QB Geno Smith on Leadership, Early Criticisms & Conflicts, Russell Wilson & Super Bowl

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find Seattle's Pro Bowl Quarterback Geno Smith joins The Pivot to talk his comeback story from overcoming adversities in a sports world who wrote him off to finding himself again as one of the top QBs in the NFL. In a rare moment, Smith who's known for being quiet and often reserved, is opening up to address early criticism of his NFL career, how he overcame certain perceptions on and off the field, dealt with conflicts and regained his confidence leading the Seahawks to the playoffs this season. Geno talks with Ryan, Fred and Channing addressing some of the obstacles he faced from draft wknd, to playing in NY to a fight with a teammate and how his close upbringing with his family helped ground him and shape the man he is today. Being one of the few black starting quarterbacks in the NFL, Geno shares his excitement and pride in seeing Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts face off in the Super Bowl and makes his pick as to what team he sees winning it all and why. Tap in every Tuesday at noon eastern for our premiere episode of the Pivot. Special NFL seasonal drops on Friday afternoons at 3:30 pm. We are your one-stop platform for all your sports and entertainment content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends. Like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest, or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an ultra. Because it's not just a superior-like beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser-Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 0:30Channing Crowder?

  I got a funny-ass story about that, and I nutted up. Boy, I think it was like, it was 07 or 08. And I met my wife in 09, no way before then. Yeah, 07, 08. I tell the story on there, it's funny, but I knocked down one of your teammates mama's. Oh, Lord. And I saw, I saw the dude, I saw the little boy at the house. After the speech? No, no, no, before the speech. Before the speech, oh, okay, okay. And I tell the story, and I walk out in the hallway with drawers on. And he was a high schooler, so the motherfucker by six feet, and I walk out in the hallway to go to the bathroom, and he's standing there looking at me in the hallway. And I, I'm like, damn, I think I gotta fight. Cause it's dog, like, he's kinda doggy shit. And then he just say, what's up? And walked to his room, and I was like, oh. So I saw him, and then it was like, three weeks later, somebody was like, hey, Miramar's that good this year? They're going to a playoff game, come out and talk to him before the game?

• 1:14Channing Crowder?

  I was like, yeah, it was like that fieldhouse next to the field. David Cockdale? And I came up, walked in, I'm looking, coach is talking, kinda introducing me, and I look over, and I see the little boy sitting there on one knee, just looking at the coach. I said, oh, damn. This gonna ruin this. You didn't even know he went to Miramar? I didn't know, I didn't know he played football. You just remember that face from that moment. I just remember his face when I, we caught eyes, and I was like, shit. Now I gotta fight a dude with my drawers. And it was one of your teammates. And so my, my speech was shit, cause I'm thinking about this little kid, and I'm like, y'all boys go out there and do your thing. Yeah.

• 2:10Ryan Clark?

  Welcome to the pivot. Thank you. Nobody in the NFL had a bigger pivot than you did this year, Gino. Freddie T, Chan, I'm RC. Thank you to our partners, Happy Dad, our sponsors DraftKings. We appreciate all the support you have given, but more importantly, the support of all the viewers, all the people who subscribe, everybody who supports us each Tuesday and every Friday. Can't thank you enough. Eugene.

• 2:35Speaker 03

  Yes, sir.

• 2:36Ryan Clark?

  Cyril, Gino. Yes. Smith III. Because there has to be a big Gino, and then it has to all get passed down.

• 2:43Speaker 03

  Yes, sir.

• 2:43Ryan Clark?

  Right, until we get here. But this Gino almost never existed, the Gino who threw some of the prettiest footballs I've ever seen this season. They had Dan Orlovsky calling me when they went to the practice like, "Damn, Gino is spinning it." But before you were spinning it, you were drawing it, and you were painting it. And they were asking your mama if they needed to accelerate you in school and allow you to skip grades. Talk a little bit about being someone who had this talent in football, but also had these other interests that when you think about like our communities, our neighborhoods, those aren't necessarily the things that we praise or glorify.

• 3:24Speaker 03

  Man, I think it started with, you know, when I really think back on it, it started with my big sister. My big sister was truly just like gifted.

• 3:33Ryan Clark?

  Your big sister's name's Kiana.

• 3:34Speaker 03

  Kiana, Kay Tally. Just truly gifted, a gifted artist. I mean, freehand paint. She actually, you know, got on with Rihanna with doing her graphic designs because she's just that good at it. But she was so good when I was little, I used to watch her draw, and I was not really good. And it used to make me mad because it's like, you got a girl, you know, your big sister who better than you at everything. And it's like, alright, I gotta get you. So I spent like one summer where I was just drawing, just drawing, drawing, and just trying to beat her. And my grandmother actually found a portrait that I drew of my uncle, you know, my Uncle Jonathan. My grandmother found a portrait, and she's like, you know, "This is really good. You know, you need to do this for real." And so they then put me into like magnet gifted classes. And so I started out in just gifted classes. And you know, like it was pre K and then kindergarten.

• 4:19Speaker 03

  And when I was in kindergarten, we were doing like speaking French. We were writing in cursive. You know, doing our multiplications. You know, I had already learned division. I knew how to read. I was reading on like a third, fourth grade level. And so these are all the things I used to practice at home because I was just so competitive. But as I, you know, as I got into kindergarten, they then asked my mother, like, do you want to put him in first, second grade? You know, he's already too advanced for these kids. Do we, should we put him up a grade or two? And I think it's the best thing my mom did was by keeping me with my peers. Because not only was I, you know, more advanced than them, but it also allowed me to become a leader amongst my peers. Because then I wanted to bring them up, you know, in, in class, like, it's crazy when I think on it. But, but in class, I used to copy the handwriting of my classmates.

• 5:02Speaker 03

  You know, because I was just doing my work so fast that it became boring. So now I had to do something to challenge me. So I just copied the handwriting. And you know, from there, I just feel like, you know, my smarts is what's something that I always like held close to me. Cause I feel like that's something that would push me further in life than my athletic skills.

• 5:18Ryan Clark?

  When you think about that, the first thing that comes to my mind is creativity.

• 5:23Speaker 03

  Right.

• 5:23Ryan Clark?

  And in being a leader, creativity is extremely important. It's important because the way I reached Channing isn't going to be the way I reached Fred or the way I reached Gino. Or sometimes it's just about the way I behave. I want them to see me in action. I want them to see how much it matters to me. When you look at your career and the adversities and now getting to the point where you can be that leader. How much did that creativity of your mind help you in figuring out what is the best way for Gino to lead a team?

• 5:56Speaker 03

  I think that creativity is the best, you know, is, is the reason I'm here. You know, I think the creativity is the reason I'm here. You know, when I think about the way I dress, the way I talk, the way I present myself. I've been doing like real life art, you know, with my life, you know, in real time. And just like strategically putting myself in positions to continue to succeed over and over. And a lot of that was behind the scenes. You know, you guys and not just you guys, but a lot of people weren't checking for me, you know, when I was the backup, you know, I had time to just, you know, do my thing. I was setting my life up for after football financially and doing things to allow myself to, you know, be, you know, a better man, you know, and a better artist. And so I feel like my entire life is art. I look at my game, I look at the game of football as a form of art.

• 6:40Speaker 03

  I look at, um, you know, everything that we do as a form of art, you know, everything is like, you know, you can take it to an art form if you really pay attention to it. So like everything for me is a form of art. I like to express myself. Um, you know, I'm a little bit of a recluse, you know, I'm not a talkative guy, you know, but when I do speak, um, it's an expressive tone. And so I want to, you know, as far as leadership goes, like you said, I gotta reach you different than I reach Chan, I gotta reach Chan different than I reach Fred. And everybody has to come together collectively. But I think what my teammates see is that I'm just completely myself. And I'm not nervous, I'm not scared, I'm not worried about what anyone else thinks of me. I'm not worried about what the higher powers think of me. I'm being myself and I'm here for y'all and I'm here to lead y'all.

• 7:22Channing Crowder?

  I love that. To be in the league, long as you've been in the league, and you talk, you brought, you talk about your voice and, you know, speaking your mind and all that stuff. Nobody hears you speak, Gino.

• 7:31Speaker 03

  Right.

• 7:31Channing Crowder?

  Like you ain't speaking your mind if nobody hears it.

• 7:33Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:34Channing Crowder?

  You know what I'm saying? Why, why is it like, do you not like, like you said, you're a recluse, do you not like it? Because in being, you said before the show, like we're special. We are, you're one of the best, you were one of the best 64 quarterbacks in the world when you were backup.

• 7:47Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:48Channing Crowder?

  Or 32 when you were starter. Now you're in the damn Pro Bowl, you up there with the top, top tier.

• 7:52Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:54Channing Crowder?

  Why don't you talk? Why don't you let people get to know you? That's why I love when they said we had you on. I was like, I've spoke with you before. And I'm like, I hope the world can see this. Why the hell you don't talk to no damn body?

• 8:04Speaker 03

  I think, um, man, I'm just not a man of many words, man. Like, I, I studied like Socrates and Plato. And like, one of the things that I loved about Socrates, he's one of the original philosophers is that he never wrote down his ideologies. You know, he never wrote them down. He just talked to his people and then they spread the word. And that's how all of this came about. And so for me, like, I don't wanna express myself through words. I want my actions to do the talking. I want, you know, the things, the way that I wake up. And I wake up every day with it on my mind. I want my action to do the talk. I don't wanna express myself through words because I think words sometimes, you know, can go in vain. You know, what, what I want people to see is what I'm about every single day. Every day I wake up, I'm the same guy.

• 8:48Speaker 03

  And I'm expressing myself, like I said, through my fashion, um, you know, through my Instagram, through different things, through different forms of art. You know, I got production companies. I got, you know, a record label. So I love artists, you know, and, and I'm helping them become bigger. And I want the people around me to be bigger than me. I don't want it to be about me. I wanna fall back and let, you know, everybody else show.

• 9:09Fred Taylor?

  You know, you spoke to your childhood a bit. Uh, talk about the creativity, art, but football, the reason you're here. Who introduced you to the game?

• 9:18Speaker 03

  My grandmother, man. My grandma Mozzetta. Uh, she passed away. She passed away when I was, um, a senior in college. But my grandmother was the biggest football fan in our family. And, and I would sit on her laps on Sundays. We watching Cowboys game, watching football games. She, you know, she rocking me on her knee.

• 9:35Fred Taylor?

  Granny was a Cowboy fan?

• 9:37Speaker 03

  I think, uh, no, my grandma was a Dolphin fan, but you know, the Cowboys in the 90s was just.

• 9:41Channing Crowder?

  They forced them on you.

• 9:42Speaker 03

  Yeah, they kinda, yeah, they were winning so much. And she used to tell me like Emmitt Smith, you know, E. Smith, Emmitt Smith. She'd be like, man, that's your cousin, you know, Emmitt Smith your cousin. So, you know, my whole life, I'm like, yeah, Emmitt Smith, man, that's my cousin. You know, I'm telling people, what's good, that's my cousin. But like, you know, she was the one. And then my uncle Antoine, you know, Phoebe, he, he kinda, he, he was my first coach. And he kinda put the, um, the confidence in me. He told me when I was nine years old, he's like, you're gonna be a first round draft pick. This was after like my first football game, which is a flag football game. And so having, and then being around athletes like yourself, you know, growing up, being around Samari, you know, my dad, and just being around athletes like yourself and seeing you guys carry yourselves a certain way. It just made me want to be that, you know. I, I aspired to be like you guys. And so I grew up watching you guys.

• 10:25Speaker 03

  I told you this, I was watching Sunshine Sports, watching you guys. And it was like, that's where I want to be. And then I got to actually meet you guys. You, you probably, you guys probably didn't even know who I was. I'm just like, you know, a little kid, but at the same time, I know who you are. And so I got to meet you guys and just see the way you carried yourself. And I was like, you know, those are real men. Those are the guys who I want to be around, type of guys that I like, you know, to emulate and, and to be like.

• 10:48Fred Taylor?

  I have a, a personal relationship with your pops, uh, Gino Senior. And, uh, you know, he would always talk about his son. But I, I think a lot of fathers, because of, you know, they show their pride in their kids. And I think it's a, a testimony to him and how he handled himself where he didn't steal your shine. Cause in high school, he was the best in the state and then carrying on in West Virginia. So really, speak, speak about your dad, man. He's just an amazing dude, always in the background.

• 11:16Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 11:17Fred Taylor?

  And, uh, obviously he thought something special was in you where he let you borrow his name.

• 11:21Speaker 03

  Yeah, uh, Big Gino, Big Gino, that's my dad. And, um, everywhere I go, you know, I, I see people, you know, it's funny, you meet people and they're like, you know, I know your dad, you know, man, your dad was this and that. And they, you know, they'd speak highly of him, very highly of him. And, you know, like you say, he never tried to take the spotlight. He never tried to, the best thing I think they did, my dad and my mom, was allow me to make decisions for myself at a young age. Because it taught me how to live with my decisions. You know, I don't think they totally agree with me picking West Virginia. My dad's a Gator fan, my mom didn't know nothing about West Virginia. She's like, where are you going? One day, and that's a funny story, we'll tell, we'll tell that story. But one day I, you know, we up and decided, hey, we going to West Virginia. And that's what, that's what we stood on and, and look where we are.

• 12:05Speaker 03

  But I think having parents who truly trusted their train, you know, how they raised me. Allowed me to make decisions for myself, which then allowed me to grow up faster and be more mature.

• 12:17Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned having supportive parents, also being able to make decisions on your own. You made a decision to go to the draft. And, you know, normally when you're a guy that goes to the draft, you're expected to be picked early. And they had conversations of you being picked four, of you being picked sixth. And in that draft, EJ Manuel goes 16th to the Buffalo Bills. You aren't picked in the first round. And I'm gonna just say it, like, as a father, as a former football player, when you're watching anybody go through that, it's difficult to see. Right? Because you put yourself in that position of believing one thing, expecting one thing. That's the freaking reason I'm here, and oh crap, this might not happen.

• 13:02Ryan Clark?

  And then it's Suzie Colber, she's saying you're gonna leave, and then you're gonna come back. And it's all these things. And people started to talk on the outside about, well, can Geno Smith handle adversity? If he doesn't come back and all of these things. What was that experience like for you? Because I wasn't invited to the draft, hell, I wasn't drafted at all. But I could imagine the excitement on the plane ride there, and then having to actually experience that.

• 13:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, one of the things that gets misinterpreted about that, me wanting to leave, was, you know, the draft was already pretty, the first round was ending. And, you know, I pretty much knew I wasn't getting picked in the first round. It was also my mother's birthday. And so we already had plans for dinner. And so I figured I'd be picked already, we'd be gone at dinner. So I'm sitting there like, you know, all this stuff's happening. I'm thinking about my mom, like, I'm not really, like, I'm gonna get picked to a team. But it's like, this is my mom's birthday, like, I don't wanna spoil her night. This is her birthday, it's, like I said, I always think things are bigger than me. I don't want it to be about me. So, we left to go enjoy the rest of my mom's birthday. And obviously, you know, on the outside looking in, it's like, you know, you're trying to ditch the draft, or you're upset, which is cool.

• 14:10Speaker 03

  I never once even, this is the first time me ever saying this, like, literally. But, you know, all those things happen, and, and things happen for a reason. You know, it really, you know, I got picked 39th. How many people would, you know, dream about getting picked 39 or even getting drafted?

• 14:27Channing Crowder?

  Pick at all?

• 14:27Speaker 03

  You know what I mean? Getting drafted to the NFL.

• 14:29Channing Crowder?

  Well, I could have been Brock Purdy. I wasn't tripping.

• 14:30Speaker 03

  Yeah, exactly. And so it's like, you know, in hindsight, you're like, you're disappointed, man, I should have got picked higher. But also, you got picked 39.

• 14:39Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 14:39Speaker 03

  You know what I mean? Like, it wasn't like, you know, you didn't get picked at all. And, you know, I still had an opportunity. And so that was like what mattered to me. But the whole night, I think, got misinterpreted. And I really didn't care to, you know, try to clear it up. Because, you know, it wasn't, to me, those things, like, the political side of it, aren't as important as the real side of it. So it was my mom's birthday, and I just had to make sure she enjoyed that night.

• 15:00Channing Crowder?

  But, but that, that night, I say to me, we, you know, in the media, all of us, that night kind of put a narrative on you already.

• 15:07Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 15:08Channing Crowder?

  You know what I'm saying? Because the thing about, he's leaving, oh, he got mad and now he's leaving. You know what I'm saying? Like, that was the, the image. I know you love what Plato and Socrates. But you, like, you could have, you could have daddied that narrative the next morning. You could have called any, anybody would have took an interview with Geno Smith after you got down.

• 15:23Speaker 03

  But I'll tell you this, man, you don't know what you don't know. And I was young, I didn't, I didn't think like that, son. I wasn't thinking about, you know, that, reaching out to someone, letting them know why I left. I was just like, man, somebody pick me so I can go play football. Like, I'm, you know, you don't know what you don't know. And looking back on it, yes, I would have done that. But in that moment, that wasn't on my mind.

• 15:43Ryan Clark?

  You look at your career starting that way. One thing I remember, bro, West Virginia was electric. It just, it just was, man, the...

• 15:52Channing Crowder?

  He made people forget about Pat White?

• 15:53Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, it was, and, and he just, and you did it in a different way. And, and, you know, let's be honest, it was, at West Virginia, it was kind of the start of that new wave, the spread, but it was so much speed on the field. And you had a quarterback who was a black quarterback, but it wasn't about his legs. It was about him being able to understand defenses, use his arm, get the football out of his hands quickly. And it was all of these things. And then you get to the draft, and you are expected to be drafted in a certain spot, and you aren't. Then you go to New York. And now New York doesn't start the way you want to. And we know what that place is like.

• 16:29Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 16:29Ryan Clark?

  And we also know the confidence you have, having yourself. How difficult was it to deal with the way that you were being talked about? And also not playing up to the standard that you had set yourself from what you'd always been throughout your career?

• 16:43Speaker 03

  It was so difficult, man. It was, it was hard for me to... You know, because my entire life, I had been a really good football player and I had done so many exceptional things. It was hard for me to not see myself and not put great things on tape because I was used to it. But it wasn't because I wasn't working hard. You know, I was in there, you know, and not cliche, I still do it to this day, first one in and last one out because that's how I prepare. Um, that's how my dad told me to prepare. It was just a shame that it didn't work out because I really had a lot of love for New York, a lot of love for a lot of people, still do, in New York, within that organization. A lot of great people, man, a lot of great people who mentored me, um, you know, from that city. But overall, man, I just wish that, you know, I had just a, a, a little more help, a mentor, somebody who could really kind of take me under their wing and say,

• 17:28Speaker 03

  "Hey, Young, and this how you do it." You know, the things that I do for the young guys on our team, you know, "Hey, Young, and this how you prepare. This is what you do every day." Because I was just trying to figure things out. You know, I'm trying to figure out how to watch tape. I'm sitting in there hours and hours. I'm watching tape, but I'm not getting nothing done. I'm just looking at it, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm, "Okay, that's cover two. Okay, that's cover three," you know what I'm saying? Right, and you just don't know what you don't know. I just didn't know at the time. And so, as I grew through the league, I began to get more knowledge and learn how to prepare and became more efficient with everything. But early on, man, it's me and Matt Simms, you know, Matt Simms is my boy. I'm 23, he's 24. You know what I mean? He's my backup. So, we both don't know nothing, deadly squat. And we just learning the offense, figuring out how to play in the NFL. Ryan Clark picked

• 18:10Speaker 03

  me off. I tried to pump a, you know, tried to throw a hole shot in the cover two, didn't work. And so, I'm learning my game, testing my arm, figuring out things that I'm good at. But in New York, that's not the place to do it, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah, like, it was, the fir-, the very first, um, you know, newspaper article was, you know, "Jets welcome Geno Smith to the circus." Then they start calling me the hip-hop quarterback because I signed with Jay-Z. So, like, it was all these stigmas and stereotypes, underlying stereotypes, right? We had a reporter, won't say his name, yelled in the face of my agent who was, who was a female, you know, because I didn't do an interview with him. You know what I'm saying? So, then they went on the right back. Every piece was a hit piece, bad piece, bad piece, to this day, right? And so, it's like...

• 18:53Speaker 03

  What I didn't know was the politics behind the league. I didn't know how strong that was and I didn't know how big of the apple I was in. The big apple, I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into. But guess what? What don't kill you make you stronger. And I was, I'm so happy and grateful for that moment because those times made me who I am.

• 19:11Fred Taylor?

  You know, you speak about stigma, stereotype. Channing said certain narratives. And you said New York had love for you. But I think I recall your dad getting a death threat.

• 19:21Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 19:21Fred Taylor?

  From someone in New York when you went over to the Giants.

• 19:24Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 19:24Fred Taylor?

  And they said, "Geno should not start, otherwise I'm gonna kill you." What was that moment like for your family and even yourself?

• 19:31Speaker 03

  It was funny.

• 19:32Fred Taylor?

  Yeah?

• 19:32Speaker 03

  You know my dad, man, that ain't coming.

• 19:36Speaker 03

  You're gonna have to show us what you're talking about, man. But it was just unfortunate, like, you know, in that time, just because, you know, another funny, these funny stories I've never told nobody, man. I'm here opening up, but look, we playing the Eagles. And I remember a lineman told me, man, I was pissed off because I wasn't playing. And he was like, "Man, you got a better chance hitting the lotto than starting over Eli." You know what I'm saying?

• 19:58Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 19:59Speaker 03

  That ticked me off. I'm in the weight room every day, I'm in, yeah, I'm studying. Every time I go to practice, I got a point to prove. That was like where it all started. And so like every time I go out there, I got a point to prove. Coach McAdoo saw that. You know, the team, I mean, a lot of our receivers got hurt. You know, we got into, I was able to get into, you know, get a chance to start. Obviously, you know, it wasn't the best thing for Eli. Obviously, he had a streak going and he was the face of franchise, the face of New York. But for me, it was an opportunity. I was trying, I was, you know, fighting and scratching just to get an opportunity. And so when my dad got the death threat, it's like, okay, we still gonna play.

• 20:34Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 20:34Speaker 03

  You know what I'm saying? So what y'all gonna do now? You know what I mean? But it's like, not in an arrogant way, but like, man, this is what we, like, coming from where we come from to get to this platform. It ain't too many that can do it. It don't happen often. And so when we get there, nothing gonna hold us back from pushing and pushing and pushing. It's not gonna be because I'm not working hard or because I don't want this stuff. You know, something else gotta be in the way for me not to get to that point because I know I'm gonna get to that end goal that I'm trying to achieve.

• 21:01Channing Crowder?

  And in that Eli situation, did you have conversations with the organization or anybody? Or did you understand like how big this was gonna be? To them crazy Giant fans, Geno Smith, this young, black, unproven quarterback is about to take this streak away from my Super Bowl winner?

• 21:19Speaker 03

  Um, I knew it was heavy. It's funny because I, you know, I, when he came in and told, you know, Eli was the one who broke the news, you know, and Eli's a guy that I love, man. He's a great leader. Um, he was a guy who taught me a lot. He came in, he was like, "Hey, G, you know, you're starting." You know, I could tell it hurt him. And I left the meeting room, I got in my car, I drove off, called my dad, I'm like, "Yo, it's heavy." Like, because I knew the magnitude of it. I already know, you know, I played in New York for, you know, four years already. So we, I know Eli, you know, I know who Eli is, you know what I'm saying? I also went to the Manning camp, all that, like, we know Eli, but I just knew, like, man, that's heavy. But Coach McAdoo, Jerry Reese, um, you know, they had my back. They were in my corner. And I remember, you know, Jerry Reese saying, "Man, go show them." You know, "Go show them, go show them."

• 22:04Speaker 03

  Because he, you know, a lot of people, a lot of coaches knew what I can do. It was just more so like people on the outside who just didn't have a clue.

• 22:11Channing Crowder?

  That's the same exact thing Michael Vick told me.

• 22:44Channing Crowder?

  Hey, when he was, he was your backup and y'all end up switching and he said, I thought I came to Philly. He was like, he ain't even know the playbook for real.

• 22:50Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 22:51Channing Crowder?

  Cause he was coming to, to mentor you. He was like, I'm coming to mentor him, getting, getting a couple of checks on the back end of my career.

• 22:56Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 22:56Channing Crowder?

  He was like, Gino could sling that thing, but he just never got taught how to do it. That's what, that when I talked to Vic about you, that's what he said.

• 23:03Speaker 03

  Yeah. Vic blessed me with the number seven. He was like, man, I gee, I want you to wear the number seven. And I was like, and I always just gave it to him. That's Mike, you know what I'm saying? Like, you want seven, here you go, bruh. I'll figure it out. He like, no, I want you to wear a seven, you know, you, you the YG. And I'm like, god dang, this is Michael Vick. Like, you know what I mean? Like, this is, this is actually Michael Vick. I grew up playing Madden 04, you know what I mean, with this guy. Yeah, he was right, man. Like, I, you know, I always had talent, but I think where I've gotten to now is that I, you know, I have a great understanding of the game, you know, defense and offense and, and schematics and all those things, which allows me to be more efficient.

• 23:35Ryan Clark?

  You know, and I'll get to my second favorite Gino quote or Gino interview moment down the road here. Number one, and it's the number one interview of the entire season. I don't care what anybody says. They wrote me off, but I ain't right back.

• 23:51Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:52Ryan Clark?

  I, I wanna use it all the time, but it's so originally you.

• 23:56Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 23:56Ryan Clark?

  That I already know they gonna know I'm biting, so I can't. But I'm gonna hold it off for like three years and it's gonna be some outfit I wear.

• 24:03Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 24:03Ryan Clark?

  And that's gonna get dropped on IG. So I'm like, you know, I'm gonna put Geno Smith on it though. I'm gonna make sure you, they know that I stole it and I'm borrowing it, but I'm gonna give it back, cause it's yours.

• 24:11Speaker 03

  No, and we all, we all can use it.

• 24:13Ryan Clark?

  You know, you're, you're in Seattle and the Seattle Seahawks, that is Russell Wilson's organization.

• 24:21Speaker 03

  Mm-hmm.

• 24:21Ryan Clark?

  And that's a city that loves Russell Wilson because he was the quarterback that brought that city a Super Bowl. And then in the trade, Drew Lock comes over and it's gonna be a competition between Geno Smith and Drew Lock to be the starter. And I'm gonna say it, I said out loud, I was like, this is a team that has no starter. I was like, because Geno Smith literally was a backup and has been a backup and they didn't want Drew Lock in Denver and he's a backup talent. I was like, I don't know what they're gonna do. And then I'm watching in camp, I'm like, hold on, they might be able to do something. And then you start the game and I forget how many completions in a row it was, but you get into teams and I was like, okay, this is different.

• 25:04Ryan Clark?

  And then you finish that game and you guys win and you're asked a question and you say, they wrote me off, but I didn't write back.

• 25:13Channing Crowder?

  What gave you the confidence as you are struggling and fighting and scratching to get back in that position that you belong there?

• 25:21Speaker 03

  I think it just goes back to knowing who you are. Just knowing who you are and being confident and, you know, knowing that you know. And one thing my grandma would always say is that you kind of feel things happen before they actually happen. You kind of feel it in your heart. She would say like when you know that you know that you know, you kind of feel it, like you could feel it in your gut, like it's about to, you know, be on the brink of a breakthrough. And I just felt it. You know, I felt it, you know, a couple of years ago. I felt it like, I ain't dang out, like this game like is becoming easier. The game's slowing down. My feet are getting faster. I'm getting stronger in the weight room. You know what I mean? Like I'm developing, I'm coming into my prime. And, you know, when I got the opportunity to compete, you know, and I love Drew and, you know, he's a great guy, but I knew it was over.

• 26:04Speaker 03

  Just because I'd been preparing for this moment for so long and so long and I was not gonna let it slip away. I just wasn't.

• 26:11Channing Crowder?

  Before Seattle, the why you got to Seattle? Those struggles, backing up in New York for two years, jumping around the teams. You had to doubt yourself. At some point, you were a strong man, but you had to doubt yourself.

• 26:21Speaker 03

  Man, I started, I started, I sat down in my office, right before, literally before I signed with Seattle, I sat down in my office, I had stopped working out and I started developing my plan for life after football. Which was fun, I was telling my mom, I'm like, man, I'm so good at so many things, I don't want to box myself in and keep, you know what I mean, keep boxing myself in and make it seem like I'm just a football player. Because I'm not. You know, it's just that this is where my life is taking me, but I'm bigger than all that. Like I'm more than just a football player, so I'm in my office, I start getting my plans together, my budget sheets, you know, I'm starting to develop, you know, my plan for life after football. I made a call to Coach McAdoo. Can you call, you know, John Snyder, see if I can get onto the Seahawks, you know, see if I get a chance? He called, you know, because the year before when I went to the Chargers, I actually

• 27:06Speaker 03

  took a visit to the Seahawks and I really liked it. But Russell Wilson was younger than Philip Rivers, so I'm like, well, I probably got a better chance over here with Philip Rivers than I do with Seattle. But I really like Seattle, but I'm trying to play, you know what I mean? So I went to, I ended up going there. But the next year was like, okay, call him back and see, you know, if I got a shot. And I had to go compete with Paxton Lynch to be the two. You know what I'm saying? I had to go compete to be the backup. But, you know, it was fun. It was fun. And so, all that time where, you know, like I said, you just gotta know who you are. Because all that time where I started to doubt myself, I'd go watch my old film and be like, oh yeah, yeah, you can do that. So, just do that, you know what I mean? Just do that again, that type of stuff.

• 27:45Fred Taylor?

  Knowing you were going to Seattle, Russ country, as RC said, is Russ heaven.

• 27:50Speaker 03

  Still Russ country.

• 27:50Fred Taylor?

  Still, still Russ country. Uh, but you knew that the spotlight was gonna be on, the expectations were gonna be, you know, extremely high. Uh, how were you, how was you able to maintain your focus and keep the main thing the main thing? Because we talked at the beginning, and I, I told you how, how well you handled yourself. You know, when those moments, they wanted to create some drama, ask questions about Russ, I thought you did an amazing job handling yourself. But what was that moment that you said, this is, this is my show, I ain't thinking about all that other stuff?

• 28:23Speaker 03

  You know, I think it just came down to, um, like I said, man, just trusting, trusting my preparation, trusting all the work that I put in and just knowing that, you know, I am a franchise quarterback. You know, I've been that my entire life. Um, I've been a leader, I grew up in the hood with some of the, you know, worst conditions. And I led people out of those conditions, you know what I'm saying? I helped people change their lives. And so, leadership comes in all forms. And although, you know, what Russ did in Seattle will never be duplicated or replaced, you know what I'm saying? Like, that man's the winningest quarterback in NFL history for 10 years. Uh, great leader, you know what I mean? Sound, sound father, um, big in the community, but I never looked at, you know, him as a guy who I couldn't be, or a guy who did things that I couldn't do. I tell him all the time, he inspired me.

• 29:08Speaker 03

  You know, I tell him all the time, I just, "Thank you, bro. Thank you for the inspiration." "Well, man, house in San Diego, man, man, living how you supposed to be." You know what I'm saying? So that's all the motivation I've been needing sometimes, you know what I'm saying? So like, just being around certain people, understanding who I am, understanding what I bring to the table, and then knowing that I do have the talent to do it. But just staying true to the preparation, you know, process over results. Never thinking about the end result, always just staying in the moment, you know, that's really what I do.

• 29:37Ryan Clark?

  Fellas, it's the big games. It's only two teams left. And what we have seen in the last couple of years is when you add more talent, ala OBJ, or you get AJ Brown, then you build a team that can win a championship. And that's the same thing you gotta do if you're a business. And when you use ZipRecruiter.com, that's exactly the place they put you in. And now, we ain't looking for wide receivers, but if it's a masseuse, if it's a nurse, if it's an accountant, that's the place you want to be. And it don't matter what state you're in, ZipRecruiter can find the exact match you need if you're a business that's searching.

• 30:09Fred Taylor?

  Hey, RC, much like all the great coaches, you gotta be able to motivate your players. And with ZipRecruiter, you gotta motivate your audience. Post, post, and the more you post, the more opportunities you get to bring in great talent.

• 30:22Ryan Clark?

  And when it comes to hiring, you have to pile on the talent. You have to get good to win. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a candidate within the first day. Go see for yourself. Get an exclusive website now, ZipRecruiter.com, and see for free. Use the promo code. It's ZipRecruiter.com/draftkings. Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com/draftkings. ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire.

• 30:50Fred Taylor?

  Having a coach like Pete Carroll, does that take some... See, I've never met Coach Carroll.

• 30:56Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 30:56Fred Taylor?

  Right, but from afar, he seemed like a great coach to play for.

• 30:59Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 31:00Fred Taylor?

  Does that take some pressure off you as a quarterback?

• 31:02Speaker 03

  It takes a lot of pressure off you. Like, Pete is, like, if y'all, I would hope y'all, y'all should come. You know what I mean? It's an open invitation, I'm pretty sure he's good. Y'all should come to Seattle and just come sit in our meeting room. Just come sit in our meeting room. After a loss, even. Coach Carroll is like the most energetic, most positive.

• 31:22Speaker 03

  You know, best mental coach I've ever seen. You know what I mean? He coaches your mentality every single day. He gets you prepared every single day. Championship football, like, practice is you going at your defense every single day. It's no days off. And so when you got a coach like that who's like preparing, he's breeding you for success. He's preparing you to play championship football. You know, it becomes, the games become easier, you know, and it become fun. You know, this is what we prepare for. So when we get out there on Sundays, we're excited, man. We're fired up to go out there and play for Coach because this guy's 70 something years old. He's running gasses on Fridays. You know what I'm saying? Like 400 yard gasses on Fridays in the big peach shoes. You know what I'm saying? Like really getting it. And it's like, you see somebody like in the monarchs.

• 32:07Speaker 03

  And you see somebody doing that and you know what I mean? Like, you're like, man, come on now. You gotta go run through a wall for this dude. You gotta do it.

• 32:14Ryan Clark?

  Tyler Lockett is speaking to the media and you guys are at a press conference. And they're asking about being able to come back. You guys were down early on in the game. You came back and you came back because you made plays defensively, but because you played well, because Tyler made plays. And in asking the question, he cuts the reporter off and he says, "That's what happens when nobody cares who gets the glory." And you know how life works. At this time, Russell Wilson's not playing well. Geno Smith is playing extremely well. There are things going on in Denver or being said in Denver that Russell Wilson is a certain way. And it immediately went to they're speaking about Russ. Let me tell you how I took it. I took it as they're talking about Geno. Those are two different things to me.

• 32:58Ryan Clark?

  You don't have to speak badly about the past to speak highly about the present. And then the president said to me exactly what you said earlier about leadership. But I've talked, you know, I work with Rex Ryan, who loves you, by the way. And he's like, nah, Geno had to grow into certain things. Like, Geno had to learn, much like you said earlier. But when you hear a wide receiver who has played with someone who's the winningest quarterback in his first 10 years in the league, and he says that about his new quarterback, that it's about the team, how does that make you feel?

• 33:32Speaker 03

  I think it's exactly what I want. You know, I want to be the guy, because I had to leave from the back for so long. I want to be the guy, like, I want my, all my teammates to shine, man. I want everybody in the world to reach their full potential. Um, I'm not a hater, I'm not against nobody, I just, I just see life for what it is, man. I think we all got opportunities every day we wake up to be great. And so, for me, I couldn't care less about the accolades, I'm here at the Pro Bowl, that's great. You know, I'm here for my family, for, you know, it's our, it's our first one, you know, I want my dad to experience that. So, it's really about that, more than it's about anything I could do, you know, I'm good. I'm solid, man, I'm good, God's blessed me. I've gone so many places, you know, just thinking about where my life could have been and where it is now, it's amazing.

• 34:13Speaker 03

  So, I don't care about, like, people praising, you don't praise me, don't look at me as a superstar hero. I'm not a celebrity, I'm an everyday dude who do it, who does extraordinary things, you know, on Sundays. And so, that's really just where I'm at with it, you know, I'm really comfortable in my own skin. Um, and I, I just want to see all my young, my, my YGs, man, I just want to see them boys just be their best self, man, just be great.

• 34:37Channing Crowder?

  And Gino, you talk about getting job, playing great, first Pro Bowl, but also early on with less success getting your job taken. Sometimes by performance, one time by your jaw broke.

• 34:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 34:49Channing Crowder?

  I've heard all the stories, all the write-ups. Why did your teammate hit you in your face?

• 34:54Speaker 03

  Well, that's, you know, I think that, again, you, you, you gotta go back to the moment, man. That, you know, a lot of that stuff wasn't, um, reported the right way.

• 35:02Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 35:02Speaker 03

  The whole $600 thing, I don't know who, who said that. I had no, I had no idea about no $600 and that. I, I figured, you know, IK was upset because I didn't make it to his camp. You know, I was supposed to go to his camp, I guess he booked me a flight, you know, he, he, you know, they're booking flights through my, um, assistant at the time, so I'm not even, like, getting the info. But once I got the flight or whatever, you know, I was supposed to go to Texas, like, on a Saturday, it's Friday. My, my homeboy dies in a motorcycle accident, like, 2:00 a.m., the flight's at, like, 6:00 a.m. I don't want to go. Straight up, I don't wanna go, but I've had camps, guys say they're gonna show up, haven't shown up. That's cool. I guess what happened was, you know, I was on the flyer and a lot of the people, they were paying to come to the camp to see me.

• 35:47Speaker 03

  And so when I didn't go to the camp, there was backlash, which then turned to resentment. And so that's where all that stemmed from, right? It, it, it became like resentment. So now we in the locker room and it's like, you know, he trying to press me, which I mean, okay, like I've been living 32 years, ain't nobody pressed me outside the locker room. It's just, that's the, you know, I'm a leader. I can't, I almost gotta let you hit me first for this to, for this to go. I can't hit you first, I'ma look bad. Right? So I kinda gotta let you like, you know, get one, get one on me to, so we can get into it. So that's kinda how it happened. I'm not proud of that. You know, that's probably a moment where I feel like, yeah, I could've done some things better, you know, I would've, you know, probably just handled it a different way, but it happened. You know, like I said, I had to learn how to not be Geno from Miami.

• 36:30Speaker 03

  You know what I'm saying? I had to learn how to be who I am now. You know, I wasn't always in this mindset. You know what I'm saying? I was stuck in like, a lot of dudes stuck in where I'm, where I'm from and acting like that. But then I learned, and I learned like, like I said, go back to leadership. And, um, I know that he regrets that moment because he told me that, you know? And I, and, and, and I do too, you know, I do too, because it, it altered both of our lives. But, you know, ultimately, like I said, things happen for a reason. And that ain't the first fight I've been in, probably won't be the last, and I, I ain't backing down from nothing. So it is what it is with that, you know, that's kinda how I see it. But overall, man, like I said, IK is another black brother. Um, we could've took that a whole nother direction after that. It could've went a whole nother direction. But we chose as black men to say, you know what?

• 37:14Speaker 03

  We're not gonna do that. We're gonna do it a better way, and that's what happened.

• 37:17Ryan Clark?

  That day changed two black men's lives and two players' lives, two men's lives, just in, period. Right? Ryan Fitzpatrick goes on to play well that year. Geno Smith's never the starter of the New York Jets again. He- Goes and plays for Buffalo, Rex Ryan runs him out as a captain the next year. He finishes that year and never plays again. And I know this because they called me when it happened because I trained him. Right, and so all of these things are going on and it's moments like those. Gino, and you speak about where we're from. There's moments like those on bigger stages that end lives. Or that take away two men because one's no longer breathing and the other one has to spend his life in jail.

• 38:00Ryan Clark?

  And you mentioned handling it another way so you can be here. Those type of lessons you learn. How do you try to give back to the community or give back, like you said, to the YGs? To make sure they don't have to learn those lessons through that sort of situation?

• 38:19Speaker 03

  I think it's hard, you know, I think we've been conditioned so long, you know what I'm saying? To be a certain way that it's hard to reverse it. And so what you have to do is kind of change your mindset. You know, it starts with your mindset. But when I talk to the young cats, man, it's just entrench yourself in, in the game. You know, understand why you're here. You know, you're here because you love the game, you know, or, or, or something else. But there's a reason you're here. And so use your resources, man, and entrench yourself into the game, you know, you, you know, work on your craft. And then when it comes to like, you know, you see a lot of guys want to go club, you know? They want to spend their money this way or that way. Like, man, understand that, you know, it's, it, a lot of that is BS. It's BS and it's conditioned. It's not who we are, it's just what they trained us to be.

• 39:02Speaker 03

  And so we have to reverse a lot of things that have happened within our community in order for us to grow. But it don't happen overnight and I, you know, I feel like we're making progress. But also like, you know, we can't, we can't just look at it and say, you know, it's going to happen just tomorrow. You know, it's not going to happen tomorrow. We got to keep conditioning our, our kids and our youth to break that cycle, to break the cycle, you know what I'm saying? My dad went to prison, my mom told me, man, you got to break the cycle. And that was my life goal, like, man, I got to do something else. I can't be going to prison and, you know what I'm saying, like all my friends and, you know what I'm saying? Getting locked up and doing, yeah, I got to break the cycle. And so I think we all got to take that approach, break the cycle. Some of the things that we glorify or we look at as tough or cool really isn't tough or cool.

• 39:45Speaker 03

  It's just a coping mechanism for us to kind of get over our problems, you know what I'm saying? To kind of feel better about our problems. So just trying to reverse the cycle, that's all I'm trying to do. Like, not with like my dressing, be you, be how you, you know, come as you are, but understand it's here. You know, it's right up here in your mindset.

• 40:02Ryan Clark?

  You hit a point now, right? And he's talked about losing jobs and gaining jobs and playing well and not playing well. And we're sitting at the Pro Bowl. Somebody's owed some money, right? Normally, when a quarterback plays extremely well, right, and it's time for him to get his money, he goes in and he says, "It's gonna take this amount of money in order for me to be happy. And if I'm happy, I want to be here. And I want to be here and happy and playing well."

• 40:29Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:30Ryan Clark?

  So what's it gonna take?

• 40:31Speaker 03

  Man, we can't speak on numbers, man. I'll tell you what, man, I think like, I feel like everybody-

• 40:36Ryan Clark?

  Do you want, but do you want to be in Seattle?

• 40:38Speaker 03

  I would, I would love to be in Seattle, man. I love Seattle, you know, we have a great relationship and, you know, I think we'll work things out. You know, when it comes to like contracts, I think every player just wants to get paid his worth. And it's funny because like a great friend of mine tells me like, no matter what check they write, it'll never be your worth. Because your worth isn't in money, is it in, you know, monetary things? And so you just want to be respected. You know, your contract just wants to say, "We respect you. We understand what you bring to the table. We understand the caliber player you are and we appreciate you." And that's really all it comes down to.

• 41:11Fred Taylor?

  You know, we're talking about quarterbacks and money and all that stuff. You're talking about breaking the cycle. Here we are, February 2023.

• 41:20Speaker 00

  This episode is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Good times mean competitions between you and your friends, like seeing who can throw some pigskin the farthest or rush the field the fastest. Winner gets an Ultra. Because it's not just a superior light beer, it's also giving fans superior access to their favorite sporting events. Superior is worth playing for. Visit michelobultra.com/superioraccess to enter. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2026 Anheuser Busch InBev Michelob Ultra Beer, St. Louis, Missouri.

• 41:50Fred Taylor?

  Two black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, breaking the cycle. How excited were you when those guys won? And be able to shape and change the direction of history?

• 42:00Speaker 03

  Man, I was, I'm extremely excited, you know. You know, you think about Doug Williams and what he did winning that Super Bowl. First black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Think about all the guys who paved the way for us. You know what I mean? To even have this opportunity, you know, the Cunninghams and the Warren Moons and McNabb's, the Vicks and, you know, all the guys who look like me, who I idolized and figured, man, if I could, if they could do it, I could do it. So to see Jalen and to see Patrick, you know, two outstanding young men, two outstanding players, who come from, I believe, great families, you know what I mean? Who have great backgrounds. That is what we are, you know? I know a lot of times on ESPN, they want to talk about people coming from broken homes and all the struggles that they went through.

• 42:43Speaker 03

  And they, great uncle was, you know, on drugs back in the seventies, you know what I mean? They bring up stuff that don't matter. But you talk about Patrick and you talk about Jalen raising, you know, Jalen's a coach's son, you know what I mean? And Patrick's dad, you know, obviously MLB pitcher, you know? So we know they come from great families, got great backgrounds, obviously great athletes and great players, great quarterbacks. But what you see from those guys is great leadership and great backbone. And that's what our community stands on and that's who we are.

• 43:12Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I love that. I had an opportunity Monday to shine some light on that and talk about, and a lot of people were saying it's not about narratives or stories, but it is about the things that we magnify. And you are right. Everyone loves the underdog story and everyone loves the story of the broken home and the single mom, but we are more than that. And in order for younger generations to see that you can be more than that, you have to show them that there were generations before you that were more. Because that's the trick that can be played. The trick can be played is that this is all you'll ever be because it's all you ever were. And that's not true.

• 43:53Ryan Clark?

  And I think that's what's so beautiful about Jalen and Patrick being in the Super Bowl is very much like you said about this Pro Bowl. This is our first Pro Bowl. And I didn't miss that because I understand that. As much as we go out onto the field as individuals and play for our teams, there are teams in the stands, there are teams in our neighborhoods, there are teams at our households who are supporting us and cheering for us and have sacrificed for us to be in that situation. And so when you think about having your family here and you look at all the things you had to overcome to get here, what is that one moment in your life that, and I've been taking Freddie's

• 44:35Ryan Clark?

  question like the last three shows, what is that pivotal moment in your life that you feel like has to happen for Geno Smith to be in this position?

• 44:45Speaker 03

  Shoot, man, that's a tough one. I think everything, I think everything that's kind of happened, I say this all the time, I say only God could write a story this, you know, this beautiful because it's like been like, it's like one of them movies where it's like you got this superhero and now he loses his powers. It's like, can he get him back? You know what I mean? Like, it's like one of those storylines and it's like, I think all of that stuff had to happen, man. I think, you know, God's been setting me up for something greater than myself, but I think he was preparing me, he had to humble me. He had to show me like, yo, you gotta be this type of way so you can get to that. And so I think me understanding the magnitude of what

• 45:27Speaker 03

  success can bring and how you have to be humble at all times and, you know, just everything that happened from New York, from being a backup, from, you know, obviously, you know, questioning whether I get a chance to start again, all those things had to happen for me to get to this moment and have this perspective.

• 45:43Ryan Clark?

  We talk about legacies all the time. There's no legacy in football at the quarterback position like Tom Brady. We get an opportunity in the week that Tom Brady retires to kind of reflect on who he was throughout his entire career for the second time because I did the exact same thing for 40 days last year. But when you think about Tom Brady and what he meant to the game and the way you see him as a quarterback, what he was able to accomplish, what will be some of your thoughts on him as he leaves the game?

• 46:19Speaker 03

  You talk about a competitor. I think he's probably, you know, everyone calls him the GOAT. I think he's one of the greatest competitors in any sport of all time. You know, a guy who truly loves the game, as we can see, truly loves. I know it hurt him, you know, to have to leave the game because he loves to compete. And now he's looking for that net, like, what can I compete at next? You talk about a winner, you know, a leader. Accuracy, poise, you know, you think about, he started out as an underdog, right? It was, you know, Peyton Manning who was the face of the league, really. And Tom was the underdog, right? And he was kind of, you know, being led by Belichick, that defense, the run game. But clutching the two minute, right? Super Bowl, him going out and winning those Super Bowls. And then when he came into his own, he took off, man.

• 47:02Speaker 03

  This guy's had three decades of, you know what I mean, of Hall of Fame careers. And so you think about Tom, man, I was just blessed to be able to compete against him. I think he's, you know, he's inspired me so much. I've tried to emulate him in so many ways and just take from his game. And I just, you know, I respect what he did for the amount of years he played. And, you know, hopefully, you know, he has a great life after football.

• 47:25Ryan Clark?

  Well, funny, he is competing because he beat Shefty this time. Because Shefty put it on his quiche the last time.

• 47:33Ryan Clark?

  He said, "Hell, that, I'm finna make a selfie video." Because, you know, he already knew if he whispered it, if he texted somebody, Shefty was gonna leak that thing.

• 47:42Channing Crowder?

  Shefty got some snitches on his side. You brought up the GOAT, is he the GOAT? I tell you my opinion. It's crazy because I can't say he has the strongest arm ever. Joe Montana, one of them dudes, Dan Marino had the strongest arm. He's not the quickest. But I would say he's the best quarterback ever to get under center in the history of football.

• 48:01Speaker 03

  I would agree with you, man, he's the greatest ever, I think. Probably not the most talented quarterback ever, but by far the greatest quarterback ever.

• 48:09Channing Crowder?

  Dan and all them dudes, they had their chance and they failed to beat Tom Brady.

• 48:12Speaker 03

  Yeah, I wouldn't say Dan Marino, but you could say like Pat and Aaron. I mean, they have a shot, but I still pick Brady over. I might pick Peyton Manning over Brady, that might be the only one.

• 48:22Fred Taylor?

  Since we picking, can we pick Super Bowl?

• 48:26Speaker 03

  Super Bowl favorite, man. Shoot, man, it's offense versus defense in this one. I think the Eagles gonna win.

• 48:31Fred Taylor?

  We can't, Gino, I need the, I need the quarterback in the huddle here, here. Like, give me a reason why.

• 48:38Speaker 03

  Okay.

• 48:38Fred Taylor?

  We can't be generic.

• 48:39Speaker 03

  Well, I'll say this. Okay, so Patrick's hurt. Um, you know, he's got the ankle thing. Obviously, he played phenomenal, but I think that Eagles D-line is different than that Bengals D-line. And I think, um, I think that's the biggest difference. You know, I think that's the biggest difference in the game. The game's always won in the trenches. I think the Eagles offensive line, probably one of the best in the league. And so, you know, when it comes down to it, um, both got, I think, equally on the outside, skilled players. Um, and then obviously, I would give the nod to Patrick over Jalen as far as the quarterback goes. Uh, wouldn't be a big nod, uh, big nod, but you know, it's a nod. And so, I think overall, when you just talk about a complete team, and just, you think about over the course of the entire season, I think the Eagles were more consistent.

• 49:21Speaker 03

  Um, I think they have the right formula with their, you know, their defense, and then the guys they have up front, and then they run the ball really well. And that travels anywhere. And then I think, um, it's very hard to put all the pressure on one player, which is really what the Chiefs are doing with Mahomes.

• 49:36Ryan Clark?

  Now, my last question is this, and I think this is, I've asked a lot of questions today because I was very excited about this. This is probably the most important question. I think a question that all quarterbacks need to answer, or people will always be looking to get another quarterback. Can Geno Smith be the quarterback of a Super Bowl-winning team? And that team win because of Geno, not in spite of Geno?

• 50:00Speaker 03

  Yes, 100%. You know, I, I haven't started for a long time. So, this is my first year starting after a long time. This is only my third year being a starter in the NFL. So, I'm actually a little young. You know, I'm not young in age, but like, it's, as far, as far as experience, you know. Um, I don't think I've reached my peak in play. I know that I'm just entering into my prime. I know that I could play another 10 years. I take care of my body. I eat right, sleep right, hit the weights. I study the right way. And, um, I know that I could be a lot better than I was this year. You know, this year, I, you know, did a lot of great things. But I can be so much better and that's kind of where my mindset is going to the offseason. It's like, man, I can't wait to attack this offseason. You know, take care of the things I need to get better at.

• 50:43Speaker 03

  And then next season, I'll be 10 times better than I was this year.

• 50:47Channing Crowder?

  I don't see no ring on it. Are you married to football? You got an old lady or is that, that's a distraction?

• 50:52Speaker 03

  No, no, I got, you know, me and, uh, me and Chrissy, man, we've been together since, since high school, since Miramar. And, uh, we kind of, you know, separated a little bit. I had to get my mind right, you know what I mean? Become, be, be a better man. And, uh, you know, she was, she was extending me some grace and allowed that. And so now we're, um, we're working on that.

• 51:09Channing Crowder?

  I got you. And I gotta, I gotta tell you, I failed you. As Fred was talking about, the young guys, and you call them YGs. It's funny, I came and talked to your high school football team.

• 51:20Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 51:21Channing Crowder?

  When you was at Miramar High School.

• 51:22Speaker 03

  I remember that.

• 51:23Channing Crowder?

  Somebody brought me out there and this, this young phenom. That's really what you were brow, all browed, everything. Like you was on the front of the Miami Herald and stuff like that. So I knew who Geno Smith was. And then meeting you, seeing the club now as a grown up, cool.

• 51:35Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 51:35Channing Crowder?

  But I did you a disservice in that pre-game speech and I'll tell you why.

• 51:42Channing Crowder?

  I was running the streets, Geno. I had me a couple of girls that I was messing with. Went over one of their houses.

• 51:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 51:50Channing Crowder?

  The description of her house gonna let you know, her master bedroom didn't have a bathroom in it. So it was, it wasn't the nicest house in the world. So after we get through, I'll say playing back a rap.

• 52:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 52:02Channing Crowder?

  I walk out in the hallway and all I got on is drawers.

• 52:05Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:05Channing Crowder?

  When I walk in the hallway, I look down the hallway and there is a silhouette of this big ass, six foot man in the hallway.

• 52:11Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:11Channing Crowder?

  I'm thinking this is her old man, he done came home, I gotta fight.

• 52:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:15Channing Crowder?

  So I drawers, booty almost out. I put my foot back and I got right.

• 52:19Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:20Channing Crowder?

  And I looked him straight in his eyes and I locked eyes with him and it's like, I don't know what's about to happen. It was a half a second of, is it the point of no return?

• 52:27Speaker 03

  I don't know.

• 52:29Channing Crowder?

  He came in, I said, what's up?

• 52:31Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:31Channing Crowder?

  And walked back into his bedroom. It clicks that this is her son. So now Hassan sees this big ass football player. And I was way bigger then.

• 52:41Speaker 03

  He probably was scared of you.

• 52:42Channing Crowder?

  So we both scared of each other because I'm scared too. Gino, it's about a month later. They asked me to go talk to this young team. Y'all was hell. What was that, 08, 09? Y'all was hell.

• 52:52Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 52:53Channing Crowder?

  Come talk to this team. They probably won the state championship. They got this hell of a quarterback. Okay, I'm ready to give y'all a speech. I walk in your locker room, Gino. Your coach is talking. I look to my right. I could walk in your locker room right now and I could tell you where I was standing, where he was standing.

• 53:05Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 53:06Channing Crowder?

  I look to my right. One of your teammates was the boy in the hallway.

• 53:12Channing Crowder?

  My speech, I had it planned about working hard and telling y'all my story growing up, about the grind and my daddy not being there. I couldn't say shit. I nutted up. I don't know if you remember, I was like, boy, y'all boys done did it.

• 53:27Speaker 03

  All you wanted to say was like more like, you know, you came, it was like, yeah, man, y'all just do good. You know what I mean? Like, it was kind of, I wanted to know, you know what I mean? Like, do your, do your thing, man, let's go.

• 53:37Channing Crowder?

  I didn't know how much a part of the team he was. Old boy was just knocking my mama down. I, can I cover somebody and cover four? I didn't want to mess it up. I nutted up and I want to apologize.

• 53:48Speaker 03

  Nah, man, it's all good, man. Just, hey, look, just having you there, that was enough for us, man. Just seeing a dude like you, especially me, I watched you growing up. So having you there, that was enough for us, man. Appreciate that.

• 53:58Channing Crowder?

  Appreciate that, so.

• 53:59Ryan Clark?

  Well, since he just told this story, we got to end on a better note, right? So Floyd is, Floyd is part of the show.

• 54:05Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 54:05Ryan Clark?

  I learned walking down the hall that you and Floyd, Floyd are close and you guys.

• 54:09Speaker 03

  I wouldn't say close, but.

• 54:11Ryan Clark?

  Okay, you, you speak.

• 54:12Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 54:13Ryan Clark?

  You guys talk. And so you said he gave you a little bit of advice before the season, which ended up being a really good season for you. You want to share that with everybody?

• 54:23Speaker 03

  Oh, yeah, I was, I was actually, you know, AB's my boy. You know AB? And, you know, he and Floyd were kind of hanging out. And so I was just going to check up on AB, you know, make sure he was straight. And so, you know, Floyd was there and we kind of got to talking. And, you know, he, he said a lot of great things. But I think one of the things that really stuck with me was it was like, hey, G, man, don't remember why you got into the game, you know, to take care of your family. You know, because we were just talking. I was like, man, you know, it's kind of messed up. You know, I'm finally getting an opportunity. But man, you know, I've been ready for all these years. And he was like, man, hey. Who cares? He was like, remember why you got in this game. You know what I'm saying? So go out there and show them. You know what I'm saying? So like, just have it, you know, we call him Champ. But just have Champ give me them words and just, you know, he's a guy who, again, I admire.

• 55:06Ryan Clark?

  Heck, yeah.

• 55:07Speaker 03

  And so having him give me those words and, you know, it stuck with me like, don't forget. You know, you're here to take care of your family.

• 55:12Ryan Clark?

  Well, man, it's been, it's been amazing. I think, and you know, we were texting about it before you got here. And obviously, football is a part of what you do, but it's not who you are.

• 55:22Speaker 03

  Right.

• 55:22Ryan Clark?

  And I wanted people to see who you are. And when I talk about those quotes from this season and those moments from this season, the one that sticks out the most to me is in the year of true redemption for you, where you have an opportunity to be the comeback player of the year. When you guys made the playoffs, you talked about how much you loved your teammates. You talked about how much you love your support system. And the one thing about leaders is they don't point at themselves when things go well.

• 55:51Speaker 03

  Right.

• 55:52Ryan Clark?

  Right? They point at themselves when they don't.

• 55:54Speaker 03

  Yep.

• 55:54Ryan Clark?

  And you did that throughout this entire season. And so all the growth from the experiences that you've had, you've definitely now used those to be not only a better player, but a better leader. And I think this was an amazing episode, man. I think people will learn so much. And we're just grateful, man. So appreciate you.

• 56:11Speaker 03

  Thank you, brother. I appreciate y'all, man.

• 56:13Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, shout out to Tracy, Big Gino. Appreciate y'all.

• 56:16Speaker 03

  I already know.

• 56:17Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you, dawg. That was great, man.

• 56:19Speaker 03

  That was cool, man.

• 56:19Ryan Clark?

  That was really good.

• 56:20Speaker 03

  That was really good, man.

• 56:22Ryan Clark?

  You already know.

• 56:23Fred Taylor?

  Yes, sir.