Julian Edelman on Superbowl LX, His Hilarious Mike Vrabel Story and His First Superbowl

What this episode is about

Julian Edelman reflects on his experiences, including his first Super Bowl and a humorous anecdote involving Mike Vrabel, while discussing his confidence in the New England Patriots' chances at Super Bowl LX. He emphasizes the significance of the team's preparation and resilience in the face of external narratives.

Key takeaways

• Julian Edelman's beard isn't just a fashion statement; it's a symbol of time away from the Super Bowl grind.
• The Super Bowl isn't a sprint but a marathon; expect rhythm shifts, not just highlight reels.
• Experience trumps youth: in big games, it's the small, consistent plays that often decide the outcome.
• Routine matters: Edelman's secret to success? Same practice habits, with a sprinkle of extra effort for confidence.
• Less is more in pressure games: avoid mistakes over making flashy plays to secure the win.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Julian Edelman (Guest) · 12 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: New England Patriots, Josh McDaniels
2. 6:00 – 9:00: Ohio State, Milton Williams, Kentucky Derby
3. 9:00 – 12:00: Cooper Kupp, Josh McDaniels, Sam Darnold, Milton Williams
4. 12:00 – 15:00: Sam Darnold
5. 15:00 – 16:25: New England Patriots

Notable quotes from "Julian Edelman on Superbowl LX, His Hilarious Mike Vrabel Story and His First Superbowl"

• How you feeling? What's your confidence level for the Super Bowl for the Patriots?

  about New England Patriots · at 1:14

• I can only imagine, dude. If you got a good one, please share, man. I he's a northeast Ohio guy. So watching Vabes at Ohio State and then obviously at the Patriots is like [ __ ] I feel like he's like a part of my family for some reason.

  about Ohio State · at 7:12

• Drafted on the team. So, they've been hitting on guys they've brought in, guys. and Drake May having Josh McDaniels this year I think has been huge. So I think it's a…

  about Josh McDaniels · at 9:08

• I really think if you get it to a nitty-gritty game, you have Milton Williams in the middle, Bar on the other in the middle together getting pressure in the middle of the pocket and getting a takeaway from that explosive offense.

  about Milton Williams · at 11:16

• Get more in the drop back. They can't play on schedule with their run game always. So getting the ball off Sam, getting that pressure in the middle of the pocket, I think they'll they'll it'll give them their best chance to win.

  about Sam Darnold · at 12:19

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Sam Darnold — Person · Referenced opposing quarterback · 3 mentions · first at 11:08
  Discussed as the Seahawks QB whose turnovers and discomfort vs interior pressure are framed as the Patriots' path to victory.
• Josh McDaniels — Person · Referenced coach (Patriots offensive coordinator context) · 2 mentions · first at 1:59
  Cited as a major experience advantage for New England and as a key factor in Drake May's development this season.
• Milton Williams — Person · Referenced player (Patriots defensive key) · 2 mentions · first at 8:57
  Highlighted as a difference-maker for interior pressure and forcing turnovers against Sam Darnold.
• Cooper Kupp — Person · Referenced upcoming guest · 2 mentions · first at 9:46
  Mentioned as the next interview segment guest representing Seattle; discussed briefly around his coffee hobby and Super Bowl experience.
  The Seattle side. Two of the best wide receivers ever to play in the Super Bowl, man. Cooper's coming back for his second run at it. You got anything you want to say to Cooper? Have anything have any questions for him?

Companies & orgs

• New England Patriots — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions · first at 0:00
  Main team discussed, with insights into their strategy and players for the Super Bowl.
• Ohio State — Company · Referenced institution · 2 mentions · first at 7:18
  Mentioned in the context of a coach's background and player development.

Places & events

• Kentucky Derby — Event · Incidental mention · 1 mention · first at 6:57
  Briefly mentioned as a past activity shared between individuals.
  Yeah, I missed him by one year. He got signed to the Chiefs. I got drafted in, but we used to go to the Kentucky Derby together and we had so much crossover that you know I…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 here to represent the New England Patriots. He is the host of Games with Names and Dudes on Dudes podcast. A SEVENTH ROUND PICK OUT AGAINST K STATE, THREE-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION AND SUPER BOWL MVP. 92% IS PLEASED TO WELCOME BACK TO the show for his second appearance, Mr. JULIAN EDELMAN.

0:16 Adnut Ednut himself. He's back. How you guys doing? How you guys doing? Thanks for having me.

0:23 Doing great, man. It's Super Bowl weekend. No job January over here, man. just enjoying some uh some free time and watching some watching some good ball on the on the Sundays, man.

0:32 Yeah. You're not used to that, though. It's that's probably an uncomfortable feeling huh?

0:36 Yeah. You know the feeling, dude. You know the feeling. I get it. I get it. When you go to I mean, you both have been to a bunch of Super Bowls and and a lot of them in a short amount of time like your body clock is messed up that first time you're you're not in it. You're like,

0:53 "What's going like I'm growing a beard. I'm 5 years out and it just feels right. I'm like, what the hell are we doing? Why am I doing this still?

1:01 Don't change it. Don't change it. It's stupid. IT'S 80°. YOU'RE not in Boston anymore, Jules. You don't need that.

1:07 I know. I know. All right. Well, should we get right into the Pats? What do you think?

1:13 Let's do it, dude. How you feeling? What What What's your confidence level for the Super Bowl for the Patriots?

1:18 Well, I'm excited. I'm super excited. Uh and and I am very confident with with the Patriots going into this game.

1:26 Yeah. And there's been a lot of talk about the easy road, the schedule, uh young football team going against a juggernaut, and a lot of these uh narratives are things that this organization has dealt with before. So, you know, I'm I'm I'm very I'm very interested to see the coaches of the Patriots and what they game plan going into this thing. They've got they've got a lot of experience in this. You know, Braves, yeah, he's he's never coached in one, but he's got Josh McDaniels who's coached in 10, he's been a former head coach. Ravves has played in this thing. So, I just think there's a lot of value in that experience of the routine of the Super Bowl because you guys know uh more than anyone right now.

2:17 This game is a different game, completely different and and the little things that the coaches prepare you for, or at least me, I saw come to fruition in the game. So, I I think I'm I'm excited with their opportunity.

2:32 Yeah, man. So, there's something we wanted to ask you. It is a young team. There's a lot of guys that haven't played in it. You mentioned Braves, the organization have a ton of experience in this game,

2:42 right? You yourself obviously ton of experience playing in this game in this week. What piece of advice would you give the guys that are playing in it for the first time, the Drake Mays and the young players. What would you tell them?

2:54 My advice would be is keep the routine the same. Maybe maybe if you want, you know, uh do a little couple extras like I'd always c catch another like 500 balls after practice or you know something that wouldn't tax my body but fundamentally get me confident and keep the routine the same. You know, you guys are here for a reason. It's because of how you prepared uh all year going into a game. It always worked, you know, and it continued to work. So, you don't have to do too much. Uh, and then one last thing I would tell them, you know, be prepared for a marathon, not a sprint.

3:30 This thing, this game is a, uh, it's longer. Yep. Be prepared for, you know, spurts of rhythm throughout the game and take advantage of that.

3:44 Yeah. But know that this is a long game and and the team that wins is the team that makes the least amount of mistakes, not the team that makes the most plays. If you watch,

3:55 yeah, you know, it's it's the team that makes the least amount of mistakes. You know, left tackle jumping off sides, a receiver not breaking hot on a hot route, and it's an interception. Uh, you know, uh, the quarterback not getting the right protection, things that we're not going to see that you need to check the box every, you know, play when we're evaluating our plays after the game. Like, just don't have those negative plays. the team that has the least amount of those wins.

4:24 Dude, it's crazy you say that because a lot of the times in these big games, especially early on, you feel like you got to be your greatest. You feel like you got to make that extra that crazy one-handed catch when no one like expects you to make the play. But it's really just those little things that, you know, you're getting that cut off block on the backside so if that thing, you know, peels back to you, you know, so Exactly. just so you can get a few yards and get downhill and now you're not playing behind the sticks and things like that. It's it's such a easy concept to like talk about, but when you're in it, man, you want to be your best and you want to be the [ __ ] one that like catapults the the guys to the to the next game or to the to the to the win.

5:08 And it's like, man, if you just go out there and and focus on doing those little things, the jobs, those those big plays when the instincts are are are when you're in it and those big plays need to be made, you're you'll make them by just like being you, you know? You don't got to be an extra version of yourself. So, I'm I'm so with you on that man.

5:26 Absolutely. And then, you know, like and and it sounds easy. Oh, hey, just do but the distractions and and the, you know, the pre uh game ceremonies and the 28 minute halftime, there's so many different variables that make it so much harder than a regular game. Yes.

5:47 You know what I mean? So that lull, it's not going to be a sprint. This thing's not going to happen after, you know, you you stop, you hold the team three and out, you go and score. Oh, this game's over, you know. No, this thing is going to be a marathon. They're they're always close more than they're not,

6:03 right? Uh which they can get to not being close. They can be a blowout, but more than not, it's it's it's usually a close game.

6:11 Have you talked to Braves at all? Yeah, I I I I talked to Braves week three when they lost to this Who' they lose to? Was it the Raiders or No, no, it was the Saints maybe. I I had the Hall of Fame induction. Braves came to the ceremony and that was like one of the last times they lost. But yeah, we talked a little bit. He kind of busted my ball, said I went a little long on my Hall of Fame SPEECH AND TOLD ME, YOU KNOW, he goes, "Jules, you know, hey, just to give you a reminder, halftime, I know you're going to speak to the crowd and everything. Just remember, it's 12 minutes. All right, but it's 12 minutes in the regular season.

6:47 What a guy. You missed you missed him by like one year, right, in terms of playing uh playing."

6:52 Yeah, I missed him by one year. He got signed to the Chiefs. I got drafted in, but uh we used to go to the Kentucky Derby together and uh we had so much crossover that you know I feel like I played with him and the stories about Braves lived on past Braves

7:10 just in the locker room. I can only imagine, dude. If you got a good one, please share, man. I he's a northeast Ohio guy. So watching Vabes at Ohio State and then obviously at the Patriots is like [ __ ] I feel like he's like a part of my family for some reason.

7:24 It was always like, hey, you know, Ves would have killed you for getting on this taping table as a rookie uh before this guy. Like little things like that. And then you always heard, you know, coach would reference, other coaches would reference, oh, you know, we're able to ate that up on scout team or or, you know, this guy was one of the smartest football players that we we've ever seen. And when you're hearing that from, you know, the coaches that we had that I think, you know, are pretty dang good.

7:54 Yeah. You know, they if they're going to carry a guy's name, he must have been doing something right. Him and Rodney Harrison. They always talked about Rodney. They talked about a lot of those former guys, but uh you know, they always talked about Braves in a in a in a great fashion, and it's been really cool to see him. He's always been a stud, though, like it's not like, oh, this is his first time doing good things. He was great with Tennessee. He was, you know, when he went to Ohio State as a as a as a younger coach, and he's done great things, anything he's done. So, it's been really cool to see.

8:23 Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was just going to ask you, what do you what do you think has enabled him to have so much success so quickly in New England? Like in one year to be in the Super Bowl to turn it around from what it's been the last couple years. I It's It's [ __ ] amazing. Like truly crazy.

8:36 It is. I think it's a combination of things. I think uh RKK, Mr. Craft, making the right call, getting the right people in the building at the right time. Uh, I think it's the relationship between Elliot Wolf, Stretch, Vel, whoever's getting the players in. Uh, they've hit on a lot of their free agents. Milt Williams been lights out. Spelain's been lights out. Uh, Diggs in the offensive side's brought a new attitude to that receiver room. And, and then they have 11 rookies that they've drafted on the team. So, you know, they've been hitting on guys they've brought in, guys. and Drake May having Josh McDaniels this year I think has been huge. So I I think it's a combination of like the perfect storm of things happening and things can happen that quick in this league because you know it's built on parody and the crappiest team is not as crappy as you think in this league like they're like

9:34 three players five players away which can be hit in a draft or through free agency however your team is built. So I think it's a combination of things.

9:43 Love it. Love it. And Ray's a great coach, too, you know. [ __ ] Oh, yeah. We got Cooper Cup coming on here after you, brother, to represent the Seattle side. Two of the best wide receivers ever to play in the Super Bowl, man. Cooper's coming back for his second run at it. You got anything you want to say to Cooper? Have anything uh have any questions for him?

10:00 Uh, ask him. I've I've been making my French press coffee a little weird. How many Just ask him what's the weight on how much I got to put in cuz he's a big coffee guy. He's did his dodo thing over here once. You know, he gave me a coffee machine. You know, we know he's the Triple Crown winner. We know he's still balling in the Super Bowl and he's still balling at a high level, at a high age, but I just want to know about the coffee. How's how do I get my my French press right? Dude,

10:27 coffee is an underrated part about having success in the league, too. Whenever I get a young guy and he's not drinking coffee, I'm like, "Dude, do you not like taking legal performance and answers? Why the [ __ ] would you not drink coffee? What are YOU DOING, MAN?" I didn't drink coffee until I got in the league. That's right. And then I started chewing. I started drinking coffee. I mean, how do you get through these meetings?

10:48 That's right. That's right. People don't realize there's there's this is like you have to go to school before you get to just play football. It's like you're in class all day long.

10:56 Yeah. That's so [ __ ] good. All right, we got to the French press, man. I'm actually curious about this one.

11:02 Is there anything you would say the Patriots win if they do X? they get the ball off uh Sam Darnold.

11:11 Okay. Patriots win if they can get the ball off Sam Darnold and and win that turnover margin.

11:16 Yeah. Uh I I really think if you get it to a nitty-gritty game, you have Milton Williams in the middle, Bar on the other in the middle together getting pressure in the middle of the pocket and getting a takeaway from that explosive offense. Like I think and they got to take advantage of it. I think they they have a that's their best opportunity of of of winning cuz like I think Seattle if you look at them they're a complimentary football team. We've talked about all year all phases special teams offense defense you know but when they've gotten to hairy nitty-gritty games with teams you know they've been able to like beat them with all their units. I don't think they could do that with the Patriots.

11:57 They're pretty dang good on all three units too. So, I think when they get into a hairy game with a team that can nullify him on special teams and not give them an explosion play or maybe hit them with a explosion play with Marcus Jones at punt return or kickoff, I think those are the types of teams that they struggle with because then it presses on to Darnold to making a play. They got to get more in the drop back. They can't play on schedule with their run game always. So getting the ball off Sam, getting that pressure in the middle of the pocket, I think they'll they'll it'll give them their best chance to win.

12:31 I love it. Makes all the sense in the world. Interior pressure. If you look at like all the Super Bowl teams that have won over the last few years, I mean, you look at dominant DTackles and controlling the middle of that freaking line of scrimmage and it disrupts the run game. And then it pressures the quarterback. Everybody wants to talk about edge pressure. There's something about that interior pressure. Mill Williams and Barmer are freaking balling right now, both of them.

12:53 Well, especially as a pocket passer, you know. You know, Sam, he's athletic. Don't, you know, he's but he likes to do everything behind that center at 8, seven yards, wherever that spot is for him

13:04 and he likes to deliver the ball on off that play action. They do a great job moving it, but

13:09 you know, Sam go he he he don't like that middle pressure. If you watch whenever he's struggled, it's because of that pressure right in his face because it it's hard to dissect that defense.

13:19 Absolutely. gets him a little bit off schedule, gets him off target, and then all a sudden he'll still throw it up there.

13:25 All right, let's hit with this last thing, dude. We got to know you're welcome to welcome to the Super Bowl moment. Out of out of all the all the Super Bowls you went to, man, what was the one moment that uh that hit you that you could remember that was just like, man, that was I'm in it man.

13:39 I I really think there's two for me from my first one. We lost against uh the New York Giants in 2011. And uh that was still early. That was uh like still kind of almost preone, still getting into the phone age.

13:55 Uhhuh. And uh the phone age. That first kickoff when you used to run in these Super Bowls, all you would see is just flashes.

14:03 Yes. And I was an R2 and you'd run and I just remember seeing all the flashes on kickoff. And I remember seeing those flashes.

14:11 That's cinematic, dude. That's crazy. Yeah, it's super. I I remember that and and the national anthem, you know, when the national anthem's going, you see whoever who who's who singing it, some whatever celebrities there, you know, you you start to feel the environment of how big this is. I think those two things were like my welcome to the Super Bowl moment. By the time, you know, we got there in 14 again and and then 16, you know, then I had I kind of I kind of had a feel for it. But that first time, you know, it's like, holy smokes,

14:43 dude. What are we doing here, Batman? Dude, pre phone and pre-kickoff like change like the kickoff when it was the [ __ ] kickoff. You know what I mean?

14:52 Dude, we're [ __ ] char. I'm going go bust a wedge. That's right. That's [ __ ]

15:01 And the moment you said national anthem, I started getting goosebumps because that is and still even like when I'm at a regular game, every time I hear the national anthem, that kind of is like for some reason a very visceral moment for me. And I don't think it's just about the national anthem. It's something about like that it's about to happen. Like that's always the trigger in our heads for

15:18 timing. Yes. And at the Super Bowl, it just is at another level every single time. That's one of my favorite moments when they're videotaping everybody and you see guys just like so emotional like just like caged dogs ready to get out there and man put you right back into it for sure.

15:34 It really does man. The national anthem anytime you watch it like especially in the big games, you know, you got the jets flying over, got the military there,

15:44 the fans are going, you know what I mean? And you got, you know, someone's crying, you know, that's that's that because that, like you said, it's ripe. It's calm before the storm. It's about to It's about to go down. And it's been like that since we were kids. Oh, yeah. Right after the national anthem. We're going and we're playing ball. EVERYBODY [ __ ] FIRED UP, MAN.

16:08 I'M fired up for the Super Bowl, baby. I can't wait. Pats Seahawks, we appreciate you hopping on, Jules. You're the man, brother.

16:13 No problem, guys. Thanks for having me.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Julian Edelman on Superbowl LX, His Hilarious Mike Vrabel Story and His First Superbowl"?

Julian Edelman (Guest).

What is "Julian Edelman on Superbowl LX, His Hilarious Mike Vrabel Story and His First Superbowl" about?

Julian Edelman reflects on his experiences, including his first Super Bowl and a humorous anecdote involving Mike Vrabel, while discussing his confidence in the New England Patriots' chances at Super Bowl LX. He emphasizes the significance of the team's preparation and resilience in the face of external narratives.

What is mentioned in this New Heights episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including New England Patriots, Sam Darnold, Josh McDaniels, Milton Williams, Cooper Kupp, Ohio State. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Julian Edelman on Superbowl LX, His Hilarious Mike Vrabel Story and His First Superbowl"?

The episode runs 16 min; the transcript is about 3,360 words in 59 timestamped sections.

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