In the latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast, we discuss for Labor Day, the hardest working members of the 2023 Silver and Black roster.
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas
00:07 Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:09 It's great to have you with us today.
00:11 First and foremost, let me just wish you a very happy Labor Day weekend.
00:15 Hope that you're just having a wonderful time and enjoying family and really getting a break.
00:20 We had some college football games, not a lot of meaningful ones, obviously, because
00:24 it's early in the season.
00:25 A lot of people playing pay games, but there were a couple of good ones.
00:29 But I'm just glad we're finally now into NFL week.
00:35 It's Labor Day weekend, it's the end of summer.
00:38 Now we start heading into the fall, looking forward to some snow.
00:42 And just really, well, not snow in Vegas, but around the country.
00:47 It's going to be a lot of fun, because fall means a couple of really big things, and one
00:51 of them happens to be football season.
00:55 For Labor Day weekend, I wanted to do a podcast on 10 of the hardest workers on Labor Day.
01:02 Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays.
01:04 It's where you honor hardworking, blue collar people.
01:08 Now I want to give you a little bit of an understanding.
01:14 I've got an article coming that's going to be up about Josh McDaniel's secret weapon.
01:22 I have another one coming into how this, these are both long form articles, this 2023 team
01:28 was built.
01:29 And I want to say this, this is my fourth season covering the Raiders.
01:34 And this is, I've always pretty much liked a lot of the Raiders, really good people.
01:40 Organizationally, they're phenomenal players, same way.
01:44 There's always one or two you're not going to like, but this is literally the first team
01:47 in decades of covering football, where there isn't one guy on this team I don't like, just
01:52 good people.
01:53 And I know a lot of people mock me for that.
01:55 And to be quite honest, I don't care.
01:59 My father years ago taught me, you know what, root for good people.
02:04 And I respected him for that, and he did.
02:07 And it's just part of me, I like good people.
02:10 And so these are 11 guys on this squad that are blue collar, lunch pail type of workers.
02:19 Now there are others on this team, but these are the top 11.
02:24 Now it doesn't mean they're the 11 best players, but what it does mean is these are 11 guys
02:30 that I think deserve some special mention.
02:34 Now some of these guys are not killing it in the weight room because of their position,
02:39 they don't need to do it.
02:40 But they kill watching film, they kill it eating right, they work hard at knowing their
02:44 playbooks, they're doing film, it's just not weight room.
02:49 Certainly we consider weight and being in shape and part of this group.
02:54 But there's lots of things, just the hard working blue pick heeler guys, blue collar
02:58 guys, the guys that love film, the guys that are film rats, the guys who work hard, even
03:04 if they're not in there trying to set personal bests and weightlifting or gain another 15
03:09 pounds, but they're in there gaining some strength, they're in there watching what they
03:13 eat.
03:14 They're just guys that you can count on to do things right.
03:17 And I wanted to do 10, but I had to do 11.
03:20 I had a couple of different people within the organization tell me, "Man, I don't know
03:24 how you whittle that list of 11 down to 10."
03:27 So I want to make it clear, there are a bunch of others, but these are the top 11.
03:31 And the first one I want to talk about is Brandon Bolden.
03:35 I know that Brandon Bolden has taken a lot of criticism because of his age.
03:40 A lot of people have said that they wish that maybe they wouldn't have kept him and kept
03:44 the Drake Thomas or kept another offensive lineman.
03:48 But the point of the matter is, is Brandon Bolden is not only a consummate professional,
03:53 just the way he eats, the way he trains, the way he takes care of his body, but the way
04:00 he brings other guys along with him.
04:03 I've shared this story before ad nauseum, and I don't mean to continue to do it to bore
04:08 you.
04:09 But Irvin Johnson, or as fans know, Magic, once said something to me that you can't be
04:16 a great player without first being a good player.
04:21 But then to get to great, it's not that you become even better than good.
04:25 He said, "A great player is a good player that can make everybody around him better."
04:29 I'll never forget when Irvin told me that.
04:32 And it really stuck into my mind.
04:35 So years later when I got to watch him, actually a few years before, he told me that I had
04:43 watched Michael practice at the Minneapolis Metrodome.
04:49 Later on, I got to see Kobe.
04:51 I got to see a couple of guys we're going to be talking about later down this list.
04:56 And I saw what Irvin meant, that that's how to be a great player.
05:02 Now, not all of these people are great players, but they're your 11 hardest workers that we're
05:08 celebrating on Labor Day.
05:09 And Brandon Bolden is one of them.
05:12 He takes guys aside.
05:14 He'll point out things to defenders.
05:16 He's constantly eating right.
05:18 You don't have to worry about him going and having a three banana split off day and coming
05:22 in sluggish the next.
05:24 The way that he's been able to maintain and stay in this league is because he understands
05:29 what Labor Day is all about.
05:30 He's a hard worker and his team teases him, "Grandpa, you were playing football when Jesus
05:37 invented football."
05:38 I love it when he told us that one.
05:40 But they respect him and they respect his work ethic.
05:44 And so Brandon Bolden is one of those guys.
05:45 And these are in no significant order.
05:48 The next one I want to talk about is Devante Adams.
05:50 He's not a guy that's in the weight room, you know, trying to put up 700 pounds or gain
05:54 another 15 pounds of body weight, but he does what he has to do.
05:59 He's always in perfect shape.
06:01 One of his teammates said it to me like this, "The thing about Tay is this, whether you
06:08 see him in the middle of the off season, mini camp, OTAs, training camp, or the season,
06:15 he's always in great shape.
06:18 You don't do that not thinking about it every day."
06:23 I thought that was a really big point one of his teammates made about him, that he eats
06:26 right every day.
06:27 Every single day with him is about the season.
06:30 So you know what?
06:31 He gets time off and he's still eating the right way because he knows, "I want to stay
06:37 in the shape I am all of the time."
06:40 These guys all watch a ton of film.
06:42 They're all gym rats.
06:44 They're working hard.
06:45 They're doing extra runs.
06:46 They're doing time.
06:47 Here's another quote from one of his teammates, "I'll never forget the first time I saw him
06:52 working the jugs."
06:53 That's a jugs machine that shoots the football to you for pass catchers to catch the ball.
06:58 I thought to myself, "That's the best receiver in the NFL, and look how hard he's working.
07:02 Sweat dripping off his body.
07:05 That man knows what he's up to."
07:09 Devontae has won this team with his work ethic and hard worker.
07:17 Here's another one.
07:18 I think he's one of the best players in all the National Football League.
07:22 It's Max Crosby.
07:24 I'll never forget years ago, Matt Millen was the general manager of the Lions, and you
07:30 all know he's a great friend of mine.
07:32 There was a lot of debate.
07:34 Do we go up and try to get a Joe Thomas or Patrick Willis at middle linebacker?
07:38 Now Matt loved both of those players, loved them.
07:44 There were some people within the organization that really wanted Calvin Johnson.
07:48 The Raiders had picked a bunch of wide receivers.
07:52 They picked the kid out of UCLA who sued the NFL to enter the draft.
07:59 I think his name was Mike Williams.
08:01 They'd taken Roy Williams.
08:03 They'd taken Charles Rogers out of Michigan State, and Matt didn't want that.
08:10 He goes, "Hey, as great as Calvin Johnson is, at most he affects the ball at the game
08:17 15 times a game.
08:20 A Joe Thomas or a Patrick Willis, they're on the field 60 times a game."
08:25 But due to internal politics, staff going around them to other people, they ended up
08:30 picking Calvin Johnson, who's a great player.
08:34 Nobody who knows football would say that Calvin Johnson's not a great player.
08:39 But if your best receiver's impacting 15 plays, and you got a guy like Max Crosby that's impacting
08:46 60, clearly you know this one's going to be more important because he's impacting 60 games.
08:54 I mean, 60 plays a game.
08:56 We all know Devante's the best receiver in the game of football, but Max Crosby is the
09:01 it.
09:02 If you were looking for a dictionary reference of a person who represents Labor Day, and
09:06 you opened up your dictionary and say, "See Max Crosby."
09:10 This guy, I told you before, I got to watch Irvin a lot.
09:13 I got to watch Michael at the Minneapolis Metrodome.
09:18 I got to watch Kobe, and again, got to watch these great players.
09:26 They all worked extremely hard.
09:29 None worked harder than Max, and I'm not saying Max worked harder than them, but nobody worked
09:34 harder.
09:35 He's got all of the it qualities.
09:37 He's bringing offensive linemen along, defensive linemen along.
09:40 He eats right every single day.
09:43 He's a film rat.
09:44 He's a gym rat.
09:45 I mean, he's the poster boy for the NFL, him and Devante, and I got Max on that list for
09:53 sure.
09:54 I think you all knew that.
09:55 Another guy who did not have a 2022 that people wanted, but it was never effort-related, was
10:02 Chandler Jones.
10:03 This offseason, he's cut weight.
10:05 He looks great.
10:08 He's a film guy.
10:09 He's always willing to help young players.
10:12 He is a consummate pro.
10:14 He represents just a blue-collar, lunch-pail guy.
10:18 I asked Chandler, you can go back and watch the video.
10:21 I asked Chandler Jones, I said, "At this point in your career, you have all the accolades,
10:26 and you're not playing for the money.
10:28 He's made more than he'll ever be able to spend."
10:30 I said, "But you're still smiling.
10:32 You still love it.
10:33 You still play for the love of the game."
10:35 That's Chandler Jones.
10:36 Again, you can be as critical as you want to last year.
10:40 I think that he could have been better, but you're never going to question that guy's
10:44 work ethic.
10:45 Just a hard, hard worker.
10:47 Next guy I want to talk about is a guy who I just think is constantly underrated.
10:56 I think Jimmy Garoppolo would agree with me.
10:58 I know Greg Van Roten would because he said it.
11:02 Colton Miller.
11:04 This guy is always eating right, watching film, doing his job.
11:10 He's not going to get in trouble.
11:12 Colton Miller is just a superstar.
11:16 He's a blue-collar, lunch-pail worker.
11:20 All of the guys on this list are guys that would have played with the leather helmet
11:24 at the end of the day.
11:25 You fold up and put in your back pocket.
11:28 I just think that's just the way that these guys are.
11:32 I really, really like the way Colton Miller works.
11:35 This Labor Day, we celebrate people like Colton Miller.
11:38 Next, A.J.
11:39 Cole.
11:40 Now, him and Daniel Carlson are our next two.
11:44 You may say, "Wait a minute.
11:46 They're kickers.
11:47 They're not out there hitting people."
11:48 You're right.
11:49 They're not out there busting their tail, bench-pressing 400 pounds.
11:52 You're right.
11:54 These are the guys that, in practice, are off by themselves, doing their thing.
11:59 All summer long, they're going all over the country to kick with other people, getting
12:04 instructions from Jamie Cole, who's just – Cole's kicking is the best kicking.
12:08 If you have a kid that wants to be a kicker, you need to find Cole's kicking and get
12:11 him in their camps.
12:13 He is the ultimate kicking coach in all of the country.
12:16 He happens to be a personal friend of mine, but Jamie is a great guy, just a great guy.
12:23 These guys go and they kick, and they're at every camp.
12:26 They're just constantly doing their job.
12:29 I know that may surprise you, but when you're talking about blue collar, hard, lunch pail
12:34 work ethic, you can't not talk about A.J.
12:36 Cole and Daniel Carlson.
12:37 Then I want to talk about a guy that I was a little surprised didn't get more attention
12:44 from Raider Nation, Marcus Epps.
12:47 This guy balled out for the Eagles, but the way they draft – and they're probably the
12:53 best drafting team right now in the National Football League.
12:56 They were able to let him go because they brought a rookie along.
13:01 The Raiders prioritized him and Robert Spillane were priorities, and Jacoby Myers had to get
13:07 these guys early.
13:08 They went out and spent the money and got them.
13:12 Again, Epps, Spillane, and Jacoby were the three, but Epps is just a guy.
13:19 He's constantly in the film.
13:20 He's constantly in the weight room.
13:22 He's never eaten bad, ever.
13:24 I heard a funny story that one of the player's wives made something, and he brought it in.
13:31 There was only a few guys, and all of those few were on this list.
13:35 They were like, "No, I can't eat that.
13:36 Can't eat that."
13:37 Epps was one of them.
13:38 Next, I want to talk about Robert Spillane.
13:42 This is a baller.
13:44 This guy is going to turn a lot of heads.
13:47 I know a lot of you aren't sure who he is.
13:49 That's fine.
13:50 You're going to be.
13:52 This guy played the last six games of the year for Pittsburgh, every rep, every down
13:57 on defense and special teams.
13:59 The Raiders prioritized him.
14:02 Epps and Spillane are just different personalities, but they work like Max Crosby.
14:08 He's a blue-collar lunch pail.
14:09 He makes everybody around him better.
14:13 The Raiders, you can go out and get a free agent, and you're better for that free agent.
14:18 Then you can go out and hire a free agent, and you're better for that free agent.
14:23 That free agent makes everybody else around you better.
14:26 He's teaching guys not only the playbook, but how to eat, how to work in the weight
14:30 room.
14:31 Robert Spillane, love him.
14:35 I love it.
14:36 Next is a guy that you may say, "How can you have him here?
14:39 He was holding out."
14:40 He's back now, and that guy is Josh Jacobs.
14:44 Everybody knew, and I told you he was going to be in great shape.
14:47 Everybody knew it.
14:48 There was no surprise there.
14:49 The surprise was he was in better than great shape.
14:53 People were astounded at him.
14:59 I'm trying to think if I can tell you this or not.
15:01 I probably shouldn't.
15:03 One of his teammates told me what he looked like when they saw him when he got in.
15:10 I don't want to say who it is in case it would give away who the person was.
15:12 I want to protect their identity.
15:15 Josh Jacobs is a great kid.
15:17 He's a super hard worker.
15:19 The kid is just a hard worker.
15:22 He'll do stuff in the community.
15:24 He's watching film.
15:25 He's eating right.
15:28 Phenomenal player.
15:29 Just a super hard worker.
15:30 Then the last one I want to talk about that may surprise you a little bit is Dylan Parham.
15:36 This kid had an amazing rookie year.
15:41 Amazing rookie year.
15:44 Amazing rookie year.
15:47 Underrated a lot by the fans.
15:49 The guy makes people better.
15:51 He's a baller.
15:53 He's in the weight room.
15:55 He's so careful on what he puts into his body.
15:59 You know, he's slimming up, adding weight when it's necessary.
16:02 He's constantly doing the little things.
16:06 He is a blue collar guy.
16:10 He's different in personality than Max.
16:13 Not going to cuss everybody out.
16:14 He's not going to trash talk.
16:16 He's a lot like Colton Miller.
16:18 That's a very familiar thing with offensive linemen.
16:22 But he's got Max's work ethic.
16:25 He's a hard, hard worker.
16:28 I don't know Dylan's family.
16:29 I've never met them.
16:31 But whoever they are, they should take a bow.
16:33 You raised a son with a work ethic that's just very impressive.
16:38 Now, there are other guys that could have been on this list.
16:42 Quite frankly, if I wasn't limiting it to 10, I would have done a lot more because the
16:47 Raiders have done a phenomenal job putting together a roster full of these kind of guys.
16:56 You know, when you hear Dave Ziegler or others talk about, we're looking for high character
17:03 guys, people automatically think, oh, they're looking for Sunday school teachers.
17:06 No, they're not.
17:08 They're looking for guys that take the game serious, love the game, prepare appropriately,
17:14 do the things like the food they eat when they're not at the facility, watching film
17:19 on their iPad when they're not at the facility.
17:22 What are they doing?
17:25 Do they have football character?
17:28 Are they going out and getting slobbered drunk the night before a game?
17:33 Well, that's not football character.
17:35 You're paying a lot of money to produce.
17:37 You're in bed early.
17:39 I remember there was a player, and I'm not going to say who, years ago that a lot of
17:44 people along the league thought he was part of a party or whatever.
17:49 I'm not saying he didn't enjoy a pop once in a while, but I'll never forget one time
17:57 he had said to me, text me, he needed something.
18:03 I said, okay, so I texted him at like 8.30 in the evening on Saturday.
18:10 When I get it back from him the next day, I'm in the locker room, and I said, hey, I
18:15 texted.
18:16 He goes, yeah, man, I was already in bed.
18:17 It's game night.
18:18 He goes, I'm never.
18:19 He goes, I mean, Monday or Tuesday, go out and have a couple of pops.
18:25 He says, but man, I'm not game day.
18:27 It's all about the game.
18:29 That's the type of player that the Raiders have looked for.
18:33 They're looking for high character guys.
18:35 I'm not going to tell you who, because I think it would embarrass him, but I remember a particular
18:43 time, there was a Raider player that they were going to give some time off, and he just
18:53 made it clear to them.
18:54 Now, I was not covering the team at the time, but he told me this story.
18:57 He goes, I told him, I don't care if we've already secured our playoff spot.
19:01 There's people paying to come watch me.
19:04 I always loved that.
19:06 Michael Jordan used to play every game.
19:08 Nowadays, in NBA and other sports, you see him, well, this person's taking a rest day.
19:13 And I'll never forget one time hearing Michael Jordan talk about, no, I knew these people
19:20 were saving up.
19:21 Kobe talked about it.
19:22 They wanted to come see me.
19:23 I wasn't going to disappoint them.
19:25 I had the privilege once of spending an afternoon with Warren Spahn, the great baseball player.
19:32 We were talking about baseball and how it was changing, and pitch counts.
19:39 Now all of a sudden, guys didn't pitch their way out of trouble and all this stuff.
19:43 He told me how many innings he had pitched one year.
19:48 I couldn't believe it.
19:50 He goes, I had to learn how to pitch my way out of stuff.
19:55 There's just something about hard work.
19:58 You guys have heard me use this analogy before, but it's so good, I'm going to use it more.
20:02 Roy Rogers, the great Western cowboy once said, the best thing for a young horse is
20:06 a wet saddle blanket.
20:07 I mean, just get out there and ride them and make them sweat.
20:10 Well, sometimes the best thing for a young player is that.
20:15 So let me give you an example.
20:18 I need to double check the list real quick.
20:20 But if you notice one thing about this list, there is no rookies on this list.
20:26 Now two of them could have made it.
20:29 I'm not going to tell you who they both are, but I will tell you about Michael Mayer.
20:34 This guy goes out, he's taking every rep he can get against Max.
20:37 First day in pads, he was embarrassed.
20:39 He didn't back down.
20:40 He kept going at Max, going at Max, going at Max, talking to Max.
20:43 Max was teaching him because he knew it made the Raiders better.
20:46 Until at the end of the camp when he was going head to head with Max, Max certainly won the
20:51 majority.
20:52 But now at times he's holding his own and he's going to be better for it.
20:56 Again, he's not on my list because I don't put rookies there.
21:00 But I'm just telling you, as you look at this Raiders team, we're now game week, week out.
21:08 You can take a lot of solace.
21:11 You got a lot of hard workers on this Raider team.
21:14 It's built on toughness.
21:17 It's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
21:18 All right.
21:19 I'm Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
21:23 part of the Fans First Sports Network.
21:25 Thanks for joining us today.
21:26 Happy Labor Day.
21:27 Hope you enjoy your Labor Day tomorrow.
21:28 Goodbye, everybody.
21:29 God bless you.
21:30 Jeez.
21:31 [End of Audio] Duration: 5 minutes 36 seconds