NFL Immortals #9: Champ Bailey

The third season of NFL Immortals has finally arrived. This installment focuses on one of the game's greatest defensive backs of all-time, Champ Bailey.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:21):
What's going on everybody, Guys and girls, Welcome back to
another edition of The Football Function podcast, available on all
your podcasts and platforms, including on Patreon if you prefer
an ad free listening experience. As always, I am one
of the hosts of this show, Michael Ritter. You can
find me on X at Michael five Ritter or on
Instagram at Michael Ridder five. Speaking of X, had something

(00:44):
really cool happened today on the Internet, which, let's be honest,
you don't really have those type of experience, or at
least I don't really have those types of experiences very
often these days. The Internet has grown to become just
more and more toxic. I guess as I've gotten older,

(01:05):
and that could just be a prospective thing. But nonetheless,
May tenth, the Falcons put out one of their not
daily but multiple times weekly giveaway like raffle almost right,
like retweet for a chance to win this as autograph,
something I've retweeted hundreds and hundreds of things over the

(01:28):
years and have never been selected. Just wasn't my lucky
day any of those times. However, today was my lucky day.
The Falcons messaged me on Twitter on X whatever you
want to call it, and they said, hey, you are
the winner of the Billy Bowman autographed mini helmet. It's
a mini or yeah, it's a mini ou helmet. And obviously,

(01:52):
for those of you that are longtime listeners, you know
that I'm an Oklahoma Sooners fan, so the fact that
Billy Bowman was drafted to the Atlanta Falcons was just
so cool in of itself. It's been so long since
the Falcons have actually drafted in Oklahoma Sooner. The last
one that I can remember is Curtis Lofton, and you know,
obviously he was a tremendous linebacker for us, ended up

(02:12):
going to play for the Saints, so that was kind
of tainted. It's long overdue for a Sooner to be
wearing a Falcons uniform. So shout out to Billy Bowman.
I'm so glad I won this giveaway. I can't wait
for it to come here. I can't wait for it
to arrive in the mail and I'll definitely be posting it.
But extremely happy to have won that giveaway and I

(02:35):
wanted to share that with you guys. But thank you
so much for joining here. Obviously a little bit of
a special episode we are back in full swing. If
you haven't noticed, this is going to be our third
episode in the month of June. So far, we've already
done the Biggest Strengths, every team's Biggest Strengths post draft,
and CM is doing his schedule breakdown his you know

(02:58):
schedule predictions for the twenty twenty five season, starting with
the National Championship participants Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame
Fighting Irish. So definitely go check out CIM. It's been
a while since he's been on and myself included, so
we're definitely both trying to get back in the swing
of things, and the best way to do that is
to have your unwaivered support, which is something that we've

(03:20):
always appreciated all of our loyal Funky's out there, the
subscribers on Patreon, which is something that you can do
a dollar a month, get you add free episodes, early
access to episodes, and it's just the best way to
support the show. If you don't do that and you
decide to listen on one of the typical free episodes,
which is always going to be the case. This podcast
is always going to be free and available on whatever
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(03:43):
on one of those podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts,
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do as a favorite, leave as a five star rating,
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two more ears, which is ultimately the goal here. But
I'm definitely glad to be bad, glad that the summer's here.
And speaking of the summer, that's a great way for

(04:05):
us to segue into what this episode is about, which
is year three of NFL and Mortals. Now, I have
a list of the NFL A Mortal or NFL of
Mortals episodes that I've done so far over the past
few years. I only did two last year. I really
can't believe that I only did two. That blows my mind.
But summer can sometimes be busy. However, we've done eight

(04:29):
so far. Number one was Devin Hester, number two was
Emmitt Smith. Number three was Troy Paulamalou, Number four was
Jerry Rice, number five was Ray Lewis, number six was
Tony Gonzalez, number seven was Lawrence Taylor, and number eight
was Michael Vick. So as you can tell, we kind
of are alternated offense defense offensive defense. If you count

(04:50):
Devin Hester as a defensive player, which is what he
was drafted as, so it fits. He's a special teams player,
so just a jack of all trades, it fits, not
necessarily a true offensive player. So started off with some
of my favorites, and that's really all we're doing here
is talking about my I guess subjective opinions some of
my favorite players. I always take suggestions, by the way,

(05:11):
as well. If you want me to cover a player,
a specific player in history that you feel is worthy
of the Immortal tagline, I will absolutely consider it. The
person we're talking about today checks a lot of boxes.
If we are going to continue this offense defense rotation,
we have to get a defensive player in here. And

(05:34):
one of my very favorite defensive players of all time
happens to play corner I know, kind of shocker. I'm
not really a big fan of the cornerback position unless
you play for the Atlanta Falcons. And if you're bad
and you play for the Atlanta Falcons, then oh boy,
it's not pretty. But either way, one of my favorite
players of all time is Champ Bailey, phenomenal cornerback, truly

(05:55):
one of the best of all time. I've often said
whenever people ask me, Hey, who do you think is
the best cornerback of all time? The two best corners
that I've ever seen, just with my own two eyes
as a you know, a fan old enough to be
able to evaluate football, I've always thought that Champ Bailey
and Darrell Reeves are the two best corners I've ever seen,
the two best that I've ever laid my eyes on.

(06:17):
Obviously got to see a little bit of the tail
end of Deon Sanders, seeing highlights galore from you know,
his Falcons days and the glory days in the nineteen nineties.
Phenomenal corner like Deon Sanders is obviously the I guess,
the measuring stick if you will, Like that's what all
cornerbacks if you think about it, like he's almost like

(06:38):
the godfather of cornerbacks, along with guys like night Train
Lane and you know, obviously melt Blunt. The list goes
on and on of cornerbacks over the years that have
made their presence felt and just put up Hall of
Fame worthy numbers, and Champ Bailey is clearly another box
that he checks there as a Hall of Famer, and

(06:58):
we'll get into all of his accolades, things that he accomplished,
and all of that good stuff here on this ninth edition,
the ninth installment of NFL I Mortals. So thank you
guys so much for tuning in. And I guess, without
any further ado, let's go ahead and dive into this
bad boy. Roland Chant Bailey Junior born June twenty second,

(07:19):
nineteen seventy eight is an American football professional player who
was a cornerback in the National Football League. He played
college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he earned consensus
All American honors and was selected by the Washington Redskins
in the first round of the nineteen ninety nine NFL Draft.
We'll go and talk about some of his accolades. I mean,

(07:40):
we're going to go through and list it like chronologically,
but there are things that I feel you can just
list off, because whenever you hear him over the course
of a career, it might not kind of stack up
quite the same as whenever you hear it listed off. Truly,
this dude has a resume unlike any other. Obviously a cornerback.
We already talked about when he was born. He's six foot,

(08:02):
one hundred and ninety two pounds. He went to Charlton County, Folkston, Georgia.
That's the high school, and then the University of Georgia
from nineteen ninety six to nineteen ninety eight. Nineteen ninety nine,
he was a first round pick seventh overall, obviously to
the Washington Redskins, where he was there until two thousand
and three and then two thousand and four season. Until
the twenty thirteen season, he was a member of the

(08:24):
Denver Broncos, which is where he established himself as pretty
much a Hall of Famer, although his Redskins years were
pretty good as well. There's a reason why he was
able to get traded for what he was, and you
know why his career ended up going the place that
it did. And then he had a cup of tea
with the New Orleans Saints in twenty fourteen. We'll get
into that obviously as we talk about how his career unfolded.

(08:47):
Three time first team All Pro two thousand and four,
two thousand and five, and two thousand and six, so
just a dominating year and right in my you know,
the sweet spot of my childhood fandom, like those you know,
two thousand and two, two thousand and three, all the
way up like two thousand and eight. Those were like
that era of not only NFL, but like WWE, those
were the really formative years for me. So like Champ Bailey,

(09:11):
the fact that he was first team All Pro three
years in a row, like clearly, that's why I have
this memory, That's why he left this imprint on my
mind of how great of a player that he was
for such a long period of time. But not just that.
One of my best friends growing up, one of my
best childhood friends, Dylan Chisholm, who's participated in mont Draftmania,

(09:32):
diehard Denver Broncos fan. He there's no player that he's
loved more that's played for the Denver Broncos than Champ Bailey.
And maybe that also has a little bit of something
to do with why I just have this affection for Champ,
just because maybe I was looking at it through a
Broncos fans pov and you know, I'm mad. No six,

(09:54):
I can't tell you how many Broncos versus Falcons games
with me and Dylan played where it was Michael Vick,
Champ Bailey. I mean those two guys making plays left
and right. Some of the best memories I have from
playing Madden was during those days, and Champ Bailey is
one of the best video game defensive players that I've
ever laid my eyes on. But we talked about it
or three time first team All Pro, four times second

(10:16):
Team All Pro two thousand, two thousand and three, two
thousand and seven, and then twenty twelve, twelve time Pro
Bowler two thousand, all the way to two thousand and seven,
so eight years straight there and then two thousand and nine, ten, eleven,
and twelve, so he had an eight year streak and
then a separate four year streak after missing the two
thousand and eight season. He led the league in interceptions

(10:36):
in two thousand and six. He was on the NFL
two thousands All Decade Team, the Pro Football Writers Association
All Rookie Team in nineteen ninety nine, the ninety Greatest
Players in Washington Commander's History, Denver Bronco's fiftieth Anniversary team
at Denver Bronco's Ring of Fame Bronco Negerski Trophy in
nineteen ninety eight, Consensus All American in nineteen ninety eight

(10:57):
and two time First team All SEC nineteen ninety seven
and nineteen ninety eight, and the NFL record most passes
or most pass deflections with two hundred and three total tackles,
nine hundred and thirty one interceptions, fifty two interception yards
for sixty four deflections like we just mentioned, two three,

(11:17):
four slumbles, seven fumble recovery, six, three sacks, and five
total touchdowns. One of the quick things we'll talk about,
one of the you know, the bigger moments, just kind
of touching base on some of the bigger points in
his career before we get into the chronological, you know,
his early days and things like that. In two thousand
and four, Bailey was traded to the Denver Broncos, where

(11:38):
he played for ten seasons until he was released in
early twenty fourteen following the Broncos Super Bowl forty eight loss.
Bailey signed with the New Orleans Saints shortly afterward, but
was released before the start of the regular season. In
October twenty fourteen, Bailey announced his retirement from the NFL
after fifteen seasons. He was selected to twelve Pro Bowls
in his career, the most ever for a cornerback. He

(11:59):
holds the current NFL record for most passes defended with
two hundred and three. In twenty nineteen, he was elected
to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first
year of eligibility. Bailey is widely considered to be one
of the greatest cornerbacks in NFL history. That's just the
general overview, like, this is what happened. This is where
his career kind of took off, where it kind of stopped,
and where he ultimately ended up, which is Canton, Ohio

(12:21):
in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, I went
to Canton in twenty eighteen. He was inducted in twenty
nineteen first ballot, so I wasn't able to see his bust.
But I do plan on going back very very soon.
I think it's what twenty twenty nine or twenty twenty,
twenty twenty nine or twenty thirty is going to be
when Julio Jones inevitably gets in, in my personal opinion,

(12:44):
if they make him wait, I mean Tory Holtz still waiting,
so I shouldn't be too surprised. But nonetheless, chan Bailey
was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and grew up in Folkston, Georgia,
where he was a three sport athlete football, basketball, and
track at Charlton County High School. Brothers Ronald and Boss
Bailey also played football Charlton County and the University of Georgia.

(13:06):
Champs first two seasons at Georgia overlapped with Ronald's last
two seasons. Champ then played his final season alongside Boss.
Ronald went on to sign with the NFL or with
the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, but suffered a career ending injury. Boss, however,
played linebacker in the NFL for the Detroit Lions from
two thousand and three to two thousand and seven, and

(13:26):
then joined Champ Bailey on the Denver Broncos in two
thousand and eight. At Charlton County High School, Bailey recorded
three thousand, five hundred and seventy three rushing yards, fifty
eight rushing touchdowns, thirteen one hundred yard rushing games, and
one thousand, two hundred and eleven passing yards on only
seventy four completions. On defense, he recorded eight interceptions, while
on special teams he returned twenty six kickoffs for seven

(13:48):
hundred and thirty yards and twenty two pumps or twenty
two punts for three hundred and eighteen yards. His total
offensive yardage was five thousand, eight hundred and fifty five
with three hundred and ninety four points scored. Bill holds
school records for season rushing yards with one thousand, eight
hundred and fifty eight, season rushing touchdowns with twenty eight,
season scoring with one hundred and eighty points, and single

(14:09):
game rushing yards with four hundred and seventeen, while also
tying the record for single game rushing touchdowns as well.
Bailey received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Georgia,
where he played for the Georgia Bulldog's football team from
nineteen ninety six to nineteen ninety eight. He was regarded
as one of college football's greatest multiple threats offense, defense,

(14:30):
and special teams in his three seasons as a Bulldog.
In his final year at Georgia, he registered fifty two tackles,
four for loss, three interceptions, seven passes deflected, forty seven
catches for seven hundred and forty four yards fifteen point
eight average, five touchdowns, eighty four yards rushing on sixteen carries,
twelve kickoff returns for two hundred and sixty yards and

(14:50):
four punt returns for forty nine yards. He averaged one
hundred and three point five all purpose yards per game
and logged nine hundred and fifty seven plays, five hundred
four seven on defense, three hundred and one on offense,
and one hundred and nine on special teams. That sounds familiar,
sounds a little bit like Travis Hunter, right, someone that's
coming into the league. Just you know, with snaps up there,

(15:11):
playing multiple sides of the ball. You know, it is
what it is. I feel like cham Bailey is one
of the few people that can do it at the
next level. He actually did, and Travis Hunter's cut from
the same cloth. Obviously went to Boulder, Colorado. It's not
too far from Denver, where champ Bailey made a name
for himself. I'm just saying, hey, look, Travis Hunter is
probably gonna be pretty damn good in the league. So
people I've seen already criticize like his route running or

(15:32):
something like that, and like, I get it, right, He's
standing next to Brian Thomas Junior and he's still adjusting
to the NFL. But just give him some time. And
I really think this dude's gonna just absolutely blow the
doors off. But whenever he was, you know, those nine
hundred and fifty seven plays when he was logging offense,
defense and a special team snaps. He earned consensus All

(15:55):
American First Team and then first team All SEC, claiming
the Ko Negersky Trophy as the nation's top defensive player.
Against the Virginia Cavaliers in the Peach Bowl, he caught
three passes for seventy three yards, including a fourteen yard touchdown,
rushed three times for only nine yards, returned five kickoffs
for one hundred and four yards, returned to punt twelve yards,

(16:15):
and posted two tackles and one pass defended at cornerback.
In three years at Georgia, he played thirty three games,
twenty four starts, and recorded one hundred and forty seven tackles,
two fumble recoveries, won forced fumble, eight interceptions, and twenty
seven PBUs. He was All SEC first team selection as
a sophomore, starting every game at left cornerback and one

(16:36):
game at wide receiver. He also participated in track and
field at the University of Georgia. He was a standout athlete. Obviously,
he ran the fifty five meter in the sixty meter dash,
recording personal best of six point three in the fifty
five meter and six point eight right around six point
nine in the sixty meter, which is insanely fast. He

(16:58):
also competed in the long jump and triple jump. He
set a school indoor long jump record in nineteen ninety
eight for seven point eight meters, which is twenty five
feet eleven inches, right under twenty six feet, to finish
third at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championship. Bailey
was selected with the seventh overall pick in the first
round of the nineteen ninety nine NFL Draft by the Redskins.

(17:21):
He was the first ever drafted player to come from
his hometown of Folkston, Georgia. On July twenty fourth, nineteen
ninety nine, Bailey signed a five year, twelve million dollar contract,
including a two million dollar signing bonus. Bailey quickly established
a reputation as one of the league's best defensive backs.
He was a large presence on the Redskins defense and
benefited from time spent with eventual Hall of Fame cornerback

(17:42):
teammates Tean Sanders and Darryl Green. After the two thousand
and three season, Bailey's contract with the Redskins expired, and
he threatened to boycott or boycott training camp if the
club exercised the franchise tag on him. In a surprising move,
the Redskins gave Bailey permission to seek a trade. Ooh, look,
I get it right. They got Clinton Ports back. He

(18:04):
was a hell of running back for him. But I
just personally feel like the Broncos won that trade. They
got to shut down Hall of Fame corner. That's really all,
you know, all it boils down to, because you know,
prior to the two thousand and four season, Bailey was
traded to the Denver Broncos along with a second round
pick for Clinton Portis. So the Broncos are the ones

(18:27):
that got a second round pick back. The Redskins paid
a lot the hefty price for that back in the day.
On September twelfth, two thousand and four, during the NFL's
opening a Sunday night football game with the season. Ear
With the NFL's opening Sunday night football game of the
season against the Kansas City Chiefs, Bailey intercepted his first
pass as a Denver Bronco. On January fourteen, two thousand
and six. In a Divisional round playoff game against the

(18:49):
defending champion New England Patriots, he broke the record for
the longest non scoring play in NFL history at the time.
With the Patriots near the goal line, he intercepted a
pass from a quarterback Tom Brady in the end zone
and returned at one hundred yards to the New England
one yard line before he was tackled by New England's
Benjamin Watson. In two thousand and six, Bailey had ten interceptions,

(19:10):
tied for the best in the NFL with Patriots cornerback
as Sante Samuel, and did not give up a single
touchdown during the season. Bailey, San Diego Chargers running back
lt and Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor were all
three unanimous choices for the NFL All Pro Team that season.
Following the season's conclusion, Bailey finished second voting for NFL

(19:30):
a DPOY, which obviously Defensive Player of the Year. In
two thousand and nine, Bailey did not allow a touchdown
and eighty passes thrown his way that year. He played
ninety eight percent of the snaps and remained one of
the best tackling quarterbacks in the game. On September fifteenth,
two thousand and nine, Bailey was chosen for the Broncos
fiftieth Anniversary Team by the Denver community. The team was

(19:51):
honored during halftime of the Legacy Game versus the Patriots
on October eleventh. In twenty ten, Bailey matched up against
some of the NFL's best wide receivers. He held Dwayne
Boden no catches on two targets. The Arizona Cardinals only
completed three passes on him for nineteen yards in a
game bre he matched up with Larry Fitzgerald. Bailey was
selected to play in his record breaking at tenth Pro Bowl.

(20:15):
No cornerback in NFL history has been chosen to more.
He ranked forty eighth by his fellow players on the
NFL Top one hundred Players of twenty eleven. It was
announced on February twenty second, twenty eleven, by the Broncos
Vice President of football Operations John Elway, that Bailey was
re signed to a four year contract. During the twenty
twelve offseason, Bailey was named the forty six player in

(20:38):
the NFL by the league's network and Top one hundred
players of twenty twelve and In that twenty twelve season,
Bailey was named All Pro for the eighth time in
his career and was selected to the twenty thirteen Pro Bowl.
The Pro Bowl selection was his twelfth, extending the record
he set for trips by a cornerback and tie the
record for most Pro Bowls played along with Randall McDaniel

(20:59):
and Will Shields. On December sixth, twenty twelve, Bailey recorded
the fifty second and final interception of his career, picking
off Carson Palmer into twenty six to thirteen victory on
Thursday Night Football over the Oakland Raiders. During the twenty
twelve AFC Division Round against the Ravens, Bailey was beaten
woefully multiple times on deep routs by Ravens wide receiver
Troy Smith, who totaled ninety eight yards for two touchdowns

(21:22):
on three catches as Baltimore would go on to win
the game in dramatic fashion thirty eight thirty five in
double overtimeute to eventually winning Super Bowl forty seven. Bailey
struggles against Smith led to the initial speculation of the
effectiveness of the aging thirty four year old cornerback. During
the twenty thirteen offseason, Bailey was named the fifty third
best player in the NFL by his peers on the

(21:42):
league's network, NFL Network. During the course of the twenty
thirteen season, while not making his debut until Week seven
at the Indianapolis Colts, Bailey was limited to a career
low five games with a foot injury. However, Bailey returned
in time for the playoffs and held his own when
fellow cornerback Chris had was ruled out for the remainder
of the season after a torn acl Bailey played in

(22:04):
his first Super Bowl at Super Bowl forty eight, in
which he had four tackles, and at forty three to
eight loss to the Seattle Seahawks. On March sixth, twenty fourteen,
the Denver Broncos released champ Bailey, and then on April fourth,
twenty fourteen, less than a month later, champ Bailey signed
a two year, seven million dollars contract with the Saints.
Bailey failed to make the final roster and was released

(22:27):
by the team on August thirtieth, twenty fourteen. That's crazy
he got cut like that's how champ Bailey went out
obviously October eighteen, twenty fourteen. Just a couple or let's see,
August thirtieth, twenty fourteen, is when he was cut. October
eighteenth is when he announced his retirement, and then on
November fourteenth, it was announced that Bailey would sign a
one day contract with the Denver Broncos to allow him

(22:49):
to officially retire as a Denver Bronco. And then on
February second, twenty nineteen, Bailey was elected to the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
He was enshrined on August thirty two, twenty nineteen, during
the ceremony and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. And
that's just such a poetic way for Champ Bailey to
end his career. One of the best cornerbacks to ever

(23:09):
do it, one of the fastest, one of the most athletic.
Like there's so many things about him, There's so many
things that you can say that just really put him
in a tier of his own. And it kind of
sucks that he went out like that. I kind of
wish he would have just retired after the Broncos, like
you go to the Saints, Damn. I remember when that happened.
I was thinking, like, come on, man, the Saints really champed,
Like I've respected you for all these years and you're

(23:30):
gonna go play for them, and the fact that it
didn't even work out just makes it even worse. I
would like to see him just go out, you know that,
with that stallion on his helmet. But nonetheless, thank you
guys so much. I appreciate you guys tuning in for
the illustrious return of NFL AT Mortals. This will not
be the only one. There will not be two. I
plan on dropping one of these like, because I mean,

(23:52):
we've been going every other day dropping an episode here.
I do continue or plan on continuing that trend. So
I don't know exactly when this episod so or I
guess when the next NFL A Mortals is going to drop,
but I'm hoping to do at least one a week.
So bear with me and we will get through this.
Bad boy. But thank you guys so much for tuning in.
Have a damn good weekend. Enjoy whatever it is that

(24:12):
you're doing, whether it's the College Baseball or I guess
I should say College Softball World Series where Texas Tech
into a dynasty. I had to, you know, give a
shout out to Tech for our boys CEM, but also
give a shout out to ou Softball for you know,
going down all the way to the final out, finishing strong.
That's what you know, being a Boomer Sooner is all about.

(24:34):
And you know, obviously I'm extremely proud of that group.
Every single sport today, oh you plays in they're expected
to compete. That's why it sucks whenever they lose. And
we've been in such a rebuilding period in football, and
it sucks that has been kind of simultaneous with the
Falcons and what they got going on. So football hasn't
been as enjoyable for me as it has been all
these years. All thesemortals that I'm talking about during you know,

(24:56):
their heyday, that's when the NFL was, you know, its
peak for me, and I'm hoping that we can get
back there hopefully this year with Michael Pinnox and just
go to a good spot. But thank you guys so much.
Have a damn good rest of your week, have an
inciting weekend, walk passionately in the direction of your dreams,
and we'll talk to you soon.