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The Detroit Lions Hype-Man Award
A.J. Reilly: Let’s talk about Hype Man. Why did we give this award, Eric?
Eric Vincent: It’s a lot of energy guys on this team. Uh, we know who the big leader, leader is in terms of energy is in terms of Dan Campbell and this is what you kind of need for young teams. You need those young inspirational pieces for leadership and to keep guys motivated every Sunday, especially when you’re playing meaningful football down the stretch. And our, I think our picks are spot on for this one actually.
A.J. Reilly: All right, well, let’s get to ’em. Let’s do it. So before we do, Matt says, Deuce the hype man. Deuce Staley, running back coach. That’s a good one. Not a bad choice. There you’ve got Kerby Joseph. I’ve got Dan Campbell. Fred says Aidan Hutchinson, which is another great call.
That’s a good call. Why’d you go with Kerby Joseph?
Eric Vincent: Because Kerby got a handshake with every single player on his team. If you look up social media, you seen them do the flex dance with Hutch. He’s got a dance with, Jamaal Williams, where they do the Dragon Ball scene with each other in the street fighter tech. Like he got a dance for everybody. He seems like he’s got one of those infectious personalities that just blends in anywhere. So I love the energy that Kerby Joseph brings as a rookie. As a rookie with what he’s able to do so. Yeah, Kerby was an easy call for me.
A.J. Reilly: Uh, Kevin says Isaiah Buggs, which is a good call as well. Like Buggs played great. Another one of those free agents that I hope ends up coming back to
Eric Vincent: me too,
A.J. Reilly: of that, that defensive line. But for me, this was the easiest choice in the world. Aside from choosing like him to drink the Kool-Aid with.
Eric Vincent: Mm-hmm.
A.J. Reilly: There’s no other person you put as a hype man than Dan Campbell. Just the way. Yeah. Yes. That might be the tweet of the year. Right.
Eric Vincent: Lot of good quotables this season for the Detroit Lions.
A.J. Reilly: There were, there were, but Dan’s speeches in the locker room. The vision that he’s setting and saying, this is where we’re going, and you’re either getting on the train or you’re getting run over by it.
Like, I’m here for it. Yeah. I Is he the most eloquent all the time? No, he’s not. But I don’t need that in a head football coach. This isn’t Shakespeare. I don’t need him to be Shakespeare. I don’t need him to be DiCaprio. I need him to be Dan Campbell. I need him to be the biting kneecaps, tread water till we bury you, Dan Campbell.
Because underneath that facade is also the genius that goes, oh, you want to jump off sides? I’ll decline that penalty and make you call it timeout. So that to me is. There’s no better leader for this team than Dan Campbell and I’m here for it. We’re gonna talk a lot more about Dan Campbell at the end of the show.
Eric Vincent: Yes.
A.J. Reilly: But, but as far as hype men go, you would run through a brick wall for Dan Campbell.
Eric Vincent: Kerby Joseph was on Jim Rome and he asked him, he’s like, what is it that makes Dan Campbell so infectious and he, he couldn’t even, he couldn’t come up with an answer, but he said everything that we’ve been saying, he said, I’ll run through a brick fall for him.
Said, I don’t know exactly what it is, but anything that he says I’m ready to do and fight for him, no matter anything that comes outta his mouth. So, again, from where it started, cuz I ain’t gonna lie, I was very, very worried about Dan Campbell,
A.J. Reilly: we were
Eric Vincent: and his quotes.
A.J. Reilly: We were,
Eric Vincent: But I’m all all in now. I’m all in. Cause the players are.
A.J. Reilly: Here’s the thing. Right. We talk about him being a player’s coach and he is, he’s a great player’s coach. Sometimes I think NFL head coaches have the curse of needing to be the smartest man in the room. Yeah. And you don’t get that with Dan Campbell. Now, could he potentially be the smartest man in the room?
Yes. I’m not attacking his intelligence, but he’s saying he’s got these guys playing cuz he is like, Hey, I’ve been in the league, I know what it takes. Let’s go.
Eric Vincent: Yep.
A.J. Reilly: Right. And so I, there’s no better man for the hype man than Dan Campbell.
Eric Vincent: I’m with that.
Ricky Sanders Class Clown Award
A.J. Reilly: This is for Ricky. You can explain this one. The Ricky Sanders class clown award.
Eric Vincent: Yeah, there were, uh, first of all, cause we love our audience. You guys are amazing. Thank you everybody for tuning in as often as you do. And for those who helped put their imprint on the season, you’re just as special to the season. And Ricky was one of those guys. Came out here to jumped in the lake after the Patriots game.
A.J. Reilly: No seahawks game. Cause he said if they lose to the Seahawks, I would jump in the river. And he held true.
Eric Vincent: It was a depressing moment, but it was also one of the funniest of the season. So for that Ricky with all his commentary and his comedy as well. We had to name the Class Clown award after Ricky Sanders.
A.J. Reilly: Yes and his hatred of me. So that’s fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. But, okay, so we gave the class clown awards too… you said Jamaal Williams and I said TJ Hockenson. And there’s a reason why I said TJ Hockenson. So I’m gonna let you explain and then I’m gonna bury TJ Hockenson.
Eric Vincent: Yeah, I’m gonna go quick , I’m gonna go quick. Jamaal Williams, again, one of the most spirited people on the team.
Um, his story, how much charisma he’s able to have, even when he was going through like the Bears game where he is, you know, talking trash, pushing where the players back and forth, and then they end up turning it into a comedic moment because of his personality and his voice.
Even his voice is funny. If you see him coming down the, uh, the tunnel and he’s like, ha, he’s like laughing, like a goblin coming out. You know, Jamaal Williams is awesome, man. Love all his energy, love his personality. Gotta give him class clown, for sure.
A.J. Reilly: He is. And listen, I get it. I took, you know, I, I understand what a class clown is for sure.
Um, I don’t think TJ Hockenson is necessarily the purest definition of a class clown, but he is the purest definition of the final word on that award, which is a clown.
Eric Vincent: Yes,
A.J. Reilly: this man left Detroit gave the, you know, political social media posts, thanks for everything, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then turns around and goes, it’s gonna be nice to go to a place where I can actually feel like I’m winning.
Right? I, that’s not a direct quote, but it’s a paraphrase. Well, let me give you some news. TJ Hockenson, you went seven and three over the last 10. Guess who won more games than you did over the last 10? The Detroit Lions.
Eric Vincent: That’s right.
A.J. Reilly: And guess who also beat you when you were on that team.
Eric Vincent: That’s right.
A.J. Reilly: The Detroit Lions. Oh, and by the way, you also hosted a postseason game and then got beat by Danny Dimes and the New York Giants.
Eric Vincent: Mm-hmm.
A.J. Reilly: Your team was a fraud. You are a fraud. You are a clown. And I’m glad that we traded you for the picks that we traded you for cuz we sure as heck, we’re not paying you to be on this team anymore. So see ya class clown.
Eric Vincent: 123 AJ coming hot.
The Louis Delmas Award
A.J. Reilly: Oh yeah, it is time. The Louis Delmas Award. Now this one needs a little bit of explanation. If you remember Louis Delmas from years gone by lot of talent. Huge underachiever. Yes. So who is your biggest underachiever this year? Eric?
Eric Vincent: Talk to us in the common section. I’d love to see who you guys think was the underachiever.
A.J. Reilly: I would love to know too.
Eric Vincent: For sure. Uh, mine has to go to D’Andre Swift. It has to go to Swift. You can’t start off looking like what, really looking like the best running back in week one. And then you fizzle out to become a rotational number two, you know, by, by mid-season. Like it was very disappointing.
A.J. Reilly: Are you being it fair, fair to him though?
Eric Vincent: How’s that not fair to him?
A.J. Reilly: I mean, the injuries.
Eric Vincent: I mean, yeah, but I mean, we knew that was a problem, but it wasn’t just injuries for him. Like he was dropping passes like he was.
A.J. Reilly: All right.
Eric Vincent: Running laterally when he should have been hitting holes, which is something that we saw Staley coaching him during hard knocks.
A.J. Reilly: Yeah, that’s true.
Eric Vincent: Yeah. It’s gotta be him for sure. Again, I’m happy the success that he created for Jamaal Williams, but we definitely expected a lot more from D’Andre in this season.
A.J. Reilly: But, but when we needed him against Green Bay,
Eric Vincent: huge. Yep.
A.J. Reilly: Towards the end of the season, he was huge. But yeah. When you come out at the beginning of the season, you go, I want to go for a thousand yards receiving and rushing and then you don’t.
Eric Vincent: Mm-hmm.
A.J. Reilly: That’s, that’s a bit of a, uh, you know, a bit of a problem. Mine is, I think the most obvious underachiever on this team. You go from being the top corner on the team in 2021
Eric Vincent: Yeah.
A.J. Reilly: To being benched and should most likely be cut in this next off season.
Eric Vincent: Yep.
A.J. Reilly: Uh, but Amani Oruwariye. Right. Just brutal. Six penalties against, uh, the Minnesota Vikings the first time around. Oh. And then by the way, against Green Bay, when Okudah goes down and you get put in the game, what do the Packers do? Throw a bomb to Christian Watson on your first play?
Eric Vincent: Yep.
A.J. Reilly: That you also interfered with him, if I’m not mistaken, like the dude just. Look, I get it. He had won gig a year. Okay, great. I don’t think that bought him enough of leeway.
Eric Vincent: Mm-hmm.
A.J. Reilly: For him to be back in 2023. So my, my Louis Delma award is going to Amani Oruwariye. And I don’t really know who else I could’ve given it to.
Eric Vincent: No, those are those, I think those are good picks.
A.J. Reilly: I think they’re too. Levi’s a good, but Levi is also an injury issue too. Yeah. So like what? But Oruwariye was not. He just couldn’t cover anybody if he couldn’t keep his hands off of him.
Eric Vincent: He had like five picks last year. One of the coolest plays in the year against the Cardinals last season. Now, just completely exactly what Kevin said.
A.J. Reilly: The louis Delmas award goes to. D’Andre Swift and Amani Oruwariye.
Eric Vincent: Indeed.
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