Jeff:00:06:00:42
Hello and welcome to the week nine edition of the Season Pass, the AF1s podcast. I am your host, Jeff Levesque, and I am joined by the guy who has been on the national call for vice entirely too many times in my opinion, Tom Goss-Goslowski. He's also a co-host with me on Fox Sports Radio in the Capital Region. But Goss, you got a great one this week. There was, you know, there's been some games you've been on the call for that have not been very competitive. You were on a very competitive game, at least in the beginning, as the Nashville Cats traveled to Albany to take on the Firebirds. This thing looked like it was going to be Nashville's game from the beginning.

Goz:00:44:01:38

This and the second time this season of the vice broadcast involving Albany was the question of who are the top two teams in the league. Now, as the season's progressed, we figured out one's easy, Albany, but who's the biggest contender? Who's the number two team? We thought it could be Billings and I'm sure we'll touch on that later in the show, but Nashville going into this matchup could have been the team. Nashville's up by double digits in this game. Nashville thinks they're going to halftime with a lead. and things changed. This one for Albany versus Nashville led to the defense making the big plays, especially late in the second quarter. Zeke Rose with a one handed sack, one of the highlights of the season on defense and AF one and 30 unanswered points proved to be the difference. Yes, I've been a part of a lot of bloats. I thought people were tuning out on vice because my head was so bald and it was an issue with the HD. That's not the case. Instead it was blowouts, but this one was the closest one we've seen so far on vice.

Jeff:01:39:02:12

that glare was just inside the MVP arena guys. We had a filter for vice television. It was, it looked, it looked great on there. You, you looked like a young George Clooney on vice television. The weird thing for fans of, of the Albany Firebirds were some familiar faces were on the other side of this one. It actually all got underway with Antoine grant, getting that big touchdown to start it. Tyler Kolko was dealing in this game. There were definitely some nervous Firebirds fans in the stands, but the Antoine green ended up having some kind of a soft tissue foot injury, not being in the game too long. He could have been the difference.

Goz:02:13:02:54

It's so interesting because Antoine grant had that connection to all many of the past. He's played in the Capitol region. He scores early in that game. It's one of the harder things to figure out an AF one, because you mentioned grants injury, but we've also seen teams like if a receiver gets hot early in a game, They may focus on special teams. Defenses may shift over. We've seen players this season have a nice start to a game and then not hear from or flip it over. We've seen guys not talked about until the fourth quarter and then turn it on in the fourth. So to hear that grants injury is the reason he didn't finish that game and not so much about substitutions, defense, anything else. Yes, that is likely a closer game. If number one's out there making plays for the cats.

Jeff:02:54:03:28

It was, it was weird because when the game was over, as you know, I've been a part of Albany arena football, you as well since 2018. So I see Antoine grant leaving and I'm like, Hey, big gris. Good to see you. I see pudge Calvin fans with a rushing touchdown. He's been a fixture of Albany football. Kenny veal, who happens to be a vegetarian, by the way, he had an interception for the, the visiting team, the natural cats. It was, it was, it was like reunion week here. And every one of the former Albany guys, they made an impact on this game.

Goz:03:28:04:31

If you're a fan of the Nashville cats, those guys we just mentioned who have been around the block veterans of this type of sport. to veal. He is such a hard-hitting defensive back and he really didn't have that highlight hit stick Madden way back when type of play just because the Firebirds weren't going in that direction. Now that might have been coach wears strategy knowing how Kenny field plays and not letting a big impact play like that happen into Calvin fans here thing with him. Like he's a really good athlete. But what happened was in that game the defensive line, especially in the second half of the Firebirds got so good and so much pressure where almost time after time, Calvin fans had to stand and be a pass blocker. There were multiple plays where fans is the first one hitting a defensive lineman because they're doing so much stuff up front. I remember when fans gets in the end zone, I sit down on the broadcast. I said, he got that touchdown because he's been pass blocking for about like 15 plays in a row. He deserves the rushing touchdown for all the work he put in. So the strengths of those guys are likely to be seen more here in Maine to June, but it wasn't flexed at all during the Albany game. Cause they were asked to do different things.

Jeff:04:32:04:45

this is a team, you know, I've said it from week one, I'm going to pat myself on the back guys, Nashville gets better each and every week under their head coach, hall of famer, Darren, our bet. You had a chance to talk to our bet at the half. What was your takeaway talking to the hall of famer?

Goz:04:46:05:12

He makes me nervous. I was intimidated by him at times. I know he's a soft-spoken guy, but when you, Talk to the opposing coach. I should say the away coach, when they're trailing, you don't know what that interaction is going to be like with flipping back to earlier in the season. One of my partners, Mike, Michael Bazemore talked to Cedric Walker in Billings. And there was a nice viral clip of, let's just say coach Walker rearranging the location of the water cooler.

Jeff:05:12:05:16

In baseball, you'd call it a yard sale when everything just goes flying out everywhere.

Goz:05:17:05:43

You don't know what the coach who's trailing at halftime is going to be like. He did mention the word, the standard talking about all, but he would, he was so intense. He was locked in. He would be a fun coach to play for and fun in the sense of you're going to learn a lot about football, but not so much fun. You're struggling and falling below expectations. So I think cats fans should be encouraged though, because there's a lot of smart football minds, a part of that organization that will keep that franchise in the playoff hunt for the rest of the season.

Jeff:05:44:06:19

it was a hell of a game here in Albany. That's where I'm actually in the Albany Firebirds home office at this moment in time, which is the weirdest feeling as we do the season pass, because I'm all about the league right now, but let's talk about these Firebirds. We kind of structured this just like we structured the game. You had a 10, nothing lead for Nashville and then Albany came back and that third quarter really came after it. Sam Castronova. I mean, if he's not the MVP. He has to be the top of the rankings for the MVP special moment as he gets the game started. You got to talk to him about it. He's a family first guy. Yeah.

Goz:06:19:07:09

His little brother ran in the field with him. You see it from the North side of the spot where you were set up for our broadcast. We're like, who is that with Castro Nova? We thought it might've been a fan or someone who won a contest. And then you hear the story, somebody, a part of the fire organization tipped me off to that. So I think that person who gave me that tip But having that be the first question after a victory and sharing that moment with your brother and having that emotion and the secret handshake and having that spotlight on a national game, really cool. And Sam's played better this season. Like you mentioned, the MVP conversation, if he's the best player, you can go back and look at the first three or four games of the season and say, statistically, it's not great. These aren't the numbers he's been posting late. And that feels more like he just wasn't on the field. The offense didn't get a lot of reps, so statistically he could be better, but you're the quarterback of the best team, the undefeated team in the league. Yeah, he should be the leader right now for the MVP of the 2025 season.

Jeff:07:10:07:56

he should be decapitated. Did you see what happened on the first offensive play of the game for the firebirds? They run the, you know, I'm going to call it the Albany special as Castro Nova comes out on a pass route, Markel Wade, the wide receiver lofts the ball a little too high, which leaves Sam open to a pretty big hit at the end of it. he, he makes the catch for 17 yards. He's he's I think Sam Castro might be one of the more underrated athletes in AF one, but that catch. And then I, I'm not even going to name the defenders. I know it wasn't on purpose, but it was a full blown WWE. What was it? The acolytes or who was the APA from hell? Is that Bradshaw I saw out there? Yeah. I mean, he, he popped right back up. Thank God. But that looked like the kind of hit that could have taken him out from the whole game.

Goz:07:57:08:43

So there's two ways we can look at this, right? One is you open a game that's the most attended game of the season for the Firebirds at home with a trick play and get the crowd into it from play one. And it was open, like it was a great play call, but it wasn't a great throw by Wade. That's one way to look at it. The second way to look at it is why are you putting the MVP in the open field with a defender who can hit hard? Now you would say, well, guys, that's too much of a criticism for Coach Ware. Well, we saw the hit and I'm sure Coach Ware didn't say, Hey, I'm going to draw this up. So DB is going to hit. No, that's not how the play was drawn up. So two different ways to look at it. I'm going to lean towards way one because Castro didn't get hurt. It's a lot easier to do that if he's going to come off the field, the game's different, but he didn't get hurt. He's fine. He finished the game. but it was risky. All trick plays are risky. That one had got dialed up a little bit more in that one.

Jeff:08:44:09:28

I will pull the curtain back ever so slightly. I do not feel as though that was all Coach Ware's decision. I feel like someone was going, hey coach, can I do this? Hey coach, can I go? Hey coach, hey coach, hey coach. And I can guarantee you that from here on out, the answer will most likely be no. But it was, it was fun to watch. And you mentioned the numbers, how about 225 passing yards, five passing touchdowns for Sam Casanova, four of those touchdowns go to Dwayne Brown, DB three, nine catches, 144 yards. This is a kid who, and I say kick cause he's one of the younger players in the league. He scored four touchdowns against the Firebirds a year ago in a championship game in a league far, far away in a time that will never be spoken of. And now all he does is have multiple touchdowns per game for this Albany franchise.

Goz:09:29:10:30

There's something different about his style of play that across AF1, you have different receivers. You have guys who are built for speed. You have guys who are fantastic with special teams who can do stuff, both receiving and catching. You have big body guys who can go. Dwayne Brown's like a mix of everything. There's a play in that game where it's a one-on-one coverage. We mentioned in the broadcast that so many young players talk about the Island. Like it's cool to be on Rivas Island. It's not cool when you're on the Island with Dwayne Brown as a defender. because he's going to make a play and make you feel. Can I get some help, please? Can someone come help me and get me off this island? So he's big enough to go make plays up in the air because he plays above his height. He's quick enough to beat guys one on one. And he might be the best route runner in the league because he finds those spaces. There are some plays that are tough to defend for anybody with Castronova hitting him in the perfect spot. He is so skilled and his skill set is maybe as balanced as anybody. If it wasn't for Castronova, Wouldn't he be the second choice for MVP? You know, I don't want to do the whole valuable versus outstanding. I'll do that in another forum with you. But I mean, that's that discussion potentially for Dwayne Brown.

Jeff:10:32:11:11

The final score is being 7155 Firebirds right here. Season pass AF1's podcast. All those words that you use to describe Dwayne Brown, DB3, sounded a lot like what we used to say about the guy who was one of the stars of the next game we're going to talk about. Darius Prince, there's gotta be a little bit of a new guard. You know, I'm still not going to regard conversation between Dwayne Brown and Darius Prince. As we get into the Washington Wolfpack at Billings outlaws game, Darius Prince is six targets, six catches, four touchdowns. Oh, and how about being featured on ESPN sports center?

Goz:11:11:12:08

Yeah. I want to make sure we clarify something too. When you said he used to talk just because he's moved to the West coast, there's that East coast bias from you and I, the steps of Darius Prince have not fallen off. We can still, the last time you and I spoke, talk about the most valuable player, because look what he's doing for these franchises. Look what's happened when the Corpus Christi Titans didn't have them and liquid billions does with him on the roster. That is right now, the biggest acquisition mid season, I think it's without question, the biggest acquisition, maybe only Dwayne Hollis would be second because he came with them. He's fantastic. Billings is not going to be discussed as they were about a month ago, maybe by me as the second best team in the league. Now that's not probably fair for me to do because that's two completely different rosters. I'm reevaluating, but the way they played in their most recent game and having that offensive weapon out there, that is poised to be one of the best match-ups we're going to see all year long, anybody versus Darius Prince. That's how good he is. And I think outlaw fan should be thrilled that he's playing for billings.

Jeff:12:08:12:51

Now I'm only going to argue with you on one of your points. And Dwayne Hollis did have an interception in this game. They, this is a very different billings outlaws team. We, we talked about all the improvements they make in Nashville. I would probably put Malik Henry in that top acquisition spot or, or close to it as a Malik Henry, who we've seen here in the capital region. We've seen him in the CFL. We saw him on last chance you on Netflix, 181 passing yards in his debut, six passing touchdowns for those, the Prince one rushing touchdown, actually his first play under center for the buildings outlaws is a one yard rushing touchdown. Malik Henry looks as good as he's ever looked in that outlaws uniform.

Goz:12:51:13:33

It is wild to think that that name has been talked about in so many different leagues. You would just think over time, one city would lock in on him and be like, let's stop doubting him. Let's stop wondering who else, but he is that good. He does have that connection. He can step in all these different organizations. It's wild to think that a guy like Malik Henry has been through so much in his career, still feels like he plays with a chip on his shoulder. You can tell like he always has something to prove. I guess that's a great thing to have for whatever you do for your profession. Always needed to prove people wrong. But he's got that type of swagger where it's like they're still doubting me and I can still go out and prove people wrong. And it's a dangerous thing for other teams in AF1 when Henry has that type of attitude on the turf.

Jeff:13:34:14:17

It's a, it's hard to really dig too deep into this game where the Wolfpack get blown out by the outlaws 69 to 10, because realistically speaking, there wasn't a lot of highlights from Washington. The outlaws, they looked, they looked like a championship caliber team again. the best story for Washington is almost always when they feature that kicker, Manny Higuera, cause he is, he he's special. He does not, he's a bowling ball that can kick the ball 60 plus yards straight as an arrow, wherever he wants to put it a special dude. And there's something about the way he kicks the ball. And, and he's just, he just brings pure happiness to the field. I know nobody wants to be that like, Hey, you know, Washington Wolfpack didn't play very well, but Manny's fun, but he is.

Goz:14:18:14:59

I'm not insulting the Wolfpack when I say how I describe them, but I would say this, I call them the TikTok team. And what I mean by the TikTok team is when you have a kicker who's making highlights and you watch a five second cut, you're like, that's pretty awesome. Then you see their uniforms, which are the best uniforms in AF1. Yeah, I'm sorry, Firebird fan, cat fan outlaw. They have the best uniforms. Like, oh man, who's that team rocking that? They can, maybe the social media team is going to go viral with some of these TikTok moments. What happened? Was it Vine? Bring back Vine if you're a Wolfpack fan, because they have those moments now. Look, if they can put it together for four quarters, they could be a playoff team still, but it feels like more flashes than four quarters for the Wolfpack this season.

Jeff:15:00:15:51

Well, I mean, when you're, when you're one of your principal owners, it's a professional wrestler, you know, it's kind of, you know, Miguel is, you know, just saying it, no wonder they're good at the social media part of it. Again, the outlaws when that one 69 to 10, it looks like the outlaws are back Corpus Christi, the Tritons. They have been rebuilding their team after that beat down. They caught from the firebirds in Texas. They go to Oregon, they take on the lightning and guys, the story is Dalton Cole. Dalton Cole quarterback for the lightning looked phenomenal. He went out there through for 285 yards, five passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns. Ever since this dude popped on the scene this season, I've been making roadhouse jokes and comments about that, but this dude is a star. He is special. He is fun to watch play there in Oregon.

Goz:15:51:16:08

He was a fantastic in that outing for the lightning and everything that developed in that game. There was so much that feels like that happened in that game. First of all, a shout out to the AF one social media. Are we promoting after dark now? Is that what I saw? The AF one after dark on a Monday late night, right?

Jeff:16:08:16:22

Like can we, you got to watch the Knicks play the Celtics. Then you clicked right over to evergreen now for, for a little AF one action. I did not hate that one bit. I w it was nice to kind of ramp down and watch some football. I liked it too.

Goz:16:22:17:26

So the Monday kickoffs were, someone said, that's crazy. I kind of liked it as well. As for the lightning, it was a solid win. It means they had the stage to themselves. All those things are great. I flip it back to Corpus Christi though, because, and I just called Washington the TikTok team. I've heard this is one of the great sports cliches over the last 30 years when the movie aired, but I think it fits this Corpus Christi team. We've officially entered Forrest Gump territory with Corpus Christi. We are officially are the box of chocolates. I have no idea what I'm getting. I don't, I'm opening this up. I don't know who's on there. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know what team I'm, we've officially entered Forrest Gump territory for the Corpus Christi trains. And I feel for the fans because it feels more like a pro wrestling feel of who's going to show up and whose music is going to hit. And right now, instead of Stone Cold Steve Austin, it's been one of the Bushwhackers or the Brooklyn Brawler so far for it. So I feel for Corpus Christi because it's not the same team they had about a month ago. And I never know what I'm going to get week in, week out. Maybe it's exciting because of that, but it was a nice win there for Oregon.

Jeff:17:26:18:17

Well, I think what you're seeing right now with Corpus is they were forced to adjust. You know, you, you lost a handful of starters, Darius Prince, Dwayne Hollis, just name a few who are now over in Billings. And they were able to go out there and add some quality players to this team. This is the kind of this is the kind of team that because they had wins early could sneak into a postseason spot and make noise. So it's good to see Oregon come alive. And then Corpus kind of just keep an eye on them because they are, they're under new management to a degree. They've got new players there. I would like in this, since you're doing a wrestling, I, you know, when they throw a tag team together and the first time they're just, they don't, you've got your hand out and I'm not reaching for you in time. And then after that, we go for a belt and we, and we're synced up and you're jumping off the top rope while I'm sweeping the legs. I think this could come together nicely for Corpus. If it all comes in, we talk way too much wrestling, by the way.

Goz:18:17:18:20

Can they coexist? That's what we need to know as the season goes on.

Jeff:18:23:18:56

God, that's the Triton's music. All right, so there's what happened for you in week nine of the AF one, three games, Firebirds win 71 55 over the cats. The outlaws get it done 69 10 over the Wolfpack and the Triton's lose to the lightning 52 to 20. I talked about the Lightning. You know it's always good to talk to the guy that you're talking about. The AF1 crew was able to run out there, the season pass team, and catch up with that quarterback. The name's Dalton. Dalton Cole of the Oregon Lightning.

Rod:19:01:19:15

It is my pleasure today to be joined by Dalton Cole. He is the quarterback of the Oregon lightning in the arena football one Dalton. Welcome to the show, my friend. And, uh, we already hit it off. So I think this is going to be a great conversation.

SPEAKER_02:19:15:19:18

Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Rod:19:18:19:30

Absolutely. Um, I say that because as we got on, I'm wearing a Dunder Mifflin sweatshirt right now. I know you guys see it on the podcast, but, um, when you bond quickly over the office, you become quick friends. So Dalton, I'm glad you're on the show.

SPEAKER_02:19:31:19:31

right. Right. Yep.

Rod:19:32:19:50

All right. So listen, you're part of the arena football one. You are now in Oregon playing for the lightning. I know your road's been kind of crazy, but I want to focus real quick on, on just what it's been like to be in arena football one and what it's like to have been in Oregon this season as, as you guys have been building something pretty magical over there.

SPEAKER_02:19:52:20:22

Yeah, I mean being in the arena football one and everything. It's definitely the biggest stage I've played on the coverage and everything like that national television device and whatnot You know the Hail Mary in Southwest, Kansas like getting all that attention was crazy But then outside of that like in Oregon, yeah, it's definitely with for us being a first-year program and everything like that you know, we have our growing pains and we're figuring things out as we go but I mean, the guys around me are pretty great coach Chuck and all them. I know they're handling it and they're doing a good job with that. So no, it's been a joy. I've enjoyed it.

Rod:20:22:20:38

Yeah. And so as you travel around the country to various spots in, in the arena football, one area, what's been your take so far on this league as a whole and, and just on the dynamics of the team and all of your comrades just across the board.

SPEAKER_02:20:40:22:15

So, I mean, arena football in itself, like with everyone after traveling, you know, we've been to Nashville, been to Salina, we've been to both Kansas teams, Southwest Kansas and Salina. We've been to Washington twice now. I mean, seeing the difference in all the stadiums and everything like that, it's just kind of cool how everyone has their own take and how they have their own spin and how different owners manage things and run things and the fans and the fan bases. It's been enjoyable. Now, the first six weeks of the season, you know, we had home game against Billings and then four straight away games, including a bi-week. So we kind of went rogue and Redmond for, for a few weeks, you know people forgot that we were here, you know, we, we fell off the map, we were gone for a month and a half. So, but then coming back, you know, had a lot of the people there's the support around the town, like, you know, Anyone that hears about it, they're into it. You know, they're intrigued about it. Like, how do we have a professional team here? Like, oh, this is awesome. So getting them out and everything like that, once people get there, it's, it's fun. They enjoy it. Um, but, uh, yeah, you know, and the entirety of like the players in arena, is that part of that question when you're saying like my comrades throughout the whole arena? Mean everyone that I've met everyone here in all the all the arena teams, you know, it's competitive You talk trash on the field and everything like that, but postgame, you know If it's a rivalry game against Washington or something like that, you know before Celina we were barking and yelling at each other It's all love, you know, everyone's tapping everyone up, you know, tell everyone stay safe get healthy See you again, whatever like it's nice, you know, everyone knows this is this is a lot of just of a stepping stone for a lot of us we want to get to the next level so everyone's respectful, you know, treats everyone the right way. And you know, after the game, it is what it is.

Rod:22:16:22:34

Well, yeah. And you talked about the fans. You talked about the home fans in particular. I mean, you're no stranger to the arena atmosphere, to the arena game. What is it about being that up close and personal with the folks that are cheering you on that makes this game so appealing, not just to the fans, but to the players in and of themselves?

SPEAKER_02:22:35:23:42

I mean, it's fun. It kind of takes out like all the It sounds like the long process of the outdoor game. You know, a lot of people when they talk about arena football, you know, fast-paced, high-flying, a lot of action. I mean, it's true. Like, those words are used so many times for every arena description. It's because it's big plays, it's big hits, it's eight guys funneled into half the size of a field. It's, you know, you lose three guys and you still have, you only have half the field. So all this crazy stuff can happen. Guys flying over the walls, landing in fans' laps. I mean, The energy's there on the field for the players, and then that just brings the fans that much closer to it. Like, when you can high-five a fan after scoring a touchdown without having to run all the way, you know, off the sidelines, you know, 20, 30 yards to the stands, they're right there. They're with you. Hell, you can land in their lap. Like, so, I mean, it's really fun. It makes everything super personable and, you know, personal. Not personable, but personal. And, you know, you're there. You're kind of intimate with the fans and, you know, get to know them. They're yelling your names. You can high five them right there on the sidelines, sign stuff on the sidelines, it's awesome.

Rod:23:42:24:11

Well, they say you have, you can keep the ball, but you got to give the player back. That's always one of those sayings that they absolutely love in arena football circles. But yeah, so you talked about the outdoor game. Obviously everybody pretty much gets their start playing in the outdoor game. You got your start playing in the outdoor game, but you started playing as a receiver. So talk about the process of, of how you became, first of all, the quarterback that you are now. And did there being a receiver first kind of help you get to that point?

SPEAKER_02:24:12:25:49

Yeah, so I mean my road was a little weird. Um, you know starting in high school I my first varsity snaps for playing receiver, you know Had the coaches kid with me and everything like that learn to play receiver and how that relationship receiver and quarterback worked Then going to my senior year, you know, I was kind of the next guy up to play quarterback But we ran like a wing T, you know real run heavy and stuff like that Fast forward to my college career, I was playing receiver at ETSU, signed on there, committed there. But then a couple days before camp and everything started in the fall, a D3 school called Brevard called me, Coach Jakes called me and he was like, hey, we still need a quarterback. And I was like, I'm in. I had a lot more fun playing quarterback. So I went there and I had a coach. His name is Coach Cruz, Coach Cruzcheck. He was awesome. He was a young guy, just graduated college. I think he was 24 when I met him, you know, fresh out of college, 23, 24. And, you know, he, this was his first year of coaching. We grew together. Like he taught me things that I never heard of in the wing T. Like, What I didn't know what cover four was I don't know what cover two was I had no idea I was blank slate Um, so we went to as far as madden like we're we're talking about madden shows blue The blue circles are how many people are deep and you're like, oh, okay cool Um, so I mean it was awesome learning all that and a lot of credit to him And the professional staff out around me in Brevard, a lot of guys came from NFL. My head coach was the NFL, line coach NFL, running backs coach NFL. So a ton of pro knowledge there and just getting to learn and listen to all them and just really be receptive to what they have to say. It's been fun. It's been awesome just learning and growing.

Rod:25:50:26:00

I didn't know that I could see now I need to go back. Cause I, I play a lot of Madden and I tell my friends that I learned a lot from Madden and they laughed at me, but it's true. You can learn a lot from, from playing.

SPEAKER_02:26:01:26:01

Yes.

Rod:26:03:26:24

I'm classically trained in Madden on how to play football. But of course, you are at a much higher level and you did proceed to, and look, so you, you made the rounds as well. Trying out for CFL, UFL, XFL, you actually landed right with the UFL, the original, not, not this UFL, but the version that hosted like the Redwoods and all of that. Right.

SPEAKER_02:26:25:26:37

Yep. Yep. Joe McClendon. The third was the commissioner of that league met him in Atlanta. And I was on a, I was on a team called the Atlanta wildcats before everything happened with that.

Rod:26:37:27:06

But yeah, that's crazy. I mean, and it's funny because you, you, when you think about all of the leagues, like the CFL, like the XFL, like the USFL, there's a lot of team names that people don't even realize that that happened in there, but yeah, so you landed there, but then you got a chance to play in the arena game. And I mean, For folks coming from the outdoor game, I know a lot of folks take a while to transition into the fast pace, the proximity and everything that happens to it. What was that transition like for you? And I mean, did you enjoy it?

SPEAKER_02:27:08:28:46

Yeah, I mean, there was obviously those growing pains that no different for me. Especially with me, I prefer throwing a little bit deeper, taking my time. Coming from a pro system, making reads and everything like that, my big learning curve was stop taking such a big drop. In outdoor balls, get away from the line as far as you can. There's a launch point. At a certain yardage and everything like that. It's a launch point is where the line kind of wants to start bowling around bowling for the pocket But though so that launch point is totally different in arena. You have three linemen not five And so I kind of broke that launch point a lot and it's gotten me hit a good amount of times in my career So had to learn that pretty quick but I mean no Last year in Amarillo, I was in Amarillo and Corpus Christi. I learned a little bit. Corpus Christi last year, I played for Corpus Christi last year, yeah. So all of that, learned a little bit. But then this year, a lot of my learning came from having a vet around me in Orlando. I started in Orlando's camp and Casey. I cannot say his name. I love him to death. His name is Casey Casey something I can't say his last name cats cat. It's a unique last name But he's been around arena ball for a while. He won an MVP back in the day, but he simplified the game. He made it like Stupidly simple for me in like how to read it how to see it and I learned a ton in two weeks So thanks very thankful for him, you know kind of completely transforming how I play the game and then you know getting traded to Orlando to Oregon from Orlando like got an opportunity to start and play and you know, we've taken it ran with it, so

Rod:28:46:29:13

Well, I was going to also say Oregon is very happy for Casey, too, because they turned you into one of the more dynamic players in the league and making big plays on a weekly basis. So, you know, you said you come from a small time school. This is the largest stage that you played on. What does it feel like to be player of the week, to be making insane plays like the Hail Mary that, you know, pretty much everybody who's seen arena football won this season has seen that Hail Mary. What's that been like for you?

SPEAKER_02:29:14:29:50

It's kind of like a dream come true. It's kind of something you always envision as a kid. The fans, the stands, the walkout, the music, the smoke, and all that stuff. It's kind of everything you want as a kid. And then of course, like I said, the coverage. Having people post you from my childhood. not that I've forgotten about, but I haven't spoken to in a long, long time, you know, and all of a sudden they're posting things about me and, you know, texting me and messaging me. And I'm like, damn, like, that's kind of where it's not, it's nice, you know, played football for 22 seasons and it kind of feels like finally it's something that's paying off.

Rod:29:50:30:13

Yeah. And paying off in a big way, like I said, for you, because a lot of a lot of the folks that that are following AF1, they've seen your play. They've seen the way that you've carried the Oregon Lightning and been able to, you know, just really carry yourself well. And so let's talk about your teammates real quick, because obviously can't do it alone. What's the team dynamic? What's it been like for you to get to know these guys and have fun with them for the last six weeks?

SPEAKER_02:30:13:32:00

I, you know, when I, when I walked into camp, so I, I came, I had two weeks in Orlando early because Orlando plate was supposed to play week zero against the national cats. Um, so we came a week early. I was ready training camp finished for us. And when I got traded to Oregon, we, they were still in their camp. So I kind of reset and I had three weeks of camp. But coming in, like, the guys were great. You know, they're super embraced. Like, they embraced me quick. And I kind of did my best to dish out what Casey taught me to everyone, like how we kind of had things visualized in Orlando, like what we'd want to do, and kind of imprint a little bit of that here. And like I said, the guys were incredibly receptive. They didn't push me out, like, who's this new guy? Shut up. We don't know you. They listened. They took it. And, you know, like I said, I mean, I still have four of my five receivers from game one. So I'm super thankful for that. Like, you know, those guys and I, like we have a connection, we can talk, we can listen. You know, if they see something they can tell me and we will adjust right away. Um, that's something I've been blessed both of those guys staying healthy, you know, knock on some wood for if we need to, but. stayed healthy and we're keeping them around and so yeah and then you know of course the big guys up front. There's been a little bit of a card shuffle there. Big Mike has been, Big Mike, his name's James Hines. I don't know what it's like on the roster for him to call him Big Mike. He's been a shuffle the whole year. He's played center, he's played guard. He's moved around for us and he's kind of done what we needed to so super thankful for that guy kind of working out and doing what we needed him with But you know this last week last two weeks really but especially this last weekend against Corpus Christi. We have Julio Steph zine and Big Mike those guys up front, but they made life easy for me, so eight.

Rod:32:01:32:33

Sometimes those offensive linemen are the way that it makes, or the people that make it all possible because without them, you know, those defenders are getting on you. And you, like you said, you've taken some big hits. You don't want to take those. I can deal with it, but it's not fun. No, it is not. What are some of the unique aspects of the arena game that you like the best? I mean, I know that you got to make some quick reads and these receivers, they get open quick or they don't. What is it about the arena game for you as a quarterback that makes it enjoyable?

SPEAKER_02:32:36:33:51

Kind of I mean it in arena it forces you. Yeah, the quick reads but like you have to make Good throws it sounds silly like cuz guys aren't always really open Yeah, sure you get some one-on-one matchups and you get a guy wide open you can toss it up and let him run under but Guys like Sam Castronova, for example, I was with him in Jacksonville in 23, that's when I met Sam. You just watch him play and it's like he doesn't do anything so hard that you're like, wow, but then he just throws the perfect ball and another perfect ball. And another perfect ball and then you start saying wow because you're like this guy's not missing like he's just throwing a perfect ball after perfect ball after perfect ball and you're like this is so easy for this dude because he's he's learned it and he's done it and he's mastered it at this point and Then you start saying wow, like he just keeps hitting the right window. He's throwing it over top he's layering it over one defensive back and bringing it before another like That's the stuff where like it makes you learn touch. It makes you throw a tight spiral It makes you throw a hard shot through a window that shouldn't be there. Maybe you know You know anticipating a receiver versus waiting till he's open because all these athletes are flying around you can't wait I've learned my lesson I've been half a second late and I've thrown my fair share of picks because of it. So again still learning, you know

Rod:33:52:34:16

Hey, like it, um, the game happens so fast. That's you've said it before. And, and everybody said it before that game just happens so fast. And those windows that you think are open in outdoor football are definitely not in arena football. Um, all right. So one other thing I knew we were going to be quick friends cause you're a lefty. So I I'm a lefty as well. Like lefty has got to stick together, right? And that's gotta be tough to be a lefty quarterback. That's not, they're not a lot of lefty quarterbacks in the world anymore.

SPEAKER_02:34:17:34:57

The you know the mechanics coaching that I felt a lot of that in college It was funny to try and watch coach Cruz try to translate it from a right-handed guy to a left-handed guy But the only complaint I've ever gotten is like on like deep throws it tails differently You know right-handed guy if he throws a deep shot it kind of tails off to the right That's how the spiral takes it with me goes off to the left Service he was got to get used to that And then also kind of if you're, if we're throwing a short route and they're looking at me, it comes out a little different, you know, it just looks different coming from the left side versus the right side. But like I said, I've got my guys the whole year, so I haven't had a lot of struggle with it, thankfully, so.

Rod:34:58:35:03

Yeah, and your blind side's different than the other guys' blind sides, so they've got to adjust for that as well.

SPEAKER_02:35:04:35:05

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Rod:35:06:35:26

Um, all right. So let's talk a little bit about non-football related things, because I read something very interesting and I'm, I'm a guy who delves into all kinds of crazy ESPN Ocho type stuff. And I saw that you play call of duty. Uh, but I gotta know, do you know that there's a call of duty league that these guys actually play call of duty for actual competitions?

SPEAKER_02:35:27:35:42

Yeah, like, yeah, like the creators league and everything like that. They have the teams and everything. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Did you watch any of that? Do you, do you keep up on any of that? I don't watch it. Um, you know, tick tock throws it at me sometimes here and there, but I don't, I don't actively watch it and follow it now.

Rod:35:42:35:51

Cause I was going to ask if football, you know, if for some reason you hang it up someday, like 20, 30 years in the future, there's call a duty league. That's probably waiting for you out there. Would you take a seat if they offered it to you?

SPEAKER_02:35:52:36:07

I tell you what, I, I, I feel like an old head at 25 playing these new games. I, I'm not saying I can't keep up, but I I'm having to try that hard every game. I'm good. I'm trying to play games and relax, man. I can't get that angry anymore.

Rod:36:07:36:12

Yeah. You listen to the guys when they're competing with each other and it's just a bunch of screaming and hollering. I don't know how they do it.

SPEAKER_02:36:12:36:20

I'm saying can't do it. I'm I'm I'm be stressed with football. I'd rather just, you know, relax, play some games that are easy going now.

Rod:36:20:36:22

speaking of relax what else got what other kind of things you to relax

SPEAKER_02:36:24:36:41

Golf, that's kind of the big thing that eats up a lot of my time, especially out here. You know, back home, it's work, golf, workout, you know, because the football comes in. But yeah, golf, play games, that's really it. I'm kind of a boring guy, I can't lie to you. Super simple over here.

Rod:36:41:36:51

Sometimes boring is the best way to be. I mean, especially when you're, you know, as good as you are at what you do, the rest of it can be as boring as it is, because your life is exciting as it is.

SPEAKER_02:36:53:36:55

Yeah, no, I get enough to get enough of that with arena football.

Rod:36:55:37:16

So indeed. All right So as we start to wind up here, obviously the the end goal for any season is obviously, you know postseason Championship and all that stuff. But as as you start to gear down for the rest of this season How are you and your team feeling just about the season in general? What are your overall kind of what are you trying to take away from the last few weeks of this season? I

SPEAKER_02:37:17:38:58

Well, to be honest, there's a little frustration that the rules for the playoffs just changed yesterday. Halfway through the season, the league decided that they're going to take four to the playoffs, not six. Understandably so, you know the the bottom four teams in the league right now I guess are a little less competitive in their eyes, you know, you got the Albany I mean, it's Albany's league as of right now Southwest Kansas, I think Jayla Morton's back. I'm not 100% sure cuz you know, he got signed off I don't know if he came back or not, but then you have I believe it's Corpus and Billings is three and four right now and We play Corpus again, we play Billings twice more, and then we have Washington again, and we play Nashville again. So all the teams, you know, we have five games against five teams in playoff condition. So every game's really got to be treated as if it's not a, it's not a win or go home, but it should have that intensity because we have to win. We just have to continue winning. I mean, we have five games left. We probably want to win. four of them, at least if we want to keep our hopes alive. So it's kind of ramping up, you know, getting a little more serious, especially now, you know, after this last Corpus game, you know, we, I think we look the best we've looked all year in terms of blocking, getting to the quarterback on the other side, playing defense, and then also just executing overall. On special teams as well. So I think it's just kind of build off the last two wins, you know, we got Washington on Sunday And just kind of keep ramping up and you know start peaking at the right time I mean, that's the goal and that is exactly what you hope to accomplish and we wish you the very best Over the rest of the season Dalton.

Rod:38:58:39:04

So listen, this was a blast my friend I'm so glad you joined us and took some time to talk to us here on the show. I

SPEAKER_02:39:05:39:07

Yeah, I appreciate you having me, man. Thank you.

Rod:39:07:39:12

Absolutely. For AF1 Season Pass, this is Rod Villagomez. Thank you, and we'll get you back to the rest of the show.

Goz:39:24:39:31

He's the man. So lucky to have him at AF1 this season, showing off that personality and a lot more to come out of him on the turf coming up this May and June.

Jeff:39:32:40:06

Very, very true. All right. You, my friend, have made friends and you have lost friends this season, this season. Sorry, as I get excited because I'm figuring that I'm going to also get some of that feedback. Tom Goss, Kozlowski, you've heard him on Vice, do the broadcast on multiple games. You hear him right here on the AF1 season pass podcast. Your power rankings quite often get me trouble. So let's go ahead, buddy. Let's get right into it. Why don't you go ahead and give us your most recent power rankings after week nine of AF1 action.

Goz:40:06:43:25

Washington Wolfpack will lead this off as team number eight. Yes, they're the TikTok team. Yes, they have really cool uniforms. But right now, the Wolfpack have not been able to separate themselves from the pack. You see what I did there? I see what you did there. Nice bond. They're going to stay at number eight. This is one of the toughest ones. You know what, when you really evaluate the power ranking so far this season, you would think it'd be easier as the season progressed. This actually is the most difficult week because I'm between three teams here for number seven. I am between Oregon, Salina, and Billings. Now Celina is a two and five and win percentage wise. They should be the team here at seven. However, I saw Celina play and take Albany all the way to overtime. This is that dangerous seeded team that let's say they get a five seed and all of a sudden they flip around and get that four or five matchup potentially as the postseason works on anything else. If they can get a semi-final matchup with the top team, they can beat them, but they're still two and five. Oregon wins. Billings is a whole different team. So here's how I'll stack it up. I will keep Celina at 7. I'll keep Oregon at 6. and I'll keep Billings at five. Celina almost was up as five, as high, but I can't ignore the two and five record. Oregon feels like every time I talk power rankings, I talk about East Coast, West Coast and everything else. Can Oregon take on some of these top tier teams and beat them? Do they have a prove it victory yet? Not for me. As for Billings, they're the team most likely to be back at two in two weeks, to be fighting for a playoff spot. difficulty. Now here's the thing with Corpus Christi at number four. Could I have made the argument that Corpus Christi billing should be flipped? Maybe, possibly, but Corpus Christi still played one last game than the outlaws. Is there a chance that Corpus Christi, who was what, down at like seven for some people two weeks ago, could be back underneath Salada? Yes. But as of right now, I will keep the Tritons at four. But if there was a stock on the Tritons, I would just sell and I would have bought and then sold and then bought. This feels like the crypto team. I don't know what to do with the trains, but I'm going to keep them at four because the record's still three and three. So now we're up to the top three. If you told me last week that Nashville was going to have a double-digit lead on the road against Albany and lose that game in the fourth quarter, I would say they're absolutely the number two team in the league. There's no doubt. But Nashville did all those things and didn't look like the second best team in the league. So Nashville goes to three here. And that means the Southwest Kansas Storm moved to number two in the rankings. They played two more games than Nashville, five and three record. One of those losses comes on the road against Albany. So they've won one. How do we do this? Six of their last seven games? Is my math pretty good on that one? No, excuse me. Five of their last seven games. I knew I was going to struggle with the math there, but they sit at number two. with that five wins. Only one other team in AF one has more wins than the storm and it's the undefeated eight. No Albany Firebirds. So there's a lot of movement potentially on the way. This is the hardest list. If you look at the staining, sadly, my power rankings match the status, which isn't as fun, but we have about three, right? Yeah.

Jeff:43:25:45:54

To be honest with you, you're being wimpy going with the, with the standings. I'm just going to, well, all right. So, so here's, here's the questions I have here. Albany, you know, how do you, how do you dispute what they are? They're undefeated. They're, they're blowing people out. I still think Nashville is number two. When, when the only team that makes you look mortal is the number one team, then, then why wouldn't you be the number two team? I actually have, I have a struggle right now between three and four in my world because the Southwest Kansas Storm have been great. But you lost Jalen Morton, that quarterback. I mean, this is a guy who had a cup of coffee with the green Bay Packers. He's getting picked up by the UFL. He is, he is a special, special athlete. That's not easy to replace. And then I see what Billings has done since they added Billy Henry, Darius Prince, Dwayne Hollis, just to name a few. I, I actually would put Billings at three at this point, but Southwest Kansas is right there. I need to see what Southwest Kansas does at quarterback. If the Southwest Kansas storm are able to find another playmaker. And sometimes it happens. It's not, you know, you can't just go to Sam's club or, or, or Walmart and go, Hey, I need a Jalen Morton, please. Like they don't have them on the shelves. like, but sometimes a guy will step in, you know, and, and, and it'll work out for you. I mean, we we've had it happen in multiple organizations. I've been a part of, you know, where the starter that you thought was going to lead you to the promised land isn't there. And then you find Sam Castronova. So there's possibilities there. I, I, I think the Liberty, the only thing I have against the Liberty right now is their record, because I think, again, the Liberty is another team that They look like they've figured it out since they added Rakeem Cato, you, you bring in that quarterback who can, who can sling the rock. And all of a sudden you're a monster. You come off of that overtime loss to Albany. Now you've had a bi-week to kind of, you know, work on things and get a little bit better. Watch out for the Liberty down, down the stretch here. Oregon's jumped to six for me. I think Dalton Cole and that crew there, they're figuring it out. They're getting it together. Corpus is seven. And so I see this new group gel and then the Wolfpack right now, I'm sorry. Again, this is record versus I just saw you score 10 points. They would be eight for me, but see, I'm, I go, I don't just go with the records. Like I go with what I see on the field of gods. And when I see in the transaction wires and stuff like that, you know, there's some, The power out of Albany this time, that, that, that Albany's one.

Goz:45:54:46:13

I continue to hear that for a month and a half. Now, next week, the volatility comes for me right now. I've got it. Everything stays the same. I there's a chance. I don't want this to be true, but there's a chance that the next time you and I speak, we may have the same exact power rankings. If certain things fall the same way or certain things fall a certain way for weekend action on the way.

Jeff:46:14:46:49

That's Tom guys, Gus Lasky. I am Jeff Levesque. It is the season pass right here on evergreen now and week 10. I'm dare I say the battle for second place in the power rankings, the Southwest Kansas storm traveled to billings to take on the outlaws eight o'clock Eastern time on Saturday, that, that right there. like two weeks ago, didn't look like an exciting game. It looked like Billings was starting to fall and Southwest was starting to climb. Now this looks like a game who could very well decide which one of you makes the post-season and which one of you is sitting home when the post-season begins.

Goz:46:49:47:43

This has a chance to have a walk-off type finish. We've seen two games that jump out to me that are fantastic finishes. We had the hook and ladder play a few weeks ago involving the Southwest Kansas Storm. We had the walk-off win for Albany. In the overtime victory over Salina, that's how good this game can be. I don't doubt the potential for the number two claimed bragging right for a winner, especially if they win by double digits or Southwest Kansas needs that prove it victory in this spot to see if they're the number two team and get that home playoff game. How good is Billings with the additions that they made? This is their best test so far with those new changes. Should be a great game. I'll give Southwest Keynes from a slight edge, but this is gonna come down to final possession, coaching in particular. Watch how that clock's managed like that last eight to five minutes of who gets the ball and how often in the fourth quarter. That could likely decide it.

Jeff:47:44:48:56

I have trouble going against Billings. I mean, Malik Henry to Darius Prince looks like, you know, you've got Tyler Kolka out there dealing to Antoine grant for, for, you know, for, for Nashville. Now you've got that, that special like matchup. It looks like with Henry and Prince, I have trouble going against Billings on this one. I, I, I I'm very curious to see how Southwest Kansas looks at quarterback. If they've answered the quarterback question, then this is a hell of a game. If not, Billings might roll. This might've worked out. Their schedule might be cooking together very nicely for Billings after those back-to-back Albany matches. Now let's go to Sunday night, nine 30. This is the, you like, you like the AF one after dark guys. Here it is for you. This is a matchup. that I think really decides who's on the rise and who's got their work cut out for him in the off season. Because this is a, because of the way the schedule fell because of regions, the Washington wolf pack at Oregon lightning. This is the fourth time they played this season. It is two one Washington over Oregon right now. Oregon again, looks like they're climbing. Washington's having some issues. Can Washington say, no, no, you're not climbing yet. Can they go crab in a bucket and pull Oregon right back down where they are?

Goz:48:56:50:01

Yes, they can. They've done it before. You're talking about team. That's hard to evaluate. You and I both looked at this. Well, the fact team is the worst or eighth. However, you want to phrase that team in AF one this season, it's even going to be more difficult that if Washington wins this game again, they'll have three wins on the season, all against the same team. So do you just have a really right to go three and one against one? So really, are they defeated? Are they really good? Have they had a tough sketch? It makes things a lot more complicated next week, and especially as we get closer to the postseason of who is this team again, scheduling is what it is. I would lean towards Washington in this one. You're gonna say like, well guys, your power rankings in Washington eight. Yeah, but we've seen them beat them twice. If we're talking about a seven game series, we're seeing in other sports right now. I got two examples in comparison to one of one team being better than the other. So I'll go with the Wolfpack in this matchup. And I think it'd be exciting for the league if the Wolfpack won, because then it's chaos a little bit more than we start getting the tiebreakers and who beat who and how it happens and who's going to play. I think excitement I'm rooting for this weekend, so I'm rooting for the Wolfpack to make things a little bit chaotic as the season rolls on.

Jeff:50:02:50:08

Who's more chaotic if they win, Southwest Kansas Storm or the Billings Outlaws? I think it's Billings, right?

Goz:50:08:50:15

Billings, because then we get to their record being a little bit better than some of the top tier teams. And we figured, yes, Billings.

Jeff:50:15:51:03

Because there was a point before Billings made their additions that I realistically thought there were three teams that could truly compete for the championship. And that was four, because Southwest was in there before they lost Jaylin Morton. It was the Albany-Nashville, Southwest-Kansas Storm, and the Salina Liberty. Well, if, if Billings is as good as they've looked this last game, they're right back in that conversation. They may be one of the top challengers for the championship. I think Steve, Ted is very happy by the way, the owner of the outlaws, which hasn't happened in a while. Titus has been an angry, angry elf as of late. Those of you who follow are one of our great owners in this league, Steve Titus on social media. He's been, he's been a little salty. So I'm, I'm thinking that 69, 10 victory may have, may have taken some of that salt off the rim and put it right where it belongs on a margarita glass for him.

Goz:51:04:51:14

The Mark Cuban of Montana, as I like to call him, not every pitch is good in shark tank. Even Cuban gets mad a little bit once in a while, but that's why he's one of the best. And that's why Mr. Titus is one of the best.

Jeff:51:14:53:45

He's got a passion for the game that makes the league better. And speaking of making the league better, the AF one would be nothing without support from our friends, like vice sports television, featuring our games, even with guys showing up on a bunch of them, they continue to feature our games and we appreciate them. We love our network television partner, but everything, everything I have one ends up in one spot. That's evergreen now.tv go to wherever you get your, your apps, wherever you watch and enjoy content and download the evergreen now app because it is growing and it is getting better and better. And my understanding is the library of arena football on evergreen now is about to get substantially larger. So get ready and have fun with that. How about better edge? You and I would disagree on a couple of games. I'm legally not allowed to wager on these games, but if I could, you and I could go toe to toe on better edge, the app where you can wager on all the AF one action as well as other sports and things, but they've got the lines for you. on better edge for the AF one, you can wager against people. Maybe, maybe go online and start a little, a little fan dispute with whatever team your team is playing and then say, Hey, join me on better edge and put your money where your mouth is. Finally, you got it. You can't celebrate. without an ice cold Hulk Hogan's real American beer brother. That's been the official beer of the AF one. And I very much enjoy it. As a matter of fact, I just the other night I was out and about, I got one and somebody came up and went, do you really like it? And I chugged it down and I went macho man and said, Oh, can I went Oh yeah, brother. And then they ordered some and we all had one and cheered. It was great. Thank you so much to our producer, Wild Bill Huffman. He is in the studio making sure that we don't sound horribly terrible. Guys, thank you for making time. Tom Gosgeslowski. Well, Mac, thank you very much as well for having me and looking forward to some great action upcoming this weekend. And as far as getting involved with the AF1 season pass podcast, please don't be afraid to reach out on X at the Jeff Levesque at Tom Goss, T-O-M-G-O-Z-Z. We'll answer your questions best we can. And if we don't happen to have the answer, we'll make fun of ourselves on the upcoming episodes of the season pass and get you those answers from people who are smarter than we are. Have a great week, enjoy the action this weekend as week 10 gets up on us, and get ready, because we're getting ever, ever so close to the post-season. The first ever post-season of the AF1 is mere weeks away. I for one can't wait, I hope you're excited. We'll see you next week on The Season Pass, the AF1's official podcast.

undefined:53:48:54:11

Season Pass, the AF1 podcast, is an Evergreen Podcast production. I'm the producer, Bill Huffman, and special thanks to executive producer, Dave Douglas, and our audio engineer, Nate Corson. Find all of our content on evergreenpodcast.com and stream every game of the Arena Football League One season on evergreennow.tv. We appreciate you listening.