Lots to Say: Super Bowl Matchup, Surviving the Storm and Rodrigo Blankenship

Summary

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The Bobby Bones Show – “Lots to Say: Super Bowl Matchup, Surviving the Storm and Rodrigo Blankenship”

Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Bobby Bones
Co-hosts: Matt Cassel, Kevin
Special Guest: Rodrigo Blankenship

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Episode Overview

This lively episode dives into several big topics: the current Super Bowl matchup and the ongoing debate over Bill Belichick's Hall of Fame snub, the Patriots dynasty and fandom, Pro Bowl controversies, the Titans’ coaching prospects, memorable Super Bowl moments, and the massive Nashville ice storm. It wraps up with a fun and in-depth feature on NFL kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, exploring his career, mental approach, social media, and hobbies.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Bill Belichick and the Hall of Fame Snub

(01:47–07:24)

• Debate: How can the winningest NFL coach, with eight Super Bowl rings, not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer?
• Scandal Shadows: The crew acknowledges Belichick’s greatness but discusses how “Spygate” and “Deflategate” scandals likely cost him the first-ballot honor.
• Patriots Insider: Matt Cassel, who played during Spygate, shares that most players were unaware and shocked by the revelations.
• Voting Process Critique: The panel critiques ambiguity in the Hall’s process and speculates Bill Polian and old rivalries played a role.

Quote:
“How do you sit there and say this guy is not a first ballot hall of Famer? Shame on those people. I mean, it is absurd.” – Matt Cassel (02:06)

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2. Patriots Fandom, Dynasty, and the Super Bowl

(07:24–09:54)

• Bobby ribs his co-hosts for "winning too quickly" as fans, contrasting it with his own "lifetime of losing."
• Kevin, a lifelong Pats fan, jokes about his unbreakable loyalty (even through tough years).
• Matt Cassel pokes fun at Kevin’s “Brady tattoo.”

Quote:
“It is unfair that you, as Patriots players and fans and lovers of the organization get to experience wins again this quickly. I'm on a lifetime of losing." – Bobby Bones (07:24)

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3. Super Bowl Experience, Prep, and Coaching Impact

(08:51–11:46)

• Discussion on whether experience as a player in Super Bowls helps as a coach (using Mike Vrabel as an example).
• Matt Cassel explains the unique mental and physical challenge of Super Bowl week and how it differs from regular-season games.
• Night games (Monday/Sunday/Thursday) are discussed for their unique energy compared to regular midday contests.

Quote:
“The Super Bowl is unlike any event that or game that you play in... This is a unique experience when you come out... millions of people, and this is for all the marbles.” – Matt Cassel (08:57)

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4. Pro Bowl Controversies & Shador Sanders Debate

(11:53–15:27)

• Matt shares that Shador Sanders (rookie QB) made the Pro Bowl despite modest stats.
• Panel laments the decline in Pro Bowl prestige, now more a “television show” than real honor.
• Discussion of how so many declines/vacancies lead to less qualified selections.

Quote:
“If you don't have more touchdowns than interceptions, you can't make the Pro Bowl. Like, that should just be the rule.” – Bobby Bones (15:23)

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5. The Tennessee Titans: From Dysfunction to Hope?

(16:44–19:37)

• Host, not a Titans fan, surprisingly optimistic about new coaching hires—Robert Salah and Matt’s buddy at OC.
• Team has cornerstone pieces and promising coaching, but there are still “a lot of holes.”
• The ousting of Mike Vrabel, now a Super Bowl head coach, is called out as a stinging organizational misstep.

Quote:
“If they just don't get worse, that's massive for us... It's been downhill for the last 4 or 5 years.” – Bobby Bones (19:41)

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6. Most Memorable Super Bowl Plays

(20:34–24:48)

• Panel ranks legendary plays: Tyree’s helmet catch, Holmes’ toe-tap, the "Philly Special," Elway’s helicopter spin, Edelman’s bobble.
• Both Bobby and Matt pick Tyree’s catch as the Super Bowl’s most iconic single play; Matt shares his personal pain at witnessing it live.

Quote:
“You could show me a still shot of that exact moment and I think everyone would know... And you were there.” – Bobby Bones (23:32)
“It's so near and dear to my heart, I go with that one.” – Matt Cassel (24:30)

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7. Surviving the Nashville Ice Storm

(24:50–35:16)

• Both hosts recount days without power, downed trees, odd survival tactics, and the city shutdown—including a Chick-fil-A closing (“never closes unless it’s Sunday!”).
• Bobby’s rescue tales: helping a driver in Louis Vuitton sneakers, eating “dry” chicken strips, and misadventures in winter footwear.
• Lighthearted banter ensues about fast food, handwashing, and household repairs (with some ChatGPT tips!).

Notable Moment:
Bobby’s “minor breakdown” after receiving no honey mustard with his Chick-fil-A drive-through order (27:47)

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8. Rodrigo Blankenship: In-Depth Interview

(37:37–67:50)

Rodrigo’s Early Sporting Life & Georgia Story

• Started out with soccer (“first love since age 3”), which provided a strong kicking foundation.
• Walked on at University of Georgia, choosing them over smaller scholarship offers because of the school’s journalism program.
• Won the starting kicker job midway through his second season, despite a rough start and viral negative headlines.

Quote:
“The first one sailed through the uprights with no instruction prior to that day... There was some potential there.” – Rodrigo Blankenship (39:36)

Scholarship & Signature Moments

• Shares the emotional story of being awarded a scholarship by Coach Kirby Smart right before a big Notre Dame game—and getting to announce it to the team after sealing the win with a key field goal.

Quote:
“I want to put you on scholarship. But you can't tell anyone yet because I’ve got something planned for you.” – Rodrigo recalling Coach Smart's words (46:18)

Journey to the NFL and the Colts

• Signed as an undrafted rookie, edged out current Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin in camp.
• Highlights: meeting Philip Rivers (“I know who you are... I've grown up watching SEC football”), hitting a walk-off winner against the Packers.

Quote:
“Every day I felt like this is another day of my job interview... you have to provide value immediately.” – Rodrigo Blankenship (48:46)

The Nature of Kicking in the NFL: Pressure, Process, Mental Side

• Kicker’s “short leash”—one bad game can lose your job.
• Mental resilience: trusts his preparation and process, avoids dwelling on negative outcomes.

Quote:
“For specialists... you really don't want anyone saying your name, because that probably means you did something wrong.” – Rodrigo Blankenship (53:32)

Kicking Evolution and the "Bombs"

• Talks about new NFL rules allowing kickers more time to break in footballs—leading to more 60+ yard successes league-wide.
• Analyzes why coaches are now more willing to attempt long field goals.

Quote:
“This year there were more 60-plus yard field goals attempted and made than any season in NFL history.” – Rodrigo Blankenship (58:39)

Life Off the Field: Social Media & Collecting

• Rodrigo details his TikTok/Instagram series: recreating the best NFL weekly kicking performances in real time (to demonstrate readiness and leg power).
• Shares his passion for LEGO, Star Wars, Marvel, Transformers, and sneakers: “Professional kicker by day, nerd collector at night.”

Rodrigo’s Favorite Kick Ever

(65:03)

• 55-yard field goal in the 2017 Rose Bowl right before halftime vs. Oklahoma—a playoff game, still the longest Rose Bowl FG ever, and a pivotal moment in Georgia’s comeback win.

Quote:
“Still to this day, that is the longest field goal made in Rose bowl history.” – Rodrigo Blankenship (65:12)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Time | Speaker | Quote | |---------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:06 | Matt Cassel | “How do you sit there and say this guy is not a first ballot hall of Famer?... Absurd.” | | 07:24 | Bobby Bones | “It is unfair...as Patriots fans...get to experience wins again this quickly...” | | 08:57 | Matt Cassel | “The Super Bowl is unlike any event...You know you're the only football game left...” | | 15:23 | Bobby Bones | “If you don't have more touchdowns...you can't make the Pro Bowl. That should just be rule.”| | 19:41 | Bobby Bones | “If they just don't get worse, that’s massive for us... been downhill for 4-5 years.” | | 23:32 | Bobby Bones | “You could show me a still shot of that exact moment...everyone would know exactly...” | | 24:30 | Matt Cassel | “It's so near and dear... I go with that one.” | | 53:32 | Rodrigo Blankenship | “For specialists...you really don't want anyone saying your name... you did something wrong.”| | 58:39 | Rodrigo Blankenship | “This year there were more 60-plus yard field goals attempted and made than any season in NFL history.”|

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Bill Belichick HOF Debate: 01:47–07:24
• Pats Fandom & Dynasty: 07:24–09:54
• Super Bowl Coaching/Player Prep: 08:51–11:46
• Pro Bowl/Quarterback Controversy: 11:53–15:27
• Titans’ New Era: 16:44–19:37
• Super Bowl Memorable Plays: 20:34–24:48
• Ice Storm Survival/Local Life: 24:50–35:16
• Rodrigo Blankenship Interview: 37:37–67:50

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode blends genuine sports analysis and debate with lighthearted banter, insider stories, and comedy. The main discussion is fast-paced and relatable, while the interview with Rodrigo Blankenship is thoughtful and inspiring but also fun and accessible.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode touches on several major NFL storylines, balancing inside access with a fan’s perspective. If you're looking for a mix of sports debate, personal stories (including fast food and ice storm escapades), and an inspiring athlete interview, this is a must-listen. Rodrigo Blankenship not only debunks stereotypes about kickers but also offers motivation about perseverance, education, and being yourself—glasses, LEGO, and all.

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Transcript

[Bobby Bones]

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[Matt Castle]

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[Rodrigo Blankenship]

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[Bobby Bones]

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

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

We'Re and we hope.

[Bobby Bones]

You stay Cause we got lots to.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Say yeah, we got lots to say now here's Bobby and that.

[Bobby Bones]

All right, welcome to the show. I want to start off because we have two Patriots fans here and not say congratulations on the super bowl, but congratulations on the Super Bowl. But how about Belichick not getting in the hall of Fame?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. How does that even happen? It's the most ridiculous thing in the entire world. How do you sit there as a voter? The hall of Fame is for.

[Bobby Bones]

I got him. We're going now, baby.

[Matt Castle]

I mean, the hall of Fame is for greatness. He's the greatest coach of all time. He's won the super bowl eight times, two as the defensive coordinator for the Giants, six as a head coach, has been to numerous other Super Bowls. I mean, his record speaks for itself. And how you can sit there and say this guy is not a first ballot hall of Famer. Shame on those people. I mean, it is absurd.

[Bobby Bones]

Can I play a little role that I'm familiar with?

[Matt Castle]

I know. Devil's advocate.

[Bobby Bones]

Devil's advocate.

[Matt Castle]

Let me start. Let me think. There's two probably different situations you'll bring up. Go ahead.

[Bobby Bones]

Now, I think he should be in for the record, right. I think he's the greatest coach of all time NFL. That being said, if we're not letting Barry Bonds in, who is the greatest hitter in baseball history, then I can understand the reasoning that you wouldn't let Bella check in. Now, I think Bonds should be in the Baseball hall of Fame. No doubt about it. He's the greatest hitter ever. His body of work before he cheated.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

Was good enough. And I think there are seasons that Belichick won where there was no cheating. That probably would have got him in, but he's got two big old fat scandals that hang over his head.

[Matt Castle]

Yes, I was there for Spygate.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Dude.

[Bobby Bones]

Spygate is crazy cheating. Like, by the way, I want to say one more time, just so nobody thinks I'm literally fighting because a Belichick should be in. All I'm doing is playing Devil's.

[Kevin]

You're in the middle of us right now.

[Bobby Bones]

I know, I know, but. And Barry Bonds should be the first one in the hall of Fame because everybody was doing it. But Spygate was dirty dog, man.

[Matt Castle]

It had some dirtiness to it for sure. And as a player, you didn't even realize what was going on until we got.

[Bobby Bones]

You didn't realize you were in it.

[Matt Castle]

No, I was there.

[Bobby Bones]

I know.

[Matt Castle]

When it came out and the jets filed the complaint and then they. All the research started or all the facts started to come out, I was like, wow, I didn't even know this was even occurring.

[Bobby Bones]

So you were shocked even though you shot the team.

[Matt Castle]

That was week one of 2007. Okay, it was week one. So that comes out. We get the fine. It was like $500,000. It took around a first round draft pick the following year, all that stuff. But we go on to run the table, right. And we go to Super Bowl. We eventually lost to the Giants. So everybody makes the argument. I remember listening to everybody saying, oh, well, you know the plays and you know what defensive structure and you know that they're going to run a tt up. I was like, how much time do you have in between a play? I mean, you're getting in and out of a huddle. You break the huddle, you get to the line of scri. Okay. So at the end of the day, even after all the different facts came out about the case, which it did look dirty for sure.

[Bobby Bones]

Look was. It was if they're pulling a first round draft pick. Yeah, that's big time.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, 100%.

[Bobby Bones]

I don't think that makes him worse of a coach. It's a. It's a strike. I'm just playing devil's advocate, because if you're going to. And also, Bill Polian is probably the reason. Even though he said he voted for Belichick.

[Matt Castle]

He said he voted for Belichick. I'd have to check that.

[Kevin]

He did say that. And then he said, I think I did. I'm like, nah, I didn't even know if he said, sure I did. Like, how do you not know?

[Matt Castle]

How do you not know? You either do or you don't vote for Bill Belichick as a first ballot hall of Famer.

[Bobby Bones]

But also, if there are 50 people in the room, and I believe that's what it is, right? 50 people voting 10 of them. If 10 vote no, you're not going to make it. So you gotta whip those votes. You gotta whip the 10 to go 10 more. Because that'd be 11. Because I think if you get 80%, you're in.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Correct?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. So you need 11 total votes. Poland plus 10. We're just assuming that it was Polan who was. Because, look, they hated each other.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, of course.

[Bobby Bones]

So he's got to get 10 other people.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

So 10 other people go, you know what? He cheated. I bet you, though, not a single person thinks he shouldn't be in the hall of Fame. This was probably just another punishment for Spygate and Deflate.

[Matt Castle]

Deflategate, which Jordan Hudson gate.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

They deflated the balls, and all of a sudden Brady goes out and throws for more yards.

[Bobby Bones]

No one's saying it made a difference. It didn't make a difference.

[Matt Castle]

I know, but people look at it that way. It's another. It's one of those other. Other things that come up that when you talk about their dynasty, you bring up those two things. Even though the one year we didn't win the super bowl and.

[Bobby Bones]

Is that your year?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, of course.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Of course.

[Matt Castle]

The flake gate. They go on and they win.

[Kevin]

Could be part of one of those six.

[Matt Castle]

The guy's been to nine Super Bowls. And of course, I go to the one that he. He doesn't decide to win, but yeah, he's been to six Super Bowls. That's first in coaching trees.

[Bobby Bones]

That's just the head coach. Head coach.

[Matt Castle]

That's how you had, like, one six. Okay. Been to six Super bowl appearances. That's first playoff wins. 31. That's first regular season wins. 302.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

That's third.

[Bobby Bones]

I think everybody thinks he will for sure get in. I think if Polian Is the person that is responsible for him not getting in. He could not do it by himself. So there had to be 10 other people that said we can't let him in first ballot because there was some cheating. I think he should have got in. I think he will get in. But also now he's the victim. And that's crazy.

[Matt Castle]

It's just, that's crazy.

[Bobby Bones]

Belichick is now going to be the victim.

[Matt Castle]

It's absurd. Yeah. And everybody's rallying around.

[Bobby Bones]

This is bizarre.

[Matt Castle]

Is the voting process messed up? Do we have to rethink how we do this? Who's voting for what? I mean, it is crazy when you look at the articles now that are coming out out in the media and social media and everything else actually backing Bill Belichick.

[Bobby Bones]

I know. So I'll say this about you two. You're just winning too quickly. You needed to be bad for longer. It is unfair. It is unfair that you, as Patriots players and fans and lovers of the organization get to experience wins again this quickly. I'm on a lifetime of losing.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

And you guys, you know, you, you have successful seasons. You, you know, the Patriots win championships. Kevin has a fan. You got to experience all of that.

[Kevin]

I can't believe it.

[Bobby Bones]

And now you're back in the Super Bowl.

[Kevin]

Yeah, I, I, I really can't believe it. On, on Sunday night, I was like, I feel like we're living in a twilight zone where it's 20, 18, 15, 16 all over again.

[Bobby Bones]

Just Boston fans in general.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, they're so spoiled. They don't even know Spoiled. So spoiled.

[Kevin]

Now, if I say I recognize that and I fully agree with that, does that help at all or.

[Bobby Bones]

No? I don't hate you as much, but.

[Matt Castle]

Were you the same, were you the same fan that was booing the last few years when they were down?

[Kevin]

Not never left. The never left. As a fan, you know, I carried Brady to Tampa. That was about it. But I stayed with him. And there was obviously some moves I hated.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kevin]

But I was always like, well, we're still. It's only been like three years. That's cool.

[Bobby Bones]

Four years.

[Kevin]

That's cool. And then now it's like, I can't believe it.

[Matt Castle]

Now you're gonna have to get to the matching tattoo. Cause Kevin has a Brady faced tattoo on his back. And now he's going to have to get Drake May.

[Kevin]

Yeah, I'm going to get the step brothers.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, it'll be awesome. Do we just become best friends? Yes.

[Kevin]

Tattooed on my whole back.

[Bobby Bones]

So Vrabel hasn't coached in a Super bowl, but obviously he's played in Super Bowls. Do you think that matters?

[Matt Castle]

I think he understands the environment and can lay out the picture for the team very vividly about what to expect. Because the super bowl is unlike any event that or game that you play in. There's a longer Halftime, it's 30 minutes because of the entertainment at a half, the spectacle that goes on before the national anthem. It's this build and you feel it. You'll go out for warmups and you can feel the energy is just erupting around you. The fans are into it, so you know what the stage is. And a lot of these guys have played on big stages before. But this is a unique experience when you come out because you know you're the only football game left. Everybody's watching, millions of people, and this is for all the marbles. This is what our goal is as athletes, is to go to that pinnacle and win that game. And so there's a lot of pressure. So I think that he can give a unique perspective playing in the game and understanding the pressures that come along with being one of the players that are going to go out and have to perform at a high level and blocking out the noise probably to the.

[Bobby Bones]

Week in between, since again, he's played in it. He knows kind of how to pace yourself for the week off.

[Matt Castle]

Right. I mean, that's another big goal is leading up to. To the super bowl, is getting healthy, knowing that you've got to get the work in because you know the opponent two weeks ahead of time. So putting in that work more mentally probably than physically, but making sure your team's right by the time you get on that plane and head out and start that weekly preparation leading up to the Super Bowl.

[Bobby Bones]

So I'm going to take a step back here, only because this reminded me of talking about it. Obviously, everybody's watching the super bowl, biggest television event in America, every single year. So taking about three steps back, let's say Monday Night Football, when not everybody's watching, but it's the only game on.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

Because when you said that everybody's watching, it's a different energy. When you guys would play like a Monday Night Football game or a Sunday night game, did it feel a little more elevated for that same reason that you knew you were the only game on? Was there a different energy?

[Matt Castle]

Yes, there's always a different energy for night games because, you know, you're probably the only game on whether it's a Sunday night football game, which is a really big deal. Or a Monday night Football game. Even those Thursday night football games, as difficult as they are to prepare, you know that you're the only game going. And when the lights come on, there's something about that energy that comes along with it. And it's not the same grandiose spectacle, like I said about the super bowl, but you feel that energy in the stadium. So there are those instances throughout the season, especially those night games that you feel. And then as you go on in the season and you have like, we played a lot of 12 o' clock games.

[Bobby Bones]

I was going to ask if games like 12 o', clock, you get to hide a little bit.

[Matt Castle]

You got to get yourself going, right? You're waking up, having your cereal, and you drive over and it's sunny out and, you know, it's like the fans are there. But I mean, I'd say division opponents, you feel that a lot because you know if you win your division, you're going to go to the playoffs. So there's a lot that goes into it and how a player motivates himself.

[Bobby Bones]

There's like seven games going on at once, though, right?

[Matt Castle]

There's seven games. You're just one of the pack.

[Bobby Bones]

All right, what do you got over there? Mr. Matt Castle?

[Matt Castle]

All right, well, did you see that Shador Sanders has made the Pro bowl in his rookie season? Here are his stats. The Browns under his starts, he started seven games, was three and four.

[Bobby Bones]

Hey, not bad for the Browns, though, let's be honest.

[Matt Castle]

He completed 56.6% of his passes through for 1400 yards with seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Sanders also ran for 169 yards, one touchdown and 21 carries. I'm not by any means on Shador Sanders here, and I'm not, but there's got to be some guidelines to who gets to put a title on their name as a Pro Bowler. And from an overall performance and the scale of what you had to perform at first season in order to be considered a Pro Bowler, in my opinion.

[Bobby Bones]

I agree. This is what I think probably happened. First of all, the Pro bowl, it's.

[Matt Castle]

Not what it used to be.

[Bobby Bones]

And what it used to be wasn't much true. You know, it's not like they'd get up for the game. You'd go to Hawaii.

[Matt Castle]

I'll tell you one person that did, Adrian Peterson, he's running through people's faces.

[Bobby Bones]

He's like Pete Rose in the All Star Game, just taking the catcher.

[Matt Castle]

Everybody's like, trying to, like, you know, wrap up, stop Usually try to keep these guys up. Some guys would go, like, you got to go a little bit, especially when it was tackle. But Adrian was searching people out to run through them. And everybody's like, what is going on right now? He knew one mode.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, now it's like a flag football game. I don't know. Tiddly winks. You play Pogs? Did you ever play Pogs as a kid?

[Matt Castle]

No.

[Bobby Bones]

Where you slapped the thing? Yeah. So it's not a real thing, but you have to keep it going because a lot of guys are being incentivized by it. And it's a television show that they, you know, will feature some of these events. So my. What My understanding is they go to these players. Can you do it? Nope. Can you do it? Nope. Can you do it? You're in. Yeah, but I'm in the playoffs. Can you do it? So there's only a few people left, and you need three quarterbacks. So, like, Trevor Lawrence probably got.

[Matt Castle]

Trevor Lawrence probably turned it down. You got Herbert that turned it down. C.J. stroud that turned it down.

[Bobby Bones]

It's all these guys probably turning it down.

[Matt Castle]

But where does he lie on that list, you think?

[Bobby Bones]

Who did he get asked over?

[Kevin]

Probably.

[Bobby Bones]

I mean, go to Oakland, and I'm going to Vegas. Yeah. Yeah, I think.

[Matt Castle]

I mean, he probably. There's only 16 quarterbacks in the AFC.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. I think that's probably one guy that it didn't get to.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

And he's having a bad run. Didn't get Pro bowl, and then also was playing for Seattle last year and then went to the Raiders.

[Matt Castle]

Gino.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. Gino, like, goes from a team. They're in the super bowl the year he's out.

[Matt Castle]

Man, tough, tough year for Geno, especially with the splash that he made going back to Seattle and then just resurrecting his career and everything. And then going with Pete Carroll's own head coach, thinking he's going to do it again in Oakland, and things just went awry.

[Bobby Bones]

I think that when Huntley made it, we at least understood that Baltimore was a pretty good team.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

And he played pretty good, but it was always, wow, can you believe Snoop Huntley made the Pro Bowl? This supersedes that by far, by far. When if you have more. You only played seven games, it's almost like in the NCAA tournament, you got to be 500 in conference to make it pretty much right. This is almost. If you don't have more touchdowns, interceptions, you can't make the Pro Bowl. Like, that should just be the rule.

[Matt Castle]

That'S what I'm saying.

[Bobby Bones]

And I like Chedur. I do too. Yeah, it is bizarre.

[Matt Castle]

It is pretty bizarre.

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[Bobby Bones]

Let's go over here to where we live and I've spent many, many a day talking about how dysfunctional the Titans organization is and this is definitely not a homer show but because I'm not a Titans fan and they've lost a lot but I think they may be building a nice little coaching staff.

[Matt Castle]

I think they're doing a really good job. I mean Salah with so I, I.

[Bobby Bones]

Think Sal is a good coach. You can't go to the jets and lose and make me think you're bad. And then your boy D's coming here.

[Matt Castle]

I know.

[Bobby Bones]

Offensive coordinator.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, we were just talking about him possibly. Well, last week I was promoting him to the Buffalo Bills head coaching.

[Bobby Bones]

You didn't promote him hard enough because.

[Matt Castle]

He didn't promote him. They weren't listening to me. They went Joe Brady, okay in house higher. I get it. But at the end of the day, I mean just with those two guys and their expertise and how long they've been in the league. They both obviously had head coaching, I mean head coaching jobs in the past. That's a good start for this organization.

[Bobby Bones]

And I feel like Salah doesn't have to bring in some massive defensive coordinator name because that's what he does, right. He can bring somebody up and up and coming and new because he defense is his thing. You got a great defensive guy, you got a great offensive guy, you got a good quarterback, you got a great Jeffrey Simmons. So you've got both Sides of the ball with somebody to build around.

[Matt Castle]

You got pieces here.

[Bobby Bones]

Is it, is it crazy that the Titans might not be digging themselves an even deeper hole?

[Matt Castle]

I mean, it's not crazy to believe because you look at their, their division, too. I mean, Jacksonville obviously outperformed any expectation they're going to be good. Indianapolis, you don't know what they're going to do with the quarterback position right now. It could go either way for that team, even though they've got pieces there. Jonathan Taylor, obvious, is probably one of the best backs.

[Bobby Bones]

If not, what's Daniel Jones going to do? Miss the first part of the season next year after.

[Matt Castle]

I would think so.

[Bobby Bones]

Achilles injury?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. Yeah, I would think so. So they don't know. They're in flux right there with the quarterback position.

[Bobby Bones]

Texans are good.

[Matt Castle]

The Texans are good. They've got a great defense, but there's a lot of question marks around that offensive unit. And CJ Stroud, especially after the. How he played in the playoffs with the turnover issues.

[Bobby Bones]

So could the Titans.

[Matt Castle]

Could the Titans beat. Push to maybe get a division title here?

[Bobby Bones]

I mean, we might.

[Matt Castle]

We might be overstepping our boundaries here.

[Bobby Bones]

500. My mind will be blown because I'm so used to them. Los, do you have, like, an affinity, like a personal affinity for the Titans that you played there?

[Matt Castle]

No, I think just being here and my kids growing up here, that they definitely have more of an affinity, but they don't win.

[Bobby Bones]

If you're a kid, it doesn't matter how local a team is.

[Matt Castle]

I just think you get caught up in the.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, their dad played for them, dad.

[Matt Castle]

Played for them and all that. But still, I don't. I think it's more of their friend groups. Right. The jerseys and all that. I do believe that they're a ways off from being a legitimate contender just because you name two players. Cam Ward's a great because he's a franchise potential quarterback, and then Jeffrey Simmons on the other side. But they've got a lot of holes that they've got to fill in order to become a team that competes successfully year in and year out.

[Bobby Bones]

If they just don't get worse, that's.

[Matt Castle]

That's a positive.

[Bobby Bones]

That's massive for us. It's been downhill for the last four or five years.

[Matt Castle]

Just competitive. Right. And it's not competing for the number.

[Bobby Bones]

One draft spot every year.

[Matt Castle]

And I think the other part, for a lot of Titans fans, that really hurts is the guy that you fired a few years ago. He's in the super bowl, by the way, and that stings. That always fired him. You fired him.

[Bobby Bones]

And everybody knew it was a bad firing when it happened. It wasn't that people were supportive and going, yeah, that's a good move. Everybody went, what? You did what?

[Matt Castle]

You did that because you had an argument or you guys didn't get along a little bit? Let's make this work. No. Okay, we're gonna fire you. And then what is it? Two years removed. This is the second year and the first year as a head coach.

[Bobby Bones]

First year as a head coach.

[Matt Castle]

First year as a head coach. You're taking a team that won four games last year, and now you're in the Super Bowl.

[Bobby Bones]

It's crazy. All right, give me something else.

[Matt Castle]

All right, we got the rematch. Super Bowl 49. Okay, so this is. Obviously, they didn't hand it to Marshawn Lynch. Seattle, you got Malcolm Butler steps in front. Interception. Big deal. Right, but where does that rank among the most memorable single plays in super bowl history? I'm going to give you a few. David Tyree catch. I was there for that one.

[Bobby Bones]

I was there for that one, too. Is it. Is that Indianapolis? Miami?

[Matt Castle]

No, that was the one in Arizona, remember?

[Bobby Bones]

Oh, I wasn't there. Yeah, that was the one you were at. I just feel like I was there because you've talked about it and you've hurt so much that I felt that.

[Matt Castle]

I still can't believe he caught that ball.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, you're right.

[Matt Castle]

But there were multiple plays after that. Plexco Burris was on the slug of the slant.

[Bobby Bones]

Go. Yeah, but that's the play.

[Matt Castle]

But that was the play. One handed over Rodney Harrison. I mean, that was like.

[Bobby Bones]

There were plays after Bartman jumped in and hit the ball in Chicago.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, but that happened.

[Bobby Bones]

But that was the play. Yeah. Yeah.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Give me some.

[Matt Castle]

Okay. San Antonio Holmes toe tap versus the Cardinals. I mean, the throw itself by Big Ben on that play to get it and thread it over that defender right there. There was no other room and to just catch it. Solid double toe tap.

[Bobby Bones]

That's a good one.

[Matt Castle]

Game winner. Okay. Philly Specials. Always a memorable play against the Patriots. The double reverse throw to fold in the end zone. No, you're not feeling that one.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

That one.

[Bobby Bones]

I can't remember exactly where I was sitting. The other ones. I can visualize exactly where I was sitting when the place happened.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, it's probably because. No, I couldn't say that. It was because you had too many pops at that point in the game.

[Bobby Bones]

No, none. No, I've had no pops.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Had.

[Bobby Bones]

No, I literally had pops. Like sodas.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, soda pops. Too many soda pops. You're too, too caffeine up. All right. John Elway. Helicopter spin was pretty bad.

[Bobby Bones]

I think he was like 50 at the time. I've seen that as a clip. Was that against the Packers?

[Matt Castle]

Against the packers goes.

[Bobby Bones]

I didn't know where I was. Jesseville, Arkansas. Listen to this story. Someone had put. There was like 14 of us there in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and we were having a Super bowl party. Wasn't at my house, but someone had put. Whether something makes you poop.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, xlax or something.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, they put it in the cheese dip as a joke.

[Matt Castle]

Why would they do that?

[Bobby Bones]

And I never ate the cheese. I never ate it. Luckily, I love queso and for some reason I didn't touch it. But during the game, everybody kept going to the bathroom and nobody knew. And still the person hasn't admitted who did it. But that was the game. That's what I remember from that game.

[Matt Castle]

What a good friend. Like we're having a Super bowl party. We're going to make a funny joke. And the funniest part about it is we're going to make everybody crack their pants and have diarrhea throughout the game and won't be able to watch it. Man, I would. If I found out, I would have probably beat the hell out of it.

[Bobby Bones]

I think that's why eventually that person who never did it never said anything about it. Because it went from people thinking it was funny to once it was real. Someone has messed with some of the food. People were so mad they were going to beat up whomever did it.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, a hundred percent.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

That was brutal.

[Bobby Bones]

So I know where I was that night.

[Matt Castle]

All right, last one. Julian Edelman. The catch against Atlanta where it's got bobbled up. Boom, one handed brings it in. It was the comeback.

[Bobby Bones]

You gave me some good options there. I'm going to go still the Tyree catch because not only do I remember it, that's. You could show me a still shot of that exact moment and I think everyone would know exact. Man. And you were there.

[Matt Castle]

Well, the lead up to that too was Eli has the ball and it's. I think it's third or fourth and ten, something like that. And he's in the grasp of Richard Seymour and somebody else and I thought they were going to blow the whistle. Dead for a sack. He somehow gets out of it. He's backpedaling, throws up a prayer. It's a Hail Mary is what it is.

[Bobby Bones]

It's a better version of the Caleb Williams throw in Chicago in the corner.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

You know, when he just chunks it running backward. This one was just heavier. Because of the Super Bowl.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

It was the super bowl in the biggest moment in the biggest part of the game.

[Bobby Bones]

And crazier catch.

[Matt Castle]

Crazier catch because, I mean. And he didn't even have crazy stats that year. He wasn't even a featured wide receiver on that team. So that's what makes it more special. So I guess it's not.

[Bobby Bones]

I go with that one. You go with that one. Even though you had to watch it with your own eyeballs.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. I mean, I think all of these are amazing moments in super bowl history, but that one goes down for me, especially because it's so near and dear to my heart.

[Bobby Bones]

It's funny that I feel like I was at the game, but only because we've talked about it and you've talked about being there. I think I felt it through you. Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

I mean, it's one of those things. Can you feel me now?

[Bobby Bones]

You still feel the pain? I went to Chick Fil a before we came to do this. And we had an ice storm where we live in Nashville. And it's unlike any storm I've ever seen. I've been through big snowstorms. I've been through snow with ice. I've been in New York for like two feet of snow. I've had enough weather experiences in my life to not just be like, oh, my God. It's crazy. Just because I live in the South.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

This ice storm with a half an inch of ice ripped trees, derooted them in my yard.

[Matt Castle]

Yes, me too.

[Bobby Bones]

Massive trees fell in streets on top of power lines. Power was out for days and days and days here. So all that to say Chick Fil a was closed for two days. And Chick Fil a never closes unless it's Sunday.

[Matt Castle]

Yep.

[Bobby Bones]

So today they finally reopened. And I was coming to work over here, so I go by and I pull in. And by the way, this Chick Fil a is bumping so hard around 12 o', clock, the cars are in the.

[Matt Castle]

Street all the time.

[Bobby Bones]

It's wrapped into the street. So you gotta even get in the other lane just to get by. Because if you're in the right lane, where you pull in a Chick fil a, you're just sitting there. So I go through. And this one, you have to wrap around the entire Chick Fil a to even get in the lane to go around. And so it's fine. Because Chick Fil a, I will say. I'm gonna say some Good things, some bad things. And this is not a commercial. But the good thing is. And I think you could probably speak to this as well, it's efficient. It doesn't matter how long the line is. They move people through.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. I don't know who's cooking the chicken back there, but they get that chicken cooked. They get the chicken ready on your sandwich.

[Bobby Bones]

The cars are zippering in and out perfectly like you're in two lines. How about the merge?

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, that's the merge. Yeah. No. Is that what it's called?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah. The zippers grab each side.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

They merge you. And they're like, bobby. Yes, sir. Carry the food. I'm out. Now I want to shout out because. Extremely efficient. Where I was a little irritated one. I just wish the person.

[Matt Castle]

You gotta have a moment that, well.

[Bobby Bones]

The person needs to wear. You know, back in, like, the 20s, they'd wear those big sandwich board signs.

[Matt Castle]

Yes.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm not asking for that. But around their neck, they should have a little menu.

[Matt Castle]

Well, they also have, like, the actual menu with the thing that they're dialing in.

[Bobby Bones]

They don't show it to you. They walk up to the car and.

[Matt Castle]

Go, what, do they make you sign it?

[Bobby Bones]

No. No.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, they make you put your card on it.

[Bobby Bones]

No. What's a beep now? You just do that? No, it wasn't. It was a little handheld pad. So he's like, what would you like? And I kind of know my way around a chick fil A, but I'd like to see, just in case I have new thoughts.

[Matt Castle]

Do you want the chicken or the chicken? You should be prepared for that.

[Bobby Bones]

That's a fair question.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

And I said, I'll take the. I'll take the five strips. And he's like, oh, we can't do that. You got a strips? No, we only have four.

[Matt Castle]

Four, six, probably.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, I was like, I'll take the. The most. Just. Yeah, I'll take the most one.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

He's like, okay, we'll put you down. I think it was four is what they had here the most. And I said, I need honey mustard. I can't eat it without honey mustard. I'm not gonna eat dry chicken.

[Matt Castle]

Right.

[Bobby Bones]

So please give me two packs of honey mustard. No problem. Do you want the meal with that? I do. I got the waffle fries. You got the drink. And my new drink at chick fil a is sweet tea with strawberry. They have a little strawberry. Oh, man, it's perfect.

[Matt Castle]

You need to try that. It's great. You'll love it.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

Drive around. Get it?

[Matt Castle]

No honey mustard.

[Bobby Bones]

No honey mustard.

[Matt Castle]

Did you park?

[Bobby Bones]

No. Because I got caught up in it being so busy, I thought, this is the one time I'm not gonna look at my bag and I'm gonna just drive out. And I got here to eat. There was no honey mustard. Minor breakdown. I had a minor breakdown.

[Matt Castle]

It's still pretty juicy as chicken, though.

[Bobby Bones]

I had to dip it in ketchup.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, dude, no way. I'm not doing Chick fil a and ketchup.

[Bobby Bones]

You have to, or you eat it dry.

[Matt Castle]

It's not that dry. You just got it.

[Bobby Bones]

It doesn't matter. It's just dry without wet. It's dry.

[Matt Castle]

All right, fine.

[Bobby Bones]

A wise man once said, without wet.

[Matt Castle]

It'S dry, it's dry, it's dry. And you weren't going for that.

[Bobby Bones]

No. So that was my chick fil a experience coming in over here.

[Matt Castle]

What's your favorite fast food? You think if you had to go fast food, what would be your fast food?

[Bobby Bones]

I'm going to answer something that some people are going to say that's not fair. But it's going to be Chipotle.

[Matt Castle]

It's still fast food.

[Bobby Bones]

It's fast enough. But I hate to put it in that category of fast food, because Chipotle is quality. Like Chick fil a. Chipotle is quality food. They just can move it pretty fast.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

So I think it's Chipotle, Chick fil a. And if you're going traditional, I love Sonic.

[Matt Castle]

See, my kids love Sonic.

[Bobby Bones]

I love Sonic. But they all, like, scratch that itch.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

I need to be itching for the specific thing, but I can eat Chipotle five times, five nights a week and still feel good.

[Matt Castle]

I went to Chipotle today, and they were out of chicken and steak.

[Bobby Bones]

Oh. Because everybody's been trying to get in at the storm.

[Matt Castle]

So they had barbacoa or carnitas, and I got the barbacoa. But sometimes when you're at the tail end of that pot and they just grab that one chunk that was not shredded yet, it's just a chunk of meat. And I was like, yeah. Not my best experience there. But all in all, I'd say chick fil a is a pretty solid one.

[Bobby Bones]

I got over here, I was washing my hands as I often do before I eat. For the record.

[Matt Castle]

Do you?

[Bobby Bones]

All the time. Big hand, big hand washing guy.

[Matt Castle]

Bacteria is good for your gut.

[Bobby Bones]

No, not all. There's a different kind of bacteria. Don't put that in people's minds. They should just be touching dirt, licking their fingers.

[Matt Castle]

Lick your fingers.

[Bobby Bones]

So I the building that we shoot podcast stuff and we shoot video stuff. I do a Netflix show from here and so own the building. Yeah, you do own the studio. Thank you. And during the storm, we lost power. So for one of the nights, we had to come sleep here because it was the only place with heat. And it was the first time that I'd, like, lived up here. And I learned how to fix a hot water heater. Now.

[Matt Castle]

Now, did you Google it?

[Bobby Bones]

No. But I'm going to tell you the best thing to do now.

[Matt Castle]

ChatGPT.

[Bobby Bones]

Take a picture of it. Of anything. If you take a picture of anything in the world. I fixed, like, three things. I fixed a garage the other day. I fixed a hot water heater. I fixed something in my car. So I took a picture of it and I said, hey, is this working? And it goes, well, that light is not green, it's red. You need to turn it on, reset it, open the box. I did the whole thing. Shut it again.

[Matt Castle]

That's amazing. Yeah. Right before break, you had to go to the restroom. You said, I gotta get my water heater. So did you go up and take a picture and be like, well, I.

[Bobby Bones]

Knew how to do it from the picture last time because it's new. So I reset it. But here's the question I have for you in your mind, and you can close your eyes if you want to, but there's a sink. Okay. There's two handles. There's the sink. That puts the water out like the curvy. The head. What do you call that? The spout? The neck.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. Okay, let's go with that.

[Bobby Bones]

You're with me. There's a left and a right handle. Which one's hot? If you're looking at it. If you're looking at it, which one's supposed to be hot? Which one's cold?

[Matt Castle]

The one on the left is hot. Hot. The one on the right is cold.

[Bobby Bones]

That's what I thought, too. I think the person who plumbed this place.

[Matt Castle]

Your right handle.

[Bobby Bones]

They did, right? It's hot in this bathroom.

[Matt Castle]

Really?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

That's off.

[Bobby Bones]

I thought so, too.

[Matt Castle]

I always have my left. If you're facing it, the left is hot, the right is cold.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm glad you said so. I thought so, too.

[Matt Castle]

You could chatgpt that and switch those wires right up. Dude, underneath.

[Bobby Bones]

I didn't take a picture of the s taking a picture of everything else and put it in my phone. I did not take a picture of My sink. So, yeah, that's what we did the last couple days. You guys lost power?

[Matt Castle]

We lost power. We lost power on Sunday morning, probably around 8 o' clock or so. So then that was the day that it kind of was like that sleet early on. So then it got real cold and it was icing up, so the house was getting cold. It was like in the 40s. And so I was like. I called down the street. There was a hotel in Franklin. So I was able to call down there, get a room.

[Bobby Bones]

Dead power.

[Matt Castle]

Dead power. Was able to go down there. Took the dog with me. The pig and the chickens had to survive the cold. Sorry, guys, but do they have warm.

[Bobby Bones]

They have like a chicken house.

[Matt Castle]

Yes, they got a house, but I mean. And then the pig has this massive doghouse because it's a big fat pig, man. So it's going to be fine. It's got plenty of fat to survive these circumstances. But we went down there, stayed, and then I was just going home to make sure the pipes weren't busted, anything like that, and check on the chickens and the pig. And all of a sudden our lights came on. We got super lucky while you were there. Yeah, around 11 o' clock on Monday or so. So we were able to come back just with one night in the hotel where I've still got plenty of friends that have no power.

[Bobby Bones]

Me too. Yeah, the ice storm is crazy. Like I said, I've been in.

[Matt Castle]

I've never seen anything like it.

[Bobby Bones]

I haven't either. And when I say that it's the North. Go Southern boys. Just get some weather. Shut up.

[Matt Castle]

This is crazy.

[Bobby Bones]

This is hardcore eyes. It doesn't even look like as bad as like a crazy snow.

[Matt Castle]

It looks like the movie Frozen. I mean like everything, every tree, it's beautiful. Yeah, but most of those branches and massive trees are on the ground.

[Bobby Bones]

Can I show you a picture?

[Matt Castle]

Yes, please.

[Bobby Bones]

So this is a picture of my shoes last night. Those are some of my Air Force One Louis Vuittons that I like to have. I have a few different pair.

[Matt Castle]

You don't have snow boots, I'm guessing.

[Bobby Bones]

No, I do, but you know, what do you see there?

[Matt Castle]

A lot of snow on top of your shoes.

[Bobby Bones]

That's not snow.

[Matt Castle]

What is that?

[Bobby Bones]

Mud? That's straight mud.

[Matt Castle]

You have mud? Oh, yes, you do.

[Bobby Bones]

There was a gap.

[Matt Castle]

Your laces used to be white.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, the whole thing.

[Matt Castle]

Oh, those shoes are white.

[Bobby Bones]

Yes. Those mud.

[Matt Castle]

I thought that they were green.

[Bobby Bones]

No, that's brown mud. So those are these. And not cheap, obviously.

[Matt Castle]

So you Already bought two new pair.

[Bobby Bones]

I did not. A guy was stuck, and I. And he was by himself in an suv. And so I said, ken, we got to pull over and help this guy, my wife. And she's like, well, just wait. And I get out, and I'm like, I knew he was stuck, but I was like, dude, you stuck? And he said, no, man. We're just out here struggling for nothing. He goes, yeah, I'm stuck. So I get beside and try to push while he hits the gas. And he's not able to go. Right. And so you're pushing a car in the middle of the street. Sweats and Louis Vuitton shoes.

[Matt Castle]

Sweats and Louis Vuitton shoes.

[Bobby Bones]

And so not only that, but my wife, who's pregnant, said, honey, I'm gonna need you. Yeah. Had to get in the truck. She had to get in truck and drive. She got in his truck and drove. And we're both on the backside. And I couldn't get beside it anymore. Cause there was a tree. And if I were to get smashed by that tree, I'd be dead. And so look at this. This is my.

[Matt Castle]

This is how you go out being a good Samaritan. Oh, my gosh. That is amazing.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm covered in mud because the will kept just throwing all the mud on me.

[Matt Castle]

You gotta put that picture up.

[Bobby Bones]

That's how you know he's not on social media.

[Matt Castle]

I have a check today. Okay. I've got five kids home from school.

[Bobby Bones]

No, I hear you.

[Matt Castle]

I hear you.

[Bobby Bones]

Rough night.

[Matt Castle]

That's a rough night.

[Bobby Bones]

Covered in mud.

[Matt Castle]

Was it because you thought you could fix his car because you've been doing all the handiwork?

[Bobby Bones]

We got it out of there, though, dude.

[Matt Castle]

Congratulations. That's a manly thing to do.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm covered in mud.

[Matt Castle]

It's been a manly week for you.

[Bobby Bones]

It's been a cold week. There were times I probably wasn't that manly. I was like, yeah, I'm cold. You have a blanket.

[Matt Castle]

It was. I mean, you stayed in your house, though.

[Bobby Bones]

We did, yeah. Almost the whole time.

[Matt Castle]

What'd you do that for?

[Bobby Bones]

Because we had dogs. And she was like, I think we can just sit by a fireplace. And that didn't work very well. She's pregnant. She's like, this sucks.

[Matt Castle]

She's probably radiating heat anyway.

[Bobby Bones]

A little more. She's living warmer.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. So she kind of liked it.

[Bobby Bones]

I don't know if I'd say that, because she was wildly uncomfortable, but.

[Matt Castle]

Did you guys stock up on food beforehand or no?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yes.

[Bobby Bones]

We definitely had enough Food, like cooked and then we brought a bunch over here. But the thing is, if you didn't bring food or if you didn't, our refrigerator went out, so a lot of it spoiled. Right.

[Matt Castle]

But we always put it outside.

[Bobby Bones]

Well, we did that too, but we ate all that.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah.

[Bobby Bones]

It was like at the movies when you go in with stuff, if you buy stuff early or you sneak in with stuff, you eat it all before the movie starts. Oh, yeah. So like ice storm coming tomorrow. I'm eating all the everything we had bought.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. We have rations for like another two weeks. I'm like, honey, the storm said it was only gonna last like three days. I went to five different stores and stocked up on this side and the other. We have so much food, it's absurd.

[Bobby Bones]

We're gonna come back. Rodrigo Blankenship, kicker that you will know because he would mostly wear the Colts helmet and have the dark rim glasses underneath. We're going to talk with him. He is still kicking, but he's got a really interesting story about him being a walk on at Georgia, him being an undrafted free agent into the NFL and then where he is now and he's trying to get back in the league, but really interesting guy. We'll talk to him next.

[Tremphya Announcer]

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[Bobby Bones]

All right, let's bring on Rodrigo Blankenship. Rodrigo, I gotta say last the glasses coming from a fellow DART spec guy, this has been a part of like my identity for a long time. When did you decide to commit to the glasses? Because that means everybody's going to know you, especially in a helmet.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah, I think that I first started to wear glasses in middle school. It was probably around seventh grade. Started to notice that my eyesight wasn't great, especially trying to play soccer and football. You need to see stuff from, you know, pretty good distance. And so that's when I started to wear the glasses. Started to wear the rec specs specifically for high school basketball. Switching over from, you know, the. Just the traditional glasses. I wore the rec specs for basketball in high school, and then when I got to University of Georgia, it was just part of the look, and so I just continued with it, and now it's become part of the image.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, Rodrigo, so you just said you played soccer in high school, right? Was that something that influenced you to go and be a place kicker when you. When it came to football season, it.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Definitely was a big help. I started off playing soccer probably as soon as I could walk, maybe, I don't know, three years old, four years old. There was a soccer ball in my feet, and soccer was my first love. I played it through my senior year of high school. But I think I realized early on, once I started to kick, that football was probably going to be the way to go. There was going to be more opportunities for me on the football side. But coming from a soccer background, that was very helpful. Just allows you to really hit the ground running and helps you to pick up the mechanics of kicking very quickly. So I started to watch football with my Dad. I think 2006 was the first year that I watched football. I was watching the Florida Gators, unfortunately. I know the Dog fans are going to hate to hear that, but I started watching Florida football, and that's kind of what made me fall in love with football. And, you know, that really kind of expedited the kicking process to get me where I am now.

[Bobby Bones]

So, going from soccer to football, did you pick it up pretty quickly? And then also, did you play any other positions when you played football? Because obviously you were an athlete. You talked about playing basketball in soccer, so, yeah, talk me through that.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah, I did play a couple of other positions in my time in high school. I messed around with a little bit of wide receiver one off season. I was actually one of our backup quarterbacks my senior year. Thankfully, we were never in a position where they needed my services my senior year. Otherwise, we would have been in big trouble. But I did do a little bit of receiver, did a little bit of quarterback in high school. And, yes, I did pick up kicking very quickly from playing soccer for such a long time. I think that I first tried to kick Football the summer after fourth grade. So somewhere between fourth and fifth grade, my dad took me out to the practice field at my local high school and he said, you know, hey, try and kick this football like you kick your free kicks in soccer and we'll see what happens. And the first one sailed through the uprights with no instruction prior to that day. And you know, I think we both really saw that there was some potential there. And so the following summer I went to my first camp to start getting instruction and I really took off from there. But yeah, the soccer definitely helps you to, to have an expedited process when you're trying to learn to kick.

[Matt Castle]

So talk to me about why you chose Georgia. Because you're a walk on it Georgia originally and earned a scholarship obviously your second season. But just what went into that and were you being recruited by anybody else?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yes, I was being recruited by a few other schools, mostly mid major programs. My first scholarship offer actually came from University of Alabama Birmingham, funny enough. And I was very fortunate to receive that offer. And that really kind of of allowed some other dominoes to fall where some other programs started to offer me scholarships after that. They were all kind of a similar tier or similar point in the college football hierarchy, I guess you could say. So I had some scholarship offers to some smaller programs, but ultimately the thing that led me to the University of Georgia, outside of what I felt like was a good opportunity to play was education. And I know that with the current state of college football with nil, and with the transfer portal and with coaches moving all over the place and money being thrown in kids faces, I know that education has become pretty, pretty low on the list of priorities that guys are considering. But that was still my top priority. I've always wanted to get into sports journalism and sports broadcast whenever I get done with my playing career. And University of Georgia has one of the best journalism schools in the country in Grady College. And so that was something that was always at the top of my list. Outside of University of Georgia, my next choice would have been Mercer. I did have a full scholarship offer from Mercer, but they also have a very renowned journalism program and broadcast program, so. So that was really the reason that I ultimately ended up going to University of Georgia. Education was always at the top of my list. I know that football is not going to last forever and I wanted to set myself up for success as best as possible. And so ultimately it became University of Georgia.

[Bobby Bones]

Looking in hindsight it looked like it was all pretty easy because just looking at some of your awards First Team All SEC in 2019, you won the Garza Award, but you say you went on as a walk on. So how long until you got the starting job? And. And what was that process like? The competition?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah. So my first year was 2015, and that was coach Mark Richt's last year as a head coach at University of Georgia. And I knew from some of the conversations that I had had with Coach Richt and his staff as a high school recruit that that 2015 season, I was in all likelihood not going to play. The incumbent kicker. Marshall Morgan was a very good kicker, very solid, had, you know, had done very well in his career. And. And he was still there when I got there as a redshirt freshman in 2015. And so I knew that season I probably was not going to play. Cause Marshall was going to finish up his senior year and he did a tremendous job for us in his last year. And so really going into that 2016 season was when I felt like I would have the first opportunity to potentially have the starting job. Now Coach Richt ended up leaving for Miami. At the end of that first year, Coach Smart comes in and, you know, everyone is kind of starting from ground zero with the new coaching staff. You're learning names, you're learning, you know, what everyone is about and all that stuff. So, you know, we kind of start from ground zero. Was in a. I was in a kicking competition over the course of the summer with another kicker named William Ham. And he actually ended up winning the starting field goal job coming out of, you know, summer training and preseason camp. And so he started the season as our field goal kicker. And I was the kickoff only kicker for the first three to four games of the season. And then I think it was around week four, we're going to a road game against Ole Miss. That was my first time as the starting field goal kicker. I had, you know, I had won the job at that point. Ham was not doing so well in the first few games of the season. I was practicing really well, kicking really well at a high level during practice. And so ultimately he got the starting job around week four. Didn't have the best start, actually. I missed my first ever career field goal attempt against Ole Miss and ended up getting flamed on the Internet the next week because all of the headlines were, you know, new Georgia kicker wears glasses and still can't see the uprights. You know, that headline was. Was. That headline was all over the place my first week. Week after that Miss so got off to a rough start. But after that, I think I went on a streak making about 10 kicks in a row. And, you know, so the narrative kind of started to change a little bit and people started to think, oh, maybe this guy is, is the right guy for the job. So. So really it was, you know, about a third of the way through that 2016 season when I took over as the starter. And then from there, we never look back.

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[Matt Castle]

I read something that said after the Notre Dame game, you earned the scholarship and they presented you that scholarship. What was that like?

[Bobby Bones]

Because was it.

[Matt Castle]

These stories are ones that we're all endeared to because it's somebody that's worked hard, walked on, paid your dues, made your kicks, and now you're rewarded with the ultimate goal when you go to college, which is a scholarship. But talk about that moment, what it was like, the locker room and how it was presented to you.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah, so really, that actually came about a couple days before we left for the Notre Dame trip. I think it was Thursday, our last day of practice for that week, getting ready for Notre Dame. And I had my last class of the day, I think had been canceled because I was back in my dorm room. And normally I would just head straight from class over to the facility to get ready for meetings and then practice. And so I think that my last class had been canceled because I had some downtime in my dorm room. And I got a text from one of our special teams coaches at the time, Coach Fountain, and he said, coach Smart wants to see you. You need to head to the facility immediately. You know, as long as you're not in class. Head to the facility. And he wants to see you in his office. And, you know, at first I thought, oh, man, what did I do? Did I get in trouble? It's like when your name gets called on the PA system in school, and it's like, the principal needs to see you, you know. And so at first I was. I was a little scared. I didn't know what to expect. And so I went up to see Coach Smart in his office, and he said, ra, you've been kicking really well for us. You know, you did really well last year. You've made a lot of improvements over the off season, and I can see, you know, how much you've improved, and you're kicking at a high level, and so I want to put you on scholarship. And he said, but you can't tell anybody yet because I've got something planned for you. He said, you can tell your parents if you like, as long as you trust them not to tell anybody else. I don't want the secret getting out yet. You can tell your parents if you like, your girlfriend, whatever, but that's it, because I have something planned for you. And I said, okay, that sounds good. So I told my parents, told my girlfriend, and then we went up to Notre Dame. I kicked a go ahead field goal with about three minutes left in the game, and then we got a strip sack fumble on the ensuing possession. And. And we're able to close out the game in that fashion. And then we got into the locker room, and Coach Mart, he brought everybody up in the locker room. He said, hey, Rod, you want to tell the team what we talked about a few. A couple days ago? And then I got to tell the whole team that, you know, I've been put on scholarship. And then it was just a party in the locker room. So it was a. It was a really incredible moment. Really excited that I got to share that with my team. And I know that the video went, you know, went viral and everyone, you know, got. Got to see that moment and just sharing it with us, and it was just a really incredible experience to have.

[Bobby Bones]

Do you think you would have still got that moment had you missed the kick and lost the game?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

That is a very good question. I'm glad. I'm glad that's not how it turned out. It might have taken another week. I honestly would have been interesting to think about.

[Matt Castle]

So, from. From Georgia, obviously you had all the accolades, everything like that, and then you went undrafted, but you do get an opportunity to go play for the Indianapolis Colts, and you're on the NFL, all rookie team. Talk about that first year coming to league and the different trials, tribulations you had getting going.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah, I mean, that first year as an undrafted free agent, I think that everybody knows, you know, all the guys that are in that position, they know that, you know, you're kind of on a short leash. You really have to prove your worth. You have to prove that you're going to provide value to the team immediately. Otherwise they're probably going to be moving on and looking in a new direction. And so every day that I was there, I felt like this is another, you know, this is another day of my job interview. You know, even though we go through tons of preparation before that with interviews at the Senior bowl and the combine and, you know, and calls with the coaches leading up to draft day, you know, those are all part of it. And then you get onto the field for the first time with the team in front of your teammates and in front of the coaches, and it's like, okay, now this is, this is the bulk of the interview right here. I have to prove that I'm capable of being on this field, that I deserve to be here every day. And, you know, if I'm not doing it, they're going to be looking for another solution somewhere else. And so, you know, it was just a constant battle, a very heated Competition with Chase McLaughlin, who's the current starting kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's done very well since he's arrived in Tampa. He was my competition as a rookie and it was a back and forth battle. You know, one day I'd win, one day he'd win, one day I'd win, one day he win. And so, you know, it kind of came down to the wire on, on cut day as to who was going to be the starting kicker. Ultimately, I guess I had, I had made a few more kicks than he did. I had, you know, just, I barely edged him out in our preseason competition and ended up being the guy. But, you know, even in the regular season, it's a constant struggle and a constant battle because you have to consistently prove yourself on, you know, on a weekly basis, week in and week out. You have to prove that you're adding value to the team and that you're going to help the team win. There were some really special moments that rookie year, I think, especially the end of our rookie training camp when all of the veterans first reported. I'm sitting in my locker playing on my phone and a shoe kicks me on the foot and I look up and it's Philip Rivers. And he walks up to shake my hand and he's like, hey man, how you doing? I said, hey, hey, nice to meet you, I'm Rodrigo Blankenship. And he goes, I know who you are, man. I'm like, what are you talking about? How do you know who I am? He said, oh man, I'm a Southern boy. I've grown up watching SEC football my whole life. I've kept up with it all my time in the pros. And you know, you made waves at Georgia. It's great to see you, you know, in this locker room and hopefully, you know, you'll be a part of the team this year. And so that was a really cool moment getting to meet Philip. I remember playing with the chargers and Madden 2009 when I was younger and I love to play with Chargers with, with Philip and Ladanian Tomlinson. So that was a really special moment. Getting to kick the game winning field goal against Aaron Rodgers and the packers in overtime about halfway through the season to take over first place in our division was another really special moment. So, so there were definitely some highlights of that rookie year. But you know, like I said, it's, it's a constant battle having to prove yourself week in and week out.

[Bobby Bones]

It feels like a kicker can have a really bad game and be cut. Not so much with other positions. Like there needs to be more than a bad game. But if you go out and you miss four kicks, a lot of times if you're not like the guy guy that is submitted in place, they'll just go, let's pull up a new kicker. I think that's the only position where they do that. Do you feel like that's true?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

I do think that the expectations for performance for kickers are at an all time high. You know, it feels like for the most part, as you said, unless you're a very established guy, you know, you've been in the league for five, six, seven years, whatever the case may be, and you have shown over the course of your career that you are rock steady and you're maybe just in a bit of a slump. Unless you're in that situation, there is a very short leash for kickers, especially punters a little bit, snappers a little bit as well. But especially for kickers, if you're not seeing that ball go through the upright rights, usually coaches are looking in a new direction. And so, you know, I experienced that as well the first game of the regular season with the Colts in 2022, I had made two field goals in regulation, but then in overtime, I hit two kickoffs out of bounds, gave the other team short field position. And then I also missed a potential game winner in overtime in that same game. And so, you know, as you said, it really just takes one. One bad game. I hadn't been super established. I had a really good rookie season, but my second year with the Colts, I got injured and missed most of the season, so I hadn't really cemented my place at that point in time. And so, you know, one bad game was. Was all that it took at the beginning of that 2022 season for me.

[Bobby Bones]

To hit the road.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

And so you definitely see that, you know, it happened quite a bit throughout the course of this NFL season as well, where you have some guys that have kind of been on the fringe where they haven't really cemented themselves with the team yet. And so we saw a lot of turnover at the kicking position this. This season. You know, for that exact reason. The expectations are super high. And if you're not super well established and you're not meeting that bar, then you're probably going to be on your way out the door.

[Matt Castle]

How do you deal with the mental aspect of being in that type of position? Because the pressure mounts, right, even when you're making kicks, you know that you can go into a slump. And how did you deal with that type of mental adversity week in and week out to continue to put yourself in the right mind frame?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

I think that, you know, the biggest thing that I can do is just have trust in my process and have trust in my preparation. I know that it's, you know, very cliche. Joel, indeed, has always been, you know, trust the process and feeling eventually they're going to get their championship. But, you know, really, that's, I think, how it has to be, especially for specialists with, you know, how. How precise our. Our performance is. And, you know, everyone's eyes are going to be on you. You really don't want anyone saying your name, especially if you're, you know, a snapper or a punter. You really don't want anyone saying your name because that probably means you did something wrong. If you're, you know, going out and doing your job every time that your. Your number is called, you know, then people aren't going to have a reason to be looking at you, you. And so that's kind of how you want it to be. And so the best way that I think that I found to be able to do that is to just trust in my process. Just Trust that, you know, I've put in all of this work over so many years. I've been kicking for I think 18 or 19 years at this point, way longer than, you know, I haven't been kicking. And so I've just found that, you know, if I have these habits and I have these routines and I'm consistent with my preparation on a weekly basis and that's going to lead to consistent performance in the game. So just being able to trust that the work that you're putting in is with a purpose and that it's going to lead to the results that you want, that's been the biggest thing that I found to help me prepare mentally, to just have confidence and know that, hey, you've put in the work, you deserve to be here. And you know, the work that you have put in is going to allow you to succeed.

[Bobby Bones]

I know you're supposed to visualize the kick going in and I'm not sure what your process was and if you were visualizing it going in, but if you were ever off, did you ever visualize it not going in and you just couldn't get it to go in? And your visualization you're like, come on.

[Matt Castle]

Get out of my head.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, then you got it. Kick like, did you ever battle those demons?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Not necessarily from a mental standpoint, but definitely from a physical standpoint. You know, I could think back to a couple of kicks that I, I, you know, that I missed earlier in my career where when I was going through my warm up kicks in the net, it, something wasn't quite feeling right. And you know, that's usually, you know, part of every kicker's process. Usually when the offense crosses a 50 yard line, the punter usually puts his ball down, the kicker goes over to the net and starts to get a couple kicks off into the net as the offense is getting into field goal range. And so there have been a couple times where I would go out and I had missed the kick in the game, but the couple of kicks that I had hit into the net just before that didn't quite feel right. And so, you know, sometimes there was a little bit of a tell, at least for me specifically from a physical standpoint to be like, okay, I really need to make sure that the ball is coming off my foot really clean in the net. And that's usually going to translate well to me being able to hit that next ball on the field and put it through the post. So I have struggled with that a little bit. You know, nine times out of 10 it's not an issue. I'm going to go out there, I'm going to knock it down. I made about 95% of my field goals and in, in the UFL last year and pretty much every time I walked out onto the field, I hit a great ball into the net right before that. So it's not as much of an issue now. But definitely earlier in my career, like in my high school career, that was definitely something that I noticed.

[Matt Castle]

You know, now with the kickers having the ability to make alterations to the ball and you see all these field goals, they're going in at 65, 70 yards, but they're making them at a high clip. What is your thoughts and the impact that it's had on the game and for kickers in general with the ball alteration now for the kickers, I definitely.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Think it's made the field goal kicking portion of kicking, you know, and of a regular NFL game a lot more exciting to see all of these bombs, you know, just on a weekly basis. I think that it's been really exciting. I mean, seeing Cam Little hit the 70 yarder in the preseason and then he made a 67 and a 68 yarder during the course of the regular season. You know, McLaughlin with the Bucks, as I mentioned earlier, he made a 65 yarder at one point in the season. And so to see all these long kick kicks made, I think it's really exciting and you know, adds a little bit bit more excitement to the game that we know that we previously hadn't seen, at least not to this extent, you know, and you know, a lot of people had asked me about it over the course of the season. You know, all of these NFL kickers, I think, have been capable of making these kicks, you know, even before the, the ball breaking in rules that we have had for this season. But now they're able to make it on a more consistent basis. You know, guys have, have been able to make like 65 to 70 yard field goals, but definitely not with regularity that we saw this season. But when you have the footballs that you can break in a little bit longer, it's not just, you know, you get to break them in for 45 minutes, two hours before kickoff, which is what it used to be. You know, now you get them at the beginning of the season and you can break them in leading up to week one of the regular season and then you can use any one ball for up to three weeks. You know, you really get a ball broken into that perfect level and then you're just able to more consistently get the distance you need for these long range kicks. And so when you got guys that are making them more consistently in practice, it gives the coaches a lot more confidence to be like, hey, if I need this, I can send him out in a game. Because I just saw him make 65 three or four times in practice this week with, you know, within our team period. And so it just gives the coaches more confidence to send these guys out there and then they'll be able to execute that in a game. There's a Instagram account that I follow called Kicker Central that posted all of the field goal kicking results from the NFL regular season. You know, the total conversion percentage, the number of attempts. And this year there were more 60 plus yard field goals attempted and made than any season in NFL history. And you know, definitely a part of that is because of these footballs allowing guys to more consistently knock down these long range kicks. So it's been really exciting to see.

[Bobby Bones]

I know you're going to start in the UFL with the Birmingham Stallions, but is the goal to get back in the league?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Absolutely, that is definitely the goal. I was very close, you know, after this last UFL season. I did really well with the St. Louis Battlehawks team last year and I had a tryout with the jets as soon as the UFL season was over. I also had a tryout with the Los Angeles Rams during the NFL regular season. So I feel like I'm very close. I feel like I'm back on a lot of teams radars to say, hey, this is a guy that we need to start taking a look at again, you know, because I'm, I'm healthy, I'm kicking well, kicking as well as I ever have at any point in my career. So, you know, I feel like I'm putting myself back on a lot of teams radars. And so that is absolutely the goal is to end up back on an NFL roster there as soon as possible.

[Matt Castle]

Now look, I'm not the most savvy social media guy. Bobby can contest to that. But you're big on social media, you got a lot of great content. How do you come up with putting out the content is a feel thing? Is it something that you do weekly? Like hey, I need to put this out, this out. Talk to me a little bit of how I grow my followers.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Well, as far as the football content goes that I've posted over the last couple years, you know, I had a weekly series where last year I would recreate whatever I thought was the Best kicking performance in the NFL on that weekend. And so usually I would try to pick one guy, you know, that I thought had the best game. And, you know, for example, last year in week one, to start the 2024 regular season, Chris Boswell, week one, made six field goals with, I think, two from 50 plus, and one of them was a 57 or a 60 yarder or something of the sort. So. So that was, you know, definitely the best performance that any single kicker had in that week. And so I would go out and I would try and match all of those kicks, and I would go out and practice, say, okay, he made a 60 yarder from the right hash. I got to make 60 right hash. He had a 55 left hash. I got to make that left hash. And I would try and do them all consecutively, you know, and when I put it out there, then people can see, hey, I'm making all of these kicks, and it's not taking me, you know, 50,000 tries. Like, I'm making these all back to back to back to back. As a kicker would do that in a game, he would be making all these kicks consecutively. And so that series kind of came about a little bit as inspiration from some other free agent kickers that I had seen in previous years where they would go out and try and make all the kicks that were missed on a weekly basis. And me being someone that was in that position already, I know how much pressure and how much stress goes into being an NFL kicker. And, you know, for a guy that's just on the streets to say, look at me, I'm making all these kicks, I'm better than you, you, you know, your team should sign me. That didn't really sit well with me, especially because when you're out on your own, you don't have a rush, you don't have a snap in a hole. You don't have 50, 60, 70,000 fans trying to distract you and prevent you from doing your job. And so I wanted to try and put a little bit more of a positive spin on that idea. And so instead of doing all of the missed kicks, I wanted to try and pick out guys who were making all their kicks. And so that's how that series started last year. This year, I tweaked it a little bit because I felt like. Like I kind of showed during the UFL season, yes, I can make kicks at a high percentage. Now, the biggest question mark, at least with me specifically, that some NFL teams still had, was the leg strength. Like, is he going to be capable of keeping up as guys are being able to try 55 and 60 plus yard field goals with more regularity. Am I capable of doing that? And so this year I modified it a little bit to just say I'm going to do the three longest kicks that are made in the NFL every year or every week. That way way I'm showing like, hey, these are the kicks that coaches are willing to send their kickers out and try on a weekly basis. And yes, I do have the leg strength to make them. I made every kick this year. All of the 60 plus yarders were attempted at some point or another during my weekly series, made them all, including Cam Little's 67 and 68 yard field goals that he made during the regular season. So it was definitely a challenge, you know, for sure. I was like, this, this channel, this series, the way that I'm doing it this year is going to push me, you know, in a way that I haven't pushed myself before because I, I have never consistently tried to make 62, 64, 65 yard field goals on a weekly basis. Usually it's not really part of your training to do that because you're not going to try them as much. You know, a bulk of your field goal attempts are going to come from 30 to 40, 40 to 50. And so that's where a bulk of my training usually is in practice. But with these new ball conditions, those 60 plus yards are definitely going to become more common. And so I wanted to try and challenge myself and push myself in that way. I and you know, thankfully was able to make all of these kicks. They're all documented on my TikTok, my Instagram, Facebook, all of those platforms you, I know if anyone wants to go see them. So that was a really fun challenge and a really good way to kind of market myself and say, hey, I'm still capable of making these long kicks if that was a question mark for you. Hopefully it's not going to be, you know, from this point on because I'm putting out on a weekly basis that I'm making all these 60 plus yard kicks. So, you know, as far as the football goes, that's, you know, really been a bulk of the football content that I've posted the last couple of years. Years. And I obviously have, you know, another side to me where I'm a, you know, professional kicker by day and you know, nerd collector at night, you know, where I'm a big fan of Lego and Transformers and Star wars and Marvel and a lot of those, you know, kind of nerdy things. And so there was a lot of that content as well, where, you know, if I'm. If today isn't a day that I'm kicking, you know, if I get done working out, I'm going to stop by my, my local Lego store here in Birmingham and I'm going to see what kind of cool stuff they have and, you know, maybe I'll bring in some of my stuff and trade in and get some new stuff for the collection or whether it was, you know, Christmas getting, you know, my family and friends would get me some new stuff for Christmas, whatever the case may be. So that all goes into it as well, you know, to try and just diversify and just show people that there is another side to me outside of being Rod the Kicker, you know, not just being a, you know, a football player. There is another more human, more normal side to me, which is Rod the Collector. And so I've had a lot of fun doing that over the last few years as well.

[Bobby Bones]

One final question and everybody follow him. Rod the Kicker three. That's in case you're wondering how to go follow him. Rod the Kicker three final question. What is your greatest. What is your favorite kick of all time? It doesn't matter where my favorite kick.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Of all time in game, it can.

[Bobby Bones]

Be high school, college or pros. When you look back at the kick where you are so proud of that kick, pressure's on. What is it?

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

I would say it's probably the kick that I made at the end of the first half of the roast ball in 2017 against Oklahoma in the playoff semifinals. So Oklahoma had really come out guns blazing in the first half. This was Baker Mayfield's Heisman season. He had actually caught a touchdown pass, you know, on a trick play that they had run. And that put Oklahoma ahead, I believe, 31 to 14 at the end of the first half. And we were reeling. You know, our defense had given up more points just in that first half than we'd given up to basically any opponent throughout the course of the entire season leading up to that point. And so, so, you know, we were kind of on our heels, but thankfully at the end of that half, they decided to go the squib kick instead of, you know, a traditional kickoff. For whatever reason, our frontline player, take Crowder, recovered the ball immediately. So only one second came off the clock. And then our offense ran a play, got us a few extra yards, and I lined up for a 55 yarder and knocked it down right at the end of the half. As time expired. And still to this day, that is the longest field goal made in Rose bowl history. I believe it's the longest field goal made in Georgia postseason history as well. Well, and that kick, you know, got us back to 14 points, and we received the ball to start the second half. So we're like, hey, we're only down 14. If we can come out and score a touchdown to start the second half, we're only going to be down seven points, and we are right back in it. So, you know, that moment, especially with the pressure of going down as much as we did, needing any kind of spark and any kind of momentum to give ourselves a reason to be optimistic in the second half, I think that kick, for sure, you know, is my biggest kick, my most proud kick of my career so far.

[Bobby Bones]

Rodrigo, really appreciate the time. Yeah, you should do this.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah. Seriously.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, you should talk better than we do.

[Matt Castle]

I know.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah.

[Matt Castle]

Give me some of your content.

[Bobby Bones]

Halfway through, I'm like, this guy should be doing this.

[Kevin]

He's got this.

[Matt Castle]

He's got this.

[Bobby Bones]

We're rooting for you to get back in the league. So hopefully you land back in the league. And then after that, yeah, you should do this. Really great talking with you. I've consumed a lot of your content as well. I really enjoy it. So have a great rest of the day. Stay healthy. You know, I don't know much about the collecting thing. What do you say there?

[Matt Castle]

Build, build stuff, Legos, Legos, shoes. What else do you collect?

[Bobby Bones]

He does Star Wars.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Yeah, it's Lego, Lego, Transformers, Star Wars, Marvel. And sneakers. Oh, plenty to collect.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm big sneakers.

[Matt Castle]

I'm big talk to you.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, I got big sneaker guns. So I got.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Oh, very nice.

[Bobby Bones]

Thank you. These are the Louis Air force ones. The reds. I got the reds. I got the blacks. I'm big shoe guy. Big shoe guy. Castle's really stepped up his game, but today comes in in boots.

[Matt Castle]

Well, it's been a little cold here, Bobby.

[Bobby Bones]

I know, but I take my door, I take my boots off. It's showtime.

[Matt Castle]

It's showtime is right. You could do it in anything, Rodrigo.

[Bobby Bones]

Really appreciate it. Hope you have a great day, man.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Thank you guys so much for having me on today. I really appreciate it.

[Bobby Bones]

See you, Rodrigo.

[Matt Castle]

See?

[Bobby Bones]

Okay, that's gonna do it for us. Good show, Matt Castle.

[Matt Castle]

Great show.

[Bobby Bones]

I'm gonna text my father in law on this show because he's gonna. It's gonna drive him crazy. Here we go.

[Matt Castle]

You're gonna text your father in law right now?

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah, you Will audio message him. Hey. Was talking to Rodrigo Blankenship, the kicker, on our NFL show, and I asked him what his favorite kick of all time was. And the kick it. The kick that he gave us right off the top was Rose bowl against Oklahoma. I think you were there for that one. That was a tough one. All right. Just wanted to rub that in a little bit. All right, see you later.

[Matt Castle]

31 14, by the way. And cut the deficit. Yeah, that's all he did. He cut the deficit, and the rest is history.

[Bobby Bones]

He's a massive OU fan. That was fun, though, talking to him.

[Matt Castle]

Yeah, he was bright, articulate.

[Bobby Bones]

Not that we expected different, but we expect different.

[Matt Castle]

You never know. You never know. But very interesting guy, too, in terms of some of the hobbies and the collections that he has and all that stuff. I wonder what those are worth. Those are big money.

[Bobby Bones]

Miles Turner played basketball for the Pacers. Now he plays for the bucks. He's a big Lego guy. Builds crazy Lego jab. Who's the dumbest player you ever played with? I'm just kidding. Don't answer that. Well, I'm just kidding. Don't answer that.

[Matt Castle]

There's a few out there that have made my list.

[Bobby Bones]

Thank you, everybody, for listening. That's Matt Castle. That's Kickoff. Kevin. That's Brandon Ray. We will. Will we, at the super bowl for the show next week?

[Matt Castle]

Super bowl, baby.

[Bobby Bones]

Yeah.

[Kevin]

Two days. Radio Row.

[Matt Castle]

Let's go.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

So.

[Bobby Bones]

So I don't. I don't. I don't know what the deal is.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

We'll be.

[Bobby Bones]

We will be at the super bowl next week. Yeah, I'm not sure what episodes coming up when, but we'll see you next week. We'll be back on normal time. Thank you guys, for listening. Thanks to Rodrigo. And I think that's. That's it. Instead of worrying about it, we'll just see what happens. Yeah. All right. There you go. We've had lots to say.

[Rodrigo Blankenship]

Bye, everybody.

[Bobby Bones]

Lots to say with Bobby Bones and Matt Castle is a production of the NFL and iHeart Podcast. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tremphya Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Bobby Bones]

Guaranteed Human.