Chapter 1: How did Jerome Bettis build trust with Bill Cowher?
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On the Look Back At It podcast.
1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.
I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.
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Chapter 2: What was Jerome Bettis' reaction to Marshawn Lynch's Super Bowl play?
You too. I was wondering if you would stay to St. Louis Ram. Okay. What kind of career do you think you would have had? That's a great one. I don't think it's good, for sure. I think... I wasn't built for the type of offense that they wanted to have. So it would have been, you know, a square. Trying to stick it into that round hole just wouldn't work. I was built for Pittsburgh. And so in St.
Louis, it was just a struggle to... To find my way was just difficult. Now, with the old regime, Chuck Knox, when he was there, he was Ground Chuck. So it fit perfect, and it was great. But when they changed over, everything changed. But you looked faster in the Rams uniform than you did the Steelers uniform. I was going to say, you looked more powerful, but you looked a little slower.
But that's okay. It was the offense. The offense was designed to be a pounding offense. It wasn't designed for me to run 40, 50 yards. I did some of that. You just didn't see it. You missed those games. Were you allowed to ask for the ball in the huddle? No, they know to give me the ball. Oh, okay. I didn't have to ask for it. Okay, I didn't know if there'd be like a goal line thing. No, no, no.
What you had to understand was Bill Cowher, he wanted to run the football and play great defense. And he wasn't about throwing the football all over the place. So I didn't have to really worry about getting the football. I knew I was going to get it. 20, 30 times. If I was upright and I was still breathing, I was getting the ball. So I didn't have to worry about, hey, man, I need the ball more.
Now, later in my career, when they started throwing a little bit more, I started kind of looking around like, hey, guys, what are we doing? Third and one. And I'll never forget it. I was pissed one time. There was a third and one. and we were playing, I think, Jacksonville or somebody. They didn't give me the ball, and then they fumbled.
The quarterback fumbled the ball, and I was so mad because he should have gave me the ball. I would have gotten the first down, and we would have kept going. They tried to do something cute, turned the football over, and we lost the game, and I was irate in the locker room.
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Chapter 3: What adjustments has LeBron James made this season?
How would you have felt if you were Marshawn Lynch at the one-yard line in the Super Bowl? You just ran for five. Hightower has a great tackle. You almost score. The Super Bowl can be in your hands, and you get in the huddle, and you hear Russell Wilson call that play. Yeah, that one would have hurt. That one would have hurt because at that point, you're like, this is the biggest moment.
What are we doing, right? You couldn't have said anything. Would you have said something? You couldn't have said anything because it was so fast, right? You get the call. I mean, you want to look out of the huddle like, But if you do, you're telling the defense, hey, he's not getting the ball, he's pissed. It wouldn't have mattered.
Marshawn Lynch could have said, I'm going to get it, and I'm coming right there. No, but still, you hit a call, you're like... Right? And so because he, you know, that was awful, right? From a running back perspective, it was awful. And the thing is, you prepare... for situations like that. We'll make a call that really dictates, hey, we're going to try to get two plays out of this.
So that means we're going to run, but we're going to run, and that means we've got to get back to the huddle, get back to the line of scrimmage, and we're going to run a second play. So you have those moments. You're prepared for that. So all you have to do is make that call. And you go right into that sequence. And for them not to do something like that, it was disappointing.
And then to see the play happen, then everybody melts. And you're like, oh my God, you just can't believe it. And that's the moment you want to go choke. Your offensive coordinator. Daryl Bevel. Jerome Bettis, Hall of Famer, joining us on the program. Here we are again, kicking the can down the road with the quarterbacking situation. What do you think is going to happen?
I think Aaron Rodgers is going to come back, and they'll have a fairly successful season. Like 9-8? What? I'm hoping for more than that. I think the plan is for more than that. I would hope it would be. You know what? We just want to be 9-8 this year. No, I believe, you know, the logic is Aaron Rodgers gives them the best chance for success, right? And have an opportunity to get to the playoffs.
Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen, right? Usually a first-round exit, though. Just saying. Well, it's been that way for a while, unfortunately.
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Chapter 4: How does Steve Kerr handle pressure with changing expectations?
And you hope that you go deeper in and you have an opportunity to play for a championship. That's the plan. I think, though, if it does not come to fruition... Then you have to put together a package and have a plan that you're going to say, you know what, we're going to have to give up some assets, right? And the Steelers historically have not been willing to trade, make these big trades.
They've done it in the past, but not in a big way. to go and get a player. They're going to have to package maybe two first-round picks or something like that and go and get a quarterback in the draft so that they can rebuild. This is not the year, obviously. I heard you talking about that earlier. Yeah, but Pittsburgh doesn't rebuild.
That's right.
But should Pittsburgh rebuild? Here's the problem. we don't believe in tanking right that's not that's not in the vocabulary in this in this town so because that's not the case You've got to do other things, right?
And that means you're going to have to mortgage the future to a degree in the sense that maybe it's two first-round picks to go and get in position to get one of the quarterbacks in next year's draft. But you cannot... keep doing what we're doing in the sense that not addressing that position. You need a 10 to 15 year starter in that position in order for your organization to really flourish.
What's the last time a fan wanted to tackle you? Well, it's funny. I have some friends. One of my friends, Pickle, just funny. We were just on the golf course, and he kind of ran at me. And I told him, I said, you don't want me to have a flashback. You don't want me to have a flashback. But, yeah, it was so funny. You know, it shocked me. He went low, and I'm like...
I just ā that shoulder, it can happen real quick. Go to sleep. Did you knock out players? I did. I did. I did. I didn't ā you know, you don't realize it until afterwards and guys tell you, man, you know, you knocked our guy out, da-da-da. And, you know, we snuck him off the field. We dragged him off the field. You didn't know. The thing is they didn't want me to know ā
that I was punishing their guys like that, you know? So they're, you know, I turn my back, they're dragging them, picking them up, doing all the things they have to do to make sure they don't, because once I get going and I start dancing and bouncing, they're like, oh, we don't want them to dance. So they made sure that guys would hide it, you know?
And then they go over there and fall out a little bit. But could you imagine, like, Derrick Henry having that size but that speed? Yeah. I mean, that's not fair. It's not. It's not.
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Chapter 5: What insights does Fernando Mendoza share about his Heisman journey?
And the game is changing because now they're going to a faster, smaller player, right? And then the defensive tackles. are smaller guys, right? And the linebackers are smaller guys. So all of a sudden, now you've got this big 250-pound running back, and he's got a head of steam. Who's going to stop him, right? And it is unfair to a degree because somebody's going to get hurt.
Yes, Paulie. Bussie, whenever we have Brian Urlacher on, Dan will go, I've got to ask you about this play. He goes, is it the Brady play or is it the Jerome Bettis play? Which one are you going to ask me about?
I hate that for him that that, you know, it's a play that he's got to, you know, remember, unfortunately, at the goal line. Yeah, it was a it was a play and it was it was we call it the play. Oh, you do? He doesn't.
No, he doesn't.
So the funny part about that play is they've got a picture, right? And I signed this picture with me running him over. And he won't sign it, right? But it's the most popular picture you can imagine, right? So everybody's getting me to sign it. And everybody wants him to sign it. He won't sign it. I think he's going to cave. Pretty soon it starts signing.
Okay, but is it Bo Jackson when he's at the goal line with Brian Bosworth? Is it that bad?
Yeah.
Unfortunately, it is because, you know, you're like this going backwards, you know. And the funny part about that is I went in the locker room after that game and we traded shoes. So he has the shoes, the cleats. Were those shoes on his chest, though, that you stepped on him? He can match them up. He can match them up. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I'm just joking. He's going to kill me.
Inside the draft, community on the clock. So you've got a party. You want to give details on that? It's an event that we're doing and really showcasing the players. Because a lot of times, obviously, we get a bad rap about what's going on. So we've got a couple man of the year shows. Cam Hayward is coming, Thomas Davis, he'll be there.
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Chapter 6: How does Fernando Mendoza feel about potentially joining the Raiders?
So that's what this is all about. We want to try to take a little bit of time to be of service and to show what that actually looks like. Yeah, we were on a celebrity family feud, and I was playing for the Boys and Girls Club of Milford, Connecticut, and ended up winning. And they're all watching as you're winning $25,000 for them.
So my wife and I have been active with Boys and Girls Club for a long, long time. So it's great to see you as always. Thanks for sharing. Appreciate it. Jerome Bettis, everybody. Let's take a break. Play of the Day, up next, Dan Patrick's show.
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2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter, and on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world.
I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts and more to look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry.
We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory. We got it wrong. Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress.
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Chapter 7: What impressions does Frank Caliendo perform on the show?
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Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Lil' Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people? I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Lil' Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back At It podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English.
Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.
To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.
Yeah.
I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.
I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.
Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.
Listen to Look Back at It on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Chapter 8: What is the significance of the Boys and Girls Club event mentioned?
That is what's biting them. The reason the Rockets are underachieving is because they cannot get into anything resembling organized offense. Part of that is. I think Ime Udoka hasn't done a great job. He's a brilliant defensive coach, but he's not been a great offensive coach this year. But part of it is their franchise point guard got hurt in a terrible time.
You know, with the injuries to the Lakers and watching LeBron, it almost brings it back to people remembering just how incredible this is, that what he's doing without the two best players on the team. I don't know if that... Every time I watch him, Durant, or Steph, I feel like I'm being treated to something special. And, you know, the Olympics...
You know, they're going to be gone one day, and we'll look back and go, it was incredible, and you'll try to explain it to people. But LeBron's still out there playing at a pretty high level. Your thoughts when you watch him, and how many more years do you think if he has one or two more?
Yeah, so when the discourse comes to LeBron's career, so many people want to, you know, pull it right to him versus Jordan. I go all over the country, all over the planet. This is what they want to ask. And I get it. I totally get it. But really what LeBron's career is, the richness of his career is the sub stories of each of these eras and each of these seasons, you know.
The concept of getting to eight straight finals is preposterous, but I won't focus on that. There were so many things that happened in these individual years. And the story of this individual season is very interesting in the LeBron landscape. Because when he first came back, Dan, with that sciatica thing, he looked terrible, just being fair.
And I'm not saying that it was shocking, but for the first time, he looked old. And I remember watching when he first came back, whatever it was, late November, December, and saying, oh, this might be it. In fact, I had a meeting with my bosses, and I go, you know, we may need to start
our content planning for him retiring because he looks for the first time like an old man who can't compete and and he looked like that because he couldn't really work out all summer he had no training camp and as the season went along he got himself into better condition and by the time the spring came when they really needed them he was in great shape whatever he does in between these games to keep his back healthy
and get himself into actual physical condition has been great. Secondly, midway through this year, he took a step backwards or sideways, whatever you want to say, so that it could work better with Austin Reeves and Luka Doncic. So he took, even if he was feeling 100% and was feeling like a 30-year-old, He significantly adjusted the way he played the game.
And then in this last moment of the season, he shifts and has to go back to being normal LeBron again. And a lot of people on the Lakers have their sleeves rolled up and are doing work here. that are making this thing put together. But the story of LeBron's season is really remarkable to watch. And he has traits about him that are sometimes annoying.
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