The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

Summary

The Dan Patrick Show: The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

Release Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Dan Patrick
Guests: Jerome Bettis, Max Chavkin, The Miz

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Introduction

In this standout episode of The Dan Patrick Show, host Dan Patrick welcomes NFL Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, former NFL quarterback Max Chavkin, and WWE superstar The Miz. The episode delves into a rich blend of sports insights, personal anecdotes, and light-hearted interactions, offering listeners an engaging experience packed with expert opinions and entertaining moments.

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Discussing The Miz’s Wrestling Persona and Career

The show kicks off with Dan Patrick recounting his recent encounter with The Miz, highlighting a humorous observation about The Miz's physique:

Dan Patrick ([02:45]): "I was kind of surprised at his physique, he almost looked like a minibus. And I said he might be losing that great nickname of the bus."

The Miz responds candidly about his current weight compared to his wrestling days, emphasizing the functional reasons behind his gear choices:

The Miz ([03:09]): "Right Now, I'm still 20 pounds over when I played. But I had those big old shoulder pads on, so it make you look like a lot bigger than you really are. But now there's no shoulder pads. It's all stomach."

The conversation progresses to the evolution of wrestling gear, with The Miz explaining the shift towards speed:

The Miz ([04:01]): "It's about speed now. I think that's what everybody's trying to get as much speed as they can. So the big guys are wearing little pads to be quicker, and the fast guys are wearing nothing."

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Football Insights: Running Backs and Team Strategies

Jerome Bettis and Max Chavkin bring their NFL expertise into the discussion, focusing on running backs' impact and team strategies. The Miz shares his admiration for Saquon Barkley over Derrick Henry, praising Barkley's versatility and athleticism:

The Miz ([05:22]): "Saquon Barkley. Because once he leaves he's gone... It's just fun because he's, he does some things that I don't think any other human can do at times."

The conversation shifts to analyzing team dynamics, particularly the Cleveland Browns' offense and their reliance on a strong running game:

Jerome Bettis ([07:59]): "They went away from Najee. I was a big fan of Najee Harris. I saw him develop every single year and was impressive."

---

Hall of Fame Quarterbacks: A Heated Debate

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to debating the merits of NFL quarterbacks and their Hall of Fame potential. Max Chavkin defends Patrick Mahomes as the best quarterback in the regular season:

Max Chavkin ([56:06]): "I think you probably still have to go with Patrick Mahomes. I mean, you look at what they did last year."

Dan Patrick counters with his preference, highlighting Joe Burrow's performance:

Dan Patrick ([56:14]): "I would say Joe Burrow."

The debate intensifies as they discuss consistency and clutch performances, with Max emphasizing the importance of sustained excellence:

Max Chavkin ([53:54]): "Guys that do it for a long time at the same level over and over... that's one of the things I've always admired."

---

Max Chavkin’s Transition from Player to Broadcaster

Max Chavkin shares his journey from being an NFL quarterback to transitioning into broadcasting. He reflects on the unexpected nature of his career shift and the challenges he faced during his final playing years:

Max Chavkin ([45:37]): "It wasn't like a wake up. It was just kind of a slow drip to... my life's moving in a different direction."

He also discusses the emotional aspects of retiring from professional sports and embracing new opportunities:

Max Chavkin ([46:49]): "My life's moving in a different direction."

---

Light-Hearted Wrestling Segment with Jerome Bettis

Adding a fun twist to the episode, Jerome Bettis engages in a playful wrestling demonstration with Dan Patrick and The Miz. This segment showcases Bettis's charismatic personality and ability to entertain, contrasting the more serious sports discussions:

Jerome Bettis ([30:15]): "I'll teach you how to chop."

The friendly banter and physical antics provide a humorous break from the technical sports analysis, making the episode well-rounded and entertaining.

---

Final Thoughts on Recent NFL Events

As the episode nears its conclusion, the guests discuss recent NFL happenings, including draft picks and team performances. Max Chavkin offers insights into quarterback strategies and team decisions, reflecting his deep understanding of the game:

Max Chavkin ([50:16]): "I think when you look at last year's draft, the depth of that quarterback position and projecting forward... you've got to do it."

They also touch upon team morale and performance expectations, particularly focusing on the Cleveland Browns' prospects:

Jerome Bettis ([27:24]): "We're going to the Super Bowl. Flacco is taking us there. If he gets injured, we'll take one of our other three."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Dan Patrick Show masterfully blends expert sports analysis with personal stories and entertainment. From deep dives into quarterback performances and team strategies to light-hearted wrestling segments, Dan Patrick, Jerome Bettis, Max Chavkin, and The Miz deliver a comprehensive and engaging discussion that caters to both avid sports fans and casual listeners alike. Notable moments, such as Max Chavkin’s defense of Patrick Mahomes and The Miz’s candid talk about his wrestling gear, are punctuated with memorable quotes that underscore the episode's dynamic range.

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Notable Quotes:

• Dan Patrick ([02:45]): "I was kind of surprised at his physique, he almost looked like a minibus. And I said he might be losing that great nickname of the bus."

• The Miz ([04:01]): "It's about speed now. I think that's what everybody's trying to get as much speed as they can."

• Max Chavkin ([56:06]): "I think you probably still have to go with Patrick Mahomes."

• Jerome Bettis ([07:59]): "I was a big fan of Najee Harris. I saw him develop every single year and was impressive."

• Max Chavkin ([53:54]): "Guys that do it for a long time at the same level over and over... that's one of the things I've always admired."

---

Listen to The Dan Patrick Show for more in-depth discussions and exclusive insights from top sports personalities.

Transcript

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Max Chavkin]

Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club.

[Jerome Bettis]

San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.

[Max Chavkin]

We need to embrace this community. Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow on the iHeartRadio app at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jerome Bettis]

In our new podcast, Everybody's Business, we talk about the business news that concerns everybody.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

From Bloomberg Business Week, I'm Stacey Vanek Smith.

[Jerome Bettis]

And I'm Max Chavkin.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Each week we unpack what is happening on Main street and Wall street, all the streets. WrestleMania has taken over the US economy. Poetry that executives write on LinkedIn. A little actual magic in our underrated.

[Jerome Bettis]

Story of the week, the single greats marketing campaign the music has ever seen.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

I decided to ask people how they felt about the penny going away. Listen to everybody's business wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jerome Bettis]

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season one Taser Incorporated.

[Dan Patrick]

I get right back there and it's bad.

[Jerome Bettis]

Listen to Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebony, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebonae and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect podcast network. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. If you're looking for another heavy podcast about trauma, this ain't it. This is for the ones who had to survive and still show up as brilliant, loud, soft and whole. The Unwanted Sorority is where black women, femmes and gender expansive survivors of sexual violence and rewrite the rules on healing, support and what happens after. And I'm your host and co president of this organization, Dr. Leah Tritate. Listen to the Unwanted Sorority. New episodes every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

You are listening to the Dan Patrick.

[Jerome Bettis]

Show on Fox Sports Radio.

[Dan Patrick]

Jerome Bettis, the bus he stopped by yesterday after the show. We sat down and talked to him and I was kind of surprised at his physique, he almost looked like a minibus. And I said he might be losing that great nickname of the bus.

[The Miz]

That ain't going away.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, what's your weight compared to when you. When you played?

[The Miz]

Right Now, I'm still 20 pounds over when I played.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Yeah, so you're.

[The Miz]

But I had those big old shoulder pads on, so it make you. It make you look like you a lot bigger than you really are. But now there's no shoulder pads. It's all stomach.

[Dan Patrick]

Did you pick shoulder pads to make you look bigger?

[The Miz]

No, I needed them because I was doing a lot of. A lot of heavy lifting. So the little bitty shoulder pads didn't work for me. I needed to have some shoulder pads that actually worked. A lot of these players nowadays, the shoulder pads don't even work. And I needed some functional shoulder pads because there were guys bigger than me trying to take me out. So I needed some real shoulder pads.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, but explain to me that nobody has knee pads anymore. Small shoulder pads, you might have a mouthpiece you might not like. What's. What's going on?

[The Miz]

It's, you know, it's about speed now. I think that's what everybody's trying to get. As much speed as they can. So the big guys are wearing little pads, a little shorter pads so that they can be quicker and faster. And then the fast guys are wearing nothing. No. No pads. No. Nothing. Very. They want to be as quick as they can possibly be.

[Dan Patrick]

And doesn't that hurt if you hit me in the thigh?

[The Miz]

If you get. If they hit you, period, you hurt. Right now these guys are trying not to get hit at all, but if you get hit, it's going to hurt.

[Dan Patrick]

What's the worst place that you got hit?

[The Miz]

I got hit in the quad, and it split my quad, and it split it vertically, so. So the muscles kind of went that way. They didn't. It didn't tear. They tore apart.

[Dan Patrick]

Wait, who hit you?

[The Miz]

It was a. You know what? We're playing Jacksonville, and I don't. I don't remember who hit me. You know, it was one of those hits. It didn't seem like much, right? You get hit and you. You know, you get up, and then you say, oh. And then the day after, you're saying, we got a problem, because this is not. This is not working that well, and that's what happened.

[Dan Patrick]

But if you could. And you could run like Derrick Henry or Saquon Barkley, who would you want to run like?

[The Miz]

Oh, Saquon Barkley. Because once he leaves he's gone.

[Dan Patrick]

But Derrick Henry doesn't get caught.

[The Miz]

He doesn't get caught very often, but Saquon is gone once. He, he is gone. And, and I, what, I just, I just love the way he plays. I mean, Derrick Henry is a throwback. He could have played in any era, right? I mean, he's playing in this era. He could have played in air. Saquon is just, it's just fun because he's, he does some things that I don't think any other human can do at times. I mean, to see that run that he had, that he jumped, it was just, you had to rewind it because I was like, are you serious? I mean, I've seen a lot of great runs in my lifetime, but I think that was the single most, most athletic run from a running back that I've ever seen.

[Dan Patrick]

You know your longest run from scrimmage?

[The Miz]

From scrimmage. Yes, it was, I was, it was my rookie year. I think it was, we played, we, we were playing New Orleans and I think it was 70.

[Dan Patrick]

71.

[The Miz]

71. I'm cheating myself, man. I can't cheat my yard.

[Dan Patrick]

I, I like how you acted like you didn't know.

[The Miz]

I, I, I knew I knew. I remember it, but I don't, I didn't, I didn't, I thought it was 70, honestly.

[Dan Patrick]

Did you get caught?

[The Miz]

No, no, no. It was, it was to the house.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Take that, take that. Barry Sanders. Can you explain? Can you explain Barry Sanders? Let's say nobody saw Barry Sanders and you're going to say, hey, there's this guy.

[The Miz]

It's one of those. You say, well, he does, he goes, he'll stop.

[Dan Patrick]

I think that's the right answer. And then.

[The Miz]

After all of those, you say, it is a touchdown. It's a touchdown. It's a touchdown. But I can't really tell you how he got there. He, he, he went one place, he transformed to another place and ended up in the end zone. I can't tell you how he got there because people, he did something special and it was special, but I don't know what he did.

[Dan Patrick]

Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis joining us here. Lake Tahoe. The Steelers let Najee Harris go, and it always feels like that offense is predicated on having a good running back there.

[The Miz]

Yeah, you know, they, they, they went away from Najee. I was a big fan of Najee Harris. I saw him develop every single year and was impressive.

[Dan Patrick]

But are they going to be a passing team?

[The Miz]

No, no, they're going to run the football. They drafted young kid from Iowa who's really, really good running back.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, but you bring in Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf.

[The Miz]

Well, you're still going to throw the football, but you're still going to have to run the football. If, if, if you ask Aaron Rogers to throw the ball 40 times, that's a mistake.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[The Miz]

And Aaron would tell you that's a mistake. I don't think he wants to throw the ball 40 times at 40 years old. Right. So he wants a running game, too, because now if he can throw between 25 and 30 balls a game, that's meaningful touches. And so I just think they have got to run the football because what you don't want to do is have him running around in the pocket at 40, 40 years old and taking those hits. You want them to play action. And I think that's when Aaron Rodgers at his best, play action. He's moving, he's getting the ball out. He's, he's, you know, quick. In the huddle, out of the huddle, run. So I think running the ball is a big part of what they need to do.

[Dan Patrick]

Would you rather play for Marcus Freeman or Mike Tomlin?

[The Miz]

Oh, man, that's tough. Well, I'll tell you this. I would say Mike Tomlin as a, as an adult, right. As a guy who's a veteran guy. If I was a college player or a rookie's first, second year, I would want to play for Coach Freeman. 100.

[Dan Patrick]

Because your son is there as a freshman.

[The Miz]

He's there as a freshman, yeah. And, and I think it's two, two totally different types of, of coaches. One, he's, you know, he's been there, he's done that. He knows how to reach you. And the other guy is a young coach. He's got energy and, you know, he's. You think he may be one of the players.

[Dan Patrick]

He's built something special there.

[The Miz]

He really has.

[Dan Patrick]

And he's tapped into the second generation of, of NFL players.

[The Miz]

He has. And I think part of that is NFL players understand the benefit of the educational side of it, and they say, hey, if we, if I can get my son there, that'd be a great win for me. Now, you know, it's a little different because, you know, the guys are transferring and moving around, but, you know, they, they want to, they want to try to get there because I think Coach Freeman, he resonates to those fathers of players who played, you know, I played and, you know, a lot of other different guys, they played. And so now Their sons are going through it and we know the questions to ask and we know what looks genuine. And when you look at Coach Freeman, you see that's genuine.

[Dan Patrick]

How's your golf game?

[The Miz]

It's, you know, it's good until.

[Dan Patrick]

Until you tee off, until they put the.

[The Miz]

Lights on, until the lights go on. It's good until they, they line up all the people on the fairway and it's like, okay, no, but it's, it's, it's good.

[Dan Patrick]

But more nerve wracking playing in the super bowl or playing in this celebrity event.

[The Miz]

Oh, this celebrity event. Way more nerve wracking. The super bowl is, is only nerve wracking in pregame because, you know, you come out for the pregame and it's, ah, you know, it's so much energy. It's so much energy, right? And so you seeing, you know, all these people, people on the sidelines, you know, celebrities and this, that, so you seeing all these people as you're trying to warm up, you know, and, and so people talking to you, so you don't really get a chance to warm up the way you did, but you warm up twice in the Super Bowl. You come out an hour and a half before, then you come out about 30 minutes before, so you, so it's a lot different. But here, you know, it's just you and that ball.

[Jerome Bettis]

It's like, man, you start talking to.

[The Miz]

Yourself, come on, do the right thing. Go in the hole. Please go in the hole. Then you start begging, please go in the hole.

[Dan Patrick]

Great to see you buzzing. Thanks for stopping by.

[The Miz]

Thanks for having me. It's always great.

[Jerome Bettis]

Be sure to catch the live edition of the Dan Patrick show, weekdays at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific on Fox Sports.

[Dan Patrick]

Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

[Jerome Bettis]

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[Jerome Bettis]

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[Jerome Bettis]

Is going to look back.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

It is a special six episode series.

[Jerome Bettis]

Where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Player we're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years.

[Jerome Bettis]

So who made the list?

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

You know, Tom Brady's on it.

[Jerome Bettis]

Where's Patrick? Mahomes is into the end zone.

[Max Chavkin]

Touchdown, Kansas City.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

He's on it.

[Jerome Bettis]

How about Lamar Jackson? Jackson takes it himself. Look at him dart back and forth.

[The Miz]

Oh, he broke his ankles.

[Jerome Bettis]

And he's got a touchdown. He is hooting. You are gonna have to listen.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

To find out, listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years, starting on June 30 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness, the way it has echoed and reverberated throughout your life, impacting your very legacy. Hi, I'm Danny Shapiro, and these are just a few of the profound and powerful stories I'll be mining on our 12th season of Family Secrets. With over 37 million downloads, we continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. I can't wait to share 10 powerful new episodes with you. Stories of tangled up identities, concealed truths, and the way in which family secrets almost always need to be told. I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jerome Bettis]

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[Stacey Vanek Smith]

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[Jerome Bettis]

When you go to France or you go to England or you go to Hong Kong, those kids are wearing Jordans.

[The Miz]

They're wearing Kobe's shirt.

[Jerome Bettis]

They're watching Black Panther and the challenges.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Of being a black founder.

[Jerome Bettis]

Close your eyes and tell me what a tech founder looks like. They're not going to describe someone who looks like me. And they're not going to describe someone who looks like you.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

I created There are no girls on the Internet because the future belongs to all of us. So listen to there Are no girls on the Internet, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

Yesterday, the Miz, great wrestler, all time hall of Fame wrestler, he stopped by and he brought some energy here. So we wanted to bring you that conversation we had with the Miz. And I started out by asking him, when did you become this character, the Miz?

[Jerome Bettis]

Real World back to New York, Season 10, 2001. I was in New York City, I'm from Parma, Ohio. So it was a very eye opening situation for me. You know what I mean? Like, it's like when you come from Parma, Ohio and you go, you get thrown into New York and you're with seven strangers you never met and you have to live with them, then you have cameras 24, 7 on you. It's a very uncomfortable situation. And I wasn't well liked by my castmates. And so the way I kind of gelled with them, like, I came to a boiling point where I was just like, you know what? I'm gonna tell them like it is. I'm just gonna start cutting promos and call myself the Miz. And then they started liking the Miz more than they liked Mike. So I was like, this is great, right? So then I, I started just doing the Midday. But do the Miz, do the Miz. Do the Miz, do the Miz. I'd be like, you know, this is me just talking trash. Right? And they were like, we love it. So it's kind of how it all started.

[Dan Patrick]

But okay, so you become the Miz and then you develop that character and then you go into wwe.

[Jerome Bettis]

Yes, but I'm wondering if go right into wwe though. Like, it was like five years, so I, so I went on to challenges. So after the Real World, you get invited to Go Real World road rules challenges. Right? And this is another show. And I, on that show, I kind of, I got, I, I won the first time. And I used all my winnings to move to Los Angeles to have acting coach, improv coach, nutritionist. I also paid a person to teach me the art of professional wrestling. So I started doing all these things that I thought would get me to wwe. They didn't call, like right away. It wasn't like you were on the Real World. And it's like they called, though. I had to train for, I would say, four years before they even took a look at me. And I was using all the different avenues, all the tools that I could possibly gain to become a WWE Superstar that I thought. Right.

[Dan Patrick]

But I wonder if Those wrestlers looked at you as a poser.

[Jerome Bettis]

Like, they hated me, hated me. They did not want me in WWE at all. But the execs all saw the potential, right? They saw that it wasn't just me wanting my 15 minutes of fame to.

[Dan Patrick]

Parlay, but the big names, they, they hated you.

[Jerome Bettis]

Nobody liked me. I walked into that locker room and I got kicked out within three months. Now you might be like, wait, you're a grown man. Why would you let anyone kick you out of a locker room? Well, the reason is to be good in wwe. Inside the ring, you have to learn from the veterans that, that know how to do what they need to do, how to be a main eventer. Like, I knew how to do the moves, right. You get taught the moves, but I don't, I didn't know how to become a main eventer. I didn't know how to be a big WWE Superstar. And I needed them to teach me. And the problem is with me, I'm very loud. I don't know if you noticed that notice. And I make a bad first impression. I really do. And I know I do now, now as, as a 44 year old, like, I've kind of learned that about myself. But when you're 25, you don't know. You're just, you know, like. And it's like, oh yeah, I know, I know, I know. And it's like almost like you know everything but you don't feel like. So they were kind of teaching me a lesson that, look, you want to be here, we want to see if you really want to be here. So we're going to make it very hard for you. But if you do want to be here and you make it through all this, you'll be better in the end. And I am better in the end. And I'm very thankful for everything that I've been, that I had to go through to get to where I am. Because those hardships have made me into the person I am today. And it made me realize I, Whatever you throw at me is not going to phase me because I've already been through the hard.

[Dan Patrick]

But explain to me that developing your character, your Persona, because you can technic, technically you can wrestle, but to become a main eventer, you have to have something that people gravitate towards.

[Jerome Bettis]

Sure.

[Dan Patrick]

Or they, they hate you. You're the heel, but they still want to watch you.

[Jerome Bettis]

I, I created a character that was very egotistical, arrogant, the most arrogant person. But I also wanted a person that, you know, like you, you, you see this. You see me out there and you're like, I know this guy, and I hate this guy.

[Dan Patrick]

So, like a frat buddy.

[Jerome Bettis]

So I'll give you an example. I'll give you an example. So I saw back when I was first started, Kevin Federline was a big deal, and he would wear a bandana and, like, a fedora hat. And I. So I said. So I said I was with Brittany at the time. Yeah, yeah. So everyone hated him, right. And I was like, oh, wow, I'm going to start wearing. I wonder. So the way I would test. The way I would test, how it would go over is I would go in the locker room or not in the locker room, but I'd go backstage, and if I had the bandana and fedora on, if people started making fun of me or saying something about it, I'm wearing that on tv. Because if they're doing it, guess who else is going to do it? The audience. And what do I want the audience to do? Can't stand me, don't like me. Because I want their hero to come out and be either triumphant or beat their hero so badly that they hate me even more.

[Dan Patrick]

But what's it like to beat a popular wrestler for the first time? When the fans.

[Jerome Bettis]

When I beat John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania. Is that what you're talking about? There's nothing quite like it, my friend. There's nothing quite like beating John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania and retaining the WWE Championship. So I'll tell you what. That's. That's that. And people are always like, dude, you always brag about that. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you?

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, how does Cena. When you see John, how long before you bring up that? Or do you bring that up at all?

[Jerome Bettis]

Oh, I'll bring it up every time. You're kidding me. Like, John taught me more in WWE and in life. He is an unbelievable talent, but an even a better human being. And so he literally. He took me as a young kid, and when everyone else was, like, shooing me away, he was guiding me and showing me. And whenever I was in the ring with him, he was teaching me not just how to be a superstar, but to be a main eventer, how to do that. And so.

[Dan Patrick]

But it feels like you're following his career path.

[Jerome Bettis]

I hope so. I mean, he's doing a tremendous job. From peacemaker to all the movies that he's been able to do, He's a tremendous success, and there's a reason he's a tremendous success. It's because he's the hardest working person out there and I try to emulate what he does. And I think Cody Rhodes is doing the exact same thing. I think Seth Rollins does that as well.

[The Miz]

He.

[Jerome Bettis]

If you're the hardest working person and you have like me, I was always like, I'll outwork talent. Like if you have more, if you're more talented than me, I'll outwork that and I'll be better because your laziness is going to hinder you and my hard work is going to make me thrive. And so with John Cena, with Cody Rhodes, with Seth Rollins, with WWE Superstars, that's what we breed. We breed hard work and dedication. Because if you are not a hardworking individual, you'll be weeded out real quick.

[Dan Patrick]

Are you a Browns fan?

[Jerome Bettis]

Huge Browns fan. We're going to the super bowl to watch. No, we're going to the Super Bowl. Flacco is taking us there. If he gets injured, we'll take one of our other three.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, we got a big lot.

[Jerome Bettis]

We got a big quarterback room.

[Dan Patrick]

You're not bringing desean Watson though.

[Jerome Bettis]

No, we got, we got Stefan. I mean Stefanski is an amazing coach. We know that. He's a two time coach of the year. There's a reason for that. He knows how to get the best out of quarterbacks. And so now he has two rookies and. And I even think Kenny Picket could be something that there was a. There was a preseason where everyone says Kenny Picket was the MVP of that preseason. And then the season came and then. Does anyone remember that it is. Does anyone remember that?

[Dan Patrick]

Nobody remembers because it's the preseason.

[Jerome Bettis]

No, I'm telling you, I'm telling you there was a moment where cuz I'm a Browns fan and Harold's like Kenny Picket, you kidding me?

[Dan Patrick]

How many concussions have you had?

[Jerome Bettis]

I haven't had with you? I am very good right now. Kitty Picket was the MVP of a preseason and then they put their, their packages in. Packages in. He couldn't take it. Now we have him. I think Stefan's to keep the best out of him. I think Flacco is a great veteran. I think Shadur maybe a circus but he throws the ball very well and he has a dad that literally has been there has been the best of the best. So I mean he's been taught by the best. And then you have voice and it's.

[Dan Patrick]

Not, it's not firing.

[Jerome Bettis]

You're not telling you right now. You're not selling you on the Bronx, who's the best defensive player in all of the NFL? Whose team is he on? Miles Garrett, the Cleveland Browns. Let's go. And we just got a rookie on our third pick, by the way. Did you not see what we did? I was a little upset about it. A little upset that we traded down because I thought we were getting traps on it. But then we traded down and we got all these picks, so I got a first round pick next year, too. So I'm sitting good right now. I'm sitting good. We're going to. Who do you think's going to the Super Bowl?

[Dan Patrick]

Not the Browns.

[The Miz]

Who?

[Jerome Bettis]

Come on, give me something.

[Dan Patrick]

There's. There's probably seven. Seven.

[Jerome Bettis]

Seven teams.

[Dan Patrick]

Seven or eight teams.

[Jerome Bettis]

We got it. Kansas City, Buffalo.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Jerome Bettis]

Baltimore.

[Dan Patrick]

Sure, sure.

[Jerome Bettis]

You'll take Baltimore over Browns.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes.

[Jerome Bettis]

Cincinnati.

[Dan Patrick]

I'm from Cincinnati.

[Jerome Bettis]

Oh, God.

[The Miz]

Okay.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, that explains it.

[Jerome Bettis]

You know, I, I. You know, the sad part is I really like Joe. Joe. Joe Burrow?

[Dan Patrick]

Yes. That's a quarterback.

[Jerome Bettis]

It is. But I mean, I don't think they give any, like, any line.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, they got, they have tons of. They spent all their money on their, on their wide receivers.

[Jerome Bettis]

Like, why, though? Like, don't you want a line that protects them?

[Dan Patrick]

I know, I know.

[Jerome Bettis]

What are you doing?

[Dan Patrick]

I don't. I don't.

[Jerome Bettis]

Can't you make a call? I. You're Dan Patrick. You're right.

[Dan Patrick]

And I said, how about we sign the defensive guys? How about we give the Joe a chance so he doesn't have to score 38 points every game? I'm going to do my best, but you're in. You're in QB hell like you are.

[Jerome Bettis]

I've been in QB hell for. Since Bernie Kosar. So. So you're not speaking anything differently to me.

[Dan Patrick]

You had Bakers.

[Max Chavkin]

I know.

[Jerome Bettis]

So you don't get me started about Baker Maple. I was here. Yes. And he's amazing. Like you. You get to know Baker Mayfield. Like, I've been here a couple years. I got to know him a little bit. He's amazing. I want that guy in my locker room.

[Dan Patrick]

Why are we yelling?

[Jerome Bettis]

Because I'm angry. I'm mad because you brought up Baker Mayfield and I thought he was our franchise quarterback. I really had the feeling, and I love the moxie of him. Like, he woke up feeling dangerous.

[Dan Patrick]

Do you want to get some way?

[Jerome Bettis]

That's what Cleveland. Cleveland wakes up every morning. Every morning in Cleveland, we're like, yeah, I feel dangerous.

[Dan Patrick]

Do you want to hit somebody?

[Jerome Bettis]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

When's the last time you Hit somebody.

[Jerome Bettis]

Probably about a month ago in the ring.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. Yeah, because I got a guy here, Paulie, who would like to. He was a high school wrestler.

[Jerome Bettis]

Actually, that's not true. I would say like two weeks ago I was just hosting American Gladiators, the new reboot. So I'm hosting it. I'm not a gladiator, but I mean, I get to hit. I get to hit.

[Dan Patrick]

Can you take off your headphones? Polio. Take off his. Just show him one move here.

[Jerome Bettis]

Well, I'm not showing him a move. What do you want me to show him?

[Dan Patrick]

Just. If you were going to teach somebody a lesson, I'll give you an audio waiver.

[Jerome Bettis]

If I get hurt, it's on me. But what I. I guess like just. You wanna. Do you want to learn a lock up?

[Dan Patrick]

Whatever?

[Jerome Bettis]

Yeah. That's so boring. I'm not that. That is terrible, what you just did right there. I don't think he's helping. You don't have a athletic bone in your body.

[Dan Patrick]

Absolutely.

[Jerome Bettis]

I don't want to hurt this guy.

[Dan Patrick]

No, it's okay. It's good content.

[Jerome Bettis]

I'll tell you what. I'll let you chop me. How about that? A chop is like. Is like standard. It kind of hurts, but it won't hurt from no seeing the way you seeing your athletic ability.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Jerome Bettis]

It's not gonna hurt me at all.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. All right, take off ones.

[Jerome Bettis]

All right, so I'll teach you how to chop.

[Dan Patrick]

All right, here we go.

[Jerome Bettis]

By the way, chopping, it's no joke.

[The Miz]

It.

[Jerome Bettis]

It hurts. What are you doing?

[Dan Patrick]

So here's the.

[Jerome Bettis]

Come on, let's wrestle.

[Max Chavkin]

Okay, you show me this, I'm gonna.

[Jerome Bettis]

Show you how to chop. Okay. Open hand, right?

[The Miz]

So you want to cup it.

[Jerome Bettis]

Yeah, because I want a big.

[The Miz]

I want it loud.

[Jerome Bettis]

Yeah, I want it loud. Right. Where am I hitting? And you're gonna hit right here. So the way it's gonna go, I'm gonna hit it. I'm gonna do it very light on you.

[Max Chavkin]

What do you.

[Jerome Bettis]

I'm giving you a camera. That camera right there is the one we want. That's the good camera. So we go here. And when you reach back, you whack. Okay.

[Max Chavkin]

That was nice.

[Jerome Bettis]

That was friendly. That was friendly, that, that. I did it very lightly.

[Max Chavkin]

That was very friendly.

[Jerome Bettis]

Give me just a little more. So you want a little more? A little more. A lot more. Okay, A lot more. A little.

[The Miz]

A little more.

[Jerome Bettis]

A little more. A lot.

[Max Chavkin]

Your first one.

[Jerome Bettis]

You sure? Yeah, yeah. So now you're gonna do it to me. Okay. Which Hand.

[The Miz]

Are you.

[Max Chavkin]

I'll go right.

[Jerome Bettis]

Hold up.

[Max Chavkin]

Camera.

[Jerome Bettis]

No, I want you to be.

[Max Chavkin]

Oh, my God.

[Jerome Bettis]

Least athletic person I've ever seen in my life. So what you're gonna do? Loosen up. My God. If you were like that.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah.

[Jerome Bettis]

If you're like this in anything in golf, anything. If you're like this, you're gonna blow up. You're not gonna be able to breathe. So I want you nice and loose, comfortable. And now you're just gonna reach back and whack. Okay?

[The Miz]

Whap.

[Jerome Bettis]

Whap.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh.

[The Miz]

Oh, there we go.

[Jerome Bettis]

Now go. Now go. You want it more? Wait, you asked the least athletic person I've ever seen.

[Dan Patrick]

He's the only volunteer, though. That was rotten that he's the only guy. See, Marvin is athletic.

[Jerome Bettis]

I thought I was supposed to go easy.

[Dan Patrick]

He's the Miss. And Marvin's a wrestling fan, too. Like, he.

[Jerome Bettis]

He gets in there. Well, he didn't get in there at all.

[Dan Patrick]

Marvin, do you want a piece of Miss.

[The Miz]

What are we doing?

[Jerome Bettis]

Am I just doing wrestling matches? Championship.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Max Chavkin]

I thought we're doing a promo.

[Jerome Bettis]

It's The Miz. Hey. Versus Marvin. It's WrestleMania. Is that what I sound like when I.

[The Miz]

When I.

[Jerome Bettis]

Is that what I sound like when I do promos? That's Vince McMahon from SummerSlam 90s.

[Dan Patrick]

Great to see you.

[Jerome Bettis]

Great to see you.

[Dan Patrick]

Good luck with your Browns.

[Jerome Bettis]

Thank you very much. And do I get any luck out here in the America Century Championship? I mean, I'm a 5,000 to 1. Me and Barkley are the worst rated.

[Dan Patrick]

I know. I saw that.

[Jerome Bettis]

I got a YouTube channel for golf, Ms. Golf, and literally they're like, yeah, we. You're the worst out here. I'm like, no, I'm not bad. I'm a good golfer.

[Dan Patrick]

Will you finish. You won't finish last?

[Jerome Bettis]

No.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Jerome Bettis]

I've never finished last.

[Dan Patrick]

Are you better than Barkley?

[Jerome Bettis]

I haven't been in the past three years that we've went. We went up against each other, but the goal is to get to Barkley, to get to. To get to better. Barkley was 61st last year. That's not that anything.

[Dan Patrick]

60. 61st out of 90.

[Jerome Bettis]

Out of. Yeah. And I was 83rd.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Jerome Bettis]

I beat a Rod.

[Max Chavkin]

All right.

[Jerome Bettis]

That's something.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, I thought.

[Jerome Bettis]

I like.

[Dan Patrick]

Wow.

[Jerome Bettis]

Great.

[Max Chavkin]

Wow.

[Jerome Bettis]

I beat Jason Kelsey.

[Dan Patrick]

Wow.

[Jerome Bettis]

Nothing. No, I mean, what do you want me to say? I beat Bryson DeChambeau. He's not playing. All right.

[Dan Patrick]

Don't you want to be great?

[Jerome Bettis]

I. There's a reason. So I made my golf YouTube channel Ms. Golf because of the American Century, because I was playing so poorly that I wanted learn really like hone in and lock in on how to be great at golf. So I was like, all right, let's make fun. Let's, let's make golf fun, right? So let's do a YouTube channel that's fun. But also you learn as an 18 handicap, like how to become better. So it teaches you whether you're good or you're bad. It teaches you a little bit of everything, all while entertaining you as well. So I feel like not only will I entertain out here at American Century Championship in Tahoe, but I will dominate and I will do absolutely fantastic and great and I will be the person that people want to see because I'm gonna do that great. And that 5,001, that $1 is going to go a long way.

[Dan Patrick]

About a round of applause.

[Jerome Bettis]

Let's go, let's go.

[Dan Patrick]

Thank you, buddy.

[Jerome Bettis]

Thank you very much guys. Appreciate you.

[Dan Patrick]

That is the miz short on energy there.

[Jerome Bettis]

Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our [e-mail] and within the iHeartRadio app.

[Dan Patrick]

Search FSR to listen live. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me, three time Provola Lavar Arrington.

[Jerome Bettis]

And I couldn't be more excited to.

[Dan Patrick]

Announce a podcast called up on Game.

[Jerome Bettis]

What is up on Game?

[Dan Patrick]

You ask?

[Jerome Bettis]

Along with my fellow pro bowler TJ Hushmanzada and Super bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, Levar Arrington, TJ H. Manzada and Plexico Burris on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast from.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? WashablesOfAs.com has your back. Featuring the Annabe collection. The only designer sofa that's machine washable inside and out. Where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabrics. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Check out washablesofas.com and get up to 60% off your Anna Bay sofa backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return, shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back. Upgrade [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. 25 years, 25 players before training camp kickstarts a new NFL season, NFL Daily.

[Jerome Bettis]

Is going to look back.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

It is a special six episod series.

[Jerome Bettis]

Where myself, Greg Rosenthal and some of the top NFL minds like Kevin Harlan, Mina Kimes and Bill Barnwell make the case for each player.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

We're taking a look back giving you NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years.

[Jerome Bettis]

So who made the list?

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

You know Tom Brady's on it.

[Jerome Bettis]

Where's Patrick Mahomes?

[Max Chavkin]

Touchdown Kansas City.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

He's on it.

[Jerome Bettis]

How about Lamar Jackson? Jackson takes it himself. Look at him. Dirt back and forth. Oh, he broke his ankles and he's got a touchdown. He is Houdini.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

You are gonna have to listen to find out. Listen to NFL Daily's top 25 players of the last 25 years starting on June 30th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Your entire identity has been fabricated. Your beloved brother goes missing without a trace. You discover the depths of your mother's illness, the way it has echoed and reverberated throughout your life, impacting your very legacy. Hi, I'm Dani Shapiro and these are just a few of the profound and powerful stories I'll be mining on our 12th season of Family Secrets. With over 37 million downloads, we continue to be moved and inspired by our guests and their courageously told stories. I can't wait to share 10 powerful new episodes with you. Stories of tangled up identities, concealed truths, and the way in which family secrets almost always need to be told. I hope you'll join me and my extraordinary guests for this new season of Family Secrets. Listen to Family Secrets Season 12 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Jerome Bettis]

Adventure should never come with a pause button.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Remember the MoviePass era where you could watch all the movies you wanted for just $9? It made zero sense and I could not stop thinking about it. I'm Bridget Todd, host of the tech podcast There Are no Girls on the Internet. On this new season, I'm talking to the innovators who are left out of the tech headlines, like the visionary behind MoviePass, Black founder Stacy Spikes, who was pushed out of MoviePass, the company that he founded. His story is wild, and it's currently the subject of a juicy new HBO documentary. We dive into how culture connects us.

[Jerome Bettis]

When you go to France or you go to England or you go to Hong Kong, those kids are wearing Jordans.

[The Miz]

They're wearing Kobe's shirt.

[Jerome Bettis]

They're watching Black Panther and the challenges.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Of being a black founder.

[Jerome Bettis]

Close your eyes and tell me what a tech founder looks like. They're not going to describe someone who looks like me, and they're not going to describe. Describe someone who looks like you.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

I created There are no girls on the Internet because the future belongs to all of us. So listen to There are no girls on the Internet. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jerome Bettis]

I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this Taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated.

[Dan Patrick]

I get right back there and it's bad.

[Jerome Bettis]

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21 and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4. Ad free at Lava for Good. Plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Dan Patrick]

Is. Is Matt ready to go? Paul?

[Max Chavkin]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

We need to escort Matt Ryan up here. How about a round of applause for the man they call Matty? Eyes, tall and lean.

[Max Chavkin]

What's up?

[Dan Patrick]

Yes. Yeah.

[Max Chavkin]

How we doing, guys?

[Dan Patrick]

Looks like he's dropped, like 15, 20 pounds. You're. You're just a. We see this with offensive and defensive linemen.

[Max Chavkin]

Do I need headset? No, no, you're good.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah, just not as muscular. A little softer around the edges, but a little lighter.

[Dan Patrick]

But did you try to purposely bulk.

[Max Chavkin]

Up when I played?

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Max Chavkin]

Oh, yeah, for sure. For me, it was always difficult to keep the weight on just by kind of, you know, my frame or whatever it was. It was work to try and get to 220. 217 is what I played at. And I probably. I weigh about two or five now.

[Dan Patrick]

So, but you just see quarterbacks like ragdolls, but then you see those quarterbacks in person and like, Trevor Lawrence is a big guy.

[Max Chavkin]

No doubt you've seen him last night. I mean, Trevor is, I mean, he is put together and just broad shouldered, big. And, you know, we were talking about Cam Newton last night, too. Same thing. Played against him in division. I remember meeting him for the first time, being like, we play the same position. What are you talking about, man? You look like the DMS that I go against, so. Yes, yeah, it's, it's. There's some, some big guys, but, you know, I was able to do it pretty well at my size and made it work for me.

[Dan Patrick]

But is there, you know, you see Peyton and Brady and they would kind of go in the fetal position if they were going to be sacked. Yeah, that's okay, isn't it?

[Max Chavkin]

Listen, your best ability is availability, right. When you can play.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Max Chavkin]

So Tom and Peyton, they kind of had that down to a science. I, you know, I was kind of in that. That era of quarterbacks just right after them. Right. So I had watched them play in the NFL for seven, eight years, nine years before I got there. And then, you know, played. I guess Tom played longer than me. He still was playing after I was done.

[Dan Patrick]

But do you think he could still play?

[Max Chavkin]

I think he could. I mean, I think the way he takes care of himself, it looks like, like he looks, he looks more fit now than he's ever, ever been. And so, you know, and I think the style with which he played leads to being able to play longer.

[Jerome Bettis]

Right.

[Max Chavkin]

Not moving around, not having to run, do all those type of different things because he could still throw it. I mean, he could still spin it at the end.

[Dan Patrick]

Matt sacked 500 times, Paulie.

[Max Chavkin]

488 times he was sacked in his career.

[Dan Patrick]

But you.

[Max Chavkin]

I feel pretty good.

[Dan Patrick]

You was. Look at you.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah, I still feel pretty good. I can still swing the golf club, which is good.

[Dan Patrick]

Is there one that stands out?

[Max Chavkin]

One sack that stands out? I mean, they all kind of run together when you get about 500 of them. But I'd say the sack fumble in the super bowl is probably the one that.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, I wasn't going there.

[Max Chavkin]

Listen, I think sometimes, I think sometimes.

[Jerome Bettis]

You got to get in front of it, Right?

[Dan Patrick]

Okay.

[Max Chavkin]

You just got to go in front of him.

[Dan Patrick]

No, I.

[Max Chavkin]

So if you're asking me about one of them, Dan, I would probably say that's the one I would like to have not been sacked on. But anyhow, what else do you guys want to talk about.

[Dan Patrick]

What was that play called? So you're in the huddle and you call that play. What is it?

[Max Chavkin]

That's a good question. I don't remember the exact play call offhand. I, I'm always amazed some of these guys that, that can rip back from, you know, just off the.

[Dan Patrick]

Oh, your guys memories have to be.

[Max Chavkin]

It's really good. I remember the situation. I remember what the route we had going on. We had Aldrich Robinson running the corner that was coming out like the top of this and he was going to be open like he was, he was going to be open and trying to hang on for that extra second, give him a chance to make a play.

[Dan Patrick]

But would that have been a touchdown?

[Max Chavkin]

It would have been a chunk. I, I think there was a chance, but it would have been a chunk play for sure.

[Dan Patrick]

But you don't remember the call.

[Max Chavkin]

But I can't. It was, it was a designer, what we call designer calls. So it was like a specific play for that week for that situation. So it wasn't like, you know, gun trips. Right. Three Jet Jaws X Drift, which was one of our, our staple plays. It was a designer play for that week.

[Dan Patrick]

Give us, give us a call though. That would might surprise us the depth of it that you're trying to absorb if you're, you know, wide receiver, running back.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah, I mean there's, I'm trying to think of staple plays but like where it gets wordies in the run game than canning or killing or checking or whatever you want to a pass play. So you know, we'd have like WestRide, Zoomsy. Right. 19 Wanda Force can, you know, can gun three scat, you know, X hole spacing.

[Dan Patrick]

That's one play.

[Max Chavkin]

That's one play. And so, you know, I mean it's, I heard you read the little script coming on here. That was more impressive to me than calling a play right now that I've done TV and I've seen the prompter and having to come in and done some of those things, I find that far more difficult than them regurgitating a play.

[Dan Patrick]

Call Matt Ryan joining us on the program. Yeah, you start to think about making the transition. When did you think about going from playing to then broadcasting?

[Max Chavkin]

You know, I had, listen, I've always had fun coming on shows with you or with different guys. And I had the opportunity a couple times while I was playing to go in and, and do some studio work, one with cbs, one with espn and I enjoyed it. But I really didn't think about it until I was done, you know, and my last year in Indy was a difficult year for the organization, for myself, for everybody that was in it. And so after that, I got back to Atlanta after that season and was kind of talking with my wife about what we wanted to do moving forward. My wife was pregnant with my youngest son at the time, and it seemed like, you know, what, probably a good time to be rooted and home and. And that's where we started to explore some options. I was really lucky, Got hired by cbs, called games for the first year, which was an absolute blast, A ton of fun doing that, and then moved into the studio the next year. So it kind of happened faster than I thought. It wasn't something like I was planning as a player. This is it. This is where I'm going when I'm done.

[Dan Patrick]

I was, you know, wondering about this, though. When you get towards the end, when do you know you're at the end of your career?

[Max Chavkin]

There were a handful of times in India I knew it was.

[Jerome Bettis]

This is probably it.

[Max Chavkin]

Okay.

[Dan Patrick]

But was it because of you?

[Max Chavkin]

Listen, I still think I had gas left in the tank. Right. To be able to play that year was a strange year. Like Frank Wright being fired and Jeff Saturday coming in and I got benched and then came back and played a little bit and just kind of the whole. The whole deal and then being away. My wife was pregnant with my youngest son, so they were back in Atlanta. She was there kind of visiting with doctors there, and they were back and forth, that whole kind of thing. It wasn't like a wake up. It was just kind of a slow drip to, you know. And I think my life's moving in a different direction.

[Dan Patrick]

Did you ever think about trying to join the Eagles?

[Max Chavkin]

I. No, never. Seriously. Never.

[Dan Patrick]

But that's your team growing.

[Max Chavkin]

I grew up, but, like, I played against them enough, but they soon did not become my team.

[Jerome Bettis]

Right.

[Max Chavkin]

So we.

[Dan Patrick]

It's like the Steelers.

[Max Chavkin]

Could I have played for the Steelers? Yeah. Like, I think your allegiances, your childhood allegiances.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah.

[Max Chavkin]

Go out the wayside the minute you get drafted or you get, you know, you put into a building. And so particularly I think when you play for an organization as long as I did in Atlanta, you know, my. We got a little chipmunk running around there. You got some wildlife on.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, we do.

[Max Chavkin]

Good.

[Dan Patrick]

We had dogs go first. We had bomb sniffing dogs up here earlier. Yeah, we got it all going.

[Max Chavkin]

I love it. I love it.

[Dan Patrick]

Yeah, we're talking about Ryan. I was wondering about Kirk Cousins in the situation that he's in.

[Max Chavkin]

Yep.

[Dan Patrick]

Now, he said he was kind of blindsided with the whole Michael Pennix draft pick. What do you do in a situation now you can't feel sorry for him from the standpoint of $100 million guarantee.

[Max Chavkin]

Sure.

[Dan Patrick]

But he does want to play.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

I don't know if he know what. No other team was interested because of the 100 million dollar guarantee.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah, I mean that's, that is. Listen, I get both sides of it, right. I get, I get the frustration from Kirk's end. Right. You, you would, you would hope for transparency coming into a situation of what the plan is moving forward. Hey, why are you bringing me in? Is there, you know, what kind of Runway are we looking at here? With. With myself. I think from the Falcons perspective that was such a deep draft at quarterback, you know, and I think that as I've been removed as a player, my player side of me goes right to Kirk. Of. Of course I'd be pissed too.

[Dan Patrick]

Right.

[Max Chavkin]

You know, you're in that situation. I think that's a natural competitor's reaction. Like what are we doing? We've got other spots we could go. You've heard other quarterbacks say that in buildings where they've been established and they're drafting young quarterbacks saying what are we doing? We can add value at different spots. So I think Kirk coming in, feeling like he had a four or five year Runway to play there and then them going in a different direction was probably difficult, is difficult for him. But I get the organization standpoint because I do think, you know, when you look at last year's draft, the depth of that quarterback position and then projecting forward. Right. What the next two or three drafts are going to look like and hoping that you're not in a position to draft early. It's the position you've got to take care of. And if, if you're defending the Falcons, which, you know, I'm biased because I'm played there so long and root for them and all those kind of things. You have to get that position right. Right. And, and you have to get it right. And when you've got the opportunity to acquire somebody who I think is really talented, I think Michael Pannix has a lot of talent and, and I think he played really well. At the end of the year, you got to do it.

[Dan Patrick]

But how did the Niners miss on Trey Lance? How does that happen?

[Max Chavkin]

Well, they're not the only ones.

[Dan Patrick]

I know, but that's when you trade up and you whiff on a guy.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah, it's.

[Dan Patrick]

And I just thought he didn't have enough starts. I needed a larger sample size.

[Max Chavkin]

Well, you know, you go specifically to Michael Pennix. I think one of the things you look at when you draft a guy like that is, yes, there were injury concerns and knee and, and those kind of things, but there was, there was a large body of work.

[Dan Patrick]

Indiana and Washington.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah, right. And, and I remember the old Bill Parcell's, you know, the, the checklist for drafting quarterbacks was three year starters and all this and, you know, whatever the checklist was, but it was. He wanted a sample size and I think that's gotten increasingly more difficult. You guys are talking about the College Football Playoff coming in, but the portal, people moving around, people getting out of there more and more. I think it's hard to get a big sample size of quarterbacks at this point.

[Dan Patrick]

When you look at your resume, do you see hall of Famer?

[Max Chavkin]

I've been asked this and I don't think there's any great way to, to kind of donate. I'm proud of what I did.

[Dan Patrick]

You.

[Max Chavkin]

Know, and it's not for me to decide. I'm.

[Dan Patrick]

But if you were going to convince me.

[Max Chavkin]

If I were going to convince you.

[Dan Patrick]

Let's say I'm a voter.

[Max Chavkin]

The numbers are pretty good.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, you got the mvp.

[Max Chavkin]

Sure.

[Dan Patrick]

And you played in the Super Bowl.

[Max Chavkin]

Yep.

[Dan Patrick]

If you win this, it all goes.

[Max Chavkin]

Back to that sack. It all goes back to that sack. All right. That one sack. You wanted to talk.

[Dan Patrick]

Didn't you have one of the great completions that people forget about towards the end of that game?

[Max Chavkin]

I was one half of that. The other half was pretty good, too. Julio Jones was pretty good on the other end of that.

[Dan Patrick]

It's, there's so many, like, plays that got forgotten in Super Bowls.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

Because you didn't win Seattle, who was the guy of the. Yes. Forgotten.

[Jerome Bettis]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

One of the great catchers in super bowl history. And we're like, oh, yeah, that's right. And Julio made that grab and I go, he just won the Super Bowl.

[Max Chavkin]

It's kind of what I was thinking myself at the time, but it didn't quite shake out that way.

[Dan Patrick]

But I think you're a Hall of Famer, but I think, you know, it's tricky. Like somebody says, is Russell Wilson hall of Famer? Is Philip Rivers a Hall of Famer? Like, I would never want to vote on this because this is. You're changing lives.

[Max Chavkin]

Sure, sure.

[Dan Patrick]

So you got, whatever, 45 guys who are in there arguing back and forth and then, you know, you start to promote. And then you denigrate somebody and like, is Russell Wilson playing himself out of the hall of Fame with the way he's played since Denver and, you know, now with Pittsburgh and then New York?

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah. I mean, I think you talk about his body of work and the consistency for the better part of a decade and what they did in Seattle. I mean, yeah, I think there's a lot of guys that. That probably didn't play. You think of Joe Namath or. Or Johnny Unitis in different uniforms at the end. They're hall of Famers. Right. And they certainly didn't play themselves out of it. But, you know, I think when you talk about Russ, there was so much that he did. He was so consistent for so long. To me, whether it's the hall of Fame discussion or whether it's players or whatever, the thing I've always been most impressed with is guys that do it for a long time at the same level over and over and over, and you can. You can kind of check mark what they're going to do when they go out there and perform. I think that's one of the things, regardless of sport, that I've always admired.

[Dan Patrick]

Well, you look at Eli. Eli's numbers are average. Clutch.

[Max Chavkin]

Clutch.

[Dan Patrick]

Yes.

[Max Chavkin]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

He beat Tom Brady twice.

[Max Chavkin]

Yes.

[Dan Patrick]

That's why he's a Hall of Famer.

[Max Chavkin]

I put everybody here, man.

[Dan Patrick]

I'll put everybody in there. Joe Flacco going in.

[Max Chavkin]

Well, I love Joe. I love Joe, but. And Joe is a good friend of mine.

[Dan Patrick]

But a Philip Rivers hall of Famer.

[Max Chavkin]

I believe so. Yeah. I mean, you talk about is a really interesting time the league was changing, right? You go from the mid-2000s to really 2020, and the league changed into that past first type of offense. And you have about eight or 10 guys that put up numbers that are in the top 10 of the history of the league during that short period of time. I don't know if we'll see that. I don't know if careers will go as long as they did as. As the style of quarterback play evolves. Right. And the exposure to hits and running and. And those kind of things. And you've seen passing yards come down in the last three or four or five years. Right. It's not, you know, we went to the 17th game and you're thinking everybody's going to be thrown for over 5,000 yards. You just don't see it. And so I think the league has evolved into, you know, how they're running the football. And I think it's bring Those passing numbers down. So I think the numbers. It was an interesting time and I think there were a lot of good, really good passers in the league at that time.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, can I make this statement?

[Max Chavkin]

Make any statement.

[Dan Patrick]

Okay. But I want to know if you agree that Mahomes isn't the best quarterback in the NFL, but he's the quarterback you would want in the biggest game.

[Max Chavkin]

It's a. There's a lot to that statement. The second part. Yes. Right. His track record, I believe, has proven that although the super bowl, they, they didn't have their best performance this, this past year. But for me, you know, personally, that doesn't change my opinion of, of Patrick Mahomes. Right. If, if you roll out the ball in the biggest of the big games. Yeah, I think he's the guy that you're going to take. You know, I think. How are you pigeon holing that first part of the statement?

[Dan Patrick]

Okay, who's the best quarterback in regular season? Quarterback. Who is the best quarterback in the NFL?

[Max Chavkin]

That's a great question. I think you probably still have to go with Patrick Mahomes. I mean, you look, you look at what they did last year.

[Dan Patrick]

See, I would say Joe Burrow.

[Max Chavkin]

Joe Burrow is excellent. I mean, Joe Burrow, he did everything.

[Dan Patrick]

To get them into the playoffs and could have been an MVP candidate. He played that well.

[Max Chavkin]

I certainly agree with you.

[Dan Patrick]

I think Joe or Lamar Jackson, and.

[Max Chavkin]

I'm, I think the league's in a great spot right now with quarterback play. Like, I really do. I think it's. It's really good. But if you're asking me one regular season game, I'll take Patrick. I'll take Patrick Mahomes.

[Dan Patrick]

All right, fair enough. It's just. Just an opinion.

[Max Chavkin]

Yeah.

[Dan Patrick]

What's your jacket size for the hall of fame? 42 long. Okay. So I thought.

[Max Chavkin]

Good with that.

[Dan Patrick]

That's what I told him.

[Max Chavkin]

That's what you.

[Dan Patrick]

Great to see again.

[Max Chavkin]

Good to see you there.

[Dan Patrick]

He's Matt Ryan.

[Max Chavkin]

Thank you, guys.

[Dan Patrick]

He promised he was telling stories today.

[Max Chavkin]

Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club.

[Jerome Bettis]

San Diego coming to MLS is going to be a game changer because this.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.

[Max Chavkin]

We need to embrace this community. Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jerome Bettis]

In our new podcast, Everybody's Business, we.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Talk about the business news that concerns everybody. From Bloomberg Business Week, I'm Stacey Vanek Smith. And I'm Max Chavkin. Each week we unpack what is happening on Main street and Wall street, all the streets. WrestleMania has taken over the US economy. Poetry that executives write on LinkedIn. A little actual magic in our underrated story of the week.

[Jerome Bettis]

The single greatest marketing campaign the music.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Business has ever decided to ask people how they felt about the penny going away. Listen to everybody's business wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jerome Bettis]

I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season one Taser Incorporated.

[Dan Patrick]

I get right back there and it's bad.

[Jerome Bettis]

Listen to Absolute Season 1 Taser incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Welcome to Pretty Private with ebony, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebony and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast network. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. If you're looking for another heavy podcast about trauma, the saying it this is for the ones who had to survive and still show up as brilliant, loud, soft and whole. The Unwanted Sorority is where Black women, femmes and gender expansive survivors of sexual violence rewrite the rules on healing, support, and what happens after. And I'm your host and co president of this organization, Dr. Leitra Tate. Listen to the Unwanted Sorority. New episodes every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.