BONUS EP: Wide Receivers Michael Pittman Jr., Christian Watson and Adam Thielen from Radio Row

00:00:03
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where we love a little bonus content. Look, we had a lot of opportunities to talk to players we like watching, and we had so much we couldn't fit them all into our shows during the week. So this is going to be a bonus episode. And we love a theme, and so the theme here Wide receivers. Michael Pittman joins us first and has a lot to talk about when it comes to the Colts and just his future with the team, Alex Pierce's future playing.

00:00:35
Speaker 2: With Philip Rivers. We got Adam Thielen.

00:00:37
Speaker 1: We got Christian Watson of the Packers, another guy, a potential twenty twenty seven free agent, and obviously right in the middle of a great offensive season for the Green Bay Packers and one of the favorites next year going in for the NFC. So these were great conversations and we're just going to play them all for you, one after another, and then you'll hear us next.

00:01:01
Speaker 2: At the Super Bowl.

00:01:03
Speaker 1: Looking forward to that and hope you enjoy Michael Pittman coming right up. Welcoming in Michael Pittman, veteran wide receiver of the Indianapolis Colts.

00:01:16
Speaker 2: He's here with e a.

00:01:19
Speaker 1: Sports excited to talk to you, Michael, like I've loved to watch you for a long time, and especially coming off this season, I feel like we have so much to talk about.

00:01:29
Speaker 2: But like that that was a season though your colt.

00:01:32
Speaker 3: Said, yeah, no, I mean everything started out great and we thought, hey, like for the first like ten weeks, like we felt like we were unstoppable. Our offense was off to a historic pace and and everything was just going good. And then obviously we had some unfortunate injuries. Daniel goes on to break his leg and then keeps on playing with a broken leg. I mean, that guy is tough as nails and then goes on to get hurt again, which which ends his season. And then obviously, like we have our quarterback stuff, and then Philip comes in and plays his absolutely.

00:02:11
Speaker 1: When you when you first heard that he's gonna be the quarterback and then what was it like being the hum.

00:02:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, So at first when Shane came in and like told like, you know, I just like told us like I kind of thought that it was funny, but like in like like in the best way possible where I was like excited, but I didn't know like what was gonna happen. And then Philip came in on two and a half days of practice. The guy hasn't played in five years, and take Seattle down to the wire right and and.

00:02:40
Speaker 4: To a lead?

00:02:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, a minute to go, And and like he like kept on getting better and better because he was getting in like better football shape because like he came off of like just like five years, so he's not really really like just like gonna be in shape. But just having him there, like it's almost like having a coach that's like playing. They're with you, and you know, like he was like checking calls and getting us in and like just like getting us in the best possible plays. And and I feel like that's why we even played the forty nine ers super super close, and we were right there and we just got to find ways to I finish those games.

00:03:18
Speaker 5: That Monday night football game was so cool because we the audience got to hear the MIC's turned up.

00:03:24
Speaker 6: They turned the center micup. I don't know if you went back and.

00:03:25
Speaker 7: Watched that broadcast specifically.

00:03:27
Speaker 5: I know you watched all the tape, but they turned the center mic up so you could hear Philip Rivers doing all the things. But you you had heard that you. I mean you obviously hear it every snap to snap. You also hear it in the huddle. Can you like give us your first of all, your best impression and second of all kind of what that was like for you to hear all of these. It's almost like he's predicting the future as it before it come.

00:03:48
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:03:49
Speaker 3: I mean, Philip is full of a lot of sayings. I mean, is dad gumming. I feel like his like main thing is like, ah, shoot, you know what I'm saying, So like that. And then also like I played with him my first year, so I mean me and him go way back, and like just like having him there, I just like was great and and I thought he gave our team the best chance to win and we just.

00:04:13
Speaker 4: Came up short.

00:04:14
Speaker 1: It hits me that yet you've now been in the league. I still think that you you are a young player, but you're now like in the middle of your career. You're you're on a veteran contract and all that. So you've been in the league for six years and and this Colts team we talked about it was kind of quietly a win now type of team because I think you had a lot of continuity, a lot of veteran players, a lot of guys coming back.

00:04:38
Speaker 2: What did it mean to you that after.

00:04:40
Speaker 1: The way the season ended, they decided to bring Chanstiking back And like, like, does that give you a vote of confidence of like this group getting another chance to do it again?

00:04:52
Speaker 8: Yeah?

00:04:52
Speaker 3: Yes, So I think that that tells everybody that they still believe in like this roster, believing this team and everything that we've done leading up to this, because you like think back like those first ten weeks.

00:05:07
Speaker 4: If we can figure out a.

00:05:08
Speaker 3: Way to sustain that and keep that going, I mean, you look up and if we're going on that path, I mean we're at least a fourteen or like just like a fourteen light win team and we're headed into the postseason like who knows what happens, right, So but but you know, like that all sounds nice and then like there's what actually happens and we got to just find ways to get it done.

00:05:29
Speaker 5: You know, it's interesting too, because I think it was that there was a needle that had to be threaded in deciding to say, Okay, we're going to keep building continuity like this, especially at head coach, obviously directly impacts what you guys are doing on the field, but it didn't go further than that, Like there's an urgency. It's almost reminds me of like a player going into the last year on a contract, and I know you have some empathy for that. Yeah, so it's like right, so, but it's like it's that that urgency, that feeling of like we know that belief in us and we have to go there's like this this.

00:06:04
Speaker 7: Is our moment right now kind of feeling it.

00:06:06
Speaker 5: It felt like that externally watching from the outside, and I guess do you feel that on the inside.

00:06:11
Speaker 4: Absolutely.

00:06:12
Speaker 3: I mean when we traded for Sauce, I mean like that like that was their way of showing everybody, Hey, like we are putting it out there like we're doing everything possible. Because Chris kind of gets a bad rap for not doing enough like splash trades. But I mean the team that he's put together, I mean we have a very well rounded team, like when it comes to offensive weapons like defensive players, and I thought he's done like a really good job. And then obviously Dan obviously comes in and he's playing great, and so we're just looking forward to build off of that for next year.

00:06:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, when you when you talk about those weapons. Your wide receiver room is you know, one of the best in the league.

00:06:58
Speaker 4: Thank you, City of.

00:07:02
Speaker 6: Thank you.

00:07:03
Speaker 2: Got to keep it together.

00:07:05
Speaker 4: Yeah, Like i mean we're.

00:07:07
Speaker 1: Talking about this in continuity, and I'm thinking, well, that's true, but you got to get Daniel Jones back.

00:07:11
Speaker 2: You gotta get Alex back.

00:07:15
Speaker 1: And and it's interesting you've you've been there a while and you've seen some of these younger guys like Alec and Josh Down's uh developed kind of how has that been for you? And and and you know being doing what's best for the team too.

00:07:27
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, I mean obviously they got to do what's best for the team. And like nobody knows like what they're gonna do because I'm going into the last year of my deal. Like i don't really know what they're gonna do with me, you know what I'm saying. They could do something, they could leave it the way it is. I don't really know, but I just know, like back to our room, like we just have a really diverse group of guys, whether it's Josh Downs like on like just Josh like just like Josh like on third down, or it's Alec going deep or Tyler Warren like running sales and working that like middle like making these like tough catches. So and then see we got we have Jonathan Taylor, who was one of the contestants for Offensive Player Like the Year and was the front runner up until week what fourteen sixteen, So so like we all thought that it was a done deal. So we have a very diverse group of guys. And I felt like Daniel really helped us on our key. I feel like Daniel really helped us unlock that.

00:08:26
Speaker 1: Does it plate just to get inside the mind of a player, like when you are entering your last year of a deal?

00:08:32
Speaker 2: Does that like is that on a player's mind a lot?

00:08:35
Speaker 1: Does that impact the way the season goes or how you operate?

00:08:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, I mean, like I don't want to say like I think it can in.

00:08:44
Speaker 4: A positive way.

00:08:46
Speaker 3: It puts a little bit more urgency on it because you're feeling that You're like, hey, like I have nothing guaranteed. You know, I have to go out there and I got to earn Hey how are you? And like then like like just like I gotta go out and earn it, and that's what I'm going to go out there and do. This year, go out and get back to where my normal production is, and I think it's gonna be great.

00:09:13
Speaker 5: What I I was we were talking off there. I spent a little time out there this year in the building working on a feature for the for the Athletic, my other place that I work, and I was I was really taken by how connected the locker room was. And there's a mix of people in there, veterans, young players. Everyone gets everyone, vibes with each other. It's not separate pockets. Like everyone was felt very connected. D Line, you know, receive everyone. And I wonder kind of when things got tough for you, first of all, it must have been really refreshing for Daniel Jones to go in and feel that first of all, But then when things got tough for you guys down the back stretch, Like what what did that manifest into that connectivity?

00:09:57
Speaker 6: What did that show up as in the tougher moment?

00:10:00
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I mean, this is probably the closest team I've ever been on, like in terms of guys that actually want to hang out and actually want to do stuff outside of football. And I think what it translated to for us is obviously didn't translate to win because we didn't win after that, but everybody stayed in it. Everybody continued to work hard, everybody continued to believe, and like we showed flashes versus like some really good teams, and one of those teams is playing on Sundays.

00:10:33
Speaker 4: So you know, like we just.

00:10:36
Speaker 3: Kept that belief and we kept on working hard, and I felt like effort was always great and effort was always there, and that's kind of like the building block like of a good team is effort first.

00:10:47
Speaker 2: But out of the cults too nice?

00:10:49
Speaker 4: Oh oh nice?

00:10:51
Speaker 3: No, I mean I mean like, I mean, like just like I feel like we have some really like like just some really like gritty guys and that's something that I try to bring to like every game and like just like I feel like that's like who I am, Like just like I'm a gritty, get down and dirty guy, sneaky great division.

00:11:10
Speaker 2: Now to go.

00:11:13
Speaker 7: You know what's fun.

00:11:15
Speaker 6: I saw the shadow of it cross your face.

00:11:17
Speaker 5: We have had a lot of people on the show who have been players who have all but said, hey, we see those Patriots are in the super Bowl.

00:11:26
Speaker 6: You know, if they got there, I think we can you know, we could have done.

00:11:29
Speaker 5: You know, we had Garret Boules on that was like if we would have had both, you know what I mean, it's kind of that sense like we can also do this.

00:11:35
Speaker 8: Kind of thing.

00:11:36
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, I mean, I mean give them credit.

00:11:39
Speaker 3: I mean, they're just like they're like a really like talented team and they're and they are they are coached well. But but I guess like nobody saw it coming like for them, right, and and like they kind of just jumped out there and kind of surprised everyone kind of the same way that we did in the first half of the season, because I mean, like I think guys were giving us like three games like just like three and fourteen like which I never understood that, which just like we're like some bums or something. But yeah, so like just know that anything can happen throughout the course of a season, you know, like you get rolling, confidence starts flowing, and like you started racking up wins.

00:12:21
Speaker 1: So I like an NFL where the NFC, the AFC South, we're just taking some crief over the years. It's like they don't get enough prime time games though, and now we got three really strong teams. We'll see what happens with the Titans before we let you go. We got to have you talk about EA Sports, Yes, and Madden, you know, very popular in my house.

00:12:38
Speaker 3: I guess it is absolutely so Madden. I feel like is like just like every kid's dream is like to be in a Madden video game. And I think it was the twenty twenty, like was my first year, and I was excited and I'm loading it up and my overall was like seventy one and I was like, that's trash. And but you know, like just like going back, like I've been playing Madden since I was I don't know ten, you know, me, my dad, brother all all playing and getting like just competitive. But they're actually putting on a really nice thing tonight. It's headed by Zach Bryant and it's gonna be lots of fun and I will be there as well.

00:13:25
Speaker 4: So excited for that.

00:13:27
Speaker 7: That's pretty cool.

00:13:28
Speaker 6: Did you I'm guessing your score increased by quite a bit.

00:13:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, well, I haven't checked.

00:13:33
Speaker 3: I mean I was trended towards like getting up there and then like the back half of the season they might but during.

00:13:43
Speaker 1: The season it's to forgetting contract motivating. You hear that Madden score if you have like a bad three weeks they bumped.

00:13:50
Speaker 4: But hopefully I'm still in the upper eighties trending towards that.

00:13:53
Speaker 6: I think you're at eighty four.

00:13:55
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, our producer, I know, our producer just came in.

00:13:59
Speaker 3: Of course, that's that bad, that's terrible. It just like I think, like the highest I've been is like eighty nine.

00:14:05
Speaker 5: Okay, listen in our in our book, you're like a ninety seven.

00:14:10
Speaker 7: Okay, A friend of the show.

00:14:12
Speaker 9: Yeah, yeah, I.

00:14:13
Speaker 1: Don't need to be hearing from an NFL starting a great.

00:14:17
Speaker 2: Wide receiver on a nice second. Oh, he's he's not happy with the eighty four figure.

00:14:21
Speaker 1: What the kid, Michael Pittman would think about that, he'd be pretty happy.

00:14:24
Speaker 2: And I'm great having.

00:14:25
Speaker 7: You on, Michael, Thank you, thanks for being here.

00:14:33
Speaker 1: Really excited about our next guest, Christian Watson, the Packers wide receiver. We got a big time playmaker in the middle of his prime. Was just just in the mix obviously in the NFL, NFC.

00:14:47
Speaker 2: Welcome Christian.

00:14:49
Speaker 1: What what brought you to the Bay area hanging out in Super Bowl Week?

00:14:53
Speaker 10: Just get out do a couple of things in the in the community with the NFLPA, and then it just kind of showface to the me.

00:15:00
Speaker 8: Yeah, and uh I love it.

00:15:02
Speaker 4: I love it.

00:15:03
Speaker 1: We can we can hear more about this, uh this Packers season. It really struck me when you came back from that injury. And tell me if you disagree that it was maybe a slightly different Christian Watson. Maybe it was the way they were using you, but like more production, more like a higher success rate, but you're still hitting big plays down the field, like more yards per game, like you were kind of filling a role with you almost never see of a guy coming right off the injury, and you're almost doing more than you did before.

00:15:34
Speaker 2: Like, how how did that come to happen?

00:15:36
Speaker 5: Oh?

00:15:37
Speaker 10: I mean, honestly, I think it really just came down to, uh honestly, just got the confidence that I was playing with. I mean, I think that I was just playing a lot, you know, more confident and a lot more free, uh than I than I had in the past. And I think that, uh, you know, that kind of gave you know, the the you know Jay Love and then and you know the coaches more confidence than me too. Uh So, I mean I think it just gave me, you know, more opportunities to to make plays and just help me go out there and and you know, keep it going. I think, uh that was a big emphasis for me and the off season was just you know, maintaining that uh you know confidence and that you know, my uh that mindset throughout the off season. So I once I got back, I'll be able to just go out there and play fast and play free. Uh And yeah, I mean it definitely worked out.

00:16:21
Speaker 5: I'm curious about that, because that's not easy to do when you are returning from something like that. Did you was it like self talk? Was there stuff you read? Were there just like things that you reminded yourself every day to just be you know, I've been through like the worst, okay, the worst, and like now I can just go be fore.

00:16:39
Speaker 4: You like that?

00:16:40
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, no, I mean honestly all of the above. You know, definitely definitely a lot of self talk. You know, definitely a lot of you know, just you know, mental just you know, having conversations, you know, having conversations in my head and then and then just you know, the things that I was doing. You know, I was you know, I couldn't run and you know catch all, but you know, I would position myself and just kind of spot catch you know, I was making sure that I was on a jug still, you know, catching football's uh and then really just just being around uh you know football as much as I as close as I could, as much as I could throughout that process.

00:17:14
Speaker 5: Uh.

00:17:15
Speaker 10: So that you know, when I was, you know, transitioning from you know jogging or you know standing still to jogging and then to running and then you know running routes and stuff, it was a lot smoother of a transition.

00:17:25
Speaker 1: Uh.

00:17:25
Speaker 10: You know, I didn't feel like, oh, I haven't done this in months. You know, it felt, you know, like I was kind of just right back into things. Uh So yeah, now that helped me a son.

00:17:35
Speaker 1: How how is it playing in this in this Matt Lafleur offense? I can hear Jordan's voice in my head that like Matt Leffler really likes likes his offense, Like he likes his offense very exacting. He he wants things a certain way. What how would you describe kind of playing in this offense?

00:17:55
Speaker 10: You know, I think it's honestly, it's been it's been really good. You know, I think that he uh, he's really good at me, you know, putting. You know, a lot of different guys and positions to to be successful. You know, I feel like it's you know, really uh, you know, anyone can eat you know, at any time. I mean I don't think I don't think he relies too much on you know, one guy or you know, one playmaker to make the plays. I think he can he relies on you know, all the guys that are out there.

00:18:20
Speaker 5: Uh.

00:18:20
Speaker 10: So, you know, it's it's been great playing playing for Matt and playing in his offense. You know, I think that you know, we've had a really young offense, you know, these past couple of years. So I think that you know, we've grown as an offense, you know, as we've gotten you know, more reps and you know, you know, gotten more confidence in in each other.

00:18:36
Speaker 8: Uh.

00:18:38
Speaker 10: And I think it'll continue to build. I'm excited to see where this next year goes. You know, with the rookies that we had last year, you know, you're gonna be stepping into bigger roles and uh yeah, I'm definitely excited to see where it goes. But I definitely enjoyed playing under Mat.

00:18:49
Speaker 5: Okay, so i I've known him a while, So I'm not I promise I'm not setting you up here, but It's something I've.

00:18:54
Speaker 7: Noticed over the last couple of years.

00:18:56
Speaker 5: Have you guys the young group that kind of you guys all grew up together a.

00:18:59
Speaker 7: Little bit this in this offense together, did.

00:19:02
Speaker 6: You guys like make him more relaxed?

00:19:04
Speaker 5: Did you make him, I guess cooler quote unquote, did you make him looser.

00:19:08
Speaker 6: A little bit?

00:19:09
Speaker 5: Because he he has respectfully just unclenched a bit, it seems like and he's he you can tell when he's feeling like Jordan Love leans back with the fade away, you know, passes down the field and you guys vibe really well together.

00:19:23
Speaker 7: You can you can tell when he also feels it too.

00:19:26
Speaker 5: Is that you guys having an effect on him as the play caller?

00:19:29
Speaker 7: Maybe him feeling that.

00:19:30
Speaker 6: A little bit more.

00:19:31
Speaker 10: I mean, honestly, I don't even know if that's something that like I would have like recognized or really I you.

00:19:37
Speaker 8: Know, looked into.

00:19:38
Speaker 10: But I definitely think that he's done, you know, a really good job at kind of you know, just relaying and you know, coaching and you know, telling us what he wants and you know what he expects from us or you know, like installing the stuff and then kind of just letting us, you know, do our part and uh and and I don't think that he's trying to you know, over coach or you know, lean in to those things too much when it comes to just you know how we're uh, you know, going out there. I think that as long as you know, he's doing his part and then we're doing our part, I feel like that's it's kind of been like you know, mutual in that way. And I feel like that's you know, been really helpful for us as as a young offense because it's kind of just helped us, you know, kind of like you said, just grow and and you know, mess really well together. Uh So, I mean yeah, I mean I guess.

00:20:21
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's okay.

00:20:22
Speaker 7: If you made him cooler, it's fine.

00:20:23
Speaker 10: Yeah, I mean I don't want to say cooler, but I mean probably I feel like he's definitely kind of leaned into, you know the fact that we have a younger, you know, developing and growing offense over these past.

00:20:34
Speaker 8: Couple of years.

00:20:35
Speaker 5: Yeah, I would imagine there's something kind of rejuvenating about that because, as you're saying, that collaboration, but also like you guys are all kind of doing that second phase of growing up, growing up as an adult essentially together all with the same group.

00:20:50
Speaker 7: You know each other really really well.

00:20:52
Speaker 5: You're doing one of the most difficult jobs in sports, if not the most difficult jobs in sports to do under a microscope, you all have the same sort of of empathy for each other, I think, and like, I don't know if it would seem to me that there's something very cool about like he's worked with Vets prior to you guys coming in for quite a long time, and then now he's got this.

00:21:12
Speaker 7: Incredibly young team. I would feel like that would be.

00:21:15
Speaker 5: Rejuvenating in a way, just to feel that collaboration and like feeling like everybody's growing together one Uh.

00:21:22
Speaker 10: I mean, I definitely feel like he does a good job at kind of understanding uh, you know, the players that he has, and you know how he kind of has to approach you know, different guys or you know, a different group of guys.

00:21:31
Speaker 8: I feel like he really, you know, has a good.

00:21:34
Speaker 10: Understanding of you know, how to just approach you know, different stuff. So yeah, I mean it's definitely been. It's definitely been uh, you know, just easy. Uh, you know, working working with Matt and you know, learning from him.

00:21:45
Speaker 1: You got a favorite like deep ball catch your career, favorite contested catch of my career? Sure, or even this last season, anything stand out. I'll let you think about it while I well, I give you some props that there's not a lot of receivers exactly like you right now, like vertical receivers guys who take the top of like I think of and Alec Pierce right now. I think about guys who are like you've averaged seventeen eighteen yards per catch like your whole career.

00:22:16
Speaker 2: It's part of what you do.

00:22:17
Speaker 1: You're at a higher volume this year and you're still doing it deep. So I know there's like an art to that. Maybe you could explain to the listeners what's what what the is the art to being you.

00:22:28
Speaker 4: Know, a deep ball job?

00:22:30
Speaker 1: No, just specifically, like what makes those deep balls? And yeah, yeah, if one of them stands out of one that, like you know, you loved in your career, Yeah.

00:22:39
Speaker 8: No, I mean I don't, I don't.

00:22:41
Speaker 10: I mean I have to really like sit down and think about, you know, my whole career. But I mean one that just kind of sticks out to me right away. So it was kind of like you know, the catapult to you know, you know, my career and the success that I've had was just the Dallas game my rookie year. You know, I got a go ball from Aaron Rodgers down the sideline and you know, score did my backflip and uh, you know kind of the rest was the rest was history.

00:23:05
Speaker 8: I mean, that's definitely one that you know, always sticks out to me.

00:23:09
Speaker 10: But I mean I feel like it's just always kind of been, you know, something that I that I've done. I don't think I've ever you know, really looked into looked into it too much. You know, I've always been, you know, a fast guy who you know, can you know, run really fast, you know, you know, in a straight line. So you know, any opportunity I get to to you know, just run fast and uh you know be you know, be the defender that way. I feel like that's just kind of always what I've done. So it kind of just feels Natteral have.

00:23:33
Speaker 2: The right quarterback for it.

00:23:35
Speaker 5: Yeah, And when we talk about, like I brought it up earlier, one of our favorite things on this show and it happens we on a weekly basis, which we.

00:23:43
Speaker 6: Love to see is like the deep ball.

00:23:47
Speaker 5: But he can't like he has to make it a fatal way jumper, and it looks so easy, but there's like this like cool like there's this art to it, and this like makes it so much more difficult.

00:24:00
Speaker 7: Well but it's not difficult, if that makes sense.

00:24:02
Speaker 5: Like that's got to kind of juice you guys up a little bit that he's capable of doing stuff like that.

00:24:07
Speaker 8: Oh yeah, no, I mean he's the rule.

00:24:10
Speaker 10: He's definitely had a little a little swag to his game when it when it comes to that, he definitely, uh is on point with his with his fadeaways. Uh And yeah, no, I mean it just it makes the highlight a little bit better when you you know, you pan from a fade away to you.

00:24:22
Speaker 8: Know, a touchdown down the field.

00:24:24
Speaker 9: Uh.

00:24:24
Speaker 10: So you know, I always like, I always like it because adds a little bit more swagged than my highlights as well. So yeah, it's it's definitely, you know, it's it's a big part of his game. I mean, I feel like he's kind of just you know, been cool in that area of you know, being poised back there and you know, making plays when stuff is breaking down and yeah no, and you know, even if it's not breaking down, maybe just hit a fade away just just for the fun, uh, and you know, it always works.

00:24:49
Speaker 7: That's what we love about him. He plays like it's fun and you do too.

00:24:52
Speaker 5: And and it's just a cool pairing. For that reason, among many others, we had him on our show.

00:24:57
Speaker 7: We had Jordan on our show last year.

00:24:59
Speaker 5: We were very proud of ourselves because we got him to like laugh a lot and like kind of just be like you know he was because he's so professional and and and he's a little quieter.

00:25:08
Speaker 7: You know all that stuff. What is the Jordan love that?

00:25:10
Speaker 5: You know, like, what's the side that maybe you see all the time and you're like surprised that like media like us are talking about him.

00:25:17
Speaker 7: In this way.

00:25:19
Speaker 10: I mean, he's definitely he's definitely the fun, energetic, laughing He's definitely that guy.

00:25:23
Speaker 8: That's what I see every day.

00:25:26
Speaker 10: I Mean, he's the he's the quarterback of of you know, an NFL football team. You know, I'd say, you know, he's uh, you know, one of the best you know in the league to do it. So I feel like he's got to have that presence, you know when he's talking to everybody, but you know, he's he's he's just you know, one of the guys at the end of the day. Uh, I mean he's got that you know, that humor to him and uh, you know, he's just one of the guys.

00:25:47
Speaker 6: Does he is he aware of the Toyota Toyota than thing? Like, are you guys aware of the Toyota thing?

00:25:53
Speaker 1: Okay, he's making money.

00:25:55
Speaker 4: Okay.

00:25:55
Speaker 7: I was like, at least he's making money. I guess it's good. I love that.

00:25:58
Speaker 5: Yeah, okay, because that's an I'm on unexplainable to mankind.

00:26:02
Speaker 8: Yeah. Yeah, I don't know.

00:26:03
Speaker 10: I don't know how it came to be or what. But yeah, now he's definitely he definitely turns it up the master. And that's why Yota for sure.

00:26:09
Speaker 1: Last thing for you, what's it like playing in this division? What's it been like, and what's it like, you know, thinking about it moving forward? Because the Lion's basically got in your way last season in twenty four. I mean, it's a it's a loaded division. You guys have obviously been been a consistent playoff team, but Lion's getting your way and this year, you know in the end that the Bears getting your way. When you play the Vikings, you got to deal with Brian Flores and them. It's just like kind of what's your what's your mindset of these rivalries right now and then these different different teams kind of stopping the Packers along the way.

00:26:44
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, I mean it's definitely a tough, tough division, a competitive division. But I mean I think that's you know, exactly, you know, that's exactly what I want. You know, I want it to be you know, those you know, competitive chippy you know, the the energy and the vibe elevated for those games. I feel like that, uh you know, it just brings a different you know, and you spring, the different energy to to those games.

00:27:05
Speaker 8: Those are the type of games.

00:27:05
Speaker 10: I want to play, and I want to play in those, you know, big time chippy games.

00:27:09
Speaker 5: Uh.

00:27:09
Speaker 8: So, you know, I think, you know.

00:27:11
Speaker 2: The games were awesome for the average fan just watching that trilogy.

00:27:15
Speaker 6: Yeah, no, dog in the fight like it was a gift.

00:27:18
Speaker 10: Yeah, really so, I mean I enjoy it, But I you know, at the end of the day, obviously, I think that you know, the Packers are are still the team to be in the division. I'm excited to see, you know, how it you know plays out this next year.

00:27:29
Speaker 7: I know we have to let you go, but really quick.

00:27:31
Speaker 5: Like we love on the show too that like coaches are now getting more showing more personality too, Like we love real beef between coaches, Like we love all of.

00:27:40
Speaker 7: That locker room.

00:27:41
Speaker 5: Like what do you guys make of like Matt being a little dry, like sarcastic, but like kind of coming out and taking a stand I guess in the division is like, hey, I'm I've been.

00:27:51
Speaker 7: Here actually and you know I'm not going away.

00:27:55
Speaker 5: And like kind of the the chippiness back and forth between Bears and Packers in that regard, uh.

00:28:00
Speaker 10: You know, I mean I feel like you got to have a little bit of that. I mean I feel like, you know, it starts, you know, from the from the top down, and in terms of you know that that rivalry and and that beef. You know, obviously there's a you know, obviously a professional side to it too. You know, you don't got to do too much of it. You know, you got to you know, let your you know, play do the talking as well. But I mean, yeah, no, I you know, I love you know when we're not when the coaches showed a little bit of personality and you know, put that stuff out there. I feel like it. It brings the vibes to.

00:28:26
Speaker 8: The team too.

00:28:27
Speaker 5: Yeah, we had Liam Cohen and we had him on earlier too, and you know that was a highlight moment I think for coaches anyway, and him and Robert Salid kind of going going back and forth earlier this year, so we we love the competition more.

00:28:40
Speaker 1: Yes, it'll be happening in the NFC North. Great job, Thank you, Christian Watson. Great season. Had like a I do the big free agency list on NFL dot Com, so I'm always scouting the future years.

00:28:53
Speaker 4: It was.

00:28:53
Speaker 1: It was a short term contract extension for Christian Watson before this season, but but who knows, it's getting better and better. I'm looking forward to to what's next for you, and who knows, you might be on that list next year or maybe packers are smart, they'll back up the truck for you and you'll sign long term there.

00:29:11
Speaker 2: Thanks again, Christian Watson. Appreciate you.

00:29:13
Speaker 8: Yeah, thank you, I appreciate it. Thank you.

00:29:16
Speaker 1: Welcoming in Adam Feelin to the show, who just wrapped up an incredible thirteen year career.

00:29:23
Speaker 2: I'm giving you credit for that. Practice squad.

00:29:25
Speaker 4: Thank you. Everyone skips that, so I appreciate it here we're on this I love it.

00:29:29
Speaker 1: Twenty thirteen and one of the craziest NFL stories now that it's over, because I don't think the average listener or fan even remembers at this point, but like one of the only tryout, like rookie tryout players I can remember having like an extended, incredible career. So that's just a long congratulations for wrapping it up, because it's a really cool story for people that don't know part. You know, had a rookie tryout, made the team D two college and then and then has this great career obviously with the Vikings and then wrapping up here with the Steelers.

00:30:01
Speaker 2: So congratulations Adam.

00:30:03
Speaker 4: Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's wild to look back at it. You know.

00:30:05
Speaker 9: It's like when you're playing, you don't really give yourself that ability to look back on things. You're kind of just always going for the next thing, the next year. You know, what do I need to do to get better? So now just be able to take a deep breath look back at everything. It's it's it's crazy, it's wild, but very blessed and thankful for a crazy career.

00:30:23
Speaker 5: This is perhaps a very invasive question. Okay, how are you processing it?

00:30:29
Speaker 4: Do you all long to have right now?

00:30:31
Speaker 2: How long?

00:30:33
Speaker 4: No, it's it's been awesome honestly, right now.

00:30:35
Speaker 9: It doesn't feel any different because this is like a normal offseason, right you get a little break from training all those things. I will say that I've kind of dove into the retirement life as far as I'm playing pick up basketball at six am on Tuesday and Fridays and not lifting very heavy. I did about a fifteen to twenty minute leg workout this morning, which felt awesome because I didn't have to worry about doing this like long elaborate warm up and sprinting and training.

00:31:05
Speaker 4: Uh So, I'm I'm diving right into that, which is which is great.

00:31:08
Speaker 5: I was a little worried when you said, start to say pick up basketball. It's really worried you were going to start to say pickleball, which won't we don't classify as a sport on this show.

00:31:17
Speaker 4: Okay, do you like pickleball? It's okay to like athletics sport.

00:31:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, it just seems like, you know, go for like a sports sport, like there's an you know, tennis, you know, just do it, go the whole way.

00:31:31
Speaker 2: If you're gonna play, if you're gonna play a racket sport, I.

00:31:33
Speaker 9: Will say that have you done individual like one on one pickle ball, Like that's a serious workout.

00:31:39
Speaker 7: You know the answer to that question, Yeah, he has not done it. Based on his answer, true, true.

00:31:44
Speaker 9: True, Maybe it's a great sport watch out, though you will get addicted.

00:31:48
Speaker 1: I will not get addicted, and I will not let my my family play it either.

00:31:52
Speaker 5: No.

00:31:54
Speaker 1: I always think about like when I watch receivers who win in different sorts of ways and under stand the subtleties of the position and get better throughout the course of their career, like who they learned from, and you've played with and played for like such a variety of different coaches. You obviously spent that time in Carolina too, which I didn't mention off the top. I'm I'm curious of any of the players or coaches who you looked up to who taught you the most about kind of learning learning the positions.

00:32:24
Speaker 9: Unfortunately, I'm gonna give you a very politically correct answer because it's it is true, but it sounds kind of crazy. But honestly, it was like such a there's so many people that kind of influenced my abilities to play receiver. And I go back to high school, like coaches in high school, I remember like so many things that I remember them kind of like preaching like I used in.

00:32:47
Speaker 4: My NFL career.

00:32:48
Speaker 9: Like my my head coach in high school was like, you will not play if you can't block. Like I remember like being a sophomore and like thinking I was pretty cool because I made the varsity team and making all these coool catches and practice and and I remember him like getting after me because like I wasn't blocking and uh, and he was like, you won't play if you can't block, And that kind of stuck with me my whole career into the NFL. I remember my college coach like some of the drills that we would do really helped me in my NFL career as far as the top of the route stuff. And then there's so many players right that I watched growing up, Chris Carter, Randy Moss, guys that I watched when I was in college that that we're having tons of success, Julio Jones and and Kelvin Johnson. And then when I got to the league, you know, Greg Jennings was there with the Vikings and just kind of learning his process. You know, he was an older player at the time, but just being able to pick his brain a little bit. Jerious Wright, who was kind of this slot receiver that was just like mister Clutch.

00:33:48
Speaker 4: And no one really knew how valuable he.

00:33:50
Speaker 9: Was to the team, but learned a ton from him. And then just guys that I played with Diggs just just watching him and how he ran routes, how he caught the football and his aggressiveness run after the catch, Guys that were on other teams, like Davante Adams watching his releases. So it's a really long winded answer. So I'm sorry, but.

00:34:11
Speaker 7: We're a very long winded show.

00:34:13
Speaker 9: I liked it, but I really did take so much of everyone's game. And then really cool was when Justin came in and he just kind of provided this really unique new style of playing receiver that I hadn't really seen in person, and so I really pulled a lot of things from his game and used it, tried to use it, not as good as him, but tried to use it in my game, which which again that's the beauty of this game.

00:34:37
Speaker 4: It's so fun to see the different styles, the different.

00:34:41
Speaker 9: Types of competitors and you're playing the same position, you're running the same routes, but everybody has a little bit of a unique way to do it. And I will say everybody had the same thing in common, and I feel like it's something that's lost in translation of how to play receiver high level, and that's playing with speed.

00:35:00
Speaker 4: Is a lot of times people want to be like.

00:35:01
Speaker 9: Oh, he's good in zones or he's really crafty, but like, you can't be crafty in the NFL, like you have to be you have to play with speed and explosiveness and you have to be able to stop on a dime. If you can do those things and you can catch the football and have body control, you'll probably be a pretty good receiver.

00:35:16
Speaker 7: What I I love all of that.

00:35:18
Speaker 5: But what you also were able to do and to have the tenure that you had, was to really understand where to attack defenses.

00:35:25
Speaker 7: To do that, you had to really understand.

00:35:27
Speaker 6: The evolution, de evolution and re evolution.

00:35:30
Speaker 5: Of defenses as they reacted to offenses over time.

00:35:34
Speaker 6: What did you study, who did you watch?

00:35:36
Speaker 5: What tape provided usefulness to you in terms of understanding like the little nuances and shifts of how especially you know, passing defense was going to try to attack you.

00:35:47
Speaker 4: That's crazy.

00:35:48
Speaker 9: As you're saying that, I'm like thinking, like I almost started to laugh because it's like the difference from when I first came into the NFL to now and how defenses are attacking and playing. It's almost like comical because it's like a whole different game, you know. They like every coach has like influenced the game in some way, and and then and then the ones that have success people try to mimic it right and they're like, oh, Okay, that's really good.

00:36:12
Speaker 4: I never thought of that. I'm gonna use that.

00:36:13
Speaker 9: And then offenses started to pick it up, and then they have to do something new and unique. And so I think about just like when I first came in the league, like there wasn't a lot of like Cover zero all blitzes. You know, it's more like either you're playing man or you're playing like Cover two with two high safeties and and a lot of quarters coverage in first and second down because you could protect the run and the past. And then now it's just like, how can we make Cover two look like Cover zero? And you start in Cover zero and everybody just bails out into this like cover two coverage, and they try to make you throw hot when you really can't and play this like cat and mouse game.

00:36:53
Speaker 4: So it has changed a lot for me.

00:36:55
Speaker 9: Thankfully in my career, I didn't really have to worry about that because they told me what to do, like I gotta run a slant run. I gotta run a slant route. There there's not really much you can do. So really what I would study is, Okay, what are they teaching technique wise to these corners, So like we're playing the Bears.

00:37:10
Speaker 4: How do they teach them? Are they soft shoe guys?

00:37:12
Speaker 9: Are they backpedaling kind of at the snap when they're press coverage? Are they quick jam? Are they going to put one hand on you? Are they going to put both hands on you? And then once you kind of feel that, it's like, all right, my studying.

00:37:22
Speaker 4: Is kind of done. Now I just have to kind of run the route that's called and adjust on the fly.

00:37:28
Speaker 5: To that point, this might be maybe a very rudimentary question, but sometimes we hear defensive coaches talk about changing their zoning rules and the depth of their drops and all of those types of things to.

00:37:38
Speaker 7: Mess up receivers.

00:37:40
Speaker 5: Who really are trying to gain a leverage advantage based on all of those little techniques and traits that they know that their corners are playing with.

00:37:48
Speaker 6: Is that Are we there yet?

00:37:49
Speaker 5: Because you hear you know, you see coaches the Salas and Flores certainly, but you see like some of these really top tier defensive coaches like take what they think, what they know the offense knows about their rules, and then f with them a little bit.

00:38:04
Speaker 6: Are we there yet across the league?

00:38:06
Speaker 7: Do you think? Or are we sort of like scratching the surface.

00:38:09
Speaker 4: Of all of that. No, that's good.

00:38:10
Speaker 9: I think it's interesting because every week you're like, Okay, this team is in this family, this is the type of defense they play, and you're like, this is how people attack them. Well, the funny thing is that on the flip side, they know how teams are going to attack them, and so the more simple the defense, the more the easier it is for them to know exactly how teams are gonna attack them, like the old like Seattle cover three, lean the safety the other way, carry the other side, like like they knew the attackers right, so like they that's all they practice is the how are they attacked? But then like you go into this offensive meeting and you're like, oh, like we're gonna kill these guys, Like this is easy. Like all you do is is, you know, set a guy down here and throw it over the top, like it's pretty easy. But again, like they practice that, so it's again it's this cat and mouse game of like okay, like they might know this, but we're gonna do this. And I think the offenses that just like maybe kind of throw that out the window and just like all right, we're just gonna be really balanced with our approach and then we're gonna run the ball. We're gonna have play action, we're gonna have keepers, we're gonna have quick hitters, we're gonna have down the field shots when we know that it's a certain coverage.

00:39:18
Speaker 4: You know, we got a quarters coverage and we know that they're gonna play it on this down. I think those are the offense.

00:39:23
Speaker 9: And I think honestly that's Seattle like in Clint Kubiak, Clayton clay was my oc Like that's the Kubiak way is like we are going to be uh, We're gonna attack in all the different phases of the game and keep it really simple for us and complex.

00:39:37
Speaker 4: For the defense. But when you charge to play this cat and mouse game in.

00:39:40
Speaker 9: Like perfect play versus perfect defense, I think it gets tough.

00:39:44
Speaker 2: I am. I heard you say cat and mouse game.

00:39:47
Speaker 1: There, and I immediately thought of the quarterback you just played with, Aaron Rodgers, who just loves to play like I got cat and mouse with with his opponents. You were just there with him, and that there were great moments towards the end of the season. I thought, like he played his best ball of the year with the Steelers, that there.

00:40:04
Speaker 2: Were rough moments.

00:40:06
Speaker 1: If you were trying to convince a doubter, maybe like myself, who looks at kind of the breadth of the entire season, just like numbers like success rate and how that offense was moving, and thinking about the future in Pittsburgh, maybe you wouldn't try to convince me, but that like that he would still make sense as a starting quarterback for that team in the future, Like why would that be?

00:40:30
Speaker 6: So?

00:40:30
Speaker 9: Okay, I'm gonna start this in a weird way to answer this question, but I'll come back, I will, I promise. But okay, first of all, quarterbacks, right, they get all the heat, Yeah, all the blame, and they get all the praise, right, like, if you're good, if your team's good, like best quarterback ever, he's MVP, Candid, all these things, and if your team's not winning or your offense playing well, it's all the quarterbacks terrible.

00:40:52
Speaker 4: He can't do anymore. He's getting to all these things.

00:40:54
Speaker 9: And granted, they get paid really well, so it's still a good job to have, right They get paid paid very well compared to everyone else in the league.

00:41:02
Speaker 4: But it's just kind of just that's just kind of how it is.

00:41:06
Speaker 9: And I say that all to say that there's so many factors that lead into individual success in THEFL and that's why we love it. It's the greatest team game there is because it takes eleven guys on every individual play to have success.

00:41:18
Speaker 4: They have to do their job.

00:41:19
Speaker 9: If one guy doesn't do his job, the quarterback can't throw the balls getting hit. And so I think there was so many of those times in my time in Pittsburgh that just one guy and sometimes it was me, right, one guy wasn't doing his job and didn't do his job well enough, and it made maybe the quarterback look bad, or the offensive coordinator look bad, or maybe the running back look bad, right, so so, and again that's why I love this game. It's so fun to be around because it's you could have all the playmakers, you could have all the guys on paper that it should have an explosive offense. You got this quarterback as a Hall of Famer, and you're still gonna have games where you just don't move the ball. And that's why, like every game is so interesting to see what happens. But again, I told you I was gonna have a long winter question or answer and it was gonna come back around. And I say that, I'll to say that he can still do it. His process is unbelievable. And to see some of the throws he made in practice and him to do it day in and day out, like he was out there competing on Wednesdays.

00:42:22
Speaker 4: And like it just like when you're on a when you're in.

00:42:27
Speaker 9: A huddle with a guy like that that is out there given everything he's got every single day. He has this process. He's got us over there watching film on Tuesday nights. He's talking ball. He's explaining ball on Wednesdays and Thursdays to all the young guys of Hey, you know who's the O line blocking here talking to the running back, so they understand, Okay, this is the blocking scheme, so this is how I cut off of it. There's not a lot of that in the NFL. There's so much going on that you don't get to really teach football. And he's doing that, he's taking the time to do that. He can still do it, and he can still do it at a high level. He just needs some pieces around him that you know that they can kind of all do it together.

00:43:01
Speaker 1: See that practice, that prep stuff. That's something there's no way I can know.

00:43:05
Speaker 2: That's why.

00:43:05
Speaker 1: That's why I wanted to ask and get the answer and really great perspective, not long winded, but we do have to get to another guest. So I really appreciate Adam feeling your time and good luck.

00:43:17
Speaker 4: I appreciate it. Thank you, Adam,