Lots to Say: Power Rankings and Super Bowl Champ Lawrence Guy

Summary

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The Bobby Bones Show: “Lots to Say: Power Rankings and Super Bowl Champ Lawrence Guy”

Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Bobby Bones
Co-hosts: Matt Castle, Brandon Ray
Featured Guest: Lawrence Guy

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Episode Overview

This episode of "Lots to Say" delivers the crew’s latest NFL power rankings, lively debates on MVP frontrunners, the logjam of job openings in college football, and an in-depth, candid interview with Super Bowl champion Lawrence Guy. They discuss culture differences across NFL franchises, the realities of player treatment, and winning a championship. Plus, the guys react to their Astra Podcast Award nomination, preview key NFL matchups, and reminisce about baseball’s all-time great moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sports Legends and Cross-Sport Stories ([02:43] – [05:13])

• Kirk Gibson’s Iconic Home Run:

  • Brandon Ray shares his earliest sports memory: watching Kirk Gibson’s hobbling, dramatic 1988 World Series home run. He recalls Gibson’s career as a multi-sport athlete, noting he was “an All-American, like, third all time in wide receiving yards at Michigan State, and he only played one year of baseball” ([03:36]), and reflecting on athletes’ competitive drive.

• Football Rivalries and Coaching Drama:

  • Discussion of the Michigan/Michigan State game (“typical Big Ten fist fight”) ([05:17]), and how Arkansas vs. Auburn turned into a “whoever lost, that coach would no longer have a job” standoff ([05:38]). Matt Castle lays out the uncertainty around Arkansas’s coaching situation: “If he can win three or four of these games…I think generally the feeling was he has a shot to be the head coach” ([06:08]).

• Changing Landscape in College Football:

  • Examination of huge buyout clauses, wild coaching turnover, and which college jobs are most coveted.
    • “Brian Kelly gets fired. What is it, 54 million?” ([07:12])
    • “LSU number one job…Florida, great job. Penn State at three…” ([07:50])

2. NFL Power Rankings with Commentary ([08:32] – [18:32])

Matt Castle runs down his unconventional top five, inviting debate:

No. 5 – Denver Broncos

• “They are six and two. They’ve won four games in a row. I think you’re seeing Bo Nix mature into a quarterback who makes, for the most part, really good decisions.” ([08:41])
• Discussion on how Bo Nix’s improvisation abilities and a tough defense have the Broncos surging.

No. 4 – Philadelphia Eagles

• Worries about Saquon Barkley’s hamstring and their “volatile” wide receiver situation, especially with speculation around A.J. Brown’s happiness.
  • “That hammy don’t heal, especially for a guy like that.” ([10:45])
  • “It just reminds me of Randy Moss on the Raiders…You want to go be awesome on a bad team.” ([12:00])

No. 3 – Buffalo Bills

• Buffalo’s run game is thriving, especially with James Cook over 200 yards last week.
  • “They are relying more on this run game and when they get that run game going…so difficult to stop.” ([13:00])
• Defensive loss: “Ed Oliver went out with an injury…Torn bicep, right? That’s a big hit.” ([13:31])

No. 2 – Indianapolis Colts

• Matt credits the Colts’ resurgence to a weaker schedule and a powerful run game led by Jonathan Taylor.
  • “Jonathan Taylor’s awesome…There’s nobody running the ball better than him right now in the NFL.” ([15:05])

No. 1 – Kansas City Chiefs

• The addition of Rashee Rice and Patrick Mahomes’s wizardry have the Chiefs looking invincible.
  • “Patrick Mahomes…How do you get out of so many? Like, the play looks broken down but he always keeps his eyes downfield and he finds somebody.” ([15:55])

Notable Quote:

• “I just… I’m always nervous for [Mahomes]. I don’t know him. And I’m not particularly a Chiefs fan, so it’s not a rooting interest, but I’m always nervous for him.” – Matt Castle ([16:43])

3. MVP Race & Team Analysis ([18:33] – [27:59])

• Drake May’s Rise:

  • Drake May now “in the top three conversation for MVP status right now on DraftKings.” ([18:34])
  • Brandon Ray credits Josh McDaniels’ coaching: “The one thing I’ll say about Josh is he’s a great teacher…You can see the guy is playing with no fear and he’s deadly accurate.” ([19:06])
  • Noted for elevating a modest supporting cast: “That’s a big part of being a great quarterback, is being able to elevate the guys around you.” ([19:40])

• Patriots: Real or Benefiting from Schedule?

  • Matt: “They have the benefit of… what we talked about with the Colts earlier, where they sucked last year. Therefore they get a slightly, in theory, better schedule…Man, other than the Bills win…Who do we have here?” ([25:25]–[26:15])
  • Team is racking up “three-score games,” but doubts linger about their true ceiling.

• Trade Deadline Rumors:

  • “Breece Hall out of New York, going to the Texans…number two…Jeffrey Simmons to the Bills.” ([28:47])
  • Also, “little smoke about Max Crosby to the Cowboys.” ([29:48])

4. Injury Watch & Underdog Stories ([30:00] – [33:22])

• Bengals' Downward Spiral:

  • Losses to the Jets, an underperforming defense, and a deflating injury to tight end “Scout.”
    • “It was kind of sucky to watch scout get hurt…That was a brutal injury too.” ([31:35])
  • The Giants’ season goes from bad to worse after losing key players: “He brought an attitude, a toughness to this team. And to lose somebody like that, you feel that in the locker room.” ([32:25])

• NFL Family Losses:

  • The cast pauses to honor the late Nick Mangold (Jets lineman): “I respected the hell out of him…a sad day because I think everybody around the league realized the type of person he was…” ([33:24])

5. Astra Podcast Award Nomination ([34:01] – [36:49])

• The crew is candid and amused about being nominated, unwittingly, for “Best Sports Podcast.”
  • “We were nominated for a podcast award…the Astra Podcast Awards, Best Sports Podcast. And we’re up against, Pardon My Take, New Heights, Busting With The Boys, and I said, Lots to Say.” ([34:23])
  • Upon discovering it’s the inaugural year: “Even better…We didn’t even know we were nominated.” ([35:20])
  • “There’s no way anything beats New Heights. They got the Taylor Swift.” ([36:07])

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6. NFL Weekend Preview – Game Picks ([36:50] – [39:52])

• Colts at Steelers:

  • Brandon: Colts (“their offensive line has looked so good. They are just mauling people.” [37:18])
  • Matt: Steelers, citing NFL parity—“eventually these teams in the NFL have to lose.” ([37:47])

• Chiefs at Bills:

  • Hosts marvel at Chiefs being road favorites. Brandon takes Bills, Matt takes Chiefs—“Battle of the big nights.” ([38:47])

• Broncos at Texans:

  • Consensus: “For sure, the Broncos.” ([39:52])

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7. Featured Interview: Lawrence Guy ([45:41] – [70:30])

Lawrence Guy’s Journey: Persistence, Adversity, and New England’s Culture

Career Arc and Retirement ([46:03]):

• Moved between multiple NFL teams before finding a home in New England—“I always knew I was going to retire a Patriot…if I ended my 14th year in New England that last year, I would have retired right there.” ([48:11])
• Why he retired after Cincinnati: “I didn’t appreciate the effort and the love for the game that it should have been put in with that team at that moment…New England is spoiled.” ([49:38])

Defining ‘The Patriot Way’ ([51:28]):

• “You respect the person next to us. We work for the person next to us, and we sacrifice to make sure the team was ahead and we were going to win.” ([51:48])
• “If we did have a conflict, we could address that behind the scenes, not in front of the group.” ([53:10])

Super Bowl Memories ([54:07]):

• Favorite memory: “Me and my daughter kissing Lombardi. But other than that, hey, who’s the running back? Anderson…Buddy came downhill and ran straight into my chest with his helmet.” ([54:13])

Playing Style and Mindset ([55:38]):

• On being a run-stopper: “It’s a mentality of, I’m going to hit you harder than you could ever come to me and make sure that everybody else is clear behind me because my plays will come.” ([55:38])

Memorable Opponents ([58:24]):

• Toughest offensive lines: “Pittsburgh…the whole Dallas Cowboys offensive line…”
• On trash talk: “I said some weird and wild stuff…I’ll have a full conversation with you at TV timeout, then go hit you next play…” ([59:52])

Overcoming Early Setbacks ([62:44]):

• Early years shuffled between teams, struggled to find advocates.
• Baltimore Ravens provided stability, mentorship (“Elvis Dumervil came along and helped mentor me” [64:02]).
• “It’s not about where you start or how you start. It’s true about how you finish it.” ([65:16])

Reviewing the Current Patriots ([67:59]):

• Enthusiastic about the new team chemistry under Coach Vrabel: “I see the brotherhood you’re building and the culture you’re recreating there…”
• “Especially when you talk about their defense. The defense is flying…this is, I said the beginning of this season. I see this team going to the playoffs and now you can see it coming true.” ([67:59])

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8. Behind the Scenes of NFL Organizations ([74:03] – [79:54])

• The difference in player treatment and facilities is stark across teams:

  • “To me, the food, the most basic…the most fundamental part of being a professional athlete is fueling and preparing your body the right way. And you’re telling me that there are certain places that just have lackluster food?” – Matt Castle ([76:09])
  • “There are organizations out there that…it’s a continental breakfast. Whereas other organizations, when I was in New England, they’d have breakfast, lunch, and if you stayed late, you could have a dinner.” – Brandon Ray ([76:38])

• Some big-name college football programs have better facilities than certain NFL franchises—a reality that shocks both hosts and listeners alike.

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9. Closing – Baseball and Other Chat ([79:54] – [83:06])

• Brief foray into Shohei Ohtani’s greatness and MLB’s big-spending teams:
  • “Baseball can do that because they don’t have salary caps. And if you love your team and you have the money, you know, spend away. Yankees tried it a bunch…” – Matt Castle ([81:12])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The Patriot way…is pretty much just respecting the person next to you…and you want to grow as a man on the field and off the field and then grow as a brother.” – Lawrence Guy ([53:44])
• “I always knew I was going to retire a Patriot…” – Lawrence Guy ([48:11])
• “Not all these organizations are made the same. It starts…as he was saying, it’s a player first mentality.” – Brandon Ray ([74:34])
• “You put that Vaseline on your arms, try to clog your pores to keep you warm. It was nothing happening. I was like, man, this is ridiculous.” – Lawrence Guy on playing in the cold ([61:27])
• “Drake May has officially made himself in the top three conversation for MVP status right now on DraftKings.” – Brandon Ray ([18:34])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment Description | |----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:43 | Kirk Gibson story, cross-sport athletes | | 08:32 | Power Rankings discussion begins | | 18:34 | Drake May's MVP candidacy and Patriots discussion | | 25:19 | Dissecting Patriots’ schedule and legitimacy | | 28:47 | Trade deadline rumors (Breece Hall, Jeffrey Simmons, Max Crosby) | | 31:25 | Bengals and Giants injury woes and emotional toll | | 34:01 | Astra Podcast Award nomination banter | | 36:50 | NFL Weekend Preview: Picks for Colts-Steelers, Chiefs-Bills, Broncos-Texans | | 45:41 | Lawrence Guy interview—career reflection, Patriot culture, Super Bowl | | 54:07 | Lawrence’s favorite Super Bowl moment | | 62:44 | His tough early-career transitions and breakthrough with Ravens | | 67:59 | Thoughts on current Patriots under Coach Vrabel | | 74:03 | Player facilities, culture shock between teams, food/facilities stories | | 79:54 | Shohei Ohtani talk, big-market MLB teams, closing banter |

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Final Thoughts

This episode blends NFL analysis, personal stories, candid insights from a Super Bowl champ, and the kind of chemistry and banter that make for an engaging listen. If you’re looking for an honest look at what shapes NFL success—on the field, in the locker room, and behind closed doors—plus a few good laughs, this episode delivers.

Transcript

[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

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[Matt Castle]

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[Lawrence Guy]

A little escape? No.

[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

Sorry, no.

[Lawrence Guy]

A burrito bowl?

[Matt Castle]

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[Lawrence Guy]

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[Matt Castle]

A day of sunshine?

[Brandon Ray]

No. A box of fine wines?

[Matt Castle]

Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that.

[Lawrence Guy]

Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats.

[Matt Castle]

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[Matt Castle]

Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcast. We got lots to say we got lots to say.

[Lawrence Guy]

We're glad you're here and we hope.

[Matt Castle]

You cause we got lots to say. Yeah, we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. Hey everybody.

[Bobby Bones]

Welcome.

[Matt Castle]

I saw a really cool picture. It was you and Kurt Gibson. Yes, I do remember him hitting the home run. I was just old Enough. I remember him hitting the home run. Dodgers. Was it off? Dennis Eckersley?

[Brandon Ray]

Dennis Eckersley, yeah, yeah. World Series. And it's. I mean, it's my earliest childhood memory of, like, a sports moment. It was 1988. I was seven years old. And I remember watching that game with my. My family. And we're sitting there and he walks up and he looks awful when he walks to the plate. You. You've seen it, You've remember watching it. And then it goes like 02 early in the count, and he doesn't even look like he can swing the bat. And he fouls off a few. And then I just remember him hitting that bomb. And I mean, we erupted, but just watching the stadium and everybody go interrupt and then the. The legendary fist pump as he's going around, I was like, is he going to make it to home? Because Hobble was for real. But the coolest part was being able. We got to talk to him. I got to talk to him for about 20 minutes, and it was interesting. A lot of people don't know his story, right? He played four years of football at Michigan State, was an all American, like, third all time in wide receiving yards at Michigan State, and he only played one year of baseball at Michigan State because his coach told him, you know what, you should go out and play baseball. So he goes out there, rakes, bats, almost like 400 hits, 20 bombs, gets drafted by the Detroit Lions his junior year, and said, there's one condition, that I get to go back and play my senior year. And so he goes back and plays, and then he goes on to the Detroit Tigers at that point. But incredible story. And then the cool part was him standing there and he goes, matt, when you used to come out on the field, what was the first thing that you looked at when you came out on the field for warmups? And I was, like, kind of caught off guard because I usually would run out, check the clocks a little bit, and then just kind of go to the area. He's like, I used to love to go right there to middle field because that's where all the DBs were. And they used to always chirp at me and talk smack, right? And my dad taught me not to talk smack, but that's when I started taking numbers. And I said, I'm going to run through that guy's face. I'm going to run by this guy. And you could see this competitive drive out of him. That was such a cool moment for me, just listening to him, because it was out of out of the blue. And he just wanted to talk because he loved football. And it was.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Childhood legend of mine that goes down on my list that I get to check that box.

[Matt Castle]

I didn't know he was a multi sport athlete. I definitely didn't know that he was actually better at football than he was baseball until he basically started playing minor league baseball.

[Brandon Ray]

Right. College football hall of Fame.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, that's. That's crazy, crazy story. How was that? You. Michigan. Michigan State. Right.

[Brandon Ray]

Michigan. Michigan State. It was a typical Big Ten fist fight in a phone booth. For the first half there wasn't much, much offensive production. The defenses were getting after each other. And then Michigan, the second half kind of blew it open. But neither quarterback played impressively well. It was more based on the run game and who was going to be able to outlast the other. Michigan was able to do that.

[Matt Castle]

We went to Fayetteville to watch Arkansas and Auburn. It was basically whomever lost that coach would no longer have a job and we have an interim coach.

[Brandon Ray]

And so you can't fire your interim coach though.

[Matt Castle]

Well, he has a shot though to be the head coach. And when they lost, he no longer has a shot to be the head coach because it's Bobby Petrino who was our coach.

[Brandon Ray]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

And in three years he won 10, 10, 11 games like.

[Brandon Ray]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

Success story until, you know, he got caught doing stuff he shouldn't have been doing. So he came back as offensive coordinator. They fired our head coach and then he's the guy and you know, with four games left, five games left, it's if he can win three or four of these games, I think generally the feeling was he has a shot to be the head coach next year.

[Brandon Ray]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

And it's a bad game and two picks and a fumble. Offensively we lost it at the end. Hugh Freeze gets to keep his job at least for another week. But whomever lost that game was not going to be the head coach the next year. So Petrino will not be the head coach next year. I don't think Hugh Freeze is going to end up being the head coach Auburn next year anyway. But he did last another week. But we went. Weather was crappy. It was kind of raining. My.

[Brandon Ray]

So not a great experience is what you're saying.

[Matt Castle]

It especially was poor because my in laws were with me, my wife and her parents and they had a big game because they're Oklahoma fans. So Oklahoma was playing Ole Miss. So we had the game up on. We were in the suite and so we had the game up on in the suite. That game while we were watching the other game outwardly. And oh, you lost as well.

[Brandon Ray]

So now everybody's miserable.

[Matt Castle]

It was everybody. Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Just like this weekend sucks.

[Matt Castle]

Yes, it was. And it was raining and it was sour.

[Brandon Ray]

How about the turnover in college football at the head coaching position? These buyouts that are taking place. Brian Kelly gets fired. What is it, 54 million?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, but he ain't getting all that.

[Brandon Ray]

Huh?

[Matt Castle]

They're going to morality clause him and he'll get. By the time this comes out, I'm sure there'll be a story. But I would imagine he ends up taking like 20, 25 million. You're right, though, because James Franklin got 50 million. Now, some of that is mitigated to where if they take another job, which they will because James Franklin's not 80 years old.

[Brandon Ray]

Right. He says immediately he goes on game day and goes, no, I still going to coach. My goal is still to win a national championship at my next spot, which anybody out there right now, anybody right.

[Matt Castle]

Now want to give me a job, I'm ready. It's interesting too, because again you have LSU number one job. That's the number one job in college football.

[Brandon Ray]

It's got to be.

[Matt Castle]

So LSU's open. Florida, great job.

[Brandon Ray]

Great job.

[Matt Castle]

In order, Penn State at three, Arkansas probably at four. Virginia, Virginia Tech probably at five. But there's a. It's going to be a coach. UCLA, like at 17.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Like if.

[Brandon Ray]

If there's more people, it'll keep dropping.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Like, I think it goes Kent State, then UCLA.

[Brandon Ray]

What's your average attendance? That's your game, like 10,000. But we play at the Rose Bowl. It's iconic, but we seat 100,000.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. So it looks even less than 10,000. 10,000, but it looks like 50. Yeah. College football is wild right now. But we are not here to talk college football.

[Brandon Ray]

No, we're not.

[Matt Castle]

We are here to talk NFL football. And let's go back and forth.

[Brandon Ray]

You go first this week, bud.

[Matt Castle]

Okay. I've got my power rankings.

[Brandon Ray]

Yes, I love your power rankings.

[Matt Castle]

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And they are not probably in classical power rank, expert formation. Number five, the Denver Broncos. They are six and two. They've won four games in a row. I think you're seeing Bo Nix mature into a quarterback who makes, for the most part, really good decisions.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, he's a young quarterback. He's only in his second year. People don't realize that. And there were some struggles early on and he wasn't playing as well. But now he's coming into his Own got the run game going. That defense is one of the best in the league. I mean, they are certain out though. Certain got hurt which right before the end of the half and that, that's a huge blow.

[Matt Castle]

And I think he's going to be out for a minute too. I believe four to six weeks, that sucks.

[Brandon Ray]

But he will be back, which is huge. So it's not season ending, but that is a huge blow for that defense because he is a premier shutdown corner, probably the best in the game at this point. At that position, there's just.

[Lawrence Guy]

Well, you.

[Brandon Ray]

When you can take a guy, put him in on a, on an island and not worry about him and then dedicate another guy to either the box or somebody else on the other side, it is so challenging for an offensive unit, especially when you're throwing the football.

[Matt Castle]

I think Bo Nix is the guy now that he's going to throw between 240 and 290. He might throw an interception, but he's just a good decision quarterback. I'm not saying always a great decision yet. He's only in his second year, but he's doing a lot of really good things consistently. And he's in an offense too, where getting rid of the ball quick and making quick, positive decisions does great things. That Sean Payton offense, that's what, that's what you have to do in that offense.

[Brandon Ray]

Right. And the other part about his game that is special is his ability to improvise and make plays with his legs because he's an outstanding athlete and he can take off and get you yards and if there's trouble inside the pocket, he can. He has got that escapability where he can go get that first down or just kill you. And that really breaks the confidence of the defense. Anytime somebody takes off, you've got a good defense called, you've got the coverage and then all of a sudden he squirts through and goes, picks up 15. That's tough.

[Matt Castle]

And number four, the Philadelphia Eagles. The reason I don't have them a little higher, they are six and two. It's. I don't know, the status of Saquon that long run when he pulled up.

[Brandon Ray]

Oh, Hammy.

[Matt Castle]

Yes. And as you know, that hammy don't.

[Brandon Ray]

Heal, especially for a guy like that. That is a guy, when he opens it up, he goes. And that's not something you want to mess around with. Now they are going into a bye week, which was probably a blessing for him just in order to get him back healthy quicker because you can dedicate all that, you don't have to grind through the week. But, yeah, that is a concern for sure.

[Matt Castle]

The wide receiver situation there, though, scares me a little bit.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Because it feels a bit volatile.

[Brandon Ray]

It is. And the fact that AJ didn't play this week and they still went out and performed very well offensively. They got the pass game going, but the run game was what everybody's been waiting on. Saquon's number's been crazy down this year, and then all of a sudden you see what he's capable of. He goes out and has a performance like that, you're like, okay, everybody feels a little bit better about this offense because they can do it. But I just don't know what direction, if AJ Is going to become more of a distraction with more of this type of behavior going on, or if at some point he's going to say, the grass is not always greener on the other side. We're winning ball games and you can get traded to a team, but I'll tell you, just because you get eight catches and get blown out by 30, you're not going to be happier. Maybe you will be, but I don't think you will be.

[Matt Castle]

It just reminds me of Randy Moss on the Raiders.

[Brandon Ray]

Yep.

[Matt Castle]

Because you want to go be awesome on a bad team. That's what happened. And then you want to go back to a good team. That's what happened. And I think those were the lost years.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. And it's. Devonte Adams, too, is a great, great example of that. He goes to Raiders, then he goes to the Raiders. Then he goes.

[Matt Castle]

Everybody goes to the Raiders when it sucks.

[Brandon Ray]

Then he goes to the Jets.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Right. And he wants out of the Jets. So in the frustration, because these guys have seen the other side of it and knows what it takes to be a good football team, and then all of a sudden, you go to a different organization that's run differently and you start to go, wait, that's where you're. That's where they get frustrated. And then. Then they force their way out, and it looks bad.

[Matt Castle]

On the player number three, Buffalo. And I think we're going to know a lot of things about Buffalo after this week. I think we already know enough about Buffalo because it's. It's generally the same core. It's Josh Allen.

[Brandon Ray]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

And the rest.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, it will. I will say this. James Cook came out and had over 200 yards.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, yeah, he ran his face up. Yes.

[Brandon Ray]

And that's the one thing that you see that has evolved for this offense for Buffalo. Over the last few years is that they are relying more on this run game and when they get that run game going and they're a two headed monster and when I say that, I mean pass game, run game, and they complement each other. They are so difficult to stop. And so if, if they can continue that trend, I mean, this team's got Josh Allen on it, so that alone will help. I know Ed Oliver went out with an injury in the interior part of the defense which will hurt them.

[Matt Castle]

Is he done for the year?

[Brandon Ray]

I think he's got definitely.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Torn bicep, right?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, that's a big hit. That's. And they have Josh Allen.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, Josh Allen.

[Matt Castle]

Josh Allen opens it up for everyone else.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, he just. I think he just set the NFL record this week and I think there's 46 games that he's played and he just surpassed Cam Newton where he's had at least a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. That's absurd.

[Matt Castle]

Number two, the Colts. I don't have a number one. Even though they have the best record, I respect that. I really like the Colts. I think it's awesome. I love to see Danny Dimes, I love to see Indiana Jones. I love to see every nickname that you could possibly think of. That's kind of corny because he's kind of corny and I like that. I like to see the Colts winning. I like a small market team winning. I can't put them at number one, though, because they really aren't playing, folks, because they didn't have. They didn't have a good season last year, which means they're not going to have to really play a tough schedule this year.

[Brandon Ray]

That's the beautiful part about the NFL. That's where the parody is created, which maybe some people don't know on the outside, but when you finish third or fourth in your division, your schedule the next year, when you play outside your division, are playing the third and fourth teams, you're not playing the number one team from that division, the number two team from your division. Now you still have to play your division, don't get me wrong. But it definitely helps when you're a team that's trying to rebuild that you come in and you get a schedule that you're like, oh, this looks so much better than the year before.

[Matt Castle]

Because it also helps when your division kind of sucks.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, their division sucks.

[Matt Castle]

So when you do play your division, I just say mid Titan Jacksonville, very.

[Brandon Ray]

Mid Houston's, even what, they've got two, three wins now. Three wins. I Think three now.

[Matt Castle]

And Jonathan Taylor's awesome. Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

He's unbelievable.

[Matt Castle]

He's in the mix for the mvp. I don't think a running back wins the MVP really, ever. But he is definitely at the Saquon level of last year when we were talking about, wow, can Saquon be the mvp?

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

It's really cool to see him be amazing again because remember when he was fighting for that contract and everyone's like, he's washed up anyway.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Like, why are we going to give him that money? He's washed up. And he was sitting out. Yeah. And they're like, let him sit. He's washed. He's washed.

[Brandon Ray]

And he bet on himself.

[Matt Castle]

There's nothing washed about him.

[Brandon Ray]

There's nobody running the ball better than him right now in the NFL.

[Matt Castle]

It's really cool. Number one, Kansas City Chiefs.

[Brandon Ray]

Kansas City Chiefs. I thought they just creeping up, right? They keep creeping up.

[Matt Castle]

The addition of Rasheed Rice, oh, man.

[Brandon Ray]

It's a different spot.

[Matt Castle]

It makes all the difference in the.

[Brandon Ray]

World because now they got three dudes on the outside. Rasheed Rice being number one. Kelsey's still playing at a high level.

[Matt Castle]

Xavier Worthy.

[Brandon Ray]

Xavier Worthy's a good number two. He's a savvy route runner. You got juju, Smith, Schuster, that fits that number three role perfectly. And they've got this balance on this offense. And Patrick Mahomes, he's a magician. I watch him. I'm just like, dude, how do you. How do you get out of so many? Like, the play looks broken down, but he always keeps his eyes downfield and he finds somebody. The way that he's able to create and just create space between him and the offensive line, but guys understand it and get open. It's crazy.

[Matt Castle]

I get nervous for his ligaments.

[Brandon Ray]

He's been doing it for a long.

[Matt Castle]

Time because he bends and gets hit and falls and he's doing, again, all the miraculous magician type stuff, but with all the falls, it looks like something is always going to rip.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. And it never does.

[Matt Castle]

And it. It hasn't yet, let's say, yet.

[Brandon Ray]

Knock on wood for the guy.

[Matt Castle]

I mean, I. I just. I'm always nervous for him. I don't know him.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

And I'm not particularly a Chiefs fan, so it's not a rooting interest, but I'm always nervous for him.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, it. Sometimes the. The way he's able to contort his body and some of the hits that he takes and how he falls, it just looks different than anybody else.

[Matt Castle]

Looks like a lot of yoga.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. But then, look, think about that defensive side of the ball, too. That defensive side of the ball is damn good. And Spags is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. They're playing at a really high level. So you've got the defensive side of the ball and now the offense is healthy. Watch out.

[Matt Castle]

I think too, looking back, you know, the play when Chris Jones was just kind of chilling and they're like, he didn't even get it was against Jacksonville.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

And Trevor Lawrence ended up scoring the touchdown. And at the time, not a great look. And I could only be paying attention to it because of that specifically. But I feel like first of all, he's one of the most dominant interior men in the NFL in the past 10 years. Not even just right now.

[Brandon Ray]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

Just in the past decade. But I feel like he's going extra hard now all the time because he got embarrassed on that play that ended up losing them the game.

[Brandon Ray]

Well, it was that play and there was a play a few weeks prior to that. I think it was Justin Herbert where he was on the edge and they wanted to try to contain Justin Herbert in the pocket. And he inside released that tackle. He went inside, he broke contain, went and picked up the first down with his legs. So he got a bunch of for that as well. So there was two similar instances near the tail end of the game that if maybe they get a stop or that he was. He was a centralized focus of the criticism. And so I think some of that is like, okay, I'm going to show you guys what's up. Which you don't want to. Thank you, media.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, you don't want to motivate it.

[Lawrence Guy]

Media.

[Matt Castle]

You don't want to motivate it. Jones, who's already motivated. Yeah. All right, you're up.

[Bobby Bones]

All right.

[Brandon Ray]

Drake May has officially made himself in the top three conversation for MVP status right now on DraftKings. Now, I do think he's playing at an MVP level and I think a lot of it has to do with Josh McDaniels coming in. Because I played for Josh McDaniels and I know the type of offense he runs, but he's masterful. And the one thing I'll say about Josh is he's a great teacher. And so you take Drake Mays skill set and then you put him in a position to be successful and understand the why behind why you're running these certain concepts and who you're trying to take advantage of, that that just elevates your confidence, that elevates your play. And you can see the guy's playing with no fear and he's deadly accurate, but he's got the skill set, his deep balls down the field, hitting big plays and then his ability to take off and run and make plays with his legs as well. Another dual threat guy. I mean, and the other part I'll say about why he's probably up there in the MVP is just like we talked about with Josh Allen last year, why he probably was voted MVP was you look at the guys around him, would you put that skill room, I'm saying the wide receivers, tight ends, would you put them in the top 15 of the league in terms of guys that you would evaluate and say, oh well, they got the best duo there with T. Higgins, Jamar Chase. I I wouldn't and but he's elevating those guys to be better. And I think that's a big part of playing quarterback. But that's a big part of being a great quarterback is being able to elevate the guys around you.

[Matt Castle]

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[Lawrence Guy]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero.

[Bobby Bones]

We're just here to try to give.

[Brandon Ray]

You an NFL perspective a little bit different.

[Lawrence Guy]

Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and and entertaining.

[Brandon Ray]

And twice a week that is exactly.

[Lawrence Guy]

What you're going to get.

[Bobby Bones]

Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones.

[Lawrence Guy]

And Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app.

[Bobby Bones]

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit toyota.com NFL now to learn more. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks. We take you inside the game. From scouting reports and player development to.

[Lawrence Guy]

Team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how.

[Bobby Bones]

Front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.

[Brandon Ray]

It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots.

[Bobby Bones]

From college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow, we break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day.

[Brandon Ray]

Plus, we dig into coaching strategies, roster.

[Bobby Bones]

Construction, and the trends that shape the.

[Brandon Ray]

League year after year.

[Bobby Bones]

Whether you're a die hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture.

[Brandon Ray]

If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.

[Bobby Bones]

Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm Marcus Grant.

[Bobby Bones]

And I'm Michael F. Florio and together.

[Lawrence Guy]

We host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

[Matt Castle]

Podcast.

[Bobby Bones]

Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?

[Matt Castle]

Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

[Bobby Bones]

Your ultimate source for player news, draft tips and winning strategies.

[Brandon Ray]

Whether you're a rookie manager or a.

[Bobby Bones]

Fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

[Brandon Ray]

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast.

[Matt Castle]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bobby Bones]

Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit toyota.com NFL now to learn more.

[Matt Castle]

I don't know who 1 and 2 are. I'm going to guess it's Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. Are they one and two in the betting?

[Brandon Ray]

They've got to be.

[Matt Castle]

I think if you were to remove their names and just put up numbers, I think Drake May would probably be the leader right now. But because he's a second year guy and because he's not a Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen, who they absolutely deserve the. Hey, we're going to give you the benefit of the doubt. You're playing great. But we also expect you're going to be in the MVP race.

[Brandon Ray]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

I think Drake May would be the guy leading it right now if it weren't based on the history of those other two guys.

[Brandon Ray]

I agree. And if you just turn on the film and watch now game after game after game, the consistency in which. And he's got over a 70% completion percentage. Right. And you're talking about Keisha on Booty's probably his number one. Then you've got Diggs. Diggs out there. You've got Austin.

[Matt Castle]

Hunter Henry's playing Hunter Henry, Austin.

[Brandon Ray]

I mean, so you've got these guys, but he doesn't have like a true alpha out there. And he's the guy that's pulling the trigger and doing it week in and week out. And say what you will about the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns defense is for real. He got sacked five times in that game and he just kept coming back and coming back and he just dissected that defense. And they're one of the best in the league in my opinion.

[Matt Castle]

My second point was going to be the Patriots too, and they're first in the AFC east right now. Shout out. Kevin. Yep. Yeah.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

They have the benefit of what we talked about with the Colts earlier, where they sucked last year. Therefore they get a slightly, in theory, better schedule the next year. They really haven't played many folks. Right? Yes. Yes. Would you, would you agree?

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, I agree with that.

[Lawrence Guy]

Because.

[Matt Castle]

Because, I mean, we can, we can walk it back if you want. But let's start at. Do they lose to the Raiders game one?

[Brandon Ray]

They sure did.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, dude, imagine if they'd have won that one. Okay. They beat the Dolphins. They lost to the Steelers. They beat the Panthers. They beat the Bills. They beat the Saints. The Bills wins. Good. They beat the Titans. They beat the Browns. Man, other than the Bills win. Because I don't think the Steelers are that good. Like who we. Who do we have here? Is it a good team, Kevin? Yeah, you watch them.

[Brandon Ray]

They're a good team.

[Matt Castle]

They're playing the Falcons. Falcons kind of suck. They have a Buccaneers game coming up. That's interesting. Interesting. They have the jets, then the Bengals, then the Giants.

[Brandon Ray]

Dude, they don't play anybody. That's great. Just keep it rolling. This is a confidence boosting season for us. Just go out there and keep stacking wins.

[Matt Castle]

I think they're pretty good as well. Listen, I think, you know, a variable coached team, regardless if it's the Patriots, if it's the Titans, they're going to get better as the season goes, regardless of who they play. But yeah, they ain't playing much. Can I just say one thing, though? Like these in defense, they're not very good, but they're blowing them out of the water. Like it's not even close.

[Brandon Ray]

Those are like three score games.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. And it's over by the third quarter. I've been chilling the last few weeks. Been nice. I like chill games. Yeah. I haven't had to have one of those in a while because Arkansas, we don't get to chill much. Sorry. Mostly we just.

[Brandon Ray]

Have you ever gone into a game when you're watching Arkansas and been confident ever?

[Matt Castle]

Like in the history of my life.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. Just like, man, I feel good about this.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. If we play like University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff or we play one of those.

[Brandon Ray]

So preseason.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, yeah. One of those games before the conference. Yeah. I feel great about those. But basketball. Yeah, basketball.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm not asking about basketball.

[Matt Castle]

Football. Yeah. An SEC game very rarely. And I would say if we were to play Vanderbilt, but now they're good. Or Mississippi State, we're going to play them this week. The last two conference wins. Our last conference win was Mississippi State. Their last conference win was Arkansas. So we're both here fighting for.

[Brandon Ray]

And Mississippi State's pretty good team.

[Matt Castle]

They've been getting close. They beat Arizona State, but they've been, you know, they almost beat Texas. Yeah. And Tennessee and. They almost beat Tennessee.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. So my point with the Patriots was I do think they're a good team, but how good are they? I don't think we know because you did win a tough game against the Bills.

[Brandon Ray]

It's tough to win in the NFL, period.

[Matt Castle]

These are all Patriots.

[Brandon Ray]

Both of you guys are Patriots Indies the same way New England I. It's not the Kansas City Chiefs schedule by any means. Or the Philadelphia Eagles by any means. But at the same time, these are all one of 32 NFL teams with pros and with dudes on that team that you've seen week in and week out. These teams that unexpectedly come in and just blow another team out and you're like, how did that even happen?

[Matt Castle]

I hear you, but you're all Patriots. Even our guest today is a Patriot. I feel like I'm being outnumbered here today. Hey, we got a Patriots helmet up.

[Brandon Ray]

Here on the table. We're going to have a conversation about we're going to have a conversation about it.

[Matt Castle]

Yes.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm just saying. I'm just saying.

[Matt Castle]

Okay, that was my second point. I do think the Patriots are getting a lot better, but let's pump the brakes on these super bowl contending New England Patriots. That's all. I'll say.

[Brandon Ray]

I didn't. I just said that. We're week by week. You're looking week by week. All right. Mine. We got the trade deadline coming up next week. Two trades that I think would be awesome to see happen. Breeze hall out of New York, going to the Texans. Houston showed some life this last weekend. I liked what I saw. So bring him in because Breece Hall's a dude now and he's on a bad team again. They could get some draft capital for him, but that's immediately going to lift Houston Texans up and number two. I hate to do this to the Titans.

[Matt Castle]

Do it.

[Brandon Ray]

Since we're unloading the whole ship anyway. Jeffrey Simmons to the Bills. They've just lost Ed Oliver, but they.

[Matt Castle]

Said they're not trading him. They're like, you can call us for anybody except Cam.

[Brandon Ray]

I know. I wouldn't trade him either. I'm just saying, for the Bills, that would be a home run. If you can go get Jeffrey Simmons, who's one of the most dominant interior defensive linemen in the league and put yourself in a position, especially with Josh Allen and where they're at in their ready to go on a Super bowl run, hopefully to bring in a guy like that mid season dude, that would be a game changer for them.

[Matt Castle]

There was a little smoke about Max Crosby to the Cowboys.

[Brandon Ray]

I saw that as well.

[Matt Castle]

That would be awesome. They need it, too. Defensively. They need it. Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. I just watched them. That was pretty bad.

[Matt Castle]

That was pretty bad. That would be cool. I don't really want the Bengals to trade Trey Hendrickson.

[Brandon Ray]

Oh, because you think that they still got a chance? Because right now the Steelers are leading the division with four wins and I.

[Matt Castle]

Don'T think they're very good.

[Brandon Ray]

Then you've got what, the Browns and the Bengals with two.

[Matt Castle]

And then you have Ravens with Ravens have two or three now. Ravens two, Browns two, Bengals three.

[Brandon Ray]

Well, there you go.

[Matt Castle]

I don't know that the Bengals can do it anymore.

[Brandon Ray]

After the loss of the jets, it was a deflating, especially when Flacco still went out there. They played great. 38 points.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

And then the jets come out there and my goodness, just started scoring at.

[Matt Castle]

Will at the end. And good for Aaron Glenn.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. Aaron Glenn. Justin Fields. I Mean, what he's been through, when the owner comes out and says, look, anybody would have that result. If you have the quarterback play that we've had, that really puts a vote of confidence into the quarterback that you brought in to be your guy this year. And then to go out and he was super vulnerable. You saw the press conference after. Yeah, he's mostly when he said he was. Well, he said he was crying in the closet during the week and he had to pray and he sat down. Why. Why am I going through this? But then to have the game that he did, he looked outstanding. And he just. Coming back for more. Coming back for more. And stuck in the game and then went out and ended up beating the Bengals, even though they had a pretty. Pretty steady lead there.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. The Bengals offense, as usual, did it. Bengals defense, as usual, did not. Did not do it. So, yeah, I'm with you there.

[Brandon Ray]

Got to get it done.

[Matt Castle]

It was kind of sucky to watch scout get hurt.

[Brandon Ray]

Oh, my gosh. That was a brutal injury, too.

[Matt Castle]

Like, aside from the injury itself, to see the Giants that were hopeless, like, have. Have people care again for a minute, right?

[Brandon Ray]

Have they? He breathed life into that organization, even for the fan base. Everything else going on, 100%.

[Matt Castle]

The Giants weren't going to win a bunch of games, but it was fun to watch them because he's fun. Jackson Dart fun. And like, even the New York, like the Knick games, when you would see Scatter Boo up, even like the grill, like, all the stuff about him that was fun. And so I feel bad for Giants fans just in general. I'm sorry you're a Giants fan. As somebody who has a team that.

[Brandon Ray]

Never wins, also, especially you think about the Giants, they also already lost Malik Neighbors, which is a huge hit. And the best player, best player by far. Then Scatterboo comes in and you start going, oh, man, they got a little running game. It's. He brought an attitude, a toughness to this team. And to lose somebody like that, you feel that in the locker room. When you lose guys like Malik Neighbor, when you lose guys like Scatterboo, where you're like, man, these are. These are guys that we hope to depend on. But now they're gone for the season. I remember when I was with the Kansas City Chiefs is last season. I mean, last preseason game, we lost Tony Miyake to acl, first game of the season. Eric Barry, our starting safety, acl, second game of the season, Jamal Charles, acl. And it's just like you're just trying to Come up for air and process everything. And you're going, man, these are all major contributors to our team, and they're in leadership roles because of their performance and also who they are. And you lose those guys, and you got to kind of pick up the pieces and go, all right, we got to figure this thing out. But it's. It's tough to come back from a situation like that.

[Matt Castle]

All right, you're up. Last one.

[Brandon Ray]

Well, I mean, talking about sad, I mean, Jetso lineman Nick Mango passed away on Sunday from kidney failure. And, I mean, I knew. I knew Nick. Probably not a very personal level, but I respected the hell out of him. He was a hell of a player. A guy that anybody that went up against him had nothing but incredible things to say about him, just because of the competitive nature that he had. And it's just a sad day because I think everybody around the league realized the type of person he was, and in addition to that, the type of player he was. So he was lost too soon. So my condolences go out to him, his family, and everybody else.

[Matt Castle]

One other thing I wanted to mention. We got nominated for an award.

[Brandon Ray]

Did we?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, we did. MTV award.

[Matt Castle]

I don't think it's a moon man, but I did put it here.

[Brandon Ray]

Best hug.

[Matt Castle]

So we were nominated for. Yeah, that's just you. That's not even an us thing.

[Brandon Ray]

Come on, bro.

[Matt Castle]

We were nominated for a podcast award, and it's the Astra Podcast Awards, Best sports Podcast. And we're up against, pardon my take, New Heights, Busting with the boys. And I said, lots to say.

[Brandon Ray]

That's pretty good company right there.

[Matt Castle]

Yes. And I'd like to say, first of all, we humbly accept your nomination.

[Brandon Ray]

Yes.

[Matt Castle]

Secondly, I never heard of this award.

[Brandon Ray]

I'll be honest with you, I have.

[Lawrence Guy]

No, you haven't.

[Brandon Ray]

It is something that when I set out on this journey for podcasting, it was one of the goals that I had at the top of my list.

[Matt Castle]

It was a cool image to share. It was awesome because the account that posted the awards had a blue check mark, and it was called the Hollywood Creative Alliance.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

And they announced the Astra Podcast Awards. And again, it's three massive podcasts in our little startup.

[Brandon Ray]

But did have you looked up past award winners?

[Matt Castle]

No, I'm pretty sure it's the inaugural.

[Brandon Ray]

Year of these awards. The first one. No way. Yes.

[Matt Castle]

Wow.

[Brandon Ray]

Even better.

[Matt Castle]

We didn't even know we were nominated. I think Kevin found it.

[Brandon Ray]

You found it, right?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. Yeah. Somebody from the iHeart team shared it.

[Brandon Ray]

Until it Was announced a month ago, I think.

[Matt Castle]

We didn't even know.

[Brandon Ray]

No idea.

[Matt Castle]

So when do they announce the winner? Oh, I'm not. That's what I'm looking up right now. They may already have. I believe it was on Monday night.

[Brandon Ray]

Is it a black tie event? Don't we get to go? They have a ceremony. We get to go up.

[Matt Castle]

Gotta go to la. We didn't even get invited if it was two nights ago.

[Brandon Ray]

No, no chance. They're just announcing it, right? Live stream.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, it was a couple nights ago. You could go, but you had to pay your own way there. Well, did we win? I'm trying to find right now. I would imagine we didn't.

[Brandon Ray]

I would imagine maybe not, but maybe so.

[Matt Castle]

There's no way anything beats New Heights. They got the Taylor Swift.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah. They got the album break.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

They had Bill Murray on. It was pretty funny.

[Matt Castle]

Did those two come to you back to back? Taylor Swift's album break and Bill Murray.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Those are the two reasons.

[Brandon Ray]

It's pretty good.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. We were nominated for that award and we're looking at Kevin to see if he finds Kevin.

[Brandon Ray]

Where do we finish?

[Matt Castle]

Unless he like pulls a trophy out from under the table, like this is how he tells us. Congratulations.

[Brandon Ray]

It's a spittoon.

[Matt Castle]

Okay, well, you let us know and. Yeah, I will.

[Brandon Ray]

We're honored though. I have a feeling because it's so hard to find, that's not a good sign.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. About anything.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

But we are honored to be an Astro Award winning. No. Astra award nominee.

[Brandon Ray]

100%.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. Big thanks to the academy. It's time for the weekend Preview presented by DraftKings. From first touchdown scored anytime. Touchdown props or the thrill of in game live betting. Every snap is loaded with opportunity. Here's what we're going to do. Three biggest games this week. Let's make our picks and tell you why. We'll go Colts at Steelers. Colts are going to Pittsburgh. What do you got there, Matt Castle?

[Brandon Ray]

Are we betting the spread here or no? Are we just going straight up?

[Matt Castle]

Let's just go straight up. It's all three. Might as well parlay them all together.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm going with the Colts, man. I'm going to ride the hot hand. I mean Steelers. I like the Steelers and I like what they're bringing to the table. But at the same time, I just think the Colts run game and honestly their offensive line has looked so good. They are just mauling people. So I'm a believer in this Colts offense. I also like the way their Defense is playing. So I'm going Colts.

[Matt Castle]

I'm a believer in the Colts too. But the fact that they're 7 and 1. Right. This is the NFL as you told me a few minutes ago.

[Brandon Ray]

I sure did.

[Matt Castle]

Where every team can be get beat by a mid to bad team every single week. And I think it's now Pittsburgh's time to win. I don't think that losing to Green Bay sits well with Rogers.

[Brandon Ray]

No, it didn't.

[Matt Castle]

I think they're playing in Pittsburgh. I'm going with the Steelers. I don't believe in the Steelers, but I think the Colts. I'm just playing the odds here of eventually these teams in the NFL have to lose. The only team not to have to lose is, well, you guys. Until you lost in the Super Bowl.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Remember that.

[Brandon Ray]

Oh yeah, I do remember that. Thanks for bringing that up. Colts aren't going to lose.

[Matt Castle]

I go with the Steelers again. That's fine. Chiefs minus point and a half at the Bills. That's crazy. The Chiefs are a favorite in Buffalo. Anybody else think that's wild? Like they know something we don't? Obviously. I can't believe the Chiefs are a favorite in Buffalo. Vegas thinks they're back to the Chiefs too, I guess. What?

[Brandon Ray]

You got Buffalo at home. Chiefs are playing so well.

[Matt Castle]

Buffalo does win these games in season though.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, I'm going to go with Buffalo at home.

[Matt Castle]

I'm going to go with the Chiefs.

[Brandon Ray]

I think it's a toss up. I mean you could flip a coin. I could definitely change my mind. But right now I'm going with the. With the Bills at home. Josh Allen. Big night.

[Matt Castle]

I'm going Chief Patrick Mahomes. Big night.

[Brandon Ray]

Okay, that's fair.

[Matt Castle]

Battle of the big nights.

[Brandon Ray]

Sounds like big nights.

[Matt Castle]

Broncos at Texans. Texans point and half favorite. They are in Houston.

[Brandon Ray]

Texans are pointing a half favorite over the Broncos. I'm going to go with the Texas. No, I'm definitely going with the Broncos.

[Matt Castle]

How do you say you're going with the Texans? But then you said you're definitely going with the Broncos. Like it just feels like such a switch.

[Brandon Ray]

Like it was if you'd have been.

[Matt Castle]

Like going to Texas. No, I'm going with the Broncos.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm going with the Broncos. I just think their defense is outstanding and I lost their best player. Yeah, that's okay. It's. They'll be all right there because they also for the Houston Texas, they've had some injuries at the wide receiver position as well and I think the Broncos are going to be okay. It's the pass rush that makes that defense so dominant and offensively, they're figuring out. We talked about Bonix in this podcast how much he's improved from one week to the next. So I'm going with the Denver Broncos in Houston.

[Matt Castle]

I'll go with you, but I'm not going to go. You know, I think it's. It could be the Texans. No, I'm for sure it's the Broncos.

[Brandon Ray]

For sure. The Broncos.

[Matt Castle]

I want to go to Broncos as well. That was the week in Preview presented by DraftKings. New customers bet just five bucks. And if your bet wins, you win 300 bucks in bonus bets. Instantly. Your team hitting pay dirt pays out to you. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app. Use the code to say one word. As in lots to say, as in award nominated, lots to say.

[Brandon Ray]

Award nominated, lots to say.

[Matt Castle]

The code is to say for new customers, turn five bucks into 300 in bonus bets. If your bet wins in partnership with DraftKings, the Crown is yours.

[Bobby Bones]

Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler in New York. Call 877-8-Hopeny or text Hopeny at 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and resort in Kansas, 21 and over. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and response, responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co audio.

[Brandon Ray]

That sounds like a pretty good deal. Five bucks for $300.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. You kept going.

[Brandon Ray]

Let's go.

[Matt Castle]

He's so motivated to keep going. He just wanted to keep. Yeah, it is. It's a great deal.

[Brandon Ray]

Pretty good deal.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. The results, by the way, put in the code Tuesday. All right, now time for the results.

[Brandon Ray]

Time for the roses.

[Matt Castle]

I would think if I were like, setting this up odds wise, I would put new heights at like minus 300, maybe more. I would put part of my take at plus 110. Busting with the boys, plus 210 and us at like plus. You know how they put so many zeros? It kind of runs out. Hey, but we're on there, boys.

[Brandon Ray]

Five zeros.

[Matt Castle]

So who won? Who? We thought new heights.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. Does it say by any chance who came in fourth? It does not.

[Brandon Ray]

It just says the other day we could be second. You just never know.

[Lawrence Guy]

Right?

[Matt Castle]

So congratulations. We got edged by new heights.

[Brandon Ray]

Shocking. Just got us shocking.

[Matt Castle]

We'll get them next year.

[Brandon Ray]

We're coming boys. We're coming for you.

[Matt Castle]

Do you see a picture by any chance of the Kelce brothers at the ceremony holding the award? I haven't found that yet.

[Brandon Ray]

Well, that's why I think that's why they did it on Monday so that Kelsey could get there after the game.

[Matt Castle]

Taylor accepted the award for him. Okay, okay, let's take a break.

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[Lawrence Guy]

Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero.

[Bobby Bones]

We're just here to try to give.

[Brandon Ray]

You an NFL perspective a little bit different.

[Lawrence Guy]

Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining.

[Brandon Ray]

And twice a week that is exactly.

[Lawrence Guy]

What you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio.

[Bobby Bones]

App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pod. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit toyota.com NFL now to learn more. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks on Move the Sticks. We take you inside the game. From scouting reports and player development to.

[Lawrence Guy]

Team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how.

[Bobby Bones]

Front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else is the.

[Brandon Ray]

Kind of conversation that connects the dots.

[Bobby Bones]

From college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow, we break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day.

[Brandon Ray]

Plus, we dig into coaching strategies, roster.

[Bobby Bones]

Construction, and the trends that shape the.

[Brandon Ray]

League year after year.

[Bobby Bones]

Whether you're a die hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture.

[Brandon Ray]

If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.

[Bobby Bones]

Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm Marcus Grant.

[Bobby Bones]

And I'm Michael F. Florio and together.

[Lawrence Guy]

We host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

[Bobby Bones]

Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?

[Matt Castle]

Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

[Bobby Bones]

Your ultimate source for player news, draft tips and winning strategies.

[Brandon Ray]

Whether you're a rookie manager or a.

[Bobby Bones]

Fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

[Brandon Ray]

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast.

[Matt Castle]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bobby Bones]

Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit toyota.com NFL now to learn more.

[Matt Castle]

Now let's go over and talk to Lawrence Guy. He was honored at the Patriots game on Sunday. He just signed a one day contract, held a big press conference. He retired with the Patriots. What's cool is he was on the Patriots all decade team from the 2010s. But as you know and as we get to in this interview, like he, you know, beat up a few places like he was grinding around before he ever really caught on.

[Brandon Ray]

Right. That's what I love about his story, is he's one of these guys that stuck to it. He faced a ton of adversity early in his career, was let go, was on practice squad, never really found his place. And then he all of a sudden he gets to Baltimore and you see his game start to go to the next level a little bit. And then it's the Patriots that put all the belief in him. And he goes out there and dominates there and really helps them through that back end of their dynasty to go win a Super Bowl. It's an incredible story.

[Matt Castle]

As a child he was put in special ed classes. He'd been diagnosed with add, Hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyscalculia. He found success in football in Las Vegas. He played high school ball. He was a four star. He was drafted in the seventh round and like we said, he bounced around from the packers to the Colts to the Chargers to the Ravens and then the Patriots. And then he retired with the Bengals. And he talks about why that happened with the Bengals in just a second. But here he is.

[Brandon Ray]

Lawrence.

[Matt Castle]

Scott. Lawrence. What's up man?

[Lawrence Guy]

How's it going?

[Matt Castle]

I Have a question. I've met a couple Lawrences in my life, and neither one of them wanted to be called Larry. Does anybody call you Larry?

[Brandon Ray]

Such a good start.

[Lawrence Guy]

I don't like Larry. I'll be honest with you. I can't say the reasoning behind it, but I will say it's only a couple of people really name Larry, right? Either your, your name is Larry, or it's only certain demographic where Larry's appropriate for. For short for Lawrence. That's just how I feel about it. I'm not gonna go too far into it. Me and McCourty twins have this whole thing about it because the brother's name is Larry. I meant, like, Larry's meant for certain people and ain't meant for me. I said, it's just not in our, our DNA to hear Larry.

[Matt Castle]

Okay, fair enough, Lawrence. Fair enough. Lawrence.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, you better call him Lawrence or he might come through that camera and come sack you. Lawrence. Well, congrats on incredible, incredible career. We know that you just announced your retirement this last week. Tell us what went into that. And that was that decision difficult for you?

[Lawrence Guy]

I knew when I was ready to go and always tell myself to walk away, and I had an opportunity to do that, and I was just like, hey, I was in Cincinnati. I was like. I said, I'm done. And it was just one of those things that you understand it and when you're able to just go, you're able to just go. And like I said, I got phone calls and said, you want to do this, do that. I'm like, you know what? I'd rather spend this time with my family. Enjoy. I was gone for 14 years, training away, because when you're there, you're there. But sometimes when you're at home, you're still thinking about the job and not, oh, I could have shut it off. You find ways to shut it off on those days off and everything to get it, but once you're kind of sitting around being around the kids, you realize how much you truly miss. And I always knew I was going to retire a patriot. It wasn't one of those things that, like, hey, what? No. And I tell people if I ended my 14th year in New England that last year, I would have retired right there. But I wanted to get that 14th credit. It was just something that I told myself it for years. And when I got out, I'm always going to come back and go do it in New England. I'm blessed enough that New England accepted me back to do that and honor me and honor My family.

[Matt Castle]

So when you mentioned that you were in Cincinnati and you were like, hey, I think I'm done. Was it a play, a game, or at the end of a season when you kind of had that moment of, yeah, I think this is it.

[Lawrence Guy]

You know what I tell people all the time, I won't be frank, frankly, with Cincinnati. I went to Cincinnati and I was like, this is how y' all do it here. They're like, yeah. I'm like, oh, okay, I get it. I've heard stuff. And I never thought in my life I was going to experience something like that ever again. And coming from New England, look, the athlete is first. In New England, they make sure we are taken care of, to make sure the family's taken care of. And we might not get the best seats for family section, but you're well taken care of. You're well respected. And when I was in Cincinnati, it's like, you're on the. You're the second hand of it. It's not like, hey, you come first and you come second. It's everything else. And at my age, I've gone in now 34 coming in there going into week three, I didn't appreciate the effort and the love for the game that it should have been put in with that team at that moment. I can't speak to what they're doing now, but at that moment with the coaches that they have and what I was experiencing, I was just like, this. This. I'm good. And I went in there straight off the back, the young guys looking at me, giving advice, saying, what can I do for you? Anything I can. And when you realize, hey, not everybody or every situation is the same as what you've been used to, you kind of get an idea like, okay, I get it. And look, I kept it quiet for a while about my experiences in Cincinnati, and most people love their experiences. I just didn't have a good experience. But then again, I'll spoil. New England is spoiled. Let's just be honest. It's just one of those things. You get food all day, you get the best treatments you could get. Like, it's a. It's a spoiled team to. To the player aspect of it. And like, hey, it just wasn't for me.

[Brandon Ray]

You know, you talk kind of about the culture of New England. I played in New England for four years, and I understand exactly what you're talking about, especially when I had that transition to Kansas City. But, you know, we hear all the time and we. A lot of people in the media use it the patriot way. And what does the patriot way mean to you? And how would you describe that to an outsider from an inside perspective, to.

[Lawrence Guy]

Break it down in that way? Because when people ask that question, I want you to look at the person next to you like, hey, if he messes up, would you make up for him? And your first mind is like, yeah, that's my brother. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that he's good. That's what we started going into the patriot way. I'm not going to do it for myself. I'm doing the person next to me, the person behind me, because they're going to make sure that they put me in the right places and make sure I made the right decisions. Even if I made the wrong decision, make the right decisions. It's been plenty of times when I'm sitting in there like, abrah, I'm going to stunt this gap. They're like, all right, cool. Again, the film. And like, who told you that? He told me in the back to do it. And we already had understanding that it was nothing there. Said if it worked out, it did. If it didn't, they knew they had my back. The same thing when Patrick Chung used to line up behind me. That's the safety behind me. And I looked down and I'll never forget, I turned my head and looked down on my light. I was like, don't worry, bro. They won't touch you. I'm going to take care of all this. Just go make the play. And that's when it comes down to that patriot way that we respect the person next to us. We work for the person next to us, and we sacrifice to make sure the team was ahead and we were going to win. Because sometimes you could be rolling. You look, in 2019, I was rolling. At the beginning of the season, I had a lot of tackle for loss, a lot of tackle for zero game. They looked at me and said, hey, we need you to help the team out and do a little bit something different, and it will go a long way. Same thing that happened in 2018. They did the same thing. I got understood because it was the opportunity for us to be good. Not just me, but us as a whole. And now we can start getting to the patriot way of, I'm going to get my lift in. I'm going to go get treatment. I'm going to respect the person holding that meeting. We're not going to interrupt. We're going to do what it could be done. And if we did have a Conflict. We could address that behind the scenes, not in front of the group. Because you're never trying to belittle anybody in front of your peers or to the other coaches. You're like, hey, we could talk about this in private. And we can sell all this, because, as you know, in football, we could get a little boxes, we could have personality, all that energy built up. It made no sense to do it in front of everybody, because all you're doing is turning everybody. That Patriot way is pretty much just respecting the person next to you as you kind of respect you, and you want to grow as a man on the field and off the field and then grow as a brother.

[Matt Castle]

You guys won the super bowl. It was McVeigh and Belichick. That Super Bowl. You guys beat the Rams. What's your favorite memory from that game?

[Lawrence Guy]

I tell people all the time, me and my daughter kissing Lombardi. But other than that, hey, who. Who's the running back? Anderson. What's his first name? Oh, I forgot his first name. But Buddy came downhill and ran straight into my chest with his helmet. And they all sat there and all got cheered on and like, oh, yeah, you did. I said, bro. I was like, he just caved my chest. And then we just got up. But it was these little moments like that where it meant a lot to everybody because we were doing something. And I was like, man, this hurt. And it was one of those biggest memories, like, hey, one, somebody stole my sack because I got. I got tripped by Dietrich Wise. This phone. Funny moment like that. But it was a defensive game. To be real with you. Hey, when you go in there, you get to play low score. They're going to try to run the ball. What they try to do. We stuff the run stopper, stopper like it is what it is. They. They stopped. You stopped to run. You get to see people make play like Jason McCourty. You can see make people make sacks like Kyle Van Noyce. It's one of those things that is great.

[Brandon Ray]

Talk about the mentality that you have to have to play the position that you did for so many years, because a lot of times it's a thankless job. Like you said, you're taking on two blockers. You're. You're opening up the seam for the linebacker to hit the gap, doing all those things. But talk about the pride of the mentality that you have to have playing the position that you did for so long.

[Lawrence Guy]

When you're a run stopper, you understand, for one, I thought I was the password for years at Least two or four years. And Terrell Suggs pulled me aside. I was like, hey, bro, you know how many sacks you got? I was like, oh, man, I got like four and a half sacks last year. He's like, yeah. I said, I'm averaging eight to nine sacks at minimum. He said, I'm a pass rusher. He said, you're a run stopper. I'm like, okay, I like to get you, sis, but I get it. But so when that mentality hit and I was with the Ravens, it was a mentality of that person next to you or in front of you got to feel that pain of you lining up being a run stopper because all you're going to do is get hit by two people or get hit from the side. They have to make sure that they're going to lead that game. Like, man, my head hurts, or, man, my neck hurts. It's a mentality of, I'm going to hit you harder than you could ever come to me and make sure that everybody else is clear behind me because my plays will come. Like, I'm averaging 45 to 50 tacos a year when it comes in New England. I was like, the place will come. But I understood from my place to come. I had to make sure that person behind me was making plays. I had to make sure that person on the line of scrimmage was going to feel all wrath of me putting my hand in the dirt and getting hit by multiple people.

[Matt Castle]

You mentioned CJ Anderson a minute ago and how he kind of ran through you at the super bowl. And that obviously hurts. I would assume. What other running backs would bring it where you're like, oh, my God, that dude is strong.

[Lawrence Guy]

Todd Gurley is like that. He was strong. Derrick Henry strong, Marshawn lynch, we all know what he was about. He couldn't piss him off. They usually tell people like, hey, if you make a good play, just, hey, good run. I said, just don't piss him off. He's gonna just run through it. Mark Ingram was the same way. Where he put his head down, you're like, God, like, buddy, you just hit me. But other than that, you got those finesse players like Shady Le'Veon Bell, you know, it's just these certain players, even if they don't bring the boom, you're just like, bro, I told somebody one day I had Le'Veon Bell in the hole. He was at my ankles. I'm shedding off to my backside foot to make the taco, and he jumps behind me and pulls back and runs through the gap. I was just in, I got yelled at on the sideline. I was just like, I don't know what you want me to do at that moment. Like that's just a teach tape of. This is what happens when somebody's super athletic. Like I can't do nothing with that. But when it came down to it, like, I've been hit some good amount of times by some, some really good running backs in my day. But I said that C.J. anderson, he didn't run me over, but he put his head in my chest and I like, I feel this one. It's probably one of those hits. I'm like, fill this one.

[Brandon Ray]

What about from an offensive line standpoint? Some of the opponents that you had to go up against, was there a particular guy or unit that you knew? Hey, this is going to be an all day sucker here.

[Lawrence Guy]

Pittsburgh. Yeah, Pittsburgh. The original Pittsburgh group pound, Steve Villanueva, Gilbert. It was like, hey, we're going, we're going to hit. And once you did it, like it was an all day thing. It was like that. Going against Donald Penn, the other penalty was the same way. Like I got all the really good offensive line. The same with Tyron Smith, the whole Dallas Cowboys offensive line, you're going to hit. I used to tell people when I got to New England and we were playing Pittsburgh, I said, look, I told you lines like, I don't know if you guys played up here before. I said, this is going to be a long game. You're going to get blindsided, you're going to get hit, you're going to be held. It is what it is. It's the way you supposed to play football. Smash mouth football. And I'll never forget, I'm running across the screen and my buddy Malcolm Brown was running and pouncing. Blindsided him in my face. This boom. And I just stared at him like, hey, you ain't going to get me like that, bro. And I looked at him, I'm like, you good? He said, where'd he come, Pastor Abraham? He flew across my face and got you. I said, he wasn't even looking at me. Like that was personal.

[Brandon Ray]

Did you talk smack when you were on the interior part of the line? Did you get after with those boys?

[Lawrence Guy]

I said, I said some weird and wild stuff. I'm not going to lie to you. Like, I'm all in. I'll have a full conversation with you at TV Timeout. I'll talk to you, have a full conversation with you, then go hit you in the next play or give you a little cheap shot or take out your hit from my guy. And I'm like, man, why'd you do that? I'm like. I said, well, we're friends. And I was like, but we're friends. It's okay. Like, we've been good after the game. But it was just one of those things. When you do it, it's funny, right? Because I had a good time playing the game. And I'm not one of those people that I'm going to end you. I'm going to do this now. I'm going to have a good time and go take you out the next two plays. Or I'm going to sit there like, hey, man, I'm going to run this. This te game or te game and take out your hip. Or like, we played into the tackle on double teams. I'm looking at my outside linebackers like this, by his ey, like two seconds, like, watch, I'm gonna take him out. I'm just gonna just clear him out, put him on the ground. Just what we did at that. That time. Like I said, it's old school D line. I'm not talking about 80s D line, 90s D line, but those 2000 D lines where you watch the film, you're like, oh, that hurt.

[Matt Castle]

I'm obsessed with cold weather in a bad way. And so when a guy like yourself, you grow up, you play in Vegas, you play at Arizona State. That's opposite of cold weather. All of a sudden, you're playing in Green Bay. I gotta think that's a bit of a culture shock.

[Lawrence Guy]

It sucked. It was terrible. I'll be honest with you. I hate the cold weather. But cold weather teams love me. I don't know what it is, cold.

[Brandon Ray]

Weather team, because I know they're gonna have to run the ball to get in that weather. And they need somebody like you to stop them.

[Lawrence Guy]

Hey, they said, November, December, we gonna start running the ball. Like, cool. That's what it was. But I dislike the cold weather. And I'll never forget who it was. Corey Ridding, he looked at me, he was like, look, I don't wear sleeves. I don't expect you to wear sleeves. It is what it is. We are D linemen. We're not offensive linemen. Offensive lineman can look all that sleeve and stuff. No, we go out there and we show them that we're tougher. I did that for some years until I want to say, was it year nine and year ten? We was in Buffalo when it was at negative eight Negative nine degree game. And I was just like, he lied to me. I don't know what he was thinking. I should have put sleeves on years ago. But it was one of those things you put. You put that Vaseline on your arms, try to clog your pores to keep you warm. It was nothing happening. I was like, man, this is ridiculous. And from now, I don't know why warm up? The teams don't love me. I'm like, I'm built for the warm. It's just the team throw the ball in the warm.

[Brandon Ray]

So early in your career, you bounced around a little bit and had to grind, right? You were on practice squad and all that. When did you feel like you actually arrived? And what was it that turned the page for you?

[Lawrence Guy]

The Ravens. So when I went to Green Bay, I got IR the first year. Then the second year, they brought in two more people. Coach flat out just looked at me one day like, hey, I didn't want you here. And I was just like, oh, okay. And I was like, well. And that was coming off, coming out of my rookie year. And I was like, bro. I was like, that's hard for a kid coming out of college to hear. And it was just something that was happening. So I got practice squad for. For three weeks there. Then when I was leaving, he. His whole way mode changed. Oh, we loved you here. We wanted you this. And I like, no, I. I have witnesses of people hearing what you said to me and had to confirm with the older people. Like, it was messed up and everything, but. So when I went to New England, I mean, when I went to Indy, I thought, it's a fresh new start, but Office Bruce and not Chuck. So when Chuck came back, everybody that Grayson brought in kind of just left. Then when I came back, I sat for three. When I came back, I went to San Diego with Chuck's brother, and I was just like, I don't know how this is going to really work out, but I've always been the GM's guy. But all that being said, I was just put in situations where it wasn't about talent. It was about, you're my guy. You're not my guy. And I popped my shoulder in training camp, and I played three games in the regular season. When they released me, the Ravens called Jarrett Johnson and said, hey, how is this guy? And he flat out. He said, hey, man, he's good. He's young. He has a lot of talent. He needs some place. When I got there, they flat out looked at me and said, hey. He put his name on the line for you. Hey, you disable you. When I went in there, I started understanding how to play real football, right? It wasn't the finesse, it wasn't the nfc, it wasn't the West Coast. I was real small, small football. And Elvis Dumaville came along and helped mentor me. Also was Chris Canney. And they were like, this is what we expect out of you. This is where we want to do it. We're going to make you into a really good football player because you have the talent. And they started clicking with Clarence Brooks and they're like, this is what we're doing. I started learning from Halodi Terrell, who taught me how to write a notebook and like, hey, this is how you take notes from every single person. Like with Brandon Williams, who was my best buddy on the team, he said, we're going to do this, we're going to grind it out. And from there I started going up and going up. And when New England finally gave me a true opportunity and said, this is what we're doing and we're going to hone your skills and let you grow and it shows from there. So that's why I say when I. When I. It's not about where you start or how you start. It's true about how you finish it. And that's the greatest thing I did. I got the opportunity, I took advantage of the opportunity. This is how I'm going to finish the end of my career. And I'm going hit on full force with everybody's support.

[Matt Castle]

You got two questions left. So my final question for you is. I was looking through your stats. You have one interception. Tell me about that one interception.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah, so. So if you. If you guys know about how. You guys know about how New England does the defense, it's a read defense. Like, you had to read everything. And like I said, In 2018, we went to our attack defense. We lost a couple of those games. The first couple of games against the Jaguars, Detroit, which didn't win the rest of the season because we was attacking everything. Stats were looking amazing, right? And we came into it and I got pulled aside like, hey, we need you to be like a two technique. And I'm like, why is it we need you to read? Because everybody else really can't do it. This is what we are. We can win the super bowl this way. I'm like, cool. So all that being said, we go into that 19 season, we're now still in that same effort of that read attack mode. And I'm Sitting there, I was like, look, I'm gonna get a tag. I'm on the edge. I'm like, I'm gonna jump the snap. I know the snap call. I'm gonna jump it. I'm not gonna read nothing. I, like, I told the person, I said, I'm jumping it. I was like, if they hit the S, save me. And I jumped the snap. Get to Cleveland Browns. I looked at Baker in the face. I'm like, oh, I'm gonna go get a SAP. I looked at him and I said, like, oh, he's gonna throw me the ball. I'm like, he ain't gonna throw this ball. Threw it. Caught it right here. And I'm like, this. I said, this. This. He threw me the ball. I said, this is wild. I said, this is gonna be an epic highlight tape. But I know this is going to go around the league from everybody in the world. Like how you let this big dude get an interception. You should have just took it and ran it or just took the sack. It was epic because in my head, I had this whole conversation. I'm like, I'm gonna get a sack. He ain't gonna throw the ball. He threw me the ball, and I think Landry tackled me. And I was just like, hey, bro. I said, we had dinner, like, four months ago after the Super Bowl. Why. Why did you talk on me? He said, I had to. I said, I could have had a touchdown. I could have six. I said, it should have been epic.

[Brandon Ray]

My last question for you, you obviously were there with Brady, had the super bowl runs and all that. And then you were post Brady and some of those down years. But now you. You watching. You're watching the New England Patriots. What are your thoughts of the current team, Coach Rabel, and the job that they're doing?

[Lawrence Guy]

I like them. I got to watch practice last Friday, and it was amazing on the chemistry that they're building there. And like I told Ray, but look, I see the brotherhood that you're building and the culture that you're recreating there, and it's amazing because it's one of those situations when you're playing in a team that has a very long legacy and rich history. You want to keep on with that, and you see that they're having fun out there. So it wasn't like, oh, we're going to get. No, they're having a fun fun. They're building it. They had. They make mistakes. They come back from the mistakes. Like I just told somebody, if you watch the beginning of that game, it was an interception, it was tackles for losses. But they kept going. They're like, no, we're going to keep it going. Miles have five sacks. That didn't stop the train. They kept going like, look, it is what it is. We're going to keep pushing that gas pedal. And they ranked up the scoreboard and that's what you want to see. And especially when you talk about their defense. The defense is his flying. Milton came in and is doing a phenomenal job. But that like the Tonga guy, he's just out there unspoken, which I love. He's disruptive, he's pushing out the pocket, he's making pressure just by presence. He might not make the play, but he's doing what it needs to be done. And now you've seen this culture being brought in. Like I said, this is, I said the beginning of this season. I see this team going to the playoffs and now you can see it coming true because they're like, look, they had the pieces, they need to put it together and they're putting everything together and then learning every single week. And that that young quarterback right there, like humble is what it is. And I've heard nothing but great things about him that how he's striving to be better and better every single game.

[Matt Castle]

Lawrence, we really appreciate the time. Congratulations on the honor. Getting honored this last week and just, you know, knowing and being able bodied after your retirement. I think that's such a big deal too. With so many of the, the guys that I know that have retired, even like Matt over here. He can still go a little bit.

[Brandon Ray]

I still go.

[Matt Castle]

He can still go a little bit. Yeah, yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm 240though, right now.

[Lawrence Guy]

That's good nowadays.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, that's good. A few pounds overweight. Yeah.

[Lawrence Guy]

Hey, hey, what are you telling me? In Cincinnati you could be £5 pounds over, £5 under. It's okay.

[Brandon Ray]

Okay, perfect. I'll take the five over.

[Matt Castle]

Lawrence, good to see you, man. Thank you so much for the time. Congratulations and hopefully we'll talk to you again soon.

[Lawrence Guy]

Yeah, thanks Lawrence. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

[Matt Castle]

See you later, man.

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[Lawrence Guy]

Hey this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero.

[Bobby Bones]

We're just here to try to give.

[Brandon Ray]

You an NFL perspective a little bit different.

[Lawrence Guy]

Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative.

[Brandon Ray]

And entertaining and twice a week that.

[Lawrence Guy]

Is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio.

[Bobby Bones]

App, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit toyota.com NFL now to learn more. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here and I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks. We take you inside the game. From scouting reports and player development to.

[Lawrence Guy]

Team building philosophies, coaching trends and how.

[Bobby Bones]

Front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk the to decision makers and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.

[Brandon Ray]

It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots.

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From college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow, we break down the draft, analyze matchups and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day.

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[Brandon Ray]

League year after year.

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Whether you're a die hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture.

[Brandon Ray]

If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you.

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Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm Marcus Grant.

[Bobby Bones]

And I'm Michael F. Florio and together.

[Lawrence Guy]

We host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.

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[Matt Castle]

What's interesting to me about what Lawrence was saying, because he was, you know, very direct about he didn't like it in Cincinnati because of the way that the team treated the players. And you again, we're in an interview, so I didn't stop it. And you said there was a difference. And even New England to Kansas City, I assume there's a difference from any team to team. Definitely from an outsider, it just seems like all professional athletes are treated like gods. There's unlimited food, the facilities are a plus. But the more and more that I learned, that's just not the case.

[Brandon Ray]

It's not the case. And not all these organizations are made the same. And when I first came in the league to New England, I mean, it starts as he was saying, it's a player first mentality. So from the food to the locker room, to the guys that work in the equipment room, to our training staff, our weight room, everything is player first. And so it helps cultivate a culture where you can concentrate on doing your job, you're taken care of, you have the masseuses, if you need those to take care of your body. But then all of a sudden you get to football, and football is so regimented and it's meticulous in detail and how you train the off season and what you're watching in terms of the film, even the off season. And then when I left there and I went to New. Excuse me, to Kansas City, it was completely different how they treated the off season. Like, we rarely watched film. We installed some stuff. Then when it was practice time, we'd go to practice, but nothing more than that. And it was a culture shock to me because I was trained to do it a certain way, go through certain progressions even. And when I'd ask those questions, like, we'll get around to that, I was like, when are we going to start breaking down the first game of the year. And this is being the off season because in New England we'd start prep, like just subtle prep to watch certain opponents that we're going to have early in the year. And none of that took place. And so that was hard for me to wrap my head around of, okay, I've got to shift my mindset. And then when you talk to guys like Carson Palmer, who was in Cincinnati, it was the same for him. That's why he wanted to get traded and held out that year and did all that because they didn't care as much about the player themselves. They said the food was terrible, the facilities, crazy.

[Matt Castle]

To me, the food, the most basic, the most fundamental part of being a professional athlete is fueling and preparing your body the right way. And you're telling me that there are certain places that just have lackluster food and not all the time 100% from.

[Brandon Ray]

Talking to number of guys that I've been around played with or against. There are organizations out there that it's just they're throwing cereal out there and bagels and that you don't want to eat for breakfast.

[Matt Castle]

It's a continental breakfast.

[Brandon Ray]

It's a continental breakfast. Whereas other organizations, when I was in New England, they'd have breakfast, lunch, and if you stayed late, you could have a dinner. And guys love that because one, they're fueling their body, they're taking care of themselves. But you're also putting the athlete in the best position to be successful physically. So why wouldn't you spend that type of money on your players? And some organizations are just cheaper than others.

[Matt Castle]

You know, they have the grades they put out every year and it's everything from how the team treats the family to the facilities, et cetera. I wonder if you looked at just the food and the offerings each team gave if that equated to poorly run overall organizations.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm sure for a lot of guys that would be number one. Especially guys that have been at a different organization that does a certain way and provides food in the right way. I have to order in food. It's ridiculous to think about that some organizations do operate that way.

[Matt Castle]

An unnamed person that I've spoken with played college football, I'll say at either Georgia or Alabama, and then they came to the Titans and their remarks to me were, we were treated better in college at said massive school than when we got here to the Titans.

[Brandon Ray]

It doesn't surprise me. There's, there's certain organizations that I've even been, been a part of. When we were in Eden Prairie for the Minnesota Vikings, the weight room was downstairs and it was multiple different rooms that you'd have to walk into to get. It wasn't this beautiful, vast weight room that you'd walk into and you'd be like, wow. And then you've been to like Oregon, you've been to some of these universities where you walk in and those are multi hundreds of million dollar facilities with everything at the disposal for the student athlete. You walk into Some of these places. And I was like, what in the hell is going on? It was a dungeon. It was underground. There were no windows in this weight room. Now, the food was good, but just overall facility. Now you go up to the Minnesota Vikings facility that they've completely redone. The Wolf family did a great job there. And I walk in, I was like, where was this when I was here? Like crazy. Even Dallas Cowboys. When I got there, I was still at the ranch. I told you that story. It was old, it was decrepit. The weight room was definitely old school weight room. And then a year after I left, they built the brand new facility out in Frisco. And when you see pictures of that, you're just blown away. So I know that these organizations, whether it's with their stadiums or with their facilities, are all. It's an arms race. And they're all always trying to make it better. And I think that they've definitely improved. But when you first came in the league, you could take probably the top 20 universities, if not more, and say those facilities are way better than anything you saw in the NFL.

[Matt Castle]

Did you have nice facilities at usc?

[Brandon Ray]

No, it was a dungeon back then, too. It was Heritage Hall. I guess they like me working out in the dungeon because it was underground. There was no windows. Again, multiple rooms for the different weight rooms and very small meeting areas. And it was not. It was not a life of luxury by any means. And now you're looking at. They're redoing their whole facility, even though they redid it probably like five, ten years ago.

[Matt Castle]

It sounds like everywhere you went, as soon as you left, they then improve the facilities. I think you might have been the problem.

[Brandon Ray]

Well, because I was writing in my Yelp reviews, I think this is what we need to improve. Anonymous, please. And I'd write it 50 times acting like it was the entire team. Yeah, it really worked out well for me.

[Matt Castle]

Do you watch that 18 inning Dodger game?

[Brandon Ray]

I got to about the 13th inning and I had to call Mercy. It was like 11:30 at night. And I was like, oh, my gosh, somebody score. Do something. And then I woke up this morning and watched the highlight.

[Matt Castle]

One of my friends that was watching a clip, I think, of last week, and you're wearing that Dodgers hat that I liked. I'm not a Dodgers fan, but I like the hat. And he said, hey, I noticed Matt Castle's Dodger hat. I said, yeah, airport. Got it at the airport.

[Brandon Ray]

Yeah, 100%.

[Matt Castle]

It was an airport Dodger hat. Great buy, too, but multiple People commented on how they liked the hat.

[Brandon Ray]

The hat was rad. Yeah. How about the Dodgers? I mean, are we watching Shoehe Otani? What he is. He's gonna be the best to ever play the game or watching like basically Michael Jordan. You can name any of the goats from any, any sport and he's going to be up there. I mean, you looked at his stats from the last two games. I think they said he was seven for seven, five bombs, two doubles, and then they intentionally walked him. There's no.

[Matt Castle]

You're not into my pitching, though. You're just.

[Brandon Ray]

I'm not even talking about pitching.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brandon Ray]

There's no bigger honor as a, as a hitter. When you come up, you hit two bombs and a double and they go, we can't pitch to him. Regardless, we're putting him on base and intentionally walk him four times. He was on base nine times last night.

[Matt Castle]

The only time that I saw that ever happen. I saw them walk Barry Bonds once with the bases loaded.

[Brandon Ray]

I did see that too.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. So, yeah, Ohtani's unlike anything we've ever seen. A little bit like, it's a kind of a tug of war on my head on the Dodgers because they basically have bought the all star team. And so baseball can do that because they don't have salary caps. And if you love your team and you have the money, you know, spend away. Yankees tried it a bunch. The Dodgers have bought the all star team. It's awesome. But the problem is, is that I like the players. I wish they were. I wish they were a bigger villain. Like, I like Freddie Freeman, I like Otani, I like these guys. And so, yes, so all of them that I'm going, man, of course they have this massive advantage because of all the money that they spent, but I kind of personally liked them all because they look like fun guys to be around.

[Brandon Ray]

And then just watching greatness happen, right. It's always something that you're probably on one side or the other. You go, oh, well, they paid for this. But how many other big market teams, whether it's the Yankees or any. Some of these large market teams, they're spending the same amount of money, but it's a guy that is a generational talent like Shoehe Ohtani comes up in the biggest moments and goes seven for seven in the World Series and. Or the last two games with five home runs and two doubles. I mean, even if you're paying some of the other players that you think are that upper echelon of hitter, they're not performing at that level at that stage.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, no, it's awesome. But it's also annoying.

[Brandon Ray]

So awesome. If you're a Cubs fan though.

[Matt Castle]

I am. That's why I say it's also annoying that I have to like them because I do like the players individually.

[Brandon Ray]

I know they're all likable. I mean, that's it. Freddie Freeman.

[Matt Castle]

That's what I'm saying.

[Brandon Ray]

What a stand up dude. I know he's going to want to hang out with.

[Matt Castle]

I'm tired of him glazing the Dodgers. So we're done. Okay, enough. Thank you guys. Be sure to leave us a comment if you're on Spotify. Sometimes I go look over in the comments section. If something you like, something you didn't like, leave a comment over there. We would really appreciate that. That's Matt Castle. Let's kick off. Kevin. That's Brandon Ray and Bobby Bones. We've had lots to say.

[Lawrence Guy]

Goodbye everybody.

[Matt Castle]

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.

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Like how I'm more than just Peyton Manning, I'm also motivating Manning.

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[Bobby Bones]

Lowe's knows Sundays are for football. So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on Cobalt power tools, Pit boss grills, LG appliances and more. Then once your to do list is done, get ready to kick back. Relax and enjoy the game. Shop in store online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's official partner of the NFL. Toyota the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit toyota.com NFL now to learn more.

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[Lawrence Guy]

This is an iHeart podcast.