 Happy Wednesday everybody up in Adams in New York City. I'll be back in LA tomorrow. I'll cry about it the whole flight. Today we have Rob Gronkowski. Rob Gronkowski has been as the Reware is kicking a field goal in the Super Bowl on behalf of FanDuel for you guys. For you guys, what do we mean? We'll talk to him about that in a little bit. Also Mark Ingram, I thought that these were greeting cards for me from the incredible, Damon, the incredible producer and CEO of this whole joint that I'm at, but they're not. He made red and yellow cards for Mark Ingram. I thought these were, K, you've been so great. You only asked for nine granola bars and you only asked for me to turn the heat up eight times instead of five times like last time. But boy did it is a card. Show us now. This isn't an actual card, is it? I don't want to know. I'm bad at opening gifts if they're not there. It's the red card and the yellow card for Mark Ingram. We're going to ask him about a couple of plays that we saw on the field. Maybe the last Cowboys play that has everybody going, huh, Jimmy Johnson saying dumb. Jimmy Johnson quote tweeted that play and said dumb. What does Gronk think about that? What does Mark Ingram think of that? What does Ingram got on Shannon Sharp taking on the NBA in that kerfuffle a couple of nights ago? That's what we'll get into in a bit, but it's Wednesday. What does that mean? It's not just like a throwaway hour. We're not going to do anything. No, we have lots to talk about. We are four sleeps away from finding out which two teams do, deemed or destined to meet each other in Arizona at Super Bowl 57. Which two teams will be interrupting a Rihanna concert out there in AZ? So as we look ahead to conference championship weekend, I want to talk about a few things that I think that we are underreacting to. We always do underreactions every Wednesday and we're going to hit up a bunch of teams. We will start in the natty because we like to kick that off that way sometimes on this program. And I think, and in fact, I know, I know that we are underreacting to how big the Bengals edition of Hayden Hearst has been. If there was a last track, I'd hit it right now because he deserves simple love. This off season, listen, fan favorite, veteran locker room, dresses up like the Will Ferrell and Elf, C.J. Yuzama, who we know we love, he leaves to sign with the Jets. That was a bit of a hard one for Bengals fans in a post Super Bowl loss era to swallow. He was Cincinnati and replacing him was going to be a bit of a tough task, especially with the front office planning to invest most of their cap in the offensive line and what they needed to do there. The solution, my friends, was bringing in H squared. Hayden Hearst, who by the way, had the misfortune of playing behind Kyle Pitts in Atlanta, right? After beginning his career behind who, but none other than Mark Andrews out in Baltimore. So this is like, I'm always second fiddle. I'm always the guy behind the guy. Hayden's first shot to really shine, take advantage. We don't know much about him really until now because he was always in those positions and finishing fourth among tight ends is insane. Lots of tight end play was incredible. Week in, week out this year, he hauled in, this is more insane, 76.3% of his targets, okay? But the win over the Bills was the icing on the cake, the cherry on top, right? This was a statement, people. Putting up a season high, 59 yards. This hurdle was so good. He hurdles his way to first downs, converting four of them on the day. The hurdle kind of is my favorite thing I've ever seen in a long time though. And then this touchdown that you're seeing, right? He scores this on a sweet little double move to put the Bengals up 14-nil. Hearst went off his biggest performance of the year in the biggest game of the year. So far, of course, and we'll see what happens this weekend, potentially two weeks from then. Because not only is he about to play in his very first AFC Championship game. Remember, this is a chance to settle a score. Well, some DJ Reader don't want to give me any Bulletin Board material, but there's a score to be settled with Justin Reed. There just is. And in case you need a refresher, and I'm sure you don't, here's what Justin Reed had to say, leading up to the first game between the Bengals and Chiefs this year, and that was back in week 13. You know, and they have 88 Higbee. No, it's not Higbee, it was with the Rams. What's his name? It is Higgins, it's Higgins, it's Higbee and Higgins. They're gonna have him back, he's a very talented receiver too, more of a finesse type of guy, not the best blocker. I'm gonna lock him down, you know, straight up. So, you know, we're gonna have to come out of the game, like I said, play our best game and go out and do it. And any other week, I would put this to rest and not even talk about it, but because I know that the Bengals are feeding off of disrespect and they're looking for things to feed them, I'm gonna feed into this just for that reason. The disrespect, he's talking, he thinks he's talking about Higgins, and he's talking about Hayden Hearst, that's who he's directing all of that, I don't know, what is he about the next thing? And here is, Hayden, by the way, has a long memory, he did not forget, take a listen to this. I laughed a little bit. I don't know, I mean, you could pick anybody in this locker room, but you know, I feel like I'm the last person you probably wanna talk shit about, because I have a long memory. Nah! I'm glad Hayden has that long memory because he wasn't that noticeable in that game because he got hurt here at his calf and nine plays into the game, and we didn't get to see this sort of play that we saw last week in Buffalo on the field in that matchup, so I'm super grateful, grateful and gratitude on the Wednesday, putting it out there, that we get one more chance on Sunday to see Hayden just and read all of that, or just Hayden, just Hayden in an AFC title game for the first time that should have no shortage of drama. All right, that's something that I think we're underreacting to. What a good addition, well outperforming what my expectations were for this Bangle Squad and Hayden Hearst individually as a tight end in this offense. All right, sticking with that AFC matchup, I think we're underreacting to something that is weird and will change, likely to change, crazy that it hasn't changed. This is a statistic. I love Chris Jones, everybody knows it. He's an all pro defensive tackle, 15 and a half sacks. He does not have somehow a sack in 13 career post-season games. This is crazy, it's just weird. There's nothing, there's no bias. This is one of the most prolific pass rushers on the interior that this game has ever seen. Just this season, if you take a look, he finished with, like I said, 15 and a half most among defensive tackles in the fourth in the NFL overall. This made him the first interior delinemen in NFL history to record multiple seasons with 15 plus sacks, okay? And this morning, he was revealed alongside Nick Bosa and Micah Parsons as finalists for the defensive player of the year, well-deserved. He's an absolute monster, should be feared. And I feel like he doesn't get enough credit for how dominant he's been over the course of his seven years in the league purely because a guy named Aaron Donald exists and plays the same position. It's kind of like Hayden Hearst playing behind guys. I think he's a bit in the shadow of Donald and it's not that cool. But Chris really is, if you're looking at his NFL journey, he's probably not worried about this, but I'm intrigued by it. He's carving out a Hall of Fame-worthy career of his own, right? And these things matter. And that's what makes this weird post-season 13 game drought super strange. So I'm sure he doesn't like that we're talking about it because he talked about it last week. And I don't anticipate any more questions leading up to Sunday because it's going to be hard to top the answer he gave reporters about this. Listen. I thought you was gonna dodge the question. Unfortunately, I have 10 to 11 playoff games, no sex. That's not a huge priority, but I'm gonna make sure I get what this go around just to set you guys up. Okay, so we're talking about the bangle side, right? They're motivated. They feel slighted. They feel like underdogs. In this matchup, are the Bengals in that locker room? Do they really feel that way? Are they, are they gonna let loose a little bit? Like it's Mahomes, he's not 100%. We've taken care of business against his team. We're okay. Whereas you have a guy like Chris Jones. And I'm talking about Chris Jones as a single game-wrecking player on a team that needs somebody to step up because they do have something working against them in this huge game, hosting the AFC championship game. Is this the kind of stuff, not the kind of motivation? It's gonna make Chris go next level. I think it is. And it's gonna be on his mind this week, especially given how close he came in last year's AFC title game. Do you remember this? Are we kidding? 3rd and 7th, 4th quarter. Jones had burro. Oh, so close. Not once, but twice. And Joe, my gosh. This is insane. Ah, ah, you got it, you got it! No, wasn't able to do it, okay? Man, he was able to slither away somehow that sneaky little burro and pick up a first down in that one. It was one of the most and more memorable moments of the epic comeback for Bangles fans. So I'm sure Jones wants to erase that this Sunday. And honestly, it's kind of hard not to ruffer him, just get one and end the narrative. But whatever happens, given all that Chris Jones does to better the players around him on this D-line and everything he's done to contribute to the Chief's success in recent years, I don't want to see anyone trying to use this bizarre statistic to define him in any way. It is truly bizarre. And congrats on being nominated for defensive player of the year, Chris. That is incredible. And I hope you take it home. That's amazing. And we could do yoga in the off-season on our show if you ever wanted to. We could do it on the sidelines in the pre-season. Just saying, lastly, and you guys can tweet up in Adam's show. Lastly, I think we're under-reacting to the brilliance and the fortunate decision-making of Howie Roseman. He's a genius, okay? I don't know if it's because he won one and it's like almost a Mahomesian thing where we're like, oh, that's crazy. There's an old look past. And it's normalized. Like how he makes crazy savvy moves and it's just, oh, we don't care about it anymore. It's watered down somehow. We have to take a second here and not allow that to happen. And it is time to point out what Howie has done with this football team once again. And we want to start with selecting Jalen Hertz. I don't want to take too much time in the history books here, but 2020 second round, we all remember the controversy, well, well documented. You have Carson Wentz. What is this? He's never going to be a starting NFL quarterback. What's the point of taking him and putting that pressure on Carson? Don't do this. Well, we know how that has played out with the Eagles trading Wentz away and Hertz turning into an MVP caliber quarterback. So that move in and of itself brilliant. Beyond the genius of picking Hertz, his selection then opens a door for a masterclass of wheeling and dealing that has built the foundation of Eagles championship roster situations. And let me explain. The Eagles, they dish Wentz to Indy for a first and a third, right? And I'm not going to get into the minutia of everything about the deal, but Howie made a flurry of deals after that involving those two draft picks and flipped them into this. Yeah, it deserves some jazzy music. AJ Brown, Devonte Smith, who's been crushing at this post season. Are they here without his play? I don't know. The 10th overall pick in this upcoming draft, okay? Courtesy of the Saints and a 2024 second rounder. Okay, let that sink in for a second. What you just saw there and what I just said, that is a direct result. Ipso facto, what so have you of the Carson Wentz deal. That's brilliant. And if it wasn't enough, he went out this off season and he stole Hassan Redick on a three year deal. Okay, Hassan finished second in the league with 16 sacks this year and absolutely wrecked shopping that went on Saturday night over the Giants. They're not here without him. He stole him. Also scooped up James Bradbury, the Giants cap casualty who played his way into an all pro nod this season and picked off Daniel Jones in the divisional round win. And he's now the mayor of shutdown city according to our very own Darius Butler. How crazy is this? And how he lands the best nickel DB in the game, CJ Gardner Johnson in another deal with New Orleans Saints fans. Cover your ears, ear muffs, Nola. I don't wanna gloss over the hire of Nick Siriana either. Like no, who thought that was a great move at the beginning? What? We talked to Boston Scott yesterday. Well, we talked about Nick Siriana. I'll show you that a little bit later this week. But it's been, remember that opening press conference? The flowers and that stuff that came after that, okay? He's been a home run hire for this organization. One game from playing in a Super Bowl, coaching a Super Bowl. So Eagles fans, all NFL fans, appreciate Howie Roseman. You are allowed, in my opinion, you guys can tell me how you feel. You're allowed a Jalen Rager. No offense to Jalen Rager. You're allowed a Jalen Rager every now and then when you're able to consistently get on base, score runs, and hit on talent the way that he has. If the Eagles go, win another Super Bowl under this regime with a totally different quarterback and core group of players, okay? We need to start talking about Howie Roseman who's one of the greatest personnel guys in the history of this game. It is bunkers what he's been able to do. And with all the talent Howie's gotten, comes pressure to cash in this season. I just want to note this, because we're thinking about what's on, look, what is up for grabs is this? Is Mahomes the dynasty? Is Borough gonna be putting to the same world as the Mahomes is of the world? When you consider how much pressure is on Roseman, these players, Jalen Hertz, all of the Seriani, the birds have nine starters set to hit free agency. I came across this when I was talking to TJ Edwards because I was like, oh man, you're a free agent. I thought to myself, well, shoot, Fletcher Cox, James Bradbury, who I just talked about, Miles Sanders. Man, there are some, this is a long list, people. There's tough decisions for Howie to make. Let's trust that he makes them well. By the way, is he gonna have to give Jalen Hertz an extension as well? Probably. I trust Howie to figure this out and that just shows you the window that this team is in and the pressure amount. Are you gonna have Jason Kelsey? Is he gonna play again? Probably not. You're gonna have to do with that next year as well. So there's a lot to get to as we, whether or not you're cheering on the Eagles or whoever this weekend. Who do you think Gronk is cheerling for? I feel like Gronk and Seriani would vibe together. Gronk and Nick Seriani. Oh, don't look so bummed, Rob. Oh no. We'll turn that frown upside down, wearing your dolphin's colors. We love it. The Old World tight end, the six foot seven three. Gronk is back four times Super Bowl champion NFL comeback player of the year, five time pro bowler. He's on Fox NFL Sunday. Curious about what he'll be doing for them this weekend, of course, for the championship round and Fanduola Familia. What's up, Gronk? What's up, Kay? I'm just chilling. I'm gonna be tame this week. You know? You're gonna be tame. I'm tame this week. You're getting no answers out of me. You didn't say anything insane. Like what do you mean you don't wanna be tame? That's fine, that's fine. You'll make my job more of a challenge. Gronk, you're the best. Listen, you seem relaxed. You're chilling. I love it. It looks like it's snowing outside your window. But we got the kick of destiny in two weeks, Gronk. How are we feeling? Yes, I do have the kick of destiny and I've been practicing a little bit and I can explain my practice in kind of the terminology of golf language a little bit. So the first time I practiced kicking the field ball, if you translated to the golf knowledge, I was probably hitting, I was probably shooting a 120 in power as what, 72. So then the next time I practiced kicking, if you translate that into golf terminology, I was probably about shooting about a 105. And now my third time practicing, I'm shooting like a 90. So I got a couple more practice sessions and I got to get myself to par with this kick because then that means I'm hitting it every single time. Are you impressed with your progress? That's really impressive. Yes, I am actually very impressed with my progress. It was very difficult at first, like especially opening up of your hip. I never really done that soccer style before every time I've kicked the field ball throughout my whole life. When I was younger, it was always toe style. So it's just good, good for me to open up my hips like this, trying to kick the ball off side of my foot every single time. So I'm definitely having a lot of progress every time. And it's actually fun to go out there and learn as well. And it's like kind of addicting. Once you hit one, then you wanna hit another field ball and you wanna move back farther and farther and farther. But all the kick of destiny is gonna be real and it's gonna be live. It's gonna be lit. Gronk, don't get cute. Gronk, don't get too cute about it. You don't need to see you do anything crazy. Therapy, I cannot tell you how many people tell me or stop me or tweet me. Like there's $10 million in fan-dual bonus bets on the line. Like Gronk, just show up, kick it and let's all party. Yes, look at me. I look like a beast in that picture. I love it. Woo! Okay, good destiny, I'm ready. I'm gonna do it for America. That's right. People are really excited, I'm really excited too. So a little more information. I mean, I don't even know what's all going down with that. So we're excited to hear about it as the countdown continues here. Fox NFL Sunday, you were on last week and you brought all the energy. I think I heard a rumor you're in Philly this weekend. You know, the topic of the day is Sean Payton. Where is he going? I know you see him in the hallways there at Fox. So give me the goods. What's he saying? Is he comfortable wearing that suit every Sunday? Is he coming back to coach? Yes, yeah. I think he's very comfortable being in that suit every Sunday. I think he has a lot more free time than being a head coach. I know he's been golfing a lot, which is great. And I actually love working with him. He's a great coworker. He's a great guy. His football knowledge, he's just through the roof. And wherever he goes, I'm sure it's gonna be, you know, well, first off, he's a high demand. Any team that gets him is gonna be lucky. And I would say there's probably about five options out there. There's five head coach openings as of right now. Something around there. I'm not exactly sure. I know it's around five. So I mean, I'm sure you're gonna have to throw some serious cash at him. I mean, how can you not? It's coach Payton. You're gonna have to make him the highest paid coach for sure. And just wherever he goes, he's gonna do great, I'm sure. Just talking to him and just getting to learn who he is. As a guy just at the Fox studio, it's just a pleasure. And he's just gonna have success, you know, around him wherever he goes. He's my favorite. I think he's killing it and he can do whatever he wants and you're so right. Somebody's gonna have to back up the brings truck and then they gotta trade him from the Saints. And we're here in Carolina, but that's in the division. So can you trade your coach to them? I like the idea of Denver. I think Denver, I think they would invest in him. I think he'd have control, which would be great. And it all kind of comes down to Russell Wilson if he can get something out of him, but like Sean Payton sort of has that bravado in mindset, like I can make that happen again, right? So when you look at like Arizona and there's Indy, Indy gets a draft pick, right? They can pick a quarterback. Where do you think would be a good fit using your football mind, not from knowing anything or knowing Sean? Like what would be a good fit for him? I mean, out of all the teams that you just said with the opening of a job, of a head coaching job, it does make sense. It makes the most sense to go to Denver, I believe. I mean, you got the owners, you can just throw them a massive contract, back up those bring trucks for coach Payton. That's no problem in that category. And then he's gonna inherit a well coached defense, a team that only lost a couple of games by, I don't know, within a touchdown majority of their games. So he's got a great offensive mind as well. So he can turn up that offensive side of the Broncos, so they can go out there and score some points and win some games. But also just a football culture as well. I feel like he belongs in a football culture world. And I mean, nothing against like the Cardinals, but like I went to the U of A, the U of A down the street in Tucson and let me tell you like the Arizona Cardinals aren't the biggest story in Arizona. Like, you know, the fans aren't as loyal as you, I would say, you know, the Denver Broncos fans or the New England Patriots fans are all about their team. In Arizona, I mean, if they're winning, yes, I would say they're about their team. But I didn't get that feel where, you know, they were all, you know, everyone there is die hard fans. I didn't, I never got that feel when I was at U of A. So therefore, with that being said, I feel like he belongs in a world where, you know, where it's football culture. That's what he's made for. The Denver Broncos fan base definitely has that. It's so true. I remember a game you played and I don't want to bring up a loss, but it was the AFC championship game and I was there and I was up in like the last roll, worst seats in the building. Well, I got to, you know, bring back that memory. But I'm saying they were crazy. Like that fan base, that culture was, you know, obviously it's a huge game, but like people were jumping up and down and the stadium was shaking. And I don't think people really look at the Broncos and think crazy fan base, but you think they are. And I love that. Yes, no, no, they are. And I love going to Denver. I love playing, you know, in Denver. Also, you got that little advantage with the mile high club, you know, going there and, you know, breathing. Yeah, I think I said that wrong. I'm not really sure, but it was football terminology. I was saying it as in football terminology. So you got to go, you got to be in a different type of shape when you go up there is what I was trying to say. And because of the breathing, you're right, whatever, 5,000 feet up, up in the sky, above sea level. So that's definitely plays an advantage as well. Yeah. And what else was I saying? I got thrown off a little bit. My dog just ran by my office. You're a dog. Well, your dog is in the rest of this interview. So we'll stay tuned with that. So Bill O'Brien gets tired by the Patriots. And I, so I gotta tell you, we looked at some numbers, me and my awesome production staff, and he was your OC back in 2011, right? That was the most productive year of your career, Gronk, 1,585. These numbers are crazy. 20 receiving touchdowns, 107 receptions, all career highs. Bill O'Brien, and this isn't to say it's because of him, but clearly y'all got it along. He gave you the, put the ball in your hands a lot. So can he restore some of the magic of this and the offense that needs to happen up there with the Patriots? I know you said they need to bring in more talent, but how about Bill? Yes, well, I love Bill O'Brien. I love playing for him. I love the energy that he brings to the table. He has that niche to get you to go out and play your best football, to get you fired up, to get you want to go out on the field and get better every single day and make big plays. And it was just a great time when he was here for the two seasons. He was here my rookie year, my second year. And he was just an awesome football coach on the field and off the field as well. His football knowledge is through the roof. And I believe that he's definitely gonna restore the Patriot faithful on the offensive side of the ball. And he's gonna put his players in the best position to make plays. And he's gonna come up with some creative ideas. And I think they're gonna definitely improve as an offense tremendously under coach Bill O'Brien. I mean, it was, that's who the Patriots had to get. They had to get Bill O'Brien. That's who they needed to get to restore to, back in the old days where they were at on the offensive side of the ball and they got their guy. I mean, I'm telling you, I hope they paid head coach money for him because you definitely had to. I mean, he was definitely in high demand, I would say, especially being Alabama's often the coordinator, but to take him from Nick Saban, I mean, you gotta be paying him the big bucks as well. It's so true. It's a huge, I mean, even just the spark, like making that swing, bringing in the big fish is huge. And then there's the talent he has. By the way, we crunched further numbers that year with O'Brien that 2011 year, that 20 touchdown thing. Look at this list, Gronk, just to give you a little love here. You're one of six players that year you became, do we have it? Six players ever. Gronk, did you know this? To haul in 20 or more catches, touchdown passes in a single season. Look at that list. Yeah, that is pretty ridiculous for sure. I mean, I forgot just how epic that year was. It was about 10 years ago, I was 22 years old just at top of my game, which is just pretty ridiculous. And also I had a rushing touchdown that year as well. So I had 21 touchdowns throughout that whole season. So, you know, I'm just reminding you because you missed that on the stats right there, okay? 21 touchdowns total. We gotta figure it out. Was that your favorite year, Gronk? Yes, it was by far my favorite year. Like I had like, I couldn't feel pain that year. It was like out of hand, like just, it was just ridiculous. Like, I was like, I had bursar sacs in my arm, just like blown up. Like my arms were all swollen. Like it was black and blue every single week. I was bleeding through my nose, some games, like from my hits and all this. And I just kept going. I just didn't even feel it. And it was just such a great year. That was definitely by far my favorite year in the NFL. That was you and then saying the year and then you went on about one, four Super Bowls, three with the Patriots, one with Tampa Bay. This, but you think you made news this past week. Your boy Tom Brady on his own podcast with Jim Gray, his friend, he had those strong words about, you know, you've heard it, I'm sure, right? Yes, yes, I heard it. I mean. So I think people, I think people are like, oh my God, shot. Like how could he, oh, but, but I, were you surprised by that? Like what's your take on that? It's kind of. No, I'm not surprised at all. I can't believe it took that long for him to blow up about it. I mean, like you can only get pushed so far and ask that question so many times, especially when you truly don't know what you're going to do. I mean, I've kind of, you know, on the same wavelength. I mean, I'm not as, you know, not as popular as Tom and I'm wanting to know what he's going to do. But like the first time I retired, wherever I went, everyone would just ask, are you going back to football? Are you going back to football? And like it would actually drive you crazy. Like after you've heard it the hundredth time in a row within like a week, wherever you're going. And then that's when you just start coming up with crazy answers as well. Cause sometimes you're not, your mindset's not even thinking about football. You're doing something else and someone asked you and you just get so thrown off. So it kind of, you know, kind of gets annoying when you get asked every single second, especially when you haven't even gone through the process yet of what's going on and pre-agency the season's not even over. So I can't believe it took him that long to blow up about it. I mean, he was just setting the standard of everyone, shut the f up, let me go through the process. And I respect it, you know, you got to love it. I do. And I love that we did it on his own guy. I know. I was like, but Jim Gray was not a phase to Jim Gray was, I love how, like if that was me, I'd be like, okay, we'll go to a commercial book. If you did that to me, I'd be like, oh God, I'd be melting down. Like I really would. Jim Gray was like, oh, you seem upset about that, Tom. Like you can't shake Jim Gray. It's very funny. No, no, I was actually on their podcast. Actually, we shot it the Monday before the game that came out the next day. And Jim Gray, you know, is just smooth salad. You know, you can say whatever you want to him and he's always going to have the same reaction. You can't throw him off. That's for sure. Yeah, it was great. And I will say this just to wrap the Tom thing. Like the only thing that I learned from that clip was he really doesn't know what he's doing. Because I think, to be fair, even when you're like stewing over your decision and like nobody knows what's going on, worry, okay, here we go. He's back. I'm thinking to myself, well, Gronk knows, Drew Rosenhaus knows, they just aren't telling us and they shouldn't. But the fact that Tom really doesn't know at this point in time what he wants to do or what his future is, is sort of surprising to me. But everybody needs to leave him alone. Did we lose Gronk? What's up? Hold on, he grabbed his dock. We have you. Yeah, we got me. Someone just tried calling me on the other line. It's actually- Is that Ralphie? Yeah, this is Ralphie. Okay, I love this. So we're gonna go into your brain while you have Ralphie here. We're gonna skip Ralphie, but we're gonna go like we did Mrs. Frizzle style into a, yeah, there's me inside Gronk's head. You never know what's going to happen or where it's gonna get. Let's go to Nick Siriani, okay? We got these big matchups here. We've got the Eagles taken on the Niners. It's, you know, you'll be in Philadelphia. I hear, which is amazing. So talk to me about that. But when you look at Siriani, I feel like he's your spirit animal a little bit. I feel like you and him would vibe really well. So let's go inside the, yeah, there he is. What do you make of this? Yes, he's just being a G. That's what he's doing. You know, I never really heard of Coach Nick Siriani. Siriani, I'm awful with names, by the way. I'm always, you know, just throwing a curve ball whenever I read someone's name at first. But I never heard of him until he got the, they had coaching job from the Eagles. I still actually don't even know his background, but just seeing what he's done with that program, I mean, and just being faithful to what he truly believed him. Because I know he brought a whole new system in last year. Oh, kind of a system the NFL never really seen before when he got hired with the Eagles. And he stuck to that system. He brought his players in that he needs in order to succeed in the system. And he's, and look, it has paid off tremendously. This year they have gone out and they're just putting up points their defense is playing very, very well. And he just seems like a great guy to play for, you know, you just love the coaches that bring that passion and bring that energy that gets you going. And that's what he kind of feels like a Billy O'Brien in a way to where he makes, he wants you to go out and play for him. And you want to go out there and make plays for him and bring that energy to the field just like he's doing. Love it. We're going inside the mind of Gronk and Ralphie as they hang out with us here in Up and Atoms. What about this next image? What's going on in your brain? I heard this podcast. I thought you were truly incredible with Travis and Jason, okay? The New Heights podcast. It's such a good podcast. Everybody listen. But which Kelsey brother gets their second Super Bowl ring first, Gronk? Yes, it was actually a great time when I went on their podcast. They do a great job. They compliment each other very, very well. They both bring a different dynamic to the table on the podcast. And they're both all pros, which is incredible just to see what they're doing in the NFL world as brothers. So their parents must be torn whenever they're playing versus each other. That's for sure. But who's going to get their second ring out of them too? I'm going to go whoever has a better chance. I'm going to go with Jason. I just feel like the Eagles have a better chance than the Chiefs. The Chiefs are a great team, but they got some if still, like, you know, there's some weaknesses with the Chiefs. I feel like that can be exploited when since he's going to go versus them. And in the Eagles, they're just a sound team overall on the defense side of the ball to special teams to offense. So if anyone gets one, I think it would be Jason. We'll see if it happens. We'll get your picks here in a second. Now, here's the next one. We've got just one more. I think you open up a Spotify playlist and it's blank. It's Gronk's dream playlist. The world is your oyster. You're a DJ. What is the first song at Gronk Beach this year? Oh, well, if you open up my playlist, I'm not sure what the first song at Gronk Beach is going to be this year, but we do have 21 Savage as the Highliner, which is just going to be ridiculous. It's going to be amped up to a whole nother level. We also have Diplo Plain and we also have Lil John Plain, legendary. Lil John has just so many hits. But if you open up my playlist right now, the first song I would say would be My House by Flowrider. Is that true? I love that about you. Welcome to My House. Babe, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm, mm. That's good stuff. I love it. Okay, we have two great games this weekend. You sort of gave your thoughts on the Chiefs and the Super Bowl, but they got to take on the Bengals first. It's round four between the two of them. It's in KC. They are weakened, as you said, since the O-line, though, a bit hobbled. What's the determining factor and make your pick, Gronk? All right, I'm going to go with the Bengals. I think they're going to pull it off. I mean, they're just playing so well together as a team and they're just bringing that fierce energy to the table. So it's the Bengals. They're not going to win easily, but they're going to win. And how they're going to win this game is that the offensive line is going to have to play how they did versus the Buffalo Bills. I mean, they finally protected Joe. And it's just crazy what Joey B is doing. I mean, remember how terrible his O-line was in his first year as a rookie? And he was just getting demolished in the pocket, like six times a game, he was getting sacked. And he had what? He got sacked and had ACL surgery. And it never put any fear in him. He came back the next year. He didn't care one bit that he absolutely got demolished as a rookie. Imagine that. As a rookie, you're just getting pummeled by defensive tackles. And then you blow out your ACL because you're getting sacked so much. And then you just come back and you go to the Super Bowl. I mean, it's just amazing Joey B's poise in that pocket and just the poise he has for football. So the O-line, they got to step it up. And if they do, they'll win the game. I mean, you said he reminds you of Brady. He looked every bit of the part against the Bills. Yes, he definitely reminds me of Brady. And we talked about it before. The first time I saw him was in the LSU championship game. And I was just watching the game, like who is this quarterback? Who is Joe Burrow? I mean, the guys are sitting in the pocket, just super comfortable, just laid back, not caring, like it just seemed like, I mean, obviously caring, but not caring like what's going on. Nothing's phasing them. And that's kind of the same way how Tom is in the pocket. And just a release as well and just the way he was scanning the field. They just seem very similar. Yeah, I love it. NFC Eagles, you like them. Complete team, Niners, best defense. They got a pretty good tight end there too in George Kittle. What are you looking at in this game from Gronk's eyes and who's winning? Yes, all right. I think these are gonna be great games. Like I don't think there's gonna be a blowout at all. I think both games shall go down to the final drive or at least the final five minutes of the games. But I think San Fran's gonna pull this off. I mean, they're just stacked all over the place. The defense is just ridiculous. They held what? They held the Cowboys, the 12 points, which is pretty nuts because the Cowboys, they do have a legitimate offense and weapons all over the place. Same with the Eagles, but the San Fran defense is just playing so well together and they're bringing that energy and they're bringing that physicality to the game as well, especially with Bosa and Fred Warner. I mean, just the way that he's playing and getting to the ball, just surrounding, surrendering to the ball, surrounding it every single time they possibly can. They're just doing such a great job at that. Yes, the Eagles are good, but they're real good actually. But San Fran is just so well-rounded and also San Fran's offense wasn't even clicking last week and they still won't. I don't think they're gonna go two games in a row without scoring an offensive TD in the air, especially you got Debo, you got George Kato. I mean, you got C-Mac out of the backfield. I mean, they're just so great at catching the ball and making plays that they're gonna have to turn it up this week because they're not gonna go two weeks in a row under Kyle Shanahan and not put up touchdowns in the past game. Oh my gosh, Philly, such a scary place to play. It's all on Brock Purdy. All right, so we got the picks from Gronk. We'll let you go. You gave all the love to the Titans. I was gonna ask you about Shannon Sharp, but I don't know like the details that much because I, whatever, that just looked crazy. Do you see that the footage of that is crazy? I just saw a little bit of it, but you know, Titans are making a splash. Let's think about this. Look at every Super Bowl team the last few years. You have to have a legitimate Titan and your team in order to get far. You look at the Chiefs. You got Travis Kelsey. Dallas Goddard with the Philadelphia Eagles. He's one of the best all around three down Titans in the game. And then obviously George Kittle, who is the best all around three down Titan in the game? And then Travis Kelsey, obviously the best route runner in the game by far probably in NFL history for a Titan. And then, and then this Titan stepped up for Sinsey. I'm pretty sure it was Hayden Hurst. He had a touchdown last week. And just, it shows you need, yes, you need a Titan in order to win games. I'm telling you, it's an advantage. You got to find a Titan until all your GMs out there start paying your Titans and go find one. Even though it's tough, I know it's tough to find a Titan, but you got to find one. It's good advice for sure. I mean, Hayden Hurst had a ton of red zone conversions, a third down conversions. Like he was insane. He was insane last week and now he's got KC. There's a safety on the chiefs that like pretended to not know who he was. It was very weird. So they have all this like drama going into this game. So it'll be a good one. We got your picks. We hope you get wherever you need to go. You know, you're worried about weather. So get out there and give Ralphie a big pet from us here on the show. All right, sounds good guys. Take care. And did you like my Fandal hat? I do. You're a company man. I'm telling you, they love you. Fanduul loves Gronk and we do too, man. We'll talk to you in a bit. We've got Mark Ingram, hopefully getting on the show after this and we will let Gronk fly and we'll be back to give other info, other picks and we'll get into it after this. Big thanks to Gronk. Kick of Destiny happening during the Super Bowl. 10 million in bonus bets on the line. I'm ready for war, I'm ready for war tonight. Ready to set a score, set a score tonight. One of my favorite people. I haven't gotten the old invitation of the Trust Lovers podcast collab out in Arizona for the Super Bowl, but I hope it's coming. He's one of our favorites. I made, Mark Ingram is here. Mark, I made, I didn't make it, but somebody made me a fake red card, yellow card because I'm in New York today. Isn't that nice? I'll for you, maybe. Yeah, yeah. Hey, whatever it takes to get the job done. We know Kago will get the job done. We know up at Adam's show, we'll get the job done. It's the best of the best. So I'm just appreciative to be a part of the family. You're the best. Our Trust Levels podcast, is it coming? What are we doing? Episodes of the Super Bowl? What's the deal with that? Yeah, I think we're doing just like a little, a little parlay session at the NFL experience, I think. I think that's what's going on. I'm not all the way sure, but I know we'll be touching down out there in AZ. And yeah, we would love to have K out there, man. We need to have you on episode show. I would love to do that. I don't, I wanna get into this because I know you're into the off season. You look good. It looks like you're hanging out. You're getting right or whatever after the season. But I was looking at this, these matchups for this week. The Saints played three of these four teams. Okay, so I need the, I need the information, Mark. You played the Bengals. You played the Niners. You played the Eagles. So put your analyst hat on for me. I'll start in the NFC here. How can Jalen Hurts and the Eagles overcome the dominant Niners defense and get a win here? You played these quads. Yes. So first and foremost, you have to be able to score touchdowns in the red zone, not field goals. We saw how tough it was. You know, when you don't, when you don't, when you don't score touchdowns against San Fran and that, and that tough, they're physical, they play, they're well rounded all on defense. So when you get in the red zone, when you get opportunities to capitalize on points, you have to be able to score touchdowns. The field goals aren't going to help you win and defeat this team. So if I'm Philly, I want to make sure I'm controlling the ball. I want to make sure I'm running the ball. And then I want to make sure I'm able to have explosive plays. And when we do get in the red zone, we have to be able to convert with touchdowns. So that's what I would say is the number one step for Philly and for San. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You came out the game with that. I was not, I was, I was, okay, church of Mark Ingram, go for it. Keep going. Well, okay. You asked me about the game. So I'll just, you know, I'll just put my two things, my little ambulance account. Good stuff. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I'm glad you like it. I'm taking notes. Okay. Okay. San Fran, now when you have Philly, you got to neutralize their D line. You know, they want to get home before, you know what I mean? So you have to be able to block their front four with your line. You know what I mean? You want to be able to get, you want to be able to get the back out the, back out of the back field and be able to hit them in space. So, cause they got mild Sanders, they got Jalen Hertz. So they like to rush before, they like to rush before they like to get home before. So you got to be able to pass, protect, got to be able to run the football. And yeah, San Fran, I mean, the Philly's defense as well. So San Fran, that's what they do though, man. They, they dominate Lime Scrimmage. They get to buy the Debo to get a bottom of Cavalry. You know, Purdy be doing his thing, hitting IU, hitting Kittle, all them boys. They got so many weapons. So they just want to be able to get the ball to their playmakers safely. Purdy, don't do anything crazy, just do what you do. You know what I mean? You ain't got to win the game. You just got to, you just got to, you know, manage the game. Get the ball to McCaffrey, get the ball to Debo, get the ball to Kittle, get the ball to your receivers. No turnovers, efficient football. And that should put them in a good place to be able to win the game. Okay. I'm willing to share you with like Sunday Night Football and Fox and all that, but like that's for the real right there. That was really good information. I loved all of that. And that's why we love having you on the show. I want to ask you about Eli Apple, just because you know him a little bit, right? This bangles cornerback. I mean, he cannot, he cannot be stopped on social media. He beats the bills on Sunday. You think that's enough. Like people are always against you, Eli. You had a great game. You did your thing. You played with him, I think back in like 2018. Listen, trash talking on the field is one thing. What's your take on trash talking spilling over on social media and then what Eli Apple is up to? See, me, I'm different. I don't really like the talking mess on social media. You know, I'm a kind of guy like, if I have a problem with you, I'm gonna tell it to your face. Like I'm gonna dress it straight on like that. I'm not a big over the social media type guy, but you know, there's a new age of athletes, man. And they love going to social media for all types of, you know, trolling. And Eli is amongst the top of that right now at trolling, whoever has anything bad to say about him or anything negative to say about the bangles or anything regarding Eli Apple, he's gonna troll you with the best of them. And I've just seen him on Twitter, all this past four or five days, whatever, just going crazy on whoever has, whoever wants to smoke. He's applying pressure, I guess, over social media. So, you know, that's not my cup of tea. That's not my forte, but hey, you know, to each his own. Are we giving him one of these? Hey, you gotta beat him. So he doesn't get a red card because they won the game. So if you want him to shut up, then beat his team, right? Then tell him can't cool on three. You know what I mean? I don't know. You're not on a very well-reasoned Mark Ingram here in the off season. Okay, let's play our favorite game. It's red card, yellow card. You own a soccer team and we love that about you. We had the World Cup, that was all really exciting. But now, you're gonna look us in footage after we dug up over the past weekend. I know you saw this, because everybody did. I mean, Jimmy Johnson's tweeting about this play. This is the craziest thing. This has to be considered one of the all-time worst plays, right? With your life and your whole season on the line, this is what we call, that's a red card, man. You said the coach's number one job is to put your players in position to have success. I don't think there was one player in that field for the Cowboys that was in position to succeed at that moment. What about Zeke? I mean, we had Zeke snapping the ball in the center, like getting ran over. Like, the receiver goes five yards, turns around, just the defender drives on the ball, he gets killed. There's no hooking a lateral possibility at all. This is a red card for the Cowboys. It's a red card. And then the fans, do we have this? The fans do not like the play call, right? Do we have that? Did you see this? Yeah, I've seen that. I've seen something on Twitter where it was like, everybody in the back had to have binoculars because the TV was so small, but yeah. But yeah, man, red card. What are we doing? Red card. What are we doing? Now you gotta buy new TVs, probably not his house, he's probably just visiting. I mean, come on, man, come on. What are we doing? Okay, next one. I don't know much about the NBA, but I know that you love to take in an NBA game from time to time. This Shannon Sharp thing, I don't know enough about it, but Lakers Grizzly, it gets heated, Dylan Brooks, I guess, I don't know much about this. Who gets a red card? I mean, Shay gets a red card for show. I mean, just, you all feed on the wood, like, just enjoy the game, man. Like, what are we doing? I don't know, but the players is hot. Shay was hot. Shay apologized for his actions, so that's most respect to Uncle Shay. But come on, dawg, like, we on the foot, we on the wood, feed on the wood, we having a great time, just enjoy the game, man. Let's not get into a confrontation with the players, man. I saw a lot on Twitter about how Shannon Sharp could take on the entire NBA and everybody should leave Shannon alone. Do you agree with that? Would Shannon come out on top against every NBA player? I think Shay might handle the business with all of them. I don't think they want the problems for show, but, you know, basketball players are a little different, you know, but, you know, Shay was a tight end. He was in the trenches, so I had to lean Shay Sharp on that. We love it. Mark Inger, we appreciate you. We'll talk to you next week. We'll see you in Arizona. And great analysis today. That was amazing. Salute, see you, peace, love, trust levels. Woo, woo, woo!