Lots to Say: Brady Modeling Debut, Fmr Bills' Eric Wood, and Nashville Super Bowl!

Summary

The Bobby Bones Show – "Lots to Say: Brady Modeling Debut, Fmr Bills' Eric Wood, and Nashville Super Bowl!"

Date: May 20, 2026
Host: Bobby Bones with Matt Cassel
Special Guest: Eric Wood (former Bills center & broadcaster)

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Episode Overview

This lively episode features NFL talk, parenting anecdotes, pop culture crossovers, and a deep dive into Buffalo Bills football with guest Eric Wood. Highlights include Tom Brady’s Prada runway debut, team banter and hypotheticals, inside stories on the Bills’ coaching changes and stadium updates, and a celebratory look at Nashville being awarded a future Super Bowl.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Opening Banter: Parenting, Birthdays, and Little League

[01:30–08:58]

• Bobby jokes about Matt’s tan and birthday celebrations.
• Matt shares stories coaching his daughter’s second-grade flag football team, including the "second-grade trick play" and his pride in the kids’ growth and camaraderie.
• Both share heartfelt family moments, with Bobby describing a Mother’s Day “letter” written to his wife from their baby (using his off-hand for realism).
• Discussion about the challenge of managing dogs and babies at home, culminating in a darkly comedic story about a childhood pet drowning.

Notable Quote:
“My girls were salty...they got progressively better as the year went on. So it was awesome. I help coach. I do not coach offense. I only coach defense.”
— Matt Castle [02:13]

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2. Situational Awareness: NFL Life & Hypotheticals

[10:23–24:37]

A series of rapid-fire hypotheticals and “what would you do” scenarios between Bobby and Matt:

• Tom Brady’s Runway Debut
  Tom Brady walks for Prada at 48 – reactions and fashion sense appreciation.

  • “If anybody was making modeling debut at 48, Tommy Brady would absolutely crush it.” — Matt Castle [10:43]

• Dealing with Internet Trolls
  How Bobby responds when told to "stick to country music."

  • “I bet you I make more money talking sports than you do in your first career.” — Bobby Bones [14:05]
  • “The Internet does chip back with something a little bit. No, when you go for their jugular… Let him bleed out.” — Matt Castle [15:31, 15:39]

• Kids Wanting to Quit Sports
  On commitment, responsibility, and building confidence in children.

  • “You’ve already committed to your teammates, to your coaches, and you have a responsibility not to let them down.” — Matt Castle [15:52]

• NFL Play Calling, Team Dynamics
  Fourth-and-2 decisions; personnel impacts; “firing” each other as coaches for disagreement on aggressiveness.

  • “Fourth and two, first quarter...I’m going for it. I don't care…first, second, third, fourth quarter.” — Bobby Bones [18:18]
  • Spirited clash on conservative vs. aggressive coaching mindsets.

• Meeting Etiquette in NFL
  How and when to correct a coach in front of others — diplomacy and respect in positional meetings, including a story about being unfairly called out by Charlie Weis.

  • “I couldn’t let that go, because at the same time, I’m sitting in the same meetings everybody else is. And this is how you told me to read the play.” — Matt Castle [22:48]

• Podcasting Tactics
  How Bobby deals with uncooperative or unenthusiastic celebrity guests.

  • “I just start telling stories myself…they will then feel neglected and want to jump in.” — Bobby Bones [23:32]
  • On not relying on celebrity interviews: “I don’t need a single interview ever on my show…I can sit here and be compelling for hours.” — Bobby Bones [25:10]

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3. Main Guest: Eric Wood Interview (Former Buffalo Bills Center)

[30:31–64:09]

A deep and wide-ranging conversation covering Bills football, player life, city culture, and personal transitions.

Background & Friendship

• Bobby introduces Eric Wood, former Bills center and current analyst.
• Matt and Eric reminisce about golf, coping with teammates being cut, and post-playing life.

Buffalo Memories & NFL Rookie Life

• Eric recounts entering the league as a first-round pick and getting veteran advice to work harder than any undrafted player.

  • “Never let one of those guys outwork you; show up earlier, stay later…” — Eric Wood [34:32]

• Fun anecdote about learning to love Buffalo despite not initially wanting to be drafted there; credits the community, camaraderie, and affordable cost of living.

Bills: Culture, Coaches, & Stadium News

• Reflections on how Sean McDermott changed the franchise’s culture and what new coach Joe Brady brings to the team. “Sean McDermott did a great job…when you lose in a similar fashion enough times, you just feel like change needs to be made.” — Eric Wood [39:55]
• Joe Brady’s leadership style, differences from McDermott, and capacity for both running and passing offenses.
• Stadium upgrade insights: A shift to PSLs (personal seat licenses) brings mixed fan feelings, but the new smaller, more luxurious stadium is celebrated.

Current Bills, Coaching, and Window for Success

• Discussion on Josh Allen’s “window” and how coaching and salary cap realities dictate long-term competitiveness. “If you got 17 back there…they had D.J. Moore this year…Every year you feel like, ‘This is the Bills’ year’, and I’m optimistic enough to think 2026 is it.” — Eric Wood [44:42]
• On the shift to a more balanced offense and the future under Joe Brady.

Fan Culture and Buffalo Identity

• “Bills Mafia” philanthropy, such as donations to Andy Dalton’s and Lamar Jackson’s charities after pivotal games.
• Best wing spots in Buffalo and the city’s unique vibe.

Life After Football: Mental Health & Transition

• Raw honesty from Eric about the “grieving” process when his career ended unexpectedly, the need for structure, and staying close to the game. “It’s a mental toll when you spend your whole life chasing something, and then it’s taken away from you and you don’t necessarily have something to chase next.” — Eric Wood [55:40]

Inside Football: The Center’s Mental Load

• Eric explains the complexities of playing center: identifying the “mic,” setting protections, and the impact on the offense.
• Tales from the trenches: coaching up rookies, the importance of communication.

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4. Quick Hits: NFL and Music

[66:34–71:48]

• Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers
  “Aaron Rodgers still a good quarterback in the NFL.” — Matt Castle [66:52]
• Commentary on the Steelers’ reluctance to rebuild, limitations of "never bad enough" for top draft picks.
• Nashville to Host Super Bowl!
  Excitement for the city hosting in 2030, speculation on potential halftime acts:
  • “Can’t wait to see the Jelly Roll halftime show. Call it now.” — Bobby Bones [69:52]
  • Fun riff about booking contemporary and legacy country artists if the Super Bowl were held this year.

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Notable & Memorable Quotes

• “I take a gun to a butter knife fight sometimes, and it is not nice.” — Bobby Bones, on overreacting to trolls [15:39]
• “You’ve already committed to your teammates, to your coaches, and you have a responsibility not to let them down.” — Matt Castle [15:52]
• “Dude, yeah, I look great.” — Matt on Tom Brady’s effortless fashion swagger [12:00]
• “I don’t need a single interview ever on my show…I can sit here and be compelling for hours.” — Bobby Bones [25:10]
• “It’s a mental toll when you spend your whole life chasing something, and then it’s taken away from you and you don’t necessarily have something to chase next.” — Eric Wood [55:40]

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Top Timestamps & Segments

• [01:30] – Coaching kids and birthday banter
• [10:23] – Situationals: Tom Brady runway & social media trolls
• [30:31] – Eric Wood interview begins
• [34:32] – NFL rookie advice
• [39:55] – Bills coaching shift and Joe Brady’s impact
• [44:42] – Josh Allen’s “window” and Bills’ future
• [52:10] – Bills fans’ hopes for a new season
• [55:40] – Post-NFL career mental health
• [58:16] – Mental challenges of playing center
• [66:34] – Aaron Rodgers to Steelers
• [69:03] – Nashville awarded 2030 Super Bowl; halftime show speculation

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Tone & Style

The episode is conversational, friendly, often hilarious, and filled with inside jokes and warm camaraderie. Bobby and Matt bring both the sports knowledge and the everyman relatability, while Eric Wood adds authenticity and locker-room candor.

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Conclusion

This episode combines NFL insight, behind-the-scenes stories, parenting laughs, fan culture, and future-looking excitement about both the Buffalo Bills and Nashville’s place in the sports world. Whether you’re a football diehard, a Bills loyalist, or a casual fan, you’ll find smart analysis, heartfelt perspective, and plenty of entertaining moments.

For more, check out Bobby Bones and Matt Castle each week on “Lots to Say!”

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Transcript

[A]

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[A]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcasts.

[D]

We got lots to say.

[A]

We got lots to say?

[C]

We're glad you're here and we hope you stay?

[D]

Cause we got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say.

[A]

Now here's Bobby and. Hey, everybody. I went to a very tan Matt Castle.

[C]

I am very tanner.

[A]

You look good. Oh, but you took offense. I had mentioned it to you. Dang, you look good. And you're like, I was outside at games. I was like, dude, I just think you look good.

[C]

Well, yes, I came off super aggressive for no reason. Like, and I've had a pretty good morning, too, and I don't know why it came out like that. And I definitely apologize. You're acting like I just said it

[A]

in my last documentary. I was just kind of weird. I was like, dude, yeah, you been out in the sun? And you're like, yeah, it was a games.

[C]

I was so. I had a lot of games this weekend. We had two baseball tournaments and then rolled that into Sunday. Actual birthday was on Sunday, so it was outstanding.

[A]

Yours mind was Sunday.

[C]

Yeah. 44.

[A]

Your mom didn't message me to say

[C]

it was your birthday. She. She wants to call in. She. She wants to call in and say happy birthday. Yeah, it was my birthday. 44. So we had two tournaments. And then the cool part was my daughter's championship game for second grade. All girls first year playing went out there flag football. Flag football. And dominated. And it was so cool. They were so excited And I. I don't know if they really knew what was going on, but they played really well, and they got progressively better as the year went on. So it was awesome. So it was cool to be a part of that. I help coach. I do not coach offense. I only coach defense. And my girls were salty.

[A]

I mean, is it all man? Huh? All man, all zone?

[C]

We're all zone. Well, plus, in second grade, they. Nobody throws like you. You get a few. You have to throw once every five downs. So you get five downs to get the midfield. Then you pick up another set of first down or downs. Excuse me, but you have to throw once. The QB can only run once. So they've got these little rules. I will say our offensive coordinator, who's the head coach, he's another dad, put together this trick play that was unbelievable,

[A]

laid out for me. I want to hear a second grade trick play.

[C]

Second grade trick play. We have a Friday practice. We usually don't practice. We just show up to games and play. He put all the girls on the line of scrimmage on one side.

[A]

How many girls on the side?

[C]

So there's seven. Seven girls on the field, offensively, defensively. So he lines up all five girls out wide at the wide receiver position. And the biggest key is you have to be in the line of scrimmage, and you never know how this thing's going to go. There's a center. My daughter's a quarterback. Well, he tells my daughter to look out and go, guys, we're messed up. We're messed up. But then in the meantime, reaches down. If the center's hands are on the ball, the quarterback can grab it. She grabs it. All the girls, she's like, come over here. They walk over. He's now aligned himself over here. I walk the opposite way because I was like, oh, boy. These. These other parents are going to be really upset about the trickery in this. So he's got an in on it. Calls him over. As they get over there in the huddle, he. He. She hands it off to one of her teammates, and the other coach starts to see what's going on. He's like, it's live. Pull the flag. She takes off, jukes two people and goes 40 yards for a touchdown at the end of half. And our parents are going, yes, they're dancing. They're going crazy. And I was like, oh, my gosh.

[B]

I was like, is this going to.

[C]

I wonder how they feel right now. They're probably so. The. I mean, we. The deception was to the utmost and we executed it beautifully.

[A]

So your daughter had to act and also be athletic?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

How was the acting?

[C]

Acting was really good. She actually. Guys, we're lined up wrong. It was only second graders. Goes down, grabs it and says, come on. And they walk over to coach on the sideline. She. It's like a little fumble. Rooski in here. Then I forget who it was, takes off, makes two people miss and goes 40 for a touchdown. It's pretty big. Big score before the half.

[A]

Does your daughter, does she excel at quarterback?

[C]

Well, it's her first year. It's really hard, but she gets the plays. She's able to run the show. She actually waits now to let everybody get on the line of scrimmage. Are we all set? Okay. She goes through a cadence, which at first it's awkward for anybody to give a cadence. Down, set, hut. Right. But now she's totally comfortable doing that. She knows how to fake hair. Hand off here. We had no fumbles in the game, so it was great. She threw a touchdown pass. We threw. We have pass that we do where she gets the ball in a jet sweep. A little deceiving. She runs out and then she tosses it behind the defense. Great catch. I think it was Mali that caught the ball and scored. She so I mean first, first time. I think we completed pass all season too. So it was just all together, really well rounded effort by the girls.

[A]

That's pretty cool.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

What'd you do for your birthday?

[C]

You know what? I was at an 8 o' clock baseball game. 9:45. Went and coached my daughters game at 12. Went back for the 115 as soon as that was over because we lost 9, 6. My youngest son lost 9, 6 in that game. And then we went and jumped in the pool, made some tacos, some guacamole, had a margarita and it was perfect. It's perfect. You know what the fun part about this age is? All my kids are old enough. They all wrote personal notes to me and like to wake up to that and read. Read your kids writing you pretty wonderful things. I'm like, I, oh, this is amazing. Like it's heartfelt and they usually don't go there, but they wrote some really nice notes. So that was probably a big highlight. Yeah.

[A]

Our baby doesn't write notes yet. However, on Mother's day she wrote a note to my wife, her mom. But I mean I wrote it, but I wrote it as her. But what I did is I wrote it with my offhand because I'm left handed. I wrote it in my right hand. It was really hard to read. It was a little too hard to read. I should have committed to just writing sloppy with my good hand. But I committed to writing with my bad hand, thinking, this will look more like a baby wrote it right. I think only every third word could be understood.

[C]

I'll tell you what, your creativity and thoughtfulness goes a long way because that is an amazing gesture. To think like that and be that creative. To go and say, you know what? I'm going to make it look like a baby, but at the same time, write it from her perspective with your right hand. I would. I mean, if I'm your wife, I'm melting. I'm like, mommy, I love you more today than I did yesterday.

[A]

Well, I did the whole.

[C]

Super thoughtful.

[A]

I did the whole bit ahead of time, too. I was like, why is the mail here on Sunday? Something weird. And my wife's like, what do you mean? I said, the mail just came on Sunday. Said, we. I'm gonna go and check it. And I come in and I wrote her a letter.

[D]

It was.

[A]

And the baby wrote her a letter. And my wife knows I do bits all the time, but that was a good bit. She liked that.

[C]

She liked that.

[A]

She liked it.

[C]

And then what'd the baby get her for Mother's Day?

[A]

Well, the baby couldn't afford what I got her. I'm gonna be honest with you.

[C]

That was just as thoughtful. Yeah, I can't.

[A]

Baby ain't getting no credit for that one. What we're dealing with now at the house is the dogs barking wake up the baby inside the house. And so we got a couple baby gates, not for the baby, but for the dogs. And so I've put up two gates. One side of the house that's just like the l living room that's a very, very, like, far east side of the house. And I'll just put in the living room, block it off. But we have a dog that's kind of a hound. She is so smart, she will find a way to either push the lock down or move it. So she can always get to the second level. She opens it up for then the bulldog who is not smart enough to get out of the gate. But now that he's in second level, he barks at everything. And so we're dealing with that because dogs barking wake up the baby all the time. My wife's like, just put them in the. Because we have a small room they can stay in. Then I feel guilty for putting them in that room for 23 hours at a time.

[C]

I know you're a dog lover, so you're dog.

[A]

I know.

[C]

And the forces are working both because you're like, this baby has to sleep. I know it's priority number one, but I got these damn dogs that won't shut up.

[A]

I love the dogs. I love the baby.

[C]

Would they ever go outside and just chill outside?

[A]

So, Eller, who is the husky hound? She can. Because she won't drown the bulldog if he falls in the pool. They don't swim. It's a bowling ball. So he can't go outside without me being with them.

[C]

It's funny you said that, because my miniature Datsun, when I was in high school, I think I was in high school, maybe I just. My first year out, my mom comes home, my miniature doll, Datsun's floating in the pool. Drown. We love this dog. Her name was Mary. Mother Mary. We used to talk.

[A]

I don't like this story. Why did you just throw this story in the middle of all this?

[C]

Well, I'm just saying you're smart because you're protecting your dog.

[A]

You acted like you were gonna tell us a real warm story about a wiener.

[C]

There wasn't a warm story. No, the dog died. It drowned. My mom and my sister fell.

[A]

You don't lead us into that. Like, you just did.

[C]

Well, you said something about a dog drowning. I was like, actually, that.

[A]

And that's how you said it. I said, it's like a bowling ball. You're like. That reminds me. And then all of a sudden, you go into your dog drowning.

[C]

Yeah, man. It was pretty traumatic for them. I was like, man, that dog needed to learn how to swim. Those little legs couldn't go.

[A]

That's the weirdest way to hear a story about a dog drowning.

[C]

That's how. That's how it happened.

[A]

Oh, my God. What are we doing here?

[C]

We're all right.

[A]

All right, let's do the game. Let's do situational awareness is what we're calling it.

[C]

Situational awareness.

[A]

So I'll give you a scenario. You tell me the answer. You give me a scenario, I'll tell you the answer. Number one question, your former teammate. This is hypothetically speaking. Okay. Your former teammate, who happens to be greatest quarterback of all time, makes his modeling Runway debut at the age of 48. What goes through your head as you see this?

[C]

Typical. Are you kidding me? I'm like, oh. If anybody was making modeling debut at 48, Tommy Brady would absolutely crush it, and he would have no problems doing it and love life while Doing it.

[A]

Did you see the picture?

[C]

No. Did he really make a. Oh, yeah.

[A]

You didn't see it?

[C]

No, I didn't see it.

[A]

Oh, I was being. I was kidding about the hypothetical. Yeah, he like walked the Runway for Prada. All leather.

[C]

Oh, yeah. Like, so sexy.

[A]

Doing well, we'll pull up a picture.

[C]

But he's amazing.

[B]

I see that.

[C]

Is Tommy do a T. Because I mean, we go on road trips and I'm telling you, the sharpest dress guy, but like Versace, every type of clothing brand that you could possibly imagine.

[A]

Here you go.

[C]

Oh, my God.

[A]

I guess it's Gucci, huh? Is that a message? Product. But yeah.

[C]

Look at those leather pants. Holy leather pants. Go jump on your Harley. No. Get into your electric car.

[A]

And Tom Brady wears leather, makes catwalk debut during Gucci fashion show.

[C]

Just crushing it.

[A]

Just crushing it.

[C]

I mean, if you got it, flaunt it, bro. But yeah, that is Tom. He's always been a fashion, fashion guy.

[A]

If you look like that, it's easy to be a fashion guy. Like, if you're a really good looking guy, it's easy to be a fashion guy.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because we can also sit here and I could say a number of other things, but then everybody else is like, you know, he's sitting there going, dude, yeah, I look great.

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[A]

All right, give me one.

[C]

All right, here's one for you. You post one football opinion online and someone comments. This is why you should stick to country music. What's your play? This is hypothetical, but maybe real.

[A]

Yeah. Anytime I talk sports anywhere, people will post this. I'm sure it's completely hypothetical. My play is actually if I'm, like, hungry or I didn't get enough sleep, I will reply, I bet you I make more money talking sports than you do in your first career. Like, that would be. If I'm, like, in a bad place, like, I'm just fired up, ready to pop somebod.

[C]

That would be it.

[A]

It's like, I bet so. And I don't go hard at people unless they come at me. But that would be. I'll be like, hey, you're saying I should do it. And then the other weird thing is, I'll talk country music, which I'm also. I feel, like, pretty good at talking about. And people will be like, you don't know anything about country music. I also realize I can't win anywhere, right? And the reason I can't win is because I win everywhere. So I'm good. Like, I'm good.

[C]

How often do you snap back, Be honest, like, where you. You feel like it's necessary for a reply?

[A]

Almost never.

[C]

Almost never.

[A]

Different time five years ago. I mean, there are, like, other. I hate to use the word celebrity people that are unknown that will try to get into beefs with me. So I will snap back. So then there will be, you know, a light shined on them because they can use the press. That doesn't even bother me anymore. Like, I don't really. I don't fight with Ponzi.

[C]

The Dancing with the Stars one was one that you felt you needed to come hard at him. I felt you did, and I thought you did a great job.

[A]

I feel like the hardcore fans of that show had a problem with me, and it was also in my best interest. I felt like to be the person that was actively talking about how I was the person being attacked, I think that made me more the underdog.

[C]

Right?

[A]

Because I'm like, dang, everybody hates me.

[C]

See, now you see my perspective.

[A]

Yeah. So, yeah, that does happen. People are like, hey, why are you talking sports? Go back to talking music. Then I hit him with something harsh. I'm a little too hard. I'm a little too hardcore, though.

[C]

No, you have to go that hard. I know, because it shut down the conversation immediately.

[A]

It really.

[C]

The Internet does chip back with something a little bit. No, when you go for their jugular,

[A]

I go too hard.

[C]

Yeah. Let's go. Let's end it, dude. Let's. Let him bleed out.

[A]

I take it. I take a gun to a butter knife fight sometimes, and it is not nice.

[C]

I love that about you.

[A]

All right, next up. Your kid wants to quit a sport halfway through their season because they're not playing much. What do you say to him or her?

[C]

Always, if you commit to playing a season, we're going to finish that season. It will be your choice after that season whether or not you want to continue playing that sport. However, you've already committed to your teammates, to your coaches, and you have the responsibility not to let them down. And then I will. Sometimes if they really are pushing hard at me, I'll be like, okay, well, I'll call coach right now and you can talk to him and tell them what you're feeling and why you want to stop playing. And that shuts it down immediately. Nobody wants to call our coach and say, hey, this is Lily, and I don't want to play anymore because I just don't feel like I'm having fun. There's no chance that they're going to do that, so they're going to finish the season.

[A]

Will you let them not play the next year?

[C]

For the most part, but I'll sit down and give them reasons why I think they should and why I think they. What are the reasons why they shouldn't? And what they've stated are the reasons why they shouldn't. And hopefully they understand the positive reasons outweigh the reasons why they're saying. Because when my, for instance, my youngest daughter, she started her first year of basketball, she was miserable. She was scared of the male referees. She did not want to go on the court. We had. It was four on four. Basketball girls would be getting pegged in the face with a basketball. One girl had a bloody nose. We only had her as a substitute sitting next to me on the bench. I was like, honey, you have to go. And she's like, I'm not going in. She made him play with three. So I thought, this is going to be pretty difficult. She might have. She might have had five minutes total the entire season. And she's like, I don't want to play. Her friends decided to play again. She said, okay, I'll play again. Then the next year, it was, I don't want to start, but I'll go in. And she started to gradually build a little confidence. And then all of a sudden, by the end of the year, she's starting games, she's balling, she's doing that. So it was just helping her stick it out to understand she can do tough things, can be uncomfortable at times and everything not be perfect, and then at the same time have growth. So it's hard with young kids because they just don't understand the value of it.

[A]

That's cool. All right, next up, what do you got?

[C]

All right, next up, it's fourth and two at midfield in the first quarter. You're on the road. You're the underdog. What's the call? If you're the head coach, are you going to go for it?

[A]

Yeah, fourth and two. Anything less than fourth and three now, analytically, I'm going to go for it as long as it is on the good side of the negative 35 if it's 4th and 2.

[C]

Okay, so midfield you're going for.

[A]

Oh, for sure. I'm going in midfield. I don't know who. Who. What's my personnel like, who are my running backs to have Josh. I want to talk to Bills in a second. Do I have Josh Allen?

[C]

Well, that would be a situation. I'm not telling you who you have.

[A]

Okay, I'm going RPO to the right side. I got Josh Allen as my running back. He's probably going to end up keeping it. I mean, that's the. That's the. That's the run option. And if he isn't, we got a little Dalton Kincaid right there.

[C]

Well, you've got a salty defense, though.

[A]

How salty? And, like, they're pretty good.

[C]

They've kept you in games.

[A]

Yeah, I'm still. I'm still Josh Allen around the right side. Rpo. I'm going for it. Fourth and two, first quarter. I don't care. First quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter, fifth quarter, sixth quarter. We're good.

[C]

I like it. But I'm going to play devil's advocate. I think I would punt. I just think the momentum change if you get stuffed at midfield and a team that you're already an underdog to goes right down the field and scores a touchdown. The. The confidence of your team has already been wavering.

[A]

Or does the confidence of your team waiver whenever you don't go for it? 4th and 2 showing you don't in them.

[C]

Yeah, we haven't given much to believe in. So as a coach, I'd be like,

[A]

look, I believe you're not the coach of my team. This is my team.

[C]

You're not playing devil's advocate.

[A]

I fired you last season. Last season, I fired you for decisions.

[C]

Okay, then I'm the opposing coach, and I'm going, hell, yes, they're going for it.

[A]

We are because we're the underdog too.

[C]

What do we have to lose?

[A]

We'll try to get the momentum. Like you're coaching my team. I, I, I cut you a long time ago. Get out of here.

[C]

On the golf course with Eric Wood. Hold on, I gotta take this call real quick. I don't know who's calling. Somewhere in Buffalo. Oh, that was a bad day.

[A]

People don't know about that yet.

[C]

Never mind.

[A]

Coming up in the interview in a second. Cut that out.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

No, we won't. We're not cutting it out.

[C]

Yeah, you're cutting it out.

[A]

No, we're not. We're not cutting it out. You're not the coach anymore. A coach is clearly wrong in a meeting about a play or a defense. You're in the meeting, you know they're wrong. Do you say something in the meeting?

[C]

Is this a team meeting?

[A]

This is a position meeting.

[C]

A positional meeting? Yep.

[A]

It's quarterback room 100. Is there a difference though, in a positional meeting?

[C]

Major difference. Because they're. When an offense coordinator is up in front of the entire offense, right. He's probably communicating installation or they're going through defensive personnel scheme, whatever it might be. When you get into the positional meetings, it's your group, right? It's your offensive coordinator, probably your quarterback, quarterback coach, and then the other quarterbacks on the team. So if they're in a positional meeting, it's a lot different than showing that coach up in front of the entire team. It's a respect factor that you have. Because we're such a tight knit group, we spend so much time together that you get very comfortable in your positional meetings being very open. And it's a simple communication. Hey, coach, I really like this play. I don't like this play. Or there was one time where a coach was trying to describe to me the run game and how we were going to adjust the, the point and which way we were going to direct. And I thought he was completely wrong because they had weak side rotation, but the backers move strong. That means that that immediately creates a recall for us, which means the will linebacker is into the new point of attack. And he's like, well, how can you do that? The mic is the mic. I was like, and part of this I have to give the explanation. It was a coach that came from a different background. It was west coast versus the scheme that we ran in New England and Kansas City. It was Ernie Zampisi's. It originated there. And so I just think that he didn't understand how we did things versus what he'd done for years. So it was just a communication factor or a miscommunication, so to speak. And I would let him know, no, this is how we're doing it, and this is why we're doing it. And so there's got to be that clear path of communication. There's also one where Charlie Weiss ripped me in an offensive meeting. We're all sitting there, and he's like. So we had this little play. It was a bunch set. There's a little snag route, which means he runs up about 5 yards, sit down, you got a corner behind it, and then you've got Dexter McCluster getting out of the backfield to the flat. He's really my hot read. And then he wheels up the sideline if he doesn't get the ball right away. Well, in our positional meetings, and I had the notes right there. I said, you told me to work inside out, and if I don't have a hot route right now, if I don't like Dexter, then we can maybe as a scramble happens, throw it down there late. So I throw it, and he rips me. Cass, what are we doing? Dexter's wide open down the sideline. Just. Just blows me up in this meeting. So I was hot, like, red face. Couldn't wait to get out of this meeting. We go to positional meetings. I wait and I slam the door. And I said, what was that? I've got it right here, and I've got two guys right here that said the same thing you said. This is how we're reading this play. And to his credit, it was insulting, it was embarrassing, and at the same time, it made me look bad in front of the entire team. And he's like, hey, that's my bad. And so that you. You build on those relationships. But it was one of those situations where I couldn't let that go, because at the same time, I'm sitting in the same meetings everybody else is. And this is how you told me to read. Read the play.

[A]

Also, I bet if you're fired up like that, that's a bit uncharacteristic. And he's like, oh, crap, I did. I probably did something that wasn't fair.

[C]

Yeah, I was. I was really hot.

[A]

All right, one last question.

[C]

Here we go. You have an A list celebrity guest on your podcast, but they are only giving you one word answers. What's your play?

[A]

I start telling stories myself, and what happens is they will then feel neglected and want to Jump in and interject their versions of a, like, story. Happens all the time. A list, B list. If I get a guest that is in a bad mood, is not a good guest, maybe isn't feeling well, I go, well, this is not going to be good for anybody. I got a lot of stories I can tell that have to do with this. So I just start telling stories, compelling stories, and the next thing you know, they're like, oh, I'm not even being attended to. So they jump in. This is an old trick that I do probably once every nine or ten interviews. If you ever hear me doing an interview, anybody out there listening or watching and I'm doing interview, you see, I'm talking a lot and telling stories. I ain't getting anything from the guest. And so I didn't feel like I needed to come in. And I must tell these stories. I got 42 podcasts that I can tell stories on all day. I didn't need to do it in an interview show, but when I'm doing it during an interview show, I ain't getting anything from the guest. What that does, though, they start to go, oh, I don't want to be left out. So if I don't raise my game, I'm going to sit here and he's just going to tell stories the whole time.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So that's the move.

[C]

Brilliant. Have you ever had a celebrity guest come on that, you know, visibly they don't want to be there?

[A]

They're.

[C]

Whoever it was booked them on the show and just is going to, you know, before the interview even starts. He's in a bad mood, she's in a bad mood, and it's going to be a tough interview.

[A]

So when we to do live interviews in the morning show, it would happen frequently where people would come in, not annoyed at me, but annoyed. They had to be there at 6:45 in the morning. And I got it. Heck, I don't, I don't want to be there that early. And it's part of my job. We don't do any interviews live anymore. So anything we do on the show, people are going to play. If any artist is going to come in, like, we don't do them until at least 9:30 or 10. So that eliminates a lot of that. Because if you're waking up and you either had a long, rough night, you're not feeling well. Having to get up early in the morning makes it bad. For the most part, though. No, because they have a job to do, which is promote whatever they're promoting. And right now, I have the largest avenue for that promotion may not be that way in three years, but as of right now, so it's like, let's go. Sometimes people will say, do you ever meet a celebrity that's a total jerk? And I go, usually I don't meet celebrities unless it's in a professional setting. And they're not gonna be a jerk to me because of the services we're providing to each other. So if they're a jerk to me, I ain't gonna put em on. They're not gonna promotion. And so. But we're not trying to be friends. So almost never since we changed from doing things live in the morning. But also part of it, too, is if there's somebody I just don't like or it hasn't gone well, I don't have them back. I don't care how big they are. I don't need interviews. Like, in my heart, I can sit here and be compelling for hours, tell stories I can do. Some of my friends, I can talk about stuff. I don't need a single interview ever on my show. I like them because I think they add really great texture at times. But there are a few artists who are like, I don't want to do that show because I don't like how I. Interviews kick rocks. That's great. I don't need you and you don't need me, so we're good. But I don't need a single interview. And I'm not saying that in, like, a arrogant way.

[C]

Nobody still wants you guys to come on for the interview?

[A]

Oh, yeah, for sure. No, I love them. If I have them on, it means I really like the person or like the art.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I never force anybody in, and I never have anybody in that I don't want to have in. I think that's a great part of my job now after doing it for so long. So rarely does it happen if somebody's sick. There have been times where there have been massive artists that don't play live on shows much. And they're like, hey, I'm gonna come play live on your show. And I'm like, that's awesome. You don't have to, but it's awesome. They're like, no, I'm going to. And they get there, and I know they're sick. I'll just say, I'm not gonna let you play.

[C]

Oh, really?

[A]

Yeah. Because I know you're gonna fight through it. You're not gonna feel good about it, and then you're gonna go, dang, I don't like how that performance sounded. You're gonna be miserable. It's gonna make this whole experience lesser. So just don't do it. We'll get it another time down the road.

[C]

So they respect you more for that because you recognize that I look out

[A]

for them because I would want somebody to look out for me.

[C]

Did you ever have to host the show by yourself? Because right now you have how many people on the morning show with you? You have three.

[A]

It's like there's a lot. Yeah. I mean, those are all my friends forever, but, yeah, I've done the morning show by myself. I did a national Fox Sports show for three hours by myself for a long time. Like, nobody really.

[C]

Oh, it's got to be the hardest thing, right?

[A]

It's just a different. It's a different skill. It feels weird at first, but there are podcasts that I do like on my YouTube channel, which is Bobby Bones channel, where it's just me talking and so different. Yes, you can be a bit more vulnerable in those scenarios because I can actually talk about something that has a little more heart and not worry, good or bad, that someone's going to jump in and interject with something that's going to throw me off or kill the message or. But there are pros and cons to both. But, yeah, that. That solo hour long being compelling is the most rewarding, but also probably the most taxing. There's also nobody to. To let you know if what you're saying is funny.

[C]

Right. There's not somebody like me that laughs because you're very funny.

[A]

Yeah. Sometimes I say really funny stuff and you just look at me and I'm just like, guess that didn't work.

[C]

I didn't get it. What was that reference that he had?

[A]

All right, so we're gonna come back. We have Eric Wood coming on, who is a former Pro bowl center for the Bills, also part of the Bills broadcast team. We're gonna talk a lot of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. And this is Castle's friend. So Eric Wood coming up next.

[D]

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[A]

All right, let's welcome in former Buffalo Bills offensive lineman, Pro bowl center Bill's radio analyst, a guy who has spent nearly a decade playing in the trenches. He played his entire NFL career in Buffalo after being drafted in the first round out of Louisville. And he has stayed close to the game through broadcasting and podcasting and breaking down the Bills every week, which you can listen to on Centered on Buffalo, which Matt just said he was a guest with his very short time in Buffalo.

[C]

Thanks for having me on.

[A]

Yes, here he is, Eric Wood. And you guys are good friends, right?

[C]

Oh, yes, we're good buddies. We're good buddies. We've known each other for quite some time. Even that small stint that for the cup of coffee I spent in Buffalo, he was one of my favorite. He's one of my favorite teammates. Just a guy that lights up a room anywhere he goes. So, Eric, welcome to the show, buddy.

[B]

I appreciate it. I appreciate it. Yeah, we spent a little time together. He came on for like a Patriots preview late in the season and we had some fun with that one. But me and Castle shared a special moment in Buffalo during a round of golf. Our third string quarterback got let go who was with us. We proceeded to take him out for some, I guess not celebratory drinks, but some depressing drinks. And we got to know each other a whole lot better, spending about 12 hours together that day. And we were fast friends.

[C]

That's what friends do for one another.

[A]

Wait, were you the third string quarterback?

[C]

No, I didn't get let go.

[A]

Okay. I didn't know it was our other Baker.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, yeah. He was a third string quarterback and we were on the golf course with him and he got the phone call while we're golfing, which is, oh, no. Oh, it's. It's like worst case scenario. And so he walks away. And Eric and I are still. I think we were putting right and he Walks back and his face is just white. And we're like, oh, God. And he breaks the news. And we knew we had to rally for our buddy. Yeah.

[B]

I'm like. We had like a zero drinks round going at that point. So we called the shop, had him bring some out, and we proceeded to turn it on for him.

[A]

Castle.

[C]

Jeffy.

[A]

I was. I don't know if it was like prison where you don't ask. That's what. But is it Jeff Tool?

[C]

Yeah. Jeff Tool.

[A]

Yeah. Big shout out, Jeff Tool. I wasn't gonna ask what you're in for, but, yeah, that seems like that would be an awkward rest of the round. Do you keep playing if you get cut? Like, is that what he did?

[C]

Yes.

[B]

I mean, he said he wanted to finish.

[A]

I wouldn't. I'm out.

[C]

No, I know. It's one of those where I was like, I think I need to go call my family and let them know that all my dreams have just been shattered and call my agent.

[A]

It's kind of.

[C]

It kind of takes your. Your focus away from the game.

[A]

This is your.

[C]

Your boy.

[A]

So why don't you start us off?

[C]

My boy is right. Eric, by the way, have you recovered from the Kentucky Derby yet? And did you win anything out there, by the way?

[B]

He is.

[C]

He. He is in Louisville, so he every year sends me every single horse, all the exact boxes, the trifectas. I have no idea what the bet ever.

[B]

So I combine all of the pick sheets I get into one file, and that's what I send to Matt. I should be more specific, but you always hit me up on generally, like, Oaks Day, like, what do we got for tomorrow? Well, I haven't gotten to the point where I'm like, okay, let me combine some of these. Or what have I heard throughout the week? Or I'll take my kids out to the backside of the morning to watch the horses run. And you get some good tips back there. So we need to start texting, like, closer to the actual race. But we had another successful one this year. If Renegade wins, it's another monster for me. Still paid really good. I had a big boy win, place bet on him, Michael Rapole, who owns Renegade, who now owns the ufl, and he's got Noble going and all that. We walked out to the track with Renegade on Thursday, like his last big warmup. And so we were. We were all in on Renegade at that point.

[A]

We were talking last week, Eric, about after the draft, when everyone reports rookie camp and then all the way through. And if they're when the first round, second round, third round picks when they show up with everybody else, if they have a little more swagger when they arrive, since they were drafted so early. What is your version of that story since you were drafted in the first round?

[B]

So I actually listened to this episode and it was excellent. And Logan Menkins, who Castle referenced, is one of my favorite people I've ever hung out with, met in my life. We spent a week together out in Hawaii and absolutely love that dude. But to answer your question, I got some advice from a veteran offensive lineman in the league that played at the University of Louisville as well, Jason Spitz. And he told me, generally they're going to treat you really well. They're going to see what these undrafted guys got and see who can make the team. And his advice was, never let one of those guys out working. You show up earlier, you stay later, and that will set a precedence for your career, like what you're all about. And so I took that mentality in there from day one and, you know, hopefully they noticed, but I also, there was two first rounders that year, me and Aaron Mabin. Aaron Mabel was drafted 11th overall. Maven made me look really good. You know, he rolls in with a three piece suit, I roll in with a T shirt, get our number one jerseys up in Buffalo. And from day one, he made me look pretty good in Buffalo because he was. He's from State College, but he was pretty Hollywood. I guess he was Baltimore, then State College, but he was pretty Hollywood and he made me look really good up in Buffalo.

[C]

When you go back all the way, when you were picked in the first round to Buffalo, were you stoked about going to Buffalo? What did you know about the city itself and the football that was being played there?

[B]

I'll be honest, no, just being completely frank. I used to say in interviews because the Chargers were one of the teams that were potentially going to draft me. And I always used to say I can go anywhere from San Diego to Buffalo. And that was almost. I was referencing two teams that I knew were interested, but it was almost like there's the, there's the scale and I get up to Buffalo and from day one, just the people in the organization made it feel right. And then you meet people in town and, you know, just the restaurants. And we have lifelong friends from up there. We do not live there. Even though I work up there a lot, I'll be up there the next couple weeks for different events, whatnot. It would make my life extremely convenient. But we're close to Family and friends down here, and that. That makes our life a lot more convenient. Plus, the weather's not perfect in Louisville, Pretty much the same as Nashville, but it is not Buffalo weather. But I've grown to love the team, the organization, the city. It. It likely will never be home for us. But, you know, I tell guys all the time because cancel, you know, I mean, you probably weighed 10 different options before committing to Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills, but when you get up there, when it's time to work, there's enough to do. And we have a ton of fun together because there's not things pulling you in a million different directions. We all live close by each other, and if we are off for a few days, you can go anywhere in the country you want, and you can go party and all that. And the cost of living is low. So there's tons of perks for playing for the Bills. And nowadays, Josh Allen has made the Bills cool. I mean, we live in Louisville, and I read to my son's class the other day, and they all had to draw, like, self portraits for their lockers, and three of them are in Bill's gear. And I understand my son's in the class. So, like, there's some ties there, but they're not in 70 jerseys. They're in painting themselves in 17 jerseys. And you walk around airports and Disney World, and maybe it's all everybody's got in their closet, but you see more Bills gear up there and around the country now than almost any other team.

[A]

You look great. I gotta imagine you shed some weight after you finish playing. Like, what was your playing weight? And you're what, 50 pounds lighter now?

[B]

Yeah, probably 60 or 65 pounds lighter now.

[A]

So what'd you play at? What was healthy for you when you were playing center?

[B]

The heaviest I ever was was 3:16, but I played like 308 to 310.

[A]

And so you're. What are you, 240, 250 now?

[B]

I'm somewhere between 245 and 250.

[A]

Was it easy to drop that weight? Like, was it always a burden to keep the weight on while you're playing?

[B]

The first 20 came off really quick, and then the rest became a lot more work. I did a weight loss competition against a teammate of mine from college who had never lost the weight. So called a decade later, and he still had it on. So we did a weight loss competition against each other, ending the week before the Kentucky Derby. So we both had three and a half months. I lost 53 pounds and he lost like 61 pounds, and I've been able to keep it off since and lose a few more. And I don't know. It's like anything in life. Once you set that new threshold, then your body wants to stay there to where, you know, I have a big weekend and I'll fluctuate and my body will kind of go back to there. And then I've been trying to go down a little bit each year just to not go in the opposite direction. But I was down in Troubadour last weekend, and so I'm sure on Monday or Tuesday, I was a little over 250. And then this morning I'm 245 or whatever it was.

[C]

Thanks for the phone call, by the way. You're at Troubadour in our backyard, where you don't even call me.

[A]

Dang. Dang.

[C]

That's true friendship.

[B]

I'll be there again Thursday. So let's go.

[C]

All right. So there's a lot of changes going on in Buffalo. Obviously, they let go of Sean McDermott, Joe Brady takes over. You got a new DC as well. What is the pulse of the team right now and the excitement going around all these new wholesale changes?

[B]

Yeah, they're excited. And look, Sean McDermott had a heck of a run in Buffalo. No one is ever going to undermine what he did to switch the culture, to create a culture of expecting to win in Buffalo, expecting to make the playoffs each and every year. That was not the case when we were there, when I was there. And so Sean McDermott did a great job. And when you lose in a similar fashion enough times, you just feel like change needs to be made. And so they make the switch to Joe Brady. I loved that hire. And people would say, well, if there needs to be drastic changes, why did you hire from within? Well, Matt and Bob, you guys know not every staff is made up of the head coach's disciples. Joe Brady's the Sean Payton disciple. It's going to be different messaging throughout the building. It's going to be ran in a different way. It's going to be a touch of a different culture. Now, ultimately, Josh Allen sets the tone there, and so you still got him. And he'll set the tone in the locker room, but it's going to be different. And defensively, they're going to be much different. I mean, Sean McDermott gets his guys. They. You kind of know where they're going to be every play. We know the defense also knows, and they play really fast because of it. And this is going to be Closer to, you know, Denver's defense last year with some Rex Ryan type blitzes mixed in with some exotic looks where they want to really dictate to the offense and maybe you give up a few more big plays the game, but you're trying to dictate to the offense. It'll, it'll look a lot different. And all that being said, the initial response from around Buffalo was awful. When they made the move. I mean, there was petition signed by tens of thousands of people to get Sean back his job. And I think Joe won a lot of them over with his opening press conference, which, it's amazing. You can show some humility and shed some tears and people start rooting for you in life and, and he did a great job of doing that. And so people are behind them. There's a lot of excitement in the building. You know, it's going to be another one of those years. You know, the Bills are going to make the playoffs. What seed they are probably determines how easy their road to a potential super bowl is. And then it's, can you get over the hump?

[A]

Have you toured the new stadium and are they excited about it?

[B]

Yes. And yes, it's phenomenal. You know, I was worried in Buffalo that it'd be like, we don't need nice things. This is a blue collar city. You know, we, we have to get a new stadium to stay current and, you know, to keep a team in Buffalo. We were, we were about at the limit and so we needed a new stadium and, and they went over and above and it's, it's truly awesome. It'll be a much different experience. And again, like any type of change, we were just talking about Sean to Joe Brady. You know, the new building now comes with PSLs for the first time. Every other city in the country was used to these PSLs, but in Buffalo, we never have those personal seat licenses to then be able to buy your season tickets. And that had a lot of pushback. They reduced the number of seats in the stadium to make it a more intimate. Every seat's good, more luxury seating and all of that. And so that's come with some pushback. But once people get in there, they're going to be excited and it'll be a spectacle for concerts and everything else to kind of show off that city.

[C]

Do you feel you're going to lose some of the character of playing at Buffalo? Because it's probably going to get a little bit more corporate. But the Bill's mafia is at the core of your fan base. Talk about that and how that might change with this new stadium arriving.

[B]

It definitely could, especially early on. You know, the season ticket right now, the most expensive ticket right now this season is the Bills opener against Detroit on Thursday night. If you look at average ticket prices, that's. That generally does not happen in Buffalo. And so early on, I think you will get more of a corporate feel. It might be a touch stuff here and there. Now, those. Those corporations, that bottom. And the stuffiness in Buffalo is still pretty rowdy. The Sabres tickets in the playoffs were. Were pretty expensive. And if you watched last night in game seven, it was absolutely rowdy in there. And so you'll lose a little bit of it. I think, you know, when you're walking into the game, it'll probably look similar because even when we held 70,000 or 73 a year ago for the early Games, there'd be 110,000 to 140 tailgating. That's why the tra. Part of the reason the traffic's so bad. But all that being said, I don't think it's going to be as drastic. I'll give you an example that should make sense to you. I don't think it's going to be as drastic as when Atlanta moved into Mercedes Benz Stadium. That was a complete change. You know, you went from a raucous, you know, crowd in there to, you know, people sitting on their hands. I don't think it'll be that bad, but I'm sure there'll be a little bit of a shift there.

[A]

What is Josh Allen's window, and if not just Josh, that team's window because of financial reasons. And you got to start paying people, too.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, to me it's. If you got 17 back there. And the way he's evolved his game over time, his rushing attempts and yards has gone down year over year. Now ultimately, he's with the game on the line. He's going to go take a chance and he's going to go try and run somebody over and get in the end zone, because that's who he is. But I would, you know, who knows how long he has to play, you know, does he pull a Tom Brady? Probably not. He's taken a lot more shots than Tom has and did in just the style of play. But, you know, nowadays. Josh turns 30 this Thursday, I believe. I'm recording a podcast with him after this. He's coming on the show, so I had to do some research for it. And I saw it was his birthday coming up this week. But you know, I just. I just feel like the Bills have been closed for a while. They had D.J. moore this year. They had some talent on defense. And, you know, every year you feel like, this is our year, this is. This is the Bill's year. And I'm optimistic enough to think that, you know, 20, 26 is it.

[C]

How about the evolution of this offense? Because two years ago, it was mainly Josh Allen. He had to put the team on his back, and it was his show. Last year, James Cook leads the league in rushing, which is a major shift in philosophy. Do you think that that's a positive for this offense moving forward?

[B]

I do. And when they hired Joe Brady, you know, I get paid to defend the Bills. So let's. Let's put the bias, you know, Eric's bias. Yes, I, I am biased. But if you told me there was an offensive coordinator in the Shanahan or McVeigh tree that had two years ago the league MVP at quarterback and last year the NFL's leading rusher, a team would throw a parade if you were able to get that guy. We had him in our building in Joe Brady, and we promoted him, the head coach. So good on the Bills for recognizing that. You know, to me, it just shows Joe Brady can do it both ways. I believe by taking all that off Josh's plate at times last year, we allowed teams to stay in games because, you know, I've said it before, we kind of lost our fastball. Our fastball was. Everyone on defense is afraid that Josh Allen's gonna, A, beat him over the top, b ron them over throughout the game and steal every third down. And we kind of took that away almost too much, in my opinion, last year. Now, defenses understand, you know, and their fears create them. Playing too high for 70% of the game. And Joe Bray says, okay, well, watch this. You're going to get another 100 yard performance from James Cook, and we're going to win. But then come playoff time or whenever you give up 30 and it's hard to score 30 when you know you're putting the ball on the ground 35 times a game.

[A]

What kind of dude's Joe Brady?

[B]

He's a great dude. He is. How did Dion Dawkins described? He's like. And Joe Brady's got some soul to him. Like, he's from South Florida. He's. He's got some soul to him. I'll say this. He's energetic. He's extremely structured, wears the same thing every single day. Football guy. He's great to me. Great to my family have always. And I didn't play for Joe Brady just from getting to know him over the years. One of the fears was that, you know, Josh Allen's quarterback coach, then offensive coordinator, now becomes head coach. This is his, probably his drinking in golf buddy. Well, I've never seen Joe have more than one drink before. And I went to a NCAA tournament game with him this year and a completely do whatever you want environment. I think he had one and he doesn't play golf. And so this is not Josh's buddy per se. You know, he's not probably not going on. You know, I don't think he went on Josh's bachelor party trip with him, but he's a great person, great man, new dad that he's all fired up about. So love him to death, but in a good way. He's not your. He's not going to be too close to the players, if that makes sense.

[A]

So is this a situation where Josh Allen went to the ownership and said, hey, this is my guy?

[B]

I don't think so. And, and I certainly think he could have, but that was not my understanding of it. Now they let Josh be involved in the meetings. I believe Josh was in the meetings for the new head coaches, but. But was not in any of the meetings afterwards. Kind of following up and digesting the information to make a final decision on it. And so I'm, I'm sure Josh said, I think Joe can do it, but you also had, I mean, Brian Daboll was extremely valuable to Josh Allen completely changed his game at that point of his career. Last in the NFL's first two years in completion percentage. Then his third year, he's in the MVP conversation when Brian Dabal takes over. And so, so Brian Dayball is in those meetings as well. And I don't, I don't. If you gave, if you made Josh choose right in front of the both of them, it'd be a really, really awkward conversation for him.

[C]

Has Joe Brady said what his role, if his role would change at all in terms of play calling ability versus being the head coach and kind of overseeing the entire operation.

[B]

So he brought in Pete Carmichael, who's been in the Sean Payton tree for a while. He brought him in as offensive coordinator. To my understanding, Joe is still going to call the place, which will be an adjustment. I mean, there's just so much on your plate as a play caller and managing the game. In the past, when Sean McDermott did that, they hired extra people on staff to look at replays and do some game management stuff. And you know, of course we got an analytics person like everybody else does to help with decision makings, but ultimately the head coach has got to trust his gut. And you know, Sean made the mistake of talking about analytics afterwards to the media and they're like, well, you know, you hand the ball off to someone who is hobbled at the time, you know, why was that a good decision? Whatever. But you know, Joe will have a staff around him probably, you know, very limited people throughout, especially an offensive series who can get into Joe Brady's headset while he's calling plays. But he'll have guys helping him out situationally and with replays. What up?

[D]

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[A]

The bills. The last couple years have danced with the championship. They ain't taking her home yet. And so what about what do the fans need to see to go okay, this year's different because I think in Buffalo they've been pretty disappointed at the end of the season. What can be different this year where they believe in it early, I would

[B]

say putting some heat on the quarterbacks and, and they're going to have to do it without maybe a premier edge rusher. We got Bradley Chubb and Greg Russo who are both good outside players. Michael Hoyt's coming off of an Achilles, so we've got talent on the edge. But what's eliminated us almost every season, you could say the turnovers in Denver last year and maybe throw that one out. But beyond that game, Josh Allen had the highest quarterback rating of all time in the playoffs. And, and that's playing over 10 games. It's not a two game sample size. And in all of our defeats, the other team's quarterback was, you know, pass the rating in the mid-120s and you know, multiple passing touchdowns. And we've gotten torched because we can't put pressure on these premier quarterbacks. You can't just throw blitzes and blitzes at these premier quarterbacks. So they're going to torch you. And so we've seen it with Mahomes, we've solved Burrow in the playoffs. And then last year the, the Denver game, Josh will say put that one on me with, with the five turnovers the Bills had. But Bobby, to answer your question, I think you know, keep up their offensive production and not have a fall off this year and then defensively be able to dictate the offense. This is not just, you know, the, the bottom tier quarterbacks that we feasted on. It's heating those, you know, top 10, top five quarterback types up with a non, you know, seven man, six man pressure.

[C]

Well, looking at that schedule though, that schedule is a juggernaut of a schedule. You're going to face a lot of those top 10 quarterbacks that you're talking about. How difficult is this schedule going to be for the Bills because they've got what, two back to back road games. They, they really don't have an easy schedule until really the last two games of the season that you say those are winnable games. Without a doubt.

[B]

Yeah, for sure. And you got Vegas kind of early and you assume that one and there's some of those in there. We played with the Dolphins and Jets twice. Hopefully you get those. Hope you get Vegas and then you know, you win five or six more and you're in the dance and then you, you go try to make it happen. But last year the Bills finally come in second in their division and it seems like a lot of the top tier teams did as well. You know, we still get Kansas City, we still get some of these other guys, but you know, you know, to me the biggest. So we call the games on the radio. The biggest thing I was worried about was Christmas and we play at Denver on Christmas so it's not even like hey, maybe we splurge on a private flight and get there. Like that's, that's a big nut to travel west on a, on a radio guy salary. So that one stinks. We play on Thanksgiving as well. I Got a couple member guests that got jacked up. And so the schedule was pretty rough on my, you know, holiday and golf schedule this year. But, you know, the, the exciting thing is you open up on a Thursday night game so they'll be able to do all of the stadium hoopla during the day. And, you know, Amazon prime got it, which was Ryan Fitzpatrick's big wish, was that, you know, Amazon prime would be there for the opener.

[A]

So with you having to, I mean, basically quit because of an injury, how much of like a mental health situation did you have? Because it was kind of just tossed on you, like now your career is over, the thing you've been doing your whole life?

[B]

Yeah, it's a great question. It was tough. I mean, luckily I was surrounded by incredible people in my life. I had a few faith, a foundation in my faith that I could fall back on as well. But it's never easy. And I've talked to plenty of guys about it that have had similar things or just their career ends and you're trying to figure out what to do. And you know, Matt, you're making it, you've done it. You make a schedule for yourself for the first time in your life and you're trying to figure out what your days are going to look like until you find, you know, something like this that you can do to occupy more of your time. And you think you're just going to be a husband and a dad and then that's not good for your family dynamic because your wife's used to you being gone all the time. And so, you know, it was, it was definitely an adjustment. I wasn't ready for it. You know, I always say I would have played till the wheels completely fell off because I absolutely loved it and God got me out at a perfect time where, you know, I got to be in there long enough and now I get to enjoy this next chapter of life. And I had a craning neck injury, but on a day to day basis, it doesn't affect me at all. And I could do a lot of the things that I love to do. And so, you know, but, but I don't, I don't say all that to undermine or diminish the mental side of the game that has affected so many. Rondell Moore, when he committed suicide, that's 20 minutes from our house here in Louisville, over in Southern Indiana. He went to Trinity High School in Louisville. And you know, that's a guy who had a promising young career, has been injured the last couple years. And when you're injured in the NFL, you disappear in the facility, you're rehabbing and going home. You're not even in meetings most of the time. I mean, it's a lonely spot to be. And it caught up to him. And so, you know, it's in NFL staffs are trying to do more and more to, to pour resources into guys, but ultimately they're, they're paid to put a winning product out there on the field. And, you know, there's just, you know, I don't even want to call it blind spots because we've seen it time and time again, but, you know, it's, it's a, it's a mental toll when you spend your whole life chasing something and then it's taken away from you and you don't necessarily have something to chase next. And that's where, you know, having a. Having a solid core of friends and family and a faith and all of that can be so valuable to fall back on because then you. Your entire identity isn't necessarily wrapped up in the game of football.

[C]

You talked about the mental part, but I want to talk specifically about the center position because you played it at a high level for so long, but a lot of people don't understand what goes in. In the mental aspect of playing your position. Can you kind of describe what the important factors are for you mentally, aside from the physical part?

[B]

Yeah, I'll try and do as good of a job as you did describing the three step and five strap from under center and gun. That was excellent because I always think like a great analyst can explain football maybe 401 at a one on one level, so everybody can enjoy it and understand it. And I felt like you did a perfect job of that. The center position has a lot of complexities. It changes depending on who your quarterback is and what your offense is. The quarter. The center for Tom Brady doesn't have to do a whole lot at the line of scrimmage because Tom's going to run the entire show. Matt Similar, Tyrod Taylor, Love him to death, love playing with him. But I did a lot of that for him so that he could focus on other things at the line of scrimmage. And so, you know, I'm going up to the line of scrimmage and dictating who the mic is, which can be the mike linebacker, it could be the will, it could be a safety, depending on what the defense is. And then everybody else's jobs are somewhat predicated off of who we determine the mic is on that play. And it's Kind of a vague deal and it changes offense to offense, but generally the center is kind of starting our scheme in the run game to kind of say where everyone's going in the past game, determining who we're going to work to. If someone blitzes, who's going to get help on this play, where you might have a guard that says, I've got my hands full this game. So if there's no blitz, we're going to go right to help out the right guard, but if there is a blitz, we have to go left in. And honestly, you have to do all of that in about hopefully 15 seconds, sometimes 7 to 10 seconds. And so generally the centers have to be pretty quick on their feet. And we always say if we're all wrong, at least we're. At least. Or we say if we're all wrong, we're right. But if some of us are wrong, we are in trouble because we have the most valuable asset in our entire organization behind us and his season could be over if we screw up.

[C]

All right, so what player of yours, I'm talking specifically, probably guard that you had to help out consistently that leaned on you. Hey, what are we doing here? What is the check? I like in a full panic because we've all been around those guys where it is like, oh, God, I don't think he understands. Eric, you gotta take this one.

[B]

Yeah. Doug Marone. It's funny how quick I can come up with this. Doug Marone in 2014. So the year before you got there mad, he drafted the Bills, drafted three offensive line, and towards the end of the year, we were eliminated from the playoffs with two games to go. So we're going to get all these rookies in there. So Cyril Richardson, Cyrus can't remember his last name. And then Chantrell Henderson. So I'm trying to tell three guys what to do on every play. We're playing England the last game of the year in 2014, we checked the play to run outside zone left. The left side comes towards me, we're all going left, we all fall down and the running back gets crushed in the backfield. We went to the sideline. I said, guys, I'm just letting you know that stuff doesn't happen in the National Football League and someone's getting fired. Like multiple people are losing their job over that one play.

[A]

Matt was talking about Buffalo fans. This would be the last question and just what the fans are like. And he said that he had never seen so many Buffalo Bills tattoos. Just a organization fan base. A lot of them had Tattoos give me a little Buffalo Bill fan nuance. Something that maybe we wouldn't know because we're not in it.

[B]

I would say they're extremely philanthropic. And so they started the deal. It started with Andy Dalton. Andy Dalton throws a touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd to send us to the playoffs in 2017, and they flood Andy Dalton's foundation, which was all based out of Cincinnati, with 14 donations, and they get up to a hundred thousand dollars. They've done it for Josh Allen multiple times. Lamar Jackson's playing a playoff game at Buffalo, gets a concussion, knocked out of the game. They lose the game. They flood his foundation, which was based out of Louisville. So I did the acceptance for blessings in a backpack here in Louisville based upon Bill's mafia just being extremely generous. And I don't know that many fan bases do that. I'm sure there's different, you know, Titans, backers, bars and whatnot that do some philanthropic things, but on a national scale, they've been very impressive what they've been able to do.

[C]

Favorite wing spot.

[B]

I'll say Bar Bill, but that's probably not my most frequently visited place because it's small and you're bombarded in there. And so I go more like wing nuts. Sunny Reds 911 Tavern. Just kind of. You're like smaller. Can go grab a beer and no one's gonna, you know, it's. It's not gonna be all over the place.

[A]

Hey, mentioned four of them. That's a diplomat. I know.

[C]

I mean, he's all over.

[A]

He knows who's listening. He knows who his people are. Cover the bases. Yes. You guys check out centered on Buffalo. Hey, Eric, we really appreciate the time, man. That was awesome. And I hope you have a great season coming up. Hope you play well on Thursday when you didn't invite Matt to play golf.

[C]

So. Yeah. And you're coming back out for what?

[B]

We got a place at Troubadour now, so we'll be down there a bunch.

[C]

This side stings even more.

[A]

Dang.

[C]

Somebody place it Troubadour.

[A]

I think somebody can treat themselves with a private flight if they've got a place at Troubadour.

[C]

Let's go, big dog. I don't think that radio just paying well.

[B]

I don't think I've. I'm at liberty to say, but I got a pretty good deal to come in there. And we're. We really. I mean, you know, this. It's for. My wife and kids. Had more fun on, like, our orientation visit than even I did. And so that was A home run for me. And so we're gonna have a little fun down there this weekend.

[A]

There's no clearance rack at Troubadour. I'm just saying. Yeah, there's no clearance. There's no clearance.

[C]

Hey.

[B]

Okay, so last weekend I went to a chair or last weekend I went to a charity event for four others. Which four others? It's been incredible organization.

[A]

Yeah, we know Chris really well.

[B]

Yeah. So Chris Tomlin and Jack John Maxwell, they run this event at Troubadour. And I realized I was in a different league. Like I've not been to events where they auction off Ed Sheeran. Playing a backyard party for you and flying private with Dave Bar Gazi to Hawaii. And you know, it was. It was a. It was a different deal than I'm. I'm used to going to in Louisville, in Buffalo. I'll just say that.

[A]

Well, Eric, we really appreciate the time. You do a great job. And, and thanks for hanging out with us and thanks for being Matt's friend. He needs them

[C]

kinda kids.

[A]

He's got five kids. It's all. It's all kids all the time. He needs adult friends.

[B]

I know.

[C]

Could you just call me? Yeah, I'll come out there. I'll babysit your children.

[B]

Matt comes to Louisville for volleyball tournaments. We don't get together.

[C]

Yeah, come on over to that stadium. You'd love it.

[A]

All right, Eric. Thanks, man. See you later.

[B]

Yep, absolutely. See you guys.

[C]

Thanks.

[A]

Thanks.

[D]

You know how it's never really about where you're going, it's about who you're going with. Like, the destination could be totally average, but if the right people are there, it becomes a great memory. Toyota really gets that. Toyota designs vehicles around real life and real people. The ones who bring everyone together and somehow make the drive part of the fun. There's room for all the stuff that comes with togetherness. Luggage, golf clubs, camping gear, plus comfortable seating, smart layouts and space that lets everyone relax. And Toyota's lineup makes it easy to find your match. The RAV4 is perfect for everyday adventures. The Grand Highlander brings serious space for up to 8. With generous legroom and expansive cargo space. The Highlander also has space for up to eight. It's ready for big moments and spontaneous ones. Balancing style and flexibility. And the Sienna is built for everyday life. Carpools, road trips, snacks, spills. And it even has a built in vacuum for when things get a little too messy. Because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn [e-mail] and find the vehicle that fits Your people.

[A]

A few things before we go. Aaron Rodgers signs a one year deal.

[C]

Big time. Big time. Was that to be expected? Yes.

[A]

Is it big time or is it mid time?

[C]

It is the right decision considering.

[A]

I agree.

[C]

Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Drew Aller, you don't have any idea. Aaron Rodgers your best bet.

[A]

I agree.

[C]

Yeah, so I mean, I'm pretty stoked that he's coming back to be honest. Because at the end of the day, Aaron Rodgers still a good quarterback in the NFL.

[A]

I agree. He's a good quarterback in the NFL.

[C]

He's a good quarterback. What about if they catch lightning in the bottle and Aaron goes out like on his white horse? It would be awesome.

[A]

I also agree it will be awesome. I don't think it will happen. I just am so confused about the Steelers in general that they don't allow themselves to be bad.

[C]

Well, they still have the highest paid defense in the National Football League.

[A]

I hear you. And that's awesome.

[C]

That's awesome.

[A]

If you don't have a high octane offense though, it doesn't matter. Cleveland had a freaking awesome defense. And not that the offense for Pittsburgh is that of Cleveland. Not the same at all. But does Pittsburgh actually have the Horses to go to the AFC Championship game? Probably not, right?

[C]

Probably not. They'd have to get some. They'd have to be lucky.

[A]

I feel, and this is just one guy who I should shut up talking about sports and talk about country music. I hear you, buddy, in the comments, but it's like these NBA teams, like if you don't fall a bit and get some high draft picks, it's really hard to just in free agency rebuild a team.

[C]

Oh, it's really hard.

[A]

And they're playing 500 or above.500. So they're in that bottom, bottom of the first round. So they're not really able to get a franchise quarterback. They're not able to get a stud end. Right. You know, rush edge. So yeah, Aaron Rodgers for this next season is probably the best bet. But the Steelers eventually have to let themselves lose. Right?

[D]

It's a weird thing.

[C]

It's a weird thing because I've, I'm being from a player's perspective, I'd never ever sit there and want an organization say, hey, look, sorry guys, this year we're going to lose, but we're going to bring in some talent next year that will help us rebuild this thing. It's just not the mentality of a player. But the reality is if they're going to take that next step, if they're Going to go get one of those stud quarterbacks. That only happen in the top 10 of the draft. That's the only way you're going to be able to do it. Unless you give away a bunch of draft capital in the first, second round and give them the kitchen sink. So it's going to be a lot of decisions to be made if they once again end in that 15 to 20 range.

[A]

The other is Nashville's getting the Super Bowl. How about that, boys?

[C]

Let's go.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Pretty cool.

[C]

It is pretty cool.

[A]

Hopefully the NFL doesn't fire us before that.

[C]

Yeah, I know. I would like to be here for that.

[A]

We'll be on the golf course. We'll get a call. Hey, guys, you're no longer part of the. Part of the team.

[B]

What do you mean?

[C]

Yeah, what do you mean? Bobby's got pool, right? No, no.

[A]

New stadium. You know, Nashville supports really well. I think when the draft came here, it showed.

[C]

Oh, man, that was unbelievable to see.

[A]

Broadway and the draft's not the Super Bowl. But think about that. For the draft, this town did that also. The infrastructure is amazing here. Nashville is not one of the top 10 biggest cities. Correct. However, there's so much that happens here. There are so many award shows, mega events that we have the hotels for it.

[C]

We got a ton of hotels.

[A]

So I'm excited about that.

[C]

That's cool. I'm excited.

[A]

Can't wait to see the Jelly Roll halftime show. Call it now.

[C]

Who.

[A]

Who's it going to be? So it's so far away.

[C]

So far away.

[A]

There's three years away.

[D]

Right.

[A]

So 27 is LA. Don't know. 28, 29. But 30 is going to be Nashville at that point. It could be anyone. But if possible, they'll probably put on, like, a couple legacy acts and then a couple new acts and make it like the snoop, Dr. Dre. That would be sweet, that type thing with music. But for sure, they're going to incorporate country music for the first time since Shania was incorporated way back in the day.

[C]

If it was this year, if we were hosting this year, it'd be Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll, Yeah. Morgan Wallen.

[A]

It would be Morgan Wallen. Because a lot of.

[C]

Too controversial.

[A]

Still won't mess with them.

[C]

Yep. Even though he's by far, he's the biggest artist.

[A]

It'd be Luke. It'd be Luke Combs. But Jelly Roll crosses over a little more.

[C]

He does.

[A]

Not that he's bigger. Luke Combs is bigger.

[C]

Right.

[A]

But Jelly Roll crosses over into some people's worlds. That don't know and love country music. So it'd probably be a jelly roll Super Bowl.

[C]

Wow. Wow. He's making that call.

[A]

Okay, I'm not making a call because it's not happening this year.

[C]

Hypothetical.

[A]

Yeah, no, I'm saying.

[C]

But you made that call for this year.

[A]

If you were literally doing a four person super bowl with the biggest acts in country music right now. I'm going to put one legacy act in. I'm going to put Garth Brooks in as my one legacy. If I'm doing three contemporary artists as of right now, it would for sure be Morgan Wallen. It'd for sure be Luke Holmes. And I'd put Ella Langley in now because she is on a rocket ship.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So it'd be those four.

[C]

That's a great lineup.

[A]

If it were this year.

[C]

If it was this year, in four

[A]

years it could be Carl Winston and his Hickin Bottom Horses. We don't know who's going to blow up in the next four.

[C]

I heard that's a great band. I saw them at that. Yeah. Saw them down in Broadway the other day.

[A]

Oh, cool. Really good. Yeah.

[C]

Yeah, really good.

[A]

That's it. That's it. We're done. Thank you everybody for being here. That is Matt Castle. That's kickoff. Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. I'm Bobby Bones. And we have had lots to say. We'll see you next week, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

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[A]

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[D]

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[B]

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[B]

Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[A]

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