the guys rushing and you probably notice, like, how did
the Marcus get all the way to this opposite a gap?
What is he doing? And it'll be wide open because
we knew that like Kim was going to run, but
he didn't run as much in the game. So it
(10:31):
gave me an opportunity to where like I would do.
I mean, we would do a long stunt where Vaughn,
uh Malik and Wolf will come all the way to
the my side on the right side, and I will
actually loop all the way around to the front side
b gap. I was tired, but I was trying to
get it, and I'll be wide open right there, just
(10:51):
to create pressure because he couldn't run. So that was
like our whole scheme, and we play man Man. We played,
We played man Man. That was it looks like we
were blitzing. We weren't listening at all. I was a
spy guy and just whatever gap was open, I just
feeled it and just let the guys go.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
It worked, you know. That makes me feel a little
bit better, like you just wasn't whooping guys one on
one of the whole time.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
She had no acci.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Y'all hadf It just kind of worked out that way
because Cam.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
But you're right though, Cam was not.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
He's a scrambler, but like he didn't he didn't scramble
like that though he would run it. Yeah, but he
as far as just like he was going to be
in the pocket, right and he was so comfortable that
you're throwing the football in the pocket, that's where he's going.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
To be up.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Quick question for you two for y'all Super Bowl wins.
What did you grade out? Did y'all even get grants grades?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Yeah? Yeah, dude, nobody, Well when you win it, nobody
watched and nobody watched it. Yeah, like nobody there's no grades. Yeah, yeah, no,
that's a good that. It is a good question. There
aren't there was.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
I got, I got one in forty one. Whatever we
still got.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
We got great, y'all. I think I got grated. Yeah, dude,
I got. I'm curious.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
I never got a trophy.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Wasn't great?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah yeah yeah, just something to think about, all right. So,
amazing career, Hall of Fame, sack sack leader, all pro.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Out of all that, what was your welcome to the
NFL moment? Oh?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Actually it was two maybe y'all let me get you too,
all right. So the very first one was when I
first came in as a rookie first round draft pick.
You know, I'm like, I'm good. You you practice against
all the rookies that are coming in. I like crushed
all them.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They were like, listen, people don't know those are like
like a walk on, like they're just kind of building
out a roster practice rookie rookie weekend.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
I didn't know that either. I'm good.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
They said, no, Larry Allen, he's going to come in
blose l Adams, and so they had we called them
the mom Stars. So when I when they came in.
I'm sitting there. We worked because the rookies worked out
early and the events come in like an hour late,
and I'm looking at him.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
He comes in. Is that a human? Like seriously?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Like I saw like my rookie guys they were big.
But when I saw like three fifty six six, I
mean they came in and they were like like limp,
you know, like, oh I can get them. Hey, Rooke,
come in here with me to the workout, to the
weight room. Okay, he said, I'll tell you what. And
(13:32):
this is not even warming up, no bands, no nothing,
dipping them out. Larry Allen, Yeah, put five plates on that.
This is incline.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
It's okay.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I play four two two. I can split. He said, no, no, no,
five on one side, five on the other side. And
I want you to put the chains on me so
them changing are about twenty five pounds, right, thirty five
pounds and you know when you when you.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
As soon as you are rack sha. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Literally I got behind him. I was about to like
take it off the rack for a spot. He said, no, no, no,
I got it. What He unracks it and lays it
on his chest and presses it he did it ten times.
He said, hey, real and these are the exact words.
You better get your mind right. He's pump po and
(14:24):
I'm talking about like it. I'm like, it took my
heart out. That was my first time that I knew
I had to get into the weight room. Number two,
Greg Gillis, he said, keep your head on the swoove
with dewear. Now, these boys around here they can crack back.
But all right, Donovan McNabb. He boots out to the
(14:45):
left and I usually don't play on the left hand side.
I think it was Silick, the tight end that you know,
did some type of little you know, out route, and
all of a sudden I see McNabb and he was pointing.
I'm like, oh no, you're not gonna trick me and
then do some type of you know, juke move on
me and then run like you do all these other guys.
So I just started running down the sideline. I'm gonna
(15:06):
cut him off as he was booting out, and all
of a sudden, I saw a flash from this way.
It was green, and when I got hit. The only
thing I remember is waking up at halftime and saying,
where's my helmet? I said, d way, you've been out
(15:27):
the whole time, bro, I said, what, Oh you just
came back to it. Oh what like I was there,
but I was not there. That was my first concussion.
It was very out about the experience and that that
wasn't my time to where like after that, anytime I'm
running pursuing to the football, take a take a peek,
I'm looking. So yeah, that was my welcome to the
(15:50):
NFL moment. It never happened again, never.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
What about you guys, was that your first time ever
getting cracked back like that? Because you always play D line,
D line.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
We don't.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
You never really see a wide receiver come down there.
But I was then from D line to linebacker, so
I had to go play in some space every once
in a while. And man, when I when I got hit,
like seriously, I feel like I swallowed my mouthpiece. And
when I woke up, like I knew that was my
welcome to the moment of the NFL that I got it.
(16:21):
I just I got to strap up.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So that's why you get the boiling bike. You can't
swallow the mouthpiece. Wrong, that's why you get boiling bikes. Now,
just I'm just saying I didn't wear a mouthpiece. I
wasn't a mouthpiece.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Got and we'll be right back. Why did you wear
number ninety four?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Number ninety four? I wore number ninety four. I was
actually number eight in high school. I was a wide receiver,
all right. And I remember when I got to Troy,
they said, well, you're gonna wear number ninety four, so
I'm gonna do what. Number ninety four is a defensive
line number. They said, yeah, you're gonna play defensive end.
(16:59):
I don't play defensive end. I'm one ninety five six three,
soaking wet, and you're gonna put me down down there
with them big guys like yeah, and I'm talking about
the jersey was probably about four times too big, so
you know me, I twisted up underneath the arms with
the tape folded it y'all.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Did y'all do that? You're right?
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Folded the back twisted, the back up, folded up underneath,
so I made it tight as possible. The nine and
four might have been twisted like this, but that's okay, right,
But I told myself, I said, okay, if I'm gonna
wear ninety four, I'm gonna make y'all remember this ninety four.
When I leave Troy, I was like, okay, So first,
that's why I got the number ninety four. It was
given to me because I was reminded by a guy
(17:41):
named Tim Bets and lo and behold, you know, ninety
four was ended up being my number. I ended up
owning it. And then the same thing with Dallas. They said, well,
another guy before you bore number ninety four, Charles Haley.
And I'm like, and I'm not a football guy, computer
(18:02):
science guy. I'm all on the other side of it.
I said, I'm gonna make y'all forget about number ninety four.
Why did I say that? And me just being a
little arrogant, I did not know that Charles Haley lives
like right down the street of Valley Ranch.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Did they tell him that? Oh? It was on the interview.
I know.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I'm from playing at Troy. There was only one guy
named famous with the recorder. Then when you go to
Dallas there's forty cameras and now it's on television, damn.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
And so guess what.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Charles Haley comes in and you know these crazy Charles
Haley stories. I'm sitting in the locker room and I
just heard a loud voice, where s g w atid that?
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Charles?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
I just start to see people like scattering. He comes
in with two doverman pincers in the locker room. So
I'm sitting there just like this. This guy got dogs
in the locker room, two Doberment pictures. He had his
five rings on. He said, let me tell you some
young book. Why did I choose this? And he said, hey,
(19:19):
I heard on the interview that you're gonna make them
forget about number ninety four. You got some big shoes
to feel. So you see this, and I'm looking like,
those are a lot of rings. So I went back
after that, because you know they recording every single thing.
I went back and looked at it. I'm like, oh
my god. He made me eat my words. And every
(19:42):
single day he came in. But one thing that he
taught me humility, a little bit of humility and what
to say in the media. He said, I always watch
what you say because it's they can get the bites.
He said, I'm a teacher. I'll teach you how to
be great. He came in every single day showing me
all the moves like everything. Man, he said, you'll make
(20:03):
ninety four great. So that was so he was a
real o g that kind of Yeah, yeah he did.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
He did.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
But when he came in, bro imagine somebody coming in
with Dobleman pintures.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
They were I don't even know how you get dogs
in the locker, Charles, I've never seen a dog in
the locker.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
He could two of them. Well nobody, Charles, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
they believe them. Yeah all right, all right.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
So being in Chicago, NFC NFC North, I got it
super excited going against uh Aaron Rodgers agreement packers love
that robbery, right, who was your favorite quarterback to go against?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Favorite quarterback to book against.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
He was just like, oh, yeah, we finna eat today,
and we're finna get the sacks.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
Michael Vick. Really you know that. That is the craziest
thing to say. It was Michael Vick. The first time
I played Michael Vick, it was in Atlanta, and that's
when he had like.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
The roller coaster, the shoes. It was all that. Michael
was the experience.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
So the first time I came around the corner, I
have never He's left handed, So that was my first
time going against the left handed quarterback.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
And he saw me.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
And he was so quick that it was like two
steps and he like ran for sixty yards and I
was like, wow, like it's almost like that. That's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
And then one time Chris Canty came up and like
batted the ball and there was I mean, the ball
was in the air. He batted it from interception and
I'm We're on an hour like thirty yard line and
I'm like, hold on, I'm trying to run this back.
So I got an interception, man, I said, just stick
you on my d literally, So this was like my
Michael Vig moment. I stuck my hand out. I closed
(21:56):
my eyes seriously. And then every time after that, for
someon reason, I always got like two sacks, three sacks,
four sacks on Michael Vick because he ran. I used
to love running quarterbacks. I will run up the field
knowing that I'm gonna give you exactly what you want.
I'm gonna set you up and then like kay, I'm Newton,
not just you know, name a guy, but and I
(22:17):
would just use it against him. Instead of doing a
regular rush, I would say, hey, you three, just push
the pocket and then I'll be the spy guy rushed
up the field and then't gonna make the play or
he gonna come straight to y'all. I'm gonna flush him
to y'all.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
True team defense. Was there a quarterback that you hated
to play against? Oh, Philip Rivers? Why it took me
twelve years to get a sack? On twelve years?
Speaker 1 (22:42):
He knew exactly because I said it in the interview
one time that man I have I haven't sacked any
other quarterback than Philip Rivers. So even when I did
maybe hit him and get us, he would throw it
for an intention of rounding like d way, you'll never
get a sack.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
He would take the penalty. So I would.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
I'm talking about pissed every single time I got back there,
no matter who, if it was Big dun Lap or
anybody else that they had in there, didn't matter.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
The last game of my career.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Not last couple almost next to the last game, we're
playing against the Chargers. Philip Rivers a quarterback, this would
be like my it, I gotta get this sack. I
end up being the quarter being the tackle. He falls
down on the ground, and the only thing you know
you need to do is just go and touch them,
(23:35):
and that's your sack, so I just went and touched him.
He said, you finally got your sack, right? Do you
know how pissed.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
I Wasn't it? How could I wanted to hit him? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (23:45):
But I said, you know what, okay, all right, but
that he talked so much trash and it's like.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
It's his.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Boom, like you score a touchdown and like like bump me.
I'm like, man, and I never got that sack to
just let just the dump like the dump on more
to say like I'm here, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
So, uh, yeah, it was Philip Rivers.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
There is a video of Philip Rivers when he like,
I think there was a D line and he helped
him over something like that and they're walking back and
he was like, yeah, you like that, don't you? And
the D line was like seriously, bro, like I just
helped you up off the floor and you gonna throw
it in my face because I just scored a touchdown
and he was like, yep, I am.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
I was. Yeah. He was like, did you ever sacked
Philip Rivers?
Speaker 3 (24:28):
I never sacked him. I don't even think I even
on him.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
No, you know, yeah, that that was a guy that
I did not, and I always wanted to, Like, I
gotta make sure I get pressured.
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Into interesting picks. I wouldn't have picked it. Loved Mike Vick.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
He going against Philip Rivers, not against that. I would
have thought that around out completely. I thought, I really
thought it would have been the other way around. But
I remember remorse if I didn't ask you this, because
in two thousand and nine, the Saints were thirteen to
h to Marcus where I have no idea, breaks his
back or something on a Sunday and then comes back
(25:05):
like Lazarus on a Thursday night, without even practicing all week,
comes out there and pretty much wins the game for
them again. And so what happened tell me that week,
because all week on the injury report, you were back
out all right, comes back on a Thursday night, Yeah,
and upsets a New Orleans Saints team that was thirteen
(25:26):
to know at the time, trying to remain undefeated.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
For yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
No, I we were playing against the Chargers Philip Rivers,
all right. I come around the corner, Anthony Spencer's right there.
I try to dodge them, bam, get hitting the head.
I just remember laying there on the ground and Marcus
spears over top of me and said do you wear move?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (25:47):
And I was sitting there like this and I didn't
know what was going on. He said, bro, and he like,
brab me move and I was like, I am sitting there,
laying on the ground like, and all of a sudden,
I just saw, like you know, everybody like corral over
me and I just I was getting strapped up and
(26:10):
it's really I really didn't understand what was going on,
but I know that when when we see that stretcher,
something's really something's happening. And I saw them cut my
shoulder pads and jersey off. I'm like, what is going on?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Said God? Like, what's going on there?
Speaker 1 (26:27):
And they took my they strapped my helmet down and
took my face mask off. I wasn't moving for like
two or three minutes, and so I'm sitting there looking
at my hands and I thought they were moving, but
they weren't. And all of a sudden, I get on
the the the ambulance and I felt everything.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
They had me strapped down.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
I'm like, ah, let me out, and they let me
out and make it a long story short, end up
passing all the tests that night. And I'm just sitting
in the house and I go back and watch the take.
You know you're gonna watch the take. I was sitting
there paralyzed on the field. I got a call from
Michael Irving because it happened to him. He was like, Bro,
(27:14):
you don't have to go back out there anymore. You're good,
de I don't have to go back out there. So
I'm that's in my mind as I'm going through this
whole deal.
Speaker 2 (27:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So they said, just come by the facility. I come
by the facility now the first day, right after it,
and you see everybody in the locker room looking at
me like like a ghost, looking like what what happened?
They thought you weren't moving on the field. Bro, don't
worry about it. We got we got this week. I'm like,
all right, I go through the whole week and going
(27:45):
through I mean, I'm doing exercises, all this stuff just
to try to get some type of confidence. And I'm like,
I don't think I'm gonna play ever again. Yeah, think
about not playing this game, play ever again. And the
only stadium in the NFL. You know that you got
to walk from the end all the way across the field.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
It's the Saints.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And so as I'm walking across the field, I'm just
looking around and I'm like, I got like my my
suit on. I'm not thinking I'm going to play. And
I walked into the locker room and I saw my
jersey with my shoulder pass up in there in my locker.
I just sat down and I looked at the team.
It was Jason Whitten, you know, growing on all of them,
(28:30):
and they were like, I know we're gonna lose.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Like I know, y'all were thirty.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
There was no way, there is no way the way
that they were playing. If you don't get any pressure
in two seconds on Drew Brees, he's going to crush you.
And I went back, said Jason, Gary, let me play
on third down. He looks at me, So, are you
kidding me? You haven't practiced all week. They're just third down.
(28:58):
They'd be like six or seven plays. I said, I
just want to just be out there. May put the
shoulder pass on at night the guys and just you know,
just and it'll probably get him riled up. And he
was like, all right, I put my shoulder pass and
stuff on. I'm trembling I'm talking about like, oh, no,
d I said, you know what, Deon Anderson, No, Don Anderson,
(29:21):
the fullback we had, crazy Dion Anderson. I said, let
me just go get maybe a couple of head butts
and just say he's pitbull. I go out there and
all of a sudden, all the guys.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Are like, what he's dressed.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna, you know, play
around a little bit. And I hit Deon Anderson a
couple of times and I'm like, I don't know about that.
And so the first player I went out there was
like third and twelve. I'm like, I know they're going
to pass the football. No, they did not pass the football.
(29:54):
Block down, I see the tight end coming.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Bam. I woke up.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
That man woke up in that incredible hope that I
usually say when I was slamming that slamming the quarterbacks
in the ground. He woke up and they were like,
d war no, I'm staying I'm playing. Like seriously, he said,
I'm playing that. It was like that that somebody hit me.
(30:22):
I think I got blew up on that.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Play too, so that it was our own fault. It
was your fault.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
I think the arrogance running at me, and he ran
right at me. And from that play on, I said,
I'm gonna kill him, like I when I'm out there,
I'm baptizing people when I'm out there, like seriously, when
I was out there playing, I want to run through
your heart every single play, and I'm gonna make you
(30:49):
submit to me, like seriously, That's how I wanted that
those offensive tackles to feel. And from that point, I said,
I'm out here and I was just going off and
that was like that said, Yeah, that was like my
wake up moment.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
When I was out there, I was like, I mean,
I just wanted to know personally, so.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
Out there that's what happened. It was also still want
the super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Makes for fun, but I mean it was a great
Lazarus move. Like we literally talked about that in the
locker room for like a whole because, like, dude, he
didn't even he was on, he was injured, he was out.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
I was not coming to play. He was out. I
was not coming to play aid and won the game
for so we'll be right back after a quick break.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
So I want to talk about transitioning away from the game.
How was that for you when you stepped away.
Speaker 1 (31:47):
It was probably one of the hardest things for me
because I did it on my own wheel. It wasn't
like okay, well then there was a whole bunch of injuries.
I did have a lot of injuries my last year
of my career, but I rehabilitated myself to I'm like, oh,
I know, I got two more Like I'm good. But
(32:08):
it was hard for me because I had to give
up something that I really enjoyed because I wanted to
and I needed to, not because I had to. And
during that time it was a day that I was
after I had seven surgeries and one year broke my arm,
(32:28):
two back surgeries, two neckt surgeries. It was like d like,
what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Bro?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
And then I get well for the off season. I
get a deal from the Rams and then like you
can come here and play two more years. We got
a guy named Aaron Donald Whitworth is going to be
the offensive coordinator. You're going to be the defense on defense,
not coordinator but captains. And I was like, all right,
I get on the plane. I started hurting a little
(32:56):
bit and I was like, God, you're telling me some
and I'm like, nah, we officing go get this bag.
That's what I'm about to do now. He said, you're
tired of going to sleep. It's like, what are you
tired of going to sleep? Every time you go to sleep,
(33:18):
a lot of demonic things happen when you go to sleep,
Like seriously, and I'm sitting there, like, what is going
on here? He said, if you stop playing football, I'll
hear you. And this was when I couldn't like really
even walk my last season, and I had all those injuries.
And as soon as I said I'm going to retire, seriously,
all my pain went away. All my pain went away.
(33:42):
I can jump, I can run, I can do all
the I mean this stuff, just like I can go
out and I mean, it's just an amazing thing. Talking
about that transition, it was a hard transition because as
as an athlete, you think that it's going to last forever.
You go through college, you graduate or not graduate. You're
(34:03):
in business, but not knowing how to sit down at
a disk as you know, you guys are saying you're here,
we don't sit. Yeah, We're used to going and going
after it. So it takes a little time to transition
to be patient, to be quiet, to be able to
sit and muddle over your thoughts instead of using your
(34:24):
body to be an outlet. So you can't use your
body as an outlet anymore. And I was like, how
do you wake this thing up? We've done it but
in a different way, and that was a hard transition
for me of how do you wake this up even
more to now do something that you know God wants
you to do.
Speaker 3 (34:41):
Was it helpful documenting some of that in the documentary
that you were part of.
Speaker 2 (34:45):
Yeah, yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Very very helpful with when you When I started writing
a lot of the things down, I can go back.
I was able to go back to see, oh, this
is where you started at. This is how you transition
through it. Because it's a cycle. You cycle and that
feeling comes back. But you're like, wait a minute, already
beat you. I already beat this feeling of anger. Already
(35:11):
beat this feeling of depression. I already beat this feeling
of you know what I need to be like till
I need to be like harp mm hmmm. He the
God didn't make any of us to be the same
like somebody else's comparison game, right, we want I want
you for you to be I want for you to
be different, but can you actually own your space where
(35:32):
you are now to go to go and do something.
And you guys have done that, which is amazing, trailblazing,
y'all have done it.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
But it was hard, right, I.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Mean, transitioning from the NFL to to now, Like, did
you guys, like have any transitional things that you you
guys went through?
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Oh? Yeah for me absolutely.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
I think for me it was difficult because I didn't
walk out or I didn't retire on my terms. As
I forget one other one of our other guests, he said, oh,
I didn't retire when football football retired me. I think
it would have been a smoother transition for easier if
I could just woke home like, you know, one, I
(36:17):
think I'm good. I don't need this anymore. I'm good,
I'm done. So yeah, yeah, for me, I kind of
had reached that point. I was able to be like,
you know, I was ready to be done after ten,
but we lost the super Bow to you guys. So
you know, the same guy that you was talking about
earlier was like, now, I think you still need to
go out there.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
So that's what happened.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
So I went back out there again for another year
because I didn't want that to be my last experience
of what this great game of given to me since
I was a little kid, you know. And so I
played again and then I was really like, I'm like,
I don't really need this, I don't really care. And
so after that, you know, I brag about it because
I took three undred and sixty five days, did absolutely
(36:59):
nothing right, really kind of decompress, see who I am
outside of a helmet. Yes, And you know, I've seen
you kind of go through that, you know. I know,
Randy's my girl, you know, and so we've known her
since college, yep, since we got out there, So seeing
how much she's helped you. I know you've been in
the fitness space. You've done a lot of different things.
Speaker 4 (37:20):
You started a gym, you like to figure out what culture, yeah, right,
like and that's hard because not only do you not
know how to start a gym, but it don't always
know how to run the gym.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
So like learning all these things on the go and
trying to acquire enough knowledge of people to be in
your corner in your space that you can trust, because
when you go into the locker room, like you naturally
just trust everybody because you're in the locker room, so
like we're all in here for the same space, for
the same reasons. But outside of that, that's not real life.
I think that's a lot of things for us too
(37:53):
that we a lot of us struggle with is that
once you leave the locker room, you don't have the security,
the safety net, and just to trust that naturally, like
everybody around you is looking out for your best interest.
That's not true outside of the locker room.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Yeah, that is thanks. What are you up to nowadays?
Speaker 3 (38:11):
I hear you're about to go into another hall of
fame with the Boys and Girls Club?
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Yeah so.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
Yeah, so the club. So I was a club kid
back home. That kept me off the streets, right, and
I remember not knowing anything.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
About the sport of football.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
A guy named Bo Jackson comes into the Boys and
Girls Club and he said, if you get a college scholarship,
you can eat for free. And a lot of people
don't understand when you come from a community where you
know you're just having bread and the meals aren't always
on the table. You guys know exactly what I mean
by that. And if you can get a college scholarship,
you can eat for free. I remember sitting down at
(38:51):
a college football game aubur University and selling cokes, and
all of a sudden, the whole crowd is just ignited.
And I look up at the jumbo trun and it
was Bo Jackson walking out getting you know, it was
some type of award that he was getting. And I said, oh,
that's the guy that was at the Boys and Girls
(39:12):
Club and he said, if I get a college scholarship,
I can eat for free. So now I'm in that
same position, Hall of Famer and going back into communities,
using the Boys and Girls Club, using a lot of
resources to try to help young kids because I feel
(39:32):
like if I can tell one kid, like somebody told me,
like Bo Jackson told me, Hey, you can get out
of here if you get a college scholarship. If you
do so on and so forth, that's what it's about.
So I'm just trying to figure out just how to
serve because that's what's that's what's that's what's really getting
me going here. And I mean that's what I've been doing.
(39:53):
And like I was just saying, I just got, you know,
put into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of fame
this year to be April. Can't remember exactly when it is,
but I'm excited because now I got access.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
Yeah, that's all I want.
Speaker 1 (40:07):
Is access, So let me in and then you know
the impact happened from there.
Speaker 3 (40:12):
Well, I love it because you know, I learned this
is that once you're once you're affected by something, you
become an advocate. And so you being affected by just
a visit. Yeah, and you didn't even know who bo
Jackson really was, and you're like, hold on this scholarship thing,
and I be hungry. Sometimes I can give you, yes, exactly,
(40:34):
this is what I need to do.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
So you're affected by it.
Speaker 3 (40:37):
And now I appreciate you going down the road and
impacting those because you don't know who's going to be
in that room that you talked to and just show
up for and what they do for them.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
So and I think that sometime your testimony, like when
you have went through it, it's authentic, and when you
talk about it, people look at you and those kids
will look at you and say, you know what, he's
been here, He's been here in my shoes. Because a
lot of people can go to the Boys and Girls
Club with all the resources, but you look at them like, well,
you're doing this because you want just this, or here's
(41:06):
what your business wants you to do, or you're doing
this because you feel what I feel. You've went through
what I went through, and you can help me get
out by just a conversation that motivates a kid the city.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
They can do it. Mount Rushmore. You get four.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Picks of people that have had influence supporting you, loved
on you, helped you, coached you, guided, you, prayed for you,
to help you become the man you are today.
Speaker 2 (41:39):
You get four picks. Who are the four people? All right?
Speaker 1 (41:45):
One person, oh Sor Oci moved here from London, next
door neighbor in Auburn, and I remember o Se helping
me get a college scholarship Detroit University. Me and Oci
became brothers, went to high school together. To me, yeah,
so we went to high school together. Oci was like
(42:06):
two eighty soccer player. Now I said, oh Sie, you
can play football. That's what Oci goes out there on
that football field, gets a college scholarship, goes to Troy University.
It's my junior and senior year. OC is in at
Troy freshman year, so he's coming back and forth and
he's vouching for me down there at Troy, and they
(42:27):
end up coming down to my house and saying, hey,
we want to give you a college scholarship. So that's
the only college scholarship that was offered to me. Now
an Alabama state, now a Jacksonville State, not an Albani state,
Troy State as Troy University right now. OC was vouching
for me, and I remember when he said you can
(42:48):
be better than me. I said what, So come outside
and this work got me balling and really want to
say I can go and get it. I remember my
sophomore OCI came down, he said, come downstairs.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
He came.
Speaker 1 (43:03):
He had just got drafted, second round draft pick, I
think fifty six fifty fourth pick. He came in a
six hundred Mercedes V twelve black twenty sixes. He drove up,
said get in the car. I got in the car.
Said you want this, don't you? You can be better
(43:24):
than me, and if you get your together and if
you go out there and get it, and for a
guy like me, I'm looking like what So he was
like that guy that like pressed him to me. So
that's that's number one, because that's that's my dude, all right, brother, Right.
Number two, I would say Coach Subway, my high school coach.
Speaker 2 (43:49):
He was like my dad.
Speaker 1 (43:51):
I mean, I get a little teary out about it
right now because I remember sitting there eating at his house.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
I remember him taking me to the football game when
he was like, you might not get a college scholarship.
I'm there selling cokes at the pro day looking at
the kids go across not the pro day, but the
signing day for the kids go across the field, and
I'm just sitting there and I'm like, Wow, this dude's
acting like my dad, and he's not. But it's just
(44:19):
one of the people that are just every once in
a while, just a person is said, I feel like
an angel in your life and just tell you, hey,
you can keep going.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
Another person I would say is my mom. Like my mom,
I'm gonna put her number one regardless, Like my mom
was always there for me, always working two or three jobs.
I'm staying at my grandma's house. She picking me up
at two or three o'clock in the morning and working
(44:50):
in every school I went to. She also worked in
the cafeteria, so every school from elementary school all the
way through high school. She just worked at the school
for me to see her, because I never got to
see her after school. So the only time I really
got to see my mom was when she was serving
me cinnamon rows, serving me Peter Boy and jelly sandwich.
(45:14):
She says, cool, yeah, And so then after school, Mom's
at work working hard. So I would say, you know
number you know, number one is Mom.
Speaker 2 (45:25):
For sure, and.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
I would put a whole like a conglomerate of family
for me. I have a really big family back home.
I go home, it's like sixty It's like sixty of
us when I come home. Cousins, music, playing barbecue, fireworks
is every day. It's fourth that July. So if I
didn't have, like my family, all of us together coming
(45:49):
together every single day, everybody's at Grandma's house every single day,
pitching in the food stamps, saying needs to.
Speaker 2 (46:00):
Go get the groceries. That that was.
Speaker 1 (46:03):
That's like, you know, I would say my top four
influential groups or people that got me to where I
am right now.
Speaker 2 (46:11):
It's a good group, man, It's a good group. Sure list.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (46:17):
I appreciate you coming on this pod Man Blessing us
with that story. Yeah, thank you, congratulations, thanks about all
your Hall of fames because it's a bunch of them.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
But the thing is, it's like one of those things. Man,
as I sit here and have an interview with you guys,
I don't when the last time we did this minute.
It's been a minute, and it feels so comfortable. Yeah,
it feels so comfortable, like I'm talking to my boys,
like I'm sitting here hanging out. We're having true conversations
about life. It's not a it's not even an interview.
(46:53):
We can do this at the house and that's what's
so amazing about it for me. And so every single
time you guys say, hey, d you want to come
on the interview, tell me what to show up because
I get fit, like I truly get fit from not
just what you guys are asking me, but just the
conversations because they're real, the real conversation that athletes need
(47:16):
to be part of instead of it. It's not about numbers,
it's about how the of them exis and olds have
come together in our lives and made us to who
we are right now. So I think y'all have me
on the show too.
Speaker 3 (47:29):
Well, good job man, because everybody always gives you so
much credit because you showed up big.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
Time in the playoffs. Always do it for my goals.
What for it worked?
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Congrats man, everything you've been able to do as a person,
as a man, as a father, as an entrepreneur, everything, man,
So appreciate it man for sure.
Speaker 2 (47:46):
And thank y'all for having me on. Yes, what is
Speaker 4 (48:01):
Up about them?
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