New Schedules, New Popes and Fitz & Whit on Getting Ejected, Kelce House Parties and More | EP 139
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All righty, let's talk about the holy grail of candy.

Reese's peanut butter cups. That's right. You know them. You love them. And let's be real. You probably have a stash hidden somewhere right now. Tell me about it. Reese's cracked the code and literally created the perfect combo. We're talking about the chocolate shell creamy peanut butter center. There is something special about unwrapping that orange packaging and sinking your teeth into a Reese's cup.

That's right. That epic combo has been something that has been a go-to snack for many, no matter what they're doing. And here's a pro tip from two Reese's pros here. Try keeping your Reese's cups in the fridge. It keeps that chocolatey goodness nice and chilled for you. But be sure to hide it all the way in the back so nobody can take it. You know what I'm saying? Can't have Ed Kelsey sneaking in there at 3 a.m.,

stealing your stash. That's right. So why wait? See why Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are our favorite. Buy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups now at a store near you. Found literally anywhere you can find candy. Can we talk about your snaps real fast? How do you know about my snaps? I used to watch film and be like, holy, that is a rocket shot. You could tell by watching tape? When Jalen Hurts had to switch his stance to this. Yeah, I know. I felt it. Yeah.

Speaking of guards, I'm pretty sure I just ripped my jeans. Did you really? Yeah, pretty sure I did. Welcome back to New Heights. Yeah, one person. 92 percenters. How about a Wondry Show? I can touch you. A Wondry Show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment and brought to you by Allstate. You're in good hands with Allstate. I'm Travis Kelsey. This is...

Jason. Jason Kelsey, my big brother out of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Shout out to the Cincinnati Bearcats. Yeah. The fucking Cavs. God damn it. We're struggling right now. We're struggling. Down 3-1. Is DraftKings sponsoring this episode? Yeah, so I made a real big error. By doing what? So the Cavs are down 0-2.

And I put some cash into my DraftKings app. Hammer it, yeah. I put money into the DraftKings app thinking I was going to bet on the horses for the derby. And then I just had cash sitting around the DraftKings app. So, of course, I put that to work and the Cavs are down 0-2. So, I'm like, you know what? Good odds right now. Good odds. I'm going to take them in this series. Yeah. Big disappointment last time. Down 41 at half. Yeah. That was a struggle right there. Come on, Spider. Yeah, we're back in Cleveland. Next. Next.

Next game, I think we're back in Cleveland. Oh, all right. Here we go. Subscribe on YouTube, Wondery Plus, wherever you get your podcasts, 92%ers, and follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with 1S. Jason, tell the people what we got coming up. All right. We got a great episode coming live from New York City. We're going to break down all we know about the NFL schedule, which right now currently is nothing. Spoiler alert, because...

As of this taping, the schedule comes out tomorrow. We'll get more to that later. Yeah, we've got two incredible guests with us. You might know them from their podcast.

Fitz and Witt. But they're coming on our podcast as Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth. That's right. Two NFL legends, Walter Payton Man of the Year, and most teams played on in a career. They're both here today. That's no way that's true. I mean, it's got to be close. At least started on. How many teams, Brandon, do you know? I think 13. If it's 13, that's... It might be 15. It's a lucky number.

It is a good number. Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans... We asked for a number, Brandon. That's it? Oh, it felt like more. Okay. Honestly, I thought it was more. Yeah. He tricked me into saying 13. I'm a tricky guy. He tricked me into saying 13. All right, but before they get here, we're going to start as we always start with a little bit of that... New News! New News is brought to you by American Express. Coming in.

All right. The NFL schedule release is here. Well, not officially as of this recording. This is being recorded Monday. The schedule release is coming out tomorrow. We do know some details coming out, though. We will comment on those right now. Eagles will open the season against the much maligned Dallas Cowboys. That's right. Cowboys, Eagles. Some would call it America's team, but it's been a while since America's been great if that's America's team. So...

The Eagles are going to kick off the Cowboys at home for the 2025 season. Jerry Jones is going to be pretty pumped to see a banner come down in Philadelphia Eagles' Lincoln financial field as they commemorate Super Bowl 59. That's an electric game to start the NFL season off. One of the oldest rivalries. I think that's true. It's definitely one of the most heated.

Huh? Yeah. I mean, there's babies born saying fuck Dallas and Philadelphia. I think it'll be a great game. A great game to see if, you know, Dallas is – They've made some moves. Have they made some moves? Well, they drafted the kid Tyler Booker early to fix – their offensive line has been having issues as they've lost Tyron Smith and now Martin. Is my goddad going to be back? I think so. Yeah. So, they added Tyler Booker to kind of fix some of the offensive line issues they've been having. They've –

They had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL for about a decade when they had Travis Frederick, Zach Martin, Tyron Smith. Tyron Smith, yeah. Now all those guys have moved on. Zach finally retired. Congratulations, Zach. It feels great. You're going to hate yourself a little bit, but you'll be good over it.

Yeah, fuck off. So they drafted that kid. Hopefully he can pan out for him or hopefully not if you're an Eagles fan. They also added George Pickens. Yeah, picked from Steelers. They actually did make some moves, huh? Well, that's a big one to me because Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, that should help out Dak. Those are two good – that's a combination right there. Oh, yeah. It is, yeah. They got a good tight end. They got –

Obviously, great defensive line. When you have an opening game, you want it to be one that people can get excited for. And Eagles-Cowboys, that's like...

You're gonna - like watching that on TV, you're gonna feel the hatred and you're gonna feel how intense these NFL teams hate each other. Yeah, I think the NFL has done it right. Yeah. Down 40. It's a great - I think the NFL ever since they've gone to this like whoever wins the Super Bowl opens the season up, right? They've gone to that mold. The fact that the season's gonna be kicked off with this big of a rivalry game, there's gonna be a lot of noise around it, people are gonna be talking crap.

offseason leading up to it. It's going to be electric. Other big news, the other big rumor, I should say, is that the Chiefs are going to be opening their season against the Chargers in Brazil. Yeah, this was posted by Yahoo Sports. Is that official? I don't know. It's kind of a yellow checkmark. Yeah.

Yellow check marks good indicator that it's kind of official, but it's still X. So, you know, I mean, that's how everybody gets news these days. Yeah, you're right. But it didn't come from the NFL. It doesn't look like it didn't. It came from Eric Fisher, front office sports. So Yahoo Sports posted this from front office sports, which is even more official front office. That's an official position. Yeah.

Oh, the NFL is closing in on an agreement. So, it's not - it is just that, it's a rumor. Well, it says the Chargers will host the Chiefs in Sao Paulo in Brazil week one. This doesn't come out till Wednesday? Yeah. Yeah, we're definitely playing in Brazil. Yeah. I also heard those rumors.

So, I can skip this next question. Travis, do you know anything? All right. Should we take new heights overseas? I mean, I'll be there. Not to do a podcast. Not to do a podcast. Yeah, I'll be there playing football in the fucking heat. I mean, we can still both be over there. I wanted to go last year when Philly played there. By the way, the field was atrocious last year.

The old field thing. I mean, it was noticeably bad. The old field. Listen. The guys are slipping all over the place. They were slipping all over the place. I'm about to play with our shoulders over our toes. Yeah, I mean, listen. It's a fair point, but it was a bad field. They weren't slipping in New Orleans. Just letting you know, wear your seven studs. These guys were not slipping in New Orleans. Could we...

Yeah, no, they're firm footing. Yeah, I was slipping in New Orleans. Yeah, I might be able to hit both of these, this is pretty awesome. Are you pumped about Brazil? That's a good question. There's just something about getting closer to the equator that I don't want to put on football uniform doing that. Especially in September? I've been in Jacksonville in September and that's fucking miserable. Is Sao Paulo, is that like by the water? Is it going to be- Sao Paulo, I don't believe, I think it's- It's inland? I believe so.

That feels better. I like that in my mind. You like that more? I'd rather it be dry than humid. I'm a sweaty - I - like when I'm in humid - There's definitely water around Sao Paulo but I think it's rivers or something like that, right? Brandon, can you do some geography for us?

There's rivers. Yeah, there are rivers. Google map it. There's a source of water. I will say this. If it's humid, I'm going to be miserable. I'm going to make... I'm going to... Prepare to be miserable. I'm going to be... You're surrounded by the Amazon rainforest. This is a good point. Yeah. There's a lot of... I forgot all about the... Yeah. That whole thing they got down there. Yeah, no. If it's hot and humid and...

Kind of what I'm expecting. I'm going to be miserable, but we're going to find a way to get a win. You know, okay, Brazil test. Yes. What language do they speak in Brazil? Portuguese. Do you know any Portuguese words? No.

All right, I went down there for the World Cup. That's Spanish? Fuck. What's Portuguese? It might be Portuguese. There's a lot of crossover. Not really entirely sure which words do and don't. I do know obligado is thank you. What about Nova Saltores? I think it's cerveja is a beer, I believe. What? Nothing. So yeah, it's going to be humid. I'm definitely going to have to ask the equipment guys to have a couple jerseys. Okay. Definitely...

Maybe three pairs of pants because I might go through a pair in warm-up. Nice. And definitely one for each half. That's from sweat I'm assuming? Yes. Nowadays we can dry the gloves in between series so I won't need too many of those but definitely, probably maybe four cleats, I might just go through a pair every - like I'm going to be sweating so bad. Yeah, you are. I would be ready for all of that and

Switching out your socks. Those shoes will get sticky. Socks, yeah. I got to make thank you for that. Nothing worse than like soggy shoes. Dude, soggy. Stepping the shoes and the sweats coming out of the... Weak, weak, weak, weak.

Like a sponge, when you squeeze a sponge. I might - I haven't been to Sao Paulo since I went for the World Cup. Yeah, you've been there. Tell me about it. What do I got to look forward to? You know, I spent most of my time in Rio when I was down there. I was only in Sao Paulo for one game. The stadium was great. The game was fantastic but as a city, I don't remember much of Sao Paulo. It kind of just felt like another major metropolitan area. Stadium was dope. Although the grass last year again was terrible. So, hopefully they fix it this year. Also, we also have the holiest of new news to switch gears here.

We got a new Pope. That's right. Since we last recorded, we have officially got the first ever United States of America Pope. Did you know that? Yeah, I've heard the news. Okay, so it's not just here. Chi-Town's finest, I heard. Apparently, it isn't that new of a news if we know it. He also, did you know he's Delco's finest? Spent time in Delaware County, Philadelphia. Okay, now? Yeah. Is there some like...

Like how like, you know, somebody would go to the NFL, is there like - I actually do think - You go to like a really prestige high school, then you go to like Alabama or the SEC and then you - is there like something in Delaware County that's like the SEC of Catholicism? There is actually a very historic notable seminary school there.

I don't remember what it's called. I've driven past it. It's gorgeous. It's right next to Villanova's campus. Okay. It's probably called like pre-pope or something. I don't know if that's where he was. Huh? Pre-pope? Yeah. Well, this is the first pope ever so it's probably not called pre-pope but there are a lot of diocese and...

clergy folk that come from that. Do you know like the qualifications for a Pope? For a Pope? Yeah. Probably have to be a bishop. I don't know. Is that how it works? I'm not Catholic. Neither of us are Catholic, so it's hard to know this. I want to know how a young lad from the streets of Chicago. Well, you got to be pretty. Make it all the way over. Got to be pretty devout. Obviously, you can't have sex. That's a big rule. It's a big one. It's one of the ones that I remember. Man. Somebody getting out of Chicago without that? Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, you want to leave Chicago if you're not- Honestly, they're probably like, he made it out of Chicago without any intercourse. This guy can do anything. Yeah, this guy's convicted. This guy, not getting distracted one bit. He is locked in. Yeah, this fucker's locked in. He believes that book. And in the 90s when the Bulls were fucking studs. What, you think he's going to fuck Michael Jordan? What are you talking about? Dude, the city was magical as electric.

We went to ESPN Zone around those days. At ESPN Zone. And it was fucking rocking, dude. That was sick. They also had a Disney Quest, I believe, in downtown. Yeah, they did. Yeah, that was fun. That was epic. I don't remember getting any pussy, but it was a great time. It was everywhere, I remember.

All righty, Travis, back at Titan U. Hey-o. Attending the fourth annual Titan U in Nashville, Tennessee. Yeah, a summit for the best position in football. Okay. The greatest position ever created. It's kind of more like- The tight event. The most of like ambiguous position ever created. It's like a- We get to do everything, Jason. It's our fourth year doing it in old Nash Vegas, Nashville, Tennessee. Nice. Vanderbilt's always been kind in letting us use their facilities and-

get just north of 80 tight ends throughout the league to come up, spread the wisdom and just have a good old time. Is it only NFL tight ends? Yeah, pretty much. No college tight ends? Not that I know of, no. No kids? I mean... Are you guys not like kids? No. Who does a football camp without fucking kids?

Tight end you. What do you guys talk about? My guy Greg Olson. Tight ending. George Kittle. The entire Kittle family really helps out doing Rubicon sports. Shout out to Rubicon.

Yeah, everybody's we always raise funds for Boys and Girls Club There's a kids. Yeah, and we do end up bringing kids in there for a little camp You just don't tell them anything about tight end? Correct. Job security. It's all fun at that age. It's all fun at that age What is one thing you've learned at tight end you? One thing I've learned at tight end you. That you're willing to share. You've been there three times. For a guy like me

it's more just like reassurance. Sure. You know, um,

Hearing Gronk up there two years ago talk about his mentality, how he would get on the same page with Tom Brady and stuff like that. That was really valuable and stuck with me. Yeah. How did you get on the same page? Well, just one, a lot of work. There's a lot of time spent, you know, finding your way out there to practice. I think Julian Edelman said it the best. When he couldn't go out there and practice, he was like, man, I can't be at the top of my game for the people around me. So it was like –

That in itself was like reassurance. And then hearing Gronk up there talking about that and talking about his mentality on the field and just trying to be the best teammate he possibly could for the guys around him. I think that really, I don't know.

Made sense in my head and I connected it. Cool. You trying to come out to tight end you for a day? I can't. I want to. It's in between. Run around? Run around on the old pitch? I would love to. Run some routes to see if you, I mean, you're down. Wait, what are you down right now, dude? Look at these. Look at this guy. I'm about 270 right now, I think. 270? That's what I played last year. You can play tight end. Can't. No. My ankles and knees and back won't let me.

No, that's - It's getting bad. That's just your mind. I don't know if it's like the moment you retire mentally, your body retires too physically because I'm just like strong - I'm trying to lift weights, I keep straining muscles. Jason, I talked to you every week when you were playing and you were saying the same thing. Yeah, but now it's like actually an issue. Yeah, my ankle playing golf last week is inflamed, I can't squat now because my ankle hurts. Yeah, but that's because you - I can't bench because I sprained my pec. It's because you wear flip-flops when you play golf. No, I was wearing the G-Force.

Shout out to G4 free marketing good for you guys. Yeah, it's free marketing and you're the people wear your shoes or their ankles hurt. Good point. I guess it's not the best.

Sorry, G4. I got some good ones for you. Do you? Yeah. All right, cool. I'll pub it even more. We got some fun events this year for not just tight ends in the NFL, for everybody around the Nashville area. So you guys are doing stuff with kids. What the fuck? Not with kids. This is a little bit with the kids. Who are you doing it with then? Fans of the NFL. Oh, just regular fans? Yeah, tight ends. That's even cooler. Fans of tight ends. Fans of tight ends are nobody? That was fucked up. Yeah.

I'm not gonna do this because I like Creed. I like Creed, so I'm not even gonna fucking throw shade at you. Fucking, you throw a ball through your legs, Jason. Through. Touch the ball every snap. Who's more important? You can barely do that. Every snap, I gotta touch that ball. You could. Five yards in between your legs without looking and then blocking. We just find a way to get us to the quarterback here.

It's a big third down. All righty, we got the grouch beer caddy contest. I don't know if you guys know this, but Travis and I golf in an event out in Tahoe, California called the American Century Classic. Last year, my caddy was none other than our own intern, Brandon. Brandon!

Travis always has our hometown friend, Keddie. Jason finished last, last year. Third. Third to last. Did you really? Don't shortchange me. Don't. My first year, I think I was down there too. Listen, I got Reddit working on fixing my golf swing. So, look out. So...

Travis always has our good friend Pat Bacon as his caddy. Petty Bakes. For city insurance. Cleveland's finest, baby. We did decide to do a fun garage. We get better every year. He's bringing great vibes. All right.

But we are doing a little contest this year. We're doing a garage beer caddy contest. We thought not only do we have our bags that need to be caddied, we also need a beer caddy. I think we might be inventing it. I've never really heard of it, but I'm excited to unleash this and we're looking for your help. We need somebody to caddy our beer for all three days of the America. Is it just one day?

For however many days are stipulated by the terms of the contract, we need you to carry beer for us, help us drink it. I kind of, I think it would be cool if they carried it like in the, like the cups, like the old stadium beer guys. You got the harness around your shoulders and you're carrying it like that. Yeah, not like a cooler, just have a tray of beers. That'd be pretty dope.

It would be pretty dope. Are we allowed to do this with garage beer? Have we talked to anybody over there? I'm assuming somebody cleared it. Nobody cleared any of this? This is hilarious. We'll find out. They have their own sponsors. I think we need to check with American Century. Nobody said anything yet.

This guy is... Why are you acting to me? I'm just reading what's on the thing. There's a whole sign. This is your idea. It's not my idea. This is our idea. This is Garage Beer's idea. So we're all in on it.

We had a beer caddy last year, Jonathan Thomas' son. Yes. Shout out to JT. Yes. And his son. Well, if he wants to, I mean, listen, if you want to apply, you can be the caddy again. This is crazy. I thought this was just to be your caddy. I didn't know this was a beer caddy. No, beer caddy. This is specifically just to carry beers. And if we can't do garage beers, we'll just do cups. They don't want to, I mean, if there's like a sponsorship infringement, then you just liquid.

Glad we thought about this. Yeah. I think it'll work. You can do it for Jason. All right. So, this is to be Jason's beer caddy who will also be playing with Travis. No affiliation. Everybody at American Cinder had nothing to do with this, this is all Jason. All right. That's fine. I'll take it. All right. Film Club reminder, we will be back next week with our Sandlot review. Little Smalls, Penny the Jet. What else have we been missing besides a bunch of characters?

Wendy peppercorn. Very overrated by the way, right? No. She was so hot. I think she was just hot because she was like the only woman that was at maturity that showed the entire freaking movie besides the mom.

Well... When you're comparing it to The Catcher, yeah, of course she's gonna be hot. I think you're gonna watch it and be like "alright, she was hot". All right, well, we'll find out. There will be a review and we will be reviewing the hotness of Wendy Peppercorn now. We're gonna judge you, actress that played Wendy Peppercorn. I already know you're hot. Huh?

That's new news brought to you by American Express. That was rough. It was. But we got through it. Yeah, we got good editors. Because you guys are listening. That's why we got good editors. That's why. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Allstate. Some people just know they could save hundreds.

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Savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Northbrook, Illinois. Like I said, good hands. Now, a moment brought to you by American Express. That's right. What is your unforgettable trip experience, Travis? Ooh, unforgettable.

What brought you there? That's a great question. Was it love? Yeah. Interest in traveling? It was traveling to London last year. Curiosity. Unforgettable. I'll never forget being on a stage in front of what felt like a million people. No matter what kind of traveler you are, American Express Platinum Card offers a range of benefits designed to enhance your journey. Enjoy access to Centurion lounges at airports worldwide when you book fine hotels and resorts through Amex Travel.

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One more thing before we get to the Fitz and Witt episode. Thank you to our partner, DraftKings. Shout out, DraftKings. Shout out to DraftKings. Shout out, DraftKings. That's right. That's right. We've got a lot of NBA games going on this week, so let's have our intern, intern Brandon. Hi. Instruct to pick six on DraftKings Pick 6 with his favorite picks for the weekend. They flew me out here just for this segment. Nice. All right. Let's do this. Let's do this. We're in New York. Let's do Jalen Brunson more drafts.

27 and a half points. Love it, love it. Villanova. Oh, let's just have fun. Anthony Edwards, more 27 and a half points. Okay. Those are my two. I believe in them. Both of these picks in this episode, feel free to use them or do your own pick set. By the time this episode comes out, you'll know if I was wrong. Oh, that's a good point. Yeah. We're doing our best. We tape on Mondays. You guys do what you gotta do. We should do a Cleveland one. All right. For Cleveland, we would do...

Evan Mobley more points because I think he might be the only Cavalier starting. And let's do in the other series, I'll take Joker. I'll take Joker more points as well. All right. There we go. Those are my two for the other series. That's our pick set for the game that hasn't happened yet. We're just sharing two picks today but you can make a whole set of the Pick 6 app now. You get up to six picks, correct? Yes.

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Our guests today are here. They have combined for 33 seasons in the NFL. God damn. I mean, that's fucking insane. Fuck, yeah. 33 seasons in the NFL. Together, they have two first-team All-Pros, four Pro Bowls, a Walter Payton Man of the Year, a Super Bowl championship, and they hold the franchise record for five different NFL teams. God damn, what?

Very impressive. Well, one person knows. Oh, sorry. 92%ers, please welcome the hosts of the Fitz and Witt Show, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth. Did I get that order right? Is it Fitz and Witt? It is Fitz and Witt. Some say Witt Fitz, but I didn't know. I just wanted to make that clear. Thank you. 8%ers say that.

Well done. Thanks for joining me, guys. Thanks for joining us. Fuck yeah. We got the NFL schedule. That is the brand new part that has come out.

You guys are on the Black Friday game, is that right? Yeah. Black Friday game. Now, we wanted to ask, we are headed to Philadelphia. You're coming to Philly. We're coming to Philly. For Black Friday. We need some advice. I wasn't asking for advice. I just want to stay at your house, if you don't mind. Even better than advice. Now,

I also want to bring my family. We got a whole - we got all - how many is it? Seven. Seven. It should be 11 kids between the two of us if you don't mind. The only thing with Fitz coming to the house, you just got to make sure the attic is locked.

Okay. Because he will find his way into your attic. And he will just start bringing things down. I still wear that t-shirt quite a bit. Now, I heard, though, that that mural that somebody had given you is now gone. Is that not part of the... Yeah, I didn't make it past that. I actually realized that, okay, people can go in my attic and grab that. I need to get rid of that. Yeah, I want to apologize for that. Not just hide it in there.

Yeah, I apologize for it. It was our first Thursday night game ever. Yep, epic, yeah. And it was the Chargers, I think, and the Chiefs. Yeah, Chiefs-Chargers. And we went over to Trav's house afterwards and...

Had a grand old time? The tribe had some bangers after the games. Had some bangers. There was not a lot of furniture in the house, but there was a lot of things that we got into in the end. Yeah, yeah. T-shirts. The basketball hoop. Basketball hoop in the living room. Living room. We put some holes through the walls playing two-on-two and that thing. Not this time when they were there, but in...

Other parties, yeah. It can get rowdy. It was a fun house. Play a little flip cup. It was meant for after game parties. That's why there wasn't a lot of furniture. I don't want people sitting around. You're getting active. You're here to fucking party or you're not. You're shooting free throws. We knew when we walked in he had a full-time bartender. It wasn't just for that night. He was there every day. Do you remember the bartender's name?

I'm going to guess. Reggie or Harry. I don't know which one. Yeah. Yeah. Great guy. So Chicago at Philly, you guys are welcome to stay. Okay. Thank you. 15 of us. Do you guys like the black Friday game? This is the second year they're doing that, right?

Third. Third year? Third year. I like the Black Friday game. Yeah, I think it's great. Yeah, obviously, I mean, obviously we're used to Thursday nights, but Friday during the day, kinds of change up and get a little Thanksgiving action in whatever city we're in. And that's where we're looking forward to the meal. It's going to be provided at the Kelsey House. We will get it. Yeah, room for 15. Really easy. I got a turkey fryer. Okay. Every year I leave the oil in it and I have to get another turkey fryer.

I do the same thing. I take a power washer like the next year and try to get everything out of there. Yeah. Butterball and whatever the company is, they're killing me. That's how you know the thing's working because you just eat the turkey and you just sit there and you just get lazy. You just get heavy and you're just Thanksgiving. I'm not going to go clean that fucking thing out right now. I'm going to do it another day.

And then another day just never comes. Yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't. You guys also have Christmas Day? You want to tell? You want to break the news to Trav? Well, here's the best news. We get Thanksgiving at one Kelsey and we get Christmas at another. Oh!

- Oh, Christmas in Kansas City? - Christmas in Kansas City? - Maybe you gotta lock the attic this time. - Are you kidding me? No, you already know you can-- - Okay, this is actually a bigger ask. This is a bigger ask because Christmas is huge for kids. - We got a store gift. - Yeah, you know it. - Well, we don't got a store gift. Santa just needs to know where to go. - You're right. - Yeah. - Yeah, I mean, we got chimneys. - Okay. - Yeah, we got chimneys. - Santa's cool. - We got chimneys, yeah. And we got furniture now, so.

Do you really? Yeah. Did you make those decisions or had that? It was an executive decision by myself for the betterment of everyone. Yes. Okay. I was like, I need some furniture. So I don't know what time that game is at yet. Yeah. We'll be the last game of the day. But we do Christmas morning together or were you prepping for the game? How was it? Christmas breakfast. Yeah. Christmas breakfast. Okay. Last year, I think we were obviously in Pittsburgh, but it was a day game. Yeah.

Yeah. I don't know how. But that was. Yeah, good point. Good point. Yeah, we're not. We don't talk about that. Good point. So. Nice. We don't talk about that. We're very excited. Yeah, we're excited. A little Christmas Eve with the Kelsey's. We got the, who do we play? Broncos at Chiefs. Broncos. Yeah. God damn, they're getting good too. They are getting good. They're getting good. That'll be a banger. We beat them by a blocked field goal last year. Down to the wire. And then they smoked us when.

We didn't play them last week of the season. Well, we don't count those. Well, you played them. Yeah, we played them. We don't count those. You could have set the NFL record. Oh, yeah. Well, 17 games is different. Don't count it? All right. Well, where do we want to start, guys? Do we want to start podcasting? How's the podcast going? It's rough.

No way, dude. It's not great, guys. In what ways? Great social clip. No. You know, we had a good first season. First season wrapped. First season wrapped. You guys are all wrecked. We did 25 episodes. Really, they put out a feeler to say, is this going to work?

or not. Who are these people? Yeah, but we do have season two coming up and I think... It worked! Yeah, it worked. Hell yeah! We'll be back, baby. But it'll be somewhere around when the NFL season starts up. So you guys are completely done podcasting from now until the start of the season? That's what they said. Why have we not tried this model? This is a good model. Um...

I don't know. Yeah, I think you guys have proven yourselves that people want the content, they need the content. It's a little different. Yeah. Well, Summer's Off sounds pretty nice. So, we were talking about how you could have played guard in another life before the show. Who was talking about that? And I just want to kind of get into it. What do you think would have made you a good guard?

I think right now, I've always had a big butt so I feel like the squats is part of it. It's a good base, it's a good foundation. How's your ankle flexibility? Pretty good. Pretty good? Yeah, pretty good. I didn't want to insult you by saying "oh, I'd play center" but I feel like it'd be more of a natural center than a guard. I was gonna say, what is your - on the importance of you playing well, how important is having a good center on a scale of one to ten? I would say...

I'm going to put it at about an eight. Really? Yes. I thought you were going to lowball it. No, very important because- Was the center doing much work for you?

So it depended where I was, right? And so I bumped around quite a bit. Now, when I got to, say, New York and Nick Mangold was there, I wasn't coming in and being like, all right, Nick, this is my show. I'm taking his call. I'm the captain now. I am the captain now. So in that sense, the center can take a lot off your plate, right? And that being said, there's also times where

You know, there's some there's some arguments in game of you saw this I saw that But the blitz meetings and things throughout the week if you've got a good center that's on it and he's training the other guys That thing goes really smooth. So he takes a lot of work off of my plate for sure We'd love to follow up with that one. Were you ever wrong when those conversations got heated?

You guys will have to have Nick on. You know, I was only wrong with protections once in my career. Once. And I slid the line, everybody, one way. And London Fletcher came the other way and fractured six of my ribs. I would argue you were wrong twice, but...

So I was wrong twice. The first time I was wrong, Witt and I were teammates. There you go. Thank you. I appreciate it. Now he's being honest. Now we can get to it. This had nothing to do with a protection call on the field. It had to do with what happened after the game.

A play happened. Okay. You guys remember Big John Henderson? Oh, my gosh. Big Bad John. Yeah, absolutely. 2008, Cincinnati Bengals are 0-8. We're 0-8 at the time. Playing the Jacksonville Jaguars at home, and I was a young guard trying to prove myself. Fresh off of him getting slapped pregame. Yeah, fresh off the slap. He's getting slapped. You know how this goes. The skill guys, Chad Johnson and T.J. Huchmanzada, decided during the TV timeout we're beating Jacksonville. They were pretty good that year to start talking trash to Big Bad John.

he gets riled up so we start getting in some full-on swinging sessions yeah that leads to an all-out brawl me and him going helmets ripped off we're fighting across the field it's a lot of trap what am i supposed to do we both get ejected throw your hands both get ejected it's kind of my claim to fame after that moment i became the captain that's kind of like that i became captain of cincinnati bangles from that moment on basically because we were 0-8 i kind of called out the team on the saturday walkthrough about being soft and

We were kind of acting like some bitches, and I've never been anywhere where I accepted losing. And so said this, going the next day, getting this huge fight, get ejected out of the game. We win the game. Come in on Monday. Yeah, huge win for me as a young guy. That was my first win as a starter, too. First win as a starter around Fitzpatrick. So there's a lot of congratulations going around. Fitz is happy. OC stands up and he goes, the only thing I do want to talk about when we come in on Wednesday—

We got our fines in from the fights. Oh. You know, back then they did the halo rule. If you were within the halo of the fight, you got fined. Yeah. Ten guys on offense got fined, guys. There's only one guy on the offense that didn't get fined. Son of a bitch. We want to tape. Call yourself a guard. Run into the sideline. Get in the house. Run into the sideline. Everybody's throwing hands in the middle of the house. Run into the sideline.

I told you before this started, I ran a 4.88. Remember? That day it was like a 4.6. John Henderson's bigger than he is. Yeah, he's a big man. What am I going to do? Seriously, what am I going to do? My man got up out of there. Yeah, it wasn't good. So he's been wrong with protection twice. He'll never let me live that down. Oh my gosh. Damn, that's a great story. Now that there's no Halo rule, though, you would have been in there. Yeah, for sure. Thank you. For sure. Oh, and I have...

Towards the end of my career had more money, right? So, I mean, it's a lot of money but like my rookie year I made 230. So, I didn't know if it's gonna last how many years I would be there. So, more willing to write that check. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Makes sense. Let's talk small hands. Let's talk small hands. Small hands? Yeah, there was a tweet that came out. Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco doing the exact same pose at the top of their drop with the ball right here and- What are they gonna do Kenny Pickett like that?

Joe Flacco's hands are fucking enormous. Yeah, just because Joe has monster hands, don't go after Kenny. Have you guys ever heard the term dick beaters? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Joe's got some dick beaters. Yeah. He can touch his palm around that thing. I apologize. It is insane. I've heard the term, though. What are you working with? Good. So, well, I had to do this hand. Do you mind? Yeah. Yeah.

- Okay, yeah. - Oh yeah, man. - So here's the thing. - Plate size. - So my thumb stretches down. - Dude, that's a fuckin' Vader. - I was about to say, you have a weird thumb. - Thank you. - What is going on with that thumb? - So, yeah, let's say this. So the way they measure the hand is from that pinky

- That is some stretch. - And so I dislocated this pinky, so it's not as good as it once was, but I had the third biggest hand at the combine in 2005. - Wow. - No, in 2005. - Not just quarterbacks. - Everybody. But the reason being is my thumb goes down. - You have some good dick beaters. - Yeah, thank you. - These guys. - Bliss. Anyways.

I also wanted to get a - because he's wearing a glove. Kenny's wearing a glove. He's like notorious, he's been wearing it since college, his entire career. Peyton Manning actually I believe set

the NFL record wearing a glove in 2015. Yeah. Have you like, do you like wearing? I'll say this. So Kurt Warner went to it too, towards the end of his career. When I got to Buffalo, I dabbled just to see, but I, so I had, I had to wear one on my left hand cause I tore some ligaments in my thumb, but I couldn't do it on my right hand. I hated it. I,

absolutely rain rain I hated it so much I tried a glove on my right hand for like two years and I had to

Just the feel. Well, did you ever use your fingers or no? No, I try to go full glove. Yeah. Really bad idea. By the way, can we talk about your snaps real fast? How do you know about my snaps? Jason. I mean, I used to watch film and be like, holy shit. That is a rocket shot. You can tell by watching tape? When Jalen Hurts had to switch his stance to this. Yeah, I know. I felt it. Yeah.

I mean, you would fire that pigskin back there. I need that hand back. I need to start blocking this big boy. Guys, speaking of guards, I'm pretty sure I just ripped my jeans. Did you really? Yeah, pretty sure I did. All right, well, let's just remain seated for the remainder of this. Oh, who's talking? I can see you're... So, anyways, what is the... So...

Are there measurements that, like, what do you take away from the hand measurement test? Do you think there's validity to that? Yeah, anything you care about in a quarterback. Well, I'll say this. Somebody like Josh Allen, like, he's built to play football in bad weather, right? Got it. Just body type, hand size, where he's from, like, just kind of his overall attitude. Yeah.

Um, so yes, I, there's some validity in the hand size thing for sure. But more of it is that the inability to stretch the thumb out. Yeah. Um,

But yes, for sure. And then it really comes to fruition when you're in those bad weather games, when you play in a Pittsburgh or even a Philly or Buffalo and you're playing in the elements all the time. Now, last year, Jared Goff, I have no idea what his hands are like, but they played in a dome so many times. So you're in those perfect conditions and it doesn't matter. But it seems like, and you guys can tell me because I've never been, but...

Playoff football, the elements seem to... You don't have a lot of experience with it? I don't. Are there any measurements, though, when you look at it where you're like, this is an immediate red flag with a quarterback? Like, if I look at a tackle and his arms are, if it says 32. Wait, is that? I'm, like, very skeptical on whether they can play. Your LSU guy, what were his arms? Well, yeah, I think he was 32-ish. Was it 32 and a half or 32? Somewhere in there, yeah. A half makes a big difference, as every woman knows.

Half to three quarters is a big deal. I want to say he was somewhere in the 32 to 33 range. This is just too much. Shorts, we're talking about dick beaters. All right. I will say that something that didn't matter as much, which was like 40 time and agility, that matters a whole lot more now. Especially with the systems that are out there. The systems, the way guys play, the way defenses are playing. I think that...

that matters quite a bit now, more than it used to. - Yeah. What do you think about the arm length measurement for tackles? - So much goes into what is their style of play? Like how do they play and what their other attributes are? So if I think they have awesome feet, like a great anchor, those kind of things, I don't think it means as much to me because that just means they need to develop a toolbox that says, all right, I'm gonna get long arms, I'm gonna have to get hands off of me, I'm gonna have to figure out how to get those hands off.

and use my feet to make some of these blocks. - You mean like more aggressive short setting, like a flat set? - Yeah, like you look at some of these guys that love to jump, love to get on a guy, like that length doesn't matter in that setting. Now, do you have really strong hands? So I always say this, like, regardless of what it is, if you know what you're good at, and are you able to develop those things to be your strength, right? And so if you have shorter arms, then you've got to develop the trait to get on guys faster. You've got to develop great hand strength so that when you do get your hands in there, they're never coming off, right? And so your ability to be able to kind of fine tune what it is you are

will dictate that success level. So I say this with O-Line, and we can get into measurements a lot of the times, but number one thing I want to know is are they one of those people who are like, I'm going to chase it, guy. Like, fuck it, I'm going to chase whatever it is that makes me good. I'm going to chase that shit every day. So to me, Will Campbell, he's driven that way.

Like he is a I'm going to figure out a way to be freaking good. We're from the same hometown. All right. All right. Since he's a kid. He grew up playing high school football and the elements of what New England's going to be like playing in Foxborough. Like he's going to be one of those people. I'm going to think like Taylor LeJuan. He's in Tennessee. Like he's going to be an attitude. I'm New England. I'm a patriot. Vrabel's going to be the guy pushing his buttons. I think it's just the perfect like scenario for a guy like Will to go there. Did you hear about Braves?

running like one-on-one drills with him. Yeah. During his workout. I actually posted the other day and I was like, I love this. Cause it's like, that's what I dreamed of when he went there. I'm like, all right, the Vrabel's got his Taylor LeJuan. Like he, this kid's going to come and he's gonna be like, Hey dude, don't worry about, not that you're against the vets, but you come in. I want you to be nasty. I want you to finish people. Like I'm going to be in your ear all the time. Like you're going to come in and be the tone setter for our group. Cause you're,

you may not come in as a young offensive lineman and take over the room from a leadership standpoint, but you can come in and be like, I'm going to bring some attitude to this group. And I tell the funny story about 08 and Cincinnati and all that, but that was what I was. I was a young kid trying to find my way. And I was like, you know what I do like to do? I love to fight and

get into it and tussle and I'm scared of nobody. So this will be my role. My first couple years when I get on the field, like, I'm going to bring it. We're going to finish plays. I'm going to get guys pissed off. Like, two weeks after that Henderson game, I played Albert Hainsworth. That was the year he got his contract with the Tennessee Titans. Goddamn.

He got pulled out of the game in the first quarter because we were fighting every play and Washburn was losing his mind because he wasn't rushing. He was just swinging with me. Yeah. Because I would just start every game like, hey, let's just get in a fight. Get in his head. Right? And so he pulled him out of the game. So that was my thing as a young player. And I think Will will be that kind of guy. He's going to come in with an attitude and try to finish guys. Can I ask questions to Will too? Yeah, do it. This is great.

This is so funny. So later, no, I'm just asking later in your career, were you like, like when you were at the Rams, were you like that? Or were you more of a finesse guy? You know what's funny? I don't know if I just looked old and miserable, but guys didn't really mess with me. So it was just. You had the reputation. I didn't, I had the reputation. You know, there's not a lot of Walter Payton men of yours have been ejected twice. Ha ha ha!

You know, he kind of goes with the award. Symbolizes the sportsmanship of the game. It's like, hey, listen, this guy's really nice, but maybe he's so nice because he's that fucking crazy that I don't want to mess with him. There you go. So that was kind of it. I always say my favorite story, we were playing in Washington against the Commanders, and Chase Young was a rookie, and I'm in a TV timeout, and I see him talking to Montez Sweat, and he's like,

Then he starts laughing. He's like, finally, he goes, hey, hey, big fella. I'm looking at him. He goes, you really 39? Yeah.

I'm like, yes. He's like, holy shit. He was like, man, I can't believe I'm going against this dude who's just 39. And you got to remember, I always faced out. So I stared at whoever I played the whole time. I never turned into a huddle. So I would be staring at him the entire game. So he's like, this 39-year-old dude looks old as shit is just staring at me all game. Like, I'm going to find a way to talk to him. So he's like, are you actually 39, man? Hilarious. Yes. You've never looked in the huddle? No.

Nope. Time out. Is this a rule or this was just an Andrew Whitworth thing? What I've always did. The only other guy I had like that, you remember Big Willie Colon? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, but Willie, towards the end of his career, he just didn't want to have to, that extra step he had to take to turn around. That was it. Yeah.

He was always so gassed. He was just trying to limit his footsteps up to the ball. I got a quick question. So, obviously, you spend most of your career in Cincinnati. St. Louis, or not St. Louis, Los Angeles Rams. Your training camps, I don't know where they were when you were there. It just came out that the Rams are going to Maui. Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, minicamp. Minicamp, yes. Yeah.

We were always there. They've been talking because these new partnerships you see the teams having where they're going, you know, trying to get out of the U.S. and develop all these partnerships across the world. Part of theirs is Australia and then obviously Hawaii. And so on the way. And so I think this year was like a big emphasis. They want to move minicamp there. So I'd be pretty cool. Like,

I mean, you always hate it having to go to mandatory mini camp, but mandatory mini camp in Maui sounds kind of sweet. So I'm actually, I'm going to go with them. So I'll get a chance to go. I'm going to take you to the team. Just a great teammate. Do you guys need anybody to help out with bags? This show is sponsored.

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I don't know if Matthew can figure out how to get on the golf course. I can help him get out there. Hey, I thought Andrew came on this trip. He hasn't been to practice one time. Stafford and I will just go play golf. It's just like when we used to do the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Right, guys? Yeah, you remember that. Never.

I never did it. I visited when Andrew and Travis were in it. That was epic. I got to hang out in the pool. It was the best. The old Turtle Bay. Forgetting Sarah Marshall. What was it like going from Cincinnati's offense to the new Sean McVay style offense?

like run play action heavy. - It was beautiful. I mean, living in a world with Hugh Jackson and Jay Gruden where it's like, you know, a lot of empty and a lot of stuff where you're just in drop back protection all the time to all of a sudden like, hey, we're gonna run, run, play action, only throw, you know, really in situations that team forces to, to drop back pass was absolutely beautiful. Not to mention like small thing being that I was 35 years old

So going from playing on turf every week as a home game to now I played in a division. When you think about that at that time, it's like San Francisco, Arizona, and then L.A., all grass. And then Seattle's your only turf field, but it's a pretty nice turf. So really, I go to a situation where I'm playing tons of grass games. I was like, dude, I feel totally different. It's warmer, obviously. That was a pretty epic move. I mean, playing West Coast was pretty insane. You don't like turf? I fucking hate it.

You feel terrible. Night and day. As soon as we moved to SoFi, obviously SoFi is amazing, but just the feel you have walking in on Monday compared to walking in off that grass on a Sunday. It's night and day. I can't practice the week after I play turf. Do you like turf? I loved it when I was young. I didn't ever notice the difference. Never noticed it? I don't know what to tell you. I didn't really do that much running. You did lead a team in rushing, though. I did. That's so insane.

How many yards do you have again? Like 236 or something. Big rushing attack. That's got to be NFL record. What was y'all's record by chance? You know, you said earlier, since we started on eight, that year we started at least on seven. Yeah, I would figure. But that year, the last game of the year,

We went to Foxborough. Oh, this is the Tom Brady game. And we beat New England, which gave somebody home field advantage. And a Super Bowl. You're welcome. Is this Tom New England or is this...

I think that was a quarterback. Yeah, I think that's who it was. Oh, yeah. Was he mad at you? Did he shake your hand and tell you? I'm trying to think if he was still there when that. Yeah, that was his last regular season game in Foxborough, guys. Yeah. Yep. That was the handshake. I remember it. That's great. Kevin Harlan. Yeah, Kevin Harlan. Dual call there. He was calling our game and the New England game at the same time. It was crazy. You played in how many different systems? I know you played with nine different teams.

He didn't know that before this, by the way. Don't let him fucking lie to you. He did not know it was 19. Honestly, we thought it was more. Oh, okay. We were taking the over on it. No, it was nine. Um...

I'm just like, right now we've listed you should have been a guard. If you play for like 20 teams, how do you feel about yourself today? Are you good, bud? I feel great. You know what? You have a guard, buddy. Yeah. Long ago, I learned not to really care about what people say about me. So, you know, the thing is, though, I played on nine teams, but it wasn't like...

collecting three teams in a year, it was like I started on nine teams. So like it was like I I played first couple of years. It was two years, two years, four years. And then legitimately at the end of my career, it was like either one year or two year move in every year, every other year, which I mean, as you know, you have the all the young kids and stuff. It's like you think about my wife. We have seven kids in seven different cities. And

And so it's like the amount of moving that we did and they came everywhere I went. And then we had to pick up and go, OK, school, sports, you know, regular life. Were they homeschool? Were you homeschooling them or? No, we were making new friends, just making new friends everywhere they went. So, yeah, now my oldest is getting ready to go to college, guys. Yeah, think about this. He told us this. I think he talked about this on one of our first shows.

podcast episodes to his kids, but 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, and 5. Oh, no, you got to, they all turn to the next year. Yeah, so now we're even. 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, and 6. Yeah, there you go. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, is that crazy? That's nuts. So he read it off, and I go, wait, say that again one more time. You have what? What? 18, 17, 15, 13. I'm like, holy shit.

It's a lot. It's a lot of kids. Our first year in Thursday football, he brought them all to Chicago. And I'm like, dude, let's get some dinners. Like, let's go. And he's like, yeah, sure. Call all the places that take 10 tops. And I was like, oh, my God. That's right. So we're getting pizza. Yeah. Yeah. We eat fast food. I was like, oh, OK. Got it. What was your favorite system to play in of all your stops? So Chan Gailey. Yeah.

Strangely enough, like he, so he was a head coach in Buffalo for three years when I was there. And then when I got to New York, he was there. And then my second year in Miami, he was there. So I played with him for three different teams. Nice. Kevin Petullo, who's now the coordinator in Philly. I had him two different places and he is a Chan disciple. And he's obviously done a lot of different things now. He's got some Texas A&M stuff. And then obviously being with Sirianni for a while. Mm-hmm.

But he'll have some wrinkles as you sit there and watch. I'll be like, okay, I recognize that play. I know that play. But Chan was always a spread him out, a left tackle's dream. Empty, spread him out. Yeah, baby. Spread the ball around. But I really liked him. And part of the thing for me was just like he –

infused a lot of belief into me. And so that was why I liked him the best. For sure. I think it's one of the coolest things on Thursday nights before the game, you get those couple hours before the game, like him playing nine different teams, all these coaches that he's been around. I mean, it's just constant guys coming up like, oh, he was, you know, quality control when I was in this place. He was this and it's just like you're listing off head coaches, OCs, DCs. He's been around them all. It's insane. I mean, it's crazy when you're sitting there like, man, when were you with him?

And he starts listening it off just to touch, you know, from playing nine different teams.

that he has across the league as well. But you guys have seen it. It's funny when you have real young guys that are coaching, whether in Kansas City or Philly, and then they become head guys. And even like Jonathan Gannon, when I was in Tennessee, he was like the lowest of the low defensive assistant. Yeah. But there are those guys that you peg and you go, okay, yeah, he's going to be something eventually. For sure. Actually, a guy we were with in college –

How old was Jesse when he was at Cincinnati? Jesse Minner was the chief at the University of Cincinnati. I don't feel like Jesse's even getting older. He still fucking looks like a younger guy. When I was at LSU, similar thing. Adam Gase and Freddie Kitchens were our GAs when I got to LSU. Freddie Kitchens. Yeah, no. Minner was my – he was holding up the cards when I was – how was the scout team QB? Wow.

Wow. And tight end. I was running dual thing. Just doing, just an athlete in it. I mean, just pissing off everybody on the defense. Yeah.

I didn't run the route on the card back then. Shocker. Shocker. Back then. Do you ever run the route on the card? Well, that's how I knew that. How would you feel about that? That's when I figured out. I'm like, oh, they know this play. How am I going to get open if they know I'm going to run that route? I'm not going to run that fucking route if I want to get open. But I don't know. I got to show these coaches I got what it takes. I don't think people give. I'm an idiot.

I don't think people give Patrick enough credit because it's not easy. It's not easy as a quarterback. And you guys obviously have amazing chemistry, like some of the best chemistry in NFL history. For him to know where you're going to be and anticipate, and it speaks a lot to probably the way you guys have worked in practice and over the years obviously playing so much. But that is not an easy thing to do as a quarterback. Yeah, I'll try it out in practice. And if I get either the ball doesn't come my way or –

And then I know not to do it again. Yeah, exactly or I'm yeah, I'm getting the ball right and right on time That's kind of how I'm in paddle Let me know or he'll let everybody on this isn't just a me thing anymore everybody if you're given a specific route versus a certain coverage you kind of get a little bit of freedom and it's just It's evolved over that. Well, you have you ever just somebody just ran the wrong round? You're like god damn it He's open and you threw it

All the time? Have you ever seen me play Trolls? His eyes were closed. So there was a guy, Stevie Johnson, if you remember that name. Stevie was so sick. And we just used to have the, I just used to give him the Y signal, which was you do you.

So then it was like, all right, he's out there by himself. You got to get that. You do you. That's a new one right there. Go route, hitch, slant, like whatever he wanted to do. He was single. So it's easier to do when you're in a three-by-one and you're the guy on the single side. Yeah, that being said, you know, he always got open, so it worked. Hey, Trav, you're not the only tight end to score a touchdown here, just in case. All right now. Wait, what? Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah. A little jumbo time then? One for one, baby. All you can be is 100%. Listen. You ever scored on your birthday? God damn it. On my birthday. Happy birthday. That's a huge indicator for defenses. You got to know the tackles. If it's the jumbo time. If it's his birthday. High alert. Even better for a Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh. Opening drive of the game. Did you guys win that game? You had to have. But.

But the only thing that is a cool stat for him, we still haven't ever looked it up, but I was the only offensive touchdown in the game. I don't know how many times the left tackle has been the only offensive touchdown in the game, but it was the opening drive of the game. I think Carson Palmer threw, he threw me a touchdown, but he also unfortunately threw two to the Steelers. He was thrown into a lot of the wrong positions. Listen.

A lot of guys that weren't supposed to catch it were catching it in the game. You'll have to ask your buddy Ryan Clark about that one. Are you sure he was supposed to be covering me? He was supposed to be-- no, he ran up on the road. Yeah, no, he lost. No, let's just turn it in. We'll take his height. Yeah, I lost, Ryan. Sorry, Ryan. I got to tell the truth. Yeah, never had one. No. But when there's something late in your career they scheme to-- Late in my career, they tried to give me a-- like a gimme touchdown by having a tush-push design where Juergens would come in and I'd take center. Like quarterback snap.

Got a report. Got to remember that. So you had a scheme that we never ran? We were so bad my last year, the second half of the season. Because those plays are plays that's like, hey, we're up.

17 or whatever at the end of the game, let's get Kelsey touchdown. It's like, yeah, no, I never got that. We were getting our asses kicked, unfortunately. Whit, you played 15 plus years. Is that correct? 16, yeah. So, it's 15 plus. I don't know why you went with 15 plus. It's good. It's where Brandon puts it. He's working something in. I understand. How did you know it was time to hang it up? What finally clicked where you're like, you know what? Now...

that I'm 40? Honestly, probably the amount of meetings I would like wake up in, in the sense of not sleeping, but like just be on my phone and realize that everyone's like walking out of the room and I'd be like, Oh fuck, I'm good. I listen to everything. Like, I,

What's practice today? Where are we going? But anyways, literally just you get to that point where I was sitting and then I'm like, you know what? I am not actually enjoying being in the building. Like, I'd love the guys, but I'm like the whole day. If that's the case, I should have retired like 10 years ago.

I became a skill player. That's really what happened. I became a skill player. You're used to the skill guys falling asleep in meetings and being on their phones and everything else. But I would just sit in the O-line room and like, and like Cromer or one of the O-line, whoever the O-line coach was telling me to be like, Whit, Whit. And I realized like, oh, she's been saying my name. And like, yeah, what's up? Like,

I have no idea what's been happening in here. And I realized, you know what, man, this is not a good look. Like, I'm kind of like, I'm checked out a little bit. I'm tired. Like, it felt like a grind every day to go into work. I loved the games. Like, I still even, when I retired, was like, I remember going to Sean's office, you know, a month after we'd won it and being like, I think I might keep playing. And he's like, no.

He's like, dude, as your friend, like you've done everything you could have possibly accomplished. Right. And, you know, he also won the Super Bowl two months ago. I mean, he's like two months ago. You knew you were done. Like, you know, I'd already told him, like, this is it. He's like, you stick with your decision. Like, you're good. And I was like, all right. And then six months after that, when they were three and nine, he was like, why the fuck didn't you keep playing? Yeah.

We need you. Please come back. Because they had like a horrific year with the offensive line injuries and stuff. So it really wasn't about me as much as that. But it was interesting. Like, you know, I knew it. And then when we went to those playoffs, it actually made it even sweeter because I knew it was it. But I didn't tell anybody because I wanted to just soak it all in. And then things just started happening. And I'll never forget that.

know watching cincinnati make the kick to win and they're going to super bowl and i'm running out on the field to play the niners in the nfc championship i'm like oh my god like this is crazy like there's no way in hell if cincinnati's going to super bowl i'm going freaking super bowl yeah um so to end your career playing against the only other franchise you played for in a place that's you know you obviously were a huge part of uh i couldn't have ever

ever dreamed that would be the case. So once that happened, I was like, this is it. This is the story beginning. Yeah, this is it. And that's why I had kind of the epic moment with my kids there after the game to sit out on the field. And it was like, it wasn't even a celebration almost. It was like a just piece of, man, this was the ride and it's over. It was like sit down with them and like, man, this is about to be sick.

Well, there's nothing like telling you how much you're missing. You leave and the team struggles the next year. Yeah. Is that how you felt? Yeah, for sure. Week four, I was feeling great. Week four was a great year. What about you, Fethy? So, I ended up, my last year I was in Washington and I had a...

So 17 years, relatively healthy for 17 years. I broke my tibia. But other than that, didn't have a ton of injuries. I hurt my hip like 15 plays in to that game. And like for me at that point, I could have I could still be playing right now. I could have played forever as a backup and just kind of been and get thrown into a game. And but hurt my hip once.

Wasn't a great injury to have. And then it's like my kids are old enough now to where it's fun to be home and be more a part of that as well. And the Thursday night gig, like having the weekends with the kids and not having to miss all the stuff that I missed over all those years. Cause you know, my span we're talking about earlier is six to 18. So it's like the weird part about my kids is my 18 year old went to 10 different schools and my six year old,

maybe will be in the same school district his whole life, you know, which is a crazy thing. But yeah, but it was time. It was time. Like, I feel like my kids deserved it for me to step away. It feels like you were very much celebrated in every stop you had.

What was your favorite stop of the bunch? I feel like New York fans, Tampa, it definitely feels like Buffalo's still in this area. It's still Buffalo, but... Yeah, I would say there weren't a whole lot of stops, especially towards the tail end of my career.

that I didn't love because we fully just dove in. We embraced the community like everybody embraced us. I would say certainly Bill's Mafia and Buffalo is probably where I align most, where I feel the most love. But I had...

I love playing for Miami. I love playing for Tampa. I love one of the two years in New York. But there, yeah, some great fan bases and great people that we met. Loved Houston. Like, I'm going to forget some, you know. Yeah. Like, we had some great times. What about Tennessee? You know what's funny is Tennessee on paper, Nashville, should have been the coolest spot.

And it just - it didn't really do. It was the number. It was the jersey. I wore number four there. It wasn't real swaggy. You were pretty square - you were pretty square bodied. That was the old number too. Yeah, Trav, it wasn't good. It wasn't good. You wouldn't have improved to the fashion stage. It wasn't good. As long as you got that beard rocking, man. You got the chest hair coming out, you're good. All right, here we go. Let's go to We Gotta Ask. Oh, fun. Don't have to ask. This is how we wrap it up. You don't have to answer, we have to ask. Okay. That's why it's called We Gotta Ask.

You can tell us the fuck off is what he's saying. Oh, cool. Yeah. I mean, you could have always done that. Or you can just answer the question. Whit, is it true that you used to eat five Taco Bell, soft tacos and five bean burritos before going on dates in college? That is an accurate statement. I didn't embarrass myself in front of my date of how much I like to eat because I was a big boy. Yeah, big man. So I would run by Taco Bell. That's true.

I would go through the drive-thru, crush in the parking lot, like go in, get some smell good on, you know, like go pick her up. Don't smell like beans. Yeah. Don't want to smell like beans. So then I'd pick her up and like eat a salad, like at dinner, you know, like a salad. Wow, this guy really takes care of himself. Yeah. Wow, he's really on top of it. That was the goal. I don't want to eat anymore. That's amazing. This is great. Jason, what did you used to do? Huh? I didn't go on dates. All right, next question. Fitz. Did, uh...

Did I steal your bit taking my shirt off in Buffalo? Is it your bit or is this just a Buffalo bit?

No, I feel like it's been a bit from the beginning of time when it gets cold that men take their shirts off. We remember in Cleveland, it happened all the time. There'd be guys in the dog pound. Oh, yeah. Painted up and down. You know, I still feel bad. That game, we were supposed to get together that game for the tailgate. We were. And I got stuck in traffic. We flew in that day and I got stuck in traffic. Bill's Mafia. Yeah. And I was going to show you around and didn't get a chance to, but I know you had a good time in

I still want to go back. I'd love to go back with you. Yeah. I'd love to go back just in general because Bill's Mafia was spectacular. Big Tree Inn. Yeah. That place was awesome. Yeah. You hit it up. Yeah. No, it was good. Well, but, but even where they're putting the stadium and stuff has kind of been condensed right now because of the stadium and what they're doing there. So next year, not just going to be a better once, once that seat, that stadium is done, uh,

It's going to be insane. Nice. I think filing cabinet pizza guy is my favorite. That pizza was. Yeah. I didn't have the pizza. You went into the hammer lot, which. Yeah. We were late to get to that though. Like we got there pretty much when we were going to the game. So we got to see pins around, got to get the bowling ball shot. Yeah.

I would love to go there though earlier and get the whole experience. Yeah. The Fallen Cabinet Pizza is pretty special. It's a special place. It really like just engulfs you. It's a special place and you feel the vibe right away. And it's called the city of good neighbors for a reason, right? It felt very... Even flying, and I've talked to Travis about this, seeing the lake, it reminded me of being from Cleveland. Yeah. Even though you're not in Cleveland. There's like something where like this like weird...

ominous vibe is in the air from the lake the snow it was we got we had two years in a row first year was Cleveland

clinching playoff spot. It was so cool. The fan appreciation, everything. But then last year it was Cleveland horrible, but the snow game with Jameis where he's doing the snow angels. The fans in Cleveland are unbelievable. There's definitely a tie there between those two cities and how diehard they are. Yeah. Some in the lake. All right. Big wit. You played for Nick Saban at LSU. Can you give us, you got any good Nick Saban stories you can share or?

I've got some really good Nick Saban stories, plenty of them. A lot of them involve him screaming, but I would say probably my favorite, my freshman year, Benny Brazil, one of my best friends in life and I were going, so Nick would do when the season ended,

You would go in and have these one-on-ones with him and everybody had to plan your one-on-one meeting with Coach Saban. And Nick was a sports psychology guy. So he had the big, huge chair, the little tiny chairs outside his massive desk. And the electronic door that opens with the button, the whole deal. So you'd go in there and you just feel – and he'd temple you the whole time he's talking to you, the whole deal. He's all into that type stuff.

So Benny and I are waiting in the secretary's office, just like waiting for him to put in. And we hear him like Nick episode going crazy, losing his mind, screaming like, man, what, what freshmen's in there right now? Cause we're trying to think of who did something recently, like got in trouble and,

Man, I can't wait to see who comes out of this office. Door opens up. He's hit the button. It's Skip Burtman, who is the longtime baseball coach who had won like eight national championships or something at LSU. He was the interim or maybe just for a little while there, the athletic director. Oh, wow. And he had like booked a game or scheduled a game or something had happened that Nick wasn't cool with. And this guy, I mean, this old man, we're like.

Benny and I look at each other like, "Who's going next?" This dude's like watered up. You can tell he's been, "Oh, dude." We're like, "Oh, no. Nick's in one of these modes today. Anybody can get it." And that's how he was. But the coolest part about Nick is everything was for a reason. He was doing it. Even press conference people saw him in Alabama, whatever.

That was a lot of the time he knew he was going to erupt on that reporter. He knew what he had planned to say or the speech he had planned to give. It's all thought out. And there's a reason behind it. And that's who he always was. And so once you kind of got to understand what he was really trying to get you to hear or what the example he was really trying to give you, you realize he's not that mean. He's not that hard on people. He's actually just always trying to teach a lesson every single day. And his sense of urgency is just rare. Like when you're around him, you're like, dude, we're going to win because he's

this dude's urgency to being great and chasing greatness is like, like nobody else's you've ever been around. So you started to like, be less scared of him and more like, all right, what's he really trying to say? I'm just ignore all the like fire. And like, you know, he seems like he's trying to bite at you, but he's really not. He's really just trying to get you to listen to something he has to say. Yeah.

That's awesome. Do you guys have any welcome to the NFL moments? What is your welcome to the NFL moment? My first two years, probably. Mine was very... Mine was very wild coming out of Harvard. Yes. I was the fourth stringer.

Didn't get any reps. Back then, you weren't allowed to do OTAs and things until your school graduated, right? So, like, I didn't get to do any OTAs. I got to do a rookie minicamp and that was it. That's bullshit. Yeah. So, I played a little bit in the preseason. Yeah, son, you're going to have to graduate from Harvard before you can join the NFL. It wasn't until your class graduated. Yeah. I was still there. Yes, I was still there. Yes, yes. But...

You don't go there not to graduate. But anyway, I was a four-stringer. I was going up against the guy Jeff Smoker for the third-string spot. Michigan State, right? Michigan State. Smoke show. I ended up getting the third-string spot. But look, I didn't get any reps ever. Well, we are like 10, 11 weeks into the season. Mark Bolger goes down. So I'm the backup for the game.

I get thrown in down 21 to nothing or 24 to 3. Epic. The first huddle I'm in, Orlando Pace.

Isaac Bruce, Tori Holt, Marshall Falk. My voice is cracking. - I would love to hear that. - High right slot zoom, bank picks left, X quick screen right. - Oh my gosh. - Well, we ended up coming back and winning the game. - Let's go! - How about that? - Vince Magic style, baby! - And then, I think, we like to say I officially ended the greatest show on turf because I started the next few weeks and it didn't go great the next few weeks.

But that was my first, that was my first title. It was like, am I going to be able to make it for a year or two? And then I'm in the huddle and those guys are listening to me, looking at me and I'm like, Oh my God. Yeah. I didn't know what to do. Yeah. It was crazy. It was awesome.

You know, I had to go in, obviously, early in my career. 06, when I got there and got drafted, they had just signed Levi Jones, a left tackle back who had been a pro bowler, and Willie Anderson had signed an extension. They know Argo will be one of the best right tackles to ever play the game. And so I really thought when I got drafted, like, I'm not going to play at all. And sure enough, how the NFL works, our left tackle Levi blows out his knee week four of the season. And I had only been playing guard because they didn't obviously just pay their tackles. So they were like, hey, you're going to play left guard. This season is a back up.

And we had Eric Steinbach, who ended up going to Cleveland after that year. So I'm like, I'm not going to play. Levi blows his knee out in the Tampa game. And so he got hurt before the Tampa game. So I go in. They're like, hey, you're going to have to play some left guard in this game possibly. So sure enough, Levi tries to play. Can't do it. He's done. So Steinbach goes in, left tackle, and I'm left guard. We have a TV timeout. And I see our O-line coach pointing down, and he's like,

I'm like, what's, you know, so I'm just trying to ignore him because I'm like, I think he's pointing at me to go left tackle. We're playing in Tampa. This is like, you know, legendary Tampa game. Oh yeah. And Paul's like pointing, you know, and sure enough, finally they go into Carson's headset and they go, Hey,

you know, hey, Paul says, he knows you see him. Like move, you're playing. So I'm like, move over one spot in the huddle, you know, like just begrudgingly, like when you tell your kids to sit down, I like move over one spot and play left tackle the rest of the game. I didn't give him any sex. I'm not gonna say it was very pretty.

But I survived, right? It was Simeon Rice on the road. And then the next week was my first ever start at left tackle. And it was Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers, who at that time in their last two or three years together were leading the league in sacks. So, blanked them again. But...

Nice. It was one of those things where like all of a sudden you realize this is what the life is, you know? And I think my third or my second start was Terrell Suggs on Thursday Night Football or something like that in at home in Cincinnati. Yeah. You start really realizing like, okay, wait a minute. Every week I got one of these guys. Like, when do I get the easy guys? When's the LSU against the, you know, the Michigan City? I had a similar, well, not at all a similar story, but similar moment of my welcome to the NFL moment. Nobody really knew it happened, but me and the guy that I was blocking. Yeah. Right? Like,

There were no sacks. That's how our life is, right? Nobody knows anything that happens in our career. So I'm going into, I'm a rookie. I'm playing Dallas. They're running a 3-4, so a lot of 5-0 calls. And they got Jay Ratliff at nose guard. Quick little jib. And I had never played a nose guard, head up. Didn't know how to pass at it. Howard Mudd's trying to teach me at midweek, and I'm like trying to figure this out. Because most of those guys are in a 3-4. They're just two gaping. They're not even going to rush.

And I am having a rough one. Like, I don't know how I haven't given up a sack. He's beaten me for like four pressures. Who's the quarterback? The quarterback would have been Michael Vick. That's probably how he did it. There you go. There he is. Now we know. So I'm like, the game is three quarters over. I've been having an awful night. And I get called for holding. And I think it's a bullshit call. I'm yelling at the ref, that's bullshit. That's not holding. And I look over at Jay. I'm like, you knew that wasn't holding you. And he's like,

Son, I've been whooping your ass all night. I figure I earned one of those. I guess I'm done talking to Jay. As a young alum, I feel like you get some very welcome to NFL moments. For sure. There's no doubt. Hip tosses, just completely bull run over. Everybody check out the Fitz and Witt pod coming back during the season. And we'll see you guys on Christmas in Kansas City. Bye.

Oh, yeah. Oh, nice. At the American Century. Yes. At the American Century Championship. So sorry. Yes. American Century Championship. That happens to take place in Tahoe. Yeah. That's right. I forgot how we got to keep track of the century. Kansas City brand. Appreciate you guys doing that. All right.

Alrighty, and that wraps up another episode of New Heights. Thanks for tuning in. You can subscribe to New Heights to At New Heights Show on YouTube or any place else you get your podcasts. Yeah, make sure you're subscribed on YouTube to the New Heights channel and follow New Heights in the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

Once again, New Heights, a Wanderer show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment. And New Heights is brought to you by Allstate. You're in good hands with Allstate. Isn't that right, Jason? Follow the show on all social media. Add New Heights Show with one S for fun clips throughout the week. And thanks to our production and crew for always making us look better than we are. 92%ers, thank you guys. Fitz and Witts, thank you guys. God damn it. I got it, baby. You did it. New York. New York.

I'm looking at Jason's tits right now on PGA Tour. Oh my God. No, no, no. What about the 8 a.m. thing with your beater?

When you had the wife beater on, your tits were hanging. Do you shave your ribs? It just rubs. Do I shave? Do you shave your ribs? No. That's a t-shirt rub. No. That's friction from the shirt. Because your tits are covered with hair, but your ribs are nothing. Listen, I don't know what part of evolution made my hair grow like that, but that's just how it happens. You have hair on your inner thighs or no? Probably not because of the rub. Mine don't look like that.

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