Super Bowl Memories

Q: What do you remember most about the game?

LeGarrette Blount: I would say the best part about any of the Super Bowls…I've won three. The best part of it is just seeing the confetti fall and then really letting the realization hit that you just won it.

I'll tell you this, even after the first win, however many you win after it still feels the same. It doesn't change. That confetti dropping and just the overwhelming feeling of accomplishing, the biggest goal in sports history. 

This is the only game that I could think of where, you don't get a series to win this.

This isn't baseball. This isn't basketball. This isn’t soccer. You don't get a series to win this, this is winner take all win or go home every single game when that postseason starts.

Just being able to fight and beat the best of the best teams and then you get to obviously play the other best team that you would play and accomplishing that feat, man. So that's the overwhelming feeling.

I'm from a small town of Perry, Florida, that has 7,000 people there. Being able to do something like that is huge in the grand scheme of things when it comes to like a place where I came from.

All that comes into mind and all that emotion comes whenever, you know, whenever you win one. That's that's some of the most fond memories. Those are the things that you feel the most. That's what I really remember the most.

Bringing Philly the Title

Q: What about the fans in Philly - what did it mean to them?

LB: Man, that's the first one. Again, that holds a special place in my heart because it hasn't been done before.

I was only there for one year, but I grew the relationships and the family type vibe and the feeling that you get just from being on that team, just from being around that organization and the love that they bring and the energy that they bring.

It was all positive and all good, which is kind of led the charge for us.

The electric energy of the fans just goes without saying. That is probably one of the most electric places to play, obviously, if you're a Philadelphia Eagle. But for anyone else, it is, I'm positive it is horrific.

Don't let these guys start winning at an elite level, by a good amount. It could probably get ugly because people, these games in Philly…and also I will say this -- when you're losing or if you're not playing well, you’re going to get that part of it as well.

Where some places they probably still be like, ahh you know. Well, you're going to get the whole nine yards in Philadelphia if you're not winning games when you're supposed to win games, you're going to feel it.

They don't tell you they're going to show up to your workplace. They're going to stand in front of your bus leaving, the whole nine. But I wouldn't trade it for the world, man. Philly was the one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my life.

Differences Winning in New England & Philadelphia

Q: What do you remember being the big differences between winning in New England and winning in Philly?

LB: I mean, the difference was you know, the culture. I think that's the only real difference. They both had the same common goal. Both teams worked extremely hard. Both teams had extremely talented rosters and they had really, really good coaches.

I'll say the difference was the fact that Doug was a little bit more upbeat, a little bit more relatable to the players. He laughs. He could joke, everything. You know, we're not serious 24 seven and stuff like that.

Bill is more so, you know, we're going to stay on the course. We're going to make sure we all enjoyed his little one win and get back to work. Every week is a grind. We make sure that we give ourselves the best opportunity to win the next game.

It was more of a military thing. But again, that molded and shaped me into a like a better professional and a better man. One thing I can say that both those coaches did was they brought me to two different perspectives of how you can coach and approach the game.

Beating Former Team in Super Bowl

Q: How did it feel to beat your former team in the title game? 

LB: Yeah, it was bittersweet. The fact that it had to be them. I will say I could have been on the other side had we made, you know, agreements on what the money looks like. Going out through the course of the season with Philly and seeing, oh well New England, they look they look like they might be going back. And I'm thinking like we probably going to be getting there too.

I'm licking my chops as the season goes on and I see they beat, I want to say the Ravens or Indianapolis and then I see they beat the next team and obviously we beat the Falcons and we beat the Minnesota Vikings and it’s game time.

This just a little insight -- I told Deuce, the running backs coach for Philly "Look, I don't care you know what the lineup says or what its been here all season. I don't care who's been doing what, that don't matter now. I need to start this game. I need to get the most carries. Imma take us there. I promise you. I'll take us there. Whatever the game plan is, you need to make sure I'm involved early."

I remember him saying "I know what it means to you. I got you." I remembered that conversation specifically throughout that week. After the game was over, he came over and was like, "Hey bro, I told you, I told you, we were going to ride your back all the way to the end"

It was it was bittersweet. You go over there, you see Brandon Bolden, Dev, Bill, James and all those guys, you hug on him and he's like "Damn, bro. I know it's heartbreaking." Well, I don't know because I haven't lost one. I can't even imagine how it feels to hurt, you know, to feel that way, knowing how hard it is to get here, especially a bittersweet moment of it.

This Season’s Philadelphia Eagles

Q: What has gone wrong of late?

LB: They looked good early.

I will say they were scoring points, but to be honest with you, they were winning games, but not in the most dominant fashion. They were nine and one or ten and one or whatever.

They were winning games, but it just wasn't dominant enough for you to warrant or feel like, okay, this team reminds me of last year or this team reminds me of 2017.  It didn't feel that way. It felt like they were getting by.

They were showing big flashes of what they could do in a potential and a ceiling that they could reach. But not a lot of games were really that comforting or comfortable whenever we were watching them saying like, oh snap, we're going to beat the crap out of this team.

Throughout the season I kind of got that feeling. Then late, when they finally hit some of these teams after Thanksgiving, they're starting to change things and, you know, getting ready to make your real run towards the postseason and doing everything you got to do to win these games.

We didn't show up. We didn't show up. Even last week against the Giants we didn't show up. We played our starters. We did or they did. They played the starters. But they didn't show up. That's some inner problems. You got to players, you got to scheme. That's some inside problems that we got to figure out and got to work on.

Q: Can They Turn it Around?

LB: Yeah, I do.

I think they're capable because they have a defense that could be very opportunistic. They've got an offense that could be extremely explosive at any point in time in a game. So, yeah, they have it.

But like I said, whatever it is that they have going on, they have to fix it. And maybe that's internal. Maybe there's some coaching, maybe there's some coach and player disagreements, maybe they have some and maybe there's some higher-up stuff where the coaches argue.

I don't know what it is, and I'm not going to speculate or say it, but I know that roster has the potential to be a Super Bowl-contending roster.

Jalen Hurts Moving Forward

Do you think Jalen Hurts, whether it is this year or not, can bring back the Lombardi Trophy to Philly?LB:  He has proven to be a quarterback that can win in the postseason. He's proven to be a quarterback that could take you to the Super Bowl. He's proven to be a quarterback that could potentially win you a Super Bowl. The ball bounces a different way in that game.

We're having a whole different conversation. So, he's proven himself over and over again. He's proven that he's worth every penny he gets paid. He's proven that he can be an MVP candidate type player.

He has all the weapons. He has all the materials and everything that you want in a franchise quarterback. That can stick around for a long time. I don't know what's going on.

I don't know if they're giving him too much responsibility or maybe they need to slow it down a little bit or…I don't know what the case is. Maybe simplify some things, but it just not clicking. But he has all the tools and amenities to be the guy.

The Future of Nick Sirianni

Q: Do you see him being in charge for a long time? If they bow out quickly in the playoffs will the pressure be on for him next year?

LB: See, the thing is, I don't know if there's questions about him trying to get it back on track because they're in the postseason right now. So, you can't really complain. But I mean, dropping four or five out of the last five or six games is alarming, right?

You don't want to go into a playoff game with that kind of skid. If I'm on a team that just barely scathed in on the playoffs and we got in the playoffs off a three or four or five game win streak or five out of the six games we needed to win…Philly is a team that I would want to play.

I'm wanting to play Philly first like just because the simple fact that okay, well these guys just got to beat by the Giants, you know, that's not a knock. I feel like they can beat the Giants 100 times over. But if you're on a hot streak and you barely got in, that's what you want to see.

You want to see a team that started out hot and barely got in on the back end. Obviously they got in because they clinched early. But still, that's what you want to see. If things don't go right in this first playoff game, I do think they got to answer some questions.

I do think they got to bring some things to the table and that might have to be something internal because it can't be the players that you got. You got a first round draft pick in DeVonta Smith, a first round draft pick in A.J. or second round, I think second. But he's one of the better receivers in the NFL. I think top five in receiving yards this year. So I mean, man, you got these guys. You got Goedert you got to Swift. I mean, come on, man. You got to be able to figure it out.

2024 NFL Playoff Preview

Q: Ravens vs 49ers Super Bowl Looking Likely?

LB: That definitely looks like a Super Bowl matchup, although I will say…this is San Fran kryptonite, man. If the Rams make it to San Francisco, that's not going to be a blowout matchup. I don't know if the Niners are going to benefit from having this time off or if it's going to hurt them from having this time off because the Rams are hitting on all cylinders. They look really good.

They got a running back that has come along. I think he probably didn't play but ten games or 11 games this year and he still had 1,000 yards rushing. San Fran has a good run defense, but man, this kid can tote the pill and he is not afraid to carry it 25 times and only have 70 or 80 yards like he's that kind of a kid.

I mean, that's the only problem I see San Fran really having. I think they beat Dallas decisively and any, you know, probably any other NFC team pretty decisively. And so, the Ravens.

You go out there and I'm gonna go to the other side of the Ravens, turn around and mess around and see a team like the Buffalo Bills. Well, I mean they got their young running back James Cook going. If they're not playing in Buffalo and the weather's a little bit better in Baltimore than it is Buffalo because, you know, that snowstorm coming to Buffalo at some point.

If it's better, now you’re look at the Bills really having a chance or Cleveland. Or Cleveland. I like them. Those two guys have a chance to give the Ravens a run for their money because, you know, obviously, Cleveland is a division foe.

2023 NFL MVP - The Lamar Factor

Q: Lamar Jackson is now a heavy favorite to win the MVP over the likes of Dak, Purdy and McCaffrey - how impressed have you been with his play of late?

LB: I've been really impressed with him and I know a lot of guys are hating on him because he don't have as many passing touchdowns as his former MVP's and all this stuff. But nor do the former MVP’s have six, seven, 800 yards rushing either. And you know, five, six, seven, eight rushing touchdowns.

You know, maybe Brady might have something like 15 carries for 12 yards and four touchdowns of quarterback sneaks. But like outside of that, I mean, it is obvious.

If we're not looking at the numbers and all that stuff it is extremely obvious that he is, you know, he's the most valuable player in this league. If his team loses him, there's absolutely no chance of a Super Bowl. You know what I'm saying? But if the Niners lose Purdy, that means Sam Darnold will come in and play well.

Q: Can the Chiefs Make a Run?

LB: I don't really think that it is Mahomes. Look, I think what you really want to ask is, are the guys that he has around him able to step up now. Like Kelce you don't have to worry about but Tony, Rice, Watson, all these guys that are leading the league in drops and multiple drops a game and drops in crucial times and all these things. Don't know what route they’re running you know, things like that. That's what makes them a liability, not Mahomes.

I know that the defense, Kansas City, whenever it's crunch time…they probably don't have the best defense in the regular season, but whenever it’s crunch time in the playoffs for some odd reason, they turn it on. You know, they turn it on. It's like after Thanksgiving, we need to start playing the right kind of ball, So, usually in the playoffs they turn it on. So, I mean, obviously, Kansas City. Well, I'm going to say Mahomes is never a guy that you want to see. Never a guy you want to see.

2023-24 NFL Playoff Sleeper Pick - Cleveland’s Chances

Q: Which team that has made the playoffs has surprised you the most by getting there?

LB: They’ve overcome a lot and I think, man, Cleveland is a sleeper. That's the team, I'm telling you. It's not even like the AFC is stacked full of like teams that, you know, Kansas City ain’t even the most feared team in the AFC anymore and that says a lot.

They got probably the most dominant, pure, I guess quarterback in the league like obviously Mahomes is you know one of the better guys. He ain't top three, like he's one or two you know better, pure, you know, quarterbacks in the league.

I mean you look at Cleveland…they lost their quarterback. They lost another quarterback and then they end up with Joe Flacco off the couch probably coming in weighing 270 pounds and not looking nowhere near remotely close to what a football player probably looks like. I mean, or maybe he came in looking amazing, you know, who knows?

But whether he did or not, what he looked like, he came in and threw for 300, 300, 290, 300. He came in and played four or five games and threw for over a thousand yards in like 15 touchdowns or something like that crazy. And then you lose your running back early, Chubb. And this Jerome Ford kid come out of nowhere. He’s nice as hell. He come out of nowhere. So, I mean, damn, bro. Yeah, they're dangerous.

To me that's a candidate for coach of the year. Someone like that. That plays a factor. Losing major pieces to your organization and losing major keys to like your team and still being able to go get it done. That plays a factor. And that's where I think, like that's where real culture comes into play.

Adversity strikes, sometimes it'll break you some, sometimes it will make you stand up and let people see what kind of…what you really bring to the table. What kind of coach you really are. I like to face adversity. I want to see what I’m made out of. Like, am I going to crap my leg or my going to stand in the paint. I like seeing that. I want to know. I want to know for myself.

Related:

LeGarrette Blount reveals his 2024 NFL Wild Card Weekend Picks 

Around the 2023-24 NFL Season and Future

Belichick out in New England

LB: I didn't think it was going to happen. I'll be honest with you. I didn't think that it was going to happen. My personal opinion, you know, just like they wanted Brady to stay there for his entire career. I think Bill should have still been done like the same. He should have been given the same grace. 24 years in one place you've dedicated your life to it.

Maybe I can't answer this for him. Maybe it was time for him, maybe he felt like, okay, this is time for me. It’s time. I don't know. I don't know what that was. But I mean, I hope that's what it was. But, you know, they say they're trying to get back on track, going to the playoffs and things like that, I’ve seen a little bit of the press conference and stuff like that. Maybe this is what they need. Maybe they need to get a little younger. Maybe they need to go hire Mayo and Steve.

What Should the Chicago Bears Do for 2024 NFL season?

LB: I'm keeping Justin Fields. I'm keeping Justin Fields for the simple fact that, you know…I think Caleb got exposed. He did have a really good weapons around him, but he got exposed and maybe it's just a product of an extremely bad defense where you the offense is putting up 40 and 50 points and you're still losing. You guys are just now building back up. You guys just drafted fields a couple of years ago.

There's no need and trying to start it over and possibly end up with the same result. Let Fields continue to develop. You go get some kind of veteran that's been around for a long time to help him excel and continue to let him rock out. Because how is he in any different than Kyler Murray? How is he any different than, you know, these guys that run around all the time except, you know, I think he has a bigger arm. I just think he has a bigger arm than Kyler. You know, obviously a bigger body. And he's a bit more of a playmaker than Kyler. But I mean, I wouldn't get rid of him and go draft another quarterback. I wouldn’t. I like I like the way he's trending.

Best Back in the League

LB: Christian McCaffrey. Oh yeah. McCaffrey is the best back in the league right now. He led the league in rushing, and I think Henry ended up second and he started off really slow but he ended up second in the league. But I mean, it's a no brainer. You know I think he has 1,300 or 1,400 yards rushing. Maybe it's close to 1,500 and what, 600 yards receiving at least, you know, something crazy like that with at least 20-plus touchdowns. But it goes without saying, he's the best back in the league by a mile.

NFL Young Player on the Rise

LB: I'll give you a running back that I really see a lot of potential in. That James Cook kid. I like him a lot, man. I like him a lot. I think that he has the potential to be, you know, a version of what his brother was in Minnesota, and we all know what kind of player Dalvin was before he went to New York. You know, he was arguably, easily, a top three back, top five back in NFL. You know, to go to the Jets and being a mere shell of like things that we've seen…because obviously the explosiveness of Breece Hall, and that's another kid that I think is going to explode on the scene.

Breece Hall is going to be one of those guys that just, you know, him and James Cook going to be a couple of those kids that kind of take over the league by storm at running back because it's their time. It is their time. You know, older backs are getting out of the way. The Zeke's are gone. I'm pretty sure Derrick Henry on the back end, some of these guys on the back end. So, it's time for these guys kind of explode on the scene.

Bet on NFL odds at Betway

Find season-long NFL betting odds on the Betway sportsbook. You'll find all the latest spreads, parlays, totals, NFL prop bets, moneylines, and NFL futures. Or call it how you see it with our live NFL betting in-play. All your NFL betting needs are covered at our online sportsbook.

Visit Betway’s NFL picks page for picks and predictions throughout the regular season.

Betway Sports Betting States