Trey McBride on Facing the Broncos, 13 Personnel, and Jalen Brooks' Big Catch

0:00So hitting you guys- Yeah ... what strengths should immediately kind of start standing out? Um, they got good players everywhere. Um, with their edge rushers, Zach Allen in the middle, their two linebackers are pretty good players. Um, Certaine when he was obviously one of the best. Um, they got a lot of really good players everywhere. They play fast, they play physical, they run to the ball. Um, they're well-coached. It's gonna be a tough matchup, but I'm excited for it. It's National Tight Ends Day on Sunday. Is the, is the room pumped about it? Just how much more-... excitement is there when there's a day dedicated to you guys? Honestly, you forget that it's even that day, but it's, uh, it's gonna be an exciting day. Um, play the Broncos, hopefully a lot of 13 personnel, who knows? Um, but it'll be a lot of fun either way. So, um, it's a special holiday I guess, and, uh, I'm excited to be a part of it. Have you got past playing your childhood team? Like, is that still a thing for you? Like, any, any part of you that thinks it's cool or is it just kind of... Uh, I mean, it's still cool. I mean, I grew up in Colorado. I went to a ton of

1:00Broncos games growing up, but, um, at this point, like, it's just another team. It's just another week. It's just another defense to prepare for. Um, it's more cool, I mean, I played with Zach when he was there. Vance Joseph was here as well. So in that aspect, it's kind of cool to play against former teammates, coaches, whatever that is. But no, it doesn't make a difference, uh, who we play. Do you feel like- I'm s- ... a big difference between Zach now compared to when you were playing with him? Um, I mean, I was so young, um, and I didn't really have to block him back in the day, so-... obviously, he's a tremendous player. He's a all-pro, Pro Bowler, all the above. He's a, a really good football player. Obviously, we wish he was still here, but, uh, it's okay. Um, I didn't, I didn't really know how good he was when he was here. I was a rookie. I mean, bullets were flying. Everything was, everything was fast to me then. So, um, I think he's a tremendous player, and I got a ton of respect for him. Obviously, you weren't in those rooms, but what was Vance like as, as a presence here and what makes him such a good defensive mind here? I just remember my first-- one, one of my first days here, I got here and, you know,

2:03I grew up, as I said, a Bron- Broncos fan, and I was like, man, Van-- this used to be the head coach of the Broncos. Like, how cool is that? And, uh, then I got to know Vance. He's a, a really good coach. His defense plays really hard. Um, they're well-coached. Um, they play with relentless effort and, uh, they run to the ball very well. So their front seven is really good, and then those backend guys kinda get to feed off that. Peyton called you Cardinals' best weapon today. Is that something that you like to hear from a coach of his caliber? Um, I mean, it's cool. Yeah, Sean, Sean Payton's a, a tremendous head coach, a guy who's been doing it for a really long time. So just to get a compliment from a, a coach like that is, is very cool, but, um, doesn't really mean anything. You, you mentioned the 13 personnel stop, stops a second ago, but you guys have been doing obviously that gets you mismatches in the passing game, which I'm sure you love, but it also means you sometimes have to be blocking bigger bodies up front in the run game. What goes into successfully doing that as a tight end? Um, I think just the coaches putting us in good positions to, to, to make plays. I

3:06think the coaches do a good job of moving people around, um, trying to get the matchups we're looking for. And, um, most importantly, yeah, you gotta, you gotta win your one-on-ones every once in a while, and that could be in the run game. And, um, I gotta be at the point of attack every once in a while and, um, you know, try to win those one-on-ones as much as I can. But, um, yeah, 13 personnel has been very good for us, and I'm excited to hopefully keep it rolling. Are you- And how much does it help that last year you guys had joint practices with the Broncos to prep you for this week? Uh, yeah, I mean, it was-- that was cool. Um, but it's just, like, a lot of different players on that defense, a lot of different players on our offense. So it's like, it helps, but not really. Like, it's just a totally different thing. It's a week-to-week thing, and, um, I'm excited for the matchup this week. There's a lot-- They have a lot of really good players, and so do we, so it'll be a lot of fun. Tom, you- Go ahead, yeah ... you've been in obviously the league enough and had enough success where you probably have enough standing to talk to coaches and say,"Hey, maybe we could try this," or whatever. W-when you're going through, like, offensively, you guys are

4:07going through, like, you're going through the red zone and being-- Are you the type of person that wants to suggest stuff like that, or are you the type of person like, "I just want them to tell me what we're gonna do and, and execute it at the highest level"? Uh, that's a good question. I think there's kind of a fine line of, of both. Um, for the most part, my whole career, I've just kind of been like, whatever they want, um, I'm gonna do. And, and if I don't feel comfortable doing something or if I don't necessarily agree with them, I'll let them know, but then they'll usually tell me the reasoning why behind it, whatever. Um, but for the most part, I love the red zone plan that we've had. I've loved everything that we've done to get down there. We just gotta finish when we get down there, and we've been so close. Um, you know, you go to the Giants game, we should've finished that drive. Um, last week, we got down there a few times, and we just didn't get it in the end zone. So, um, I don't think it's what they're doing. I think it's more what we're doing as players. We're-- Maybe it's a penalty here, maybe we're just missing an assignment or whatever it could be. But I love the plan that we have going into every week, and I fully expect that red zone to, to get better.

5:08With the run blocking stuff that you were just talking about, where do you feel like you've grown in that area over the past few years? Yeah, I mean, I, I get asked to, to do that a little bit and, um, I just feel like when, when my number's called and I gotta be at the point of attack, I gotta, I gotta do it'cause my teammates are expecting me to, to, to win that block. I'm expecting to win that block. And, um, I feel for the most part, I've, I've done a good, good enough job to, to do that. And obviously it can always be better. I'm never gonna say I'm, I'm the best at it, but I, um, I can always strive to be better and, and get, you know, more action in the run game. But I feel like I've done a good enough job, and hopefully I can continue to do that to, to make our run game happen. What's it mean to see Larry go in the Ring of Honor and, uh, any memories you got with him? Yeah, I mean, how cool is that to, to, to be a part of a game where he gets inducted and, um, that's gonna be a very special moment for him, for the Cardinals organization, all of that stuff. So very cool to be a part of that. Um, Larry's a tremendous player, tremendous person, all the above. Um- The, the times I've been with him, mostly on the golf course, he's a awesome guy. Um, we've had a lot of fun

6:12together, and I have a ton of respect for everything that he's done for this organization, the city, all the above. So, uh, I'm extremely, you know, happy to be a small part of this induction, um, but very happy for him. Do you ever allow yourself to think about the accolades like that, that could be in your future? No, it's kinda one of those things like, no, I just kinda play and try to catch the ball when it's thrown to me. And, uh, when it's all said and done, hopefully I have a good enough career where something cool like that can happen. But for right now, man, I just try to do my job at the best of my ability, and if the ball gets thrown to me, I try to catch it. Trey, when it comes to Jalen Brooks, how impressive was- Yeah ... what he did this past week? You know, obviously had the tough drop and then come back quick to make- Yeah, no, JB's a guy that, that I've seen since the day he got here. Man, we got him from the Cowboys, and I remember he came in and just on scout team, started making plays. And I was like,"God dang, who is this kid?" And then every day he just made more and more plays. And you make plays on scout team, like enough, they're gonna

7:13get you the ball. They're gonna find a way to get you on the field, and, and that's what I saw happen to him. He made so many plays on the scout team, and then next thing you know, he's running with the ones. And um, I know that he's capable to be a really good receiver in this league. And yeah, he had a tough drop, but it's like, who cares? Um, everyone's gonna drop a ball. It's gonna happen. It's part of this game. But it's how you respond to that, how you come back. And I think that mic'd up moment where he said like,"Man, it's gonna come back to me. It's coming back. It's coming back." And sure enough, man, that ball did. That, that route that Jacoby threw, I mean, we, we haven't gotten back to that route or, you know, gotten back to that progression very often this year. And for him to make that big of a catch in such a crucial moment in the game, get the 15-yard penalty on top of it, I mean, that, that sealed us up. I mean, to, to have Chad, you know, chip shot it in and, and win the game. So that was a huge play, and I, I give testament to his... You know, the way that he goes about his business, the way that he plays, and the way that he was able to overcome that first mistake and, and make a big play later. So I got a ton of respect for JB. The mic'd up, it seems to bring some juice to the offense a little bit for man and Jalen. He is, man. He's a great... Him and Kendrick, man, those two are full of life, man.

8:17It's, uh, they're fun to play with for sure. Thanks, guys