In this episode of the NFL Players: Second Acts podcast, former Pro Bowl QB Robert Griffin III - a.k.a. “RG3” - joins Peanut Tillman and Roman Harper. Robert explains how he got his nickname, what it was like setting records his rookie year, and how he fits into the era of Black quarterbacks who continued to evolve the position in the NFL. RG3 also talks about why he decided to retire in 2020, but how he’s stayed in playing shape in case he gets a Philip Rivers-type call from a team. We hear Robert’s “welcome to the media moment,” his seamless transition from football to broadcasting, and what he’s learned about managing media controversies.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Indian Appolis Colts called Philip Rivers toward the end
of the season. Yes, sir, Philip ain't played in would
have laughed, Philip, Philip, Okay, it's been a minute. If
the well, first off, let me ask you. Were you
offended that you didn't get the call?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I was not offended because I understood the relationship. Now
did I go outside and you know, throw football.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Around a little bit? Wait? Justggested case, Yes, sir, I did. Now,
if they really would have called you, yes, hey, you're ready,
we need you to come play week sixteen, do you
think you could have been ready to go.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
One hundred percent? You know, I'm thirty five, so I'm
not as old as as Philip is. He's what forty four?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, so it gives me hope. I'm not gonna lie
to you. When I saw him, I'm like, man, I
might have to just like lately.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Changed, bro.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
He came in overweight, Like, let's just call it what
it was. Yeah, yeah, man, and my man.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Was big big, he's a well I'm not. I'm not
what I did when I left. Clearly it gave me hope.
I got it, man, I got a good eight more years.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
They might call me up. What's up, everybody, I'm Peanut
too mean and this is the NFL Players Second Acts
Podcast and with me, as always, my trusty co host,
Roman Harpa. I'm just glad been wearing blue together today.
This is the first time I think we've ever matched.
(01:33):
And uh, there's no better time to do it than
who our next guest is, because I think he's got
a little blue on to today, little blue, little Bluck's.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I'm just glad I'm not seeing you guys on the
football field anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
This next guest, we go way back from the same hometown,
copperce Cove, Texas. I didn't know that. Yeah, that's the
whole world cos Cove, Texas on the map. Bulldogs. Uh,
he's a he's a Heisman Trophy winner out of Baylor. Uh.
Second overall pick in the tooth igh I was in
twelve draft. He's a Pro bowler, offensive Rookie of the Year.
(02:04):
He's a podcaster. He's a broadcaster. Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome to the pod. Robert Grivin the Third, better known
as RG three, better known as RG three like first
of all, all right, the nickname was that self given
like literally kind of evolved because.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
The first time I heard of you, this is all
I've heard of you and known you as. Now just
a great story because you know Peanut here. You know,
it was a legend in our town. Still is a
legend in our town. I like to say, I'm from
the same town as Charles Tillman.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Is Okay, Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
So when he came to eighth grade, I was in
eighth grade. He came to play basketball with us. All right,
our seventh grade team was undefeated in basketball, so we
thought we were you know, we had it popping. He
came to play basketball with us, and that moment changed
my life forever because when I made it, I said,
when I make it, I'm gonna make sure I do
exactly what Peanut did by coming back and showing the
kids that you can make it out of a small town. Yeah,
(03:02):
being a military kid and all that. So when he
came to see us, I wasn't RG three.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I was Robbie.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
I was Roberto.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
You know, some people call me R.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
LG three because my middle name is Lee. But when
I got to college, uh the announcer, when I first
went on the field, I was I was a backup
for two quarters my freshman year, I had a step
back on the sideline alla Reggie Bush on one of
the runs and he said.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Oh, RG three on the sideline, and it took off.
After that, it took off.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I was RG three from that moment on, and I'm
not mad about it because it's my initials.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, it sticks. That's cool though, you know, I didn't
know that.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Man.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Look at you going back giving back to the kids. Yeah,
shut out to coach gets Store there you go. Get
Store was my He's a my college roommate. He's the
godfather to my kids. So nice. Yeah, and you just look.
I always tell people, you know, when you go back
and speak to kids or talk to people, like everybody thinks,
it's not about trying to affect the thousand kids or
(04:03):
the eight hundred, five hundred, two hundred kids you're talking to.
It's really about affecting that what you never know, who's
gonna be never know. And there's no way you would
have known that you had Robert or r LG or
Roberto or whatever you Robbie in that pe class when
you actually went out there and played. So that's a
cool story. So I appreciate you sharing that.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
No.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
The even funnier part about that was I didn't know
Peanut was from Coppers Cove. I was a transplant. I'd
only been in Code for a few years. So I
used to play Madden. I used to look at guys
with dreads because I wanted long hair. My parents wouldn't
let me have long hair. So I used to put
Peanut on every team that I played on in Madden
because he had dreads. So then when he showed up
(04:47):
that day to play basketball with us, like wall you
from here, it just seemed like God had a weird
way of connecting us over all these years. And He's
shown me a lot about how you get back the
right way, so I want to I always show you
that love on it.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I see you appreciate it. I mean this comes from
the heart. Awesome, dude. Okay, so goals. Let's talk about
some is announcing a super Bowl a goal of yours?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes one, n I believe this is what Guy's called
me to do. When I was out of the league
in twenty seventeen, I worked out. I did everything I
was supposed to and you know, my wife, I'm on
the track running foreign a hurdle build ups you know,
you run one, come back, run two all the way
through ten. I'm laid out after the workout. She said
why are you doing this? And I said, well, it's
(05:31):
because I believe guys called me for a higher calling.
So if I'm gonna get that call, I'm going to
make sure I'm ready. What does hurdles have to do
with playing quarterback? Nothing, but it's overcoming adversity and it's
what I had done to get to that point in
the first place. So when I got that call in
February twenty eighteen from the Baltimore Ravens, I was ready
to go. And I was able to prolong my career
by three years and be a mentor Lamar Jackson. If
(05:51):
I didn't run those hurdles on that track, I wouldn't
be able to get there. So when I look at
broadcasting now, it's something I never wanted to do, but
I did the tryout or you know, audition with Fox
and then ESPN, and the reaction from those auditions let
me know like maybe this is what God's called me
to do, to continue to get back to the game
in a bigger way where we can do this for
(06:13):
fifty years and our bodies won't deteriorate. So whenever we
try to do something we know we learned this from
the military. We want to be the best at it.
And to me, sometimes the best don't always get to
the top to call the Super Bowl. But I believe
that's what God has called me to do, and I'm
doing everything I possibly can to work in that direction.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
What's been like your hardest welcome to the media moment
that you've had while broadcasting.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Ooh, everything ain't funny.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You know everything, everything ain't funny, and there got a
little comfortable.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You get comfortable and you realize, like I that was
maybe that was too much. And then there's other moments
where you're not I'll even go and say the moment
this summer with Angel Reese. You realize like you might
be well intentioned and you might be stating a fact,
(07:13):
but the way that that can be not even misconstrued,
but weaponized is something that you have to be aware
of and how you how you react in those moments
will determine what your future in the businesses. So when
there was a negative reaction to a fact that I
was talking about Angel Reese that was sourced and well
(07:34):
sourced I didn't just say, Okay, I'm not gonna talk
about it anymore. I just said, maybe maybe that's a
conversation I just don't need to be in. Yeah, maybe
maybe that's not where I need to go because that's
not who I'm trying to be. So I have removed
myself from that discourse around Kaylen Clark and Angel Reese
because it was being weaponized against Angel Reese and I
(07:55):
didn't want to. I didn't want to be a part
of that. I'm not trying to be the villain in
anybody's story, and people who know me know my heart
and that's not what I'm trying to do. So I
think that was my biggest wake up moment. Even though
you're telling the truth, sometimes you got to know what
conversations to be in and when to remove yourself from
those conversations. First of all, I mean that was a
great point, because that really blew up because of you
(08:20):
hitting a retweet and really pointing out something that was
said that was somebody else that was wrong.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
And then the fact that you did it. They said
you're using your platform. They wouldn't even have been seen
if you didn't do this right, So correct, that's maturity.
But I realized, like, you know what, I actually thought
I was doing the right thing, but it actually got
more attention because of that, and so learning recognizing that said,
you know what, maybe I should just remove myself from
(08:47):
the whole situation because this thing's going sideways.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It's not even where I had it going, because there
was so much more to that conversation what I was
talking about. Yes, it started here and went then it
went I'm like, okay, yeah, listen, I'm trying to do
the right thing. Now you got this going on, that
going on, and you you know, this is mature men
like sometimes you just know that that's not what I
meant or what I and that doesn't sometimes it doesn't
(09:12):
help because once the narrative is gone, it's gone. So
I love my family. I know what it's like to
be in the limelight, and I know when things get misconstrued,
and sometimes when you fight back against those things, it
just makes it worse. So you have to remove yourself
from those those moments. And I think that's that takes
a lot of maturity and understanding despite being misunderstood.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Is that hard for you though? Because you have an opinion,
you're a very You're a very opinionated guy, correct, So
when someone says I mean you, you speak on something
and then all these negative comments come your way, and
it's like, that's not what I meant. But I want
to say something. But I say something, I'm gonna make
it worse. I just gotta is that hard? Is that
hard for you?
Speaker 2 (09:55):
I think what you have to do is in the moment,
you have to address it. Boom something said, Immediately address it,
move on that way. Whatever you meant and what you
said in that moment is there for the for people
to look at. And then if they choose not to
look at it, they were always meant to understand, to
(10:16):
misunderstand you. I think some of the mistakes that happened
as guys start to keep talking about it for weeks
upon weeks upon weeks upon weeks, and then it just
snowballs on you. But it is difficult because everybody wants
to always be right, but we all want to be
viewed in the way that we meant it to be.
And I think for me, you just have to over
(10:38):
the years, I'm thirty five now about to be thirty six.
You have to understand when it's time to just say
all right, Well, that's not what I meant. I said,
that's not what I meant, And the people who are
always going to try to misunderstand you will always try
to misunderstand you, and you just keep on.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Going, okay, because I was going to ask you about
how your comfort level has changed inside the booth, and
you got me on this other topic because I actually
applaud your maturity as well, So it's the same thing.
It's like your comfort your maturity. I guess you can
talk about that as you've grown in this game as
an announcer, to kind of let us know where you're at,
where you stand. But i'd also want to know who's
(11:14):
your like dream like co pilot in the blue like like,
because that that's a that's a thing as well, Like
you work with Fox. I love Stevie Johnson, right like
guys like Loud, But I don't know if you two
would be great together because ultimately, who's like, it's his show.
You know what I'm saying, it's his show, and so
(11:36):
you're going to have your own thing. I don't know
how we're going to the boots. So I would love
to know your opinion because ultimately they're always trying to
make sure they're putting on production too. And you understand
that as well, now that you've been on this side
of it. I know you mean Gus Johnson. Yeah, Gus,
I don't know Stevie's appreciate I appreciate that, But Gus Johnson,
(12:00):
you know what I Gus is incredible right now.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I work with Jason Bennetti. Jason Bennetti is smart, whimsical,
He understands my humor. I understand his humor cultural references
like we love Lord of the Rings and Game of Throne,
so like we're all over the gambit when it comes
to that type of stuff. But I believe, you know,
(12:25):
part of what makes us unique as guys from Coppers
Code Texas is the ability to live in any ecosystem.
You know, I grew up in the projects in New Orleans, Louisiana.
You know, I grew up in the countryside of Coppers
Code Texas. I grew up in never was a suburb's kid,
but small town in Olympia, Washington. So I believe I
(12:45):
can work with anybody at the highest level. So if
it happened to be Gus Johnson and it is his show,
and like I feel like I could find my role
in that. I think the best teammates make it their show.
It's our show together. It's not just the play by play,
it's not just the color analysts. And I think that's
(13:05):
the ones that the fans fall in love with the most. So,
you know, I admire a lot of guys at the top.
You know, got a chance to work at ESPN and
actually sitting next to Joe Buck when he was on
Money and Not Countdown and him and Troy they do
a great job. They feed off each other.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
It's not one.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Guy's shows, it's everybody's show together. And so for me,
I think where I've matured the most in the booth
is understanding when to pick your moments like it can all.
It can be fun. It's not comedy hour at the Apollo, right,
it's not the improv show.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
You call the game.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
You talk about what's going on, and you get the
fans what they want to hear. I want them to
feel like they're just knocking back a couple of beers
with their friends at the bar and we're talking football.
You're gonna learn a little bit. And I might not
be partaking in the drinking, but you're gonna laugh, You're
gonna have a good time to be like man, I
didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I didn't see that the way that he saw that.
And that's what makes it fun for me is continuing
to teach the game while also having fun.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Was that hard to learn?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Honestly, it wasn't. I think some guys struggle when they
get into the booth because they overthink it. Yeah, and
being able to explain something extremely complex in a very
simple way, I think some guys struggle with. And thankful
to guy, that wasn't something that I struggled with. I
got in the booth and it just felt like home
(14:21):
to me.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Did you ever go to one of the broadcast boot camps?
I did not. You did not. I'm sorry. So when
it's fine when you when you called a game, was
that your first time ever calling it? First time ever?
They threw me in the booth.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
My producer at the time was a guy by named
of Kim Beldon, played basketball up at Stanford, been in
the business for forty plus years. He sat me down
a couple of weeks before the game said, hey, this
is this is kind of how it goes. This is
this is a talk back. This is a cough button.
Here's your tellustrator. Boom, go get it. I called an
HBCU game was my first game ever, okay, and then
(14:55):
I was calling Houston a Houston game my second game,
and by the third game it was it was clockwork.
Mark Jones was my play by play. You know, you know,
extremely big basketball guys called NBA Finals matchups before, and
we just were off and rolling. And I think part
of not going to the broadcast boot camp. I think
(15:15):
it's very beneficial for a lot of guys finding your
cameras and doing all those things. It wasn't that I
didn't need it. They just threw me in the fire
so quickly. I was on college game day with the
first week of the season, and I'm looking at kirk
Herbstreet and you know, Rhys Davis and Desmond, and no
one told me, hey, look at this camera. This is
your camera. I'm just watching them look at cameras and
(15:38):
I'm like, okay, I think that's my camera right there.
So when they talk, they look at me, then they
look over there. You just learn it on the fly.
So I think the boot camp is helpful for a
lot of guys. But I think I've been so successful
because I just kind of went in and got thrown
in the fire.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It's a difference between being in the booth and then
being on a set, completely different, feel, completely different control. Oh,
the way you have to go from talking. We want
it to be natural as a conversation. But then when
I want to land my point, I want to make
sure I look at this camera here and deliver it
and be able to just draw back in with your
eyes because looking in the eyes how you really open
(16:13):
up and tell the story to the viewers. And so
when you're in the booth, they don't see you all
the time. You know, you see a Greg Olsen with
his tie just undone a little bit, you know what
I mean. It's like yeah, yeah, yeah, Like it's different.
It's like because you're not worried about that it comes
back to you from time to time, but you get
a lot more comfortable. It's a lot different feeling vibe.
You got people all around you, you got your pointers,
(16:33):
the guys point out which number. It's a lot of
assistance as well, the same way you do on camera
as well at four set, but the feeling vibe is
a completely different thing. And I love that you have
been able to find your way and get a lot
more comfortable instead of you know, because it's hard to
be thrown to a fire with a show that's been
on for thirty years and it's a dinosaur and the
(16:54):
way they do things is like really how hard construct
out they do things. Let me get my booth. Where
I get is just one on one and we can
go make this thing a party in so you flourished
in that role. I appreciate that, and you know, you
talk about the difference between the two. It's also like
the time you have, right, So when I was on
Monday Night Countdown and I'm sitting up there with Susie Calbert, Legend,
(17:17):
Steve Young, Booker, McFarland was on there. You know he's
called Monday Night Games. Yeah, and you got Adam Schefter.
It's like these people are already established and then you
come in. They're like, hey, we want you to be
the energy you want you to you know, get the
younger guys in there, and like it was so beautiful
having that set because there was no competing interest. The
only interest was making the show the best it could be.
(17:39):
And that was the year that we were nominated for
an Emmy, and it was because of them. It wasn't
because of me. They allowed me.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
You guys know this, Having great teammates allows you to
be great and in that in that realm, it was like, hey,
who's going to go first on this quarterback discussion?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Steve first? What you mean and whatever Steve doesn't say?
Or missus boom here I am.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I'm the good teammate. You come in, you got the
younger voice, but those are like thirty forty five second clips. Yeah,
that's true. When you're in the booth, Oh it's you.
And if you don't have an angle to talk about
the game, to present the game, to teach the game,
a lot of guys struggle because they sit there in
this dead space. Sometimes not talking can be great, but
(18:27):
we saw that even with our guy Tom Brady in
his first year, it's like he got so much information
that you want to say, when do you say it?
And I've seen his maturation this past season of how
he got better at that. Yep, and I mean who
I didn't. I was not shocked that the goat figured
it out, you know what I mean? But it is
difficult for some guys when they first get in there.
(18:48):
And we have seen some guys completely bomb when you thought,
like this guy knows a lot about ball, he would
be great.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I was a bomber. I bombed, didn't do no oo
camps know nothing. I got a call. They're like, hey,
the Bears are playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. I
forget the name of the company whatever, but they want
you to do the color commentary radio. I was like, okay,
just so you know, I have never done I have
(19:16):
never called a game. I'm just never get there. I
got all my notes and I see a guy, J Bell.
I hit up J Bell. He gives me the list,
the Xero, the big paper with every the laminade paper whatever.
So I'm looking at this thing. First play goals. It's
like a Power or Lead week. Nothing, nothing sexy, got
(19:40):
like maybe two yards God says whatever he says, and
he looks at me, and I was like, hit that call.
But I get the next one. I was like, damn,
I messed up. I was like so yeah. I just
(20:04):
was like, damn, what do I say on a two
yard run?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Like it was?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
It was not sexy. It wasn't I had I didn't
have anyone to help me. I didn't have I just
was like, I gotta figure this thing out. So by
the end of three hours of the game, I had
to figure out Okay, I got fifteen seconds to explain
this play in great detail because it's on radio.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Correct, so you got it. You gotta visually describe it
as well. Yeah, you gotta visually stimulate the person who's listening.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Because my dumb ass was like, hey, look, why would
he just go right there? And he he can clearly
make you go to the sea. Guy, just go to
everything a little bit.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Boy.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Yeah, And I again, I figured it out live. But
I figured it out on the fly, and I saw
the guy the other day and he was like, yeah, man,
of we'd love to have you back again. I saw
the producer and I was like, seriously, I was like,
all right, I'll do it again. I ain't no quitter now,
I ain't no quarter I'll make that thing work. And Roman.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You know this, like when you go from a TV
set like there's always action. Yeah, it's a highlight that
you put together, a tape you put together describe a
quarterback of safety, a blitz package, whatever it may be.
So a rundown, there's always a rundown. There's always something
that you know you got in the booth. When I
see that two yard run, ain't Golauti your pena. I'm
(21:28):
not describing that two yard run on TV. I'm moving
on to another storyline because you have to have those
things and so you can tell guys' stories resolutely. And
I think that's what drew me to TV was I
didn't feel like my story was handled with the proper
care that I handle the stories that I cover. So
when I got in, I was like, I'm gonna make
sure I do it right to where the younger version
(21:50):
of me from twenty twelve thirteen fourteen would be proud
of the way that I'm doing the broadcast game. And
that's really been an inspiration for me to tell people's
story right way. And I don't know if everyone I
know everyone doesn't do it the right way, and that's unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
I'm glad you bring that up because we want to
get into more of your story. It's perfect. We'll be
right back, all right. So in twenty twenty, why would
you still try to play football? Ooh? Man?
Speaker 2 (22:22):
I think all players struggle with when's the right time
to retire. I agree with you on that. So, you know,
I just it's all I knew. I was a husband,
a father, I knew those things, and I was a
football player. And I think someone has to physically tell
you no more. That's why I was continuing to try
(22:44):
to play.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Seven seasons, all types of awards, Rookie of the Year,
took a team to the playoffs as a rookie, Do
you feel like your career was validated? Did you still
feel like you had to prove something by trying to
come back or keep playing.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Oh that's a deep question. I will say eight seasons.
Give me that year back, sorry, give me that year back.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Season. That is the true, true, true NFL statement, Like
that all the years people was like, oh, yeah, twelve
years vent I was like, I played thirteen. Yeah, yeah,
So I get it. If the guy was like, oh,
i'll you know, he played four, He's like, I have five,
all right? That that I our year counts. I want
(23:33):
all the years.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
So to answer the question, because my my career started
off at such a high, yeah, and getting hurt, I
think there was always this piece of me that wanted
to come back from everything that was stacked against me.
Injury wise or whatever, to prove to myself that I
didn't give up. I think the people in life who
(23:57):
who find success are the ones that don't. You know,
you've heard the stories about Jeff Bezos and how so
many different companies told him no, no, no, and then
eventually the one that told him yes, and now he's
one of the richest men in the world. So I
just wanted to go through my career after getting hurt
at the end of my rookie year and then coming
(24:18):
back and not being myself in thirteen, and then at
fourteen getting hurt again, and then in fifteen not playing
the entire year, then sixteen going to Cleveland, getting getting
hurt again, seventeen being out of the league, eighteen coming
in as the fourth quarterback in Baltimore, and I'm many
people like, why would you do that?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yeah, you went from like the number two overall. They're like,
why are you just filling a roster just.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
From a pride perspective, like why would you go and
be the fourth quarterback in Baltimore? And I said, well,
I just had to prove it to myself that I
could do it. And in twenty eighteen, I got literally
no reps in training camp because is John Harball, Marty
morning Wig. They all felt like days a vet, he
(25:05):
knows what he's doing. They didn't really What they didn't
realize is I hadn't really played a lot of football
up until that point. So I was staying out to
practice doing all that stuff. And they called me before
the first game we had, the Hall of Fame game
that year, they said, you're starting. Said, no problem. I
went out and I started. I balled out, threw a touchdown.
They came back to me in the third preseason game,
which is the game where the starters play. They held
(25:26):
out Joe Flacco, who was the start at the time,
and they said, you're starting. I hain't gotten a rep
in two weeks. When it went out against the Dolphins,
balled out, threw a couple of touchdowns, played well, and
made the roster and made them keep three quarterbacks for
the first time in a decade. So for me, it
was like, this isn't about the people who say why
wouldn't you do it? This is about me saying I
(25:48):
know I can do it. I know I can overcome
the things in my life that maybe some people say
aren't fair. But Listen, you get to play football for
a living. You get to play a kid's game for
a king's reign ransom? How is that unfair? So I
think it's just perspective for me. I wanted to prove
to myself that I could overcome anything that was in
my way. I think it's helped me in the broadcast
(26:09):
game as well, and it's helped me in life, and
I want my kids to know that. Like, yes, Daddy
was way up here and outselling Messy in jerseys as
a rookie. But guess what, it didn't all go the
way that I thought it would go, that we thought
it would go, But Daddy still overcame.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Well, it sounds like you kept the receipts since you
can tell us that you sold more jerseys than Messy.
And I'm not mad. Twenty thirteen, your rookie year. I'll
just be honest. You guys completely shot us in New Orleans.
You beat the crap out of Usagello's defense was hard
to do. We were not. We were terrible that year.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
That was the year Peyton was suspended. Greg Williams was
suspended and definitely he was gone. GM's out, no excuses.
Bottom line is what an amazing game plan in year
that was in Washington for preseason. You guys didn't show anything. Yeah,
we didn't. Yeah, and then all of a sudden you
come into the first game. Do we had no idea
what half the stuff you guys were doing twelve twenty twelve,
(27:13):
sorry your rookie year was like out of nowhere, they're
doing it. We'd never seen anything that they had done.
The first quarter and a half were literally the middle
of the game trying to change the whole game, like
we don't even know we're running. It was so outstanding
for the plays you guys made, the ability that you
went out there, the game you had, and then you
(27:33):
were off and running from there. So I want to
give your flowers first and foremost great job game planning.
I have not been able to have this conversation with
you just kind of get that emotions out of me.
It's like that was awful, but great game, great job,
and just ability, Like what confidence did that give you
to go into New Orleans beat Drew Brees in the
(27:54):
New Orleans Saints who had just won a Super Bowl,
who was just coming off of season where we were
won and shoot thirteen fourteen games the year before. Yeah,
it was a great team that you guys beat, and
I just want to give you flowers. And what did
that do for your confidence in that team's confidence? I'm
sure no, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
And what was the year that you guys won?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
That was twenty fifteen, No, No, No. Two thousand and
nine we won the Super Bowl? Was a suspension No. Eleven,
So that was the year. So eleven. We won thirteen games,
we won like eight or nine straight. We lost to
the forty nine ers on the last second, played to
Vernon Dapis and then you came in.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
So like you talk about radio, and it's like, lo,
let's paint the let's paint the full picture. That was
when y'all when the suspended guys got back. It was
the first game when the suspended guys all got back.
So we're in the Superdome. My family's from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mom and dad both both born and raised. I've got
one hundred family members.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
In the stands.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
I'm on the field before the game and the band
is playing. One of the local college bands is out
there playing, pumping us up. I've probably never been more
hype in the pregame in my life, knowing that my
family's going to get to watch me go up against
the New Orleans Saints when I used to go to
Saints games as a kid, and I knew you guys
were dynamic. But we struggled in the preseason really on purpose,
(29:21):
because we didn't want to show anybody anything that we
were what we were doing.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
It totally worked.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
So we get out there the who that chance to
start the game loud oft stateium I've ever been in.
I played in Lambeau, I played in Seattle, played in
all these places loudest it's ever been. And after the game,
because we went out there and we played so well
and we were able to knock you guys off. I
do believe that game and the way we shocked you
guys impacted y'all's whole season two thousand percent. We were
(29:48):
terrible earlier. And you talk about that confidence that you
go into it with. No, I don't think anyone believed
in that preseason in twenty twelve, but they believed after
that Saints game.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah, I watched you, We watched you guys in prese
and you weren't good. Then you came out did everything
completely different.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
It was.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
We were shell shocked. Yeah, and I can't give you
guys enough credit. And for your calmness and poise in
that game, got a couple of great throws. It was awesome,
But I just want to give you a flower. I
appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
But what people don't realize about that is they have
this glamorous view of twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
We were three and six.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
We beat you guys, but then we went pretty sideways
for eight games after that. I don't think most people realized.
They don't realize that we won seventh straight to finish
the year. So even though I had played well early
in the year, we weren't playing well and it was
something clicked after the bye week when we came back,
and I think even for myself, I started playing better
(30:45):
on third downs and in the red zone because although
my numbers were good, I wasn't playing situational football that well.
And I had to make that decision at the bye week,
like how are we going to get this figured out?
And I think for me that was the biggest turning
point for myself, and our defense just became super opportunityanistic
d Hall was catching interceptions. Uh, Madou Williams if you
remember him, that safety. So we just kind of turned
(31:08):
that thing around a little bit. But that Saints game
was big to show them what could be, especially gets
a team like yourself.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
What was the biggest difference being the leader on your
college team and then being a leader of an NFL team.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Well, I had London Fletcher next to me in the
locker room, or should I say I was next to
London Fletcher in the locker room. And you're in college,
you're growing into becoming a man with your with your
home boys. Right, you come in same class in the NFL,
like it'd be like me coming to be on your team, right,
and you got a wife and kids, and if you
(31:44):
miss this throw, you taking food off my family's plate.
That's not what it is and what it was in college,
at least when when I was coming up. So to
have London Fletcher, Santana Moss with Chris Cooley at tight end,
you got offensive linemen that might only have one or
two years left, so they don't have time to wait
for the rookie to figure it out. I think that
(32:05):
was the biggest difference because now you're twenty two having
to lead some guys that are upwards of thirty five
thirty six years old, and that is a very different lifestyle,
different lifestyle, different generations, different thoughts and ways of thinking.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
I would like to know this. Have you actually looked
at or thought about your journey and how you've kind
of you're kind of not the first wave, but like
that second wave of the way we look at quarterbacks
and like the transition of what all quarterbacks are able
(32:39):
to do now.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, it's just simply put myself, Cam Colin Kaepernick. We
were like Russell Russell one hundred percent and Russell still
doing it. We were like five years too early. But
if it wasn't for guys like ourselves, then the new
batch you guys wouldn't have gotten the opportunities.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Well I was going to say, like at least you
got some of the RPO or option looking. Yes, yeah,
things Mike Vig had straight dropback, Mike vic had straight drawback.
They were not protecting him, you know what I mean?
Versus now it's like way more wide open college looking.
So like you guys were start of that part of it. Well,
(33:23):
there's this second way.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
There's this fundamental belief or there was Should I say
I don't know if it's it might be you know,
shrinking a little bit, but there's a fundamental belief that
you cannot run college concepts in the NFL. I'm sure
y'all coaches say say, this ain't college, this is the NFL.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
This is how we do it here.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Now every single NFL offense has fifty percent, maybe even
sixty percent college element style plays in them.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
And I think that was ego.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
I think there's been a little bit of an ego
death when it comes to the coaches and how they
approached the game. So, yes, when we did our pos
and we did all these different things, it was almost
like the NFL in its in its entirety, was against it.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
I wasn't getting protected.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
After we beat you guys, we would and play the
Cincinnati Bingles and Michael Johnson and Carlos dun Lappingham boys.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
They hit me every single time we did his own read, Yes,
just go hit the court. Not even if I didn't
had a ball.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
They was hitting me fifteen twenty yards back behind the
screen line of scrimmage. I'm running away from him like it.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
And the rest wouldn't protect us. But now with the
way the rules are, it's much easier to be an
RPO dual threat quarterback because you're protected everywhere on the
field pretty much. So I think for me when I
came in, I had Mike Shannon as my head coach.
Kyle Shanaan was oci.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
There's the stories of all the different coaches that were
on that on that team. But they wanted to build
a system that was within their system that they knew
a dual threat quarterback like myself could run. So they
downloaded every single play I ever ran at Baylor and
they put it into their off offense within a way
of how can we run this in a West Coast system.
(35:05):
The only thing I think they did wrong was they
never brought in any of my college coaches to teach
them how to run it, how to protect the quarterback
when you're doing those different things. Today's offenses. They're having
meetings with college coaches every week. Yeah, they have people
on those staffs that they meet with weekly just so
they can pull those concepts and say, Okay, well, this
(35:27):
is the NFL. We have to protect the quarterback better
than you do in college.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
How can we do that? Do you think that was
pride for them not to go to a college coach
and say, hey, can you teach me the ins and
outs of this play? Oh, one hundred percent. It was pride.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
It's pride and ego. And I don't I don't say
it necessarily in a bad way. I say it in
the way of, you know how hard it is for
a college coach to get to the NFL, So that
symbiotic relationship or non symbiotic relationship, they're not trying to
make the college coach feel like he knows better than
(36:01):
the NFL coach. That NFL coaching fraternity is so difficult
to break into. We've talked about it with the lack
of black head coaches in the NFL. So I think
it was pride and ego to say we can figure
it out on our own because we know how to
do it up here.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
And I think if myself and some of those other
duel there guys were five years later, that mindset would
have been different and they would have learned how to
run those types of systems and protect your quarterback from injury.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
We're going to take a short break and we'll be
back in a minute, all right, So I want to
know some other things that you're doing podcast space. We
talked about some of your early fireball to start this
whole thing off street heat. How has the podcast space
(36:52):
allowed you to be more of yourself versus what you
do in the booth, because ultimately what it's your own podcast.
Do you know you get a lot more more comfortable
on the clock like you are inside the bild Ah.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
I think you know, I like to be genuinely and
authentic myself in every space. Can that look different in
different you know, parts of media. Yeah, but I think
the podcasts is most similar to me in the booth
because you have the time. It's very difficult to do
that what you do on a podcast on a studio
(37:24):
show when you've got three four other teammates that you're
sharing time with and you have to pass the ball.
So for me, the podcast is it's still a place
to explore, you know, the broader topics and sports, you
know about life. You know, my wife is my co host,
and everybody like, oh, why you just make your wife
your co host as well. She's the record holder of
Florida state and heptathlon. All right, she's the greatest athlete
(37:46):
in Estonian history. So when you talk about knowing sport,
knowing track and field. We don't just cover football. We
cover basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, or football as they call it.
We cover track and field. So to have that wealth
of knowledge, especially from a female's perspective, is something that
I valued and I wanted to be a part of that.
(38:07):
So the podcast game, I feel like everybody has a
podcast now and the issue is how do you break
through in a podcast. Well, there's guest driven podcasts, there's
drama field podcasts, there's gossip podcasts, and I don't lie,
it's it's difficult to make a podcast that is not toxic.
(38:31):
But I just recently heard was a doc river Son,
you know, say that he wasn't going to do podcasts
anymore because it awesome, because the podcast space is too toxic.
And I don't necessarily disagree with that, because that stuff
gets clicks. It gets people to pay attention to your podcast.
And I can say all the greatest things in the
world about giving back to the community and the things
(38:54):
that are going on and our foundation, you know, helping
in food insecurity. But as soon as you say that
one thing about this person and that person, boom, there
there go the clicks, and I think that's addicting for
a lot of people. I think me and my wife
will learn, you know, how to stay away from those
things and still have a successful podcast and build something
(39:15):
that you're actually proud of.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Has it ever drawn conflict between you and your wife?
Speaker 2 (39:19):
It has not. You know, they say if you build
a house together, you know, it's like just like getting
ready to get divorced. We built a house together and
didn't get divorced, So like, we know how to work together,
we know how to communicate the right ways, and have
those conversations. The issue that some people have on podcasts,
(39:40):
which I don't think you guys have it. We're not married,
you're I think you guys. I think you guys work
well married. But the problem is everybody feels like they
got to be on one side or the other, and
it's like, well, what can't We can be on the
same side and still have different perspectives. But it doesn't
have to be Lebron is the greatest of all time
or the Leron is the worst of all time. Right,
(40:02):
you can feel like Jordan is the greatest of all
time and Lebron is second best, and you can explain
your side without tearing down the other person.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
I think in the podcast space, especially when you get
shows that have multiple hosts, they always feel like they
have to argue the other side because that's what the
audience wants them to do. Me and my wife proud
ourselves in making content that we're proud of, content that
we enjoy, and if we don't enjoy it, we stop
making it. And we've made those decisions over the past
couple of years of like, hey, this's got a lot
(40:30):
of clicks, but I don't really like how that makes
you be positioned or how that looks in the grand scheme.
And that's something that I'm super proud of because we
can have that open conversation to say, it's not just
about the clicks in the views. It's about what our
kids are going to say ten years from now when
they go through the archives, that we want them to
be proud of what we produce.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Are you proud of what we produce? I'll never asked
you that you like what we produce. You know, I
don't want to make it about us right now, we're
off camera, all right, that's camera all right. So two things,
(41:17):
two things. That is terrible number one. You brought up
that discussion, like you're a Lebron guy. You know, whether
he's the goat or not, that's up to you. I'll
let you and your wife discuss that. I have a
different opinion. And the other thing is that with your
wife and yourself being such great athletes, you've been a
track athlete as well, Like are your kids athletes? Are
(41:39):
your daughter's athletes? And I like questions, is that real thing?
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Triple triple, triple question. I'm not a Lebron I am.
I am not not a Lebron guy, but I'm a
Michael Jordan kid. I grew up on who wants to
be like Mike. So Michael Jordan is a greatest in
my opinion, and we can go through all the stats
to say that, but you don't leave that second thing.
(42:06):
I'm the second best athlete in the family. My wife
is by far the best, being a heptathlete doing all
the different events. She actually taught me how to throw javelin,
so that was that was pretty fun, totally different than
throwing the football, by the way, and so our kids, listen,
they do everything they do tennis. You know, our eight
year old Gloria is at a tennis academy. Believe it
or not, her six year old just joined the same
(42:28):
tennis academy with her, so two years before she ever joined.
The six year olds already in our three year old,
you know, she's just running around, having fun, doing everything.
And our ten year old is is a soccer player,
so we got soccer, basketball, flag football. Gloria is on
an eight U seven v seven team in our organization.
(42:48):
She's the only girl on the team and she was
the only girl at a tournament this past week that
we went to. And she she plays offense. She starts
at nickel on defense, and she she's a starting receiver, uh,
you know, on the offense side of the ball. So
we like to have them play as much as they
want to and do every sport so they can grow
and develop. But I think they get their athleticism from
(43:10):
the mama. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
I love that. I love that the Indian applis Colts
called Philip rivers toward the end of the season. Sir
Philip ain't played in a laugh Philip Philip, Okay, it's
been a minute if the Well, first all, let me
(43:33):
ask you were you offended that you didn't get the call?
I wasn't offended. Just I know Cam said something like
Cam was offended.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
Cam is going to be offended about everything. Cam is
doing his dang this to be the creator and the
YouTube guy. He's admitted it. He's admitted it.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
I'm a YouTuber, he's going down that route.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
I'm a human being. I'm not gonna do some of
those things. But Cam was offended. I was not offended
because I understood the relayationship. Now did I go outside
and you know, throw the football.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Around a little bit? He waited, just sggested case, Yes, sir,
I did. Now, if they really would have called you, yes, hey,
you're ready, we need you to come play Week sixteen? Correct?
Do you think you could have been ready.
Speaker 2 (44:16):
To go one hundred percent if a team called me,
like the Colts were in playoff contention, yep, they needed
to win I think one game to put themselves in
the playoffs, one hundred percent. I could have done that.
I think at you know, I'm thirty five, so I'm
not as old as as Philip is.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
He's what forty four? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Yeah, so it gives me hope. I'm not gonna lie
to you. When I saw him, I'm like, man, I
might have.
Speaker 1 (44:40):
To just like lately changed, bro.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
He came in overweight, Like, let's just call it what
it was. Yeah, yeah, my man and my man was big.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Bigorter asked budget, wait, he said, well, I'm not. I'm not.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Wait when I did. When I left, clearly he gave
me hope because you look at Rady and how he played.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
But Brady did it continuously, right, Philip Rivers probably gave
more quarterbacks hope that they could come back and play
because he did it. He was out of shape, hadn't
been working out, and he was hadn't played with five years.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
So like for me, I'm like, I'm thirty five. As
long as I stay in somewhat running shape, I'm gonna
be around football. I'm gonna throw the football around. I
got it, man, I got a good eight more years.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
They might call me up.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
What I wouldn't take is an opportunity on a team
that's not in contention. If a team called me in
the off season, everyone's in contention in the off season,
I'd pick up that phone and I would certainly entertain it,
just because I love football, you know, And as long
as these guys are getting these opportunities in their forties.
Speaker 1 (45:40):
Why not? Who would I be to say?
Speaker 3 (45:42):
No?
Speaker 1 (45:42):
You know, I agree? Could you do a practice? Do
you think your body will hold up in a football
practice or NFL practice? Like just legit a straight up
to our practice.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
You know.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
I'm not even gonna pretend like I'm ready for that, dude,
I'll be like behind somebody like laying down. My man,
got his legs right here. This is not. This is
not I'm ready to go practice. No, No, I'm not
the look dude like, no, I'm not even pretend like
I'm about that life anymore.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
I'm not.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
I'm not. I heard so I heard the best story
ever from Mike Vic yesterday. Okay, and Mike said he
just rolled out the bed thought he was just gonna
go run a forty Oh I remember that, Yeah, you're
in the I was there and he was like, dude,
next you know, like I pulled my HEMI and was
like hurt, hurt for like I had to get treatment
for like weeks. I was like, yes, he was like, dude,
(46:32):
it's just not like that. And He's right, I can't
just roll out there and think I'm gonna be able
to I beat him my whole left side the last
time I ran hard, you ran full speed. Just just
say forty or whatever. Just I did a dog chasing you.
Just like three months ago, I was running with my
(46:52):
kids in the park and I was trying to show
them how to accelerate. Okay, so we're gonna start off
with a light stride for the first ten fifteen, then
I want you to burst hold it for forty, and
then we're going to finish it off at like eighty
one hundred yards the last twenty just kind of cruise
it off at that cone I was out there. They
were like, well, they thought they were bursting, but there's
(47:14):
no real change of speed. Yeah, And I'm like, you
gotta have change of speed. They were like, what do
you mean, Dad, Because you're not telling my kids all
the time, Like, look, you can get a track coach,
but track co can't really teach you how to run fast.
They can teach you how to run better correct, more
efficient correct, but fast people just run fast, and you
gotta just treat it. Like, what are you gonna do
when that dog bust out the gate and you got
(47:35):
to run from a dog?
Speaker 3 (47:38):
No?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah, My daughter was like, well, Dad, why would I
run from a dog? I'm like, this is the difference.
That's the generation. They're not running from dogs, it's the area.
It's my fault from rookie. Why would be running from
the dog that. I'm like, that's exactly the problem. So
(48:00):
I got out there. I ran it for them and
my kids. When I was done, I turned around like,
so you see how it is. And my son had
his mouth like he's like, Dad, you like fast. Oh
that makes you feel good. It didn't make me feel
good because he does not give compliments. So yeah, I
still got that. If it's in there, I can still
bust it out. I'm not ready. If I ran a
(48:23):
four to seven something, I'd probably be really disappointed in myself.
Speaker 2 (48:26):
But I think both of y'all could one game. I
wouldn't put it past you. I need some time, though,
I need Like Aaron well, did it remember he was retired? Yeah,
that came back. One game.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
One game. I promise you, despite the age and right
about that, you could.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
Play one game. At halftime you might have all to
been gay in the world on your legs, but think
you can play one game.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
Okay. As time progresses, how do you feel that you
will possibly be known more about your podcasting and your
broadcast career more than your actual football career.
Speaker 2 (48:59):
What you what you go through in life is the
ebbs and flows of notoriety. Right, So as a player,
you know I'll always be known as one of the
biggest what ifs in NFL history. I'm aware of that
because of how how well I started as a rookie.
(49:20):
I'll always be known as having one of the greatest
rookie seasons of all time. But the longer you're in
the spotlight, the more that can change and morph and
turn into different things. The example I like to use
is Dwayne the Rock Johnson. I know him as the
Rock because I grew up on him in WWF before
(49:40):
it was WWE Yes right in the Rock Bottom and
the People's Elbow and Jabroni. But there's a generation of
children now that only know him from The Fast and
the Furious or The Furious or The Tooth Fairy Umi Jumanji. Right,
they know him as the Actor. So I think in
life you want to be able to make an impact
in multiple different areas. So as a football player, I
(50:02):
made that impact. Heisman Trophy winner was able to do
a lot of great things at Baylor, Copper's Cove High School,
going as two state championships, NFL Rookie of the Year,
Pro bowler, all those things, and then it's like, well,
what's next because the majority of our lives we're going
to spend it off the football field. So now as
a broadcaster, it's like, how can I be the best
(50:23):
broadcaster I can possibly be? How can I be the
best person in my own community in Houston, Texas right now,
which is where we live at. So that doesn't affect
me because I found my next passion and I want
that for all former players. Sometimes they don't ever find
it and they find themselves lost. So I'm not lost,
(50:46):
and I really give my faith in my family the
biggest credit when it comes to that. Knowing what my
purpose is and my purpose on this earth is to
get back, whether it's giving back through story andtelling, giving
back by giving back to the community, helping the next
generation get to where they want to go, and then
of course raising my family. So I'm not hurt by that.
(51:07):
I think it's a great thing. Okay, there's gonna be
people who are like, there's twenty year old right now
that know me is, oh my goodness, you're RG three
from from Washington, and there's other ones that know me from. Man,
you're the broadcaster that you have so much fun in
the booth. Yeah, that's okay with me, Okay, I.
Speaker 1 (51:24):
Got nothing else. Man. I appreciate you coming on the
pod and just blessing us and telling us some stories.
And it's always good to you know, reconnect. Whenever you
come around, we get the kicking and we see each other.
Glad you came on, showed us some love. We appreciate you. Yeah, Man,
I appreciate you guys. You guys do a great job,
no doubt. Man, appreciate it, man. And you're a Heisman
Trophy winner, so you always be known as that in
(51:44):
my opinion, I appreciate that. I know the broadcasting is great,
but you're a Heisman, So that.
Speaker 3 (51:50):
Is one thing.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
Say that is one thing that you'd never know. We
don't know where podcasting is going. Yeah, that heismand trophy
is not going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Yea.
Speaker 2 (51:58):
That those records as a nflquarterback aren't going anywhere, and
neither is God. So you just trust God in the
next journey. You guys are doing it. I'm proud to
be on the show with you. Man, Thanks for being here.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
Man. All right, anywhere you pick up your podcast at
where it's Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio app. Make sure you always
tune in. Likes your scare follow, tell a friend to
tell a friend to do what Peanut tell then we
go check us out, man, And you can also check
us out on the NFL's YouTube chapel or page. I'm Peanut,
that's Roman, that's RG three and this is the NFL
(52:30):
Player's Second Acts podcast. We out
The Indian Appolis Colts called Philip Rivers toward the end
of the season. Yes, sir, Philip ain't played in would
have laughed, Philip, Philip, Okay, it's been a minute. If
the well, first off, let me ask you. Were you
offended that you didn't get the call?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I was not offended because I understood the relationship. Now
did I go outside and you know, throw football.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Around a little bit? Wait? Justggested case, Yes, sir, I did. Now,
if they really would have called you, yes, hey, you're ready,
we need you to come play week sixteen, do you
think you could have been ready to go.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
One hundred percent? You know, I'm thirty five, so I'm
not as old as as Philip is. He's what forty four?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, so it gives me hope. I'm not gonna lie
to you. When I saw him, I'm like, man, I
might have to just like lately.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Changed, bro.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
He came in overweight, Like, let's just call it what
it was. Yeah, yeah, man, and my man.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Was big big, he's a well I'm not. I'm not
what I did when I left. Clearly it gave me hope.
I got it, man, I got a good eight more years.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
They might call me up. What's up, everybody, I'm Peanut
too mean and this is the NFL Players Second Acts
Podcast and with me, as always, my trusty co host,
Roman Harpa. I'm just glad been wearing blue together today.
This is the first time I think we've ever matched.
(01:33):
And uh, there's no better time to do it than
who our next guest is, because I think he's got
a little blue on to today, little blue, little Bluck's.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I'm just glad I'm not seeing you guys on the
football field anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
This next guest, we go way back from the same hometown,
copperce Cove, Texas. I didn't know that. Yeah, that's the
whole world cos Cove, Texas on the map. Bulldogs. Uh,
he's a he's a Heisman Trophy winner out of Baylor. Uh.
Second overall pick in the tooth igh I was in
twelve draft. He's a Pro bowler, offensive Rookie of the Year.
(02:04):
He's a podcaster. He's a broadcaster. Ladies and gentlemen, please
welcome to the pod. Robert Grivin the Third, better known
as RG three, better known as RG three like first
of all, all right, the nickname was that self given
like literally kind of evolved because.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
The first time I heard of you, this is all
I've heard of you and known you as. Now just
a great story because you know Peanut here. You know,
it was a legend in our town. Still is a
legend in our town. I like to say, I'm from
the same town as Charles Tillman.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Is Okay, Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
So when he came to eighth grade, I was in
eighth grade. He came to play basketball with us. All right,
our seventh grade team was undefeated in basketball, so we
thought we were you know, we had it popping. He
came to play basketball with us, and that moment changed
my life forever because when I made it, I said,
when I make it, I'm gonna make sure I do
exactly what Peanut did by coming back and showing the
kids that you can make it out of a small town. Yeah,
(03:02):
being a military kid and all that. So when he
came to see us, I wasn't RG three.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I was Robbie.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
I was Roberto.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
You know, some people call me R.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
LG three because my middle name is Lee. But when
I got to college, uh the announcer, when I first
went on the field, I was I was a backup
for two quarters my freshman year, I had a step
back on the sideline alla Reggie Bush on one of
the runs and he said.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Oh, RG three on the sideline, and it took off.
After that, it took off.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I was RG three from that moment on, and I'm
not mad about it because it's my initials.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, it sticks. That's cool though, you know, I didn't
know that.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Man.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Look at you going back giving back to the kids. Yeah,
shut out to coach gets Store there you go. Get
Store was my He's a my college roommate. He's the
godfather to my kids. So nice. Yeah, and you just look.
I always tell people, you know, when you go back
and speak to kids or talk to people, like everybody thinks,
it's not about trying to affect the thousand kids or
(04:03):
the eight hundred, five hundred, two hundred kids you're talking to.
It's really about affecting that what you never know, who's
gonna be never know. And there's no way you would
have known that you had Robert or r LG or
Roberto or whatever you Robbie in that pe class when
you actually went out there and played. So that's a
cool story. So I appreciate you sharing that.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
No.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
The even funnier part about that was I didn't know
Peanut was from Coppers Cove. I was a transplant. I'd
only been in Code for a few years. So I
used to play Madden. I used to look at guys
with dreads because I wanted long hair. My parents wouldn't
let me have long hair. So I used to put
Peanut on every team that I played on in Madden
because he had dreads. So then when he showed up
(04:47):
that day to play basketball with us, like wall you
from here, it just seemed like God had a weird
way of connecting us over all these years. And He's
shown me a lot about how you get back the
right way, so I want to I always show you
that love on it.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
I see you appreciate it. I mean this comes from
the heart. Awesome, dude. Okay, so goals. Let's talk about
some is announcing a super Bowl a goal of yours?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yes one, n I believe this is what Guy's called
me to do. When I was out of the league
in twenty seventeen, I worked out. I did everything I
was supposed to and you know, my wife, I'm on
the track running foreign a hurdle build ups you know,
you run one, come back, run two all the way
through ten. I'm laid out after the workout. She said
why are you doing this? And I said, well, it's
(05:31):
because I believe guys called me for a higher calling.
So if I'm gonna get that call, I'm going to
make sure I'm ready. What does hurdles have to do
with playing quarterback? Nothing, but it's overcoming adversity and it's
what I had done to get to that point in
the first place. So when I got that call in
February twenty eighteen from the Baltimore Ravens, I was ready
to go. And I was able to prolong my career
by three years and be a mentor Lamar Jackson. If
(05:51):
I didn't run those hurdles on that track, I wouldn't
be able to get there. So when I look at
broadcasting now, it's something I never wanted to do, but
I did the tryout or you know, audition with Fox
and then ESPN, and the reaction from those auditions let
me know like maybe this is what God's called me
to do, to continue to get back to the game
in a bigger way where we can do this for
(06:13):
fifty years and our bodies won't deteriorate. So whenever we
try to do something we know we learned this from
the military. We want to be the best at it.
And to me, sometimes the best don't always get to
the top to call the Super Bowl. But I believe
that's what God has called me to do, and I'm
doing everything I possibly can to work in that direction.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
What's been like your hardest welcome to the media moment
that you've had while broadcasting.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Ooh, everything ain't funny.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You know everything, everything ain't funny, and there got a
little comfortable.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You get comfortable and you realize, like I that was
maybe that was too much. And then there's other moments
where you're not I'll even go and say the moment
this summer with Angel Reese. You realize like you might
be well intentioned and you might be stating a fact,
(07:13):
but the way that that can be not even misconstrued,
but weaponized is something that you have to be aware
of and how you how you react in those moments
will determine what your future in the businesses. So when
there was a negative reaction to a fact that I
was talking about Angel Reese that was sourced and well
(07:34):
sourced I didn't just say, Okay, I'm not gonna talk
about it anymore. I just said, maybe maybe that's a
conversation I just don't need to be in. Yeah, maybe
maybe that's not where I need to go because that's
not who I'm trying to be. So I have removed
myself from that discourse around Kaylen Clark and Angel Reese
because it was being weaponized against Angel Reese and I
(07:55):
didn't want to. I didn't want to be a part
of that. I'm not trying to be the villain in
anybody's story, and people who know me know my heart
and that's not what I'm trying to do. So I
think that was my biggest wake up moment. Even though
you're telling the truth, sometimes you got to know what
conversations to be in and when to remove yourself from
those conversations. First of all, I mean that was a
great point, because that really blew up because of you
(08:20):
hitting a retweet and really pointing out something that was
said that was somebody else that was wrong.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
And then the fact that you did it. They said
you're using your platform. They wouldn't even have been seen
if you didn't do this right, So correct, that's maturity.
But I realized, like, you know what, I actually thought
I was doing the right thing, but it actually got
more attention because of that, and so learning recognizing that said,
you know what, maybe I should just remove myself from
(08:47):
the whole situation because this thing's going sideways.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
It's not even where I had it going, because there
was so much more to that conversation what I was
talking about. Yes, it started here and went then it
went I'm like, okay, yeah, listen, I'm trying to do
the right thing. Now you got this going on, that
going on, and you you know, this is mature men
like sometimes you just know that that's not what I
meant or what I and that doesn't sometimes it doesn't
(09:12):
help because once the narrative is gone, it's gone. So
I love my family. I know what it's like to
be in the limelight, and I know when things get misconstrued,
and sometimes when you fight back against those things, it
just makes it worse. So you have to remove yourself
from those those moments. And I think that's that takes
a lot of maturity and understanding despite being misunderstood.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Is that hard for you though? Because you have an opinion,
you're a very You're a very opinionated guy, correct, So
when someone says I mean you, you speak on something
and then all these negative comments come your way, and
it's like, that's not what I meant. But I want
to say something. But I say something, I'm gonna make
it worse. I just gotta is that hard? Is that
hard for you?
Speaker 2 (09:55):
I think what you have to do is in the moment,
you have to address it. Boom something said, Immediately address it,
move on that way. Whatever you meant and what you
said in that moment is there for the for people
to look at. And then if they choose not to
look at it, they were always meant to understand, to
(10:16):
misunderstand you. I think some of the mistakes that happened
as guys start to keep talking about it for weeks
upon weeks upon weeks upon weeks, and then it just
snowballs on you. But it is difficult because everybody wants
to always be right, but we all want to be
viewed in the way that we meant it to be.
And I think for me, you just have to over
(10:38):
the years, I'm thirty five now about to be thirty six.
You have to understand when it's time to just say
all right, Well, that's not what I meant. I said,
that's not what I meant, And the people who are
always going to try to misunderstand you will always try
to misunderstand you, and you just keep on.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Going, okay, because I was going to ask you about
how your comfort level has changed inside the booth, and
you got me on this other topic because I actually
applaud your maturity as well, So it's the same thing.
It's like your comfort your maturity. I guess you can
talk about that as you've grown in this game as
an announcer, to kind of let us know where you're at,
where you stand. But i'd also want to know who's
(11:14):
your like dream like co pilot in the blue like like,
because that that's a that's a thing as well, Like
you work with Fox. I love Stevie Johnson, right like
guys like Loud, But I don't know if you two
would be great together because ultimately, who's like, it's his show.
You know what I'm saying, it's his show, and so
(11:36):
you're going to have your own thing. I don't know
how we're going to the boots. So I would love
to know your opinion because ultimately they're always trying to
make sure they're putting on production too. And you understand
that as well, now that you've been on this side
of it. I know you mean Gus Johnson. Yeah, Gus,
I don't know Stevie's appreciate I appreciate that, But Gus Johnson,
(12:00):
you know what I Gus is incredible right now.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
I work with Jason Bennetti. Jason Bennetti is smart, whimsical,
He understands my humor. I understand his humor cultural references
like we love Lord of the Rings and Game of Throne,
so like we're all over the gambit when it comes
to that type of stuff. But I believe, you know,
(12:25):
part of what makes us unique as guys from Coppers
Code Texas is the ability to live in any ecosystem.
You know, I grew up in the projects in New Orleans, Louisiana.
You know, I grew up in the countryside of Coppers
Code Texas. I grew up in never was a suburb's kid,
but small town in Olympia, Washington. So I believe I
(12:45):
can work with anybody at the highest level. So if
it happened to be Gus Johnson and it is his show,
and like I feel like I could find my role
in that. I think the best teammates make it their show.
It's our show together. It's not just the play by play,
it's not just the color analysts. And I think that's
(13:05):
the ones that the fans fall in love with the most. So,
you know, I admire a lot of guys at the top.
You know, got a chance to work at ESPN and
actually sitting next to Joe Buck when he was on
Money and Not Countdown and him and Troy they do
a great job. They feed off each other.
Speaker 1 (13:19):
It's not one.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Guy's shows, it's everybody's show together. And so for me,
I think where I've matured the most in the booth
is understanding when to pick your moments like it can all.
It can be fun. It's not comedy hour at the Apollo, right,
it's not the improv show.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
You call the game.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
You talk about what's going on, and you get the
fans what they want to hear. I want them to
feel like they're just knocking back a couple of beers
with their friends at the bar and we're talking football.
You're gonna learn a little bit. And I might not
be partaking in the drinking, but you're gonna laugh, You're
gonna have a good time to be like man, I
didn't know that.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I didn't see that the way that he saw that.
And that's what makes it fun for me is continuing
to teach the game while also having fun.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Was that hard to learn?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Honestly, it wasn't. I think some guys struggle when they
get into the booth because they overthink it. Yeah, and
being able to explain something extremely complex in a very
simple way, I think some guys struggle with. And thankful
to guy, that wasn't something that I struggled with. I
got in the booth and it just felt like home
(14:21):
to me.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Did you ever go to one of the broadcast boot camps?
I did not. You did not. I'm sorry. So when
it's fine when you when you called a game, was
that your first time ever calling it? First time ever?
They threw me in the booth.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
My producer at the time was a guy by named
of Kim Beldon, played basketball up at Stanford, been in
the business for forty plus years. He sat me down
a couple of weeks before the game said, hey, this
is this is kind of how it goes. This is
this is a talk back. This is a cough button.
Here's your tellustrator. Boom, go get it. I called an
HBCU game was my first game ever, okay, and then
(14:55):
I was calling Houston a Houston game my second game,
and by the third game it was it was clockwork.
Mark Jones was my play by play. You know, you know,
extremely big basketball guys called NBA Finals matchups before, and
we just were off and rolling. And I think part
of not going to the broadcast boot camp. I think
(15:15):
it's very beneficial for a lot of guys finding your
cameras and doing all those things. It wasn't that I
didn't need it. They just threw me in the fire
so quickly. I was on college game day with the
first week of the season, and I'm looking at kirk
Herbstreet and you know, Rhys Davis and Desmond, and no
one told me, hey, look at this camera. This is
your camera. I'm just watching them look at cameras and
(15:38):
I'm like, okay, I think that's my camera right there.
So when they talk, they look at me, then they
look over there. You just learn it on the fly.
So I think the boot camp is helpful for a
lot of guys. But I think I've been so successful
because I just kind of went in and got thrown
in the fire.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
It's a difference between being in the booth and then
being on a set, completely different, feel, completely different control. Oh,
the way you have to go from talking. We want
it to be natural as a conversation. But then when
I want to land my point, I want to make
sure I look at this camera here and deliver it
and be able to just draw back in with your
eyes because looking in the eyes how you really open
(16:13):
up and tell the story to the viewers. And so
when you're in the booth, they don't see you all
the time. You know, you see a Greg Olsen with
his tie just undone a little bit, you know what
I mean. It's like yeah, yeah, yeah, Like it's different.
It's like because you're not worried about that it comes
back to you from time to time, but you get
a lot more comfortable. It's a lot different feeling vibe.
You got people all around you, you got your pointers,
(16:33):
the guys point out which number. It's a lot of
assistance as well, the same way you do on camera
as well at four set, but the feeling vibe is
a completely different thing. And I love that you have
been able to find your way and get a lot
more comfortable instead of you know, because it's hard to
be thrown to a fire with a show that's been
on for thirty years and it's a dinosaur and the
(16:54):
way they do things is like really how hard construct
out they do things. Let me get my booth. Where
I get is just one on one and we can
go make this thing a party in so you flourished
in that role. I appreciate that, and you know, you
talk about the difference between the two. It's also like
the time you have, right, So when I was on
Monday Night Countdown and I'm sitting up there with Susie Calbert, Legend,
(17:17):
Steve Young, Booker, McFarland was on there. You know he's
called Monday Night Games. Yeah, and you got Adam Schefter.
It's like these people are already established and then you
come in. They're like, hey, we want you to be
the energy you want you to you know, get the
younger guys in there, and like it was so beautiful
having that set because there was no competing interest. The
only interest was making the show the best it could be.
(17:39):
And that was the year that we were nominated for
an Emmy, and it was because of them. It wasn't
because of me. They allowed me.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
You guys know this, Having great teammates allows you to
be great and in that in that realm, it was like, hey,
who's going to go first on this quarterback discussion?
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Steve first? What you mean and whatever Steve doesn't say?
Or missus boom here I am.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I'm the good teammate. You come in, you got the
younger voice, but those are like thirty forty five second clips. Yeah,
that's true. When you're in the booth, Oh it's you.
And if you don't have an angle to talk about
the game, to present the game, to teach the game,
a lot of guys struggle because they sit there in
this dead space. Sometimes not talking can be great, but
(18:27):
we saw that even with our guy Tom Brady in
his first year, it's like he got so much information
that you want to say, when do you say it?
And I've seen his maturation this past season of how
he got better at that. Yep, and I mean who
I didn't. I was not shocked that the goat figured
it out, you know what I mean? But it is
difficult for some guys when they first get in there.
(18:48):
And we have seen some guys completely bomb when you thought,
like this guy knows a lot about ball, he would
be great.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I was a bomber. I bombed, didn't do no oo
camps know nothing. I got a call. They're like, hey,
the Bears are playing the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. I
forget the name of the company whatever, but they want
you to do the color commentary radio. I was like, okay,
just so you know, I have never done I have
(19:16):
never called a game. I'm just never get there. I
got all my notes and I see a guy, J Bell.
I hit up J Bell. He gives me the list,
the Xero, the big paper with every the laminade paper whatever.
So I'm looking at this thing. First play goals. It's
like a Power or Lead week. Nothing, nothing sexy, got
(19:40):
like maybe two yards God says whatever he says, and
he looks at me, and I was like, hit that call.
But I get the next one. I was like, damn,
I messed up. I was like so yeah. I just
(20:04):
was like, damn, what do I say on a two
yard run?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Like it was?
Speaker 1 (20:08):
It was not sexy. It wasn't I had I didn't
have anyone to help me. I didn't have I just
was like, I gotta figure this thing out. So by
the end of three hours of the game, I had
to figure out Okay, I got fifteen seconds to explain
this play in great detail because it's on radio.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Correct, so you got it. You gotta visually describe it
as well. Yeah, you gotta visually stimulate the person who's listening.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Because my dumb ass was like, hey, look, why would
he just go right there? And he he can clearly
make you go to the sea. Guy, just go to
everything a little bit.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Boy.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Yeah, And I again, I figured it out live. But
I figured it out on the fly, and I saw
the guy the other day and he was like, yeah, man,
of we'd love to have you back again. I saw
the producer and I was like, seriously, I was like,
all right, I'll do it again. I ain't no quitter now,
I ain't no quarter I'll make that thing work. And Roman.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You know this, like when you go from a TV
set like there's always action. Yeah, it's a highlight that
you put together, a tape you put together describe a
quarterback of safety, a blitz package, whatever it may be.
So a rundown, there's always a rundown. There's always something
that you know you got in the booth. When I
see that two yard run, ain't Golauti your pena. I'm
(21:28):
not describing that two yard run on TV. I'm moving
on to another storyline because you have to have those
things and so you can tell guys' stories resolutely. And
I think that's what drew me to TV was I
didn't feel like my story was handled with the proper
care that I handle the stories that I cover. So
when I got in, I was like, I'm gonna make
sure I do it right to where the younger version
(21:50):
of me from twenty twelve thirteen fourteen would be proud
of the way that I'm doing the broadcast game. And
that's really been an inspiration for me to tell people's
story right way. And I don't know if everyone I
know everyone doesn't do it the right way, and that's unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (22:06):
I'm glad you bring that up because we want to
get into more of your story. It's perfect. We'll be
right back, all right. So in twenty twenty, why would
you still try to play football? Ooh? Man?
Speaker 2 (22:22):
I think all players struggle with when's the right time
to retire. I agree with you on that. So, you know,
I just it's all I knew. I was a husband,
a father, I knew those things, and I was a
football player. And I think someone has to physically tell
you no more. That's why I was continuing to try
(22:44):
to play.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
Seven seasons, all types of awards, Rookie of the Year,
took a team to the playoffs as a rookie, Do
you feel like your career was validated? Did you still
feel like you had to prove something by trying to
come back or keep playing.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Oh that's a deep question. I will say eight seasons.
Give me that year back, sorry, give me that year back.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Season. That is the true, true, true NFL statement, Like
that all the years people was like, oh, yeah, twelve
years vent I was like, I played thirteen. Yeah, yeah,
So I get it. If the guy was like, oh,
i'll you know, he played four, He's like, I have five,
all right? That that I our year counts. I want
(23:33):
all the years.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
So to answer the question, because my my career started
off at such a high, yeah, and getting hurt, I
think there was always this piece of me that wanted
to come back from everything that was stacked against me.
Injury wise or whatever, to prove to myself that I
didn't give up. I think the people in life who
(23:57):
who find success are the ones that don't. You know,
you've heard the stories about Jeff Bezos and how so
many different companies told him no, no, no, and then
eventually the one that told him yes, and now he's
one of the richest men in the world. So I
just wanted to go through my career after getting hurt
at the end of my rookie year and then coming
(24:18):
back and not being myself in thirteen, and then at
fourteen getting hurt again, and then in fifteen not playing
the entire year, then sixteen going to Cleveland, getting getting
hurt again, seventeen being out of the league, eighteen coming
in as the fourth quarterback in Baltimore, and I'm many
people like, why would you do that?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yeah, you went from like the number two overall. They're like,
why are you just filling a roster just.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
From a pride perspective, like why would you go and
be the fourth quarterback in Baltimore? And I said, well,
I just had to prove it to myself that I
could do it. And in twenty eighteen, I got literally
no reps in training camp because is John Harball, Marty
morning Wig. They all felt like days a vet, he
(25:05):
knows what he's doing. They didn't really What they didn't
realize is I hadn't really played a lot of football
up until that point. So I was staying out to
practice doing all that stuff. And they called me before
the first game we had, the Hall of Fame game
that year, they said, you're starting. Said, no problem. I
went out and I started. I balled out, threw a touchdown.
They came back to me in the third preseason game,
which is the game where the starters play. They held
(25:26):
out Joe Flacco, who was the start at the time,
and they said, you're starting. I hain't gotten a rep
in two weeks. When it went out against the Dolphins,
balled out, threw a couple of touchdowns, played well, and
made the roster and made them keep three quarterbacks for
the first time in a decade. So for me, it
was like, this isn't about the people who say why
wouldn't you do it? This is about me saying I
(25:48):
know I can do it. I know I can overcome
the things in my life that maybe some people say
aren't fair. But Listen, you get to play football for
a living. You get to play a kid's game for
a king's reign ransom? How is that unfair? So I
think it's just perspective for me. I wanted to prove
to myself that I could overcome anything that was in
my way. I think it's helped me in the broadcast
(26:09):
game as well, and it's helped me in life, and
I want my kids to know that. Like, yes, Daddy
was way up here and outselling Messy in jerseys as
a rookie. But guess what, it didn't all go the
way that I thought it would go, that we thought
it would go, But Daddy still overcame.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Well, it sounds like you kept the receipts since you
can tell us that you sold more jerseys than Messy.
And I'm not mad. Twenty thirteen, your rookie year. I'll
just be honest. You guys completely shot us in New Orleans.
You beat the crap out of Usagello's defense was hard
to do. We were not. We were terrible that year.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
That was the year Peyton was suspended. Greg Williams was
suspended and definitely he was gone. GM's out, no excuses.
Bottom line is what an amazing game plan in year
that was in Washington for preseason. You guys didn't show anything. Yeah,
we didn't. Yeah, and then all of a sudden you
come into the first game. Do we had no idea
what half the stuff you guys were doing twelve twenty twelve,
(27:13):
sorry your rookie year was like out of nowhere, they're
doing it. We'd never seen anything that they had done.
The first quarter and a half were literally the middle
of the game trying to change the whole game, like
we don't even know we're running. It was so outstanding
for the plays you guys made, the ability that you
went out there, the game you had, and then you
(27:33):
were off and running from there. So I want to
give your flowers first and foremost great job game planning.
I have not been able to have this conversation with
you just kind of get that emotions out of me.
It's like that was awful, but great game, great job,
and just ability, Like what confidence did that give you
to go into New Orleans beat Drew Brees in the
(27:54):
New Orleans Saints who had just won a Super Bowl,
who was just coming off of season where we were
won and shoot thirteen fourteen games the year before. Yeah,
it was a great team that you guys beat, and
I just want to give you flowers. And what did
that do for your confidence in that team's confidence? I'm
sure no, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (28:12):
And what was the year that you guys won?
Speaker 1 (28:14):
That was twenty fifteen, No, No, No. Two thousand and
nine we won the Super Bowl? Was a suspension No. Eleven,
So that was the year. So eleven. We won thirteen games,
we won like eight or nine straight. We lost to
the forty nine ers on the last second, played to
Vernon Dapis and then you came in.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
So like you talk about radio, and it's like, lo,
let's paint the let's paint the full picture. That was
when y'all when the suspended guys got back. It was
the first game when the suspended guys all got back.
So we're in the Superdome. My family's from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mom and dad both both born and raised. I've got
one hundred family members.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
In the stands.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
I'm on the field before the game and the band
is playing. One of the local college bands is out
there playing, pumping us up. I've probably never been more
hype in the pregame in my life, knowing that my
family's going to get to watch me go up against
the New Orleans Saints when I used to go to
Saints games as a kid, and I knew you guys
were dynamic. But we struggled in the preseason really on purpose,
(29:21):
because we didn't want to show anybody anything that we
were what we were doing.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
It totally worked.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
So we get out there the who that chance to
start the game loud oft stateium I've ever been in.
I played in Lambeau, I played in Seattle, played in
all these places loudest it's ever been. And after the game,
because we went out there and we played so well
and we were able to knock you guys off. I
do believe that game and the way we shocked you
guys impacted y'all's whole season two thousand percent. We were
(29:48):
terrible earlier. And you talk about that confidence that you
go into it with. No, I don't think anyone believed
in that preseason in twenty twelve, but they believed after
that Saints game.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah, I watched you, We watched you guys in prese
and you weren't good. Then you came out did everything
completely different.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
It was.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
We were shell shocked. Yeah, and I can't give you
guys enough credit. And for your calmness and poise in
that game, got a couple of great throws. It was awesome,
But I just want to give you a flower. I
appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
But what people don't realize about that is they have
this glamorous view of twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
We were three and six.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
We beat you guys, but then we went pretty sideways
for eight games after that. I don't think most people realized.
They don't realize that we won seventh straight to finish
the year. So even though I had played well early
in the year, we weren't playing well and it was
something clicked after the bye week when we came back,
and I think even for myself, I started playing better
(30:45):
on third downs and in the red zone because although
my numbers were good, I wasn't playing situational football that well.
And I had to make that decision at the bye week,
like how are we going to get this figured out?
And I think for me that was the biggest turning
point for myself, and our defense just became super opportunityanistic
d Hall was catching interceptions. Uh, Madou Williams if you
remember him, that safety. So we just kind of turned
(31:08):
that thing around a little bit. But that Saints game
was big to show them what could be, especially gets
a team like yourself.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
What was the biggest difference being the leader on your
college team and then being a leader of an NFL team.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Well, I had London Fletcher next to me in the
locker room, or should I say I was next to
London Fletcher in the locker room. And you're in college,
you're growing into becoming a man with your with your
home boys. Right, you come in same class in the NFL,
like it'd be like me coming to be on your team, right,
and you got a wife and kids, and if you
(31:44):
miss this throw, you taking food off my family's plate.
That's not what it is and what it was in college,
at least when when I was coming up. So to
have London Fletcher, Santana Moss with Chris Cooley at tight end,
you got offensive linemen that might only have one or
two years left, so they don't have time to wait
for the rookie to figure it out. I think that
(32:05):
was the biggest difference because now you're twenty two having
to lead some guys that are upwards of thirty five
thirty six years old, and that is a very different lifestyle,
different lifestyle, different generations, different thoughts and ways of thinking.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
I would like to know this. Have you actually looked
at or thought about your journey and how you've kind
of you're kind of not the first wave, but like
that second wave of the way we look at quarterbacks
and like the transition of what all quarterbacks are able
(32:39):
to do now.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Yeah, it's just simply put myself, Cam Colin Kaepernick. We
were like Russell Russell one hundred percent and Russell still
doing it. We were like five years too early. But
if it wasn't for guys like ourselves, then the new
batch you guys wouldn't have gotten the opportunities.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
Well I was going to say, like at least you
got some of the RPO or option looking. Yes, yeah,
things Mike Vig had straight dropback, Mike vic had straight drawback.
They were not protecting him, you know what I mean?
Versus now it's like way more wide open college looking.
So like you guys were start of that part of it. Well,
(33:23):
there's this second way.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
There's this fundamental belief or there was Should I say
I don't know if it's it might be you know,
shrinking a little bit, but there's a fundamental belief that
you cannot run college concepts in the NFL. I'm sure
y'all coaches say say, this ain't college, this is the NFL.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
This is how we do it here.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Now every single NFL offense has fifty percent, maybe even
sixty percent college element style plays in them.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
And I think that was ego.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
I think there's been a little bit of an ego
death when it comes to the coaches and how they
approached the game. So, yes, when we did our pos
and we did all these different things, it was almost
like the NFL in its in its entirety, was against it.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
I wasn't getting protected.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
After we beat you guys, we would and play the
Cincinnati Bingles and Michael Johnson and Carlos dun Lappingham boys.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
They hit me every single time we did his own read, Yes,
just go hit the court. Not even if I didn't
had a ball.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
They was hitting me fifteen twenty yards back behind the
screen line of scrimmage. I'm running away from him like it.
Speaker 1 (34:23):
I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
And the rest wouldn't protect us. But now with the
way the rules are, it's much easier to be an
RPO dual threat quarterback because you're protected everywhere on the
field pretty much. So I think for me when I
came in, I had Mike Shannon as my head coach.
Kyle Shanaan was oci.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
You know that.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
There's the stories of all the different coaches that were
on that on that team. But they wanted to build
a system that was within their system that they knew
a dual threat quarterback like myself could run. So they
downloaded every single play I ever ran at Baylor and
they put it into their off offense within a way
of how can we run this in a West Coast system.
(35:05):
The only thing I think they did wrong was they
never brought in any of my college coaches to teach
them how to run it, how to protect the quarterback
when you're doing those different things. Today's offenses. They're having
meetings with college coaches every week. Yeah, they have people
on those staffs that they meet with weekly just so
they can pull those concepts and say, Okay, well, this
(35:27):
is the NFL. We have to protect the quarterback better
than you do in college.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
How can we do that? Do you think that was
pride for them not to go to a college coach
and say, hey, can you teach me the ins and
outs of this play? Oh, one hundred percent. It was pride.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
It's pride and ego. And I don't I don't say
it necessarily in a bad way. I say it in
the way of, you know how hard it is for
a college coach to get to the NFL, So that
symbiotic relationship or non symbiotic relationship, they're not trying to
make the college coach feel like he knows better than
(36:01):
the NFL coach. That NFL coaching fraternity is so difficult
to break into. We've talked about it with the lack
of black head coaches in the NFL. So I think
it was pride and ego to say we can figure
it out on our own because we know how to
do it up here.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
And I think if myself and some of those other
duel there guys were five years later, that mindset would
have been different and they would have learned how to
run those types of systems and protect your quarterback from injury.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
We're going to take a short break and we'll be
back in a minute, all right, So I want to
know some other things that you're doing podcast space. We
talked about some of your early fireball to start this
whole thing off street heat. How has the podcast space
(36:52):
allowed you to be more of yourself versus what you
do in the booth, because ultimately what it's your own podcast.
Do you know you get a lot more more comfortable
on the clock like you are inside the bild Ah.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
I think you know, I like to be genuinely and
authentic myself in every space. Can that look different in
different you know, parts of media. Yeah, but I think
the podcasts is most similar to me in the booth
because you have the time. It's very difficult to do
that what you do on a podcast on a studio
(37:24):
show when you've got three four other teammates that you're
sharing time with and you have to pass the ball.
So for me, the podcast is it's still a place
to explore, you know, the broader topics and sports, you
know about life. You know, my wife is my co host,
and everybody like, oh, why you just make your wife
your co host as well. She's the record holder of
Florida state and heptathlon. All right, she's the greatest athlete
(37:46):
in Estonian history. So when you talk about knowing sport,
knowing track and field. We don't just cover football. We
cover basketball, tennis, golf, soccer, or football as they call it.
We cover track and field. So to have that wealth
of knowledge, especially from a female's perspective, is something that
I valued and I wanted to be a part of that.
(38:07):
So the podcast game, I feel like everybody has a
podcast now and the issue is how do you break
through in a podcast. Well, there's guest driven podcasts, there's
drama field podcasts, there's gossip podcasts, and I don't lie,
it's it's difficult to make a podcast that is not toxic.
(38:31):
But I just recently heard was a doc river Son,
you know, say that he wasn't going to do podcasts
anymore because it awesome, because the podcast space is too toxic.
And I don't necessarily disagree with that, because that stuff
gets clicks. It gets people to pay attention to your podcast.
And I can say all the greatest things in the
world about giving back to the community and the things
(38:54):
that are going on and our foundation, you know, helping
in food insecurity. But as soon as you say that
one thing about this person and that person, boom, there
there go the clicks, and I think that's addicting for
a lot of people. I think me and my wife
will learn, you know, how to stay away from those
things and still have a successful podcast and build something
(39:15):
that you're actually proud of.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Has it ever drawn conflict between you and your wife?
Speaker 2 (39:19):
It has not. You know, they say if you build
a house together, you know, it's like just like getting
ready to get divorced. We built a house together and
didn't get divorced, So like, we know how to work together,
we know how to communicate the right ways, and have
those conversations. The issue that some people have on podcasts,
(39:40):
which I don't think you guys have it. We're not married,
you're I think you guys. I think you guys work
well married. But the problem is everybody feels like they
got to be on one side or the other, and
it's like, well, what can't We can be on the
same side and still have different perspectives. But it doesn't
have to be Lebron is the greatest of all time
or the Leron is the worst of all time. Right,
(40:02):
you can feel like Jordan is the greatest of all
time and Lebron is second best, and you can explain
your side without tearing down the other person.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
I think in the podcast space, especially when you get
shows that have multiple hosts, they always feel like they
have to argue the other side because that's what the
audience wants them to do. Me and my wife proud
ourselves in making content that we're proud of, content that
we enjoy, and if we don't enjoy it, we stop
making it. And we've made those decisions over the past
couple of years of like, hey, this's got a lot
(40:30):
of clicks, but I don't really like how that makes
you be positioned or how that looks in the grand scheme.
And that's something that I'm super proud of because we
can have that open conversation to say, it's not just
about the clicks in the views. It's about what our
kids are going to say ten years from now when
they go through the archives, that we want them to
be proud of what we produce.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Are you proud of what we produce? I'll never asked
you that you like what we produce. You know, I
don't want to make it about us right now, we're
off camera, all right, that's camera all right. So two things,
(41:17):
two things. That is terrible number one. You brought up
that discussion, like you're a Lebron guy. You know, whether
he's the goat or not, that's up to you. I'll
let you and your wife discuss that. I have a
different opinion. And the other thing is that with your
wife and yourself being such great athletes, you've been a
track athlete as well, Like are your kids athletes? Are
(41:39):
your daughter's athletes? And I like questions, is that real thing?
Speaker 2 (41:46):
Triple triple, triple question. I'm not a Lebron I am.
I am not not a Lebron guy, but I'm a
Michael Jordan kid. I grew up on who wants to
be like Mike. So Michael Jordan is a greatest in
my opinion, and we can go through all the stats
to say that, but you don't leave that second thing.
(42:06):
I'm the second best athlete in the family. My wife
is by far the best, being a heptathlete doing all
the different events. She actually taught me how to throw javelin,
so that was that was pretty fun, totally different than
throwing the football, by the way, and so our kids, listen,
they do everything they do tennis. You know, our eight
year old Gloria is at a tennis academy. Believe it
or not, her six year old just joined the same
(42:28):
tennis academy with her, so two years before she ever joined.
The six year olds already in our three year old,
you know, she's just running around, having fun, doing everything.
And our ten year old is is a soccer player,
so we got soccer, basketball, flag football. Gloria is on
an eight U seven v seven team in our organization.
(42:48):
She's the only girl on the team and she was
the only girl at a tournament this past week that
we went to. And she she plays offense. She starts
at nickel on defense, and she she's a starting receiver, uh,
you know, on the offense side of the ball. So
we like to have them play as much as they
want to and do every sport so they can grow
and develop. But I think they get their athleticism from
(43:10):
the mama. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
I love that. I love that the Indian applis Colts
called Philip rivers toward the end of the season. Sir
Philip ain't played in a laugh Philip Philip, Okay, it's
been a minute if the Well, first all, let me
(43:33):
ask you were you offended that you didn't get the call?
I wasn't offended. Just I know Cam said something like
Cam was offended.
Speaker 2 (43:40):
Cam is going to be offended about everything. Cam is
doing his dang this to be the creator and the
YouTube guy. He's admitted it. He's admitted it.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
I'm a YouTuber, he's going down that route.
Speaker 2 (43:53):
I'm a human being. I'm not gonna do some of
those things. But Cam was offended. I was not offended
because I understood the relayationship. Now did I go outside
and you know, throw the football.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Around a little bit? He waited, just sggested case, Yes, sir,
I did. Now, if they really would have called you, yes, hey,
you're ready, we need you to come play Week sixteen? Correct?
Do you think you could have been ready.
Speaker 2 (44:16):
To go one hundred percent if a team called me,
like the Colts were in playoff contention, yep, they needed
to win I think one game to put themselves in
the playoffs, one hundred percent. I could have done that.
I think at you know, I'm thirty five, so I'm
not as old as as Philip is.
Speaker 1 (44:32):
He's what forty four? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Yeah, so it gives me hope. I'm not gonna lie
to you. When I saw him, I'm like, man, I
might have.
Speaker 1 (44:40):
To just like lately changed, bro.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
He came in overweight, Like, let's just call it what
it was. Yeah, yeah, my man and my man was big.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
Bigorter asked budget, wait, he said, well, I'm not. I'm not.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Wait when I did. When I left, clearly he gave
me hope because you look at Rady and how he played.
Speaker 2 (45:00):
But Brady did it continuously, right, Philip Rivers probably gave
more quarterbacks hope that they could come back and play
because he did it. He was out of shape, hadn't
been working out, and he was hadn't played with five years.
Speaker 1 (45:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
So like for me, I'm like, I'm thirty five. As
long as I stay in somewhat running shape, I'm gonna
be around football. I'm gonna throw the football around. I
got it, man, I got a good eight more years.
Speaker 1 (45:22):
They might call me up.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
What I wouldn't take is an opportunity on a team
that's not in contention. If a team called me in
the off season, everyone's in contention in the off season,
I'd pick up that phone and I would certainly entertain it,
just because I love football, you know, And as long
as these guys are getting these opportunities in their forties.
Speaker 1 (45:40):
Why not? Who would I be to say?
Speaker 3 (45:42):
No?
Speaker 1 (45:42):
You know, I agree? Could you do a practice? Do
you think your body will hold up in a football
practice or NFL practice? Like just legit a straight up
to our practice.
Speaker 3 (45:53):
You know.
Speaker 1 (45:53):
I'm not even gonna pretend like I'm ready for that, dude,
I'll be like behind somebody like laying down. My man,
got his legs right here. This is not. This is
not I'm ready to go practice. No, No, I'm not
the look dude like, no, I'm not even pretend like
I'm about that life anymore.
Speaker 3 (46:09):
I'm not.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
I'm not. I heard so I heard the best story
ever from Mike Vic yesterday. Okay, and Mike said he
just rolled out the bed thought he was just gonna
go run a forty Oh I remember that, Yeah, you're
in the I was there and he was like, dude,
next you know, like I pulled my HEMI and was
like hurt, hurt for like I had to get treatment
for like weeks. I was like, yes, he was like, dude,
(46:32):
it's just not like that. And He's right, I can't
just roll out there and think I'm gonna be able
to I beat him my whole left side the last
time I ran hard, you ran full speed. Just just
say forty or whatever. Just I did a dog chasing you.
Just like three months ago, I was running with my
(46:52):
kids in the park and I was trying to show
them how to accelerate. Okay, so we're gonna start off
with a light stride for the first ten fifteen, then
I want you to burst hold it for forty, and
then we're going to finish it off at like eighty
one hundred yards the last twenty just kind of cruise
it off at that cone I was out there. They
were like, well, they thought they were bursting, but there's
(47:14):
no real change of speed. Yeah, And I'm like, you
gotta have change of speed. They were like, what do
you mean, Dad, Because you're not telling my kids all
the time, Like, look, you can get a track coach,
but track co can't really teach you how to run fast.
They can teach you how to run better correct, more
efficient correct, but fast people just run fast, and you
gotta just treat it. Like, what are you gonna do
when that dog bust out the gate and you got
(47:35):
to run from a dog?
Speaker 3 (47:38):
No?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
Yeah, My daughter was like, well, Dad, why would I
run from a dog? I'm like, this is the difference.
That's the generation. They're not running from dogs, it's the area.
It's my fault from rookie. Why would be running from
the dog that. I'm like, that's exactly the problem. So
(48:00):
I got out there. I ran it for them and
my kids. When I was done, I turned around like,
so you see how it is. And my son had
his mouth like he's like, Dad, you like fast. Oh
that makes you feel good. It didn't make me feel
good because he does not give compliments. So yeah, I
still got that. If it's in there, I can still
bust it out. I'm not ready. If I ran a
(48:23):
four to seven something, I'd probably be really disappointed in myself.
Speaker 2 (48:26):
But I think both of y'all could one game. I
wouldn't put it past you. I need some time, though,
I need Like Aaron well, did it remember he was retired? Yeah,
that came back. One game.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
One game. I promise you, despite the age and right
about that, you could.
Speaker 2 (48:40):
Play one game. At halftime you might have all to
been gay in the world on your legs, but think
you can play one game.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
Okay. As time progresses, how do you feel that you
will possibly be known more about your podcasting and your
broadcast career more than your actual football career.
Speaker 2 (48:59):
What you what you go through in life is the
ebbs and flows of notoriety. Right, So as a player,
you know I'll always be known as one of the
biggest what ifs in NFL history. I'm aware of that
because of how how well I started as a rookie.
(49:20):
I'll always be known as having one of the greatest
rookie seasons of all time. But the longer you're in
the spotlight, the more that can change and morph and
turn into different things. The example I like to use
is Dwayne the Rock Johnson. I know him as the
Rock because I grew up on him in WWF before
(49:40):
it was WWE Yes right in the Rock Bottom and
the People's Elbow and Jabroni. But there's a generation of
children now that only know him from The Fast and
the Furious or The Furious or The Tooth Fairy Umi Jumanji. Right,
they know him as the Actor. So I think in
life you want to be able to make an impact
in multiple different areas. So as a football player, I
(50:02):
made that impact. Heisman Trophy winner was able to do
a lot of great things at Baylor, Copper's Cove High School,
going as two state championships, NFL Rookie of the Year,
Pro bowler, all those things, and then it's like, well,
what's next because the majority of our lives we're going
to spend it off the football field. So now as
a broadcaster, it's like, how can I be the best
(50:23):
broadcaster I can possibly be? How can I be the
best person in my own community in Houston, Texas right now,
which is where we live at. So that doesn't affect
me because I found my next passion and I want
that for all former players. Sometimes they don't ever find
it and they find themselves lost. So I'm not lost,
(50:46):
and I really give my faith in my family the
biggest credit when it comes to that. Knowing what my
purpose is and my purpose on this earth is to
get back, whether it's giving back through story andtelling, giving
back by giving back to the community, helping the next
generation get to where they want to go, and then
of course raising my family. So I'm not hurt by that.
(51:07):
I think it's a great thing. Okay, there's gonna be
people who are like, there's twenty year old right now
that know me is, oh my goodness, you're RG three
from from Washington, and there's other ones that know me from. Man,
you're the broadcaster that you have so much fun in
the booth. Yeah, that's okay with me, Okay, I.
Speaker 1 (51:24):
Got nothing else. Man. I appreciate you coming on the
pod and just blessing us and telling us some stories.
And it's always good to you know, reconnect. Whenever you
come around, we get the kicking and we see each other.
Glad you came on, showed us some love. We appreciate you. Yeah, Man,
I appreciate you guys. You guys do a great job,
no doubt. Man, appreciate it, man. And you're a Heisman
Trophy winner, so you always be known as that in
(51:44):
my opinion, I appreciate that. I know the broadcasting is great,
but you're a Heisman, So that.
Speaker 3 (51:50):
Is one thing.
Speaker 2 (51:51):
Say that is one thing that you'd never know. We
don't know where podcasting is going. Yeah, that heismand trophy
is not going anywhere.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
Yea.
Speaker 2 (51:58):
That those records as a nflquarterback aren't going anywhere, and
neither is God. So you just trust God in the
next journey. You guys are doing it. I'm proud to
be on the show with you. Man, Thanks for being here.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
Man. All right, anywhere you pick up your podcast at
where it's Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio app. Make sure you always
tune in. Likes your scare follow, tell a friend to
tell a friend to do what Peanut tell then we
go check us out, man, And you can also check
us out on the NFL's YouTube chapel or page. I'm Peanut,
that's Roman, that's RG three and this is the NFL
(52:30):
Player's Second Acts podcast. We out
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