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The DiCecco Daily Special Pod: Catching Up With Former Eagles TE Jeff Thomason · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:09
Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome into another edition of the Czech
0:12
Speaker 1: O Daily, a special edition as I'm joined by former Eagles,
0:17
Speaker 1: Packers and Bengals tight end Jeff Thomason, who enjoyed a
0:21
Speaker 1: ten year career. Jeff, thanks for making some time. How
0:24
Speaker 1: are you.
0:25
Speaker 2: I'm doing great, Andrew. It's good to be here.
0:27
Speaker 1: Man, absolutely So, before we get into your remarkable story
0:31
Speaker 1: that many will remember back in late two thousand and four,
0:36
Speaker 1: I want to get into some questions some parts of
0:38
Speaker 1: your career that piqued my interest. Now, you were at
0:42
Speaker 1: Corona del Mar High School, which is in Newport Beach, California.
0:47
Speaker 1: You lettered in football, where you played I believe linebacker
0:50
Speaker 1: end tight end, but you were also a four year
0:53
Speaker 1: letter winner in swimming.
0:55
Speaker 2: Ye.
0:55
Speaker 1: So was there ever a point, Jeff, in your career
0:58
Speaker 1: where you were trying to make it decision whether to
1:00
Speaker 1: continue on and play football or go with the swimming.
1:04
Speaker 2: Great question. Honestly, swimming was a gift that I was
1:06
Speaker 2: given from the Good Lord to be able to do
1:08
Speaker 2: pretty pretty efficiently. So it was something I swam as
1:11
Speaker 2: a young man. Way back. I was able to train
1:14
Speaker 2: under a guy named Surmance of War who coached Mark
1:17
Speaker 2: Spitz going way back to you know, in Sacramento, California
1:20
Speaker 2: under Ardent Hills, So it was blessed to be under
1:24
Speaker 2: some of the best as a young man. So I
1:25
Speaker 2: swam a lot as young and had been a tall frame.
1:28
Speaker 2: It's just something that seemed to fit really well, skinny
1:31
Speaker 2: in high school. And yeah, it came easy for me.
1:35
Speaker 2: So it was a great sport. And I did think
1:36
Speaker 2: about it, very, very very seriously about going in swimming
1:39
Speaker 2: college and had some offers of swimming college as well.
1:41
Speaker 2: But how the Blue organ came out and gave me
1:43
Speaker 2: an opportunity. So decided to take that route and blessed
1:47
Speaker 2: that I did.
1:48
Speaker 1: So you go on to Oregon, You're a two year starter.
1:51
Speaker 1: You end your career with over sixty catches, over eight
1:53
Speaker 1: hundred yards receiving. When did the NFL become a possibility
1:57
Speaker 1: for you? And were there are a lot of teams
1:59
Speaker 1: that were interested coming off your final year there?
2:03
Speaker 2: There was a little bit talking about my junior year
2:05
Speaker 2: because we had a guy named Bill Musprady's been a
2:07
Speaker 2: coach in the NFL for a long time, a well
2:09
Speaker 2: known coach, and played the quarterback for a little while.
2:11
Speaker 2: But we had a great junior year. So there after
2:14
Speaker 2: my junior was to talk about me get a chance
2:16
Speaker 2: to go play, and I talked a couple of agents
2:17
Speaker 2: and had a chance to get serious about it a
2:19
Speaker 2: little bit and look at the opportunity. And then you know,
2:22
Speaker 2: in ninety one the fall, we had a rough season,
2:25
Speaker 2: but I was able to get a chance to get
2:27
Speaker 2: a walk on with the Bengals. So you know, it
2:28
Speaker 2: wasn't something I ever kind of thought i'd get a
2:31
Speaker 2: chance to play in the NFL because I just wasn't
2:34
Speaker 2: wasn't a big name, but I didn't get an opportnity
2:35
Speaker 2: on a gun named Mike Pope and Dave Shula was
2:38
Speaker 2: the head coach and able to train with him, which
2:41
Speaker 2: was I learned from some of the best as far
2:42
Speaker 2: as Mike Pope was a was a Titians coach for
2:46
Speaker 2: the Giants back of Mark Brovaro was going way back
2:49
Speaker 2: by man. I got some history here or some names,
2:50
Speaker 2: but so I was able to learn from some really
2:53
Speaker 2: really good coaches when I first started getting the league.
2:56
Speaker 1: So you joined the Bengals, you make the team as
2:58
Speaker 1: an undrafted free agent and too nineteen ninety two, and
3:02
Speaker 1: then from there, I think you played sparingly, then you
3:06
Speaker 1: spent the nineteen ninety four season out of football. Was
3:09
Speaker 1: there ever a question in your mind, Jeff, that what
3:12
Speaker 1: am I going to do now? Should I explore another
3:14
Speaker 1: avenue hundreercent.
3:16
Speaker 2: Yeah. I looked around and had some opportunities, some interviews
3:18
Speaker 2: got involved. In ninety four, I was I was released
3:21
Speaker 2: by the Bengals and the Packers, and that's when I
3:23
Speaker 2: met Andy Reid. So in ninety four I met him
3:26
Speaker 2: as a Titans coach and Mark Shimurro was hurt at
3:29
Speaker 2: the time, and I had a chance to go to
3:32
Speaker 2: go actually just get any couple of games, not play
3:35
Speaker 2: a whole lot, but get in some games. You get
3:37
Speaker 2: a chance to work with guys like Andy, and watched
3:40
Speaker 2: him to do a thing he was when he was
3:42
Speaker 2: a tight ends coach and Mike Homegrown was the head coach,
3:44
Speaker 2: so you know, was know I was there for a
3:47
Speaker 2: short stand until Mark came back Tamara. So when he
3:50
Speaker 2: came back, I knew I was kind of done. So
3:51
Speaker 2: I had the ninety four season off, went and lived
3:53
Speaker 2: in Boulder and tried to find my way a little bit,
3:56
Speaker 2: and UH trained with with the Boulder football team back
3:59
Speaker 2: there see you way back and back in the days
4:01
Speaker 2: they were they were it's always been a great program.
4:03
Speaker 2: But they were back in ninety two ninety three and
4:04
Speaker 2: there were national championships in ninety two. They were they
4:06
Speaker 2: were really solid. So there's some really really good court
4:09
Speaker 2: players at the time. So Corey Detmer was a quarterback
4:12
Speaker 2: back then, which is fun. Got a chance to meet
4:14
Speaker 2: him during the whole thing which is a small world,
4:17
Speaker 2: and train with him a little bit, but then got
4:19
Speaker 2: another chance from the Packers back and where Andy called
4:22
Speaker 2: me back in ninety five, which is such a blessing,
4:25
Speaker 2: and and to go play back with him and and
4:28
Speaker 2: just he obviously he made me play as long as
4:30
Speaker 2: I did. I I always said, there you find the
4:32
Speaker 2: right people to carry along with and and grab their
4:35
Speaker 2: coat tails. And he was one of those guys. They're
4:37
Speaker 2: just so blessed to be able to to learn from
4:40
Speaker 2: him and have him as a coach, no question.
4:43
Speaker 1: That leads into my next question. Andy Reid was your
4:46
Speaker 1: position coach Jeff for three seasons. What was he like
4:49
Speaker 1: as a tight ends coach?
4:51
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think one of the best man, I really do.
4:53
Speaker 2: And I still feel that he's the guy that I
4:55
Speaker 2: can call today and he will respond right away. He's
4:58
Speaker 2: always a guy that just truly a caring human being.
5:01
Speaker 2: He's always a guy that surrounds himself with good people.
5:03
Speaker 2: And I did talk to the other day because I'm
5:04
Speaker 2: actually looking at some other things right now, and he
5:06
Speaker 2: picked up the phone and we talked for fifteen minutes.
5:08
Speaker 2: So just a wonderful man man, a wonderful heart, a
5:12
Speaker 2: caring human being, a guy that just you know, even
5:16
Speaker 2: even playing I played for him a long time ago,
5:18
Speaker 2: and he still asked me about my wife and my kids,
5:20
Speaker 2: and just really aware of what goes on in people.
5:23
Speaker 2: He's a He's a great human being. And so I
5:25
Speaker 2: learned a ton from the guy. I talk about a
5:27
Speaker 2: dedicated human being. That guy just works his tail off,
5:30
Speaker 2: and I learned that so much about him. He just
5:31
Speaker 2: puts so much time into the game and understanding the
5:34
Speaker 2: ins and outs of the game. So I truly, truly,
5:37
Speaker 2: truly learned a lot for him, and I admired that
5:39
Speaker 2: man more than words can say. Truly.
5:42
Speaker 1: Was there ever a moment, or even some characteristics that
5:44
Speaker 1: you observe from Andy during your time working with him
5:47
Speaker 1: that suggested to you that he would be an effective
5:51
Speaker 1: head coach at some point in his career.
5:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, I knew. I knew from the dedication he put
5:56
Speaker 2: into it at the time he put into it. And
5:58
Speaker 2: I remember going to training camp and and say, or
6:00
Speaker 2: even go and do his rooms Hodge worked out a
6:02
Speaker 2: little bit, and and see and see some of the
6:06
Speaker 2: the just the trays of food he'd have outside of
6:09
Speaker 2: his room because he'd be spending all hours watching film.
6:11
Speaker 2: The guy's watched so much films. The dedication he had,
6:14
Speaker 2: and the new way he knew the game offensively, obviously,
6:17
Speaker 2: but as well as defensively. The guy was really really
6:19
Speaker 2: just a technique technician of the game, and he just
6:22
Speaker 2: understood every parts of everything. So we'd go in and
6:24
Speaker 2: we studied just coverages and offense and offenses and defensive
6:27
Speaker 2: front coverages and watching the way he could explain them
6:30
Speaker 2: or analyze them and kind of walk to the front
6:33
Speaker 2: of the line of scrimmage and be able to to
6:35
Speaker 2: look and see what's in front of you. I truly
6:37
Speaker 2: love the way he approached the game, and that was
6:39
Speaker 2: something I didn't I didn't understand before. I knew technically
6:41
Speaker 2: a lot of things about the game, but it wasn't
6:44
Speaker 2: until I got a chance before with Andy that I
6:46
Speaker 2: learned that you have to earn to learn and so
6:48
Speaker 2: much about the details, which I didn't quite do a
6:51
Speaker 2: lot of that until I joined him, and uh, God,
6:54
Speaker 2: spend a blessing he really has. It was such a
6:56
Speaker 2: treat learning from that man, and obviously it's a relevant
7:00
Speaker 2: what he's done in in the NFL.
7:02
Speaker 1: Looking back, how do you feel he maximized your potential
7:06
Speaker 1: and got the most out of you.
7:08
Speaker 2: I would do a lot of things going back to that.
7:12
Speaker 2: I mean maxim i atesching my I was never a
7:14
Speaker 2: I was a good athlete, but never did the greatest athletes.
7:16
Speaker 2: Some of these guys out there are truly truly gifted.
7:18
Speaker 2: But I was a guy that I would do anything
7:20
Speaker 2: the world. He always told me way back, Jeff, you
7:22
Speaker 2: want to play in the NFL, you gotta be the
7:23
Speaker 2: kind of guy that that just does little things and
7:27
Speaker 2: does everything you're asked to do it maybe being the
7:29
Speaker 2: wedge or being the you know, punt team, or whatever
7:31
Speaker 2: it takes to be on the field. And that was
7:33
Speaker 2: something that I knew I wasn't going to be maybe
7:35
Speaker 2: the the Chad Lewises or the Mark Chamiroz or the
7:38
Speaker 2: Keith Jackson's of the game. But I was going to
7:40
Speaker 2: be the guy that would go in there and do
7:41
Speaker 2: an incredible job when asked and do a job, you know,
7:44
Speaker 2: play sparingly, but you know, I get a chance to
7:46
Speaker 2: play for guys like you know, Coach Harbaugh, which was
7:48
Speaker 2: such a gift too. He was an incredible coach as well,
7:50
Speaker 2: and he taught me a lot as well. But just
7:54
Speaker 2: the way that special teams became kind of my go
7:58
Speaker 2: to and be able to play in that front with
7:59
Speaker 2: a lot of fun.
8:01
Speaker 1: You played on the nineteen ninety six Green Bay Packers
8:04
Speaker 1: Super Bowl team, and there's so many connections with the Eagles.
8:07
Speaker 1: Antonio Freeman, Dorsey levens Andy Reid, Marty morning Wage, I
8:11
Speaker 1: believe was the quarterbacks coach. He ended up on the
8:14
Speaker 1: Eagles staff in two thousand and three. And then there
8:17
Speaker 1: was yourself. But that was the game that was known
8:20
Speaker 1: for the Desmond Howard ninety nine yard kick return. Were
8:23
Speaker 1: you on the field for that play?
8:24
Speaker 2: I was, yeah, you watched it. I was actually in
8:26
Speaker 2: the wedge, which they had the wedge back in the day,
8:29
Speaker 2: which I did not like a whole lot, but I
8:30
Speaker 2: was actually one of the players was able to kind
8:32
Speaker 2: of break him loose through the front of the middle
8:34
Speaker 2: of the field there. So dev is a great player
8:36
Speaker 2: and a great man. I got a chance to see
8:38
Speaker 2: him recently at a twenty five year reunion. But we
8:42
Speaker 2: had a real special year that year because of Dez
8:44
Speaker 2: and because of the guys that just really wanted to
8:45
Speaker 2: do everything in the world they could to block for
8:47
Speaker 2: that guy and open up holes for him. So being
8:50
Speaker 2: on punt return, being on the kickoff return, being all
8:52
Speaker 2: the things that gave him a chance to kind of expose,
8:56
Speaker 2: to expose his talents was such a fun year for us.
9:00
Speaker 2: So I really really enjoyed playing playing with that team.
9:03
Speaker 2: It was a blessing. And Dez obviously was the MVP
9:05
Speaker 2: of that Super Bowl game, So we were special teams
9:08
Speaker 2: definitely had a big impact.
9:10
Speaker 1: I know everything happens one hundred miles an hour playing
9:13
Speaker 1: special teams, but do you have any memory of what
9:16
Speaker 1: was going through your mind during that particular play and
9:18
Speaker 1: even in the moments thereafter.
9:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm just every play was because we wanted to
9:24
Speaker 2: see that guy successful. We knew that he'd get the
9:26
Speaker 2: ball in his hand, he could do crazy, you know,
9:28
Speaker 2: really special things, So we wanted to make things happen
9:31
Speaker 2: for him, so we looked quite I'm a tight, really
9:34
Speaker 2: knit family too. We wanted to really find our place
9:39
Speaker 2: in special teams. And there were some great players on
9:41
Speaker 2: that team, obviously, but I would say I just remember
9:46
Speaker 2: the play. I remember every chance we had a chance
9:48
Speaker 2: to get to the figures. He had some big pump returns too,
9:49
Speaker 2: I think obviously was the MVP that game. So we
9:51
Speaker 2: had a lot of We had a lot of impact
9:53
Speaker 2: in that games. Every chance we knew that Dez would
9:55
Speaker 2: get the ball. We were truly just really anxious to
9:59
Speaker 2: go and run through anything in a wall to opened
10:01
Speaker 2: up down opportunity for him. So really really fun person
10:04
Speaker 2: to to to play for and to work for, and
10:07
Speaker 2: to know that he could do special things for us.
10:09
Speaker 2: So special season, no doubt.
10:12
Speaker 1: March sixteenth, two thousand, I believe, was the date where
10:15
Speaker 1: you were traded to the Phodelphia Eagles. What's your recollection
10:19
Speaker 1: of those events around that time?
10:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, I knew that Mike Sherman had become the head
10:25
Speaker 2: coach of or taken over as the head coach of
10:28
Speaker 2: Green Bay, and I used my coach too, so I
10:29
Speaker 2: spoke with him a little bit, but I always talked
10:31
Speaker 2: to Andy and I was hoping to get a chance.
10:35
Speaker 2: And I was actually down in Florida with some friends
10:37
Speaker 2: and he called me as I was walking on the
10:38
Speaker 2: beach and the John Dorsey was involved with the trade too.
10:42
Speaker 2: I remember John Dorsey was a GM for a little
10:47
Speaker 2: while and had some player personnel positions. But he called
10:51
Speaker 2: me and and and said, hey, would you like to
10:53
Speaker 2: be an Eagle? And I just was just shocked him.
10:55
Speaker 2: That was a dream of mine to go back and
10:57
Speaker 2: play for him, because we stayed in touch and I
10:59
Speaker 2: knew Doug Peterson a lot, talked to him a lot,
11:01
Speaker 2: and I knew where we knew where the Eagles are
11:03
Speaker 2: going to be going. So you know, obviously was a
11:06
Speaker 2: big fan of what the Packers have been done in
11:07
Speaker 2: my career. There was fantastic, very blessed. But getting a
11:11
Speaker 2: chance to go back and play for Andy was it
11:12
Speaker 2: was going to be a dream of mine. So yeah,
11:15
Speaker 2: I remember that vividly walking on the beach and be like,
11:17
Speaker 2: oh my gosh, man, thank you so much for this. Okay,
11:20
Speaker 2: they probably traded, and they traded I treated another tight
11:22
Speaker 2: end for me, but whatever it was, it was just
11:24
Speaker 2: a gift to get a chance to be able to
11:26
Speaker 2: go back and play for Andy.
11:28
Speaker 1: So your first game was the pickle juice game that
11:31
Speaker 1: opened the two thousand season. That's a game that is
11:35
Speaker 1: famous in Eagles War. So I would love to hear
11:37
Speaker 1: your recount of that game.
11:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, gosh, remember it was like one hundred and twenty
11:42
Speaker 2: five degrees on the turf back then, and with the
11:45
Speaker 2: heat and just and that was a big, big talk
11:48
Speaker 2: of getting the pickle juice, and we were just down
11:49
Speaker 2: that stuff taste terrible in the locker room, just doing
11:52
Speaker 2: what they could to kind of get ourselves. I created
11:55
Speaker 2: as the best we could know it was going to
11:56
Speaker 2: be hot. Its gonna be I remember I had like
11:57
Speaker 2: blisters in the bottle of my feet after that game.
12:00
Speaker 2: It was so hot on the turf. But we we
12:04
Speaker 2: obviously made a big deal about the pick up pickle
12:06
Speaker 2: juice and had our sodium and we were loaded up
12:08
Speaker 2: and ready to go, and everyone had the big jars
12:10
Speaker 2: of it and we were powering in the locker room.
12:12
Speaker 2: And sure enough now we came out there and just
12:14
Speaker 2: dominated the Cowboys, which was such a fun experience. I
12:17
Speaker 2: think I had the first touchdown too, was a little
12:19
Speaker 2: sneak pass a little uh wide delay kind of from
12:23
Speaker 2: Donovan and and just such a tree to be out
12:26
Speaker 2: there and do that. But you know, we blew them
12:28
Speaker 2: out great starts of the year, and and we knew
12:31
Speaker 2: the Donovan special and we knew we're gonna do great things.
12:33
Speaker 2: So great place to start off in Dallas, no question.
12:37
Speaker 1: And I think that was where Eagles fans first saw
12:39
Speaker 1: the flying tea celebration where you would lift your arms
12:42
Speaker 1: to form a tea. What were the origins of that
12:45
Speaker 1: touchdown celebration?
12:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, by Buddy, my brother was always kind of giving
12:51
Speaker 2: me things to tell me I need to do in
12:52
Speaker 2: the in the in the in the end engine of
12:54
Speaker 2: I got and I knew I couldn't do anything special.
12:55
Speaker 2: I knew I wouldn't get there a lot too, So
12:56
Speaker 2: when I had a chance to actually do something, I
12:59
Speaker 2: was going to have some fun with it. And that
13:01
Speaker 2: was the flying teach for Thomas and for my family.
13:03
Speaker 2: Just really nothing really in particular, but it was a
13:07
Speaker 2: chance to, you know, just celebrate my family name a
13:11
Speaker 2: little bit and get a chance in the end zone
13:13
Speaker 2: and just bring a little recognition, which was selfish of
13:16
Speaker 2: me in in some sense, but I enjoyed. It was
13:18
Speaker 2: fun and I love being a chance to celebrate with
13:21
Speaker 2: the team too, and it became kind of a fun
13:22
Speaker 2: little thing I did, which I was pretty pretty blessedul
13:24
Speaker 2: part of you.
13:26
Speaker 1: Played for the Eagles for three seasons two thousand and
13:28
Speaker 1: two thousand and one, two thousand and two. We'll get
13:30
Speaker 1: to two thousand and four in a moment, But you
13:34
Speaker 1: had thirty five catches but seven touchdowns. What, in your estimation, Jeff,
13:38
Speaker 1: allowed you to be such an effective red zone option?
13:41
Speaker 1: Was it your chemistry with Donovan was like it just
13:44
Speaker 1: seemed like you were a go to option many times
13:47
Speaker 1: over the course of your career with the Eagles.
13:49
Speaker 2: Yeah. Really it was probably you know, the focus on
13:52
Speaker 2: Chad Lewis having a great tight end in there and
13:53
Speaker 2: knowing that he was kind of the key. But and
13:56
Speaker 2: I was able to knew the game really well played
13:57
Speaker 2: a long time, and it really came down to the
13:59
Speaker 2: plays and the plays that Andy called and allow me
14:02
Speaker 2: to sneak out through the back or sneak through the
14:03
Speaker 2: side and kind of find a way to jam an
14:06
Speaker 2: end or something and find a way to sneak to
14:07
Speaker 2: the corner. But I mean, it really had nothing to
14:10
Speaker 2: do with anything skill wise I was doing. It was
14:12
Speaker 2: just a great quarterback, a great offensive court I call
14:15
Speaker 2: a call player, and just a great scheme as it
14:19
Speaker 2: was so, and probably people focusing on Chad little more
14:22
Speaker 2: than me and allow me to sneak out a little bit,
14:24
Speaker 2: which was such a fun season that year.
14:27
Speaker 1: To my recollection, did it did always strike me that
14:30
Speaker 1: it seemed like Donovan had a lot of trust and
14:32
Speaker 1: confidence in you, knowing that you were going to be
14:34
Speaker 1: where he needed you to be and that you were
14:37
Speaker 1: going to come down with the reception.
14:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, we did have a good connection. We knew we
14:41
Speaker 2: would we would find a way to sneak out and
14:44
Speaker 2: find a way to put the ball in the right place.
14:45
Speaker 2: They got a lot to Dnov and he just did
14:47
Speaker 2: a great job putting the ball in the right spots
14:49
Speaker 2: and being a really good asset. You know, he's just
14:50
Speaker 2: a great quarterback. So good timing for me, I would
14:54
Speaker 2: say that no question.
14:55
Speaker 1: What was the dynamic in the tight end room, Jeff,
14:58
Speaker 1: you had Chad Lewis, Mike bart was there and yourself.
15:01
Speaker 1: It seemed like a really close knick group.
15:03
Speaker 2: An incredible group. And we started with Pat Schumer, which
15:05
Speaker 2: is incredible and Pat's had a great career just finished
15:08
Speaker 2: up at See You. But he was our initial tight
15:10
Speaker 2: Ends coach. So we've always always lived by the model
15:14
Speaker 2: of you know, tight ends, tight friends, and that's what
15:16
Speaker 2: we always I've been and we've always did. And I
15:18
Speaker 2: talked to Chad there, I talked to Mike there. Mike's
15:19
Speaker 2: a head coach of a local college in Ohio called
15:23
Speaker 2: Rio Branch got the head coaching job, So always stayed
15:26
Speaker 2: in close touch with those guys and Chads it's an
15:28
Speaker 2: amazing human being. Obviously, you guys ever knows of Chad
15:31
Speaker 2: Lewis and what he's done at BYU and it's just
15:34
Speaker 2: he's just incredible humans. I talked to him all the time,
15:37
Speaker 2: and yeah, what a blessing to be part of that
15:39
Speaker 2: group and be part of those government. But we've always
15:42
Speaker 2: every room I've been in with tight End wise, we've
15:44
Speaker 2: always tried to find a close, niche group of people
15:47
Speaker 2: that want to work together and grow each other. And
15:49
Speaker 2: that's something that Chad, Mike and I did. Him is
15:51
Speaker 2: always about making the guy next to you better instead
15:54
Speaker 2: of trying to compete with him or just show him
15:56
Speaker 2: the ways he maybe potentially or work with him, ways
15:58
Speaker 2: to make him better what he does. That's what made
16:01
Speaker 2: us good. It was fun.
16:03
Speaker 1: There's another game in the two thousand and one season.
16:06
Speaker 1: It was the NFC Divisional Round game against the Chicago Bears.
16:10
Speaker 1: That always sticks out in my memory when I think
16:12
Speaker 1: of the Donovan Andy era. You had two really big
16:15
Speaker 1: receptions in that game, I think two for thirty nine
16:17
Speaker 1: that set up scoring drives. What's your memories of that game?
16:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had a great, great game that was actually
16:25
Speaker 2: a lot of I think I had my career or whatever,
16:29
Speaker 2: how many cut touchings. I think I had about half
16:31
Speaker 2: of those against the Bears. So the Bears just seemed
16:33
Speaker 2: to be a team that I seem to have a
16:35
Speaker 2: lot of success with and get it like a fair
16:37
Speaker 2: amount of catches, but or get amount of plays. But
16:40
Speaker 2: you know, we knew at that time we were better
16:42
Speaker 2: than them, and we just came in there with a
16:43
Speaker 2: little bit of a strut and we knew we can
16:45
Speaker 2: do some great things. So it was I remember some
16:50
Speaker 2: really fun plays. To be able to remember those plays,
16:52
Speaker 2: the fourth and whatever, you know, fourth and three or
16:54
Speaker 2: fourth and four, they were thrown to me. Com plays
16:56
Speaker 2: that I was able to make some big impacts of
16:58
Speaker 2: the game. It's such a neat experience because I didn't
17:01
Speaker 2: get a chance to touch the ball as much as
17:02
Speaker 2: I'd liked to have, But when I did it, those
17:04
Speaker 2: kind of memories of the games, those plays that stood out.
17:06
Speaker 2: We were special. That's a big game, and I appreciate
17:10
Speaker 2: you mention that game. We played well special teams wise,
17:12
Speaker 2: but also had had some great plays and some some moments.
17:15
Speaker 2: And the guy that last on side kick that was
17:18
Speaker 2: I went to me, so they will control the ball
17:20
Speaker 2: a little bit the end there, which is fun. So
17:23
Speaker 2: just just need the experiences altogether. It was blessed.
17:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, when I think of that game, I think of
17:28
Speaker 1: those key receptions that you had, Hugh Douglas sacking Jim Miller.
17:32
Speaker 1: Rishard Cook had a big sack in that game. I
17:34
Speaker 1: remember as well. Damon Moore may have had an interception,
17:37
Speaker 1: Cecil Martin catching a touchdown on his knees in the
17:40
Speaker 1: corner of the end zone. That those are those are
17:42
Speaker 1: things that I always think back to. But fast forward
17:45
Speaker 1: a little bit to the two thousand and two season,
17:48
Speaker 1: it ends in gut wrenching fashion. You guys lose to
17:52
Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And then you decide to call
17:55
Speaker 1: it a career. At what point was it did you
17:58
Speaker 1: sort of decide that, yeah, I think I'm done. Was
18:01
Speaker 1: it a lack of interest or you just played so
18:03
Speaker 1: much and it was a lot of wear and tear
18:04
Speaker 1: on the body.
18:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I was so bld. I mean my goal
18:09
Speaker 2: from the start, Andrew was always if I could get
18:11
Speaker 2: ten years in, I'd be so lucky. And it was
18:13
Speaker 2: kind of a finding way to get ten years and
18:15
Speaker 2: that was my tenth year. So, I mean, I would
18:17
Speaker 2: have loved to have played more. Opportunities did not rise.
18:22
Speaker 2: And then you know, Tony Stewart, they brought him in.
18:23
Speaker 2: He was doing a good job as a backup. He's
18:26
Speaker 2: a good tight end too, So it was just it
18:29
Speaker 2: was just my time. My contract was up. And yeah,
18:33
Speaker 2: that was a rough one.
18:34
Speaker 3: Man.
18:34
Speaker 2: Was that rough? That last game in the Veterans Stadium
18:36
Speaker 2: was one of my worst experiences in my career. That
18:39
Speaker 2: was a rough one to walk away from because we
18:42
Speaker 2: just did not have our It wasn't our day. It
18:44
Speaker 2: wasn't our day there. And we had such big plans.
18:46
Speaker 2: I remember, I had big plans for you know, I
18:50
Speaker 2: think the Super Bowls down Tampa was it down Tampa
18:52
Speaker 2: that year? That year?
18:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, san Diego. I think it might have been
18:56
Speaker 1: in San Diego.
18:57
Speaker 2: Okay, mes Ady, but we were talking, remember talking about
19:01
Speaker 2: getting hotel rooms there in line. I was just really
19:03
Speaker 2: set to go. We thought we're gonna win for sure.
19:05
Speaker 2: Obviously with the weather being below a certain degrees and
19:07
Speaker 2: Tampa never playing well, it just seemed all the lineups
19:10
Speaker 2: so well. So that was a rough one, man. That
19:13
Speaker 2: was a rough one to walk away from it. And
19:15
Speaker 2: obviously the people in Philadelphia are just such incredible passionate
19:18
Speaker 2: people and nothing more than you want to do is
19:20
Speaker 2: win for them. And that's what been so fun over
19:22
Speaker 2: the last couple of Suit Bowls they had been able
19:23
Speaker 2: to win and just know that Philly people deserve it.
19:26
Speaker 2: They do. And it was a rough one to definitely
19:30
Speaker 2: finish my career with no question.
19:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think on that on the first play
19:35
Speaker 1: the game, you had a block similar to the one
19:37
Speaker 1: that you had on the Desmond Howard return that you
19:39
Speaker 1: were describing where Brian Mitchell goes seventy yards and you know,
19:44
Speaker 1: based off of the reaction from the video and watching
19:47
Speaker 1: the game live at the time, the Veteran Stadium was
19:49
Speaker 1: electric at that moment.
19:50
Speaker 2: Electric. Yeah, we thought it was gonna be a great start.
19:53
Speaker 2: It's just didn't turn that way. Man, crazy night really was.
19:58
Speaker 1: So what options were were you sort of weighing when
20:01
Speaker 1: you retired? Did you have outside interest? Did you have
20:04
Speaker 1: anything that you wanted to sort of jump into upon retirement.
20:08
Speaker 2: There was consideration of coaching, you know, I thought about
20:12
Speaker 2: doing that. I mean, bat Brad Childer's at the time
20:14
Speaker 2: was looking going to the Viking, so I talked to
20:16
Speaker 2: him a little bit. So there was some talks about
20:19
Speaker 2: doing other things. I love the game, always have always
20:21
Speaker 2: wanted to stay involved with it, but yeah, I didn't
20:27
Speaker 2: really have it. I kind of was gonna take in
20:28
Speaker 2: the year and see what happened.
20:29
Speaker 4: I did.
20:29
Speaker 2: I did a try out with the Carolina Panthers about
20:31
Speaker 2: a year later. They didn't get hurt, so I went
20:34
Speaker 2: and talk to him a little bit. But I took
20:36
Speaker 2: the year and just kind of spend time with family
20:39
Speaker 2: and really didn't have a lot. Just kind of took
20:41
Speaker 2: a break away from the sport a little bit, but
20:43
Speaker 2: I knew that i'd someday loved to get back and
20:44
Speaker 2: do it if I could.
20:46
Speaker 1: At what point did you end up joining Toll Brothers
20:49
Speaker 1: and what was the backstory with them.
20:51
Speaker 2: That was in early two thousand and four and I
20:56
Speaker 2: finished up and basically that was the three game we
20:58
Speaker 2: lost to the Buccaneers. So it took the year, and
21:01
Speaker 2: then early two thousand and four I started obviously getting
21:03
Speaker 2: in the real world and starting you know, you get
21:05
Speaker 2: a chance to get my face, get what it was
21:10
Speaker 2: like to be actually be a real being, a real
21:12
Speaker 2: in the real world and go out and do the rim,
21:14
Speaker 2: go out and work the long days. And my first
21:17
Speaker 2: job was an associate project manager, you know, making any
21:21
Speaker 2: thirty eight thousand dollars a year and driving out to Chesterfield,
21:25
Speaker 2: you know, every day, just trying to get and get
21:29
Speaker 2: the development. And it was a fun experience and I
21:31
Speaker 2: love that company. My daughter actually works for that company
21:34
Speaker 2: now today, so we've stayed in touch. And it was
21:37
Speaker 2: a great, great time for me to kind of but
21:39
Speaker 2: get really an eye opening experience the time. I was
21:41
Speaker 2: thirty four years old too, so a little later start
21:43
Speaker 2: in the real world.
21:45
Speaker 1: So the two thousand and four two thousand and five season,
21:48
Speaker 1: the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl to play
21:51
Speaker 1: the New England Patriots in Jacksonville, but Chad Lewis suffers
21:55
Speaker 1: an injury in the NFC Title Game. What led to that?
22:00
Speaker 1: The Eagle? The Eagles making the phone call to you, Yeah.
22:04
Speaker 2: One of them. I remember that memories so well. I
22:07
Speaker 2: was sitting in my trailer in Cheshirefield, New Jersey, and
22:12
Speaker 2: and I had a phone call from Andy Reid. It
22:13
Speaker 2: was just like, I mean, that was kind of shocking
22:15
Speaker 2: that they had just won the game the before. I
22:17
Speaker 2: knew that Chad was hurt, but I didn't know he
22:19
Speaker 2: was out. I remember him sitting on it on his
22:21
Speaker 2: tail after that touchdown he made and just kind of
22:23
Speaker 2: raising his arms and I didn't know how bad it was.
22:25
Speaker 2: But and then Andy called me, yeah, and he said,
22:29
Speaker 2: how you feeling you in shape? Which? Which? Which you can? You?
22:32
Speaker 2: Can you play still? And I was like, you know,
22:33
Speaker 2: it's kind of a joke. I was like, who's sprinking me?
22:36
Speaker 2: Is this not? Is this someone else? But Andy Reid?
22:39
Speaker 2: But it was him, and we talked to a little bit.
22:41
Speaker 2: Tom Melbyn called me as well, the Titans coach, and
22:44
Speaker 2: you know it was something I kind of had to
22:46
Speaker 2: pinch myself, like you got a kid, and this is
22:47
Speaker 2: not happened true? But I was in shape, Thank God
22:50
Speaker 2: for that. And I was working out. I did know
22:52
Speaker 2: the offense well, and I knew I could step in
22:54
Speaker 2: there and and do some things if given the chance,
22:57
Speaker 2: because my, my, my knowledge of the game and knowledge
22:59
Speaker 2: of the offense. But gosh, we're sitting on my trailer
23:03
Speaker 2: looking out of the window of being like, this has
23:04
Speaker 2: got to be the biggest joke in the world. Someone
23:06
Speaker 2: is actually pranking me right now, And sure enough it
23:09
Speaker 2: wasn't a joke. Man.
23:10
Speaker 1: Now, how did you go about staying in shape during
23:13
Speaker 1: the years where you weren't playing I was.
23:14
Speaker 2: I was wrestling alat doing jiu jitsu a time. You know,
23:17
Speaker 2: when you place the sport for so long, every fall
23:21
Speaker 2: becomes really a kind of a testosterone lift or just
23:25
Speaker 2: you kind of find yourself in a certain mood when
23:27
Speaker 2: you get into the fall. And so doing that from
23:29
Speaker 2: eight to nine years old till thirty three years old,
23:32
Speaker 2: that first ball without playing football, my wife's like, you
23:35
Speaker 2: need to do something because you're truly having some issues.
23:37
Speaker 2: Because I was, I was struggling. I needed to there's
23:39
Speaker 2: a physicality of my life every fall that I was
23:42
Speaker 2: part of. So I started getting to Brazilian jiu jitsu
23:45
Speaker 2: and competed there a little bit, and I love that
23:47
Speaker 2: and did that, and I also ran tathlons, so those
23:50
Speaker 2: two things kept me in shape.
23:52
Speaker 1: Well, did Chad lobby for you at all to be
23:55
Speaker 1: to be the guy that was his replacement?
23:57
Speaker 2: There's no question you did. Yeah, And he probably hold
24:00
Speaker 2: them aside. And I think when and he was talking
24:02
Speaker 2: to him about his injury, Chad the first thing probably
24:05
Speaker 2: thought of was how can I help someone else? That
24:07
Speaker 2: was just Chad's unselfish mentality. He was that kind of guy.
24:10
Speaker 2: So I think he just said, hey, jeffs in town.
24:14
Speaker 2: I talked to him all the time. We're still dear friends.
24:16
Speaker 2: You should seriously consider him. So no question he lobbied
24:19
Speaker 2: for me. And that's just testament the kind of guy
24:22
Speaker 2: he is. That's a wonderfully and being man really is.
24:25
Speaker 1: How was your news received by your coworkers? They had
24:28
Speaker 1: to think that you were pranking them. I would imagine.
24:30
Speaker 2: Absolutely freaking out. It was incredible. And that's one of
24:33
Speaker 2: my greatest gifts of the whole thing. It's not you know,
24:35
Speaker 2: the experience you have with the people you share it with, Andrew,
24:37
Speaker 2: and that's the greatest thing. These are guys that have
24:39
Speaker 2: been in construction for twenty thirty years and now we're
24:42
Speaker 2: had you know TVs, you know shows and people coming
24:45
Speaker 2: to the website, to the work site and interviewing them
24:48
Speaker 2: and ESPN was there, and I was They're part of
24:52
Speaker 2: this whole experience for me, and uh gosh, that was
24:55
Speaker 2: one of my neatest experiences sharing that with them. They're
24:58
Speaker 2: great people to just blue collar, hardwork people, and I
25:01
Speaker 2: was able to just you know, share that part of
25:04
Speaker 2: my experience with them. And that's when I walked through
25:07
Speaker 2: the office and I told my twenty seven year old
25:09
Speaker 2: boss and then I told that you know, fifty five
25:12
Speaker 2: or sixty year old of the construction managers, what's going on.
25:14
Speaker 2: They were just like, you got to be kidding me
25:16
Speaker 2: to it's such a neat experience for them as well
25:18
Speaker 2: as me, But to share that with them was one
25:21
Speaker 2: of the coolest things ever.
25:22
Speaker 1: That's awesome. Did any of them end up making the
25:24
Speaker 1: trip to Jacksonville for the game.
25:26
Speaker 2: No, the Toll Brothers team did, and that's one of
25:28
Speaker 2: the coolest things that they all met me down there
25:31
Speaker 2: on media day and I didn't know how they got in,
25:34
Speaker 2: but somehow they were able to talk to the right
25:35
Speaker 2: people and sneak in and here I am in my
25:37
Speaker 2: booth and talking to people because I got some extra
25:39
Speaker 2: publicity obviously because the whole story. And then they walked
25:42
Speaker 2: in and I see all these guys that my boss's
25:45
Speaker 2: boss's boss and they're all standing there, you know, and
25:48
Speaker 2: that was like, what is what are you doing here?
25:50
Speaker 2: So we still we still have a text chain of
25:53
Speaker 2: that that group of people, and we still talk every
25:57
Speaker 2: every media day every year of the Super Bowl. So
26:00
Speaker 2: we just do quick little text change and you know,
26:02
Speaker 2: great memories, guys, it's so much fun. That's testaments that
26:05
Speaker 2: company too and the people they hired. But I was
26:08
Speaker 2: another thing about, you know, sharing that experience with with
26:10
Speaker 2: those people.
26:11
Speaker 1: Presumably you had a workout before they ultimately signed you.
26:16
Speaker 1: Do you have any memory of that workout and what
26:18
Speaker 1: consisted of it? Who was there?
26:21
Speaker 2: Yeah? I do. I mean Brad Schwills was obviously there,
26:23
Speaker 2: and Donovan was there, and Andy was there. I think
26:28
Speaker 2: it was brand Yeah, yeah, so I remember just I
26:31
Speaker 2: remember just trying worried about my hamstrings, honestly, Andrew, because
26:36
Speaker 2: I had run that kind of did run a little
26:38
Speaker 2: bit before the tryouts, and I did some sprints, but
26:41
Speaker 2: it's just not a you know, a movement that he
26:43
Speaker 2: used to do a lot of, so the quick movements,
26:46
Speaker 2: so I just wanted to kind of be sure I
26:47
Speaker 2: was loose enough to do that kind of thing. So
26:49
Speaker 2: really just running routes, come out of rounds and breaking
26:51
Speaker 2: free of those things. But I knew the offense well,
26:53
Speaker 2: so I was never considered mentally about the game, but
26:55
Speaker 2: it was just the quick movements, so I was definitely
26:58
Speaker 2: a little bit cautious about And then I remember hitting
27:01
Speaker 2: someone and I was like, man, I forgot how much
27:03
Speaker 2: this is felt, what this felt like. You forget quickly
27:06
Speaker 2: do you do it for your whole life, and all
27:07
Speaker 2: of a sudden you're away from it, and you forget
27:08
Speaker 2: how quick and fast and athleticles people are.
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Speaker 1: Now that's kind of where I was going with it.
30:34
Speaker 1: To test your memory a little bit, you put the
30:36
Speaker 1: cleats back on, you get the helmet pads. You're on
30:39
Speaker 1: the Novacare Complex practice field leading, you know, preparing for
30:43
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. Did you get any ribbing from your
30:45
Speaker 1: old teammates.
30:46
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, yeah, that's got's been fun right away. Definitely,
30:49
Speaker 2: those guy. That's what's what's so great about That's why
30:51
Speaker 2: I missed the most about the game. Is just the
30:52
Speaker 2: locker room and just the thick skin you have to have.
30:55
Speaker 2: It's just an hilarious environment. So that was right away
30:58
Speaker 2: that people allow me about, you know, maybe be a
31:00
Speaker 2: little little tall, little playing a little high when I
31:03
Speaker 2: was moving around, or just looking a little awkward. But
31:04
Speaker 2: it takes time to get back into it, it does.
31:06
Speaker 2: I mean, it definitely took some time to get the
31:08
Speaker 2: movements I've been used to for a long time. But
31:11
Speaker 2: it was definitely an awkward feeling.
31:14
Speaker 1: The enormity of media week is certainly a sight to behold.
31:18
Speaker 1: But I imagine in your case, you probably had a
31:21
Speaker 1: number of folks that were that were looking to get
31:24
Speaker 1: you know, to get your story and things like that.
31:27
Speaker 1: Were you used to that, How did you process it?
31:29
Speaker 1: Because I imagine that it was something that you couldn't
31:31
Speaker 1: have anticipated.
31:35
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was something I always said, and I played
31:36
Speaker 2: ten years in I got more publicity and more press
31:39
Speaker 2: in those two weeks, and I'd gotten combined and doubled
31:42
Speaker 2: in my ten years in the NFL. So it was
31:45
Speaker 2: it was a great two weeks. It was so much
31:46
Speaker 2: fun and I just soaked it in. Man, I was
31:48
Speaker 2: just blessed to confused. I knew it wasn't long term.
31:50
Speaker 2: I knew everything I was doing was was such a
31:54
Speaker 2: gift for me. And it's that concept of mindfulness. You know.
31:57
Speaker 2: I was taking in every possible second I could and
31:59
Speaker 2: just trying to absorbing and living it as much as
32:02
Speaker 2: possibly because I knew it was short going to be
32:05
Speaker 2: short lived. So it was the gift. It was an
32:08
Speaker 2: absolute gift. And knowing that was allowing me to really
32:11
Speaker 2: focus on every second I had, so I get I
32:14
Speaker 2: get chill stick about it. Was it was a knee time,
32:16
Speaker 2: no question.
32:17
Speaker 1: Now taking the score out of it was were there
32:20
Speaker 1: any moments of that game or anything that particularly sticks
32:23
Speaker 1: out when you think back on that, whether it was
32:27
Speaker 1: whether it was tunnel or anything, or coming out of
32:29
Speaker 1: the tunnel, or even any moment in the game.
32:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's one thing. Change the Super Bowls now, the
32:33
Speaker 2: the kickoffs are different because the way the Kioffs will
32:35
Speaker 2: line up four. But you know, just seeing the lights
32:38
Speaker 2: every kickoff, every all my I've played three of them
32:40
Speaker 2: and those are such a that's such a such a
32:42
Speaker 2: neat thing. The lights would go off and you run
32:45
Speaker 2: down the field or you're on the kickoff return, either way.
32:47
Speaker 2: So those were. Those were cool memories. I mean I
32:52
Speaker 2: do vividly remember just you know, looking at the grass
32:55
Speaker 2: and just honestly wanted to grab it and just hold
32:58
Speaker 2: onto it and just smell it because it was I
33:00
Speaker 2: knew it wasn't something I was gonna be able to
33:01
Speaker 2: do a whole.
33:02
Speaker 1: Lot more of.
33:03
Speaker 2: So I was taken every because we every scene, every cent,
33:07
Speaker 2: every smell, Everything about that in that night is still
33:10
Speaker 2: very clear to me because I loved it. I was
33:12
Speaker 2: so blessed to be out there. God, I wish I
33:15
Speaker 2: could have done more.
33:15
Speaker 3: I do.
33:16
Speaker 2: I do have many nights that I wish I could
33:17
Speaker 2: have done more. I wish I could have popped the
33:19
Speaker 2: ball out of someone, you know, in the interception that
33:22
Speaker 2: we threw one of those games, one of those plays.
33:24
Speaker 2: I was on the field. But I wish I could
33:25
Speaker 2: have done more. I really do. That's what I wish
33:27
Speaker 2: I could have done more. For the for the Eagle fans,
33:29
Speaker 2: That's what That's where I wake up at night thinking
33:31
Speaker 2: about how could I have done something different?
33:34
Speaker 1: So you've returned back to Toll Brothers, then you've went
33:38
Speaker 1: on to do so many other things. At what point
33:41
Speaker 1: did you leave Told Brothers? And if you could bring
33:43
Speaker 1: the listeners and viewers up to speed with what you're
33:45
Speaker 1: doing now.
33:47
Speaker 2: Yeah. So I went with Told for a number of
33:49
Speaker 2: years and I started my own company, so oh seven,
33:51
Speaker 2: I left Toll, started my own company for about three
33:54
Speaker 2: or four years, and then the market kind of you know,
33:56
Speaker 2: when the market kind of crashed in O eight, I
33:58
Speaker 2: was in that that real estate world, and I was
34:01
Speaker 2: in a company called Ornament International Iworks. We did ornamental
34:04
Speaker 2: medals for a couple of years and that was a
34:06
Speaker 2: lot of fun. And then in twenty ten I joined
34:09
Speaker 2: the medical device world and got involved with Striker and
34:13
Speaker 2: Smith and Nephew for a little while, but primarily with Striker,
34:16
Speaker 2: which is an incredible company and I've been with them
34:20
Speaker 2: for you know, those two companies for fifteen years and
34:22
Speaker 2: selling in the orthopedic in orthopedic realm, and I loved it.
34:25
Speaker 2: I learned a ton. I love the competitive environment that
34:29
Speaker 2: brings you in the o R very similar what we
34:31
Speaker 2: did in the field. It's it's a pretty intense environment.
34:34
Speaker 2: So I've always enjoyed that. But as a recent I
34:36
Speaker 2: left I left there just recently and I'm looking to
34:39
Speaker 2: I'm making a transition, Andrew. I'm gonna I'm going to
34:41
Speaker 2: spend the last ten years of my professional life, I
34:44
Speaker 2: think doing something that I kind of always wanted to do.
34:47
Speaker 2: I'm gonna coach and I'm gonna teach. So I'm looking
34:50
Speaker 2: around right now, So what.
34:52
Speaker 1: What can what compelled you to to get into the
34:55
Speaker 1: coaching field, because you can clearly have a lot of
34:58
Speaker 1: passion for Yeah.
34:58
Speaker 2: I've always wanted to know really well too. But I
35:00
Speaker 2: feel like I got a lot to give back when
35:02
Speaker 2: it comes just to my experiences, not only in sports,
35:05
Speaker 2: but also in the in the business world. I think
35:08
Speaker 2: being in leadership for a long time and and being
35:11
Speaker 2: around that I've got my I'm kind of poking through
35:14
Speaker 2: my PhD right now in medical, in business administration, I
35:17
Speaker 2: got my MBA already. So I just wanted to do
35:21
Speaker 2: some things that i'd be fun to share a little
35:23
Speaker 2: bit and just share from my experiences a little bit.
35:26
Speaker 2: So that's the right I'm going. It's it's a big
35:29
Speaker 2: transition my age, but I'm excited to do it, and uh,
35:32
Speaker 2: that's kind of where I'm looking for at this point.
35:34
Speaker 1: Well, I look forward to following along. Jeff. I can't
35:36
Speaker 1: thank you enough for carving out some time to walk
35:39
Speaker 1: down memory lane and you know, really share your story.
35:42
Speaker 1: It's something that I've always wanted to do. I started
35:45
Speaker 1: covering the team many years after you walked away from
35:48
Speaker 1: the game, but I'm glad that I had that opportunity.
35:50
Speaker 1: Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.
35:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's been an honor mean thanks for doing this, man,
35:53
Speaker 2: I really I appreciate you let me talk about my old,
35:55
Speaker 2: old glory days and it's been a lot of fun too,
35:58
Speaker 2: So thank you.
36:00
Speaker 1: Well, that's gonna do it for this edition of The
36:03
Speaker 1: Checho Daily for Jeff Thomasin. I'm Andrew de Checko and
36:07
Speaker 1: I'll catch you all on the next one.
36:09
Speaker 2: Thank you.