• 4 months ago
Former Patriots' GOAT long snapper, Lonie Paxton, joins! Paxton talks about Tom Brady, including the 'Brady Roast'. What did Paxton think of Belichick. What does Wiggy think of long snappers?
Transcript
00:00yeah here apparently to record a commercial or two it is the great Lonnie Paxton Lonnie hello
00:06let's go how long how long has it been well how long has it been since you've seen Wiggy
00:11I it's probably been when was the last time you and I saw Tom's event yeah Tom's event man that
00:16was like that was good for the soul man we went back and there was like a hundred and something
00:20guys there and families it was so nice you got invited to everything I you know I'm America's
00:25guest you know some some some people some people didn't get invited to get stuff and it's that
00:32west coast circle man Brady circles west coast and then they'll see he'll sprinkle Gronkin yeah
00:37yeah yeah he's kind of bi-coastal too yeah but he's more of you know Jules is a west coast guy
00:42Lonnie's a west coast guy so he's a good time that's how you explain that well he's gonna be
00:46in the circle I'm on the outside looking in but believe me it's a beautiful circle to be in if
00:51you can get in there so in case you don't know I don't know why you wouldn't arguably the greatest
00:57long snapper in the history of the NFL Lonnie Baxter I don't know who else is in the running
01:03well I mean you know difference between the worst long snapper the best long snapper could be with
01:07just one play so I'll take the best the man credited for the invention of the snow angel
01:16as a as an NFL celebration take that um and what are you doing now what are you doing man so when
01:24I got done playing I worked at GoPro I was leading their global sports entertainment and traveling
01:28the world had athletes and and and money to do things and then they cut everyone in 2020 so since
01:33then I've been business developing helping some uh companies raise money um helping some charities
01:39got a film project coming out about the comeback from brain injuries um and I spent a lot of time
01:44in Boston doing media projects or uh charitable work um so I love coming back here I married a
01:49girl from here so it's yeah one of those things you just there's family out here right yeah was
01:54she a cheerleader as well she was yeah I always I remember that wow you and Bill both dating
01:59cheerleaders I mean you know I think I started the trend you know and then it went to Gronk and
02:04yeah you know just graduated cheerleaders are the best wasn't that I thought that was against the
02:08rules uh she got she got clipped but you know it really worked out yeah it worked out it worked
02:14out in the end for her yeah I mean how long how long were you able to keep it a secret for see
02:20that's the thing I think she got snitched on you know oh one of the other one terrible yeah the
02:25jealous ones yeah I think it was a job you know we were out in Boston I was kind of like hey maybe
02:30we shouldn't do this and you know but who's gonna I'm not Tom Brady like who's gonna recognize me
02:35and I think she drove my truck I used to drive the big you know had like 35 inch wheels eight
02:40inch lift the biggest truck in Boston yes she drove it to practice one day I was like babe I
02:44don't know if that was probably the right move but big truck small d that's what they say yeah
02:50I don't say it but
02:53you just did yes I did he just told us that big noses mean that you have a big
02:58uh downstairs well science said it I didn't tell you that that's a new big hands big gloves
03:03no he says the hands don't matter no hands don't matter what is the uh if you if you could for
03:08those to be honest Greg spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about other men's Johnson
03:12for those that are aspiring long snappers uh maybe listening right now what is the single key if you
03:19were going to uh suggest the single key to being a successful long snapper what would it be oh
03:26it's is it velocity is it no is it grip uh is well I mean obviously repetitions that you you
03:33got to do it a bunch in weather you got to do a bunch in with wet balls you got to do it with
03:38you know in situations but I think it's placement you know because a lot of times you could have the
03:45fastest snap in the world but if it's if it's off to the side or low it throws the punters uh you
03:50know rhythm off so I always prided myself on a tight spiral in placement it's the accuracy of
03:56everything yeah yeah I mean I I used to you know I can say it's now I'm retired but I used to win
04:01thousands of dollars uh uh throwing these things in buckets and I turned off a light switch one
04:06time in the locker room like you know in a couple tries it wasn't like the first try on some of
04:10these things but you were able to you were able to snap a ball and shut a light switch off yeah
04:15yeah I had witnesses too it wasn't just like me doing it now telling the story one like five
04:19ran for that I hope uh well from Tommy I might have uh won something but you know
04:24that's for off mic but we uh I would always have uh a ball with me ironically like cruising the
04:30beach in California or or messing around uh you know I'd have one in my truck and guys would
04:35inherently say hey see if you can hit that stop sign from 20 yards away and so we'd come out when
04:39Dable was there we'd play we'd just call it the aim game we'd be out pre-practice like hey man hit
04:43his hit his knee three times you know and I'd get it or hit put it on his left shoulder twice you
04:49know and I'd miss a few times but that helped me kind of find that placement and know how I had to
04:54let the ball go to put it where I want and talk about job security if you can do it and you can
04:58do it well you'll do it for a long time yeah you'll do it for a long time this is you know
05:05probably one of the most job secure you know places to be when you're thinking about in the
05:09NFL is the long snap well you just no one wants to do it either there's only 32 of us and everyone
05:14gets out in the practice like ah that's easy I could do it but when it really comes down to it
05:18and it's six inches of snow and it's time to you know kick a 48 yard field goal no one really wants
05:23that job that's all about practice yeah it's practice and also I'm sure that when Wiggy
05:27started talking in the locker room you would just go outside and practice to get away from him
05:34well they were in their own little section anyways of practice
05:38yeah I used to look over there and go damn I should have been a long snap
05:40did you have any respect to be honest for the long snapper well we the
05:50kickers and everything they were over there just be honest we were working we didn't look at them
05:55as football players that's why I wore a 60s number right I played o-line in high school and college
06:02started every year and so I got demoted to be just the long snapper but I kept a 60s number
06:08so I felt like I was kind of part of the fat boys but obviously I'm standing there half the time I'm
06:14like what really am I doing right now and we look over there and go damn I wish I was a long snapper
06:20right now and then you gotta listen to this and listen to that and scream and so it's like
06:24it's fun though I think the long snapper did pretty damn good for himself going home with
06:27the cheerleader yeah I mean they put us right there next to him so this is their fault this
06:34is not my fault that's the best thing about it uh you are very close to Tom how do you think he's
06:40going to do on television I think it's going to be great I mean um obviously television and I'm
06:45probably well you probably figured out this out it's like you can't play the middle for the longest
06:49time you want to but it's it's really what sets guys aside because Teddy was that way for a long
06:56time just play down the middle play down the middle because because you're reluctant to
07:00criticize right and that's what some guys don't go into the media for you don't want to criticize
07:05but I think Tom's perspective on a lot of things I don't even think he's going to go that route
07:09it's more like the tactics of it and you know get into his head about situational stuff which is
07:14like what Bill does if you can just be yourself and I Tom obviously does that and if he criticizes
07:20from the place of like oh here's how I would criticize me if I messed up I think that's
07:24you know that's the best way of doing guys don't feel it as being that bad but you don't think
07:29he's going to hold back like during games I think he'll call people out if they need to be called
07:34out I think he will because that's what people want to hear because they know that you know he'd
07:37call himself yeah right does it surprise you when it comes to Bill how much he is doing whether
07:45yes it does yeah I mean the guy is like a shock no media to now four shows right um but maybe
07:53that's what his plan was all along like I'm gonna hide this stuff until the very end and then I'm
07:59gonna come out and get paid for it and kill it yeah did you see did you talk to him at I'm sure
08:04you talked to him at that Tom Brady at the roast while we talked at the roast oh you talked the
08:08road yeah yeah you were there at the road yeah that that was that was savage is what that was
08:14man yeah that was cool to see everybody but it was a it was a cool moment as well like the whole
08:19toasting with craft and like I mean that was real tequila yeah it was real tequila oh yeah that was
08:25tequila straight a lot of the times but it was it was fun and you got a chance to see him and
08:29it's different now when you see him right it's like on the field it's like the the emperor
08:34walking around like you don't want to look him in the eyes right and then and then you get off
08:38field you get retired it's like hey lp what's up and he's like like a completely you know he really
08:44is a completely different guy were you afraid of him oh hell yeah yeah because I I'm I'm don't I
08:49don't have a ton of product to put out there to judge so you know in punt team one day it might
08:55be 10 snaps right in the game it might be eight so like I have limited chances for error so I felt
09:01every I mean I was here nine seasons I felt every day I was getting cut pressure is crazy I couldn't
09:06even buy a house for a lot of times like I've signed a five-year deal not buying a house because
09:09I might be gone tomorrow did you feel like you got screwed in dynasty me yeah no you don't think
09:15bill did oh oh bill yeah what do you think bill um I think that was a con job honestly yeah I mean
09:21the dynasty a lot of guys will look at that and say not the whole story came out it was it was
09:26exactly what a lot of these kind of big corporate media do they try to push a narrative and fit
09:32everyone I mean jewel said he sat in a chair for six seven hours and only got like 30 seconds on
09:37camera because you know drama sells that's what it sells yeah that's what they want to hear the
09:40first two episodes though man that brought me back yeah I was like all my kids are crying like
09:45dad there you are those are the only episodes we need to watch yeah that's it after the first
09:52two episodes it goes downhill you don't even watch anything else I'm always interested Lonnie
09:57guys on that team that changed everything not just with the Patriots but Boston sports
10:01really shifted when the Patriots won that championship but then led to two decades of
10:05unprecedented success when watching those things when did you know that you had something special
10:12like was it only after you won the Super Bowl was it at a point during that regular season
10:16when did you think the Patriots who had no expectations were a team that could actually
10:20you know do a snow angel in the divisional playoff game man I it to me it was I hadn't
10:27remembered a lot of that stuff and I was watching it watching the old footage and the narratives you
10:31know so you don't try to play into that stuff when it's in real time and then looking back and
10:36obviously the drama of Drew and Tom and then you know the vets stepping up for Tom to just
10:43be like hey man just okay we're going with you and let's pick up our game and not put too much
10:48pressure on him I thought you know just rallying around that moment in Boston sports and obviously
10:53with 9-11 and all of the stuff in America and being the Patriots and be able to you know come
11:01out on top in the in the in the last game of Fox Pro Stadium and then in the Super Bowl that just
11:06solidified that you know you can do it yeah the next year we didn't make the playoffs but
11:10there was some roster changes and that came along the way so I mean I thought that just that
11:15transition from Drew to Tom and standing up for your beliefs and I think it's this kid and actually
11:21like showing toughness you know looking back that was a hard choice to make Tom over Drew like really
11:27hard that could have sent people well because because Wiggy was over there saying you're just
11:31the kicker be quiet that's why I didn't look at it you're hanging out with the kickers
11:37we don't want to hear from you we sure would have remembered Lonnie if he had a bad snap on
11:40the 48-yard field goal to hit oh yeah that was that was I think it's under it's underappreciated
11:46yeah the role is just we we make it look easy because that's what we do all day long and
11:51um when it when it does go wrong people are scrambling they're snapping on the side
11:55they're like this announcers oh did you see that idiot over there just throw it over his head and
11:59right um you know I remember when I got hurt they it was like a one-week process to find a
12:06guy because there's guys on the street they don't trust that's why they're on the street
12:09did you see that uh great patriots uh short episode on the elementary school teacher
12:17that was the long snapper for the super bowl and against the panthers
12:20yeah kinchin um who sliced his finger open the morning of the super bowl yeah he was
12:27buttering a bagel with a steak knife oh and this was the year I tore my acl with another guy got
12:32hurt they brought another guy didn't make it and then this guy hadn't played for three years well
12:36the dude who hit the 66-yard field goal over the weekend was like like tried out for an mls team
12:45has like and was like he I think he was a teacher also like a chemistry teacher or something like
12:51that we got a lot of extra time yeah specialist we gotta be able to do special teams because when
12:57somebody gets hurt like you said they're scrambling and then they ask every player
13:00hey has anybody snapped yeah you know everybody like for titans like yeah well I snapped that
13:04was the backup in college and then it's like a couple snaps silver all right we get a figure
13:09I remember I tore my acl uh against the dolphins when you know the snowball game and teddy had to
13:15pick six uh tore my acl early third quarter and I couldn't move but I'm like limping around and
13:22and Russ Hochstein's over there strapping his helmet on like I'm going up he does it in practice
13:27like
13:35because the game has changed now like you can't even touch the long snapper no more
13:39back when we play forget it was like just as soon as the ball snapped trying to run them over the
13:44easiest I mean I got my head between my legs you know I ain't even looking at you and Tom didn't
13:49didn't feel the need to make you put a towel back there or a talcum powder and I did some
13:54seven on seven center stuff and I put a towel back there you put a towel back there for Tom
13:57Brady's I didn't do the old uh you know coping trick where he'd just go no underwear and see
14:04what happens but all right it's why I wanted to stay in the circle yeah I think probably if a guy
14:12is uh making contact with you in that area while a football is being snapped you're always in the
14:18circle I would say yeah always you're always you need to be yeah as close as you need all right
14:22well listen it's great to see you you're doing a commercial we should mention you're here uh doing
14:26some commercials for yeah East Coast Metal Roof East Coast yeah just just helping my boy Paul out
14:31and great guy you know like yeah exactly like to like to help those guys out and we golfed at
14:36Big Poppy's event Marco Island and had a rip-roaring time so more I can do to help all the business
14:41leaders here community here I love doing that all right Lonnie Paxton awesome to see you thank you
14:45brother all right the time boys we'll take uh we'll take a man girls please oh god don't start
14:51because as soon as you leave the studio she's gonna be like oh my god I can't I love it
14:55Lonnie came in here said hi guys didn't say hi girl nope guys it's fine guys is encompassing
15:02gentlemen is tough that's just think about it you were a cheerleader at bc you missed
15:06your opportunity by like a year yeah he landed himself a nice one no good looking long snappers
15:12no I did it I did the quarterback excuse us
15:20we're basically an upside down yeah that's defined dated yeah all right

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