 And we are back with another edition of the Falcons audible presented by a TNT and yes You got the normal three faces, but folks we got a fourth face on the set today Yeah, we do and ones that if you have any knowledge of the Atlanta Falcons Which we know you have plenty of it You know this gentleman sitting to my left and two arches right first of all Derek Rackley DJ Shockley Dave Archer and none other than Michael Vic joining us here First of all Mike you're great to see you man. How you been doing been doing great man the family's good life is good It's just Mystic to be here. Yeah Arch the man been on the course arch. That's what I know. Yeah, he's been playing I'm waiting to get him Ducked me I caught him. Oh, I remember I remember seven first started doing it, right? Oh, yeah out there. He's got these really really nice clubs and stuff. He's swinging it and ball going over there I'll never forget You know a good friend of ours Allen Ross. Yeah, I'll see Ross had his golf tournament. I went out there and I remember everybody just out there Just whacking him hitting it. I'm like first off he Begged me to come. He didn't beg me. He's like, you know, just come out and just hang in the car Yeah, and I was sitting in the car And I just seen everybody having a good time and I tried to hit it and I couldn't hit it And a long story short I went and tore my backyard up that day. I went and found like a used club We all watch this dude play and there was nobody better no more exciting to play on the field But I've never seen it do more frustrated with a game than the golf game I just couldn't understand how I could So easy and and then this little white ball ain't moving We had a punter named Toby, I can't remember his last name, but Toby was just driving and I'm like, that's so beautiful golfers all about and It's like the I couldn't even I couldn't even hit the ball of her. Well, you know Yeah, I know how golf is the golf life and when you started when you hit him just rolling never got off So it was motivation The kind of the the the theme around the league is like quarterbacks are generally like fantastic golfers Like you hear about guys like Tony Romo's getting the invitations to different PJ Tour events right before you came Chris Chandler was a fantastic A lot of quarterbacks and special teams guys some people would say it's because of their hand-eye coordination other we would probably say But that wasn't the case necessarily for Mike, he's telling you that that was not necessarily his game But the interesting part is the competitive fire. No question Mike was hot Tell you no exaggeration I went and I'm talking divvied up my back It was divvied everywhere and it was like $12,000 worth of damage And I was like, you know, I never do that again. I'm gonna go to the driving range and tell you go take Divvids out of somebody else's yard. Okay, so look you can see how this is gonna go We could sit here and talk about anything for a matter of hours That's what a bunch of former teammates of course me and DJ were on the same roster as Mike Dave You were around when Mike was playing covering us as part of the media So we have all kinds of memories But let's do our best to try to talk a little bit about football because it is an exciting time of the year as all the NFL Teams are in training camp. We've already had some games more games are coming up But we wanted to talk a little bit with Mike a little bit amongst each other just about let's kind of start more broad picture here And Mike I'll start with you like Playing in Atlanta is a little bit different here in 2022 than it was when you came back in 2001 So tell us like how things were when you started coming out of Virginia Tech coming down from Blacksburg Obviously, you brought that team to amazing heights and what they were able to do on a championship level But then when you step into the NFL not only just the NFL by itself But then where you were drafted and all the promise coming into Atlanta, what was it like for you when you first stepped foot here? I'm sorry. That's that's a great question because I was just talking to somebody a few minutes ago about Just the culture and what's been built when I first walked into the stadium. I think rack in 2001 you probably remember this and DJ if he was coming to the games you would know it was nobody in the stands now and You know, we had our first preseason game against Pittsburgh and I just remember just being on the sideline and saying You know, was this the right move? Was this the right choice? I know it was out of my hands, but it you know coming from a place where we had 50,000 60,000 in the stands and then you got the whole upper deck in middle deck empty Yeah, I'm like some kind of change and I don't know what has to happen and I felt like I wasn't ready to play at the time, but I Started developing the plan in my mind that if this team is gonna go it's gonna go as far as I can take them And I knew the second year was gonna be very important because the first year I really wasn't ready, but you know all my energy was geared towards not being a bus Yeah, you know, so that translated into other things It's funny because I came a year before you Mike and the same thing like I came from Minnesota We did not come from big stadiums in college But when I got here I was kind of surprised that how empty the stadiums were and you guys will remember this DJ You might not because you came a few years after but tickets when you were a player if you wanted to buy them We're $48 a pop my first year, right? And I don't I want to get too far ahead of it But after Arthur blank bought the team and just injected so much life into it They quickly went from like 48 to like a hundred one hundred and I was like But you know Dave you've got to see this kind of transition as well What have you seen over the years from when Mike and I were playing in the early? 2000s to where they've gotten to now well I can tell you all the way back to when I played this this fan base is starved for for excitement I remember we started four and oh in my third year in the league And all of a sudden you got people meeting at the airport you got the fans or stand You know people people paint in their faces and that's that hadn't happened for a long time at 91 We got a sniff with that team 98. We got a sniff but nothing nothing consistent right and when he came when Mike came Things changed from a feeling in the city standpoint And it kind of sent chills down my back because it reminded me back till we got off that for no start You took them to a forums that had it hadn't happened and and this city starved for that Yeah, they love their stars Mike was there's nobody bigger than this dude was here But just the feeling the city has for this team I know you felt it as a fan the fans fans loved you They loved this team and I I think they're starved do that again. Yeah No good. So when I think about the experience of when I got here in 06 Obviously, that was my rookie year and you're talking about the different changes and how the fans were and I mean when I first when you first guy here was 01 and I was just going to Georgia and Excitement was already there But then when I finally got here in 06 it was totally different because they had you had the Michael Experience you had all that kind of stuff going on and I remember and that was different for everybody I had a Michael Vic experience, too. I wasn't Michael big but when I walk in cuz Mike And it's crazy because I remember first training camp I remember Hanging out with Mike before and just you sitting back and you like People are like crying people are like it's like Michael Jackson. I was like, man, it's doing this He got he got he got it's a different energy. You know I'm saying it was cool though because you got to see it Me being from Atlanta, you always knew it was passionate fans. You always knew they love a team they ride with who they ride with and To see it from that point of view of when I was going to college and then when I got here Totally different. Yeah, okay. So that's a that's a great place to lead into Mike tell what culture we hear the word culture all the time You guys had a culture here. You were a big reason why what is that? What is culture and how do you cultivate? You know, I think I was a I was a part of it But I think what Arthur did When he Lord ticket sales and he made it affordable for the fans That allowed us to create a culture because we didn't have one like it was just we was just kind of coming in going to work You know coach Reeves did the best he could the coaches up each and every Game and you know, we really didn't have life You know, it was a lot of veterans on the team and and and so, you know and going into that 2002 season a lot of changes was made You know, I became a starter and you know, we became a fairly young team So we was able to start creating that coach and then, you know winning, you know, here's all so now We started winning and we you know, we went in some games and you know, it kind of became our team Yeah, you know, and it was like what we wanted it to be so it was like myself, you know rack DJ You know TJ duck it work done crumb, you know fan You know, so we was we was a young team But we were starting to fill ourselves a little bit and then that combined with the fans and Then the coaches started to come around. Yeah, you got ludicrous You got outcast got everybody showing up and now the game is like it's entertainment So our culture came from just a melting pot of everybody starting with Arthur making those changes and then You know all the influences in the entertainment industry coming and joining along and that's as players saying like we gonna buck it I didn't go You just in it like this I'll tell you memory and I got pride out I got pride out Okay, one of my favorite movies guys is bad boys, too Okay, and so Martin Lawrence, so they got that scene where they stand up in slow motion A couple months ago it was cool to see that. Yeah, oh man, I got pride in that Yeah, it was things like that to help us create culture Playing for the Falcons really cool. That's really like I want to take that a step further because you know a lot of times as a Former player I get asked the question I'm sure you guys do like who is the best athlete you ever played with who was the you know so on and so forth They'll ask you all these different questions And for me, it's always the same two people and I always lead with Mike because he was the most athletic most You know talented player that I ever played with but I also followed up I say it's to Virginia Tech guys in D'Angelo Hall Yeah, D'Angelo Hall had some of the best hips and feet that I've ever seen But I want to go back to you because you're the one that's obviously here is We talked about the Mike Vic experience and I tell people a lot of times I said what you don't understand is when Mike became popular He wasn't just one of the most popular NFL players He was one of the most popular athletes in sport for sure You're sitting here Mike talk to the people that are listening about what that was like for you individually as a 21 year old 22 year old and Seeing yourself everywhere seeing yourself in people wearing your jersey in motion pictures, but you're in your early 20s It was so overwhelming like to a point where I just felt like I wasn't ready for it Felt like I wasn't deserving of it Mainly because I didn't have a Super Bowl ring and I felt like with everything that was coming along with you know Nike deals and all these endorsements it You know success has to follow You know fairly young really young when it was all happening, but You know wasn't a media guy, you know, I dreaded media day. I really felt like I Didn't appreciate What was in front of me like if I was I wasn't schooled and ready for like I say it was overwhelming And all I really wanted to do was just play ball, right? All I wanted to do was play ball and everything else was I appreciated it. Yeah, and I remember Just going through a phase where I just started shaving off all my endorsements because I felt like it was taken away from football It was taken away from my time To commit to the game and even even then, you know playing ball. You still want to have your own self-time and I Just wasn't ready for it if I was 28 years old and if I was as mature as work done was Like work was so mature beyond this is I would have been able to handle a lot different and you know certainly appreciated it though because You know the fans make you and you know, I used to be put in a hard work, man, but Wow, what a time. That's all I could say. I mean no better guy to ask okay than this Okay, this is a team that's going through transition. We've got a new head coach going into a second season Nobody better to ask than you coming in your young quarterback taking over a new regime. Jamura takes over new offense all that kind of stuff Michael, what do you what do you do there from a leadership standpoint? Obviously you got to die yourself in there But then how do you get your guys dialed in as well? What's the biggest challenges in doing that? Yeah, the biggest challenge for me I think first was you know, I had to Really be in tune with the West Coast system and you know They introduced that and Greg Knapp did a great job of working with me and Matt in the beginning Just making sure that we knew all the ins and outs of the offense I'm glad they drafted Matt because I was able to learn a lot from from shop You know in that in a short period of time because we had to get ready to play you only got four months So I kind of looked at it as You know the time is now and you can't you can't look back You've got to go forward of if we're gonna win we're gonna win now going into that year No, rich McKay. God bless us. So I love rich but Richard promised, you know If we I'm playoff contention after 10 games you'll get a new contract So going into that year with Jim I had so much on my plate, but I was able to just put Football first and it was all about winning everything was all about winning. I didn't care about probos I didn't care about accolades. I didn't I barely threw for 3,000 yards I mean, I think my first year within that system. I threw for 2,500 might have ran for like 900 So that's only 3,500 yards of total offense and You know, so I put always felt like I put the team first and that's why you know towards, you know the You know year six seven When I was here, you know, I started taking it real personal from the media and I probably should have handled that part better But man, it was all about creating that winning coaching. That's all I cared about Not only for myself but for the team my teammates, you know what an interesting question I think a lot of guys who were in our position who were athletic quarterbacks guys who move around a lot We got two of them here and Mary Oden Ritter and everybody talks about their mobility being a big part of it But I remember coming up and I'm sure you had the same kind of mindset of when people say, okay, where do you go from Trying to prove you're a passer to okay Well, I can take off when I need to whatever I want to and that's a big battle for guys who When you come out, they say all right, this guy's just a guy who can run this guy's just a guy who when stuff breaks down He gonna take off he gonna run What do you say to guys like that who are in that kind of mode of they call you a dual-thread guy? but you battle with yourself of Okay, I want to stick in the pocket just a little bit longer so I can show people that I can throw it But also I got this guy giving a billet. Yeah. Well, first of all, you know Passing the football it's no quicker way to advance the ball than passing. Yeah, and I always acknowledge that I'll say this You know resting piece to Greg nap Greg told me when we first sat down in the hotel in And swan swanee Georgia culture We sat down and he told me I watched all your film and You are a passer first and I'm gonna teach you this system and yes Jeff Garcia ran in the Steve Young ran in and Joe Montana ran it, but you ain't gotta run it like them and whenever you feel the need to use your instincts use your instincts and Another advocate of that was Jim Moore Jim always told me You do you so they really ingrained it and then Dan it already, you know, he already implemented that like I had You know, we just had like 18 sweet like, you know, like an old school 18 sweet 17 sweet go left and like quarterback draws all over the place and so they never tried to change me in that regard and you know, people talk about You know changing the game and revolutionizing the game And it was people that it was guys that came before me But the straddle that fence it because it's a lot of us that we want to be passed as a show We want to show that we can hang in the pocket and we competent enough to do it, but at the end of the day To all the kids out there listening to the great questions you just posed to propose Do you? Be a dual threat Marcus Mario to just had this conversation Use your arm and use your legs to the best of your ability because everybody doing it now So don't feel bad about it. You know, what's funny is a quick story is How true this is I remember we sitting in the mean one night. It was a Saturday night mean we're watching film or whatever and that and we're going through film and They like I they bring this we got a slide here. We bring this you got to do this And it was one particular protection of some that says well We can't pick this up Mike. So they bring this It was the real estate it was like it was Zero yeah, it's when they was introducing the zero blitz and we was like and it was it was it's funny He say that cuz like it was really it was like we ain't gonna try to do none the extra We got to do that's better than they do so you make him miss And it was really I remember sitting here doing radio and Mike and I had so many Conversations pregame. He was kind enough to share time with me to do pregame stuff But I remember sitting doing sports talk here in the city and they said Well, Mike doesn't look like anybody else. He needs to be in that be in that box where you can do why? Right. He just ran for 130 yards against Carolina. We won the game. What was it? Yeah, but he ain't gonna be able to last Yeah, I said, well, I think he's gonna be the best judge you that you heard that all the time And people are always guys talking about you protecting yourself and all that kind of stuff Tell me about your time now. That's that's a real thing. Yeah, especially in the NFL and Now on the flip side of that Longevity is the key. We all know you got to be on the field. So I Mean when you take off and run you put yourself in a lot of danger because them dudes on the other side they banging they hit and the easiest way to further your career the easiest way to make as much money as you want to make and Have an opportunity to win games and win a Super Bowl is to be accountable and and so Especially as I got older and got to Philadelphia. I was going to say older. Yeah I was trying to get that extra Keep the change moving for y'all after I got my contract year in my fifth season when I played the whole season with a spring MCL like people don't know that I play via five with a spring ACL year six I played all 16 games and you know, and and I you know, I was work always working towards, you know, being durable but man, you got to protect yourself too because The only way to succeed in this game is to be accountable and be on the field. So Yes It's great to run the ball. It's great to advance it But you also got to protect yourself and you got to be you got to be out there other than that It's gonna be somebody's gonna replace you with you might I never get your position back You might never get your job back. So be conscious of what's going on around you on the field as a quarterback This episode in part brought to you by the Home Depot Everything you need for your next home improvement project is just a tap away on the Home Depot app The Home Depot app digital toolbox gives you access to how-to guides Project calculators and image search. So you'll know exactly what you need to pick up with the tap of the finger You can rent and reserve the right tools for the job Also browse through millions of items from top brands that you can have delivered right to your door Whatever your project find exactly what you need with the Home Depot app download the Home Depot app today Mike you had We have a quarterback here. We talked a little bit about Desmond Ritter and Mario has been in the league a little bit But not you know an everyday starter his every every season that he's been in the league I want to get your opinion for somebody like Desmond Ritter because everybody talks about specifically for the quarterbacks when you come Into the NFL at some point the game slows down. Yeah as a quarterback When did you feel like the game finally started to slow down for you at the end of my rookie year? Okay, and I spot play for Chris a couple games, and it didn't go well I remember a game against Chicago that was brutal earl after like single-handedly with They big-tail watch It was like it's like really good defense Mike Brown at safety. Yeah, I don't even know how I'm remembering all these guys It was like a nightmare and then Dallas Couple gay and then a couple games and all of a sudden Chris go down second to the last game of the season against Miami and Coach Reeves looked at me and say ready. I'm like, let's go and I go in and have a phenomenal game And he started me the next week against against St. Louis when it was the greatest show on turf and had a pretty good game And and you know it slowed down at the end and then going into year two. I was in total control Yeah, you know to a point where I Haven't had a couple arguments with coach Reeves coach. I love you to death. That's the piece But I had to tell coach coach Give it to me. Yeah, give me the game plan. Yeah, open it up. We got a hundred and ninety plays Call a hundred and sixty up. Let's go. Yeah, and and he really heard me out And he knew that I was serious about it and I was ready for that moment it was against the Carolina Panthers like week five or something and Everything changed from that moment, man. I was just ready to like take it on as a passer as a runner You know control the whole game I was you know, whatever it took I was ready to be that guy What would you say to Desmond Ritter right now if you could talk to him about just being a young quarterback trying to make in This league, I would tell him enjoy being a rookie the same thing I used to we used to tell shot like you're in a good position to learn and You know, it's never really no rush Behind the guy who has experience who knows the game understands been through the fire He's gonna go through more fire You're gonna be able to learn vicariously through him and everybody else who's who stepped behind the center and take a snap so, you know, this is a precious time and You know, he'll find out quick if you get thrown out there early the severity of you know playing the position as we all know But as of right now, it's soaking in learn as much as you can make those mistakes and correct them And then feel good about where you at each and every day and just try to continue to get better The only one that had a nightmare in Chicago, I had to play I guess at 85 bear defense It's interesting Mike that you brought up being healthy and you said the bears because I remember back when we were playing They had that whole like Reputation that they were trying to hurt you and that the defense was if they got you down I think Greg black got a funny story coordinator, right? Like those were the times where it got real heated between us The bears it got so bad my grandmother noticed it My grandmother was like no play like 71 my grandmother called up the Dan Reeves. Hey, what what happened in that game? And why was they talk and why was they talking about a what they were saying something like take my knees out of something And why was they talking about taking his knees out? I'm like, how you get the audio? Don't call him up here like I'm some baby. I'm not a baby So yes, we had a serious Few going on with them and you know, I don't know how grandma caught wind of She had my back to the foolish and I never beat Chicago man to this I never could be her like in all my years. It still drives me nuts The brand yeah, it was definitely a great defense that they had at that time They that was part of the reason why they were so competitive Their offense wasn't great, but their defense was shut down at those time Mike We talked a little bit about you mentioned when when Matt Schaub was drafted that you kind of learned from him a little bit Not necessarily a veteran Recently Todd McClure got elected to go into the ring of honor here for the Atlanta Falcon So if there was some veterans around when you played because obviously Desmond Ritters and a very similar the rookies Drake London a similar situation Who are some of the veterans when you were playing that maybe you pulled aside or you asked a conversation to our question to Because you knew they would help get you down the right path. It was always work Work was he was like my worst critic, but a best friend at the same time And you know at work was he was big bro. He was a big bro throwing through couldn't get nothing around him Sean Jefferson. Yeah, Sean was amazing. Yeah And always laying on Sean and on the defensive side. I always talked to a Jasper It was a great man and Keon Coppenter. Yeah, you know those guys really kind of helped keep me in check and you know You know those guys was a great veteran dudes for the locker room and I could see why damn brung a man I love that you mentioned those guys because as I think about all four of those those were four guys that will tell it to you Real straight like all four of them like Sean Jay will get in your face with his eyes wide open And he would cuss you up and down and he no one ain't good enough And if you want to play like it's gotta be better. He gonna he gonna he gonna get you wrapped up Yeah, like I see him do it on plenty of occasions. So some is definitely that guy Let's say you have a You made so many highlights. There were so many things that you did that were unbelievable. Is there is there one? That sticks out to you one Michael Vic play that's kind of us I know the signature play that people will go to is the Minnesota run Yeah, and that was unbelievable. I mean, I saw so many So Is there one that sticks out to you, I don't know that's hard for you to do that I mean, it was a play against green band in the playoff game the game that we won where The name of defense and number 94 And he had me on the sideline and I just remember I just threw him I just threw him off me and Spent back around and I came back through the middle and it was I was one-on-one with like A safety and and I was just like you done And I gave him a move and I hit him with one and and and when I hit him with the move he disappeared And I'd seen the end zone and then he hit my leg like he like nipped my leg and I and it was like We beat him 27 to 7 the score had been 35 to 7 but I wanted that touchdown bad All because of everything that transpired during the play and I felt like if I'd have made Him miss that would have been one of my greatest plays But the fact that I took a defense in like Through him like six yards out of bounds. Wow. That was my retribution to All the things that defenses did to me I think that was the only time green bay at least to that point The only time green bay had ever lost a playoff game when it was below freezing I'm winning that did that didn't we Rex I remember that game so vividly Mike because people will still ask me about that game And it's funny because it was you know snow was falling and stuff and they're like was that game cold and I was like Nope, and I was like it's crazy. What happens when you win Yeah When you win in the playoffs and especially in that environment because of all the things that were stacked up against us in that game Mike, I was like, I don't even remember the cold in that game All right, so so give me one. Give me give me a michael vic moment Yeah, I mean for I'm from minnesota, okay So like that was it that was it for me in the minnesota The funny part is I still have friends that I went to high school with in minnesota That will send me a video clip of that play and they'll be like, hey, do you remember this play? I'm like Dude, you are First of all, I was sick during that game, but I played through it. Yeah, but like Yeah Like In like two guys Against each other and then Mike just sails into the end zone and like that But the funny part is we saw that in practice all the time Right, like the best part of that is when he throws a ball and stands it goes in and goes right down the tunnel That was the classic. Okay. What's your favorite one? So this happened my rookie year and I don't even know Mike remember this but I don't even remember what game it was but I remember some happening in the red zone and Maybe napkin called to play you wanted or something. You came to the sideline Faha, I'm so hot. Yeah, you slam down. You can't he said next time. I'm just gonna take off came back next series Goes just 70 just just cuz he could and I was like This is great. He just said he was gonna take off Like I ain't listen to that no more I'm just gonna take off and took off and I was like that's the kind of stuff that he could do You know, I'm saying like I might have looked at like certain stuff in the game or you're like, oh man, he's super talented, but he was just All right, I'll say I'll tell you mine and he didn't he wasn't even a play. Okay Post this moment. He went off on carolina Uh, I ran for like 140 yards. You had a superman dive in there. You did to michael jordan against craig illo Jordan goes up illo goes like this It comes down and jordan's still in the air, excuse you you touched down dive took from the five And you just stayed in the air all the way I said, how did he do that? Okay. So it was both pregame Okay, the place is juiced because in 0 3 mike breaks his leg in preseason against baltimore There's a paul that goes over this team. You talk about the team. Oh, we're dead. We're done. That's it. Let's cast I'll start thinking about 0 4 And so mike works his way back you work your way back and so in december We're gonna play caroline at home and he announces i'm good. I'm gonna come back So the place is jammed, okay It's as good a crowd as I can remember other than the nfc championship game against green bay. Okay in 16 So michael's right, you know, he's coming back and all of a sudden They kind of it kind of gets quiet and they start playing a little bit of music and they show in the jumbotron Just smoke And I don't if you remember this is just smoke And all of a sudden the smoke starts to clear and he's standing around the ball and he says i'm back And the place Yeah, we didn't let people know I was coming back. So yeah, oh my god. It was a moment. It was a moment I could I still get chills down my back I'm back and this place exploded. He was back. All right. He went for 140 on the ground. He's caroline Let me tell you how my teammates at the time Rack, you wasn't included in this but they was all Keon They all was pulling me to the side like they might they say you're milking this injury Need to go ahead and get back. I'm like, bro. I'm just trying to make sure I'm 100% I just want to be 100% when I get back out there. But uh, yeah, they gave me a lot of flak So I felt like I had to rush back For the team As as all qb's do we we need dudes around us we need them guys on the outside to scale guys You got guys coming in like mary on the real we've talked about enough about those guys But you got some receivers you got some new receivers in this new regime that's coming in all bigger You play with a lot of a lot of really big good receivers put cowl in that category as well How did you go about Transitioning into finding that feel for your receivers throughout a year, especially when you got some new receivers coming in Yeah, it's just reps because you got to figure out, you know, you got to find out who can do what who can get away with Beating man, who's better in zone? Like can we call an option route for you know Cowl or can we call an option route for take what what makes sense for these guys and how do we put them in the best position? So You know, I think is you know as this as much as just on the coach is on You as a quarterback as well to kind of identify that and that's what I think we was always able to do Especially as I moved on and got older and my as I got years under my belt I was able to see a guy Look at him Know exactly what he can do put him in the position where he can can be successful and It all comes with reps too. Like we was Predominantly a run team You know, so to speak, you know, we had ducky. We had dine. So And you know, we boy, he wanted his carries. He was gonna get his carries about any means Whatever that backside in if he crashed too hard Pulling Put the diesel in and You know, you just you work with those guys man, and it's unfortunate guys like pillars price I really didn't get a chance to And I felt like he had a lot of potential But you know, like I said, it's on the coach and the quarterback to know how to use a guy So, you know with these big targets that that mario to got now Come on, man. You got three guys over six three. Yeah, you need no speed Stolen up Like you better you played a long time in the league had a ton of success and you were able to see Different pieces around a team that makes up a winning franchise So i'm gonna have you kind of take off your nostalgic hat for a second and put on your analyst hat We we look at the atlanta falcons, but in your career When you saw x y and z whether that's offensive line. It's defense. It's coaching. It's Wide receiver that can take the top off the defense, right? What are the two or three things that you had at at any of your stops that you felt like we're going to have a special year? um Team specifically or just position wise. Yeah, it could be like you could say great offensive line Or I had two receivers and they could never lock either of them down or something like that. Yeah Just talking personal experience. Um When I got to philadelphia Like there was more predicated on defense And when I seen the defense and how they practice and when I practice against them, I was like, hold on. This is Like I got to step my game up because they they russian to pass it like I remember playing against philadelphia and yeah, what? 2005 and we played them in the Tennessee championship Yeah, and I it just couldn't get away from them and then you know now i'm playing for him and it's like All right, we got it. We got a shot. I just got to do my job and um You know, so you saw that great receivers. I seen it in practice and then I seen Jeremy macklin and deshaun jackson when they was in years one and two And just i'm talking can flat out run nobody can cover them one on one. Yeah and I wasn't even starting at the time and it's like if I step on the field with them It's curtains And I don't have to use I don't have to be a runner. I can probably you know, I could throw it out And you know, that's the thing now that we're on this podcast and it's mad love Man of thought because that's first love. Yeah But man, I always wanted to play for andy reed. Yeah The way he used to let donovan throw that rock. I used to be over here Salivate let me get that. Yeah, all the disciples of what y'all come from the same All right. I mean you talk about he was with farve That wouldn't bad Now it's your patrick my home And he let Patrick he he let those guys run it man And uh, you know not not to say that we won't do on the right, but uh, coach just he just It's just always something different in terms of offense. Yep. Well, and so you guys all got to hear it here first I mean you might think michael vic he was a running quarterback He always wanted to run and mike's telling you right now. He wanted to go somewhere where he could air it out Yeah, I wanted and don't let him fool you now. He had one of the tightest spirals that I ever seen in my life Well, it was weird But it came around the wrong way Spin it other way I'll tell you what In in looking at quarterbacks and shock and I talk about quarterbacks all the time and stuff And I know you do like one of the prettiest motions You'd ever see that thing. Yeah. Yeah, because you're taught and you tell me from wrong You're taught when you're thrown they want you to hit that hit that far thigh with the hand Just to emphasize following through I mean you got guys you'll see guys throwing the pull the string, right? They'll be right here not him I mean it was all the way through and it was it was a prettiest motion you ever seen in your life It was different throwing motion and it's something that I worked on for years and You know, like I said a lot of coaches just never tried to change a lot of things that I did You know wrong or you know a lot of things that I did, right? They was just You know, I had good coaching for the most part 90 percent But they also said man, just do you empathize and do you if it all came down to us? So that's the type of Liberty quarterbacks need these days in order to be successful. Yeah Before right before we get out of here. Obviously, uh, I want to I want to give my dude a little love. Um I remember the first time walking into the falcon was when I got drafted Mike, I know he'll remember this my first time ever walking into the walk in the flyer branch and I walk around the corner that's headed to like where the equipment room and you know, where the training room all the way I come around the corner first guy I see is Mike and I'm like Damn, I know I'm like, I know often to be in a room with I'm often to be sharing a team with him But the first guy I meet when I walk in the building and I'm like He don't know my name Walk around the corner and I say this is like people ask me all the time. What kind of dude is he? What is he like? And I was like, he the most genuine dude. You know the most laid back guy real cool, you know and I walk around the corner and Soon as he see me I see his hand opened up and I'm like, oh, he finna dab me up. He said, you say, what's up? Glad to have you on squad and I'm like In my mind, I'm blown. I'm like I'm like this man to face it in a fair and You know, he offering a all a branch to me, you know, I'm saying and I just want people to know like That's the kind of duty is all the time and people only see You know, I'm saying him on the field. They see him, you know now doing this thing on fox But Genuine dude, man, and I think that's why all his teammates always love them. Everybody always ride for him I mean when he came at me, you should At practice today everybody that's seen him Former players former, you know guys who played whatever it was mean a lot to me so much to me too It means staff everybody. I can't say the bearded come back to a place and like it's so good to see y'all too Like I can't even lie like today. It's been an amazing day Just seeing everybody being able to talk to everybody like Guys out there. I don't even know coaching staff this I'm so unfamiliar And I come back and it's like welcome me back with open arms And it's like we pick up what we left off and you know the relationship is gonna Continue to get stronger and tighter and better and that's that's what it's all about Mike last question before we let you go I know all four of us have probably gotten this question asked to us in some variety And I'm curious what your answer is but a lot of people ask me What do you miss the most that you're not playing in the nfl anymore being around the guys man I miss coming I miss coming in every day and laughing And just you know the football was that Sometimes when we went out to practice we felt like we we would have rather much stayed in the locker room and just Yeah, yeah, y'all know and just hung out and when it was time to go out there You know, we walk out there and we're having a lot of business and we come back in and you know, it's a party again and Man, we just had from traveling to team events Man, we just we just had we had a great time and then especially as I got older I started wanting to spend more time Like spending time with y'all became more important So we started golfing together and I learned to golf and he's going to golf tournaments and Then boom, you know, it came to an abrupt ending But you know, I I thank everybody for making that time I like I grew up with with you guys and that that's been a lot man So we share a lot of great memories and that's why we can sit here Right now, like I say pick up what we left off. It's real too because I remember about couple couple months ago Roddy got married and All us back in there. It was like old times, you know, it felt like the locker room again That's the thing that's hard to explain to fans and not saying they don't understand or don't have it somewhere in their lives But the whole locker room experience Is different, you know, and it's it's there is no there is no What you look like what you what you sound like none of that stuff that we're all the we're all the same, right? Yep, I mean when you're joking about I mean we used to get on billy white shoes johnson about how bushy his mustache But it was so funny But and I know I know that's what you're talking about. You can't replace that Maybe we could talk about games. We all had highlights and games and did things But ultimately it comes back those dudes you went out on the field with and I know you had some you had some great moments Like man, it's great to hear that because I think that's probably the misconception out there about the nfl that it's all about money It's all about business. I bet you you'd be asking 90 95 99% of the guys like what do you miss the most Sitting on that stool in your locker Cutting up what you're seeing that's yeah joking joneson I mean he just bought it up early the day he was he still remember First time me not bringing biscuits to the meat like Stuff like that, you know he'd go back like Right Well, look mike, uh, we truly appreciate you joining us, man It's great to see you again. One of the best all-time everywhere in this jersey Um, it's great that they brought you back in the building I think it's an awesome move by the organization to get a bunch of the former players to be around the new generation Um and talk to them mentor them if you will and and do the do what we can to kind of continue to advance this organization So it's great to see you. I'm glad you came back and um, We're here on the falcons audible truly fortunate that you were able to sit in with us. So yes, I once saw on a big jumbo tron He's back That's gonna wrap it up everybody. We thanks so much for joining us again This is mike vic in town joining us here on the falcons audible presented by at&t us three We'll be back next week probably not as much star star power, but we're gonna bring you everything we got Thanks a lot for joining us everyone