Lots to Say: Super Bowl Champion London Fletcher

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Lots to Say: Super Bowl Champion London Fletcher" on The Bobby Bones Show

Released on January 23, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Bobby Bones Show, hosts Bobby Bones and Matt Castle delve deep into the intricacies of football, sharing personal anecdotes, analyzing recent games, and welcoming Super Bowl champion London Fletcher as a special guest. The conversation spans a wide range of topics, from the challenges of playing in cold weather to the dynamics of current NFL rivalries.

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Cold Weather Football: Challenges and Strategies

The episode kicks off with Bobby Bones discussing the difficulties players face during cold weather games. He shares personal experiences of playing in sub-zero temperatures, highlighting how the elements can affect both the players and the game itself.

[02:21] Bobby Bones: "I'm not going to lie. And I've been in games where we had one in Green Bay that was negative five at the start of the game. ... And then any anything under 15 degrees and when you have wind as a factor too it is just."

Matt Castle adds his perspective, relating it to his experiences with hunting in cold climates, emphasizing the discomfort and physical strain.

[02:01] Matt Castle: "Brutal. Yeah, just talk about that for a second. Meaning all I can relate it to is either hunting and it's still hunting miserable just sitting there up against a tree awful."

Innovative Solutions: Using Wetsuits in Football

A significant part of the discussion revolves around innovative ways to stay warm on the field. Bobby Bones recounts learning from Tom Brady the use of wetsuits to insulate the body during cold games. This technique not only keeps players warm but also maintains ball security by preventing the ball from becoming too slick in freezing conditions.

[03:36] Bobby Bones: "One of the tricks of the trade that I learned early on was from Tom Brady. ... And he said, I wear a wetsuit when the conditions are like this because it insulates my body."

Matt Castle draws parallels with his athletic endeavors, noting the benefits of wetsuits in cold-water triathlons.

[04:43] Matt Castle: "I did a couple Olympic triathlons and there's part of it where you swim the mile or so and you're in a wetsuit because it's freaking cold."

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Personal Anecdotes: Hunting and Early Football Days

The hosts transition into personal stories, with Matt Castle sharing his early experiences with hunting. He reminisces about learning gun safety and developing a passion for hunting at a young age, despite the challenges and mishaps he faced.

[06:25] Bobby Bones: "What a savage."

[06:26] Matt Castle: "I grew up in the woods in Arkansas, like my whole life. ... But from that moment, I never even had to have people go with me. I would just go hunting by myself with a .410."

Their camaraderie shines as they discuss the rough beginnings of their outdoor adventures, highlighting resilience and independence.

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NFL Strategies and Rivalries: Patriots vs. Chiefs

A substantial portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing the strategies and dynamics of top NFL teams, particularly the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs. The hosts delve into the controversies surrounding the Patriots, including Spygate and Deflategate, debating their impact on the team's legacy and public perception.

[17:57] Bobby Bones: "It was stupid."

[18:01] Bobby Bones: "We weren't cheating. They weren't cheating to a point where, oh well, they had all the answers. No, they just had a really incredible quarterback."

Matt Castle critiques the Chiefs' dominance, attributing their unpopularity to their consistent success and strategic gameplay, including Patrick Mahomes' controversial on-field antics.

[21:25] Matt Castle: "People like, I'm so tired of Travis Kelce. ... Patrick Mahomes probably strategically falling a little more than he needs to fall, man."

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Spotlight on the Washington Commanders and Rookie Quarterback Jaden Daniels

The conversation shifts to the Washington Commanders, lauding their remarkable season under new ownership and coaching. London Fletcher joins the hosts to provide an insider's perspective on the team's performance and the standout rookie quarterback, Jaden Daniels.

London Fletcher’s Insights

London Fletcher shares his journey from a Division 3 school to becoming an NFL analyst, emphasizing the importance of work ethic and resilience.

[43:07] London Fletcher: "As I got more reps and got more experience, that's when it kind of took off for me."

He commends Jaden Daniels for his exceptional work ethic, humility, and composure, highlighting how these traits make him a special asset to the Commanders.

[45:39] London Fletcher: "First and foremost his work ethic. ... You couple all those things with the gifts that he has and that's what makes him so special."

Team Strategy Against Rivals

Fletcher outlines key strategies for the Commanders to secure a win against their rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, focusing on defensive tactics and offensive consistency.

[54:01] London Fletcher: "Going into this ball game from an offensive standpoint, you're going to have to block Jalen Carter and figure out a way to get him blocked up and not let him disrupt the game..."

He emphasizes the need to limit explosive plays and create turnovers to gain a competitive edge.

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Player Endurance and Longevity in the NFL

The hosts explore the themes of durability and consistency in the NFL, praising London Fletcher's impressive streak of 215 consecutive starts over 16 seasons. They discuss the physical and mental strategies that contribute to such longevity, contrasting it with the high-maintenance approaches of modern athletes.

[43:15] Bobby Bones: "256, yeah, 256."

[43:17] Matt Castle: "Got to give him that extra 40."

Fletcher attributes his durability to natural physical build, consistent maintenance routines, and listening to his body's needs, rather than relying on expensive treatments.

[44:59] London Fletcher: "I was getting as many free things as possible through the team. I wasn't spending that million dollar."

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Final Thoughts and Predictions

As the episode nears its conclusion, the hosts engage in friendly banter with London Fletcher, discussing memorable moments, personal achievements, and future aspirations. They also share their predictions for upcoming key games, debating the potential outcomes based on team dynamics and recent performances.

[65:26] Bobby Bones: "I think Buffalo is going to go into Kansas City and win. ... I think they will."

[66:56] London Fletcher: "Because any quarterback, you're judged on your wins and losses, and particularly in the playoffs..."

The episode wraps up with reflections on the season's high points and the enduring spirit of competition that defines the NFL.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Bobby Bones Show offers a comprehensive look into the world of football through the lenses of seasoned athletes and a celebrated NFL champion. From personal tales of resilience to deep dives into team strategies and player dynamics, Bobby Bones, Matt Castle, and London Fletcher provide listeners with rich, insightful content that both informs and entertains.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Bobby Bones [03:36]: "One of the tricks of the trade that I learned early on was from Tom Brady. ... And he said, I wear a wetsuit when the conditions are like this because it insulates my body."

• Matt Castle [06:26]: "I grew up in the woods in Arkansas, like my whole life. ... But from that moment, I never even had to have people go with me."

• London Fletcher [45:39]: "First and foremost his work ethic. ... You couple all those things with the gifts that he has and that's what makes him so special."

• London Fletcher [54:01]: "Going into this ball game from an offensive standpoint, you're going to have to block Jalen Carter and figure out a way to get him blocked up and not let him disrupt the game..."

• Bobby Bones [43:15]: "256, yeah, 256."

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About the Podcast

The Bobby Bones Show is hosted by Bobby Bones from Premiere Networks. Known for its dynamic conversations and in-depth analysis, the show covers a broad spectrum of topics related to football, sports culture, and personal stories from athletes and industry insiders.

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Note: Advertisements and promotional segments were excluded from this summary to focus solely on the episode's substantive content.

Transcript

[Bobby Bones]

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[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

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[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

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[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

We got lots to say we got lots. Hey we're glad you're here and we.

[Matt Castle]

Hope you stay cause we got lots to say. Yeah we got lots to say. Now here's Bobby and Matt. It's like negative 30 as we do this podcast. The games this past weekend were like negative 30. The games coming up because we got one in Philly and one in Kansas City.

[Bobby Bones]

It should be cold again.

[Matt Castle]

Brutal. Yeah, just talk about that for a second. Meaning all I can relate it to is either hunting and it's still hunting miserable just sitting there up against a tree awful. Or like high school football but we didn't play in December right? It's same similar weather but it'll be cold. But like that looked miserable.

[Bobby Bones]

It is miserable. I'm not going to lie. And I've been in games where we had one in Green Bay that was negative five at the start of the game. We had one in Kansas City that was negative five. Even any anything under 15 degrees and when you have wind as a factor too it is just. It cuts through and you, you're warming up. And I still, to this day I give so much credit to those guys that can go out there and play without sleeves. Because I was one of those guys. I was like, there's no chance I'm wearing sleeves. I've got to bundle up. I've got to have the warmers in there. They put the heat packs inside the warmer, so there's little subtle things you can do, but there's just no getting out of those elements. And then in addition to that, it's anybody that handles the ball, the ball just changes dramatically. It's slick, it's hardens up. So you just from a grip standpoint and also those runners. You saw multiple turnovers this weekend and it was just a basic play, one with Lamar, one with the running back for the LA Rams, where they're just running with the ball and they. It's a simple hit that normally they'll hold onto the ball, but because it's so slick, it just comes out. So ball security is paramount. Paramount in all those type of situations.

[Matt Castle]

Adrenaline doesn't make up for the cold. That's a question at the end of the day, like, at what point it.

[Bobby Bones]

Does to a certain degree. And look, I've had teammates, they used to take a shot of something before they would run out. Just anything to get that blood boiling a little bit when you're running around. One of the tricks of the trade that I learned early on was from Tom Brady. And we might have talked about this before, but we're in the locker room, it's going to be a cold game. It's like 17 degrees outside, a little bit of wind, little bit of sleet. And I see him putting on a half wetsuit and I'm like, what are you doing right now? I've never seen it before. And he said, I wear a wetsuit when the conditions are like this because it insulates my body. And then he just would wear a little half sleeve over the top of it. But he was warm as can be. So I went to the equipment manager and asked if I could, and he's like, well, you're gonna have to pay for your own. I was like, I figured that. I figured I would, so I ordered one. And it is an absolute game changer because you put that on and it just. The heat is insulated inside your body and you don't feel the elements like you would if you just wore a normal type of cloth or anything that they have, even for these cold weather games. And I did that for the rest of my career in any cold weather games.

[Matt Castle]

That's interesting. I did a couple Olympic triathlons and there's part of it where you swim the mile or so and you're in a wetsuit because it's freaking cold. And you don't feel cold, your face feels cold because that's hitting the water.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

But the rest is warm. But then I think, how much can you actually move your arms? Because mine, obviously not meant for throwing, was super tight. Are there like, do you cut slits in certain parts of the arm or is it just a different type of.

[Bobby Bones]

Wetsuit so you could cut a slit underneath? But also it's all based on, I guess it's by the millimeter, the thickness of it. And so you try to get to a certain, certain amount, like I don't even know what it was, like, as thin as possible, thin as possible. Because then you still had the range of motion, the flexibility. Cause some of those that we put on early on, when I tried it on, I was like, dude, I can't even move. Like you said, you can't reach over your head. You're like, my throwing motion is going to be messed up. I'm going to be throwing like Philip Rivers out here sidearm. But once you find the right one, it worked out great.

[Matt Castle]

That's the move.

[Bobby Bones]

That's the move.

[Matt Castle]

Thinking back, I wish I wore a wetsuit when I was an avid hunter because that sucked ball.

[Bobby Bones]

Were you an avid hunter?

[Matt Castle]

Dude, I grew up in the woods in Arkansas, like my whole life.

[Bobby Bones]

Now I'm good deer hunting, turkey hunting, everything.

[Matt Castle]

Yes. Duck hunting, deer hunting, turkey hunting.

[Bobby Bones]

I love this about you.

[Matt Castle]

I got a 410 at 11 years old.

[Bobby Bones]

Wow.

[Matt Castle]

And.

[Bobby Bones]

And did they wipe the blood on your face and do that whole ceremony?

[Matt Castle]

No, no ceremony. It was mostly like my stepdad because I never knew my real dad. But my stepdad took me out at like 11 and, and we shot. And that was just him going, I'm teaching you gun safety without saying it's gun safety. And I remember going back, I went to school the next day and I had just a terrible bruise on my shoulder. I'm left handed. It kicked so hard. And they thought that I was like getting hit at home, right? And I was like, no, I'm learning how to shoot a gun. But from that moment, I never even had to have people go with me. I would just go hunting by myself with a.410.

[Bobby Bones]

What a savage.

[Matt Castle]

I guess. But look, I mean, how savage am I really?

[Bobby Bones]

No, but that's pretty savage to go out on your own as a kid and just go hunting in the woods.

[Matt Castle]

Like squirrel hunting, rabbit hunting. Sure. That was the environment, though. And, you know, from that to a 22, then a 20 gauge, then a 12 gauge, then a 30 out 6 once I got to be a bit older, so. And I knew how to use a rifle, right? Oh, yeah. Like, that's a whole version of me.

[Bobby Bones]

This is pretty, like, epic right now because this is a whole layer of the onion that we're just unpeeling that just gave you.

[Matt Castle]

Maybe you're unpeeling it. I. I feel like.

[Bobby Bones]

I mean, straight.

[Matt Castle]

Straight from Arkansas, people are like, you married to your cousin. You hunted your whole life. I feel like that's what everybody thinks.

[Bobby Bones]

To a certain degree. But again, like, with the way that you present yourself, is maybe not an avid hunter all the time?

[Matt Castle]

Oh, yeah. No. And I. But I don't anymore. I'm good.

[Bobby Bones]

Right? But I mean, I'm definitely going hunting with you because you're not. I don't want to get cold. We're going.

[Matt Castle]

My point was, I don't want to be. The best is duck hunting, because the action, it is awesome. And then we all fight about who shot the duck.

[Bobby Bones]

Right?

[Matt Castle]

And we had great duck dogs. Like, oh, dude, we had. I think I could write a book. I just did a podcast called God's Country Podcast. It's all about hunting. And we call my stepdad in the middle of podcast. Cause I knew he'd be in the woods, and they know me. And even then, they were like, that's. We talked bow hunting. We talked all of that. And they're like, it's just so weird to hear this version, right? They don't really turn it on, but if I would have had a wetsuit, it would have helped so much.

[Bobby Bones]

Were you one of those guys for, like, duck hunting that has the rings and the bands that they collect?

[Matt Castle]

No. So I'm gonna tell you why I wasn't cool enough. This is my quick story of duck hunting before we get back to football, because people don't want to hear my lame hunting stories.

[Bobby Bones]

I do.

[Matt Castle]

The first three times that I went out, I was a young kid. I didn't grow until, like, 11th grade. So I was very small, and I was wearing adult waders. I think two or maybe all three. First I fell in every time. And the water gets in your waders and you're miserable and you're done. I would just go back to the truck, take all my clothes off, and Be butt naked in the heat while they all were in the blind. It was terrible.

[Bobby Bones]

Or you're gonna hypothermia. I've had it happen one time where I hit a log underneath, slipped underneath. And it gets so heavy and you're so weighted down you're having to like walk. It's really heavy.

[Matt Castle]

Watery. Yes. Oh, it's the worst misery. But having a wetsuit to hunt in would have made it so much easier because like you say, having a wetsuit to play football and also like watching these guys, it looks. When it snows, that looks fun and novel. Like a heavy snow game. Difficult for seeing. But when it's really cold and it's not snowing, right.

[Bobby Bones]

That looks worse because the field is just. It hardens over as well. But when it's snowing and it's heavy snow, I actually loved playing that because why the defensive lineman and the traction that they get, they couldn't get off the ball as quickly, right? Because it was all about staying on your feet. Dbs couldn't react as quickly. So like your little slip screens. And even when you're throwing these timing routes like curls or in cuts, the transition that they have to make, Think about a defensive back backpedaling 10 yards you're running. And as long as your wide receiver can keep their feet and come, it actually opens up windows a lot more than you think. So I used to love playing in snow, but when it's just bitterly cold and there's no snow on the ground, they still get off the ball. They're still coming to hit you. And those hits feel a little bit different when you're playing in that type of weather.

[Matt Castle]

Not to look to the past, but just last week, whenever it started to snow, because that was. Was two games weather wise, cold and no snow. I talked about the Rams and the Eagles and then it started snowing pretty heavily. That second came down and as the Rams were kind of making their move back, it was one point of the game when Stafford was like, we're just going no huddle. Stafford or the oc. And that's when they really started to move the ball. When they were going no huddle, not giving the defense much time to adjust. You couldn't see, couldn't see. And they moved the ball every drive, right?

[Bobby Bones]

And they had a great game plan. And if it wasn't for the turnovers, they had the, the fumble. And then they also. Stafford got a strip sack in. In the pocket. And so the. The dynamics of that game with those two turnovers, that Was a changing point. But like you said, they had to go, no huddle at that point. They're down two scores, but you saw they picked up the pace. And what it does for a lot of those defenses is it simplifies the defense for the offense because they've got to get lined up right away. They can't make all these adjustments and dial up all these blitzes. And so it simplifies it for the quarterback. And if you can get on the ball and consistently move the ball, it's just all about taking the profit and moving. And they were able to go down in less than a minute or just over a minute score, put themselves in a position to where now it's one score game.

[Matt Castle]

I didn't know you played for Buffalo at all. And I saw that picture you posted, the Castle Bowl, Kansas City and Buffalo.

[Bobby Bones]

I was like, it's not really the Castle Bowl. Let's be honest. They got two really good quarterbacks, and they're probably really happy with their situations.

[Matt Castle]

So, as you said, you didn't know I was a hunter. I didn't know you played for Buffalo. What was the tenure there?

[Bobby Bones]

It was a cup of coffee. I got traded from the Vikings to Buffalo. I was under Rex Ryan. I was there for the first two weeks of season. Tyrod Taylor actually started in front of me. That was the game where. The first game of the season, for some reason, they want to do this trick play. They put me at quarterback. I took a shotgun snap, handed it to the running back. Tyrod Taylor came around on a reverse, and that was the extent of my playing time. But I did get the start and we did win. So technically, I deserve the win on that, even though Tyrod Taylor did all the heavy lifting in that game.

[Matt Castle]

Okay, well, then it all evens out, because if Brady gets the win, right?

[Bobby Bones]

That's what I said.

[Matt Castle]

I said, so when you went in, you got the win for the.

[Bobby Bones]

I should get the win for the Tyrod Taylor. And then we played the Patriots. The second week. I get a call. I get into the locker room after a Monday practice. We got blown out by the Patriots. And I get a call. And my agent had called me 10 times, so I waited to get in the car. I get in the car, my wife's 34 weeks pregnant, and he says, are you sitting down? I'm like, yes, I'm in the car. What's going on? He's like, you've been traded to the Dallas Cowboys. So I was there for the first two weeks of season. Romo gets Hurt. I get traded to the Dallas Cowboys. I'm on the first thing, shipped out the next day to go to Dallas. And that was the extent of my Buffalo.

[Matt Castle]

Two weeks with the Bills.

[Bobby Bones]

Two weeks.

[Matt Castle]

Do you keep a jersey with every team you play for? Generally, if you're a player, yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

I thought. I felt a little guilty about keeping a jersey because I wasn't there for even three games, so. But I would have loved to keep a jersey. I have jerseys, I think, from every organization I played for other than Buffalo. So if they're listening, could I. Could I get a jersey?

[Matt Castle]

Can you request balls during cold weather games? At any point, a change of ball, can they keep the balls warm? Like, what's the rule there?

[Bobby Bones]

They tried to. They tried to. On the sideline, you'll see the ball, boy, and they'll be covering it. And then the biggest thing for me always was I'd tell the ref who's standing over the ball to set the ball in place if he could cover that up. Because when it's snowing and all that, now you're dealing with a wet ball in conditions if they could kind of keep it dry to a certain extent, especially when it's raining. Raining's the worst to play in. Every quarterback has nightmares about playing in rain just because of ball security. Taking the snap, as simplistic as that sounds, becomes in your mind, you're like, just don't fumble the snap. It's the most basic play in football. But you're always like, you're worried about it and it's so you're. I would always talk to the ref about just holding over and a lot of those guys were cool about it, but sometimes they just leave it out there and let it roll. And you got to deal with the conditions.

[Matt Castle]

There really are no advantages weather wise because Buffalo's at Kansas City. Both cold weather teams, right? Both outdoor cold weather teams. And then in Philadelphia, the commanders are going. And again, cold weather teams or outdoor.

[Bobby Bones]

We play outdoor all year. We've dealt with elements before.

[Matt Castle]

I guess the only advantage would be if that Philadelphia commander's game. And I don't think the forecast has it, but if it was like a lot of snow and you had to just ground and pound, I think Philly would have the advantage there based on their running game.

[Bobby Bones]

Right? And I think that's the biggest advantage for Philly in last week's game was Saquon Barkley, right? He had the 44 yard run. He had what, the 70 yard run? Or maybe it was a 60 yard run and a 70 yard run and then Jalen Hurts had that first touchdown. That was a 44 yard scamper. That's what they're built to do. That offense runs through Saquon Barkley and you're going to have to stop the running game first and foremost because they haven't shown throughout the playoffs or even really throughout season that they have wanted to be a pass first offense. They've got the weapons to do so, but at the same time they, they know their formula for success. They're going to play stout defense, which they've got one of the best in the league, if not the best in the league. And they've got a tremendous offensive line and they've got a dude in the backfield that they trust. So the advantage would be there because I do like Brian Robinson for Washington, I like Eckler. They have depth, but the dynamic of their offense, it starts with Jaden Daniels, his ability to throw the ball downfield, which he did an exceptional job last week against Detroit. But then they counter that with the run game. So it kind of works hand in hand. They do both. And the interesting part about Washington's offense is so much of it is if you're going to match numbers on the outside, right, two over two, then we're going to run the ball. We have a lighter box. If all of a sudden you have a numbers advantage on the outside, you're going to three over two. Well, now you're going to try, excuse me, three over two, outside, you're going to run the ball. All of a sudden you use. You leave the numbers matched up and you don't want to extend that linebacker out. Well, they're going to throw that bubble. So it's always this option where they can throw that slip screen like they did to Terry McLaurin early on. He broke the long touchdown run. It's an interesting way in which they attack and then when you got somebody that special that can do it with his arm and his legs, they'll give him an opportunity.

[Matt Castle]

America loves a winner until the winner wins too much. Then America hates the winner. And we saw this with the Patriots. I love a dynasty. I love a great player like I love a LeBron. I love a Jordan. I love the Patriots when they're winning. I love the Chiefs when they're winning. Because it's rare in our lifetime that we get to actually experience greatness, right? Unless it's like a rival team, like, I'm into it because there's seven or eight times in your life where you really get to see somebody or something dominate consistently because there are levers in place that are pulled to not allow domination. A salary cap, a. You could go through all the different reasons.

[Bobby Bones]

When you win the super bowl, guess where you're picking. 32.

[Matt Castle]

Right. Another perfect example of a lever that isn't helping the team stay the best. And the Chiefs in a vacuum are not a dislike team in a vacuum. I mean, they didn't win the last two Super Bowls. They didn't win the Super Bowl a couple years before that. They are just a team playing for a Super bowl this year. They are not an unlikable team, but because they've been winning so much, they have now become an unlikable team. The same with the Patriots. People hated the Patriots. Hated the Patriots, hated the Patriots for no other reason that they continue to win. And with the Patriots over the two versions of their two dynasties that ended up being one dynasty, you know, there was probably between Kraft and the NFL, no love loss. We saw that in the documentary 100%. And there were things that shifted America's perception of the Patriots. Fair or unfair. I think Deflategate was stupid.

[Bobby Bones]

It was.

[Matt Castle]

I think Deflategate was so stupid. But it doesn't mean America doesn't think that the Patriots were cheaters.

[Bobby Bones]

Cheaters. Well, we also had Spygate, and that.

[Matt Castle]

Was the one, though, that probably is real, though. So Deflategate was the stupid one that I felt like was so uncalled for. I could. The suspension was dumb. All of it was dumb. Deflategate, you know, Spygate.

[Bobby Bones]

Spygate guy.

[Matt Castle]

Probably something there. You kinda.

[Bobby Bones]

You got something there. You kind of got caught with your pants down. There's video evidence. I was there. And the crazy part about that was 2007, we're like the third game of the season we had. Absolutely. We're going into the third game of the season, I think against the San Diego Chargers at the time. And all of a sudden this news breaks and I didn't know anything about this, but they're coming off of three Super Bowls. And then we had missed the super bowl the last two seasons. We went to. We won in the divisional round last two seasons, but got knocked out.

[Matt Castle]

So you weren't there for the first three.

[Bobby Bones]

I wasn't there for the first three.

[Matt Castle]

Right. Okay, got it.

[Bobby Bones]

So when I got there, we went and I think to the divisional round and lost to Denver. Next year, AFC championship, lost to the Colts. And then it was that next year in 2007, where all this stuff about Spygate comes And it was the biggest story out there. Obviously, a team that went and won three Super Bowls in four years, dominated the league and is a perennial powerhouse. They've got off to a great start. The jets, you know, say what they did. Mangini, who came from the Patriots, probably knew the inner workings of what was going on. Sign sealing, everything. And everybody had their version. Well, it would be a lot, really easy if the quarterback was to tell me that a cross dog's coming in the middle and our lineman can pick it up right away. Well, you don't have that much time at the line of scrimmage. But from that point on, we went undefeated that season and then we went to the super bowl and we lost to the Giants in that Super Bowl. But it was incredible to see the resiliency of that team because there's so many distractions going on. Everybody's calling them cheaters, everybody's saying this wasn't legit. And then to go on that run the way that they did and for Brady to play the way that he did that season and set the NFL record at the time for TD passes, it just went to prove like, there's more than what it looks like here. We weren't cheating. They weren't cheating to a point where, oh well, they had all the answers. No, they just had really an incredible quarterback. The best of all time. They had the best coach of all time and they had a veteran leadership across the board.

[Matt Castle]

Why do you think Deflategate then mattered so much? Because it was so sensational. Like it involved such another dynasty. Good looking, Tom Brady. Deflated balls are fun to like, play. That was such a crock. I felt like it was a Croc even then.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, the funny part about it was they switched the balls out at halftime. He threw for more yards after they switched the balls out. So whatever it might be, but coming off of knowing what you know now about Spygate, and then you go and you have this other huge scandal about, oh, you're deflate. Deflating all the balls, you're not playing by the rules again. It was just another reason for people to say, oh, look, see, I told you, they're cheating again. They're cheating again. So they already were a hated franchise because of the winning aspect. And then you add on these different major stories and elements. You could take it any which way you wanted to in the media.

[Matt Castle]

And my point with the Chiefs is, again, in a vacuum, they're not hated, but because they have won a lot. And then you throw in the factors of Taylor Swift with Travis Kelce.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

People like, I'm so tired of Travis Kelce.

[Bobby Bones]

Quit showing her at the games.

[Matt Castle]

And then it's, I'm so tired of them. On every commercial, Patrick Mahomes probably strategically falling a little more than he needs to fall, man. Even flopping at times. Like the one was real bad last week on the sideline, right. The other ones, he slides, just slides, like strategically, like.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

He's playing within the rules. The flop though, was a little over the top flop.

[Bobby Bones]

And they didn't call that one to their credit.

[Matt Castle]

That's true. But still we saw it.

[Bobby Bones]

But the one that in the first quarter of that game is third and eight, he overthrows the ball, he gets hit. And when you look at it, I could understand in real time, it looks like it's a helmet to helmet, but at the same time, when you go back, it was just a normal hit that you have to be able to take and understand that's what you're going to do as a quarterback. And they called it in. 15 yards penalty. It then equates to points for the Kansas City Chiefs. And those are major calls in these type of games. Because every series matters. When you go down and if you get 15 yards and you're able to extend, extend the drive and get off the field or get off the field as a defense, it changes the dynamics of the game completely.

[Matt Castle]

I saw a statistic based on people saying the Chiefs get all the calls, that the Chiefs had more penalties called on them than the other way around.

[Bobby Bones]

Interesting.

[Matt Castle]

But the difference is when the Chiefs get even the smallest break, just justifiably so, or not, they take advantage of it better than other teams.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

So when they get that flag and they do it, turn that into a touchdown, that's what people remember. Because you, let's say you get a 15 yard penalty, one of these, you know, helmet to helmets, and then you end up punting three plays later. Nobody really remembers.

[Bobby Bones]

Nobody remembers it. They're like, oh, that sucked. But at the same time, you score.

[Matt Castle]

And it's a big part of the game.

[Bobby Bones]

It's a big part of the game. Puts points on the board and everybody's like, oh, they get all the calls. But again, that's part of the game. They're trying to protect every quarterback in that, in that way. It just is. Patrick Mahomes has a microscope on him. He's really good at the play, like you said, where he flops and he does a.

[Matt Castle]

Or like slows down.

[Bobby Bones]

And even the one where the two defenders Come over the top and collide basically with each other. Well, he's doing all that stuff and he became a runner. And so when you become a runner and then late drop, you have to take that into account, in my opinion. But it's hard for those referees who are saying protect the quarterback. We saw it early on in the season when Jacksonville quarterback Taylor.

[Matt Castle]

When Trevor Lawrence.

[Bobby Bones]

Trevor Lawrence went down. Yeah, Trevor Lawrence went down and got absolutely. Oh, dude.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

I was sitting there going, oh, yeah.

[Matt Castle]

That was a tough one.

[Bobby Bones]

That was a tough one to swallow. So, I mean, and there was so much notoriety that came along with that and the protecting the quarterback. So I understand where the refs are coming from, especially with a superstar like that.

[Matt Castle]

Also, those two flags, they both looked like what the penalties were, right. Like it wasn't some egregious call that was that the solo helmet to helmet. It looked like he got hit in the helmet. Now, did he get in the chest and also got his face mask? Yeah. Whenever you slow it down and look at it slow.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

So the call was probably wrong. Ish. But it was so close that it's hard to go that refs are cheating for Kansas City.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, that's the thing. We get the benefit of watching the replay 15 times and being to analyze it. Did he hit his chest in all the angles? In all the angles. They're sitting there out there in real time. And if you were to replay it for me and I'm standing behind Patrick Mahomes and watching it in real time, it looks like a helmet to helmet. I get it. When he slides and he goes down, you see two guys converging on him and just go, whammy. You see the contact, you hear the contact, but you don't really understand that those guys hit each other and he got out of the way with just maybe a slight glancing blow. But everybody that's watching on television is saying, that's ridiculous, you know, And I understand the point of view from the ref. And that's always the hardest thing for the fans to understand. They're watching in real time and have to make a split decision.

[Matt Castle]

And some of those calls, you can't go look in your little screen. You're not allowed to reverse, right?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. They're unreviewable.

[Matt Castle]

Does Mahomes beat Allen in like, what is like the 11th version of this? Does he do it again?

[Bobby Bones]

I think that they've said that they've played eight times, four times in the playoffs and you know, everything goes through Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes has established himself as one of the greats of our game just because of his winning record when he gets the playoffs. I think since he's taken over as starting quarterback, they've been to the AFC Championship game every single year. Every time, every single year. They've won three Super Bowls. And so for Josh Allen or guys like Lamar Jackson, this is the type of game where you have to go and knock the king off of his throne. I mean, and that's the only way that you prove yourself in this league. Because at the end of the day, for any quarterback, you're judged on your wins and losses, and particularly in the playoffs, because Josh Allen could be a remarkable player. Lamar Jackson could be a remarkable player. But until you go get that super bowl, people aren't going to remember you in history other than being a great player. But you go out into Kansas City, which you've proven you can win there in the regular season, but now you have to do it in the biggest game of the year to kind of set up your legacy, so to speak. So if you can go do that, you're playing the best football you've ever played in your career. If you're Josh Allen, you've got a team that can go in there and compete. And now you just have to go do it and put yourself in a position to go compete for a Super Bowl.

[Matt Castle]

I feel like the boogeyman for Lamar was last week. He's three and five in the playoffs. It's just win in the playoffs. But the real boogeyman for Josh Allen is this week, because it's Patrick Mahomes, right? Lamar has trouble winning playoff games. Josh Allen has trouble beating Patrick Mahomes in the postseason. Postseason. So he's now facing his boogeyman this week, right?

[Bobby Bones]

Because you've got this incredible matchup, just like last week was between Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. And now you go and you get two of the best quarterbacks in the game once again. And again, it goes back to slaying the dragon for Josh Allen. He's got to go in and he's had trouble, and this team has had trouble. It's got to be in the back of their mind. Now, these teams are all different. I think They've only got 13 players that returned from when they first played in the playoffs against Patrick Mahomes. But at the same time, they know that this is the biggest game. It's going to be in Kansas City. Those Kansas City Chiefs fans are. It's going to be a hostile environment. They're going to be Loud. It's going to be hype. And so the pressure's on. Buffalo Kansas City knows that. They've been there, they've done that. They have confidence. They've played in so many close games this year that they just have figured out ways to win. And that's. I don't think that they're at the caliber of team that they've been in the past coming into these situations. Just if you look at them from an offensive standpoint, the explosiveness that they. They've shown in the past versus this year, however, they still figure out ways to win. And that's the mark of a good team. And you've got a guy, Patrick Mahomes, with Andy Reid that has proven that in their track records. Proven that time in and time out.

[Matt Castle]

NFC Commanders playing with house money at this point, right?

[Bobby Bones]

I love it, man. I love it. Did you ever envision them?

[Matt Castle]

No, no, no. For two reasons. One, it's a rookie quarterback. So until last year, we really hadn't seen a rookie do what Stroud did last year. But Jaden Daniels has now supplanted him as the best rookie quarterback season of all time. And so, no. And also their colors are slow and their logo sucks. And so, no, I can't see. And a lot of their logo sucks. They've never won with it. And so I just think of that as just a losing logo.

[Bobby Bones]

They haven't been to the championship game in the NFC championship game since 1991.

[Matt Castle]

Was that like Mark Rippen years? It had to be, right?

[Bobby Bones]

It had to be.

[Matt Castle]

Had to be the Hogs and Mark.

[Bobby Bones]

Rippon and all those guys. Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

I mean, so the pressure's on the Eagles then because the Commanders are playing with house money, right?

[Bobby Bones]

Think about this new ownership, new coach and Dan Quinn, rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels. Phenomenal. They won four games last year. They come in, they go 12 and five. They get in the playoffs. Everybody's like, well, they got to go to Tampa. You know, they're the seventh seed. All these things go down. Be Tampa now. You're going up against a juggernaut. 15 and 2 Detroit Lions at home Stadium State. Everybody's hyped. I mean, nobody can stop this machine that they have in Detroit. And they go out in somehow some way, create what, four turnovers? Four or five turnovers in that game. They capitalize on everyone. They had three fourth down conversions in the red zone to extend drives and get touchdowns. Jaden Daniels plays out of his mind and I'd say the defense had a bend, but don't break mentality. They gave up over 500 yards of offense, but they capitalized when they needed to and created turnovers. That really the first turnover, the strip, strip sack was huge. They're on the 20 yard line, first and 10 at the end of the half. Jared Goff steps back another first and 10 on the 30 yard line to go get points, to kind of build that momentum before you go into halftime. Throws an interception there, throws the pick six in the second quarter. I mean, so there was all these different elements and it was a complete team win. But Jaden Daniels, the way that he played, I mean, the dude is unfazed. The poise, the confidence. He doesn't look like a rookie. And that is unbelievable for a guy to step into on those different stages and just look unfazed by the moment.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. My question about how composed he is, because he looks wildly composed even for not a rookie in those situations.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

Because it looks like he's dialed in, he's focused and it's not affecting him in a way of like, I just imagine his heart is just chilling, you know, because when your heart rate gets up, you're reacting more than you're thinking.

[Bobby Bones]

And responding and you're rushing through your reeds and your throats feel like I.

[Matt Castle]

Can feel his heartbeat watching him. And he goes like this.

[Bobby Bones]

It was nothing to him. And that's what I'm saying. Like they had to convert. I think he threw two touchdown passes on fourth down. Those are big time moments for any quarterback. You're in there, you could be in the moment. And when you're locked in the zone, that's one thing. But for any quarterback, you feel those moments. And plus in that type of environment, when the stadium, everybody's screaming, they know the significance of what's going on and that you're just like, no big deal. Another walk in the park, Boom. Hey, suck on that. I mean, it's pretty remarkable.

[Matt Castle]

And for him to have the ability. Cause there were a couple of short 4th down plays where he just ran it around the edge, right. Cause there was nothing. They couldn't stop it. Of course, you know, and that was. It looked to be an option, meaning he had like three options. And it was so easy for him to. Because he's quick. He's fast, but he's quick.

[Bobby Bones]

He's quick.

[Matt Castle]

And there's a difference, right? Yeah. It was pretty amazing to see who's a player you think of that you played with that had poise to where you're going. Is that person even a Human.

[Bobby Bones]

I mean, the easy answer obviously is the first guy I ever played with and was in the room with for four years was Tom Brady. I mean, when the situation called for it. And he was at his best in those two minute drills and we rep those two minute situations all the time, but it was just methodical for him. He knew how he wanted to call it, where he wanted to go with the ball. And the thing that's hard, I think for a lot of quarterbacks is that risk, reward. A lot of times we want to push the ball down the field, get as much as we can right now. But he was so steady and consistent. And I remember one time my rookie year, we're in Pittsburgh on the road, two minute drill to go set up a game winning field goal. All we needed was a field goal, I think. And he just took check down after check down after check down because they were playing zone coverage, they're trying to get depth guard against the big ball. And just his diligence in that situation and his composure to see the field and not get greedy and just continue to take the profit. And he understanding like, hey, we've got to get up on the ball, clock it, get everybody set up, go take the check down, take the check down. But these are 5, 10 yard chunks and all he was doing was moving us down the field. Now there were plenty of times where he saw all of a sudden they're bringing pressure, he's going to take the shot down the field and do that. But he was so good and so composed in those situations that he was unfazed by the moment. And it was almost like he thrived in those moments and those are the exciting players to be around. Even Stafford was another guy that I played with in Detroit. It was amazing because we were behind a lot late in the game and he. And that's the toughest thing is it's when you don't, when you just need a field goal that's easy. Like for us we got to get you to the 30 yard line or whatever the guy's range is. And the coach will come in here and be like, hey, we gotta get to the 35 yard line to kick a field goal. When you're down by a touchdown, all of a sudden it ratchets up a lot because you just don't have the time. But when you're down two scores and the defense knows you've got to throw and they're coming off the edge, how do you respond in those moments? Because your sense of urgency goes up and Then if you can go down and put that one score on the game, I mean one score, make it a one score game and then your defense got to do its job and get the ball back. Those are when you're really tested as a quarterback, when you're down and you've got to come back for multiple scores late in the game.

[Matt Castle]

At London Fletcher coming up, back in a second. Playoffs. We're talking about playoffs. You bet we are. Get in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Scoring touchdowns is key to winning in the playoffs, and you can score big by betting on them at DraftKings, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Ready to place your first bet? Try betting on something simple like a player. It's a score 6. Go to the DraftKings sportsbook app and make your pick new. DraftKings customers can bet $5 to get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use the code DK1. That's code DK1 for new customers to get $200 in bonus bets Instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings sportsbook, the crown is yours.

[Bobby Bones]

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[London Fletcher]

And resort, Kansas 21.

[Matt Castle]

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[London Fletcher]

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[Matt Castle]

In Ontario, bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance.

[Bobby Bones]

For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co Audio Foreign.

[Matt Castle]

Fletcher he is now an analyst for the Washington Commanders radio team. Joined the broadcast team in 2022. Wanted to play a few clips from the game last Saturday night. Commanders Radio Network with Bram Weinstein London Fletcher they're on the call. This is second quarter. The Commanders had a pick six from Quan Martin. Here you go.

[London Fletcher]

Pressure up the middle.

[Matt Castle]

Golf has time.

[London Fletcher]

Throws. Oh, that is picked up.

[Matt Castle]

That is picked up by Quan Martin.

[London Fletcher]

20 by 2015.

[Matt Castle]

10 5.

[London Fletcher]

Pick 6.

[Matt Castle]

Touchdown. Touchdown Washington. Quan Martin.

[London Fletcher]

And the inaccurate throw leads to the Quan Martin Drive down 8 mile bending cornice and swerving into the end zone of the Detroit left.

[Bobby Bones]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Matt Castle]

That's fun. That's awesome. I love home team broadcast now because they just get to do what they want to do as their home team. That's super cool. Here is the game ceiling pick by Jeremy Chin for the Commanders snap.

[London Fletcher]

The Golf steps up. Good pocket throws in the middle.

[Matt Castle]

Picked off. Jeremy Chin's got it. That's it. Celebrate like it's 1991. We're going to the NFC championship game.

[London Fletcher]

This is the Motown, the home of Motown. Tonight, they're be playing the blues, baby.

[Matt Castle]

All right, here he is, London Fletcher. I'm sitting here listening to a biography of a quarterback who played you for, like, 10 minutes. Castle's like, dude was everywhere, like, every. He was talking about everywhere you played, like. So I just kind of want to pass it over to Matt to start. But just know if your ears were burning or your nose was itching, like my grandma used to say, like, I was here in 10 minutes of how dynamic of a defensive player you were against this guy over here.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, I'm your biggest fan, London. I mean, I was sitting there, I was like, he was one of the toughest middle linebackers to go up to against because he was sideline to sideline. He was instinctive. He knew route combinations and would jump stuff. But he's also had the speed to get down the middle in that Tampa 2 defense that you guys would always play. So I am an absolute huge fan, and I was actually looking at some of your stuff, and did you really run a 4, 38 when you were coming out of college?

[London Fletcher]

I did, and I've been messing with Fred Smooth. He does some shows with me here in Washington, and I tease him that I was faster than him in the 40, and it kills him.

[Matt Castle]

How did you.

[London Fletcher]

He told me it was that John Carroll. It was only 38 yards, but no.

[Matt Castle]

Why do you think you weren't drafted at 4, 3, 8 with your size? Because it wasn't like you were 120 pounds, like you had size. Why weren't you drafted, you think?

[London Fletcher]

Well, because it's Division 3 school. You know, being playing at Division 3, being undersized at the linebacker position. So I'm 5, 10 coming out of college. I was. I played my senior year maybe 2 32, 35, and the competition. So, you know, people are looking for reasons to. To kind of knock you if you're undersized and you play the Division 3 regardless of the speed. Because I thought based on my productivity and how fast I ran, man, I thought I was getting drafted in the third round. I was like, okay, they're gonna draft me in the first round, but third round seems logical.

[Bobby Bones]

Was that something that you used as motivation when you went into your career? Obviously, you're trying to make the Team early on. But once you do that and you establish that was that year in, year out something that you always had a chip on your shoulder, motivation that you use in the back of your mind to just excel and continue to push week. I mean, week in, week out, year in, year out.

[London Fletcher]

It was for, I would say, probably, let's call it maybe my first five, four, five or six years in the league. I would always try to look for something to give me an edge, some reason. And I held onto that for a long time, no doubt. I can remember my first year starting in St. Louis. It was my second year in the league. And ESPN the Magazine had a preseason kind of roster preview where they would rate all the starters, offense, defense, and then the special teams guys one through five, five being the highest, one being the lowest. And I'm looking at this magazine, I was all excited, hey, I'm a starter, and I want to see what they say about me. And they rated me a one. It's like, if London Fletcher is starting on this team by Halloween, we'll buy you a car. And so I'm pissed. I mean. And I put this magazine on my coffee table the entire season. So I ended up starting all the games for Washington. Our defense plays extremely well. So they did a postseason edition of the same magazine. Now they're previewing all the postseason teams and we make the playoffs. And then they rated me like a four. And they was like, hey, if London Fletcher is not the leading tackler in the postseason for this team, we'll buy you a car. And I told later on that we ended up winning Super Bowl. So I had my media day and I was like, man, espn, y'all owe me a car. And I wanted to be a Rams blue Mercedes Benz. So I definitely use those things as motivation.

[Matt Castle]

One of my good friends is DeMarcus Ware. And you know, he did not play to Power 5, now Power 4 school. He played at Troy, but he grew a lot in college, like, substantial growth. Scottie Pippen esque, where he grew like six inches when he was at Central Arkansas playing basketball. And DeMarcus, yeah, DeMarcus was like, I grew so much and I was already working really hard that things just kind of fell in. Where for you did it click physically coming out of high school? Were you undersized or where in college did physically it start to make sense for you?

[London Fletcher]

I would say I was from. I probably stopped growing my senior year. So I went to college at 5:10. Never grew. I would say just the. I was raw from a football Standpoint, once I got to college, I only played one year high school football. I was a basketball guy up until my senior year. I only played the one year high school football, then didn't play football initially, again, until what was my third year in college. And so as I got more reps and got more experience, that's when it kind of took off for me. Initially, I'm just surviving off my raw athleticism and talent, but once I was able to learn defensive schemes, offensive schemes, and understand kind of the game a lot better, that's when it really took off for me. As I got to the pros, got great coaching, and my knowledge of the game elevated even more. And it was, I would say, probably my fifth, sixth year in the league where your athleticism and your knowledge of the game and that's where, where it just really took off for me. And I was playing, playing my best football during the middle of my year, my years in the NFL.

[Bobby Bones]

London, you are the epitome of an ironman. I mean, 16 seasons, 215 consecutive starts.

[Matt Castle]

256.

[Bobby Bones]

256, yeah, 256.

[Matt Castle]

Got to give him that extra 40.

[Bobby Bones]

Got to give you the extra 40. 100%. What do you credit that to? Because in today's game, with guys like Derrick Henry, LeBron James, you know, they spend a million dollars a year on their body. How did you stay healthy, stay on the field? Did you always play through injuries? Like, what were some of the things that you did to stay on the field?

[London Fletcher]

I'll tell you the one thing, I wasn't spending anywhere near close to a million dollars on my buddy. No, man, I say this the way I was made. God kind of built me in a compact where it helped with the game of football. I never really had those catastrophic injuries where guys can do everything the right way and you'll have a guy blow a knee out. We just had Sam Cosby, you know, a great player here, and he's doing everything the right way and gets his knee rolled up, blew out his acl. I never had those type of situations, but I did do a lot of the maintenance stuff, whether it was the massages, the cold tub, hot tub, the dry needling, the art rest. Rest was big in my, and my repertoire. Getting my rest and just really listening to, to my body. If I felt a little something a little, a little out of whack, maybe dialing them back in practice, going to get with my chiropractor or my, my person who worked on my soft tissue or the trainers. So it was a lot of, a lot of those types of things that I did. But I was getting as many free things as possible through the team. I wasn't spending that million dollar.

[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

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[London Fletcher]

Don't delay.

[Matt Castle]

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[Bobby Bones]

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[Matt Castle]

Play hundreds of games including online slots, bingo, Slingo and more. Live the chumba [e-mail] VGW no purchase necessary, void or prohibited by law. Seek terms and conditions. This is a wide open question. Jaden Daniels, what makes him special?

[London Fletcher]

I think first and foremost his, his work ethic. And we all, you know, know people who work hard, especially at the quarterback. I think, you know, most quarterbacks, they have you in order to excel, you have to work extremely hard. But it seems like he's for a young guy. He came in here already with a tremendous work ethic and he knew he had a routine already mapped out where he's getting in here at 6am, getting on the virtual, the VR stuff and getting all those extra reps. The work ethic and the humility that he carries himself with. He doesn't get too high, he doesn't read his press clippings. He didn't come in here feeling entitled, thinking that, hey, I'm the number two overall draft pick, former Heisman Trophy winner, this franchise has been wanting a franchise quarterback for forever. I'm going to be that guy. No, I'm going to come in here, earn it, earn the respect to my teammates with my work ethic and continue to operate in great humility and, you know, just let my natural God building ability take over. And you know, you couple all those things with the gifts that he has and that's what makes him so special.

[Bobby Bones]

When you think about the Washington commanders just even a few years ago and the bad rap that they got with ownership and just the team itself not having a tremendous amount of success. And then this year it's new ownership, new head coach with Dan Quinn, Jaden Daniels, did you ever envision them being at this position that they are right now competing for an NFC championship when you started this year?

[London Fletcher]

No, no, no. I'd be lying if I told you I thought that I would say this when, when the new ownership group came in and they've They've done a lot of, they've provided a lot of resources for the, the, not just the football team, but the organization to have success on and off the field. Hiring Adam Peters as a general manager, then you go out and you hire Dan Quinn and the staff that they brought together. Being intentional with the players that they put together. I felt like this team would be extremely competitive. There's something that our fans will be proud of to where whether win or lose, they will be proud of the product that was on the field. But for us to have the season that we've had and win 12 regular season games going into Tampa Bay, win a playoff game, then going to Detroit knockoff, the number one scene, and got this game coming up against the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC championship, man, that's beyond my wildest dream and probably a lot of people around here wildest dreams as well.

[Matt Castle]

I think about Austin Eckler a lot. Not because he gets the most carries, but because when you have a rookie quarterback, leadership, veteran leadership is really important. Coming from a lot of different places. Getting guys like an Echler, how important are they? Whenever you're quarterback is so young, it's extremely important.

[London Fletcher]

And you mentioned Austin Eckler. I think getting the veteran center and Tyler Bish is. Was key too. Matt, you play quarterback and it's a lot so much on your plate. But if you can have a veteran, especially at that, that center position who can help calm things down, get the protections right, be a calming presence for you. Tyler Bennett has been a, a really underrated signing having you mean. You mentioned Austin Eckler bringing in a Zach Ertz guy who played in Kliff Kingsbury offense who's kind of an extension of Cliff on the field where he can help Jaden and different things. And having even not just bringing in the veteran guys, but having a guy like Terry McLaurin who's such a great leader and one of the guys that a lot of people that his teammates respect so much. So having the right veteran guys on the scene, they were intentional about adding the guys that they did to this football team, especially the free agents that they brought in.

[Bobby Bones]

Now this, this game coming up, we got the Philadelphia Eagles. Do you hate the Philadelphia Eagles as much as any Washington? You know, you've got the rivalry right. The history is there, but oh yeah, do you hate them or is it just like the, the media, the fans, everything else?

[London Fletcher]

Hey, hate is a strong word, but professional hatred I would say. I mean it's a, it's an extremely strong dislike in this NFC east, the rivalry with the Cowboys and us, that's probably the most storied because it's a lot of the great teams, they've won Super Bowls, we've won Super Bowls, especially in the 80s and 90s when we were both riding high. The Giants as a rivalry, but the Philadelphia, that rivalry hits a little different because you go in there, you feel like you're in the enemy's territory. You can feel it. As soon as you come out of that stadium, come out of that tunnel, their fans let you know how they feel to ride into the stadium on the bus. They're going to throw some things at your bus, some eggs and some other things, and they're going to one finger salute you, and it's going to be an electric environment. And I can't wait to be a part of it. Just, you know, I get to call a game. But, man, I can't imagine what those players are going to be feeling because this is a heated, heated rivalry, especially this season, where, you know, we beat them once, they beat us once, and this is a rubber match, and this is to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. It doesn't get any bigger than this.

[Matt Castle]

What's the buzz like in the DMV right now?

[London Fletcher]

Oh, it's. It's palpable. Like, you can feel it. We're out in Ashburn, which is, I don't know, 30 miles west, I guess, of the city. And you can feel it all the way out here. Just the energy. You're all over the place. I mean, like the fans. You see so many people wearing their commander's gear, talking about the game, anticipating the game. Our fans have been great in traveling. I would say 25% of the stadium in Tampa were our fans. Probably 15 to 20% was the same in Detroit. And it's a lot of people going to be going up to Philadelphia to support us. But is it is. I mean, it's unlike any that I've experienced since I've been here in Washington.

[Bobby Bones]

For a team like the Commanders, Bobby and I were talking about this a little bit too, that it's kind of like they're playing with house money. Do you think is from a player's perspective, that kind of takes a little bit of the pressure off. You know, you're the underdog, nobody expects you, but we just have to go out and have something to prove.

[London Fletcher]

Well, here's the thing. They don't view themselves as underdogs, and Dan Quinn touched on it. I felt like that even going into the Detroit game, where they don't go into games feeling like, hey, we're the underdog's house money, we got nothing to lose. They go into these games expecting to win. And that's a different type of approach. That's a different type of preparation where, like, no, we belong here. We're a damn good football team. You know, this whole Vegas or whatever, they had to put out their point spreads and all that, but those point spreads, they won't help you between those white lines. They won't take one snap. And these guys go in there with a great deal of confidence, and they're confident because of their preparation. They're confident and confident because of how they prepare. They're battle tested. They've had five or six games that have all come down to the final play. They're confident because of the way Dan Quinn prepares these guys week in and week out. So they don't feel like they're playing with house money. They feel like they're. They're excellent football team and they deserve to be here playing for this moment.

[Matt Castle]

I was deep diving London Fletcher because I know mid dive, I know shallow dive, but I was deep diving London Fletcher, and you have three touchdowns. You keep any of those balls?

[London Fletcher]

I did, yeah. They're. They're at the house. Yeah. You definitely got to keep your touchdown balls.

[Bobby Bones]

Did you.

[Matt Castle]

Did you remember to keep them or did somebody go get them for you afterward? Like, do you lock it as soon as you score a touchdown? You hold on to that thing?

[London Fletcher]

Oh, defensive players, we're going to always hold on to them. Now, offensive guys, they can. They can forget to hold on to. To a football. I've seen guys score their first ever touchdown and throw the football, and then one of their. Their teammates has to go retrieve that football. You don't have to worry about that with a defensive player scoring a touchdown, we going to take that thing to the sideline with us, and we might even take it to the locker room with us. We're gonna hold on to that football.

[Bobby Bones]

London, what's your keys to success against Philly? Philly, obviously, they can run the football. It all runs through Saquon Barkley. They've got a dominant defense. But what's the keys, both offensively and defensively for Washington in this game if they're going to go out there and pick up a win?

[London Fletcher]

Yeah, I think, you know, going into this ball game from an offensive standpoint, you're going to have to block Jalen Carter and figure out a way to get him, you know, blocked up and not let him disrupt the game because he's a, he's a major difference maker for them being effective against the coverage that Vic Fangio is going to throw at you. He's going to make it tough against the quarterbacks and they don't have to, you know, bring eight men in the box to stop your run. Then they're going to sit back in that quarters, cover that two shell look and be able to play coverage, but got to be able to block Jalen Carter both in the run and against the run in the pass game. Get that run game going and then let Jalen be special from a defensive standpoint. Stopping Saquon and you're not going to stop him, but slowing him down, really limiting the explosive plays that he's going to have. Being a gap sound getting out of your. Getting off of blocks, playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. And when they decide to throw the football. I don't know what type of condition and shape Jalen hurts is going to be in. I know he got a little banged up injury, but you're going to have to be sticky in coverage. They got two great wide receivers and you know, we're going to have to have to limit those guys as well. We can come out of here with two or three turnovers and, you know, do those things. I think we, we come out of there victorious.

[Matt Castle]

One final question for you. Are some stadiums a little nicer when it comes to warmth when you're calling the game and what's Philly like? Is this going to be cold? Are you going to be cold?

[London Fletcher]

Some stadiums are definitely nicer when it comes to the. The setup they have for you depends on like, I guess, how it's set up, so to speak. We called a game in Philly obviously this year, but that was mid October, November, I can't remember. It's been so long and the weather wasn't terrible. I remember doing a night game there two years ago. It was a little cooler. So I may, instead of taking my jacket off, I'll have my jacket on and maybe a beanie. But some State is definitely. The Friendly Confines are a lot, a lot nicer and the setup is a lot better. But Philly, it's a decent view, but I could imagine it being a little bit cooler that day.

[Matt Castle]

It's hard to talk. Teeth chattering. I've been there. That is tough.

[London Fletcher]

Definitely.

[Matt Castle]

Hey, we appreciate you coming on with us. We were listening to some of the calls from last week. Man, I love home team broadcast because you get to be the home team. And I'm sure they don't put any restrictions on you, on not being like, you got to keep it down the middle. Like, you get to go you, right?

[London Fletcher]

Oh, no, they London just be you. That's what they tell me. Just be me. And I love that, that I can showcase my personality. And you mentioned would have been a home broadcast. You can show your bias. I'm going to be fair. I'm going to call it like I see it. But when great plays happen, which there have been a lot of great plays in this season, we're going to be excited and I'm going to express that and let the fans know exactly what I'm seeing and how I feel about those. Those plays that take place.

[Matt Castle]

Well, we really appreciate you. Thank you so much for, for the time. And what, what, what are the command. Do they say? What do the commanders say? What's like, their thing? Go con. I mean, people say go.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, but I like that.

[Matt Castle]

What is it?

[London Fletcher]

Anybody, anytime, anywhere.

[Matt Castle]

I'm not like, cool enough to say that or strong enough or like. Yeah, but you guys both could pull that off.

[Bobby Bones]

I don't. I don't know if I could. I mean, you used to hunt in the woods by yourself at like 11.

[London Fletcher]

Yeah, I can't remember right now. I'm half sleep. I'm sleep deprivation. All right, get somebody anywhere, anytime.

[Matt Castle]

Well, get some sleep.

[London Fletcher]

London body anywhere, anytime.

[Matt Castle]

Thank you. We're rooting for you guys and hopefully you'll be in New Orleans in a couple weeks.

[London Fletcher]

All right, thanks.

[Matt Castle]

All right, Lonnie. See.

[London Fletcher]

Ch.

[Bobby Bones]

Ch.

[Matt Castle]

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[London Fletcher]

Void.

[Matt Castle]

We're prohibited by law. Seek terms and conditions. To think that he runs a sub 440. Ran a sub 440 is one.

[Bobby Bones]

It's wild. I mean, because if you're a legit wide receiver. Yeah, a 44 is legit.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

Even guys that run a 4, 5, they're like, ah, he's got size. That's fast. Yeah, but a 4, 3, 8 and then listen to him say, I started playing football his senior year, senior year.

[Matt Castle]

Wild.

[Bobby Bones]

Wild. Because there's so much that goes into. As he was explaining, learning the game, understanding your role on the defensive side of the ball. What, what a four, three defense is a three, four. You can get a general understanding in high school, but then all of a sudden you step up a level and go to Division 3, and then you're right into the pros. It's a crazy story.

[Matt Castle]

And they say the best ability is availability and durability. And to play that many games in a row at such a high impact position, any position, that many games in a row. But to play linebacker, Right, that many. I don't think he ever missed a game. I know he had that streak of starts. I don't think he ever missed a game in his career. Pretty wild. I think about running the 40 and I pulled the tape of mine. Yes, but I. But I did mine a couple years ago. When you ran the 40, did you combine?

[Bobby Bones]

No, I just went to. I never started. So I went to the. I went to our pro day and I go in the first day. It's funny, I walk in the guys. I was like, yeah, Matt Castle, my senior. And he goes, yeah, I don't have you on my list. I was like, well, I'm trying out. All right, I'm trying out. They said it was an open tryout for the players. So he's like, well, they already started the Wonderlic test, so you can get in there. There's about 15 minutes left. I don't know how long they'd been taking it for. So I scrambled in there, did this, and so I go through and. And we got to the 40. And so I was. I trained my butt off for this, right? And I was like, oh, man, I'm going to run fast. Get out there. And I mean, there are a ton of scouts there because we were loaded at the time with different prospects and everything. So get out there in the line. Adrenaline's going. I put on my buddy's track, track shoes, thinking, oh, yeah, I'll cut off a few seconds. I think I ran like a 4, 8. 8. I was so disappointed. I was just like, oh, maybe a four night. I have no idea. But it was not my best performance. I must have got up, you know, popped up too early. They talk about the mechanics. I worked with like a track. A track coach that was like, okay, you got to stay out, dig for the first five yards. And slowly I was like, maybe I'm just not that Fast.

[Matt Castle]

Were you human timed or were you some. Mechanically timed?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, I'm going to go with human because if I was mechanically, it definitely would have dropped from there. But I crushed my agility drill. 3 cone. I did do that.

[Matt Castle]

I've heard the legend of your agility drill lives on.

[Bobby Bones]

That's really what. What got me. Got me some play.

[Matt Castle]

Reed, what was my time? What you're at University of South Carolina in the practice facility. We ran with the running back. I ran pretty good. It's pretty good.

[Bobby Bones]

A four eight, three. Where did you train for this?

[Matt Castle]

I train every day, bro.

[Bobby Bones]

That's really impressive.

[Matt Castle]

So I would think probably closer to 4, 9. No, I'm giving myself. He was probably a little fast, but we have it all on tape. We have. We fully taped it. Yeah. I felt pretty good, but it was not like my third try. Like I didn't nail it the first time.

[Bobby Bones]

That's okay.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

You still ran a four eight.

[Matt Castle]

I will say four nine.

[Bobby Bones]

No, you're rounding down. Don't you know decimals? Like I. I work.

[Matt Castle]

No, I. I hear.

[Bobby Bones]

I work with my kids all the time. You ran a 4 8. That's really impressive.

[Matt Castle]

I felt pretty good also. I felt like my hamstrings were going to rip out of my legs because. Because I was going too far.

[Bobby Bones]

It's worth it. It's worth it.

[Matt Castle]

We do have it on tape.

[Bobby Bones]

And I actually want to see this.

[Matt Castle]

You don't. I don't look very good doing it.

[Bobby Bones]

Nobody looks good running. I love the slow motion video. Sometimes when they show these guys at the combine, their faces are just contorted and there's. And there's.

[Matt Castle]

Tom Cruise looks pretty good running. Like he's kind of nailed the movie running.

[Bobby Bones]

He has. And he's just. He's pretty good at everything. I mean, flies his own plane, does his own stunts. It's pretty remarkable what he's able to do. I would love to play. I mean, if I was any action figure, he'd be a pretty good one to be the Mission Impossible movies too. Love those.

[Matt Castle]

Was there ever a moment in your career? Because here you are, star athlete, good looking dude, tall guy. That's. They were like, hey, why don't you do some acting when you finish here?

[Bobby Bones]

No, not really. I just never got into it. Even though my mom's kind of in that business. She's a set decorator who's been in that business for 25 years. She probably is my biggest promoter of me going into. Maddie. Maddie, you should go try. You've Got the face for it, this, that, and the other. I was like, nah. Well, no, I haven't. I've done. I did a one commercial with Danny McBride for K. Swiss. That's about the extent of my acting.

[Matt Castle]

What was that commercial? Now, that's a video, I gotta say. Talk about videos we need.

[Bobby Bones]

Now, that is a video. It's not necessarily kid appropriate. And they called me and K. Swiss said, we're gonna do the case Swiss Tubes. It's. We're gonna try to market this thing. We got Danny McBride. He's gonna come up, and he played his character from eastbound and down. So he was in full character. We did this. This shoot, and if you see it, you're gonna understand what I'm saying when I say it's not kid appropriate. Because the stuff that comes out of his mouth and all the different visuals that he has from his office is absurd and really, really out there in terms of humor.

[Matt Castle]

So we will put up as a video clip of both his vid. I'll watch it after, but we'll put it as part. You know, part of it is. And then we'll put me running my 40 at South Carolina, but only the last one. Reed. I don't want the slow. The slower ones. Like, we have to definitely put our best foot forward.

[Bobby Bones]

Absolutely. We only take the best time anyway at the combine. So you should do only the best one. I mean, how much slower were you? Just kind of building up?

[Matt Castle]

What? Yes. In that. I was afraid I was going to tear my hamstrings. So I think the first one, I ran like a five two. And I was like, oh, I have more in the tank.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

Like, I knew I had way more in the tank, but I'm not 25. And so the second one, probably closer to five. And then I just thought, ah, screw it. I'm going as hard as I can, and if I pull a hamster, then I just pull up. And I didn't pull up. And it's a pretty good time.

[Bobby Bones]

I can't even imagine running a 40 at this point, but I was in an adult softball league two years ago, and I hit a weak grounder to third, and I was like, I'm going to leg this out. Pulled my quad muscle. Never pulled a muscle in my life. Pulled my quad muscle. That's when I started to feel old. I was like, what a loser. I was hobbling down the base path, just going, oh, what a.

[Matt Castle]

Did you like it out? Were you safe?

[Bobby Bones]

I got there. I got there.

[Matt Castle]

That's all that matters.

[Bobby Bones]

That's all that matters. You know, I'm a maximum effort type guy. I'm going to give it all, lay it all on the line for the team.

[Matt Castle]

The two things people know about you just from hearing from around town, just walking around town is the guy does a heck of an agility drill and he legged out.

[Bobby Bones]

Those are my two promising things that I have going for me as an.

[Matt Castle]

Athlete going into this weekend. Pick a winner, both sides.

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, gosh, this is, this is fun. I do believe that Buffalo is going to go into Kansas City and win. I just, I think that they've got the balance with the run game and James Cook defense. I really like their defense and I just haven't seen the production, as I said before, that scares me with this Kansas City offense. So I'm going to go with Buffalo. I'm sorry, but it's hard, it's always hard for you to pick up, pick somebody other than Kansas City in these situations because they've proven it so many times that this is when they thrive and they're when they're at their best. But I think if there's ever a year for somebody to knock them off, I think Buffalo can do it and I think they will. And then when you talk about Washington at Philly, I think Philly is going to win. I just think the physicality of that offensive line, offensive line, Saquon Barkley and I don't think the defense is talked about as much. That defense are a bunch of dogs out there. I mean, they're really, really good defense. And it's going to take a maximum effort by Washington to beat them, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Because the way in which they run the ball, the reason why they won last week was because of the five turnovers that Detroit had when they run the ball. And they're effective as they are in Philadelphia, one, they, they keep the ball out of Jaden Daniels hands. But two, they don't give you the same opportunities that Detroit gave Washington last week because they just don't throw the ball at such high volume.

[Matt Castle]

Wise man once said, to be the man, you gotta beat the man.

[London Fletcher]

Woo.

[Matt Castle]

That wise man is Ric Flair. Love him. And until you beat him, he's the man. It's Patrick Mahomes, it's Kansas City. I don't see how they lose. I think they go out, play eight man and win somehow magically. Kansas City doesn't lose in Kansas City. So. And then I think shout out London, thanks for coming on. But I think the Eagles are I think we have a rematch.

[Bobby Bones]

Yep.

[Matt Castle]

A couple years ago.

[Bobby Bones]

It's going to be awesome.

[Matt Castle]

To conclude this, have you seen the chiefsaholic documentary?

[Bobby Bones]

No. Good.

[Matt Castle]

As a former Chiefs player who understands Chiefs, Kingdom. And also, I grew up in small towns, and the Chiefs are a small market team.

[Bobby Bones]

Right.

[Matt Castle]

So Buffalo is a small market team. And the passion in these small market areas, it's massive because it's really all they have as far as, like, athletic teams like Kansas City. They don't have a basketball team. They have a baseball team, but they're one of these, again, least funded baseball teams in the majors. They're spending no money.

[Bobby Bones]

They're spending zero money.

[Matt Castle]

So, Chief's Kingdom, there's a guy named Chiefsaholic who dressed in full wolf costume, and I don't know if he was there when you were there. I'm not sure how long he's been this guy, but it's the story about him robbing banks.

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, I remember reading this.

[Matt Castle]

Yes. And that's all I remember, too, was the guy that would go to away games and rob banks on the way to away games so he could pay for his trips.

[Bobby Bones]

He's got beer money.

[Matt Castle]

It's way more than that.

[Bobby Bones]

Is it so good?

[Matt Castle]

It's so good.

[Bobby Bones]

It took a long time for them to catch him, too. Right.

[Matt Castle]

I don't even want to spoil it.

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, boy. I mean, I can't wait to get my wife.

[Matt Castle]

If my wife was like, would I like it? I would say for you. For my wife, I would say, I would give it three and a half out of five. For my friends, I would say four and a half out of five.

[Bobby Bones]

Really?

[Matt Castle]

It's a little long because it's almost two hours. I had no idea some of the stuff that was happening, It's. It is crazy.

[Bobby Bones]

Yes. I cannot.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, it's on Amazon. It's called Chiefsaholic. What if they said, okay, you got to put a team on your headstone? What team would it be?

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, boy. I've always had a lot of loyalty to the Patriots because they gave me that opportunity when I don't think anybody else would have everybody like, hey, we'd love to bring in as a free agent, this, that, and the other. And then to get that phone call and say, we're going to take you because we're going to give you this opportunity, but we're going to use our last draft pick on somebody that never started a game and saw something in me that maybe didn't see in myself, and then to develop me the way in which they did and allow me to learn from a guy like Tom Brady. And then when all the stuff went down in 2008 and Tom goes down the first game, we went kind of up and down early in the season, win, loss, win, loss. And to stick with me and just allow me to ride it out and grow throughout the season, not only as a leader but as a player. And we end up having success. And that really catapulted me and extended my career because look, I was. That was the last year of my rookie contract. If I don't play that year, I don't know if I'm still on a team or we're even sitting here talking. Right. And so the loyalty to Bill Belichick, the Kraft family, to just them being the organization that they were and have been and allowing me to come in there and give me my opportunity, I've always had great loyalty to that.

[Matt Castle]

So Patriots.

[Bobby Bones]

Patriots. Should I have just said Patriots and not explain the whole thing?

[Matt Castle]

I'm happy.

[Bobby Bones]

So you're going with Patriots.

[Matt Castle]

No, I just. I'm curious as to where your loyalty and you can have multi loyals, if that's even a term. But you. That answer makes a lot of sense.

[Bobby Bones]

Okay, so if you were to give. Same thing for you, the biggest influence in your career to like get to where you are early on or throughout that you'd say, you would. You'd say, I'd die for this person. Or I would give whatever I need to give to pay back what they offered me or advice, whatever it might be. It's probably a really difficult question to answer considering all the people you've met throughout your career. But somebody that's had such an impact.

[Matt Castle]

On you, it's somebody I've never met. I never had a mentor and I never really had anybody go, I believe in you. I'm going to pay you a bunch of money. It was more like, okay, prove it, wise guy. Eat a little goober. But I would say David Letterman, never met him is my hero because he was an odd. I could see something that resembled me and that he was an oddly looking guy for television, irreverent and was from middle America. I was from the south, but he wasn't from like New York or la. And he wasn't slick. And I just thought because I would have watched David Letterman, I was like 8. I never had a bedroom growing up, so I slept on the couch my whole life. And so I would watch TV all night and so I would watch that show and not even get the jokes and go like, that's the guy that is telling me that I can do this. So I never got drafted by Letterman, which would have been cool. It'd be cool if he'd been like, we're taking you the fifth round. I'm like, of what? But Letterman is that guy who, if it's put someone's face, I'd just have him sketch out a Letterman on my. On my headstone.

[Bobby Bones]

Little Letterman on.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

I love that.

[Matt Castle]

One day. Although he's getting old, but so am I.

[Bobby Bones]

You're gonna have to do this quick. Yeah. Cause he is getting a little bit older.

[Matt Castle]

But it's all my. So we all are.

[Bobby Bones]

We all are. Day by day.

[Matt Castle]

Blink of an eye. That's it. Thank you, guys. Next week, another episode. These episodes come out on Wednesday. We actually are a little late on this one because Matt went to the national championship game, which ended up being kind of exciting at the end.

[Bobby Bones]

It did. It did. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. 31 7, midway through the third, I was like, boys, get your coats ready. Cause if they score again, we might be leaving. Yeah, we're gonna be traffic. Look, I'm a big fan, but my. My loyalty. Look, I was a Trojan, right? And so my loyalties weren't to either one of these schools. But at the same time, when it gets out of hand like that, it's kind of like it's difficult to watch. But I'll tell you what, the Old Faithful for Notre Dame, you know, they. They came back, they put a score on the board, and then they got a stop. They go down, drive, and then they missed that field goal. And I was just like, oh, could.

[Matt Castle]

You hear it hit in the. In the. Oh, you could hear the thing.

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, 100. And then it ricochets backwards. You know, sometimes they, like, Rick. I was just like, oh, my gosh, that is not good. I just. At that point, I didn't understand. Why don't we just take another shot at the end zone? Like, you're still two score game. And then they had another great drive that hit the big play down the field.

[Matt Castle]

After the turnover, though, you're like, hey, that field goal, if that went in, and it would have actually worked out. Yeah, that's fun. That's exciting. I saw you teach your boys.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, it's the boys, man. I mean, I know growing up, I went to, like, one professional football game. I went to one Notre Dame SC game with my grandfather, but we didn't really go to a lot of sporting events, and. But I vividly remember those. It was like one of those special moments that you go and you're like, gosh, this is so cool. Be in a stadium, be in the environment, feel the energy. And so I was like, it's in Atlanta. It's not far from us. Drove up on Monday, went and got set up at the hotel and took the boys there and they enjoyed every minute of it.

[Matt Castle]

Man after producer Kevin O'Connell. Reed Yarberry over there running the video. He's Matt Castle. I'm Bobby Bones. We'll see you next week. We have had lots to say. Bye, everybody. Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart podcasts. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Bobby Bones]

The stadium bathroom line. It's like TSA and the DMV merged in the waters of rush hour traffic and you're in it. No closer to the bathroom than you were five minutes ago. Just closer to, well, going to the bathroom. You know what actually takes a minute? Figuring out who's going to dd. So no one drives impaired after the game. Take a minute, make a plan. Never drive impaired. Go to takeaminutenow.com from Diageo Mad Uber in the NFL.

[London Fletcher]

Please drink responsibly.

[Matt Castle]

Some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate first. Like, you know to check to make sure it's a heated stadium first before you paint your chest for the big game and spend the entire time trying to keep warm and eating atomic buffalo wings. Yeah, checking first is smart. So check all state first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Savings vary subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. I'm Peter Schrager, host of Good Morning Football on the NFL Network and the Season with Peter Schrager podcast. Whether you're ordering wings for the game or you're whipping up a seven layer.

[Bobby Bones]

Dip, or you're ordering a pizza, there's.

[Matt Castle]

Something about football that makes you want to eat. In this football season, Uber Eats has.

[Bobby Bones]

The best deals on game day food.

[Matt Castle]

No matter what you're craving. From two for one pizzas to buy one, get one wings to whatever it is you want, Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long. UberEats is the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day. Terms and conditions apply. And see the app for details.

[London Fletcher]

You're a startup founder. Finding product market fit is probably your number one priority. But to land bigger customers, you also need security compliance. Obtaining your SoC2 or ISO 27001 certification.

[Matt Castle]

Can open those big doors, but they.

[London Fletcher]

Take time and energy, pulling you away.

[Matt Castle]

From building and shipping.

[London Fletcher]

That's where Vanta comes in. Vanta is the all in one compliance solution, helping startups get audit ready and build a strong security foundation quickly and painlessly. Vanta automates the manual security tasks that slow you down, helping you streamline your audit. The platform connects you with trusted experts to build your program, auditors to get you through audits quickly, and a marketplace.

[Matt Castle]

For essentials like pen testing.

[London Fletcher]

So whether you're closing your first deal or gearing up for growth, Vanta makes compliance Easy. Join over 8,000 companies, including Y Combinator and Techstar startups who trust Vanta for a limited time. Get $1,000 off [e-mail] that's V A N T A dot com simplify for $1,000 off.