Olivier Vernon: Just Call Me OV

00:00:00 Speaker 1: You're now diving sitting down with Seth living Oh Jay, and this is strictly for the fans Number one, of course, y'all. This ain't the other never sports talk that haven't been that pitch tank. Welcome back to the fish Tank for then and by iHeart Radio. Right here on the Miami Dolphins podcast Network, Seth Lovitt and the toughest podcaster Dan Marino ever played with O. J. McDuffie juice. Kind of new surroundings here. We we usually are in the Wingfield living room. We just kicked the doors down and came right in his office. Yeah, we're right in his office. Man. We want to kick him about of here. Man, Yo, and I like that The Toughest sever again podcast Dann Marino's only though, Man, I think a lot of guys felt that way about me, Big set, Well, it's never good enough. I was never good I mean, I thought, that's no good. I gotta get my shot. I gotta get my shots in when I can with you, because I know you always have a shot coming within this podcast. There might be a shot or two fired for sure, but we can kick down doors when you bring in the big fella Olivier Vernon dies into the tank. OHV, how you feeling, man, I feel great. I'm glad. I'm glad to be on the show with you guys. Appreciate you all inviting me. It's been a while, man, it's been a while since I stepped into this building. So well, I like what you said, right. I can't even say it's nostalgia. I've never been in this building. But you're back in the building that feels like home, hopefully, because that's that's where you belong and our You know, we understand you had to go to work in some other places, but as we're going to talk about, you're a South Florida guy. You belong here around the Dolphins. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. Always family, always love, no doubt. Man. I told him they got to get him back in the building and the bigger building, building, other building. Man, we got to get him back here. We have it to get in there. Just if you leave me here in the podcast studio, you guys can go over there and flex that alumni jacket. We're going so ov man. We all know everybody thinks that you Donna's has on that mister three h five, I mean real talk right, But I mean you're pretty damn close. It's thinking about this. Born in Miami, raising highly, go to high school you know here, play for the youth and drafted by the Miami Dolphins. I mean that right there. It's like that's unheard of. Tell us about your growing up here in South Florida and how much did you actually follow the Dolphins as you were growing up? First of all, yeah, it was a blessing. It was a blessing everything, you know, even I say nostalgic. Also nostalgic because on this street, on one hundred ninety nine. That's why I used to take the bus to go to middle school in northern middle I used to always passing the stadium. So now to see changes and see, all right, this is what you got you guys practicing. Now, this is what the city is at now, the medical building. I'm like, God, really is crazy how much has changed. But that part is nostalgic for me, just this whole area. But yeah, I grew up not too far from here, like ten minutes down the road. Man, is a beautiful thing. Man. I can't I can't complain the opportunity I was given to have with the Dolphins and being able to get drafted by them. You know it, it was it was a blessing, man, it was a blessing. You also went to Dolphin camp when you're younger, right, and you were like m VP of that camp. And then you know, think about a decade later you led the team in sacks. I mean that's like that's like full circle type of stuff. And you know, like you said, like when you asked how I've been following the team? Man, My mom and dad always just to watch the Dolphins games, you know, our chime in every now and then. I remember all the guys, you know, I remember remember when you was playing. I remember you was playing, Chris Chambers, was playing, Keith Trailer, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas. You know, congratulations. Sorry why was your damn right there? Man? Long ago? Right? Sorry right here? Yeah, but when I look bad, like damn, it went by so fast, right, you know, it went by so fast, Man, went by so so fast. And the amount of changes man, and the great guys, I learned everything. I learned everything. Basically for me, it was like University of Football when I got here, and everything in Casey Rogers and all the guys, that was here. We hear that. We absolutely do. It's amazing to me too, because you know, we go to good high school to go to great colleges. But I learned everything when I got to the pros too. Really has got I just got by on natural talent ability and college and it's not like you guys went to Division III. Yeah, but everybody's good though, big self when you get to this point. But now, what's gonna make you a little bit better than the next pert? So there's the little things that kind of fine tune what you're doing this. I had no idea what a personnel was when I got to the league. I didn't know anything anything at all. It was crazy snap. So I'm like, okay, this is not just seatball, get ball? Is you really gotta like I heard about like okay, but nobody Actually I grew up playing soccer, and you know, I just loved football. Well, I mean it served you well well. So as JU said, American high stand out there and go down to Coral Gables, go to the U and things are going great until they're not. Yeah, and there was a scandal. There were suspensions. You've caught the heaviest suspension of anybody you got a six game suspension and what ended up being your final year of college. And I'm just wondering what you know and to whatever degree you want to talk about it, because it's in the past now. But and things worked out okay for you, But you know, for you to get more games than anybody else who got caught up in that, and then to lose as much time as you lost, what was going through your mind? Were you questioning why me? Why did I get more than anybody else did? And was there ever a moment where you were afraid for what your future would be? Because obviously if you got that, if you got that far, you had your sight set on something bigger and getting to the league. And was there ever a concern that all of that could come crashing down? Well, let me put it this way. I my parents are not from this country. You know. I didn't really have anybody that I knew, any family members that I knew that in that world of football, especially when it came to high school sports and in college ball anything like that, didn't know what what everything was brand new, you know what I mean. So when it came down to hanging with or being introduced to you know, nevershapi role and stuff like that that was out of my control, you know. And all that happened when I was in high school. I don't know if anybody knows, but I'm saying like not that I was didn't take anything, you know, but like being interested to somebody that the coaches brought me to. Right as a kid, I'm like, okay, this is I'm not. I had no idea that that was against it, right right, you know, I don't know nobody I knew telling me it's a double A regulation now, I mean you look at it now into double A regulations now the nil is like, well, I'm say it's different literally paid that there's collectives that are raising money and it's all part of the recruiting process, which and I want to ask you about that compared to what you had to go through. Oh yeah, And it was never, if anything, getting swayed, and my mind sat. I was always going to Miami. I never wanted to leave Miami. It's home to me. So you know, I did take my visits and everything like that. But I think how certain things was displayed I didn't like because it made us look because I mean, we got a whole bunch of young guys at the end of the day, looking back nineteen twenty years old, you know, you're not even adult yet, you know, so you have no idea. Obviously, you know right and wrong. But when it comes down to it, I mean I didn't even have a car, so like at that time, you know, yeah, it was everything was new. I was, so I was surprised. In my mind. All I did when it came down to it was say the honest truth. When it came down to like investigations and stuff like that, the honest truth, I'm like, Okay, I think anything of it. Like I went to a game eight Chicken Wings with you know, got invited to you know, eat chicken wings. You know what I mean. So I'm like, all right, I didn't do anything wrong. What did I do? You know? But when things came out, I was like, damn, maybe I was a little bit too honest. I don't know. I got most of the games, but you know, I feel like in hindsight, it all worked out. I didn't lie by anything, didn't take anything. I wasn't raised like that, you know. I was raised to get everything on my own, you know, So I think that right, there and wanted to clear you know, from the eyes of the public. You know, I mean, this is how many years now? It's just over ten plus years, right, So what I got to lie about now? Like you know, I have nothing to lie about when all that happened, THOUGHV were you? It sounds like you were trying to figure out, like how did this happen? I was? I was confused, But then were you? Was there fear that you were going to lose your opportunity at an NFL career? I think is everything was so new to me. Even when when I got to college, everything was still new to me. I wasn't even thinking about that. Like I knew I was going to be in the NFL. That was my I knew I was going to be in the NFL. When I was a kid, I told myself I was going to be in the NFL. I didn't even know you had to go to college to get to the NFL. I had no idea, okaying the only sport process. When I got to high school, I'm like, all right, damn, all coaches coming to bit. I'm seeing the older guys at the time a freshman, I'm seeing older guys. I'm seeing these college coaches come like, what's going on? Oh, oh, you gotta get okay the scout, I'm like, oh, I had no idea, so everything was kind of new to me. I didn't. It wasn't to me. My mindset was just work. I know, I got. All I gotta do is what I focus on tunnel vision or what I have to do. That's all I was really worried about. I never nothing really deterred me about anything with the whole process. I was just I was upset that I missed the games just because I wanted to play. I wanted to beat the opportunity to you know, play with my teammates, you know, and and try to win games. But but yeah, hindsight, I feel like it all worked out. You know, I probably wouldn't have been drafted here. That is that is the fast. Maybe it worked out perfect. It worked out. And now they can literally like negotiate deals and the whole thing. It's just crazy they can do. They can do commercials. You can't go eat chicken wings. They can now do commercials for a Chicken Wings store. And I love it, man, I love it for those guys. Man. I mean, when I was at UM, you had guys. Half the team had had kids. Some guys had two three kids. You know, you don't have no, no, no, don't no resources to be able to take care of your family at day and then God forbid you get hurt, right, you know? So yeah, man, I'm happy for these kids. Man, take advantage of it. Yeah, you know, I don't know how long, how long it is going to be open like this, you know. And some of these schools, man, Hell and State struggling right now. And that's a whole different story. I Mean, you talk about the game's missed, but you're still into the draft and there are a lot of questions obviously that like the size, you know, lack of experience because he missed those games and stuff. But I always looked at you like a Dwight Frenie guy, you know what I mean, that kind of speed athleticism, you know. So I wasn't worried about that at all. And when you got to the draft or what were your expectations when it got to the draft. Did you just want to get drafted you did you have a spot that you thought you should be going at? How did how did you approach the draft? Honestly, I mean, I just put in our every day with just you know what, I know the situation. I mean, I know that I didn't play that many games. I know this probably reflags on me. Now, all I could control is what I can. So the whole draft process, every day, I was just you know, getting after and focusing on the task in hand. My mindset was, it doesn't matter what if I get drafted or not. If I get on the team, I'm gonna make the best of every I know what type of person I work hard. Yeah, I work hard, so I know if it comes down to it, if I have to learn this, I'm gonna learn it. You know. It's as far as I'm just the competitive nature and wanting to get it right. And then that was you know, that was that was my dream. My dream was getting the NFL and playing, you know, and that was it. I was gonna make that happen. So, yeah, I didn't come drafted. I wasn't even honestly, wasn't even watching the draft. I was just we were having a barbecue. But I was just playing stage. I don't know if you play staves, but yeah, we're just on the table playing. Oh yeah, thinking about space is now how do you do you play? You play with jokers, you play a high real man, real space exactly a hot hot they call that jail space. Stains for whatever reason, is the game where cheating is almost like embedded in the culture of the game. You have to separate partners kicking each other under the table on the whole thing. So yeah, yeah, I know all about it. That's good. What did you like for me? I had no idea that dolphins were interrested in me. Did you have any idea that dolphins are interresting? None? None at all. I think we had a Miami day, so I didn't even know that. You know, I guess off Florida schools. Yeah, I remember those. Yeah, they don't do that anymore. Probably they had like a Florida school at Combine kind of workout. Remember, I remember a lot of kids being there. Yeah, so we That's the only time I ever had a conversation with Miami. That's when Jeff Illen was the general manager and Casey Rodgers working out and it was just my teammates going through. I think I was the only defensive linement. There was three of us. I think I might have been the only defense event I believe, But yeah, I didn't think anything of it. You know, I'm doing playing spade and said that was the only call too. I see a nine to five four number calling me. I'm like, okay, he's reading the numbers. The other guy's accusing him for talking across the I'm kind of fascinated by. I don't want to use the word naive, but it really it's almost like you're just kind of wide eyed and you were just handling your business. And I have to imagine that as you went through not to go off script here, but as you went through your career and you started to understand the business of it that you became there was more of a sophisticated approach to like let me just go show up and play ball. Oh yeah, for sure. If the show was for me, I feel like it was just like the more like organic it was, you know, to actually find like learning the ropes and along the way guys having guys along the way to teach me. I mentioned Casey Rogers, man, he taught me everything that I carried on from when I left the Dolphins to me help the young guys. That was at other Casey Rogers believe the best defensive line, defensive course, whatever, because he taught us like we were linebackers. I remember be told us like, y'all, y'all, y'all don't need to depend on nobody to get y'all lined up right, y'all don't know what y'all doing. I'm like, okay, all right, so, uh, all right, personnel is just twenty to twelve. I had to learn from scratch, and I literally every day I wasn't home, and to me, it was exciting. It was exciting because I'm like, I missed out on all this type of knowledge. I had no idea, like why didn't I learn this soon? And nobody, you know, nobody, nobody was talking like this when I was in you know, high school, in college. I guess they just assumed, you know, I don't play soccer. I never played football, So I guess, you know, they must assumed that I knew what I man, sound like they weren't coaching. Hey, hey man, hey hey it is what it is. Man. I'm glad. I'm glad, Casey Rogers And then you know, Paul Solia, Randy starts seeing those guys the wrong, just checking off. Oh, let's post that's pressed. Uh, power. Oh no, I'm just like, man, what I'm like, Oh god, I can do am I in the right role. But it was fun. Man. It carried me everything. It carried me such a long way as far as my IQ football Q. Oh my god. I want to talk about that room too. But you had a stat on UM players. But although from what I'm hearing, he probably doesn't know anything about it following that stuff. But the rarity of a UM player get drafted by the Dolphins, Yeah, it was just very rare, you know. I mean Vernon carry in two thousand and four and then it took uh then and also Lamar Smith and Lamar Miller. I'm sorry, but then it was like a long time since then. We just got Jaylen Phillips a couple of years ago. Man, So it was like four to twenty twelve. Yeah, there's nobody, nobody in twenty one and then nobody twenty one. Yeah, yeah, it was. I don't know why. That's about got it. You have to draft you, right, you have to draft you. Well the ones they picked. Think about those guys though they waited for the right ones they did so also interesting to Vernon so Vernon Cary Olivia Vernon and you get Lamar Miller and now JP so at least great pig. Yeah, I mean, of course, of course I played against you in the nineties. Man, I think the whole defense got drafted. So it was like that. That's probably why I got drafted. I put it onto you a little. Let's tell you mentioned some of the guys you got yours about the guys in that room. So you mentioned so Paul who we just had on recently. Again he raved about Casey Rogers, but had Paul, Randy Starts, Jared Odrick right was there and then on the other end, can't forget about camera. Wait, okay, so tell us about out what it was like being in that room with those guys. You had some serious vets who had done some work. And then I have to share this with you. So we had Xavion Howard on the show, and he talked about because he's been here, he's the longest tenured Dolphin, and he's talked about the way he was treated as a rookie versus the culture now and players are different now, and you probably saw it as your career progressed and guys come in and he said, man, when I first got here Cam Wake did not talk to me. He goes he camera. Wake did not speak a word to me until I finally made a play. I had to get an interception on the field, a good play, and then all of a sudden like we were cool. And so what was your experience walking into that room and the D line room, as we know as well documented on the show, is a very unique place to go to work. Oh what was that like for you? It was great? Man? Yeah, I mean everybody, you know, I had a signed job at first, you know, so me and Derek Shelby had an assignment. You know, I had to make sure I had certain things done for the guys. Uh and Shelby had certain things that was done for the guys. But it was fun man. You know, you learned your role. But it wasn't It wasn't nothing that you know, we had great bets. Man, all those all those guys want to just show how it was done. You know. Possoli, you know, can't wait, was quiet the same thing. He ain't really I ain't really hear nothing from him until you know, actually making the players. But that's his move, you know, that's what you know, that's that's that's that's what it is. And yeah, that whole that whole defense really, you know, we had a we had great bets man, you know, Parsoli, I, Cam j O, Rainy Stars, you know, and even the linebackers, linebacker group, Carlos Dance, Kevin Burnett, you know, those guys helped me as well. But as far as uh, just teaching, man, Possol actually go to Parsli's house because we heard about the barbecue. Oh I mean yeah, I mean barbecues too. But then also to learn, like, man, how you how do you learn how to watch film? You know? Like he you know, he would he would teach me how to how to watch the film, you know, and then and then we're saying in case you are trying to learn how to watch the film with him, But yeah, man, everything was a learning experience. Man. He just wanted to like you know, as you say, it was a privilege, you know. And then how the guys carried themselves, man, it was it was unique. Man, it was it was fun. I never I never really it never really got replicated, even though other teams that I did go to there they are great, you know, good guys and great guys in that room but it was never ever the same once we all broke apart and several ways, you know, so fascinating. We had to ask about the barbecue though, because so Paul was on the show and he just took well actually Devon Besses who told us the best the barbecue. So he's so proud of hosting those barbecues and bringing family together, but he lived away from Jeams. Yeah, man, like juice, how did you not? You can you know? I couldn't smell it? Said? He get calls from the Plantation police and tell him, I, like, juice, how did I make it over to the barbecue? But he's not happy about it, No, not at all now, and pauls too big even argue about it. Well, I think you just got to take you know what I missed out. I missed out. I took from that too as well, you know, because by the time I left the dynamic change, I was from a young guy all the way. Now I'm looked at as the as a vet. I'm just like, damn switched like that quick, real quick, you know, And I'm just like I wasn't used to it. I wasn't used to it because you know, I was like all right, go to the vat house, hanging with a vet and you know, just do that like that. But you know, eventually I started all right this, you know the things that I did, learn what you're supposed to do, and everything building to come. Like remember Thanksgiving. By the time I got to you know, the brown and the guys that couldn't go home. You know, I had a guy that you know California or you know, we had we had we had one partly on the team. Yeah, we had one partly on the team, and I knew how far his home was. So hey, Thanksgiving, everybody come to the house. You know, we cook up everybody. Yeah, man, right and pass. Some guys can't go home. Yeah, we know. In the NFL, I mean these guys, we all work the major holidays, you know what I mean, work all the majors, the big ones, you know, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's. All that stuff is in with their season, and you only have a certain number of time to get away, right. Yeah. And even when you're home, the amount of time you spend up, whether it's just building the building you worked in, you spend far more time with your teammates than you do with your own family. You know, and so it does become a family. But I just you had both of the nine year careers. You go from being the young quick quick like that is quick. Yeah, so that that is that's fascinating ofy. Let's go back to your second year. You're here, right in your second year, you're you're actually fighting for a starting position, getting ready to fight for a starting position at defensive end. But then the Dolphins move up in the draft and they, you know, move up to number three and select We talked Deon Jordan, you know, so now you're dealing with that, now you fight for this position. How did that affect your approaching? We talked about how hard you work no matter what. Did they change your approach at all when they when they selected Deon Jordan? And let's be honest, his career was was not a career here at all? And now only did you end up starting oppotion can wake you end up leading the team leven You had a career high eleven and a half sack. So it was like your approach must have been like, all right, the hell with this, they can't replace me, right now? Get about this? I mean not that they were trying to replace you. Yeah, I even trying to replace Cam, who knows you know, was getting up there listen. You know, like I said, I wasn't talking to nobody, man, honestly. So like my rookie year, I did a lot of specialty Rizzy you mentioned there, Rizzy. When I learned that, you you know, that was new to me too, learn how to play special to you, and I actually have fun doing it. I didn't like punt though they had to go backwards. I didn't like punt, but everything after that kickoff, kickoff return, I had fun doing that. That was that was fun. It was all new to me. So I remember Rizzie man, he at the end of the day, like he was like, man, if you make plays, you tell everybody that was the you make plays. I'm in your corner, you know. So I'm like, okay. And everybody loved playing. Yeah, you know, everybody loved playing for Rizzie and I just you know, for me, it was contributing so into that off season, man, I was just catching up that I had to do when I was in During the season. I got to keep going. You gotta keep learning how to keep getting after it. Come that draft, you know, it is it is what it is. You know, that's that's what happens. Man. You know, I'm pretty sure the Dolphins probably didn't think that I was gonna make that lead. You know. That's what I'm saying. That's paying for the future. But you never know, you never know, and it's it's what it is. But I ain't take it too hard, honestly, I just knew. I'm like, all right, cool man. You know, at the end of the day, another person, another weapon you add on the team, you know, hopefully hopefully, man, you know, and you know in all regards, man, like sometimes and I kind of feel like to this that I feel I feel for for because sometimes it's like, man, that's a lot of you know, when you get drafted, that's a lot of that's a lot of pressure. You know, that's a lot of pressure. And you gotta know you basically got to be on your you gotta know everything already by that time. You know, you gotta know a lot you expected to play right there, you know, and hind someone. I look, I'm like that that's a lot, man. But you know we did every time I could help I did, you know, every time I can help him out, I did, and he would always he would be a pause too. Yeah, you know, so it was never like, yeah, we're competitive guys. But at the end of the day, I mean and me, you want everybody did to eat, you know, want everybody eat, And unfortunately things happened. But yeah, still that year, Yeah, ended up just being a breakout year. But you figured it out. Yeah, just a lot of every day man, a lot of hall work. Man. It was just every day trying to learn. And when it finally and honestly, it wasn't even yeah I did. I did have a good year, but that wasn't even in my mind. That wasn't even my best ball. Man. I feel like I got so much better as the years went on. Man, it was that's what you want to do. You want to get better. It's like, get better every year. The sack number, right, that's an interesting thing for your position and the guy I work for is that that's the number that you're judged upon. But you hear you said, you hear coaches said all the time, and people don't like, Ah, you're just trying to be nice and you know, oh he's doing all these great things. I'm not worried about the sack numbers. It's like, is he being disruptive if he disrupted a play even though he didn't get a sack. If second down and ten went the third down and ten, it was as good as getting the sack. Whatever it might do. A double team got someone else makes that play and all those things. So to hear you say, yeah, I had eleven and a half, but it wasn't my best. Some people. My my biggest thing, what I love to do is stopping to run. That was my thing. That was me. That was the first thing I knew how to do. That's when I learned how to do it. You know, you know it's that right there is kind of not that's interesting to hear a guy who's known as a pass rusher. Yeah, yeah, that was that was That was what I learned first. I didn't learn how to pass rush until I got into the league. Like, oh, you gotta have moves, like I had no idea, Like I didn't have no idea at all about that. I had no idea at all. And then I didn't didn't know either that that left that left tackle was the best tackle that you have to go against. I had no idea too. I found I was good. Oh I found out going again. I was going against Jay Long every day. I was well, okay, yeah, I see why. Yeah, but he made me so much better man, you know. And then going against the guys you know on Sundays. Man, I'm like, okay, you're not going to go against the scrub at all, right, You're not going to go against the scrub. But I always love stopping the run because at the end of the day, you stopped the run, they're gonna have to pass. You know, all the good teams. If you want to win the Super Bowl, you got to run the ball. You know. Sure you got to run the ball. For sure. You got to run the ball. Defense. So if you can stop the run, oh, everybody's gonna be able to waiting to see how my wide receiver friend here was gonna have. I've changed. I've changed, you know, I know we need to chuck the rock around. You know, it should be eleven wide receivers on the field of all time. It should be five. It's a trick player was up, there's no way. Well, maybe that's it. You want to keep them guessing. I love it. I got one from We're gonna go the next year, right twenty fourteen, I've always wanted to ask this question. You're already laughing. You know where I'm going with it. Green Bay Packers. We're playing the Packers at home. Oh wow, and we're up on the Packers. Aaron Rodgers Crazy twenty fourteen, Aaron Rodgers and he is like he is dealing, but we're up on the Packers and it's a two minute drill and he starts to do what he's doing. But now it's third and nine and you and Camwake, you get him, you sack them, you force a fumble. There's a scramble. They recovered the ball. Boy. It would have been nice if we got that, that would have been nice. And you guys has ended right, but they recover it. But the clock is running. They're out of timeouts. There's only a minute and seven left. And then the whistle blows and there's a time out and I'm screaming. I'm like, no, they have no timeouts. They don't have any time out. And you hear the referee and he's like, time out, Miami, this is her second charge. Time out Miami. Yeah, wait a minute, it's fourth and ten. We just got a sack. They're trying to find the ball, the clock is running, tick tick tick tick, we're calling time out. We find out later coach Fieldman got queasy. His own words, it's not his words. He got a little queasy, and he had come from the pack ackers, and he knew what Aaron Rodgers was capable of. Wanted to give you guys a breather. I have been dying to talk to somebody Kodak moments, somebody Kodak moment. I've been dying to have somebody who was on the field in that moment and wondering what were you thinking when that time out was called? Thank god, I was like, there's a great call. Like man, until you just said the whole scenario, I didn't. I don't even remember that happening. I just remember the end. But that game, like it was on. We had no rotation. It was me and camp Uh. It was just me and him playing the whole game. And yeah, it came down to it was like, okay, we saw you saw the chest poking out, you know, coming back and forth. I'm like, okay, we'll getting a little. It was hot that day too. I remember being hot, and I was like, oh man, okay, so us to get a little breather. You know that that helps? Okay with that, I mean at that point of yeah, you know, bus at the time, we were good with that. He's still good still, Like on the field, o V. You know what I mean, at the time, it was nice and cool in the press boxes about seventy two degrees. I think they had just put out halftime hot dog. They were still warm and all those things. I understand that. I was a little different. I mean because they take it out, you know, once you get the sack and we didn't get to fumble. You know, that also takes it out of you. Yeah, okay, because in my mind, I'm like, I want that clock to run. I want them to be freaked out. I want them to you know, it's like it's fourth and ten. That's kind of a to me, that's a favorable position for the defense. Fourth and ten, the clocks run and they have no timeouts. We're trying to end this thing. They are you already just whooped the ship out of their two tackles and got a sack. So but but I forget that. Like there's also even though you and Ken Wake looked like you were built in labs, you got Mike get tired. We would I mean, honest think about you guys there, it could be a bodybuilding contest. We would have sucked it up, honestly, you know what I mean, It would have sucked it up. But you know, like you over the three hundred pounds fact guy, like we would have set it up, but honestly just did Yeah, I mean, and you know, and I think in both of cams in my career, we both kind of like played entire game. Yeah, we got a lot of games, got a lot of snaps on our belt, you know. So like he's basically said, both people were right. He says, I'm right in you know either. But you know, everybody don't how you know those dbs, you know something. You want them at the best possible condition right now to make sure nothing happens. I can't argue with them on the field, you know. And you know, yeah we do work too, you know, got always in the trenches, always fighting. But you know we're not running fifty yards thirty yards and coming back. Yeah, you know, got you know everybody, you know, at the end of the day, I gotta get some type of win, right Yeah. Right. I used to love that. I used to love just running dB, just just for the hell of it, Man, running running for forty yards, and may it come back, and then I run him again for forty more yards, and they can come back, and I can get out of the game, dB say, ended up coming out of the game, man, I could you know? I never tapped out that. So in the Don Shuler days, they had something called the twelve minute run. It's back when they did practice at the same time, and for whatever reason, coach Shula, we heard all the players come in here and say, there's no situation football where you run for twelve minutes straight. However, that was a big conditioning thing for him, and there were a lot of guys that dreaded that twelve minute run. But Juice came in here in the rookie as a rookie was lapping people like he just was one of those people that could do the distance runner. So that's interesting here that you would intentionally run extra to run. I want to run him to the tongues come out of the shoes. Only tongues out of the mouth. They want the tongues out of the shoes when I'm running the man. So yeah, down here exactly, little teams come down here and the humidity, sucking air through a straw. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, that's part of the game though. You know, I took that. That was one of the things out also took implemented in my game. I used to run up to Dave Luka can tell you during practice or after practice our condition man, Because at the end of the day, when you deepens alignment, once you're a first team, you're not really the reps that you're getting is on. You know, in the periods you're not really getting then you're not. It's not realistic how many game reps you about to get. You know, you're probably limited. In one practice you probably get like twenty and you're not trying to go full out. You guys still got to save yourself for the game because you don't want to get hurt during the games. During the season, it's a long season. You got to save your body for game day. So I have decided. Now I've compiled all the information, We've talked to an expert who was on the field. I understand it. In the moment, you were happy to have the rest. I think Joe Phild made the wrong decisions. And here's why. Here's why I'm going to say that because if OV was tired, there's no way their offensive linemen weren't tired. There's no way that the Green Bay package were. And I like my guys who are in peak physical condition, who training this. Everybody's tired. They're all freaking tired. Roight, They're playing football, pushing around a bunch of three hundred pounders. I'm gonna bet on my guys and see if they're too tired at fourth and ten. To me, you know, if I'm playing poker, I don't know if we can even talk about poker in here. If I'm playing poker, it's all percentages, right, and so to me, the odds are in our favor. Let the damn clock keep running. Let them try and figure out fourth and ten instead of calling time out, going over there, drawing up the best player that could possibly play, letting their guys get arrest and looking at you and Cam Wake when they're scared. Nah, man, I shouldn't have called the time out. I got how I'm going with you, Not to say anything, I know, man, I don't want to be biased, but you know I got love with Joe. You know I got love with Joe. Film but it's it's a first of all, I just think that was the wrong decision, not saying though, but also he was learning how to be a head coach. Yeah, you know, it's just adjustment. That's great. You know something, guys they got it, you know something like you know, hey, coach, you guys have now you know he has it. Some guys we got We're you're still part of the family. Yeah, we we say, I apologize, I apologize, but you know, it's it's it's a learning you it's a weed. You like that, Like, it's a learning adjustment man, across the board for every just as much as players got to learn, coaches got to learn as well. You know, it's really around. It was very nice. So after after four years here in Miami, unit free agency. But hell, I mean the season you were having, the season you're coming off of, you maximize I mean, defensivens will make a lot of money at that point, and hell you earned maximum mob whatever you could get, and so you end up going in free agency, were hoping to stay in miamed I know, we talked about it, man, most definitely was most definitely was, but you know, the situation was what it was man, you know, and in my mindset, I was, of course, you want to maximize the amount of money you can make, right, you know, you'd be crazy somebody that first opportunity. Yeah, you know, you know my mindset was okay, I didn't I didn't even get drafted that high. You know, I got some making up to do. You know. I would have loved to, you know, I would have love to still stay and play for the Dolphins. But when I looked at it, I looked at it as well as I've been here all my life. I was twenty five years old at the time. I never lived anywhere else, and I was like, you know what, maybe it wouldn't be bad to see, you know, challenge myself and see what else, what else is out there? And then you know, the opportunity with the Giants opened up, and then I was like, okay. My mindset was like they got the best and that and that at the time in that division, they had the best office of tackles left tackles. Yeah, you know, they had Jason Peters, Tyron Smith, Trent Williams. I was like, you know what, whole division. Yeah, I'm like, okay, if I could, you know, do what I do against them, no question that in the competitiveness in me that I'll be considered, you know, one of the best defensive ends, you know what I mean in my mindset, so like, you know, it's a challenge. I like a challenge. You know, scare money, don't make no money. So I wanted to do it, you know, I wanted to, you know, take that trip and prove that fast forward it's twenty degrees outside doing the spring. I'm like, damn, that's what before that, before that thought, I like you said about it, you wanted to go against those guys. But we talked to Joe Rose that you had done something Joe Rose, and you said, it's not about the money for you. Yeah, I want to know. I want people to respect me. I want people around the league to know who I am. You chose an opportunity to go against the best taxes, and they made me so much better. Man, They made me so much better. I mean, despite injuries happen, you know, getting hurt, But when I was on that field going against those guys, they could tell you you know, so like they made me so much better and up my game to get to a whole other level, you know, I just say, right, you know, yeah, man, they they helped me get to a whole other level. Man, because in your mama, you got to prepare for uh those caliber type. They're all Hall of famers, you know what I mean. You you got to step the game up. You know you're gonna be embarrassed. R getting embarrassed on TV. And I was like, and we'll circle you. Yeah, you getting goved back into the into the end zon. I'm like, yeah, that's not happening. Ain't no SYRP going beyond me? No, no, none of that, No, no, no, yeah. So let's go back to this weather thing, because I you know, three years in New York, then two years in Cleveland. I grew up in South Florida. He's from Cleveland, he's never gone back. I'm going back for the holiday thirty six hours. Get his ass right back here. I grew up here, and my first internship in sports was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. I was like, what the hell is that? What is lake effects? No? Like, you know what I mean? So you are only in Miami, kid, you got your making blood flowing on your veins as well, and now you're in these two cold ass town how different was that from a lifestyle perspective. From a preparation person, you learned how to layer up. I remember my first year at the Giants and the guys. Yeah, the guys end up getting me a jacket. They got me a Canada goose jacket, and I was like, okay, this was and oh this one, okay, okay that and what is the scrape the snow off the windshield? A scraper? The first thing they got me find out because I remember one time, I remember what. We came back from a I don't know where we played. It came back from away game, came back home and the cars were just sitting there and it's not we don't parking, no garage or anything. And the wind ship was frosted over. But it was like it wasn't just you know, it was just ice. And I remember going with my hand and trying to strape it. The worst decision ever did. I'm like, what the hell was you think? I'm like, man, I want to get home. Yeah. Man, So that that was. That was. But by the time, you know, I get in to Cleveland, but I'll still be I was always still be laying and all guys always make fun of me with when he came down to that, because practice, yeah, in practice, there's no heaters. You know, they're getting you cold water. I remember asking when to turn out, why y'all, why do y'all give cold water? Man? Like you got some co what's the point of cold water? Is cold? I here, but you know, looking at the guys making room till north is good. Yeah, and yeah, twenty two degrees that's the problem exactly. And then seeing the guys out there that I remember, Nick Chubb, he would I'll never forget Nick Chubb would always be the guy that just wears shirts and the T shirt. That dude. I'm just like, you're not even from here, You're from Georgia. But Georgia gets cold. I didn't like Georgia gets cold. Cleveland cold. But I'm just like he's just there n full speed. I'm like, oh man, that's too I can relate. My boss with the calves. He would say, you're the only person I've ever seen them and put two jackets on to go outside. I was one of them. That was one of them all right there with well, you know, so crazy though they always talk about the Dolphins in general, you know, playing December in those places and how we always don't seem to come up big. So when you were playing for the Dolphins and going to those cold weather places, you're right for us three hours just that. Oh yeah, that twenty four to seven was a problem. I mean, yeah, honestly, the hardest part is, yeah, exactly the practicee you know, in the cold weather, there's no heaters, no nothing like that. Yeah, game day, I would be the one that all right, it's TV time out. Okay, they're in a huddle office not ready. I see quarterbacks on the sideline. I'm on, I'm on the field, but bring the jacket. I'm gonna be right here. I'm gonna warm up, so I give you some time tow soon. I take this jacket off. I got time to throw out and I'll be all righty come, you know. And then when you run that sense, but in a practice like it's never gonna want like even if you're at the Dolphins, you're in the game, like, Okay, let's just kick some ass out here and then we get a hard plane and we go home. But you can't. That was that was so common for me though, because I being here all my life, playing out here in this heat. That was easy. Nothing sweet. Seeing guys come from up north. I'm like, man, y'all can't Like I can't. Y'all can handle this hot y'all. So it was it was funny, man. I was like, oh, man, but the ain't a lot of the training camps up north a whole lot easier when it comes to And I was confuse because you've got guys pouring water on top of the head. I'm like, it's only seventy there's no humidity. What what's going on with? You just got different kinds of blood? That's really what it is. It would be with your your second year with the with the brown you know, you guys a role. You're eleven and five Browns are headed to the first playoff appearance in a long time, eighteen years. Actually in the fourth quarter, man, you rought your achilles. It's the stealers. This is your ninth year in the league. What was going through your mind at that point where you like, you know, do you want to get back on the field, At that point where you're like, man, all right, enough is enough? What were you thinking when you you know, ninth year in the achilles? And that's one of those one of those tough ones that all of us old people, and I'm my old ass, We're worried about just going out to the plays to pick up basketball. You know what was going through your mind? Man? It might sound crazy, but I honestly was happy. Man. I was happy not for the injury, you know, because I didn't even know I tore it, but I was happy that I'm like, man, the top of because every season, every every season is going to be a challenge, you know. And I remember before that season, I got in contact with JT Jason Taylor, and I remember talking to him. Man. I was like, man, like it was different because I had always been on the right side, learning that position, always playing the right and then having getting traded to a team that I already had a right end. I was like, man, like, what was the point of y'all getting me? Like, you know what I mean, I've never played the left side before. So talking to JT man and getting some wisdom from him, man, because I was, I was down. Man, I was, I was like, man, wow, like I just you know, even though I got hurt, I made I made the Pro Bowl just the year before I got traded, Like, what's going on? Like you know, but that's that's when you said, when you started getting the knowledge of the game, you know, you're not naive to anything anymore. Like by that point, I'm just like, Okay, this is what it is. They just want to acquire the talent. So that challenge was me trying to learn. So I didn't learn. Actually, I was like, you know what, I'm gonna try and learn this left side. So that didn't happen until like probably midway during the season, and you know, being able to accomplish that, man, hindsight, Man, it was just a different challenge. Man. I enjoyed it, man, And you know, I went on a run and then we was able to make the player. You know that that was something I was proud of to be a part of that. Browns had to make the playoffs eighteen years, eighteen years, you know, so I was I was I was proud. I was proud of hell to be like, man, you know, being a part of that, you know, being a part of that team to do that because you know, we had we had great guys, great guys on the team. And the people out there in Cleveland that they don't really they don't really talk about, is how nice. The people are out there, man, people out there nice. Like driving out on the road, Like it's different driving out here than driving in Cleveland. Everybody likes a vibe by the road. You sign yeah, you turn signal, Okay, you know that, you turn signaling to let you get by over here. It's like NASCAR, Come on, man, Why I gotta be Yeah, I got to be like that. The people over there nice, man, and they love football just like people love football here. But to have the opportunity to do that, and you know, at the end of the day, I was like, I had got hurt. Probably it's been it had been at the time five five maybe five seasons in the world, and it was off of something that it just happened. You know, either you have a teammate fall on you, you know, or just a freaking accident. Uh, it just happens, man. You know. I was like, hey, it is what it is. I'm a bounce back and I'm gonna come back and you know, come back and compete. So the plan was to come back. That that was the plan I got. When I got the surgery, that was my first time ever having surgery, so I was terrified. Yeah, I never had surgery before that that nine years playing defensive line, and that was your first surgery. Yeah, because the only the only serious injury I really actually had while playing football was my first year in New York. I broke my hand, but I didn't Yeah, broke my hand, but I didn't miss any games. I took pride on my missing games and stuff like that happens when you're built like a robot, you know. And then my and then being in the hot. Then the next year I got a high end spring. Never had a high end spring ever in my life. I'm like, I'm like, okay, to get it for my right my right leg. And then the next year I left, I'm like, what the hell is going on? Man? What's going on? But uh, yeah, So I got the surgery terrified, but it did. My body rejected the sutures on the inside, so I didn't They didn't know one percent chance of that happened. So it ended up, yeah, one percent chances that happened. So they had to go back and there coming open again again a year out from rehappening, because it wasn't nothing was getting better. Just had to do it all over again. Oh, you had to have the surgery twice. Yeah, I had to do it all over again. Wow, and they just they gave, They gave me, They gave this. The second time it was well. So the first time it was the minimum invasive, minimum basive surgery and the second time it was the brace. So what Aaron Rodgers has now, So that's what I got feel So I feel so much better now. But yeah, to me, I mean, but in that course of the time I'm gonna be going through that started, I find my wife. You know, I had a family, got two girls, two under two. So it's a battle. Un you know, it's a bad Sundays every day. Yeah, it's gonna be that way for a minute. But I'm loving it, man, I'm loving it. I'm watching you know, all the guys that I played with that had had kids and family. I'm thinking about, damn man, like y'all. I know y'all felt that when y'all were missing, y'all come home and y'all missing, missing your kids, you know what I mean. And right now, just like I can't imagine me not seeing like the first thing is that they do. I love, I love and I appreciate that. So everything was a blessing you know, and my mind said I wasn't trying to play the game that long. I was like, you know, let me get the ten. Go from there. I put in what I put in, man, you know, I played a lot of snaps. I played. I played a lot of snaps, man, so I could say I didn't leave anything out. You know. If I could go back now, I mean, I could go back now if I wanted to. But I'm just yeah, but I'm gonna joining. I'm gonna join my family. Man, I'm joining my kids. Man, you know, I love it. That's it's a blessing. Man. Everything happen for a reason. And it's funny. I always told myself, you know, because some of the young guys used to ask me, man, you ain't got no I used to treat them like my little brother at the time when I took on the road. As to day, I'm like my little brother and trying to put them put them up on game, and man, you don't got no kids. Man, Like man, I'm a wait, I'm awake. I ain't got no kids yet. But I was telling myself I wanted to wait until I was done a ball to have my family, and just so happened. Then That's not how I wanted to do it. But it was sounds like it really kind of. It was perfect. Man. You know, I'm gonna join every single day. And man, I love love my wife a little, my kids. Man, I love everything about it. You know, I don't feel like I'm missing anything that's feeling. And you're back in South Florida and I'm back in Florida. Yeah, you know, I'm back in Florida. Man, I can guarantee you one thing. He got no, it don't even come with him. Now. It's funny. We just came back from New York. We still my wife got family did as well. So we just came back up from New York. I was like, damn, man, is getting cold. I'm already. I'm like, you ready to go back home? Forty five degrees or something. I love it. Oh that is too funny. That is good stuff. Man. Well, we're gonna get you out of here in a minute, get you back to your family. But and I love this is the first time we've ever done this. We had a two minute drill question in the game. We talked about the two minute drill. We're gonna give you a couple of time outs. We're gonna put you through the fish tank two minutes, drill, or throw some fast paced questions at you. Just give us an answer however you feel. Mike's got the clock. I love it. He's ready to swim. If you need a time out, you need a breather, We'll let you make that decision. I won't second guess you like I'm second guessing Joe. All Right, Okay, cool, all right, let's do it. All right, you were not only a fierce pass rusher, but you're also an artist. From what I understand, what is your favorite medium to work in? And do you still draw on paint? So okay, I have not touched probably maybe maybe the wine with a twist. Maybe I've done that from time to time. But I really loved I enjoyed oil, oil painting and color pests. Man, that was my favorite manhole painting. It's tough to work, and that's impressive. Listen, I saw you did this interview when you were at the Giants and they walked into the museum. Now he did some work. Talented du talented dude for sure. Okay. You talked about your family. Your wife is the daughter of former Miami Hurricanes, Great Rohan Marley and you're and she's the granddaughter of the iconic Bob Marley. Does Olivia Vernon have a favorite Bob Marley song? So my dad, my dad's from Jamaica, you know, And you know every weekend when we had to go put do some of y'all work, blasting music, jogging on his rum, and we had to go out. I know what time it is, they gotta do some y'all work. So from you know, from my shot the sheriff to yeah, the whole listen, it's quite at Yeah, you got a whole listen names. Man, I can't can't. I can't even put a favorite. But my dad, I'm gonna call the time out. I'm gonna be Joe Fielder. We're gonna call time out. We're still good. We're gonna get the last two questions, all right, will start again on your answer? Is this true? Is it true that you're named after Sir Lawrence Olivier And I's so, do you remember any names of this movie? It's true. I don't know any names of movies. I gotta give credit to my mom for that. She's she loved the name, like Sir sir, Sir Lawrence's like not Olivia was okay, Yeah, Sir Lawrence law It's funny because everybody in in the US Oliver Oliver. I'm like this, Olivier said Olivia. I introduced myself as Olivier, and like Oliver, I'm like, call me OV, call me OV, like the got the old name on. Yeah, I wasn't gonna make a mistake. Moms our moms like each other growing up. My mom loves your name. I just love I was funny. That is absolutely wild. Well, I called time out with the second left on the clock, but I'm not sending a field goal team out. We're gonna get this last question, all right. In Miami, you played opposite Cameron Wake because we discussed he retires with one hundred and a half sacks in his career. In New York, you got Jason Pierre Paul on the other side. He's got ninety four and a half sackson. In Cleveland, you get a young Miles Garrett. He's damn near at a hundred sacks, which is really hard. Yeah, he's gonna get it really quickly. An amazing group of pass rushers. But if you could play one more season forget the Achilles was perfect. If you could play one more season and you could pick any pass rusher in the history of time to play opposite you, who would it be? Damn, damn damn. Like oh man, listen, I love everybody I play. God, Well, take the people, take the people that you have. We're gonna take the people that you have played with out of the equation. So there's no hurt feelings someone that you haven't played with, and you could go all the way back to Deacon Jones. Anybody in the history of time. Is there a pass rusher that you would have loved to be able to line up the opposite though, there's no disrespect to anybody else who played with I had to love to play with JP. That's the drill right there. I would have liked that Jason Taylor to play with him. That's good stuff. Man. Well, honestly, it should have been Lawrence Taylor. You know, Sir Olizzier Lawrence, you know you're getting all kinds of crazy. Yeah, I see where you're going. I'm thinking about the cold. I'm not thinking about cold. Other guys that I'm like Jason and j I love them. Hey, this is thank you. For making the time and letting us pull you away from your family a little bit, but I am glad that we were able to get you back over here. Thanks for diving in ov I'm diving just like JU said. Thanks for diving into the fish to presented by iHeartRadio. Be sure to follow us on whatever streaming platform you're using, and don't be afraid to rate the show or leave us a comment. We love your feedback, and remember you can find us as well as Drive Time with Travis Wingfield and all of our international partners on Miami Dolphins dot com at this time