Seahawks Legend Walter Jones on Hall of Fame Career

Fred roshani of TSC. I’ve right here on the line a very special guest. He is one of the best to ever do it. He’s a legendary offensive tackle is a Seattle Seahawks legend. He is a Pro Football Hall of Famer is also an entrepreneur as well. And beloved in this Seattle community. We’re talking to the legendary Walter Jones right here on TSC Walter. How’s it going how you doing doing. All right. I appreciate you taking the time. You’re a pretty busy guy these days and how’s everything going in life after football, everything’s going? Good, man. I think the cool thing is about is that my kids I have graduated from high school.

So, I’ll, you know, throughout my retirement, you know, I’ve got a chance to witness my kids through high school. I from eighth grade to they graduated from high school. So, I thought that was a pretty cool situation to be able to share that, you know, with you’re playing football when they’re born and stuff. So, you really don’t get a chance to share a lot of stuff, you know, you have your moments, but you really don’t get a chance to be able to be a parent. So for me, I thought that the last ten years been awesome that I have got a chance to be a parent or to watch my kids.

You know turn into a young adult. So that’s totally been cool for me and I’ve been doing a little TV stuff, man, you know, just dorsum radio stuff just kind of being a voice for the fans a lot of times fans want to hear from players and see what they expect their other or watching the game. So I have a great time of doing that and you know, putting my energy into my clothes line the beat you EBI of the best air of them to do it kind of took that what you said, how you started to show and kind of put that in a clothe wearing it.

So just to kind of tell people to whatever you do in life to be the best at it, you know, no matter what you’re doing that’s a job if you love it. You know, go out and be the best friend on it for sure. Is it kind of weird though now to go from being a player to media because, you know, I want to it’s a great gig and you have the perspective of being a Hall of Fame player, but I’m sure when you were playing there were times when media whether it be former players or analysts said some things that maybe you didn’t comply with.

Oh, definitely. I totally understand. I think from day one I reminded them. I reminded myself that I’m a player first I’m always going to be on the sighs. So my job is not here to tell a guy he should be playing or not like that my job is to analyze them and you know, if you have a bad game. You have a bad game, but it’s not my job to say a guy should be on the team or shouldn’t get this because that’s someone live with the you mess with someone family. So, I totally understand from that perspective. Oh. Oh, you know, when I came to legal is all about newspaper.

It wasn’t as big as it is now with the radio with Twitter with all this social media stuff now that people can hear things that they try to best to get away from it. They can’t get away from it. So for me, I just try to make sure that our respective players and respect what they do every day. You know, tough games can happen, but these guys are professionals and they put a lot of work into it to get to this point of a career. So that’s not my job to say what and what a player should be planner. I’m not playing however leaves are you to see Russell Wilson to remain a Seahawk because before he signed that huge contract extension there were rumors.

He might get trade to the Giants, you know, he’s given him a certain deadline. I mean, it was kind of crunch time and at the 11th hour ended up signing a contract and it looks like for the foreseeable future he’s gonna be a Seahawk maybe for life. Oh, that’s pretty cool, man. It’s cool. I kind of expect a quarterback up and you know, in this league, you got to have a bona fide quarterback to go out there and play football and this is a quarterback Lee. So you look at the dude team, but good teams always have their quarterback. So, I think when Seattle deal was awesome.

Now, you can build around Russell or you can, you know, she took them, you know, Pete Carroll is all about defense and you still build around your defense, but now you can build your defense back up and you got your quarterback for the next what six or seven years. So I think that’s good. But it’s good for the fans because, you know what you get from Russell Wilson, you know that you know, these quarterback guys played a long time and one system up level of my organization. They can’t be consistent. So, you know that all what’s gonna do is get better. As you continue to keep playing in some ways do you think he’s kind of underrated, you know, he’s won a title before?

Yeah, I always feel like he still has to keep proving himself. I think in this game you have to ever you have to it’s all about what you have done for me lately and I know the fans are happy brought us suitable to the city, but still again is all about what you’re doing a playoff and I think he has proven that he can make plays in a playoff and I think that’s what he want to do every year. You listen to him and I think he’s preparing himself for every year every other different year. So this year. He got to be better than last year.

So, I think now that he’s secure now. He can go out there and play at his full potential and they putting the ball in his hand. That’s gonna be a big story. I think to see how much, you know, they’re gonna let him go out there and play his formal his way of playing football. So, it’s something to see and but we know that this team is built on running the ball and playing good defense. And for you to have Russell out there that can go out there and what a game for you. You’re gonna definitely need that and in the long four ball season, does it annoy you that we’re still getting questions about quarterbacks coming in and their height and all that jazz when we’ve already seen the success of Russell Wilson in drew Brees, you know, it’s always gonna be a topic of discussion because you always wonder, how you gonna have play set up for a guy that’s short.

You know, you got Lima there are six five and taller. Can you feel the line, but I think with Drew Brees and Russ are shown that you can find alleys and you know, you still I said it looks. So smaller quarterback understand how these face is gonna try to stop them is, you know, the best way you do it is you try to attack him up the middle and you know, that’s a good quarterback. You have to know that and you have to prepare yourself for that during the season. And I think what Russell and you breed have done is awesome. And it shows that.

Hey, no matter what people say if this is your dream you put everything you got into it. You can definitely make it to the pro level. Well, I think so many teams right now Seahawks included Giants being it’d be another team that a lot of line issues over the years. I mean, you know, obviously it’s not easy, you know, it’s a draft or sign a great player that can mesh with the line and protect the quarterback by I feel like there’s been kind of like an epidemic of teams that are getting it wrong or having trouble finding the right combination together that could Callisto on every situation in the game and what you do have that, you know, you look at the James.

I think the other have probably figured out, you know, I think you have to brain also some minded coach to, you know offer the line coach model guys that have been in the fire understood how to put five guys together, understand everything that those guys can doing what they cannot do and that’s what you have been doing it for hit and miss every year. But once you get those five guys. You want to keep those guys together because you can even see with any team every year. They essentially, they kind of start out slow because the muscles along everybody got to get on the same page don’t defense.

You can literally just run around and make plays, but are all friends, especially the offensive line. You definitely have to, you know, I can play together, and come together as a team and you want to hold those guys together for a long time and you see the great teams that you look how long these guys grand plan together. And I think that’s what you have to do with offensive lineman. It’s a tough situation about now with these college team where some of these guys have never gotten a three-point stance. So, and I think in a way that you know that the pros are trying to get to that type of ball play, but still engagement see you can see at this point now that you still gotta put your hands in the dirt and play football nine-time probe or played your whole career with sail Seahawks helped them go to a Super Bowl against the Steelers and legend has it you gave up only twenty three sacks in your career when you’re accomplishing all these great things.

I mean, what were you kind of aware to back your mind like, ok, if only given up. You know, one sack up to this point two sacks up at this point. Like, how did it as a great player like, how did you approach it day by day and game by game. I just want to get better every year man. I think as Blair’s I think that what you do? I say every season you sit down with your position coach and they go through your season. And, you know, most limited. It’s been a great job, but there’s always stuff that you can work on. And if for alignment.

There’s not a lot of staff that you can make negan the quarterback and throw for a lot of yards or running back and run, but there’s really no stats for office a lot myself, but number ones that a lot of people looked at in sacks. So that’s alarming you want to go out there and that’s something that you don’t want to have fat. So, you know you go out there and that’s what you try to prevent the guys getting fat. So fast can be change can change the game and for me personally, I have some great guys to watch course. I came to league. I think it with all office allotment, you got to have guys and watch guys that have done it before and watch those guys.

I had Anthony Muñoz I had a Lando pace I had Tony Boselli. I had jobs and aunts and I had with a rope I had guys that had done it on very high level. So when I got the lead. It was easy for me to watch those guys and kind of see what they were doing every week and he thought was, you know, locking these guys out to prevent these guys from fact. So I knew hey for me to get my name out there and that’s how consistently I have to blade. So, that’s what I used to do I would go out there place essentially and try to dominate the guy that’s in front of me and every year.

I just try to do it better and you know, I was blessed it. Like they say I was blessed to be able to stay with one team to be on a1 coast for ten years. So the office didn’t change for me. So it made it pretty easy to come in and get back to what you left all better and try to get better being as somebody that was able to stay with one team for so long and now of course living in Seattle and being in the media in Seattle how special to you is that’s it. I was very special for me I’ve been here now for 22 years.

I called you out of my own now my kids are blowing here they called the other day home. So, it’s pretty awesome. Yeah. I think it’s pretty cool for the kids to kind of like, you know, hey, my dad played here and you get a chance to meet the younger fans or the older fans people that kind of drool with you. When you first got picked and to see your career throughout and then see that you into it. So we’re getting into Hall of Fame. So, I think there’s pretty cool. So, anytime I get a chance to get out and meet people or meet fans.

It’s pretty cool. You know, and they show their respect and I always take my hat off to the fans cause, you wouldn’t be here without the fan. So anytime I got a chance to leave a Seahawks fan. I’d give them love. And I try to take pictures with them because they are the true people that gonna make this team what it is have you ever thought about entering some World’s Strongest, Man competitions because when you google your name and you go on YouTube. There’s just clips. You just truck in guys send them back to another universe, you know, blocking for Shaun Alexander and all these guys I mean that there was a running gag back in the day when I used to play Matt in the early days on like message boards before there was a thing called social media.

And he would joke Walter Jones Thiel pushes SUVs for fun? Have you ever thought about putting that strength to another use of other in football or did you at any point in time. No, no, man. I think I was doing that for personal football and I think that’s the only place that it was worth. I tell people all the time his body is big, but it’s fragile I played a long time and I put a lot into the game of football. So, I never thought about it as being something that was stronger cause. So, what those guys do is pretty amazing it and that’s one.

That’s a whole different type of training. So, I would never try to say that I’m stronger those guys. But it never crossed my mind. I was doing. You know, I when I played ball I considered my job. So, I knew what I had to do to prepare myself to get rid of the play a 16-game season. So that was one thing that I did. And it definitely tested me out, you know, when you got in those big games when you had to share guys out Seahawks Steelers probably the worst officiated Superbowl in history is it weird for you to see that all these years later the NFL is still having officiating issues, especially with like the Saints in the ramps are just part of the game, man is you putting the game at the guys that, you know, sometimes they make mistake is that in the element that guys make mistakes and you know, as I think about it now with the skimmers with the Super Bowl.

I feel people all the time. I said that I we were the number one seed and we didn’t play like a number one seed the team that we had we went on 11 game winning streak. We went through the playoffs when we got a net get that one game and I think that’s what makes the NFL. So fond that you never know what’s gonna happen in any other game. So we ever sot then play our best football you no matter how many calls was not called our way. We didn’t make the plays that we have wheels or customs of making. So to help us win that game because of your you’re playing perfect football.

Are you going out there and putting everything on the line, you know, the referees can make calls. So, I think for me that’s no way that you know, I probably have got over there. We didn’t play our best football because we was playing some pretty good football until we got to that Super Bowl this might be a loaded question. I’m gonna ask it anyway. If you could pick if you started out your career again. And you could pick only one option Hall of Fame career or Super Bowl ring what you take I will go to the Super Bowl ring. I think about all of it.

I think this will be played we played this game for we play our furniture to be part of a team that win it all and that sucks that we didn’t get a chance to bring it. You know, I the weirdest thing is that I got into the Hall of Fame the same year there to see all the 181st of the boat. So, it’s kind of like a bittersweet kind of moment because you know, I was the part of the team that gathers there when we did finish there finish the game. So, I take my hat off to those guys to bring that trophy back to Seattle, but you know, if I had a chance to, but you can never take that bet you can’t take the Hall of Fame back either, but I’m thinking being part of a Super Bowl winning team.

You have that connection for the rest of your life the reality is you guys back then it’s like you established a winning culture. I definitely I think you take the head always go back to having a great off of the line. I said that group of guys that we had see budgeter Robbie Joe back there’s great Shawn along with we definitely came together as a unit. I’ve got guarantee if you look at all the two Bowl wins. They’re all these thing to add they had a great off of the line of well, connect and offers a line. So to this day, we get together. And it seemed like we have never we haven’t missed a beat, you know, we can get together.

We can talk to have a great time. I think that’s what like you say that’s why I say that’s why you would give up everything for a Super Bowl win because you never forget that no matter how long you have been played cuz I could I can go to the Hall of Fame and go to Ken and you can see guys hanging out there talking guys to haven’t played in 20 years, but if they worn together. They act like they had never missed a beat. So, I think that’s something that you can never take away from pro players that you build a bond that you could never you can never lose Robby Toback I’ve had him on the show before he’s said on record the two greatest athletes he ever played against or with were Deion Sanders and yourself.

What does that mean to you to hear that. I mean, I think you show that you the way that you approach this game the way I approached it. I went out and did my job, you know that I wasn’t all about trying to be in front of the TV or in front of the cameras I want go out there and fight with my guys. I said coming in there with the year that I came into the game that was all about respect and going out there and proving it. You know, it wasn’t about you once you get drafted you was proven. No, you had to get drafted did what they improved with a lot of the older vets.

So for me, I think I came in at a perfect time where the position wasn’t given to me, I had to go out there and earn it and you earned it with a lot of older vets that really kind of got it. You have to watch and you have to go out there and be in battle. So you get that proved that you can play this game? Well, Shaun Alexander make the Hall of Fame and should he make the whole thing. I think you Tommy will, you know, it’s a tough it’s a tough battle with back running backs and you know, I think you will, you know a so later called the number that he put up.

You know, it had a MVP season. But the first team’s first running back to take this team to the Super Bowl. So I just in just a matter of time that list is so long, but I think sooner or later. He definitely will get into the Hall of Man. What was it like when you first saw yourself in a Madden video game. It was kind of weird, you know, saying like I you know, my fuse was boring what I gonna pull out when I first got into the game where I was playing a game. But when I got the league I was playing a game on top of there my kids were born.

So I kind of just kind of faded away ahead trillion. So, I couldn’t really play that much as I used to so I kind of fade away. So, I need to hear guys talking about man. I hate kids talking about that. So it was pretty cool. You know, I think that the cool thing about it or once you’re done and then you get these game to call you and they want your likeness. I stuff like that. So it’s pretty cool to see that. And I think a lot of fears when they get a chance to meet you up close they let you know, hey, I guess you’re my man team.

I got you on there. So, it’s pretty cool the way and you know, you talk to a lot of people and they counter got it down factor how I played the game how I dominated guys on the field and they definitely put it in a video game. So that was pretty cool. You know, there’s a be a part of that. And you always be a part of, you know they have these all? OH, all these all mad teams that they do probably like every year. So to be a part of it is a tough list of there’s some great offensive lineman’s out there. It’s cool.

And I feel like Madden like NBA 2k though those games when they bring in like the legends and have like the ultimate teams and dreams in some ways you kind of live forever. And that’s pretty cool. You never die because, you know, saying you have done. So, great in it with this team and even though the younger fans now, but you know, they still understand the guys that did it before these guys and they respect that. So, you know, you enjoy every little moment that you get a chance to be recognized you enjoy it. And taking it one day at a time who was the funniest guy you played with into Seattle Seahawks locker room the funniest guy.

Oh my god, I don’t know. I was running back. I don’t know your name and they was Reggie Brown. I thought he was pretty funny. I know so many guys are funny no robbery toe bag was funny man in his hallway, you know, with the hassle back is pretty funny, too, you know, if he could get away with some his jokes. He’s pretty funny. So, I would give it to those guys are pretty funny, but you know, once you when you with guys for what 10 hours a day everybody’s be funny because everybody got their own way. I’ll make the guys laugh people say I was funny, but I just enjoy being around those guys.

And when I laugh everybody every laugh. So it was pretty awesome. You know, you think about it none. You know, everybody, you know, you talk to a lot of players. They always said it. The camaraderie and I think the camaraderie is not playing football. It’s just the moments in the locker room on the plane in the hotel room. So you missed those days when you just have fun and you’d have to worry about nothing ever just get ready and clam football. You mentioned Matt Hasselbeck, I feel like he’s one of the most underrated quarterbacks of his generation and a guy that was really consistent with you guys for quite a long time and like you know, helped establish you a kind of winning foundation for the Seahawks which led to this generation of Seahawks eventually bringing in a Super Bowl what do you think is overall legacy is in Seattle and in the NFL.

Okay, they still love they still love Matt after that? Yeah, I think what Matt house back to the update Matt hat about the bat house. I came from a winter culture cake he had a chance to a watch of Brett Favre. So I put what he came in Seattle. You had that kind of mentality. I understood the West Coast office got to get the ball out quick they can dump down the field. So, he was great at that, you know, and that’s pretty hard for a lot of quarterback, but I think it was a great move for Seattle here for coach honker got it understood his offense.

So all he had to do was know to put a great team in front of me you kind of knew that you know, he’s gonna get the job done. So, I’m thinking for him to come here and it can play with Homer was a pretty good move the kind of staff as him as one of the great feel quarterbacks. Do you think that some teams should maybe take that approach a little bit like maybe get a guy that’s sat behind, you know, a vet or a great. You know, more often I mean I get the Baker Mayfield if the guys like Russell Wilson that come out of college and they’re mainly starting and they’re great.

And expectations have changed, but, you know, what’s facing I raised Russell Wilson, you know, not everybody is it gonna be a phenom a Pro Bowl or lead a team to playoffs out of college, you know, you’ll get Pat mahomes. His first year he sat behind Alex Smith. Yeah. He killed it a second year, but I’m sure he learned a lot from a veteran like Alex Smith, you know, would you like to see more teams kind of allow players to develop a little bit and kind of watch and learn before. They’re like thrown straight to the fire. I think it’s different now the game is different than back.

There, you could see guys Drive got hot and sit those guys. But now with these owners. And so big they see how I’m quickly games can turn it around now the game is so imperative that now you can turn things around. Just over one year you look at what the Rams did what we did, you know, things are happening. So fast. So teams really in ownership and organizations don’t have don’t want to wait that long week. I gotta tell people all time. It’s like a microwave we want it right now. So, we people want to see change now. They don’t want to, you know, when I came to leave even though I was a first-round draft pick number six overall, you know, the thing about meeting said, I think about three years for he figured out and it was probably about three and a half years or four years for I figured out how to be, you know consistent offensive lineman.

So, I totally understand that, but nowadays you bring guys in the first round you want them come in and play and make a difference and then just a way. That’s the way it is it’ll probably cycle itself, but they’re just do it is you have a few teams that does that. But you know, it’s all about kids on what kind of quarterbacks. You got in front of you that you can sit and watch and learn what’s it just misconception of being a lineman that wee bit eaters. I have a lot of people think that we just the Eee or we don’t we eat? Well, I think me personally, I’m more of a muncher.

I like to eat throughout the day, but a lot of the misconceptions people think that we are big eaters and we’re not we’d like to eat, but we don’t have to have the whole kitchen or a full of place. You know you go. You go. I go to my family’s and eat or go to a friend’s house and they sit your plate and it’s just like a freaking you eat not a buffaio. So, I’m like they missed a shoe thinking that we big eaters and we really not I don’t know if they could take the football, but I’m sure that’s one of the next time that’s like one of the one things I deal with nowadays that people assume that.

Oh, he’s a llama he eat a lot of food. And I really don’t I eat, but you know, I’m more of a snacker I do a lot today not where I’m just wait to the last everything in the kitchen. No, I don’t do that, right nothing about that question. You another misconception, I feel like with Lyman is like nothing that you guys aren’t perceived as smart but you know, sometimes it’s always the focus on the quarterback or the focuses is on the coach and the defense and everything else. But you know based on a lot of players I’ve talked to have played the game and coach the game everything.

I mean offensive lineman is some of the smartest guys, I thought the smartest guys on the field. Can you explain that a little baby. Hey, man, have to because you don’t understand all the stuff that you deal with before you know, you have to hit a play you have to know okay. You said it this defense, but they get is easy. So you have to make the check. So, I’m gonna do all this in a 25 minutes a 25 second clock. So, yes, we definitely have to be able to know what’s going on make a decision and then make it happen. You can’t make a mistake.

So, yes. Totally on that and then you have to understand everything the quarterback is doing. You know, like you have to know it we did make a change. Why is he making a trick because you see the safety coming down. So, for me personally. I tell people all the time when I got in the league. I just play with blinders on my first two years in league all I do it block me. I didn’t care what the chalk on the other side of the garden. I didn’t care what they was doors. I just say I understand, you know, I cut, you know, you think all you do is just come off the ball and block the guy friendly, but you know, in my third and fourth year I could see the whole field, I couldn’t even see what was going on over there the right tackle.

I just see the safety coming down. So, you know, I could see the whole field, I can know why he checked it. So, I think is llamas. We just have to know everything let the sea movement. We have to see different alignments. And then does the play changing all the quarterback says is one word and now that player changed it now. We’ve got twenty and a five second interval. You got their being able to run that playing and be successful at it. It’s like the old saying, you know, the greats make it look easy, you know, but when you’re actually in there. I mean, there’s a lot harder.

Oh, definitely man. It’s so hard man. I tell you matters, you know, a lot of times people ask you about who’s who’s the guy. You just don’t like man, everybody because once your bank get out there, you know, guys wanna beat you guys want to get sex on you. So yeah, you have to go out there and stay focused the entire game and nine times out of ten when one of the Great’s give up effectively that got probably got on focus or something that he did it never mostly never what the guy did is always some time with the llama doing. But if you stay focus and stay with what you know, it’s pretty hard to get beat by guys.

And I can’t let you go without talking about your late great teammate Cortez Kennedy defensive tackle played his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks following is untimely passing. You made a positive impact Nellie keeping his memory alive, but establishing what you’ve called the ninety-six check. Can you tell people a little bit about that? Oh, yeah, man. I, you know, everything that tears me, you know, when I came at least it was that better guy that kind of showed me the way, you know, he was basically when I gave here. He was the team, you know, if you didn’t know Cortes kidding. You didn’t know to see also from that standpoint and he was tough on me.

My first couple of years ago, you know, I came in the league when it was all about guys want to see you in the fire, you know, see what tired of it tough and then you go out there improve yourself there. No veteran guys will start letting you hang out with them and you start half a cup of faces or so and they kind of take you under their wing man. So kids definitely did that for me and I tried to live. My mountain my pro career to say, well, you know, try to get to know everybody tears was great. Let people, you know, understand and be nice to the people upstairs a lot of times those places are divided I do guys the management then you got us.

You never kind of connect with those people and test definitely do everybody. So I try to make it my business to know people and get to know those people. Let them know that hey, they part of the all success to the things that they do, too. So this was great at that so on his untimely death, man. It was tough on me or hard because it seemed like it just I just couldn’t imagine it, you know, and it’s tough for Fred, but you know, the thing about tears what he always used to do Dorner all season. Look, he will call you out the blue randomly and they’ll just call you and check on you check all your family.

It was great into one that kind of stuff. So, once he passed. I think that was the number one thing that stuck with me. So, I decided to do that. So every year of his birthday, I do a 96 check. So his birthday is September than that sometime the 6th. I want to say the 96, I’m think I’m saying? That right? I think it was September. So what I do is a Nishat of where I want players to call people a lot of times we get so busy in our life that we don’t check on people are we talking on the phone so much. You don’t ask people how they do it.

We always is always businesslike. So, I try to tell people they’re always checking on people people that you play with check on your parrot check on your friends that you went to high school with people that you haven’t talked to in a long time that you know, you’re not calling for them. You just saying I’m just calling to check on you. So that’s how I started the United States check initiative that’s great stuff and you’re honoring its legacy by doing that and encouraging other players and people to do that before I let you go, man. I really do appreciate the time. Where can fans find you online, where can they find you on TV in Seattle and on radio, I guess and tell us a little about your clothing line and everything else.

You got going on in 2019. Oh, definitely, man, I say what man. You can do venture III do a post game show on King Fahd. That’s what the NBC station here. It’s called the fifth quarter. It’s with a Paul silly if you from Seattle, you know, the local stations here or anywhere. You can find it on King fire station. It’s called the fifth quarter is every Sunday night Football in the local areas of Seattle. I do a radio show, what three times a week I do to call in. That’s what on a nine fifty cage. They are here am now. I think they came there do one on a month I bet that Monday Tuesday I do a Thursday of studio where it’s called in the trenches.

So that’s something I do every every Thursday do I throughout the season. You can check me out. I have a clothesline. It’s called the best day ever do it. It’s called B to e bi the best ever do it. You can check out my website at the best ever do a B to e di comm where you’re gonna find a have hats. I have t-shirts to have goodies, I’m working on a whole lot of stuff for this part of seasons upcoming season. So, check me out Carl come out and try to support me go to the website and support my brand like I say it’s something that has still good clothes where, you know, you putting on some that you feel good when you go out and say I want to be the best today.

So I want to rock big wall. So.