Super Bowl 60 Preview: Fred Warner and Nick Foles on Patriots vs. Seahawks | EP 5

In this episode of Real Ones: The League, presented by Experian, you will see:

Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles joins San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Linebacker Fred Warner for a raw, unfiltered conversation. From the "Philly Special" that defined a franchise to nearly retiring before finding his love for the game again under Andy Reid, Nick opens up about the human side of the NFL .

In this episode, we dig into the daily habits that turn backups into legends and why preparation is the only way to play without fear on the biggest stage . Nick drops his Top 3 NFL Quarterbacks list from the 2025-2026 season—giving high praise to Matthew Stafford (Rams), Josh Allen (Bills), and Sam Darnold (Seahawks)—and the two discuss the upcoming Super Bowl 60 matchup between the Patriots and Seahawks . Plus, we get a viral moment when Nick attempts to FaceTime his former teammate Nate Sudfeld mid-show to prove they are still "Real Ones" .

Finally, Fred Warner opens up about his own path from a third-round pick to an All-Pro, his intentional routine during the work week, and the reality of balancing fatherhood with the grind of a nine-year NFL career .

00:00 – Cold Open
01:20 – Welcoming Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles
08:08 – 2026 AFC Championship: Patriots vs. Broncos Recap
13:22 – The Backup Mentality: Thrown into the Fire
21:31 – The Art of the Pocket: Lessons from Tom Brady & Alex Smith
24:01 – Sam Darnold’s Seattle Resurgence & the NFC Title Game
32:37 – Defeating the GOAT: SB 52 Preparation vs. Tom Brady
42:16 – Super Bowl 60 Preview: Can Drake Maye Topple the Seahawks?
52:19 – Call Your BFF: Nick Foles Tries to Reach Nate Sudfeld
57:22 – Meeting Kobe Bryant: The Mamba’s Love for Philly
59:59 – Fred Warner on Fatherhood & The BYU Grind

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Transcript

Setting The Stage With Nick Foles

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Bringing in a couple veterans, not too many, but just to share their experiences, like, hey, what it's like, what to expect. I mean, a couple days before the Super Bowl, um, when we were in Minneapolis, uh, Doug Peterson brought in his old teammate Brett Favre. And then I went and talked to Brett after it, and he made a comment. He's like, you know, I just asked him, hey, what are you what's some advice? He's like, Yeah, you got a trick play you like? I'm like, I got one. He's like, All right, just keep that on your mind. You're gonna need it. Well, that trick play was the Philly special. So there was a lot of layers there that uh were pretty cool leading up to some really amazing moments, but I do think to win a Super Bowl, man, you gotta be without fear and you gotta have some ball.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Alright, guys, we got an extra special guest today. He's a quarterback who has stared down the GOAT in the biggest of moments and didn't blink. All right, he's a Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, and he's one of the few humans on this planet to throw for seven touchdowns in a single NFL game. I don't even know how that's possible. Never heard of such a thing. Most people know him for the Philly special, but around the league, he's known as a pros pro. A guy whose faith and preparation made him a legend. I'm hyped to welcome a true, real one and a man who knows exactly what it takes to climb the mountain. Please welcome Mr. Nick Foles to the show, baby. Appreciate it, Fred.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Honor to be on, man. Excited to have a fun conversation tonight.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Absolutely, man. Hey, the pleasure's all mine. Anytime you get to speak with greatness, uh, you know, uh, like I mentioned, it's two bowl MVP against the GOAT, too, man. I've always wanted to hear about that story, but you know, we'll get we'll get into all that for sure, bro. Uh so thanks again for coming on, man. It's a lot of respect on my end.

SPEAKER_06 1:42

I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Let's let's jump into this past weekend, man, AFC championship game. Uh, you know, obviously it was a big weekend of football for AFC and NFT. Um you talk about just the the storyline going into last week, man, which obviously you're familiar with, right? Is uh the Denver Broncos having a fantastic season. They have a huge win against the Josh Allen Buffalo Bills, and then all of a sudden you got Sean Payton walking up to the uh the pulpit after the game and just out of nowhere says Bo Knicks has broken his ankle and he's out for the year. And now everybody's in shambles over in de in Broncos country and doesn't know what's gonna happen. And uh, you know, Sean Payton stood up there firm and said, Man, we Jared Stidham's our guy, you know, and we believe in him. Uh you know, what as a as a backup quarterback, first of all, before we jump into that, I would actually like to ask first, is in your experience, right, that year that you went and you won the Super Bowl, I think it was Super Bowl 52, is that correct? That's correct. Super Bowl 52. Uh Super Bowl 52. What at what point was it was it still regular season? Was it postseason uh when Carson went down and you you became the guy? Kind of take us through how that process went through for for you when that happened.

Wentz Injury And Foles Steps In

SPEAKER_03 3:00

Yeah, it was uh regular season we were playing in LA, and um, you know, we we had I mean basically three and a half games left, and every game mattered for something. Um beating the Rams, I think, maybe solidified us as NFC East champions, and then you know, each game we won after that provided us some comfort going into the playoffs to eventually having a first-round buy, which as you know is super important in the playoffs. It's different than a buy a buy during the regular season is very different than the buy in a playoffs because it's still a work week. Buy in the regular season is like you get five days off, six days off. That's not how it is in the playoffs, like you're working. So he goes down. Um, you know, we're all human. That's why I like always tell people. And some there was even a a speech I gave the the year after the Super Bowl where I just talked about the the human side of preparing for a game, the morning of a game, and what the body goes through. Um, the body knows it's about to go to battle, it's about to step on the field. And everyone always asks me, hey, is it like are you afraid of getting hit? Or you're it's like, no, I'm not I was never I never thought about getting hit. I always thought about man, would the protections be right? Would I have the protections right? Would we have enough time to get this concept off? Hey, if they do this coverage, would I be ready to, you know, would it always play the what if game? And you feel it in the morning, it's about execution because you want to execute it the highest for your teammates. And so when Carson went down, I knew right away when he ran in the end zone, and unfortunately, he made a great play and it was a holding call. And it got he got pulled back, he stayed in, he's pulling into his knee. I knew right away something was up because he had such he was having such a great year, and he's a tough dude. He stayed in, could barely move, ended up throwing a touchdown to Alshon Jeffrey. Hobbles off the field, has to go in. I knew that it was not going to be good just based on what he how he was walking, how he was looking. So you're all of a sudden, like you feel it. Like it's like when you're getting ready for the game, the adrenaline, everything's ramping up, the mind starts playing tricks on you, like, oh, this stage is too big, there's too much going on. This is a crazy game. This is against the LA Rams, the Rams are really good this time. Sean McBays coached him, all these different things. It's how do you fight those? How do you counteract those and go in the huddle? So for me, um, for all my career and really in Philadelphia through that year, my my saving grace was always my faith in Christ that guided me throughout every single moment of my life and my career and still does. Um, but I remember stepping in the huddle and looking at the 10 other guys and being like, Man, I keep thinking I'm all alone out here and it's only me and I feel the weight of the world. And then when I looked in the you know, the 20 other eyeballs out there in that huddle, I was like, I just gotta do my job. Like it might just be completing a five-yard pass. Like, I don't need to overthink this, I don't need to scramble around. I just need to come do my job. So still, you got to get up to speed, but yeah, at that moment I knew it was gonna be real with Carson, and we ended up winning that game and finding a way to win. There's like a third and eight. Um, we had a slot receiver, we they went two man. Um, they had dude in front of it. I was gonna see two man. I wasn't a running quarterback, as you know, and two men, and every third and eight, and you have just sit routes, you're sort of screwed. The only thing you got is a slot receiver, and you better be on the same page. But we were able to convert that Nelson Aguilar already did it, he made a great play. And then uh going in the locker room after that, it was it was tough, man. Like we were NFC East Champs, um, going to the playoffs, still three regular season games to go to potentially end up being the number one seed. But when your starting quarterback goes down, it's pretty tough.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Yeah, I mean, there's just so many things running through your mind in that moment. I'm I'm curious how up to that point. Well, first of all, what year in your career was it at this at this time?

SPEAKER_03 6:36

Yeah, this would have been year six. So I would have been in my sixth year, like basically halfway through what my career ended up being.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

You're in your sixth season, and up to that point, you had been with Philly the entire time?

SPEAKER_03 6:48

No, so I was drafted by Philly, um, was there for three years, traded to St. Louis for my fourth, almost retired from the game after that year is a brutal year, just a lot of different things, soul searching, but God was working. And then ended up joining the Kansas City Chiefs in the um training camp. Um, Andy Reid, who drafted me, and then that sort of re-energized my career and my love for the game, I should say, because I I couldn't play this game without love. That's ultimately why I stepped away after 11 years, is I still love the game, but it just felt different. I didn't have my superpower of like the heart, and I knew that um the gate the game deserved my heart, all my heart to play, and I just didn't have it. But at that time I found my heart again, and then eventually in 17 signed a two-year deal to back up a young Carson Wentz to go back to Philadelphia, the team that had traded me away. Um, but it's a team I loved and a city I loved, and with a new daughter. Um Lily Lily's Lily is probably the number one reason that we ended up going back to Philly was we had a you know two to three month-old daughter, and I wanted to be in a place where I felt like it was a great community, um, not uh families and place to live for our young family, and that's why we ultimately chose to go back to Philly, was because of Lily, which is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Man, how about that? I mean, all I hear about in Philly is that the fans they they they curse at you, they they call your names. Oh, they do that. They grease they grease the poles up and all that other stuff, but they do.

SPEAKER_03 8:14

Oh man, they they do that. I I got a funny story for you, real quick. It was year two, Chip Kelly. Chip Kelly was there, and uh, you know, like veterans, most coaches let you drive your car to your home stadium, right? Like you're not taking buses like we did in college. Well, Chip Kelly went sort of college on us, and uh, we had to take the bus from the hotel like we were in college, but I was in year two, so it didn't really matter. I wasn't really used to the NFL life yet. But we are riding the buses and we're going by the stadium, and the fans are giving us the middle finger. They're throwing eggs at us, they're throwing everything at us, they're just they're and I didn't realize at first because I'm just still a young player, but man, they thought we were the opposing team. And I thought for a second they were mad at us. So it's a great city to play, but you gotta have thick skin. Uh my my faith got to me throughout it, but you gotta have thick skin. If you don't have thick skin and you don't know who you are, it's gonna be a really tough city for you to play or coaching, as we saw this year, is a tough year for them, even though they did really well.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah, sure. Oh boy, Philly, man. That that city, they they love their ball. I'll tell you that. They're as passionate a fan base as there is out there. No doubt. Um, but not to get too sidetracked, the reason I asked about kind of your path uh early on in your career and and leading up to that moment where you did get the uh you know, you got the call to be the starter now after Carson went down, was you know, that the storyline all this past week before this AFC championship game was that Jared Stidham hadn't thrown a pass in over, I think, two years, they said. Uh it'd been since 2023 where he started a game, which was, or I think it was 2022 actually, which is funny because I think that game may have been when we played them. Uh we had to go down to to Vegas to play the Raiders, and he lit us up in that game. He had he I think he threw for he threw the ball to Devante and scored about over 30 points on us, but we somehow found a way to still win that game, which shows you how bad the Raiders were at the time and have have been to this up to this day. But um, you know, I I can only imagine what's going through his mind, what's going through the mind of the of his teammates going into such a big monumentous moment of playing in an AFC championship game and not having really you know been in the fire in so long. And so that's why I was curious had how how much experience you had up to that point when you were thrown to the fire of like, hey, Nick, you're the guy now, you gotta lead it, you gotta lead the way and and take us where we want to go.

SPEAKER_03 10:31

Yeah, I mean, you can find some similarities. There's honestly not much other than we were backups. I think I had started over 30 games, 35. I had gone to the Pro Bowl, uh set NFL records.

SPEAKER_04 10:42

There you go.

Handling Pressure Through Faith And Execution

SPEAKER_03 10:43

Been a franchise guy, and then um, you know, even get into the NFC title game. I played in three and a half, well, I mean, I I was basically the guy for three and a half games going into the playoffs, and then had already won uh the divisional round against the Falcons. But um I we said it, you know, I I co-host the season pod um with my brother-in-law Evan Moore, who played in the NFL for six years as a tight end. And um the I can relate to the emotions of being thrust into it, but I think quite frankly, like what he was thrust into, that magnitude of a situation without the preparation, without playing, was much more difficult than what I was thrust in, in the sense of man, I had I played in some mop-up minutes earlier in the year. Then when Carson went down, I finished the LA game. So that was real minutes. Those weren't mop-up minutes. Mop-up minutes are you know, they're just you're out there playing protecting stars. Um but that was real beating the Rams, and then we, you know, we went to the Giants, beat the Giants. I played well through like four touchdowns, and then we beat Oakland Raiders on Christmas night, which was, you know, that was a freezing cold game. And then I played against a quarter against the Dallas Cowboys. So and then I got to have a bye week to figure things out. We figured out the offense, and then I got to play against the Falcons, a Matt Ryan team that you know had been in the Super Bowl the year prior, was a great team, and we were able to beat them in the link. It was really a field position defensive battle type of game. Defense came up big at the end, but I really found my rhythm in the second half of the divisional round and really started playing in my subconscious thought. We all have a moment, you know, during the season, and it usually takes a couple games where all of a sudden you feel pretty fluent and like it's clicking. You're like, oh man, I'm not even thinking now. Now I'm just playing. And we all go through it. It just takes time to recalibrate. It happened to be the second half of the divisional round. So going into the NFC Championship game, I had already done all this football, and but mind you, my first three years were in Philadelphia with some of those teammates I was still playing with that, you know, the seven touchdown game, going to the Pro Bowl, doing those things with Philly, like I did those with a lot of my teammates. So there was already this belief that, hey, like we saw Nick do these things that no one thought were possible. Like he can do it. We just got to keep believing and keep going. So that being said, man, I but I can relate. I know what it's like to go in there in that situation, and it's tough. And what people don't realize is, man, you can have a great week of practice and you can prepare. And Jared, I'm sure Jared had a great week of practice. But the way I summarized it, I was with some friends, um, our life group, and they were asking me a question. I'm like, listen, when you played a lot of ball, and if you're on YouTube or you're seeing this, like you see my hands, like you play like throughout the course of a season, you build this confidence. And then, you know, if you make a mistake, it doesn't really get rattled. Like it just you stay up there. Like you throw a pick, okay, move on. When you haven't played a long time, you sort of have a false confidence because you had a great week of practice, everyone's slapping your thighs, everyone's believing you, everyone's wanting to do it. But the second a mistake happens, man, that confidence inside goes down a little bit. Because it's a bigger jump. You haven't played a lot of ball. And so I knew going in this game, the biggest thing for Jared going into it was, man, just you're gonna have to play within yourself, and you're not gonna you can't make a game-changing mistake.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

And that's exactly what he did.

SPEAKER_03 13:50

And you know what? If I summarize what I saw, I thought with the circumstances and the weather and what was going on, I thought he played a really good, solid game for his situation. But there was a lot of things that and I I you know I wanted to believe. I I even had I was doing the dishes the other night and I was just laughing. Sometimes I think of some funny things. And I was like, you know, I'm gonna tweet something out. And I don't do this often, I do it like once or twice a year, and it's always when I'm doing dishes, when I'm just like it's quiet. And I was like, man, I'm gonna see some. Yeah, and I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna give the Broncos some hope, but I'm also gonna send some prayers to Bo Nicks. And I'm and the the tweet went viral um about Bronco or about Patriots struggling to against backup quarterbacks, and it was just, you know, a little fun. Because I mean they're they're such a they've had so much success. Listen, the reason I can do that is they're they're one of the most they're one of the greatest franchises of all time, and they're in the Super Bowl again. Of course. Well, at the end of the day, man, I mean, the the mistake of the fumble, I mean, if you take that away, do they do the Patriots win the game? I don't think so, man. Like they weren't moving the ball. Drake May wasn't doing anything. Um and then the weather changes, and when the weather changes, the game becomes very different. Unless you have a Lashawn McCoy back in the day that can run like the snow is nothing, which there is not that on that field. Only Lashaw McCoy could do what he did in the snow game. It's gonna be a literally, you're probably not gonna score many points because field goal, as we saw, field goal kickers were missing everything left and right because of the weather. So that those were the things they couldn't do. But all in all, I thought he, you know, did the best he could barring the situation.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Yeah, you mentioned two two critical things right there. You mentioned Drake May's play in the game, which surprisingly wasn't all that great going in like I mean, obviously it was there, he's going against a really good defense, but I mean he he's had to go against great defenses in the past two weeks against uh of the playoffs and the Chargers who have a top five defense. Obviously, the Texans have the best defense in the league. And this is the AFC Championship. We need our MVP caliber quarterback to show up and and and play at his best, and it just didn't seem like even before the weather started getting wonky, that he was he wasn't really delivering the football like he's like he's accustomed to. I don't know why that is. Maybe you have some perspective on what you were seeing when you were watching the game.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

Yeah, I I think too. I mean, it it it's cold, the snow starts coming down, the ball is slicker, um, and then receivers don't always wear the right gloves in those weather the weather. I mean, I remember Tom, I I've always told people, man, the second the weather switches to rain or snow, switch the leather gloves. Like take off the take off the sticky gloves, because the second they get any liquid on them. I mean, you've probably worn, you know, you're done. You gotta switch the leather. That's why I just started wearing leather on my left hand throughout my career because I knew no matter what it would be fine, it'd give me a little bit more attack when I'm stepping up in the pocket. But you saw a lot of drops, you saw different things, but you know what? He what he didn't make the mistakes. That was this was a game that was hey, the weather changes. You gotta be aggressive, but you gotta be smart, you gotta trust your team, and just don't make a catastrophic mistake. And ultimately at the end, you know, when once they got the fumble and they were inside the 10, they had to capitalize, they did capitalize, he ran it in, and then at the end of the game to close it, he keeps the ball, rolls around, and gets it. Now, stat line was not great. Um, is he's gonna have to do in the Super Bowl, he's gonna have to make plays to win that game because they're gonna go against a juggernaut that's pretty darn good, and you know him really, really well from you know being in their conference. Like that's gonna be he's gonna have to make plays and and do his thing and show why he's been up for the MVP all year.

Backup Reality, Practice Reps, And Confidence

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Last thing about the AFC championship game, uh though we've we've talked about the weather plenty, but do you believe that you know in a in such a such an important game like an AFC championship game, is it fair that the fact that you have to now determine who's gonna have a chance to go to the Super Bowl in in a game like that where you're it's snowing, guys are slipping and falling over. These are the best athletes in the world, and now you're having to freaking play on the ice skating rink, and you can't, you turn, you're turning off throwing the football. Like the it's just it's just it's it's almost like a joke watching the field goal kickers kick these field goals and the the wind's blowing the ball 10 10, 20 yards past where they're expecting it to go. So I'm just curious, like, do you feel like, man, I feel like we should play play these these games in more domes? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 18:09

You know what? Uh, and this is like whenever I played in the you know tough weather games, whether it was a snow game, rain game, whatever, the thing I'd always remember when I stepped on field is they're playing in it too. We're both it's even playing ground. Who's gonna mentally overcome the weather and not be like, hey, making an excuse? Who's gonna own the weather and say, screw it, let's put the ball down, let's play? And you know, Mike Vrabel and his team, that's what they were talking about. Hey, rain or shine or snow, like wherever it is, like we're gonna play ball, we're gonna put that was their mentality. You know what? Broncos with Bo Knicks, do they win that game? We don't know. Probably. Because what I saw from Jared. We'll never know. We'll never know, but what I saw, and I saw it early, and it was very apparent if you watch the other three quarterbacks, if you watch Drake May, you watch Matthew Stafford, um, and you watch Sam Darnold, is and it was different. You notice Jared Sinam, and you know this from playing defense and being elite. Whenever a quarterback drops back and all of a sudden starts rolling, and he's a right-hander, and he starts rolling out right, rolling out right, rolling out right when he doesn't need to, there's pressure, he sees color, you know it's gonna be hey, you're gonna have a field day and he's not gonna be able to do too much. Just like try to minimize the big explosive plays, right? Okay, let's watch the other three quarterbacks. If you go back and watch the film, and I I told the people I was with, watch this. They're all gonna step up in the pocket, slide, settle because they're acclimated. They're some of the best in the NFL. They are the best in the NFL this year. Like they they they all three of those parts have balled out. Watch Matthew Stafford, he's the lead at it. Steps up, boom, fires it. Steps up, boom, fires it. If he does roll out, he gets the ball quick or he throws it away. Um, you know, Drake May did some of that, and then Sam Darnold was great at it all night. Stepping up in the pocket when he saw color, because that's what keeps the integrity of the concept alive. The second you roll out to the right, man, you better be Lamar Jackson or someone like that that can Pat Mahomes that can live. Literally make plays, and there's not many people in the world like that. And you can't live on that. You got to be able to step up in there, find your check down, stay within the offense, let the play caller have these little completions, or you're gonna find some guys open downfield. I mean, I think it was Sam Darnold, uh, you know, threw a huge completion down the middle of the field to Jackson Smith and Jigba. Um, I believe it was him where he it was a double hitch seam route versus cover two, which usually you're hitting that three-hitch throw. Man, he had to climb, climb, throw, but he stayed within it and actually taking a little bit more time, the safety got a little wider because he the clock was going and it opened up the throw downfield. That was the difference with the Broncos. They didn't have that because Bo was hurt and they had a backup. So that's the big thing that you see is you can't keep the integrity of the plays. But once again, you know, that was the situation they're in. I was really impressed with the Broncos all night with what they brought. I mean, what a great season, what a great team, and I think they got something for the future.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

And what is that? That ability to step up within the pocket, because it sounds like such a simple thing, like, bro, you tell these young quarterbacks, hey man, instead of just your first instinct rolling right, rolling left, just trust the protection, step up in the pocket, deliver the throw. Is that a fearlessness? Is that being able to be like, all right, I don't care that there's color in front of me, I gotta have the trust and the confidence to be able to step up and deliver this? Is it repetition? Yeah, is it uh is it a feel? Some guys got it, some guys don't. You know, what what exactly makes a quarterback gives that ability to do that play-in and play out consistently?

SPEAKER_03 21:31

I mean, it's all the above. I mean, you know, you also gotta realize like Jared was running scout team, and scout team is broken down plays, guys around you all the time, bad habits are created in scout team, even though there are some good things. You learn how to work with the bad pocket in scout team. But when you're in practice, you got to make sure you're always sliding, moving. Even if the defensive line's right there, touching you and messing with you, and you know, putting their hands up, you got to keep working on the fundamentals to keep the integrity of the pocket. Also, having a quarterback coach, um, you know, I was in Philly, John D. Filippo, every single day was drills, drills, drills, footwork drills, stepping up in the pocket drills, sliding, settling. The problem is as quarterbacks, you know, when they're younger, they slide, slide, slide. They don't slide and settle. They don't step up and settle. I mean, Tom Brady was the best at it. He would step up and literally stop. Because you know, you talk to the tackles. I mean, a lot of times they're pushing guys, you know, eight yards, they're pushing you past eight. I know, hey, I can't go past eight yards. If my drop hits ten, I better climb. You know, my tackles would always tell me, hey, you're a little too deep, push up in the pocket. But I would always go a little deeper to sort of set the DNs, thinking that they saw blood. Oh man, we're gonna get, and then right at the last second, I knew the tackles were gonna push and pass. I would step up. Now, where they can make a play is they do that underneath spin move, man. They get that underneath spin move. They know you're hey, that's where they make plays, and that's why they get paid big money to do those things. Not many guys can make an aggressive move like that. But the the reason you step up in the pocket and you do that, man, it's timing and rhythm and understanding like what you're trying to do. All the concepts are unless it's a movement, bootleg, sprintout, you know, are from within the pocket. And then when you scramble, there's scramble drills. Not every team does scramble drills really well. I mean, we there was on there were some teams I was on that we just we did not work it well, we didn't work it enough, and we didn't make plays when we did it, and then coaches would be mad. It's like, well, this is something you got to work. So, but yeah, it's it's timing, repetition, understanding the and it's comfort, man. It's you gotta play in the game. All those things that he that was going on with Jared during the game, that's normal. I mean, he's a good player. I thought what he did, I thought the the post route, um recognizing the coverage, recognizing like a cheat coverage by the safety, one-on-one with the corner, throwing that out there was huge. Hey, the little uh bootleg touchdown, getting in the back. I mean, I thought all that was fantastic. All in all, he did really well, but you know, the other quarterbacks you can see, man, they played a lot of ball. They play they started a lot of games in the best in the league. Those are like the Pro Bowl quarterbacks right there, they're the best of the best, and um, that's why they're there is they know how to step up at the in the pocket and deliver the ball with authority and you know, make some plays doing it.

AFC Championship: Weather, Mistakes, May, Stidham

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Most definitely. Moving on to that NFC championship game, and I don't think it can be overstated how how big it is that Sam had these last two games that he's had, or most specifically this last game that he had, you know, he's he's had this label on him that he can't win in the big moments, he can't win a playoff game. He obviously proved that he could do that last week against us, but um, you know, in the biggest moment against the LA Rams team that had they had a they had a scrap with them early earlier on in the season, I think on that Thursday night game in Seattle, and uh, you know, Sam had that that game against the Rams in in LA where he threw, I think, three or four interceptions. Um, but to to really put the team on his back this time around, he threw for over 300 yards. Uh JSTN is ridiculous. That receiver, he he was a monster last night. Oh, dude, he's unbelievable. You know, after everything that's been said about him to step up, I mean, what do you what do you think I mean I would love to ask him? Of course, I I'm you know, I'm boys with him. He was here with us with the Niners, and I'd love to ask him what he feels like the biggest difference is this year, if it maybe just you know being in a new environment, really taking taking a hold of this thing, man, and or just his confidence and really focusing on the things that matter for real and not worrying about the outside noise. I'm sure it's a combination of everything, but you know, you've been you've been at that position and how hard it is to remain focused and not listen to what people are saying about you, uh, you know, even in your darkest moments, right? So um, I mean, yeah, just I guess what's your opinion about everything?

SPEAKER_03 25:29

Yeah, I mean, I think the big thing is, and it's underrated, is just the quality of coaches he's played for. Um, you know, the offensive minds. I mean, he's playing for great coaches this year. He played for great coaches last year in Minnesota that understood what he, you know, and they had players. I mean, when he was in Minnesota and had a great season, uh, he's the most winning quarterback the last two seasons. He's played for two different teams. What he's done is outstanding. Um, the offensive coaches were able to develop game plans that he was comfortable with and utilize the skill players and the best players on the team, and then the O-line obviously has to do their job. But um, you know, when we picked the games the other day uh on the season pod, I I think everyone on it w chose the Rams to beat Seattle except me. And I said, because everyone was saying, hey, McVeigh and the Rams have Sam Darnold's number. And I said, listen, they had his number. They had his number. But what happened in the fourth quarter in overtime when they played up in Seattle a few weeks ago changed everything in my mind. Um, football is about moments, it's about key moments. The guys that you remember, there was always moments throughout their career that were special, that there was great magnitude and a lot of pressure on the line, and they came through. There's a lot of great players that have great careers and great stats that you just don't really remember things about them. Because it's about the moments. That's what makes things legendary. Sam Darnold had that against the LA Rams to give them the number one seed. Everything on the line, that's a playoff game. To get a first-round bye, that is a playoff game. And up until the fourth quarter, McVeigh and the Rams, and that defense had had his number for many, many times. I think his touchdown to interception ratio was like, I don't know, if it was one to two to eight. It was it was horrific. But something happened in the fourth quarter. He got out of his way and he just started playing ball and he forgot about the history. He all of a sudden started seeing the defense as faceless opponents. They were no longer the LA Rams, they were just opponents that were in the way that he started reading the coverage. And the most impressive play for me, and this was the turning point, obviously leading them back to victory was huge, but the two-point conversion, he didn't just throw it to his number one or his number two. He went through his progression. He knew he had a tight end that was gonna leak out late and check down over the ball. He was able to have the composure to go through it and get it and deliver the ball on a two-point conversion, win or lose, and ultimately win that game. And for me, I felt like that was a huge moment for him. It was a moment that we'll remember throughout the course of this season forever. Um, to where I felt like, man, going into this next game, this last game against him in the NFC Championship game, I felt like he could he was gonna have a huge game because of the mental aspect. That's important to a quarterback, it's important to any player. You can have all the physical attributes, but if you mentally there's a block there, or you doubt yourself, or you doubt what's going on, or you play against a team that's had your number, it creeps in. That fear and that doubt creeps in. But what he did the last time he played him, he created belief within himself and within his teammates to where this time he's like, you know what, I'm gonna build off that. And he did, and I'm I'm super proud of him. He's overcome a lot throughout his career. He's an inspiration for a lot of young kids out there watching this game, and their parents are getting to say that. Absolutely. This guy was drafted here to the Jets where everyone fails, and then he has to go here, here, here, here. And now he's playing in the Super Bowl, and he's the winning quarterback over the last two seasons. And mind you, that's in two different franchises. That's pretty darn impressive. So um super pump for him. Obviously, Matthew Stafford, in my opinion, is the MVP of the NFL. I think he had such an amazing season. Um, I know he's contemplating if this will be the last year. I hope that NFL MVP award is awarded to him and he you know has an opportunity. He's like, Man, I'm gonna come back for one more. I know that's tough for y'all because y'all don't want to see. I know, but it's always but at the same time, you're saying you want to go against the best. So I ain't gonna put that you I know you don't, you're not afraid of that. Like real competitors, guys who are elite like yourself, like you want to play against the best. You you thrive against the best, and Matthew Stafford is the best. And I I mean it was what a heck of a game.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

He is the best, you know, and I wouldn't be mad at him if he said, hey, listen, my daughters need me. I gotta be home with the kids, my wife needs me. But no, listen, he's got enough, he's had an amazing season, seriously. Like, it's unreal what he's done this year. Um, and I didn't I didn't realize till today that he would be going into his 18th season. I'm like, golly, 18 is sounds just insane. Yeah. It's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

How many years how many years did you play? I played 11, man, and it was uh, you know, I think the moving around and having kids and just different things changes things. You know what? And I just I I I ended my career and I was just really I looked back at it really grateful. I know a lot of guys have a tough time when they look back because um they're they're always wondering what if uh this happened or what if that happened. And I was just like, you know what? I'm gonna have the perspective of when I was a junior in high school and I was looking up in the stands of a varsity player at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, and I saw my family, I saw my grandmother who made it to the game, who was in her late 90s at the time. I said, God, if this is all that I ever get to do is play varsity football at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, thank you for giving me this opportunity. So I took that perspective after 11 years in the NFL, and no matter through the ups, downs, and everything in between, I say, you know what, God, thank you for allowing me to play in 11 years in the NFL. Thank you for the valleys I went through because it taught me a lot of how to handle the mountaintop experiences like winning a Super Bowl and glorifying you. But man, having the opportunity to play in the NFL is a blessing. Um, it's not always pretty. Boy, is it? And it it it's a difficult thing to do. There's a lot that people don't see, but I always looked at it as a blessing and super grateful for um every experience I had, even if I didn't like it at the time. I learned a lot through the ones I didn't like.

Pocket Movement And Quarterback Fundamentals

SPEAKER_01 31:01

Yeah, man, beautifully, beautifully put. I mean, I I I would say the same. I'm so blessed to play this game, even through the ups and the downs of it all. It's so worth it. Um, you know, everything that it's brought to me in my life, um, my family's life. So it it truly is an uh you know an honor, and you gotta you always gotta keep that perspective because the moment you think that you're entitled to this game uh at this level, especially, you're most likely on your way out, right? And so um, yeah, of course, now switching over to two Sundays from now, two teams, Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, will be playing in Super Bowl 60 at Levi Stadium. Unfortunately, you know, it should be the Niners. But uh, you know, I I've played in two Super Bowls now. Unfortunately, was not able to, you know, make it to the mountaintop of each of those games. That that uh that monster over there, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey, man, they just they just you know had our number in both games. And we we it it took it all the way down to the end of both of those games and unfortunately couldn't make enough plays to win those games. But you on the other hand, uh against all odds against Tom Brady, arguably in his prime at at a ripe 40 years old, I think it was uh back in that game, which is insane to say a quarterback could be in their prime at 40. Um, you found a way to pull it off. So what do you think it was in that game that you played that was you know the define what was that was there a defining moment in that game? Was there something in the lead up to it uh that you guys are talking about as a team or it's like, man, we've got to if we can do this, then we ha we're gonna give ourselves a chance. Like, do you what what would you say was the reason for why you guys were able to pull that off?

SPEAKER_03 32:37

I mean it's the key is just preparation and eliminating distractions. Um to leading up to the Super Bowl and Super Bowl 52, um, two of the hardest weeks of football that I've ever gone through. Um because I was just blocking out all the noise. Um you know, preparation film, just focus on what I had to do. I don't even know if I talked to my parents during those two weeks. I was so locked in. I just my wife handled all the tickets. Um, I knew it was gonna take every ounce of energy energy that I had to be the best I could be that day. And I think you know, a story I always tell is the Friday before we left for Minneapolis, um, you know, you do like the prep week the week before the Super Bowl. You played in two, so you know this. You do like a full prep week, and then you go to the Super Bowl, and you there's so many different things you do. You know, there's the media night, there's different things going on. So you want to make sure you get that good prep week, and then you fine-tune and you do another prep week. Well, I talked to, you know, um Austin Lyman uh and I, you know, had a great conversation on a Friday night after I always took my wife out on date night on Friday, and we went through all the marketing opportunities, which was a lot of money. And the reason people agree to marketing before the Super Bowl is you win, you get a lot, you lose, you still get a good amount. So they want you to agree. That's how they get you to sign the contract and sort of own your rights going in the Super Bowl. And Austin's one of I love Austin. We've done this forever, he's a great friend, and I trust him. And we went through it, we had like a 30-minute conversation. Tori's in the car, my wife, and we're listening. He's like, Alright, so what do you say? And I said, Man, I really appreciate everything you've done. I appreciate all these brands, all these different things. Disney, because they were doing the Super Bowl MVP. I think I was the only player in the history to turn them down. Um, I don't feel bad about it because it was it was about the game, it wasn't about marketing. I just say, hey man, can you just respectfully tell them that I'm not gonna agree to any marketing deals because that's gonna take away 0.01% of my energy, of my mind, and I need that to beat the Patriots. I don't this isn't about money. This is the Super Bowl. This is what you dream about as a kid. And Austin was great, he handled it perfectly. So going in the Super Bowl, man, just uh treating everything the same. I would always test things in practice. I didn't just want to play the perfect play. I didn't want to know what coverages I was gonna see for a different play on first, second down, third down. I they would always mix it up and I would always try to read it and react and be aggressive and test some hard throws, see what my limitations were and deep throws. Could I fit the ball in different things? Uh you know, two guys on, could I fit it in there? And I would, you know, it didn't did I complete every ball and practice leading up? No, I didn't. I had great practices because I was being aggressive and I was I was just getting ready. Um but yeah, I mean then we get out to Minneapolis and it's the same thing preparation, locked in, eliminating distractions, just focusing on ball. And uh, you know, then there's the lead up to the game. And you know, I I felt good in warm-ups, and it's funny, I would always when I started my first passing warm-up without pads, I would always go out there with Spencer Phillips, who was an assistant, he's Doug Peterson's assistant. He's one of my good buddies. He coaches high school ball in Lake Oswego at Lakeridge High School now. Um but we would always run around like we were kids, throwing the ball, catching the ball, slinging it, just like you were a kid at a park. Because I needed to have that kid mentality. I needed to warm up the body, I need to feel it. But what's funny about it, and people don't realize, I also had a play on my mind when I was doing that called the Philly Special. So I told I I I told him, Um, I was like, hey, Spencer, I'm gonna run, I'm gonna be acting like I'm running like a post-route, then I'm gonna rip out and like a post-corner. I want you to throw it like you're throwing the Philly special, the arc of the ball. I want to see it in the lights. I want to make sure that my eyes don't get caught off guard when we run this play. Because the play was really high on my list. I don't know how high it was on Doug's list. So it's just a fun fact, you know, getting it getting ready for the game, and then you know what? You know what it's like. You've been there. There's emotions, and you're just trying to hone in on the emotions and honestly get rid of them so you can just play ball.

Sam Darnold’s Turnaround And Big-Moment Growth

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Man, the old Philly special. Iconic. What a moment in time that was. Um, yeah, man. I mean, you you touched on all of it. Just the the distractions of Super Bowl week weeks. It's two weeks, right? You have the week of your preparation, which is a regular football week where everybody's at their facilities, they have a full practice week, you're you know, you're golden, and then you go out to the venue wherever the the Super Bowl is being hosted, and then now that's where all chaos is is turned loose, right? Where you gotta now you gotta go to the welcoming night and you gotta uh go around and do all these interviews and kiss the baby and you know, do all this stuff that has nothing to do with the game, right? And so it's like just the ability to dial in and focus, and I truly felt like I had learned me and whoever else was on my team that second time around had learned our our you know our lessons that first time around. I don't even think we necessarily got caught up in the hype of the first time around. I think it was just uh you know a reminder of like, man, we really gotta stay dialed in and focused all the way through uh these two weeks to make it to the game to give ourselves the best opportunity to win. And we came out firing, especially on defense. Like we were getting after them early in the game, but it truly is a marathon in that game. You know, I remember telling everybody because in that first game, this is my second year in the league when I played that first game, we're getting after the Kansas City Chiefs. I get an interception on Patrick Mahomes in the middle of the game. I get to the sideline, we're hooping and hollering, we're thinking we're gonna win a Super Bowl. I'm I'm leaning over to my boys, I'm like, hey man, if I get a more couple more tackles, I might get Super Bowl MVP. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Like just acting a fool, right? And then like just got so humbled.

SPEAKER_03 38:10

What was it like uh both times around? I'm curious, because I haven't really asked other guys that played in the game. There's not that many that get a chance to play in the Super Bowl. Like, what was it like the first prep week? Because you get two weeks, all right? So, like, what would y'all do? What would y'all do in San Francisco for the first prep week?

SPEAKER_01 38:24

Yeah, we we would put everything in. We there was no like, oh, we're gonna save the third downs, we're gonna save the red zone for the second week when we practiced thing. It's like, no, we were gonna do everything the exact same way we would do as if we're playing a game this Sunday, and then when we get out there, it's just basically just sharpening the axe. Um and so that's that was our mindset both times around when we did it.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

Yeah, no, that's good. We were the same way, man. And it's just different. I mean, uh you said it was it's a battle. I mean, when you're going against the best, you want to go against the best. I mean, it took every ounce of ability we had to go against the Patriots. I mean, like you said, Tom was in his prime for a really long time. For a really long time. And uh I mean he threw for over 500 yards in that game. He had one, I think he had his best Super Bowl statistically against us. And I think it just shows you, man, it's just it's a team game. Defense can't, it became an offensive battle in our Super Bowl. It was an offensive explosion in that game. It ended up being 41 to 33. But what happened was, and we I knew it was gonna happen was the defense was gonna come big, come up big at the right time, and we had Brandon Graham get a strip sack in just the perfect time to get us up eight, and then the team, you know, the defense ultimately made the last stop on the Hail Mary. And uh, you know, that it's a crazy moment, and I I sure hope you get to experience it. Obviously, you've made it to two. You're on a great team that's in it every single year because the quality of coaches and players y'all have. Um because it's a special moment, it's something you remember forever. And what it's not really for what people think. A lot of people probably think I'm always thinking of the Phillies special and all these throws we made because there was a lot of throws that if you went on the next gen stats, they probably Had a one to three percent chance of completion, but we were just you know able to make it happen. But you think back to the the journey and the guys you do it with, and you know, you're dead, you know, your your kids are sleeping right now. I'm the same way. One of my favorite moments um was I was on stage getting to hold my daughter, who was seven months old at the time, and there's a famous picture of me holding her and pointing out to the crowd, and it's really cool because um on I think it's February 6th, there's a 30 for 30 on that season, really the Philly special that's coming out, which is gonna be really awesome. Um, and I've never and I I got to see the pre-production of it before they like edit everything finalized. But they have that moment where I'm holding my daughter and I've never heard the mic'd up of that moment. And I've always told people I was pointing to my friend Press Taylor, who's passing game coordinator for the Chicago Bears and his daughter Teal. And that was Lily's little friend because they're near the same age. I'm like, hey, Lily, there's Teal. There's Teal. Everyone thinks I'm like the cool, like Super Bowl MVP pointing, like, yeah. I'm literally just holding my daughter, which was more special than the Lombardi trophy. I got the my that was my favorite part was holding my daughter, not the Lombardi, even though that was special in itself. Getting to hold my firstborn child there, pointing to her friend. And I got to hear that mic'd up for the first time of me saying, Literally, like look at Tillon, like it's so cool that we have that and it's gonna be in it. Right, man, it brought me to tears just because I I I didn't you don't really get to always relive every single moment, but like it was caught on tape, and that's what was so special about that. And then honestly, getting to celebrate with your friend, your teammates, and I missed a lot of the celebration. I missed the entire locker room because I was doing media after media after media, and by the time I got there, locker room was empty, man. And then I got when the Eagles won last year, they're in there with like all the Oakley goggles with champagne. I'm like, dude, we didn't get any of this. Right. I don't even know if they I don't even know if any of the I'm surprised we even had merch and they made merch. I don't think anyone believed we were gonna beat the Patriots, so they were shocked when we did.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

So man, that's awesome. Uh that's a moment that yeah, you'll be able to show. I mean, obviously your kids are a little older now, but I mean that that stays with you forever, man. That's for that is truly special. Um, what about uh for the Patriots in Seattle? I mean, what what are one key what's one key for the Patriots to win that game? What's one key for Seattle to win that game?

SPEAKER_03 42:16

Man, I think Seattle just needs to just do what they've been doing, whatever they've been doing with their preparation, their aggressiveness, their mentality, just keep honing that. New England, on the other hand, man, they the last game wasn't a great picture of it because of the weather. You can't really tell what was going on, but if their offense has to bring it, um, they're gonna have to play a lot better offensively. And once again, the weather is a factor. So, like, let's the context is everything. Both offenses struggled. Denver's was more because of another reason. Uh, New England didn't have that. They had their players, they had guys ready. So if they don't figure it out offensively and schematically in execution, Drake May's got to play like a Super Bowl MVP. Now, that doesn't mean that means play within the offense and do what you did during the season. Doesn't mean do craziness and think you've got to do more, right? The worst thing you can do in a big game is think you've got to go in there and make every play. Listen, you got great players, you got great coaches, you have coaches that have won Super Bowls as players and coaches on that staff. Just do what you've been doing all year, stay within the offense, stay within the scheme. Um, I think it'll be a great Super Bowl. I I give the edge to Seattle. I think they're I think the NFC this year was just a better conference, all in all. I just the entire year I followed this year closer than any year um since I've retired because I started the season podcast with Evan and the NFC just seemed a lot stronger, a lot better competition. And then the AFC, it just it was a little weaker. It it just, I mean, you look at the schedule, you look at the strength of the schedule of the Patriots, and you don't really know that till the NFC. It just it's different, man. I mean, your conference, the NFC West, that's the best conference in football this season. You had three playoff teams, all those teams had a chance. All you could say, Seattle, you know, San Francisco, or the Los Angeles Rams, man, those are three of the best teams in the entire NFL, all in the same conference, right? So I mean, the AFC's, you know, the NFC guys, Seattle's seen a lot better competition from their own conference. So I think it's gonna be a tough battle for the New England Patriots, in my opinion. What do you think about it? What do you think? I mean, you know this, you know this Seattle team.

SPEAKER_01 44:18

I think I know them too well. And I sat there on the sideline uh a week ago and watched them just put it put it to us, right? And so I I can I can only imagine uh their confidence level right now after winning, you know, NFT championship going to the Super Bowl. It is gonna be a tough matchup for the Patriots. I really think that Drake May could be more aggressive going into the Super Bowl. I think he almost was too conservative. I think Tudor was in his ear, probably variable, and then telling him Josh McDaniel saying, hey, as long as you don't turn the ball over, we'll you'll give us a chance to win this game, which is true. I mean that that's exact that's exactly true. And I don't think that's gonna be the case going against Seattle. I think they are too big of a beast defensively, special teams, offense. Uh you gotta you've gotta come in and you gotta play aggressive, you gotta take chances um in order to have a chance to win this game, in my opinion. Um but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter who's better on paper, who's better on that Sunday, you know, at the end of the day, who can make more plays, who can who can execute at a higher level, you know, in both those Sundays that I played in, I felt like we were the better team going into that game, and we we just unfortunately weren't uh the better team that day, right?

SPEAKER_03 45:27

No, I think too, um, I mean, you were saying it what was it? It was your second year when it was your first Super Bowl. Um I mean, Drake made in his second year, right? And you were just saying how you you were humbled because you're young, you have an interception. Hey, man, if I get a couple more tackles, I could be Super Bowl. Like that. I mean, that's a young guy.

SPEAKER_06 45:42

I mean, that's what I mean.

Longevity, Perspective, And Gratitude For The Game

SPEAKER_03 45:44

I I made a Pro Bowl in my second year and was Pro Bowl MVP. I'm like, man, this is great. I'm gonna be back here again. This is off now. I never made back to the Pro Bowl. God had different plans, and and that's great. Um, I think that's the big thing, too, is people forget Drake May, though he was up for the Super Bowl MVP this year, and he might get it. Who knows? He might get the Super Bowl MVP. I mean, it's him in Stafford, uh, you know, even McCaffrey had an amazing year. All the there's a lot of great players. I don't I don't know exactly who it's gonna be. I know who my vote is, but how's a year two player that you know was drafted, first round, all these different things, obviously great year. How how are his emotions gonna be? Is it gonna be too big for him? Is it or is he just gonna lock in and realize this is just another game? Or is it gonna be like, wow, this is a Super Bowl? Because the key to going in the Super Bowl is treat it like another game. Don't treat it like it's a Super Bowl. Uh and then you got you know, you got the Seattle Seahawks. I think they have a little more, you know, Sam Darnold's been around a little bit longer. He's had a lot more adversity in his career, he's had to overcome a lot of adversity, and he's he's over he's had some great moments in the recent month. So I just I feel like both of them are gonna be going through it though. They've never been to a Super Bowl, like played in it. I know, I know Sam's been to a Super Bowl, right? Right, but playing in a Super Bowl is different. I feel like Sam will be able to handle it better, especially going against the Rams. But I think the key to that, as you know, is you can enjoy the moment. I remember when I played in it, um, I sort of laughed when I walked in because I keep it, I'm pretty self-aware and I know the situations, but I also believe in myself and believe in my team. I remember walking in and seeing huge banners of Tom Brady and myself and just sort of laughed.

SPEAKER_05 47:18

I'm like, this is the Super Bowl, this is hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 47:20

Because I mean, I was just a month or so before that, I was backing up Carson who potentially was gonna be the MVP of the league, and all of a sudden I'm thrust into that situation. But at the same time, I could laugh at it because I I knew the reality of it and how it looked and what people thought, because I had to do media leading up to it, so I knew what people thought. But I also knew who I was as a player, um, what my identity was in. It wasn't in football, it was in Christ. So I knew no matter what during that game, like win or lose, like it wasn't gonna change my identity and myself because my identity is in Jesus Christ. And my biggest thing going in the Super Bowl was man, just play without fear, don't let fear creep in. That was my prayer was I just want to play without fear, I want to play aggressive. Man, this is the last game of the season. You're not gonna get another chance like this. This is a Super Bowl. Just be aggressive, play with your instincts. I'm a read react player. If I if I get comfortable and I'm reading, reacting in a comfortable situation in an offense that's built around me, I'm extremely dangerous. But like there was only a few times in my career where I was with coaches that did that. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Eagles coaches did that, and we were able to be really dangerous. But man, the last time I was really present with what was going on was the national anthem. I looked at Tom Brady, I looked at Bill Belichick. The second the national anthem was over, I just I just went subconscious thought and just played ball, man. Just locked in, just played until that ball hit the ground with zero, with zeros on the scoreboard, and the game was 41 and 33. That was the first time I woke back up and was like, oh my goodness, we just won this thing, and then you got to celebrate. But it takes every ounce of energy. So I just hope these players with all the hoop law and all the marketing and every all the media. Listen, make the main thing the main thing. The main thing is the Super Bowl. It's winning the game. If you're the Seattle Seahawks, it's beating the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots is beating the Seattle Seahawks. And don't think the Seattle Seahawks don't forget, they remember the last time they played the Patriots in the Super Bowl and had them beat. You know, you hand the ball to Marshall, the game's over. They beat the Patriots, right? It's just one of those things. It's tough.

SPEAKER_01 49:19

I will say I don't think anybody, anybody in that organization aside from the GM, is still part of that, still part of that team. That was a part of that game.

SPEAKER_03 49:26

He's the only GM in the history to go with a whole new team, whole new coaching staff.

SPEAKER_01 49:31

Correct.

SPEAKER_03 49:32

Bring him back to the Super Bowl and do this thing. It's extremely impressive. But they're gonna remind, hey, we're gonna we're gonna remember those moments, we're gonna find it within. I mean, you got I I think what's great too is bringing in a couple veterans, not too many, but just to share their experiences, like, hey, what it's like, what to expect. I mean, a couple days before the Super Bowl, um, when we were in Minneapolis, uh, Doug Peterson brought in his old teammate Brett Favre. And Brett Favre spoke to the team, and then I went and talked to Brett after it, and he made a comment. He's like, you know, I just asked him, like, hey, what are you what's some advice? He's like, Yeah. You got a trick play you like? I'm like, I got one. He's like, Alright, just keep that on your mind, you're gonna need it. Well, that trick play was the Philly special. So there was a lot of layers there that um were pretty cool leading up to some really amazing moments, but I do think to win a Super Bowl, man, you gotta be without fear and you gotta have some balls. I mean, Doug Peterson doesn't let us call. If I don't if I don't run over to Doug and ask for the Philly special, and Doug doesn't approve, listen, Doug's got to approve the Philly special. He's gotta say, yeah, let's do it. And he can easily be like, you know what? Nah, we're gonna run this. But he's like, hey, there's a lot of trust there. He said, Yeah, let's do it. That play, yeah, it was fourth and one. It gave us six points, seven with the extra point. You can't always count for extra points to go in, so I would just say six. Um but that it wasn't just six. What it was was a mindset on the on the sidelines. Because you know what it's like being in a locker room and on the field. When you see a defensive stand or a bold defensive blitz or an offensive play call that's like aggressive and bold, it does something to the other side of the ball on the own team. So like if you look at our defensive side after that play, man, they're fired up, they're fist pumping. Malcolm Jenkins is walking down the sideline like, all right, let's go. Our leader on defense is ready. Fletcher Cox is ready, Brandon Graham's ready. Definitely. They're like, all right, fourth and one. If we would have kicked a field goal there, we don't win the game. We're up by we're up by points, we're doing good. But what it tells our team is, man, we're afraid. We're not at what it's fourth and one, and we didn't go forward on the biggest stage against the best team. So I think going to this game, man, both teams got to be fearless and go after it, and hopefully it leads up to a great Super Bowl matchup.

SPEAKER_01 51:39

I can't wait to watch, man. You know, I'll be tuned in, you know, and we'll see. We'll see what happens any any given Sundays as they stay. Moving on, we have a segment called Call Your BFF by Experian. And uh we have our guests always they they call their best friend via FaceTime to see if they pick up or not, to see if they're truly truly are the BFF. So at this time, Nick, I'm gonna ask you uh if you wouldn't mind if you have your cell phone to FaceTime whoever you think your BFF is to see, hey man, are they truly are are they truly the BFF or are they gonna let you down today?

Super Bowl Prep: Distractions, Marketing, Focus

SPEAKER_03 52:19

You know what? I'm on Android, so I'm on a Samsung, so I don't I don't have FaceTime. But you know what? I'm gonna go to I'm gonna I'm gonna go to the guy. I'm not gonna be able to FaceTime because I don't think he's got he's got an iPhone and I don't know if he's got WhatsApp.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 52:33

But I'm gonna call the guy that was right there for me in the Super Bowl. Um now he's also a father of a young child as well, but I'm gonna call my my buddy Nate Sudfeld. Who was with there with me, living and dying. Yeah, you know Nate. Let's see if he is.

SPEAKER_01 52:46

Of course. Alright, let's see. Let's see. My dog, man. I gotta say what's up.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

Oh man, he got it on nighttime mode. See, Nate, Nate has early bedtime. Let's see. Hold on, let's try one more time.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

Alright.

SPEAKER_03 52:57

Oh, it might have got through. I might be on his favorites.

SPEAKER_00 53:00

Alright, here we go.

SPEAKER_03 53:02

I got one more. I got one more after this call. That's someone that's always been there for me.

SPEAKER_00 53:07

Alright, perfect. He does have a little one then.

SPEAKER_03 53:13

Yeah, he got a little one, but I got one more. And I hope he's on a ski trip. It's my brother in law, and he's my co-host for a season podcast, and I had a lot of really deep conversation with him. This is Evan Moore. He's also on a ski trip with guys, so this could be bad. I might have to hang up with him.

SPEAKER_00 53:28

Okay, listen, all good.

SPEAKER_03 53:35

Man, no one likes me right now. Everyone's doing other stuff. This is what happens when you're retired. When you can't do anything for anyone else, man.

SPEAKER_01 53:41

Like if I was on a Monday night, man. You said he's on a screen trip, though.

SPEAKER_03 53:48

So he's with the guys, but I'm gonna tell them when we do our podcast, hey, you couldn't have me call you. You could have been on Fred's podcast, which then, you know, we're gonna hopefully someday get you on the season podcast, but you didn't answer the phone. So now it makes sense. But you know what? I'm I'm secure enough in myself to be okay with that. I should have just had my wife come down. But I don't even know if she's come down because it's it's bedtime stories right now.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

I was just about to say, and the the wives are are very busy, man. Listen, it's all good. I gotta give Nate, I gotta give Nate Selffield a call. I didn't know that he was there, a part of that Super Bowl team.

SPEAKER_03 54:22

So yeah, Nate was uh Nate's one of my one of my best buds, man, like a little brother and me. He all I went to the University of Arizona. He almost came to the University of Arizona, but then our coaches were let go, unfortunately. So he went to Indiana, go Hoosiers, man, national champs.

SPEAKER_01 54:36

But uh Nate's the best, man.

SPEAKER_03 54:38

Every time I came, we we did everything together film, study, prepare. He did he gave great looks on the scout team. He was always ready to go, eager to get in there, and just a great player, great teammate, one of the best of all time. That's why, you know, he'll probably be happy to hear that he was the call that I made, man. That was my guy on the side of the Super Bowl. I was sitting right next to.

SPEAKER_01 54:57

That's awesome, bro. Nate's the man. Uh, around the league, a little bit, a little bit more, a couple more. We got uh three game balls uh of who have been your three favorite quarterbacks to watch this season and why.

SPEAKER_03 55:11

Oh man, I mean, Matthew Stafford, just because it's so cool. I mean, you go back to the preseason with his back injury, and you're like, is he even gonna be able to play? I know we had doubts, man. Playing with a back injury, having to get shot up. Man, is it is he gonna be able to play? But what he did, like once again, my vote for NFL MVP, I think he just has represented it so well. I also love, once again, uh how he just embraces being a dad and is just that example for his family. I think that's really awesome. Um, I got, I mean, Josh Allen is just a stud, dude, just going out there balling. I know it's tough in Buffalo. Uh, you know, they made a change with McDermott. I think that's tough. I think 80,000 fans have already signed a you know, a ballot or whatever to get him reinstated, but that's not gonna happen. But you know, it's tough. And then I I gotta say just with over just switching teams and he's in the Super Bowl and Sam Darnold. Um people don't realize uh you don't just plug players in and they're they're just great. I mean, there's schemes, right? There's coaches, there's new players, there's relationships, there's trust that has to be built. And for him to have started the you know his career the way he did, keep battling, being a backup, everyone doubting him, everyone's still doubting him. I think he he's proven some you know doubters wrong now with what he did in the NFC championship game. But I think just what he's done in Seattle and what that coaching staff has done, I'm I'm really happy for him, really excited for him at this point in his career, and just wish him the best on Super Bowl Sunday. I think those are three guys, you know, there's been a lot of good quarterback play this year, but those are three guys that I really enjoyed watching and thought they did a great job this year.

SPEAKER_01 56:51

No, yeah, those are three great options. Uh, I have much respect for all three of those and the battles that me and Matthew have had over the last few years since he joined joined the division, man. They've we've we've had our battles and some chess matches, so the the respect is is there for sure between between both of us. Um I hear there's a a story about about Kobe Bryant. Uh you know, he talks about meeting meeting you and and uh you introducing or introducing himself to you. How what was that encounter like uh back when you met Kobe?

SPEAKER_03 57:26

I mean Kobe uh spoke to us um in 17, I believe before the Rams game. And I I got to say hi to him, which you know, one of my favorite players, a lot of our favorite players growing up. I mean, just his mentality, um, him as a player, and then you know, he at that time he was really speaking mama mentality. So he spoke to us, which was really cool, and he loves the Eagles, Philly guy loves the Eagles, and then um after the Super Bowl, we were at um we were in Newport Beach, I was at Hop Dotty Burger Bar and uh at Fashion Island, and it was at a weird hour. I think I was doing like a a shoot that day or something, but we went and grabbed lunch and it was it was pretty quiet. And I saw Kobe over there, and I was nervous. I mean, I just wanted Super Bowl, Super Bowl MVP. I was nervous, so I walked over there, and I I don't really get like nervous in front of people because I just treat everyone as they are. But I mean, this is Kobe, and I remember like I sort of saw him, you know, look up and I think he saw me and then he sort of looked down. I know what that's like too when you're out in public and you're with your family or whatever, and you're just trying to just focus on them. I'm like, oh man, now this is awkward. So when I went up to him, I was like, hey Kobe, I just want to introduce myself. I'm Nick Foles, and he's like, Man, I know who you are, fool. And it just made me feel really good. Um, we exchanged numbers and just talking, but it was a really special moment. Um just I I wore Kobe Bryant's shoes, you know, training in the weight room, just as a representation of everything he means to will always mean to Philadelphia, and you know, what he did throughout his career and just his love for the Eagles. I think one of my favorite videos is when we won the game, and you see uh one of the greatest players of all time in the NBA, one of the greatest athletes in world history, uh jumping up and down like a little kid because the Eagles won a Super Bowl, and that's how much he loves the Eagles. Uh, you know, some of my some of the best moments, um, really special moments that you know I'm just grateful I got to see him then and got to say hi to him.

SPEAKER_01 59:15

That's awesome, bro. Yeah, I mean, that's everybody's everybody's idle, man. Oh, oh, Kobe Bryant mama mentality will live on forever and ever. Um flipping the script, I will allow old Nick Foles to ask me and uh kind of switch it over to the dad season pod now and let you ask me a couple questions, one personal, one, one football question.

SPEAKER_03 59:36

What's been the big okay, so we've got the dad season brand. I'm gonna get you some swag. Absolutely. So I got the dad season brand, and then I got the season pod, which is a different affiliation, which is all sports. So I'm gonna start with one that's dad season. Cool. What's the biggest thing you've learned about yourself from being a father that you didn't realize beforehand? Oh.

Philly Special Origins And Fearless Mindset

SPEAKER_01 1:00:00

Oh boy. Um you know I was one of those guys, even though I was young, um you know, I I had my son uh two years ago now. I guess I was twenty-seven when I had him, or when my wife had him. And I've always wanted a family. Always wanted a family, always wanted, you know, uh always wanted to be married and have the family unit, man, and make that allow that to work since I didn't I didn't have that growing up to to really see and and uh you know and look up to. So I wanted that for myself. And uh even though I know I wanted kids, I you know, I didn't really know exactly what that was gonna feel like, what that was gonna look like. You know, everybody always talks about uh how much of a life-changing experience it is for you, and it it truly is, man. And I don't I didn't think that I could love um something so much uh like a like a little baby. Um and I think it just it really did bring about just a a different a different type of selflessness within me. And not to say that I was like a selfish person by any means, but like it really, you know, you put you put your wife uh in front of you first, and then you know, your your kids, man, it's just it is just a different feel um where you know that you'll do anything for them and at any moment. It's just like um you know, there's like a protective instinct that kicks in where it's like you know, of course you want to protect your wife, but like when it's your kids, it's like oh boy, like I I I really gotta make sure I I hold the fort down right. And it's like all these things kind of come about when all these when when this uh change in your life happens, and um, you know, I I guess that's kind of like just a long-winded answer to your question, but um, you know, I've I've changed for all the right reasons, right? It's been the most beautiful of blessings, and now having a baby girl as well, it's it's so amazing. Uh, you know, I would tell everybody don't have kids until you're ready, because it is it is a life change. But when you do have them, it's the most amazing thing ever.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:58

No, it's it's special, and you know, to be a player and get to experience it as a player and let them experience training camp and games is pretty cool. I mean, those were some of the most special moments that I'm just so grateful that I got to experience as well. Just being a dad and you know, my wife Tori and our kids at games and seeing them and then going home to them, being daddy. I mean, it's humble. You can go win a game and then you're changing poopy diapers. Um I got one more. This will be the season pod. So this is my sports podcast, um NFL Not a uh with Evan Moore, my brother-in-law co-host, NFL vet, broadcasting vet. Um so obviously, you you know what year what year are you going into now?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:38

Going into nine this upcoming season.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:40

Hey, congratulations. That that's amazing. Obviously, battling back, rehabbing. Um I know if you made it to the NFC title game, you're gonna be ready to roll, but you're gonna be out there for your guys, not 100%. But man, much respect. Appreciate it. Um, I've always found it interesting, routines, right? I I think routines are huge, especially when you're you're not playing. I mean, as a player, my routine was hey, every week I knew my film study, I knew when I'd do a massage, when I'd lift, when everything would be, right? And it was just methodical. I knew date night was Friday night with Tori. Correct. And that was the time. What is like a typical week like, you know, in your life, like a structure of like maybe not maybe just like the unique things that you do that are just super important, like the moments during a week to get your mind and your body right for the game to be your best on Sunday or whenever you play?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:28

Yeah, I mean, that's a great question. I I I say here, I look at the clock and see how much time we got to go through the full week schedule.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:34

But uh, there are key moments that are key moments that are like, hey, these are the pillars of the week.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:39

Absolutely. And I think you you talking about that Friday date night is awesome because we we do it a Friday date night as well, just to make sure that we that's important to us. We want to make sure we're we're having that alone time with uh my wife and I. So we do do Friday date night. Um, yeah, to start the week off on a Monday, I think it's important to just really get movement going after getting banged up, all those car crashes that you're as a defender, you're willingly going into every single Sunday. Uh, you know, you can't just sit around and hope that your body can feel better by just relaxing, like you gotta get moving. Uh, you know, I gotta make sure I get a great lift in, uh, at least run around a little bit to try try to get things moving again. You review the film, uh, that's when you get your you know, your massages, all this other stuff done. Uh, Tuesdays are are a big just you know, getting ahead of the the work week in terms of film study, uh, different other different modality recovery things I gotta get I gotta do. And uh I'm usually now that I have I had a I have a son, I have I have kids now, I gotta make sure that's all kind of put away by about I don't know, three o'clock, because that's like the one day of the week where I'm dedicated to just being dad, right? So from about three to seven, uh that's dad on Tuesday. And then whatever I gotta get done from seven to bedtime, now I'll get done then. But uh Tuesdays, I try to dedicate to family. Um Wednesday, Thursday are just big uh you know prep days at in the building from you know dusk till dawn. Uh I think on Wednesdays, obviously focusing more for a second down uh running pass game of whoever we're we're watching or whoever we're doing. Um and then Thursdays, third downs, Fridays, um, you know, another another you know workday in the building. Uh I think on Fridays is when I'll get like a second recovery uh in terms of like massages and stuff like that. Saturday, uh quick walkthrough. And then the entire way through all of that, I think I'm just being as intentional as I can with all with everything I'm doing, because I learned early on that I'm just like if I'm just kind of going through the motions, I'm gonna- that's exactly the product I'm gonna get on Sundays, right? If but if I'm intentional about every little thing I'm doing, then that's when I'm gonna see the best results uh in the game. And so everything to me is Super Bowl Sunday, truly. Like every practice, every meeting, every walkthrough, that's what's allowed me to become the player I've become. Because it's not like I came in the league and was just you know uh an all-pro and a pro bowl right off the get. Like I was a third-round draft pick out of BYU. I had I had a lot to learn, and I had never even played middle linebacker. So uh I was just so quickly, obviously, because of great coaches.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:11

I was just I was I was just in your stopping grounds last uh yesterday. I was just by your BYU stadium. I drove right by it. Oh, there you go. Yeah, man. Good, a good area. Sorry, I just had to do a little shout out to Provo.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:24

No, that's all right. No, that's cool. That's what's up, yeah, bro. Great spot. Um, but yeah, man, I I truly had to had to grind for it, you know, and so that's why I never lose that part of it. I never just kind of go through the motions. I make sure I'm super intentional.

Keys For Patriots vs Seahawks

SPEAKER_03 1:06:38

No, I love it, man. I think that's what the greats do, is um, and I always tell people find a routine, find a routine, stick to the routine. You got so many other things, it's a it's a huge stage. And I think too, finding a veteran, right? Finding a veteran that does it really well and ask them questions. I think that was the biggest thing for me is you know, fine-tuning my film. Uh early in my career, it was just like watching as much film as I could, and it's just not the best way to do it. And then I went to Kansas City um year five, and I was with Alex Smith and Andy Reid, and we had a structured film study of what we did, and I found myself going into the games feeling really, really good, um, but with a little gray area to react to something new. And that was something I carried on throughout my career, and also taught to younger guys like, hey, this was a film study that worked for me, this was a routine that worked for me, and it sort of gives you a peace of mind. Um, you know, like when you get to the Sunday, hey, you know what? I did everything I could to put my best effort on the field, and then you know, win or lose, or however well you play, I always gave myself a 24-hour rule to be ready to roll. Um, whatever the emotions were, win, hey, enjoy it. And 24 hours, deal with the emotions, lose. Same thing. Get back, watch the film once the film's good or bad, flush it, do the same things, man. That's a great routine. And um, I hope, you know, as you go through your recovery, yeah. I'm excited for you to play next season. I'm excited to cheer you on. Um, you're a heck of a player, one of the greatest, so I'm pumped for you.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:00

Thanks, bro. It means a lot, and I I can't wait to get back out there too. I'm I'm eager, but I know it's gonna be a long offseason, so I'm just gonna enjoy it. We're right at uh an hour and eight minutes. So, hey, brother, listen, I appreciate your time. Uh obviously enjoy that family and and keep being the man and the role model that you are. And uh thanks again, seriously.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:21

No, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on, Fred, man. Just uh enjoy the kiddos. Um, we'll get you some dad season swag. Most definitely. And then you'll be back out there. And I'm excited for you to get another opportunity, another crack at it, because y'all got a great team and you're a great player. So keep leading the way you are and being a representation of you know how players should be in the NFL for all those young players out there that are looking up to you. Um, keep doing what you're doing. Thanks, Nick. It means a lot, bro.