Hard Knocks Detroit Lions: Episode 2 Recap

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Speaker 1: Detroy Dey is a good sports town. Detroit is fiercely proud of its tigers and just as partisan about its lions. What's the play they keep on trying? That's all Welcome to another edition of Hard Knocks, presented by Around the NFL. I'm Dan Jansas, and I'm joined by the tiny box to my tug boat wearing a robe somewhere I don't know where, but you look smashing, Colleen Wolf. Dan, Uh, this is a big day for me. I am in Sonoma for a work event, and I am feeling a little ron Burgundy. I'm really leaning in and enjoying myself. So I put on this blue robe to do the show. Is this gonna end with you having a brown drink in your hand and yelling cannonball and jumping into a ten foot pool? I hope. So I have to locate a couple of those items first during the show, but maybe if everyone's lucky fingers crossed? All right? So we are, yes, separated by hundreds of miles, but we're together to talk. Episode two of Hard Knocks training Camp with the Detroit Lions and uh Connie. Once again, the David Robodo theme song snaps you right into it. I'm focused. I do not want to let Dan Campbell down because I don't want him to go on me like he will on you if you're not paying attention during a preseason game, which, by the way, that's a huge ask. We've been watching football for a long time, Connie. Everybody knows that preseason is, you know, kind of a joke, especially later in games, and if you're an every day or a starting player, keeping your focus on the game is not something you typically see when they flashed to the sidelines. And yet Dan Campbell was telling his gang, if you are not locked in every second of this preseason game, I will kill you. Basically, I'm paraphrasing, well, I can't believe that your Mike already hasn't been cut off. The preseason is a big deal. You can catch twenty two live ones on NFL Network. All of the games will be there. I was in the studio on Saturday, and I feel like I know everything about Kenny Pickett at this point. Listen the preseason. It's a big deal. But I can understand how players might not be locked in, especially for the Lions when they're playing Falcons. Fourth quarter of a preseason game between the Lions and the Falcons is a little bleak, not gonna lie. But Dan Campbell he's trying to get his guys to focus in and I appreciate that. Yeah, And I thought, obviously coming off episode one, Episode one was I thought, such a banger in the history, the rich history, the history is rich Connie of this uh documentary series that I don't remember the cold open of the show being a last time on Hard Knocks, which was appropriate because it was a banger. There are a few premiers that stack up in recent years like this one did, so we got to see many of the greatest hits from episode one, and of course Dan Campbell was prominently involved. And when you look at episode two, Campbell is not as much or is not as high in the mix as he was an episode one, and that that's okay, he can't. It doesn't have to be all Dan Campbell all the time. Uh. Instead, I thought this this episode kind of showed us when you think about what was the theme of this episode, What was NFL films, What is HBO trying to tell us uh with the story here? I think the theme was the Lions are now in training camp. They are in the middle of it there and and we're starting to get a better idea of what this team is up against. Quite frankly, because I think there's been so much positive vibes around the Detroit Lions and throughout this offseason, the draft, the ramp up, all the field good vibes, um, all the talk about the improved roster, the number two overall pick um. And now you have a situation where you forget that this team went three and four teen last year and this team has Jared Goff as the starting quarterback, no disrespect intended, and this team has so much work to do to get to where they need to be. And you even see it. And we're going to get to the preseason game that capped this episode. In that game, and it reminded me kind of how many terrible losses they had last season where they couldn't close a game, and they didn't close a preseason game, and uh so that was a big takeaway from me that yes, the Lions are fun, they're frisky, they got grit for days, but this episode reminded us that this their a long way from where they want to be. Episode two was basically a reality check. Episode one felt like all of the buzz. This team has so much personality. There is so much optimism and positivity around them. They're gonna be amazing. It's a fresh start. Look at all these like former players that are coaches, and then you get a preseason game and you remember everything that happened last year. Now a couple of things that you mentioned off the top here. I also noted that Dan Campbell, he was featured a little less in this episode. I did enjoy the ad a baby that we got a lot from him. I didn't you know, we heard an episode one. Everything was like, come on, man, like man, you know, it's a lot of man's which I appreciate. But the ad a baby was new, and I don't know if that is a phrase that everybody uses. Maybe I'm just like not in the know about it, but I ad a baby maybe had faded in the parlance of society a little bit, uh, and now maybe come back thanks to Dan Campbell dent talent right right like at a baby, I'd kiss you right now if you weren't breathing so hard. Dan Campbell said at one point that was interesting. But I did have a little bit of I lose track of these things. I have no idea what is right and what is wrong anymore, but I do know that Dan Campbell has shades of Matt Foley and his voice and his intensity when he's screaming at the team from SNL. Great Chris Marley who played uh Matt Folly the motivational speaker with David Spade, And I can't even remember who else was in that amazing the other sister in the most famous one when he fell into the table or fell through the table. Yeah, living in a van down by the river. So when you watch these episodes, I want you to think about that. Um. But overall, I think that my big takeaway from this episode and the theme that I got was that they are trying to get this team, the Lions, to match the attitude of the city, that it's on the rise, and that it is completely gritty. It's Detroit against everybody. It's literally on the walls. Dan Campbell has GrITT written on his hat. I mean, this is very it's it's a little like Philadelphia in like Philly versus the world. That was kind of their mantro. And they went to the super Bowl, but it felt like an episode where the producers and everyone was was kind of trying to show that this team is trying to prove how physical and attacking they want to be. That the coaches are working so hard to change the culture there, and you can see that when Aaron Glenn is like addressing the team about changing their mindset and that they need to get that winning feeling back. You can see that when Kelvin Shepherd, it is Kelvin Shephard, right, Yeah, the coach is kind of address I mean when I say addressing the linebackers, he was basically like chewing them out for Rodrigo being able, like showing them all up. You can see it when Duce Staley is telling the coach does what he wants out of Swift. It's all throughout the show. It's woven in. It's Amant Ross st Brown versus everybody. I mean, you can it from start to finish. So that was kind of like my big takeaway. That's a great like sports mentality to have the nobody believes in his card. It's been a well worn trope for decades and decades, but it it does suit the Lions well. And I think Campbell's wise to play that way because you are playing off the failure of the failures of the organization for decades upon decades. So that was so you take this stance of listen, every nobody thinks we can do it, but we think we can do it. And that's what training camp is about. It's us going into bunker mode together to figure figure it out. And you brought up Malcolm Rodriguez, who is um. He is our right now alone in the clubhouse as the lead underdog of season seventeen of Hard Knocks. He is ah what was he a fifth round pick? Justin sixth round pick, Malcolm Rodriguez. We saw him briefly uh doing a dance um an episode one, but now we see him blowing up uh, blowing up the offense at the linebacker position in episode two. And you get glowing praise by Kelvin Shepherd UM just using Malcolm Rodriguez as a basically a guy saying listen, this is who you need to be better than. He's only a six round pick, which I thought with Rodriguez right there in the meeting room, a little bit of a weird vibe that maybe is like, what do you mean, why are you actually like it's not good enough? That I'm not you know, you're these guys shouldn't be better than me. But I thought it was an app point that he was making that uh and he made sure Shepherd to pump him up by saying, coach has been in this building for five years, said he has not seen a stack linebacker made this kind of play, referring to one play where he blew up a player, and it's like, I will say one warning. I want to give a warning to viewers that maybe don't know hard knocks as well as us. When you start, when you have a segment when a player, uh low drafted player and undrafted player gets talked up like that, you assume he's going to be a star. He very well could be cut at the end of this month or early September. That's how this game works sometimes. But it looks like Malcolm Rodriguez is earning his key. I'm also the linebackers maybe they just aren't that good. I mean, you have that that meeting was kind of tense, like him motivating the other linebackers by low key shading Rodrigo at the same time like that was basically you could look at it two ways. Do we have an issue with the nickname Rodrigo. Is that? I mean, that's his name is Rodriguez, And we could do better than that, right, Well, this was the nickname that was given on the first day, So that to me kind of spokelish because it seems like you have to earn everything on this team except maybe your nicknames, because it's a big nickname team. You got Josh Reynolds, they call him the Serpent of Dea. Did you catch that at the beginning? Like, I don't know if that was just like, I mean, funches, bunches of oats there there's a lot of nicknames throughout this entire episode, but the Serpent of Death was one that both stood out to me. You're kind of making my point like Josh Reynolds is as a serpent of death and Malcolm Rodriguez is Rodrigo. I mean, I just I don't know, I don't have to I don't have a big issue with it, but maybe in this one in this one case, I think Dan Campbell could do a little better than that. You also mentioned, uh, DeAndre Swift and you know, I want to play this clip from Deuce Staley who had another big show. I thought another big app for Deuce, the former Eagles running back turned assistant coach of the Lions, and Um, I want to play what Dud's had to say speaking in a private UM conference room with the other coaches about Swift. Uh. And then I have another thing to add. Let's listen to that grave digger Swift. Time you step on I need him to know when he's one on one, no matter if he's running around or he has the ball in his hand, no one can guard him or time. I want him to go to Dan and halftime. So coach on the ball. He got it. It's in there, boys special and every day we go out there between those lines, he gotta believe that. And I'm gonna try my hardest to get that shout of him. I ain't gonna try, I'm gonna get it out him because he can be so special. I've been around some guys that's been in space, two special ones. He got it. And you see right after that, dude standing a private meeting with the runnings back running backs because Staley is also the running backs coach, challenging Swift to be a more aggressive runner, to to kind of go the act. Take it to the next level. Uh, and take all that promise and turn it into him being a top running back in the league. And I think you've got a nice glimpse there, Connie into the team's feelings on Swift as he enters his third year. He was the thirty fifth overall pick in draft. Going in the top thirty five is a running back in the modern NFL means a team thinks you're a star. And I think he's flashed that. And he certainly was on his way to having a star type season last year before he got injured in Week twelve. But you you could tell they're banking on him to be a stud and and there's maybe some messaging that they see that hasn't gotten through yet that they're trying to get into his head. And this was another example that I sort of put in that bucket of the coaches trying to change the mentality of the entire team, because this seems like it's not a physical thing with Swift, because Deuce seems to love him. It's more of a mental thing. It's more of unlocking that potential, like when he says that he wants to know that he's the best on the field. When Swift walks on the field, Like, that's a confidence thing to me. When he says that he wants Swift to go to him and say I want the ball, that's a draw of things. That's a competitive fire thing to me. This is saying that he is just one of the players on the team that maybe is getting comfortable in being complacent. Like Michael Irvin always talks about when he first got to Dallas and they were bad, and Irv had been really good in college and he just was always wired that way, and when he got into that locker room, he was like, I don't understand, Like, why aren't you guys upset? Why aren't you guys like trying to get better? And the veterans were like, you know, you just gotta cash that check. You're good. And so he always talks about how difficult it was to change the culture, and that's something that you can see especially with Swift, because he really likes him. It's he seems to think that Swift is on the precipice of kind of greatness and if he just gives that little extra effort, you know, if he just gives that stiff arm, then he'll get the touchdown. If he's a little bit more physical. If he is a little bit more greedy, then they can they can get over that hump. And it's it's not just him, it's him and it's everybody on the team. Yeah. I think with Swift he has all the talent in the world. We need to get some more grit into Swift. And like you said, the Stiff Farm where that we see the clip where do Stanley makes a point to say, you could have scored here if you would have gotten more physical bouncing inside instead of bouncing outside in the preseason game given it to him. So a little tough love for Swift thought that was interesting. How about Connie um Arman, ross st Brown and uh Grave Digger. I know this one hit home for you because he's coming off an excellent season um and he was the first to say, in fact, that's how we we first learned about um st Brown where he says for me, I'd say my draft experience with and then he goes over through every single receiver and how many of them were there, just including a certain Tennessee tighten your favorite team. Yes, sixteen receivers drafted ahead of him, including Dez Fitzpatrick to the Titans. The final receiver drafted ahead of Aman Ross St. Brown. Yeah, so he and he takes those off Connie off the top of his head. So he's one of those motivation guys. We learned a lot about the st. Brown or was it Brown family. It's a little confusing, okay. So one of the things that I found really interesting was when almam Ras St. Brown was reciting all of the receivers and the schools they went to. He did it with a thousand yards stare, like he kind of just was like a little dead in the eyes while he was who saw too much that type of so so he is that is absolutely a chip on his shoulder. But the whole family. This episode also kind of had like a little family ties theme throughout it with Alma Ross St. Brown, with hutch At Aidan Hutchinson and his family again with David Baloo. But just to stay on Alman Raw real quick, like his dad being was your universe. I had interviewed his brother, Equonymius St. Brown at the Combine when he was coming out, and so I have all of these fun facts which I did not bother to double check double source here, but I'm gonna tell you what I have in my notes and you can do whatever you guys want with them. But I do have a little note here that says the dad added st to his last name because he said it just kind of came to him in the moment, and he thought it was cool on the back of a jersey because it was when we see the dad's name is John Brown. It did throw me for a loop. Then it took me a while to recover from. But Satan was added. Okay, right, so there's that. Then. Another little fun fact about his brother, Equanimius, was that his dad started him lifting weights at age eight and would feed him protein shakes and red meat three times a day. Now that is unconfirmed. Not sure about that. However, his dad seemed pretty intense in this episode, and even when they were working out, the fact there's no talking really allowed. They're working out, and I'm not sure while why his dad was talking down to water, but he was saying, what's wrong with spit? Are you're getting soft? Now? I don't know. I feel like water is kind of a pretty well known thing. But he's he's old school. He's like Bear Bryant having a nine hour practice in summer without water breaks because it makes you a better football player, I vibe. I don't. I don't necessarily, I feel like the science doesn't support lack of hydration during high level exercising. But yeah, no water allowed, no talking um, the stuff about eating all the red meat and what was the other note you had there, Uh, that he would just get proteins a very young age. And at least that was equanimious. I'm sure maybe I don't know. They both got it. And then somehow Kevin Durant at one point catches a stray because his achilles because he wasn't doing enough guess calf exercises. I was like, whoa, this dude is wildly intense. Um. And I will say that I do believe the Brown family or the st Brown's, whatever you want to refer to them as, they should have a suite. I mean, if we're gonna give then I understand the Hutches. It's twenty million dollars um guaranteed in the in the bonus money. And but it's not a great look when you got the Browns down there in the two hundred level and then you flash up to the Hutches and let's check in with the Hutches. What is the name of the sitcom when the Hutches have their own sitcom checking in with the Hutches. That's that's let's workshop that one. Um. I enjoyed a lot about it. I like the moment with Mia Hutchinson. I filed this under one of my quotes of the Day from episode two. Just um, I don't know. I just like the way she said this play great digger. I just like the way she said that. Well. Also, the mom like shushes them. They're like come like, She's like, come on, Aidan is in here. But it's a very relatable thing, especially when like some of these quarterbacks are changing teams in the off season. Um, that was that was very funny. I was thinking maybe, like the no I was, I was trying to workshop a Hutch name for you, but the Brady Hatch doesn't work. Never mind, Um what I would like to Yeah, we will, we will. I like that they have a family logo on their tease team Hutch that they all wear. It's like a customize logo. But the shade the ship. I mean, it's an old school upright, is that what the logo is? I think? So, yeah, yeah, that's a you know, they're getting creative I'm sure they have a name workshopped for their sitcom, but I did love the shade that uh Ros Dad John Brown kind of sent their way when he said they're not sitting in the stands with us like nikes. Um, that was that was a rough moment. But I'm like a crossover with the Browns and the Hutches on a very special episode of Hanging with the Hutches. There you've got. I think that would really work. Let's take a break and then Connie's going to drop a hammer of an observation from episode two. We'll be right back. Great, alright, Conne I teased it, so you did? You did? Um? And I was like going to bring up David Blow here, So I always though that is a good spot. Is it time for the blow Hards? Listeners are the around the NFL podcast? UM are surely aware that a few years back, Mark Sessler colleague UM fell fell hard for David Blow and UM formed a fan club called the blow Hards. And I have since signed up with the blow Hards. I know you're a member, card carrying member of the blow Hards, of course, So this was kind of a bitter sweet episode from that standpoint. A tough blow, if you will. For for the blow hards, it was it was tough to see his wife Melissa watching the game and the stands, and it was not a great game for him. The play by play said, especially well with me when he said I can't remember who was calling the game, but Blow is running out of time. It hit a little different, you know, like you could take that a lot of different ways. He kind of is running out of time. He for people you know a little behind the scenes. I mean, listen, Jared starting quarterback, but Tim Boyle and David Blower and the in the battle for the backup duties, and this is this has always been traditionally really fertile ground for hard knocks, the backup quarterback role. So I do want to I want to see the other side of I want to get some boil uh in the in the future episodes to get that side of things. But I do like Blow. I like that he was involved. I like meeting his Olympian wife. But it is the bitter sweet aspect of a Connie is how we had all the build up and he's going to her training and we're seeing the rooting uh in the from the team headquarters a year earlier when she was qualifying for the Olympics, and then for the preseason game to have a hideous botch snap in the fourth quarter, and then the fourth quarter rally goes nowhere, the blow hards are, you know, not feeling too hot, and we're worried about his job prospects to hold onto this gig. Sure, but hopefully there's a redemption story right around the corner, because that has been the blow hards calling card um with him, so we'll say maybe he can recreate. Wasn't a Thanksgiving that he had that amazing game and we have like one. Really it was Thanksgiving. Another highlight for me was Barry Sanders being a big fan of the field conditions. I mean, he just was going on and on about the grass. You know, listen, if you're old enough to remember Barry Sanders, and I was, I was a high school kid when he was the greatest running back on the planet, Listen. Emma Smith might have been the most decorated or that have the most yards, but the best running back in the nineties and maybe the best running back ever in the non Jim Brown category to me might be Barry Sanders. That's how amazing he was and special. And Barry is not, to me the most charismatic individual when I see when he's interviewed, he doesn't always jump off the page. And I you almost could sense the hard knocks wanted to give him a little more juice in this episode, but it just didn't say anything that interesting on the sideline other than man, this grass iss sure is green? I mean, listen, he loved it, though I did enjoy the flashback to where he had the massive shoulder pads, like with the dead grass supporting as a quick as side. It is incredible how far the teams and the league itself has come in terms of field preparation and maintaining and in general just putting in the players in the best position to be healthy and successful. Uh. That was only and it looked like they were playing on a sand lot in Brooklyn in nineteen fifty. It was like, what are we what are we doing here? But luckily Barry never suffered an injury on that type of turf. Um. You know, since you bring it up, two things Number one, um, I once covered the first Super Bowl ever covered with Super Bowl forty six in Indianapolis. Giants Patriots too and me and Mark it was both our first Super Bowl UH coverage experience together. And our boss at the time, Justin um, put us to work and it was fine. We were young and hungry and we wanted it. We ended up both working like seventy five or eighty hours that week. When we turned to the time card, it was like a minor disaster back in the home office when we turned in the card. But you get up to that number because of things like on Saturday before the Super Bowl, I was sent to cover the celebrity flag football game at the minor league field in Indianapolis, which was wild. Uh Snoop was the captain of one team. I believe Maria Minutos was the standout on the other team. And the only thing I can tell you is that it was a mix of UM stars, stars and and retired athletes and Barry Sanders. I'll never forget being completely kind of out of the game plan. Like Barry Sanders was on one of the teams in this flag football contest and they rarely used him. I'll never forget that, just seeing Barry wandering around the field not getting the ball and who put this together? Whose fault was that? I don't know, and then also on the Barry Sanders tip, Yes it is time now for our Leef Schreiber quote of the week with our Leef Schreiber stand in the great Jason Zumwalt take it away, Jay Detroit Icon Barry Sanders, is this straight up legend ironic because straight lines were never his move? Two for two so good, He's so good at this they could just pay some wall to do it. Yeah, well, probably be cheaper, all right. What other takeaways Connie as we get uh closer to the picks for episodes, Yes, I just have like, uh two other little things, you know how I I think the greatest compliment that anyone can give is calling someone a bastard, because that's what I have named our a t N text change of bastards. Like, when someone is a bastard, they are someone who can joke around and they can kind of like trash each other in a fun way. And I feel like we saw that a lot throughout this episode with Douce Daley telling guys to study because they're not getting dates for their looks. Dan Campbell getting on T. J. Hockenson about his short that looked like his wives have shorts that looked like that they were very short. I mean that was that was one of the highlights for me. But I think that that is sort of a recurring theme that there are some some pretty big bustards on this team. Yeah, that's good starts. UM. Always good to have a few of those. Are a bunch of those. UM. I had a question about hutch hutch did the MJ sack celebration or a tackle? He had a tackle for loss in the preseason game, um, and it was Michael Jackson impersonation. I don't know, because I don't follow the game college game closely. Was that directly because of the Billy Jean moment from episode one or was that something he's done previous in his career. I assumed that it was because of episode one, and I think at one point even his mom says that she had texted him about it earlier in the day like that. So I think that they're just trying to like build the brand a little bit. It's like they have the Hut clothing line. They're trying to build that brand and aid Hutchinson was also rehearsing the handshake that he was going to do. I guess it's like a handshakes handshakes celebration, like when he was tapping someone up. They were rehearsing it on the side earlier in the episode, so I thought that was kind of cute. It was it was is there anything else we want to hit before we get to our m v P votes using voting system. The only thing I was thinking was in the recap, like last time on Hard Knocks, they replayed Jamal Williams and his speech and when he said if you're going to piss like a puppy, stay on the porch and let the big dogs eat. In the moment, I really wasn't sure what the hell he was talking about, but when they replayed it, I figured it out. I finally realized, Oh, I guess he means the puppies are scared and that's why they're pissing on the porch. But it's still a little unclear. I guess that's in connect with you. It didn't connect with me because I've never had puppies pissing on the porch before. I've never had a porch, So yeah, I guess the big dogs eating and the puppies pissing, I got like a little confused in the metaphors. Okay, well you eventually landed it, so everything everything's fine. Plotline predictions for episode three I got, okay, we need and you could feel it the Hard Knocks producers like, Okay, we need to get into Jared Goff at some point? Is it if we wait till episode four? That feels too long? We can't push it an episode five because that's just almost disrespect got the time before gone right, So it's like, I feel like episode three is going to be a neat little spot for him. Um, we're still waiting, as I mentioned last week, for a visit downtown that pays homage to the Detroit music scene, you know, soul, blues, hip hop, garage rock. You know, we get a Jack White visit, his visits Lions Practice. You know, these are all things that could be that. And uh, one last prediction is you you mentioned Jamal Williams and his dog metaphors, Um, bring him back? I mean I was saying before the show to grave digression and who's an example of a running back who whenever he gets a chance, shines and then all of a sudden he goes into hibernation. The coach puts him in Mothballs Tony Pollard. Great job by Grave Digger there with the cowboys. That's what it felt like for episode two. It's like Jammal Williams just blew up the world and then all we get from him is an episode closing Uh dad joke about James Bond. I need more Jamal Williams in episode three, bubb seven, it was so good James Bond taking a bath Bubbalo seven. Let's listen to the joke in case you didn't hear the joke. What s alright, It's time for episode MVP voting again. Vector voting scale, first, second, and third place votes all carried different H point totals that are weighted. At the end of the fifth episode the finale on September six, we will reveal uh through addition just simple math, that Grave Digger will handle um who is indeed the Hard Knocks m VP for who is your first place? Wait? Dan, can I stop you right there? Yeah? What if we count up from third second first? A little more drama on the reveal? You know, what good job are you? It was actually running through my head. Should we do it that way? I went the other way? But now that you're coming in. That's good producer work, and that's Justin Graver. Who is your third place vote for m VP of episode two. I'm gonna go with Deuce Daley. He's been a favorite of mine from the jump. Last week he was my second place vote, so this week I didn't want to go second place again with Deuce, so I'm gonna knock him down to three. All Right, I have and that's a good vote. We're going to hear more about Deuce in a minute. Third place, I have Dan Campbell. Obviously this wasn't Campbell's episode one coming out party, but he had two lines that I love. First, the a form mentioned uh chance encounter with Hockinson his tight end that led to this commentary on his shorts really accentuate. And then uh Devin Funches, who you may remember once upon a time being a panther's wide receiver of note. Now he's looking to catch on and make a splash with the Lions. He makes a nice catch in the back of the end zone, and I believe it was a tim Boil throw and Campbell, I think, kind of into his headset, but also to no one in particular have this to say funches bunches of votes. All right, I love that one that gets him, that gets him on the metal stand. Who's your second place? Second place is m On raw St Brown's dad, John Brown, John Brown, Are you serious? John Brown? Don't call him John st Brown because he's not. Yeah, he's it's gotta be. I mean the old footage of him as Mr Universe and then all of the stuff with him in the weight room with them now, I mean, it was just perfect. I also like, um, you know, as a dad, and I just got back from Legoland um today this morning in fact, and I'm just like, I mean, the eight year old, we're just starting to bump heads a little bit because he just won't listen to me as much anymore. So you know, we're starting to you know, do that thing, do that dance, that part of fatherhood and you got a freedom red meat three times a day. That's it. I like this line. I could I could empathize with this line from John Brown where he's like, you know, people should listen to me. I know I'm a father and I'm freaking Mr Universe two times. I know what I'm Yes, Maybe he just want at once. M hmmm. I love how many times do you think he reminds people about that? And that's so awesome. I love it. I think John Brown is a reality If it was two thousand and eight, he would have a reality a show on TLC. Off this. I mean, maybe there's still time. Yeah, all right, so we both have John. But I don't know. I thought about is that throwing away a vote? Because you know John Brown? Is he gonna keep popping up? But we don't know. Maybe you will. I hope he's exactly that's I had no problem with that. A second place, I bet. I know we're going to have the same first place now. I don't think so. In fact, I know we won't. Who's your first place? WHOA I'm going with Rodrigo. I feel like he had such a big part of I mean, he was just such a big part of like that whole speech when Kelvin Sheppard was ripping everybody apart. He was kind of a star practice. Uh, you've got Rodrigo talking about it's a great time get to be hit in practice and hitting people. I don't know. That was He's my he's my underdog that I'm rooting for, and so I had to give him my first place vote. I totally see where you're coming from that. I you know, the reason why he didn't get a vote for me is because I thought the storyline around him is interesting, but I didn't think he personally did enough to get the gold or or metal for me. So I'm happy that he's thriving, but I need to see more for him to get on the metal stand. I gave it to de Staley. I think that I love Dues how he's acing what is essentially an audition for the thirty one other teams as a head coach, and that's what these that's what this show can be UM for an assistant coach, And I don't think there's anything I think he's being himself. I think he's being real. I loved that uh that whole interlude with uh DeAndre Swift. I just thought that was that's a good coach. That's a guy that is using his experience UH to see the that Swift is a special player. The way he talked about him to the coaches, the way he spoke directly UH too Swift in the meeting right after that, And it did remind me of the so always stuck with me UM on all or nothing. The all or nothing season with the Arizona Cardinals. Uh, there's an end of season meeting, private meeting between the running backs coach of that team named Stump Mitchell and a young David Johnson, and Stump Mitchell says kind of the same thing or something similar uh to what do said to DeAndre Swift, which is, listen, you could be really special. You could be as good as anybody in the league right now if you just keep up what you're doing. That was more like you're doing everything great, just keep doing it. Does clearly thinks that Swift needs to be pushed, and I think, um, Swift, I don't know if he does make the leap in year three, but I think he has the right coach to do it. So I think Deuce back to back episodes has been really uh fun to watch and just seems like the type exact type of guy you as a head coach you want underneath you as an assistant coach. I've been slow playing my Doucet Dailey love a little bit because i have just like always loved him so much, and I'm I've been worried watching this that I'm a little biased because of his past with the Eagles and everything else. But now you're just confirming that everything I'm thinking is right. So yeah, the Deuce Daley love is real. No, the Deuce Staley train is rolling. And and a special mention to my guy Aaron Glenn, who I do. I think he's coming off very well in this show as well. And if that defense gets a lot better this year, and it could, um, I think his name is going to come up for head coaching jobs come January. Uh. Just the guy that obviously commands respect and knows his ball. All right. Now, before we say goodbye, a couple of things, Connie, we gave Grave Digger a lot of work. I feel like our producer in episode one, I think we had asked him, uh swag. We asked for Detroit pizza at some point. Yeah, there might have been a third request that I'm not recalling out the time. Where are we with the request? So where are we? Producer? Justin after one week we have merch has arrived. Hey, this is great. I'm gonna come in the studio to present it to Dan and then we can hold up your so you can see it, because we'll go to you when you're back in town. I'll be in studio next week. Perfect. I have a lead on Detroit style pizza, So maybe next week in studio we'll eat a little bit. Maybe that's a finale thing. Maybe it is. But if you got to leave, that's great news. And then the third request I will have to double check on because I also don't remember what it was. Um, great, all right here it comes justin with the shirts we got the merch Yes we got. And that's not what's a varsity jacket looking? Oh, Connie, it is NFL films on the front. It's clearly as Connie's shirt. This would be it's a cruise shirt. Yeah, T shirt, hard box. True, that's beautiful. Thank you to Ken Rodgers and the very good. Um, we'll wear that with pride. Listen, where does that's great? Integrity doesn't isn't a thing on the Hard Knocks podcast. Now, we're proud of this, this whole operation and the product, and we're just promoting it absolutely special shout out to Chris Wong for sending those to us. Chris, Thanks Chris, We love you. Um all right now, we'll be back next week episode three. Make sure you tune it for that and especial I'm I'm especially excited for this one, Connie, because you're gonna be in studio with me, and we're gonna really we're gonna chop up episode three, you know, real quick. I hope that there's some more cars involved. I know that that's like another thing with Detroit, and I thought there would be more cars, like I noticed that they incorporated some of the guys using like big tires and then with smash cut to like an old car type thing to make that Detroit theme go. But I'm hoping there's more coming up that. You also reminded me of David blow and his uh hype speech on the last drive when they're trying to run out the clock and I don't know if anybody's listening to him, but he's in the hud only is like, listen, this city. You know they like it tough. They you know, they want us to grind this out, and and we're gonna show the city that we're tough like them. And then like a snap, fires off his hands again. Bitter sweet day for the blow hearts. But there's always next week on Hard. I hope this time next week, Connie, we are talking positively about David blow having a big week two preseason. But we'll have to wait. Well, I'll bring the rope all right, Thank you everybody for listening. Here he comes, David Rob. Do you think David just walks around the house this plank? I hope he wakes up and it starts playing. Its like he just turns it on and his wife's like, turn it off. He's making coffee with it all. No, no, non, turn it off? Alright until next week. See