The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - 2020 Elite Assistant Advantage; 1st CFB Top 25 Reaction; Gruden Fakes COVID; Carr Fed Up; 'Hollywood' Jacked; Headlines; Mailbag

Episode Date: August 7, 2020

In this episode, John explains why he the Colts losing their offensive line coach Howard Mudd to a motorcycle accident is an absolutely massive blow to the Colts, why assistants and position coaches will be more important than ever in 2020, and reacts to the first college football Top 25 rankings. He also looks at Jon Gruden faking that he caught COVID, Derek Carr being fed up with criticism, 'Hollywood' Brown getting jacked, and other top headlines from the week. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit are armored? It signals to the world that you not to be played with.

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thunderstruck, adjective. Shocked and amazed by the power of fun on Carnival. Riding Bolt, the world's first roller coaster at sea. Brian got thunderstruck so hard, his 93-year-old grandmother felt it 3,000 miles away in Nebraska,

and immediately booked a cruise. Hooray! Get fundersruck starting at 289. Carnival, choose fun. Cruise is running U.S. dollars per person double occupancy. Taxes, import expenses, additional restrictions, apply, full details on carnival.com, ships, registry behind us Panama. What is going on, everybody, John Middilcock,

a re-and-out podcast. Thursday afternoon, probably listening this on a Friday or Saturday. Appreciate everyone listening. You know, usually non-football season. And I'd even count training camp. Not with no games, no Thursday night game. You know, I usually record relatively early, probably early afternoon. But, you know, today golf's on.

I had some other work to do. Pushed it a little later. It's like 8 o'clock. But I just made a mistake. I was kind of hungry. Ordered pizza. I was like, I'm just going to have like three pieces. And then I was like, God, I'm still kind of hungry.

They have five. And then I was like, God, I am tired. Then I realized, God, I haven't recorded the three and out podcast yet. Holy crap. So I was like, okay, I got to get the right mindset. Still got a little golf on in the back.

But the pizza, you know, I was like, God, I can use a nap. Well, we've got to lock in here. Training camps,

full go. I'm going to talk about something that, about a coach that actually got in a bad motorcycle accident, but it got me thinking of the importance of your assistant coaches over the next month. The top 25 came out. And I never put that much stock into the preseason top 25. Just because, I mean, so much of it's based on last year,

quarterbacks change, coordinators change. We see it all the time. I mean, we know Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, the main teams will be there. But even on given years, like, they could, Alabama has a year where they miss the playoffs. And I just think for the last definitely four or five years, the same teams are top five every year. And for the most part, you know, the same teams are. making the playoffs. But once you get past like five or six,

you know, it's kind of a crapshoot. You know, Texas, Notre Dame. I mean, I don't know. We'll see. But it's a big year with no, you know, none of these non-conference games. I mean, a big reason Oregon was not in the playoffs last year and they were, the way they finished,

they were playing as well as, you know, a top four team. But they lost that opening game to Auburn. And that game for the Pack 12, like this is a big moment for the Pac-12, especially for Oregon. They should run the table. It's going to be hard for the SEC to run the table. You know, LSU is going to be a shell of themselves.

And when I say that, relative to last year, probably still win nine games. Alabama's replacing Tua. I think Georgia and Florida are going to be pretty good, but I'll be a little shocked if we get an undefeated SEC team. But we'll dive into all that, and then a bunch of NFL stories. And then, of course, at John Middlecoff is the Middlecough

mailback. That's the Instagram account. go follow that bad boy at John Middlecoff as the Instagram account. DM's wide open. You can fire a question in there and we answer them here on the podcast. You guys have been listening for a while, know the drill. Also, I'd greatly appreciate. Go to iTunes.

That's where you listen. Subscribe to the podcast. I know a lot of you guys listen to Collins feed. Leave a review. Helps rate the podcast. Helps it get high in the ratings. Helps advertisers. Sometimes people leave me DMs like,

Middlecoff. Remember that the Mexican company, Goya, like Trump supported. It became a big political thing. Like, I saw someone left a review. I can't believe that you had Goya advertise on your show. I will not be listening anymore.

One, I don't run the advertisers. Two, I, listen, I'm a businessman. If I did, I would take money from anybody. I know when the political ads were running, it was like, I can't believe. Again, I don't run advertising, but if I did, I'll take anyone's money. Take Bernie Sanders money. I take Donald Trump's money.

I take Goya's money. I take Facebook's money. I'm trying to run a business here. But if you're mad at my advertisers, don't yell at me. I have nothing to do with it. Okay, let's get into something that I saw, actually didn't see it.

I heard it on Michael Lombardi's podcast. And he mentioned that Howard Mudd, the famous offensive line coach, got into a bad, bad motorcycle accident. And he's in critical condition. And this was on like Tuesday. I googled it like less than 24 hours ago, said he was in bad shape.

He'd had multiple surgeries. Who knows? And he's 78 years old. Writing a Harley in Seattle. I don't know the details of the accident, clearly not good. And when I was in Philadelphia, my second and third year,

he was our offensive line coach. And just, I want to first stop by saying that when you Google Howard Mudd, it doesn't just call him one of the best offensive line coaches ever. It calls him arguably the best assistant coach ever. Like this guy is just no. known for making chicken salad out of chicken, you know what.

And I saw him do that with his own hands. When I got to Philly, or excuse me, when he got to Philly, I'd already been there a year, he was the guy who was big on drafting Kelsey, who's become one of the best centers of the last decade. And a big reason we got him, I think, in the fifth or sixth round, I think it's sixth. And he just made a living off guys like that, undersized, undervalued, Kyle DeVan, and forever he did it in Indianapolis, because Peyton was making so much money,

they were paying the top guy so much money. They had to get cheap offensive linemen, especially guards and centers. And he could really coach up that position. Really, really, he did it with Evan Mathis, obviously Kelsey. I thought he kind of took Jason Peters to a whole other level, made him like one of the best non-quarterbacks in the entire league. He was elite. Like, he was absolutely elite.

And just on a personal note, he was awesome to me in some of the younger scouts. He's the guy that taught me when I, because I remember during the draft process, your coaches play a big role that, you know, you take lists to every coach, right? So your offensive line coach, when you're, you know, a scouting assistant or the lowest guy in the totem pole, you're constantly going around the office and handing them lists and getting their grades and kind of helping organize everything to give to the GM and the coach and just kind of keep it all under one roof, but it's your job to kind of make sure they're all coordinated. And I remember one time saying, we were just talking about a player.

Him and Jim Washburn, who actually were friends, it was insane. We hired him and Jim Washburn. You know, Washburn is one of the better defensive line coaches. They used to, like, fight on the field and, like, scream at each other. And I don't know how Washburn's got to be now, like 75. Howard's 78. Even at the time, one guy's in his late 60s, I got in his late 70s. I mean, these guys are nuts.

I mean, it was, this kid from California, like I had been in the NFL for a year, but watching these guys scream, I mean, it was crazy. I mean, it was wild. But that's why they're good. Like, that's why I say it all the time. Like, football is not like normal society.

It's a highly contentious environment. Practice, coaches, players. We're not even talking about the games on Sunday. I'm just talking about, like, some random practice in the middle of August, with the coaches on your own staff about to fight each other. These two old men. It's awesome.

No one missed O-line D-line when those two guys were around. But I'll never forget Howard, because I was like, yeah, I don't really like this guy. I think he's much more of a right tackle. And he looks at me. Again, even at the time, I knew he was really famous. He's the old guy with the beard that was always there of Peyton Manning. And he goes, what the fuck does that mean?

Like, what do you mean? He just not as good of an athlete. He can't play left tackle. He's like, what about when I play you? And I got Robert Mathis on one side at the time. I was going to say like $20 million players, but they were probably making like 10. And I got Dwight Freeney on the other side. So you're going to have some stiff at right tackle.

I'm going to kick the shit out of you. And I started thinking like, yeah, he's kind of right. And then as like the last five or six years, when I was around Khalil Mack, where'd Khalil Mack line up? Over the right tackle. Where did, where does Vaughn Miller line up a lot? Over the right tackle. Last year, Nick Bosa lined up a lot.

Over the right tackle. and you see it all over the league. Like a lot of good players now line up over the right tackle. Your right tackle can't just be a stiff, and I never really thought about it like that. And Howard was awesome to deal with, but, and I hope he makes it through,

and he's a crazy old SOB who is a lead-as job. And there was a reason that top position coaches in the NFL, I'm not talking coordinators, where I think 32 DCs last year made a million, over a million, made seven figures. I mean, some made like two and three. and I think 30 of the 32 offensive coordinators made over seven figures. There are several offensive line coaches in the league that make seven figures,

and the best ones are worth it. Just like an elite DB coach is worth it, elite quarterback coach is worth it. In this time of the coronavirus and the way the practices are going to be, they're not even putting on pads for like another 10 days. All they're doing right now is walkthroughs, and they didn't even have an off-season. your position coaches are going to be so valuable right now. The ability, what I remember Howard Mudd, he was smart, man.

He really could talk to these guys. And obviously, he coached their ass up on the field. But his ability to interact with them on a one-on-one level was really, really high level. And obviously, as a talent, his ability to get the most out of guys that had no business. you know, being, obviously Kelsey has turned into elite player, but there was a reason he was a six-round pick.

Like, he was 280 pounds. And even his first couple years, like, and you know what about Howard? He was our starter, week one, his rookie year. Like, 290 pounds. I can't remember the guy's name, but we cut out of camp because Kelsey was going to start at center.

You've been a starter ever since? The only games they ever missed is when he's heart. And his ability to, to make guys even better. And I bet Kelsey would tell you to this day, and obviously they have a really, really good offensive line coach now. But your position coaches around the league

in this weird time are going to earn their money. And listen, coaches won't like to hear this, and I know some listen to this, and most of the listen to this are highly paid for a reason. They're elite. I'm lucky. Some of my people that I know in this business

are really, really good, are elite coaches. I've also been around. some bad ones. And there are a lot of coaches in the league. If you're an offensive line and coach in the league, you make $7,800,000. Well, just because you're an offensive line coach in the league doesn't mean you're good.

And I think what's really going to separate teams besides, and I forget who said this, Richard Sherman or JJ Watt or... I can't remember who said it, but who said... Joey Bosa actually said it. He said he thought the team that was going to be the most successful in 2020 was going to be the most successful. was going to be the team that had the most disciplined,

meaning players would be really disciplined, right? And take this really seriously. Go home, not subject themselves to any added risk. Because a failure attest, you're going to miss games. Whether you're Patrick Bohomes or, you know, the last guy on the roster. It's just a reality. I think one of the biggest advantages this year, though, like, won't just be your play collar and your coordinators,

but it's going to be your position coaches because I think this year is going to be really mental. You're not going to be able to practice as much. It's going to be a lot of just games and teaching off those games and making correction off those games. The teams with the best coaching staffs are really going to separate themselves.

It's why when people think I'm like an Arizona Cardinal hater, I just don't believe in Kingsbury and that staff. I just look at Cliff and go, he never won anything. And I hate his defense. I don't like them to win. I definitely don't like them to win in this environment. And sometimes new staffs, I think it's going to be difficult.

These staffs that holdovers that have just loaded staffs, the chiefs, the Ravens, the Niners kept everybody, Seattle's had the same crew, even the Eagles, they've had the same crew for a while, the advantage they're going to have, they were already good, right? I mean, we're talking playoff teams, they're going to have a big, big advantage. You know, like Sean McVeigh has a new defensive coordinator. Like, that's a huge jump. I'm looking at staffs that... Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand-new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, This is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark, Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Didn't have any turnover. Wink Martindale, Greg Roman, no turnover. Andy Reid, Steve Smackdola. The big, I forget his name, but the special teams coach from the Chicago Bears. He's one of the best in the league.

Chiefs guy. Sorry, I just too lazy to Google it right now. But you know who I'm talking about. And those guys are elite teachers. Kyle Shanahan. Robert Sala. There's no turnover. He didn't lose anyone from a staff beside a DB coach.

Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1-800flowers.com. From classic road... Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes

for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little camp?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all right. Yeah, yeah. Literally. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct.

So I'm starting to see there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. So. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes a ball. wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth,

fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way and listen now. and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for $39.99, or upgrade to 24 red roses for $10 more.

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Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a story. book world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. So it's just, it's a big, big advantage. And the teams with the best coordinators

and definitely position coaches are going to be able to separate themselves in this time where practices, I don't even know if these are going to be real practices, let alone once the season starts, it's going to be, there might be a time when a star player gets corona and you just want to do walkthroughs to avoid it. It's going to be weird. And you're going to want guys like, obviously there are only so many Howard Mudd's in league history, but the teams with like two or three position coaches that are going to be future coordinators are going to have a massive advantage come to full. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts,

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If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour. If you could find a way to get inside each other's mind walk a mile in my shoes walk a mile in my shoes

walk a mile in my shoes we've all felt left out and for some that feeling lasts more than a moment we can change that learn how it belonging begins with us.org brought to you by the ad council Walk a mile in my shoes

And we're live here outside the Perez family home Just waiting for the... And there they go. Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like Dad has the bag's daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed.

Dipers and toys are everywhere. Ooh, but Mom has just nailed the perfect car seat buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter who looks to be about nine or ten has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed and they're off. Ah, but looks like mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes! Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fam favorite.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. Visit NHTSA. slash the right seat brought to you by mitza and the ad council okay let's dive into college football i actually saw a funny story that uh that there was a coach for ohio state it must have gone on twitter or instagram was on the field with the linebackers the big ten had a conference call so all the coaches were on it harbaugh calls out ryan day about his team not following the rules

Ryan Day snaps back at Harbaugh on the call telling him, how about you worry about your team, all worry about mine. Then I guess a day later, Ryan Day, in the meeting with Ohio State, in a team meeting tells them that they plan on dropping 100 this fall. And in fairness to Ryan Day,

he might be able to because Michigan hasn't been very good. But I saw the top 25 coaches poll came out, your usual suspects, Clemson, Ohio State, Bama, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Penn State, Florida, Oregon, Notre Dame. Same teams. I don't put much stock in the top 25, but like I said earlier, the elite teams tend to be pretty elite. And this year's going to be a little weird because the non-conference games, for example, Oregon was going to play Ohio State week two. I was actually going to go to that game, which sucks because I was actually, I hadn't been to a big college football game in a long time.

That game would have been awesome, but it doesn't happen. And one of the biggest reason Oregon didn't make the college football playoff last year is because they lost Auburn in week one, where they had a pretty commanding lead. They win that game, they're in. They would have been over Oklahoma. Now, here's the thing. I live out on the West Coast, but everyone I know that watches college football, we've all come to grips.

Like the Pac-12, and really the ACC-C minus Clemson, has kind of fallen off. and right now there are two big dogs, right? There are the SEC, which is in a completely different level. And when people out West, even pack 12 people that for the network try to argue, it's just bullshit. The SEC is producing way more NFL players. I don't care. Like, oh, what about their bad teams?

Well, their bad teams are better than our bad teams. And their good teams are way better than the good teams out here. You could argue the same thing for the Big 12. but I'd say Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State. I'd say the Big 12 is clearly the number three conference. But the SEC and the Big Ten have separated themselves. And it's going to be hard. When you play in a stack conference,

it's very, very difficult to run the table. It's going to be hard for Alabama to run the table. You've got to play LSU, you've got to play Auburn, you've got to play Texas A&M. I have to look and see if they're playing Georgia. Georgia, Florida are really good this year. year and just random games like i get mississippi state and old miss are down but it's the cc i bet old miss has 10 NFL players on their roster Arizona for example might not have one so like when

oregon plays arizona you shouldn't lose that game where when you know Alabama if you're just overlooking them it's not crazy to be like down and halftime i also think ohio state and the big ten it's just hard to beat wisconsin beat penn state obviously it's not that hard for Ohio State to beat Michigan, but just eventually you take so many swings against teams that are legitimately top 15 teams, you might get beat. Now, this year, I do think in college, home field matters probably more, the travel, young kids, maturity, immaturity, a little different than the pros. The pros is really more about noise.

In college, the noise obviously plays a factor, but it's more about just being focused on the road, getting in your study, getting in your work during the week. Do you know the game plan? There's a lot of moving parts. In the NFL, like, when you travel, you're ready. Now, it might be hard to play at the Saints or at Kansas City, but you're ready for your game plan. In college, it can be hit or miss,

especially if you're dependent on a freshman. So maybe the no-fans equals out some of the craziness a little bit. But I don't care if Penn State and Ohio State or Penn State and Wisconsin or Alabama, Georgia, or Florida, LSU are on neutral fields, It's a coin flip game. And this is where I think is a huge advantage for Oregon, who to me is clearly the best team out West.

They have no excuse to not run the table this year. I know they're breaking in a new quarterback, though people have told me they thought he had a chance to even be better than Justin Herbert. We hear that a lot in college, right? But I think it's fair to say that Oregon recruits as well as, I mean, better than any team out West, but they recruit like a big boy.

They recruit like an SEC like a big 10 team. And the PAC 10, the PAC 12, has been on the outside looking in since the playoffs started for a reason. They have not consistently taken care of business. And they've lost some big non-conference games where, say what you want, Alabama may avoid it. I give Alabama a little bit of benefit of the doubt. Because every year I know they're playing LSU.

And every year I know they're playing Auburn. Like every year Oregon's playing Washington? Like it's just not the same. same. I would say until Georgia and Florida these last couple years got much better to change that side of the conference. It looks like Tennessee's on the come-up. And ever since Urban got to the Big Ten, Wisconsin took a big step. Penn State now under James Franklin's taking a big step. And listen, I know Harbaugh's much maligned, but they're producing a ton of NFL guys and they're winning 9-10 games every year. And they're underachieving. It shows you how high the bar is. They need to

find a quarterback. But to me, there's no excuse for the Pac-12. The next. not be in the playoffs this year. Assuming the season plays out. Now, it's going to be complicated. It's going to be difficult. It's going to be much easier to maintain a level of discipline in the pros than it is in college. I don't blame college kids for being immature.

I was one. I'm sure many people listening. You were two. You're not in the SEC they pay you. Big Ten, they probably pay you too. You know, if you're at certain schools, like, you're not getting paid. You're like, whatever. What am I doing?

Like this sucks, no fans. It's not the same juice. So I understand, like, them going out to a party, them chasing girls, them doing stupid shit and putting the team at risk. Like, it's going to happen. And there's nothing really college can do about it. Or it's much easier in the NFL.

If I catch you out when you're not supposed to be out, I'm going to cut you. You're gone. We're packing up your stuff. It's harder to do that in college, especially if it's like a five-star guy you don't want to get rid of. Now, you can push back and say, well, John, they're not going to cut a first-round pick.

True. but you know he'll get yelled at I guess you know that's why it's good to be a first round pick you're kind of cut proof it wouldn't shock me though to see second round probably not either third rounder I can see a third rounder getting cut I'll promise you this in the month of September we're going to have several corona cuts of just late round draft picks that make the team do stupid things to get cut

in college I don't you already saw Louisville had a big you know outbreak because a bunch of guys went to a party and it's easy to be like, oh, of course, you know, you can't go to parties. I think it's hard to be disciplined. Because these guys are naturally disciplined. You have to be disciplined to play football. You get there really early, stay late,

training camps a month, it's a grind. To be a college football player, when I see, oh, you got to take discipline. They already are really disciplined. You're asking them to be like out of this world. And it's going to be difficult. But if they're able to pull it off, I think the SEC will because they won't care.

I think the Big Ten will. we'll attempt to push it too. Pack 12 with Pac-12 United, though, I mean, I don't see many kids opt-in-out, but who knows, unlike the NFL, you can kind of opt out whenever you want or quit, and they can't take your scholarship away. So it's a little more complicated in that sense

that you could just lose a player like week two in college football. Technically you could in the NFL too, but he wouldn't get paid or anything. And probably a big reason that no-star players opted out, right? I mean, at the end of the day, who is the most famous guy to opt out? Dante High Tower? Dante High Tower.

It was like, Trenabius White's gonna opt in. He's playing. Right? Star, Lutelo-Li? I could never say his name, even though I evaluate him coming out. Like, he opted out. You know what they did?

They gave his money immediately to step on Dix. So I don't think Sean McDermott lost much sleep over that. But in college, like, all it takes is some sweet player to opt out. Maybe his buddies do too. And they're like, let's just wait until next year. It could get weird. But if it doesn't get weird, Oregon better make the playoffs this year. Okay, let's bang out.

Just some stories from around the league. First one. Kind of funny. I mean, it's a serious story, but it turns out people making fun of it on social media. I also kind of like the idea. John Gruden faked having Corona. His special teams coach, Rich Peshoshoshia,

I can never say his last name. But he's assistant head coach, really good special teams coach. They brought him from Dallas. I just call him Rich. And, I mean, he's a really good special teams coach. they open up their team meeting on Zoom because I think what some of these teams are doing

Gruden said they haven't even had a team meeting yet in a room together. They've had separate group meetings but they have their team meeting I think they send guys home and then they do Zoom's like this Corona thing is really complicated but they get on the team meeting and Zoom is rich, special teams coach

and he says John Gruden has Corona and he's headed to the hospital and everyone freaks. Now they headed to the hospital they probably didn't need to ask. He should have said he asked Corona. He's not going to be around. And then I think 15 minutes later,

John Gruden shows up and starts talking and just shows like the severity of this. At any moment, someone go down. I don't think it's crazy. And I actually, we're just talking about this on my other podcast. Hey, Ram Middlecoff, subscribe to that one as well. That Drew Brees, like if I was Sean Payton, I would work with Drew Brees and be like,

one day when we come out for a walkthrough or practice, we're going to hide you. and just pretend you have Corona. Because I think you're going to have to do things like that to really hammer home. Like the veteran guys aren't going to need it. But younger players, to see the severity of this, we can't afford you guys screwing around. This is too serious.

We got too much on the line. I love the idea by John Gruden. Now, Settys head to the hospital. I mean, maybe you got to hammer that a point home. But I like that. I think that's kind of thinking outside the box. But I also saw someone on Twitter was like, that's exactly what Michael Scott would do.

So you could argue Grudeness little Michael Scott. Stefan Diggs, I mentioned this earlier, but got the money that Starr who opted out, they gave him a $5.5 million bonus that he was owed, I think in two years, he's getting off your books, smart move. If I had players that were opting out in huge cap space, I would pay players that I had on longer-term contracts

that I could front-load more money. So I didn't have to worry about it in 2021 or 2022, especially because we don't know what the cap's going to be. It's all a huge question mark right now what the money is going to be like. The Chief's third rounder, a kid from TCU, opted out, offensive tackle.

I think he was going to, maybe they were going to try him out at interior offensive line because their guard who also opted out. So they've had a couple offensive linemen opt out. Now that's never ideal. Now they're core guys, I would say

are there two tackles but, and their center and guard aren't great. And that is the one position that I always think you can get by with with undrafted free agents, later round picks. But they like this guy. And I think he's a future tackle for them. Now, obviously not this year. This actually benefits them as well because, like, his contract starts year one next year.

So you basically just get an extra third round pick. Now, I know that doesn't help him in 2020, but I don't think it's a total killer. One thing I saw Derek Carr said that he's tired of being disrespected. I'm a believer that that message is coming from Gruden and Mayock. Like, start taking a little pride in everyone talking shit about you. And stop taking it because we're tired of hearing it. Now, I think part of it is like, Derek, you need to play better. Like, I don't think the disrespect from NFL analysts and, you know, just people that fall football,

most fans, I think, would say that Derek's not very good. I'd say, Derek, you brought some of that on yourself. You haven't been that good the last three years. and I know he mentioned that he was as good last year as he was the year that he almost won the MVP that year that you got hurt. I'm sorry, I watched every snap that season in 2016. And I watched a large majority of him last year. It's just bullshit.

Now, you might be smarter, you might have a better understanding of what's going on, but you were a better player then. It's not even arguable. No, I saw it. So you just need to make more plays. Like you make plays, you guys will win more, and everyone will shut up.

But I'm just, you don't need to say anything. Just make it. some place. Just no more talking. Certain guys just make place. You're paid a lot of money to make place. Austin Hooper stayed with Baker Mayfield this year, or this off-season, went to Austin,

spent some time with him. I guess not just off-season. I mean, it's been the corona season. When you look at Baker Mayfield, I do think he's taking his, you know, physical fitness, much more serious. I thought last year he got really fat,

and you can't be short, unathletic, and fat. Like, it doesn't work that way. Like Drew Brees, you know, not a great athlete. Not that tall, but he's always in pristine shape. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, untrower. filtered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest

moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what? went down and tried to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hard Way, and listen now. Like, Baker, you got to work every advantage possible. Like me, my metabolism at 35 is not great anymore. I can't afford to just eat cupcakes, ice cream, and pizza, and hamburgers. Though I love everything I just listed. I got to change.

like Baker, you are what you are. You are not some supreme athlete in a league full of freaks. You're in the lower end of athletes. Like the bottom 10%. So you better look for every advantage. And you know what? I'll tip my hat to you. You clearly did this offseason.

In a weird time. You made an effort. Now it's just time to play better. But it seems like he's doing everything he can in his control, which I'll tip my hat to him. I love Baker Mayfield coming out. I thought he had a chance to be, you know, the next dream. Drew Breeze. But part of what really makes Drew Breeze is upstairs. His maturity, discipline, and drive are unmatched. They're like Brady Peyton Manning. The dude's a lunatic in a good way.

Like, you can't be lazy party guy. You can be lazy party guy, and I'm not saying this guy is, if you're Sequin Barclay, and you're like, yeah, I'm the biggest freak on the field. You can get by with that, like those type just freaks, at least early on your professional career in pro sports. You can't, it's hard to maintain it, like in your late 20s, early 30s. But 21, 22, 23, 24, you can screw around a little bit. You have room for error. But if you're not a great athlete, you have to maximize everything that you can control to your advantage.

So I think Baker, that's a huge step for him this year, is being really focused. Hollywood Brown, Marquise, the guy they drafted two years ago, the Baltimore Ravens and the first round from Oklahoma. one thing I always heard about people that went through the through Oklahoma is that he was like a buck 55 soaking wet I guess he's added 23 pounds he weighs 180 pounds should make him more durable the one key with him his point of difference is speed I can live with him

being 165 170 Deshawn Jackson his prime wasn't 190 pounds like no one can catch you like to me I got no problem at in the weight as long as the speed maintains. 23, like if he's slower, then we've taken a step back. So we need to find the right weight to maintain the elite speed. And whatever the most you can weigh to maintain that elite speed, that's where we cut the, it's where we draw a line. Because you were drafting the first round to fly by guys.

Now, I'm not saying he's slow now, but it's just something to keep an eye on. Dionne Jordan signed with the 49ers. What could have been? I'm telling you, I was doing the West Coast of the time. dude was a freak show at Oregon. Absolute freak show. They also had these two guys. It was like,

who's those two six-foot-seven guys? It's like, oh, that's DeForest Buckner and that's Eric Armstead. Like, God, what year are those guys? That guy's a true freshman, and yeah, that guy's a true freshman. Those guys are freshmen? And Dion, I mean, Dion was way better

in those guys, his junior year, and those guys freshman year. But it was clear they were all just major freaks. Now, DeForest now makes 21 million a year. Eric Armstead makes 17, and resurrected his career of these last couple years. And Dion just kind of fell off of, you know,

Miami drafted him. He was a 3-4 outside linebacker. They ran a 4-3. It was a terrible fit. He clearly had some maturity issues. He had some, he had issues early on in his college career with just substances and clearly turned it around and became a straight-laced guy.

And then he got to the NFL, and it felt like he started getting spent it again. I'm not putting much stock into this, but clearly, you know, he's just a physical anomaly. So where a guy like that gets, he's going to have a six, seven year career even when it was a quote unquote bust because he was, I think it was a third pick in the draft, maybe the fourth. Yeah, I think he was the third. But, man, what could have been with that guy? Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them.

You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide through this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council.

What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest?

Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Okay, let's dive into this thing we like to call the Middlecough mailback. at John Middlkoff, Instagram handle. Got an instant, give me a follow.

Shoot in the DMs. Wide open. I hang out there sometimes and just talk on stories. But let's fire through some questions. On your show on Tuesday, you mentioned how it would be really difficult to analyze rookies. It's time consuming to go through all the first and second round picks, but what players do you think are best equipped to handle this weird offseason and hit the ground running coming week one?

Well, I'd say the defensive linemen. are going to have an advantage, as long as they're in shape. Chase Young, Kinlaw, is it Chase on? I think the Jags took. Who knows what's going to happen to Yonik? I don't have the draft pulled on. I'm just thinking off my head because defensive linemen,

while there is a, you know, it's tough, right? I mean, those guys, one guy's coming from Ohio State, one guy's coming from LSU and the other guy's coming from South Carolina, but the SEC is, at the end of the day, if you're an edge rusher like Chase on or like Chase Young, when the ball snapped, you try to get the quarterback. And the easiest thing, I mean, Chase Young is going to be a full-time starter, but it's easier to put the other guys in like past wrestling situations

and put them in situations that are conducive to success. You line up over the guard, Javon Kinlaw, and you go up the A gap as hard as you can, especially for the Niners. Like, that's pretty easy. I'd say the positions that'll be kind of hard, like, the linebacker Seattle took The lineback, and I like Kenneth Murray,

did the Charger, I was called him, San Diego, The Chargers took, Queen, is that who the Ravens took? When you draft a linebacker, like, you got to know a lot of stuff. You have to know what everyone's responsibility is. You have to know everyone's gap. You have to know then in the passing game, especially all those guys that are going to be playing the passing game,

especially Queen and Kenneth Murray, the coverages where you go, man concepts, zone concepts. That's tough. The safety is going to be, it's a hard position. I'd say the wide receivers in theory is going to be really difficult, but you can dumb it down. Like if I got Henry Ruggs, just give them, you know, a base of place, like the first

couple weeks. I think, you know, players like that, you're just going to have to give place, right? Because it's hard to give them the whole playbook, you know, in a 15, you know, 14, you know, 14 padded praxis. I think the quarterbacks, Joe Burrow, Tua, I mean, Herbert's not the starter. I think Tua will end up starting

kind of feels like that, just reading some things out of Miami and just hearing different people talk. But think about Joe Burrow. You know, that's, you're asking those, that's a really, really difficult. I think it's really hard for, like,

everyone except defensive linemen. I'm not saying it's easy for defensive linemen. It's not easy for any of these positions. But defensive linemen is the most basic If you just throw a guy in on third and seven, go in there. Line up, you know, outside the right tackle shoulder and kick his ass and bring it. You know, and the Niners, for example, is pretty basic scheme, just one gap. I think it's going to be hard for the wide receivers.

Unless you could just like Rager, I would say, Rugs, who are the speed guys? Brandon I, Yuk, but they're going to ask Kim probably to do a little more because Divo's her. you can just give like two or three plays and routes. You're going to run goes, you're going to run posts, and we're going to give you an end around, stuff like that, early on, where you're not giving them. Like Jerry Judy, when I draft Jerry Judy, I want Jerry Judy to run every route.

Like when I think Jerry Judy, what do I think? Dude runs every route in the route tree. I want them running goes, outs, posts, ins, skinny posts, drags, option routes. I want them doing the whole thing. But how does you know the whole offense? Especially when we're implementing a new offense. It's just difficult.

You know, tackles, the protection, sliding, that's hard. Think how many offensive tackles went in the first, like, 15 picks? Those guys have to learn the entire passing game, and all those guys are starters. It's like the big guy from Louisville, Bechtin. It's like, you've got to know everything, and you're predicting my franchise quarterback, who he drafted three, two years ago, and we need to start playing well. That's a lot of pressure. I think it's hard.

The more I'm talking it out, it's really hard. You could say if you just have a man scheme, and you just ask your corner to cover the guy, man. Now it's hard to play NFL corner. So that just by itself in a vacuum, just chasing guys on the outside is really difficult, especially how many talented wide receivers are in the NFL. Like there are by far more talented wide receivers top to bottom

probably right now in the history of the NFL. From just like, if you just went like one to like guy 30. Now like at given times like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, whatever, it might be better than Julio, right, or whatever. But guy 12 right now in the NFL is better than guy 12. in like the 90s. I feel pretty confident about that. You're way deeper.

But it's just, it's hard to play corner when you got to know, like, you're not just playing man. You're usually playing a bunch of different coverages and you got to know the cover. It's just hard. The more I talk it out,

it's hard for every rookie. It's a good question, though. I like that one. Why do you think Andy Reid is so good with troubled players? I'd say a couple things. I'd say first and foremost, he's a very real human being.

He's not a yeller and a screamer, though, I mean, he can be on you. I think he's just easy to deal with. Now, this is the big leagues, right? If you screw up, he can just cut you. But when he takes into trouble player, like he's laying it on the, like he's telling you. Like, this is your last chance,

whatever their conversation is one-on-one, but it's pretty obvious where you're at. He's not going to hold your hand every day. But if you need something, he's there. So if you want to talk to him, talk to him. talk to him. He's a very accessible coach. Sometimes I think I don't know this. I've never been around him.

But I think sometimes people feel like Belichick is kind of unaccessible even to players. Maybe that's true or not. I don't know. I mean, he has enough success with his players. When's the last time he really messed with a troubled guy? A.B., but he lasted like a week. I just think Andy's really good with people. And I'd say, too, he does a good job.

Like, they pay pretty good leaders typically. Like in Philly forever, it was Jeremiah Trotter. It was Brian Dawkins. You know, when I got there, we actually had a little void. Like who were our leaders? Like Seleck. I think Kelsey was just so young, he would have easily been one. But we kind of had a boy.

That's, I think, why the team kind of fractured. And then once he got to Kansas City, it's like he had Tom Bali. He had Eric Berry. He just had pretty high-level guys. And then obviously Alex, who was a really, really high-level. guy. And then, you know, from Alex to Mahomes, who was just a unique unicorn outlier, last year they signed Honey Badger. They just, they get pretty solid guys. You know, I got Mitchell Schwartz and, and, uh, and Eric Fisher. I don't know about their leadership styles, but they just,

some of their core starters are usually just, you know, high level guys. So it's like you don't really screw around, you know. I, I, I think sometimes, sometimes, some, you know, some, Sometimes in the pros, people overthink, like, micromanaging, holding guys hands. Like, they're 25, 26 years old. And once you establish with legit leaders, people usually follow. Most humans. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing this. sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years

for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month,

I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests, I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio app, search learn the hard way, and listen now. Friends are followers, but you got to give them the right person to follow. You know, and I think

a lot of shitty teams, and you could argue just bad organizations in America, right, just any business, if you have bad people to follow, you're going to fail. When you have good people to follow, you usually turn out okay. I think for the most part, he does a good job of balancing, like not having too many idiots on the squad. But you can get by with a couple guys that are good enough. People understand that. It's bad teams have guys that aren't good enough and act like idiots.

I can live with a pro bowler being a little bit of an idiot. Players get it. Like this is a production league, and if you produce, like, we might not like it. not like we, me, but just players. I'm just speaking for them. But, like, if the dude's a baller, a pro bowler, I get it. But I can't have some dude like, is this guy even that good?

And he's a big pain in the ass? Like, that can't happen. And I think bad teams do that and good coaches never do. That they only give, you know, quote-unquote troubled guys that are legit. Lions fan here, parentheses, unfortunately. Are the Lions woes of front office? office issue, or is the dying city the issue, or both? I didn't know the city was dying. Is Detroit in some issues, some problems? I'm not trying to be ignorant or naive. I'm just not keeping up with

Detroit, to be honest with you. You know, I don't, I've never met anyone. I think that works for the lions. I don't know anyone that works for the lions. I don't think that highly of Patricia. I mean, I just think he's a dog trash coach. He's terrible. I mean, you couldn't, I can't imagine being a and having Matt Patricia be my coach. I would not like football. When I got to college, I'm not like, I root for the Niners now more for business. Like I was rooting for Andy Reed in Super Bowl.

Now, I grew up a diehard Niner fan. But like when they got Mike Nolan, when they fired Mariucci and got Mike Nolan in the mid-2000s, I stopped caring about the Niners. I wouldn't call myself a Fairweather fan, but like I'm a diehard San Francisco Giants fan. I will not. watch Gabe Kapler coach my team. So I'm just, I'm out on them. But I like baseball. Like,

I, I, I, I don't, I don't watch. Like, I, I get it. And listen, I'm not like everybody. And maybe it's my, I have high standards. Like, when I grew up, the Niners were, like, competing to win championships. My first, like, big football memories when I was like 10, I watched Super Bowl. But I don't do, like, like, Jim Tom Sula, I was out. Chip Kelly when he came, I was out. You know, I just don't do it. I don't have the time. I'd rather talk about your teams with good coaches or your bad coaches. But I think Matt Patricia is just like a creation of Belichick's where I don't know if he's any good.

What was he really doing? The pencil and the whole, like, it's just a joke. Practicing outside to get toughness. Like, bro, you play in a dome. Bob Quinn. I mean, is that guy a good GM? I think he's terrible. The safety he traded last year is digs to Seattle immediately becomes a,

a stud. I remember going to the Monday night game. That guy was just laying out nineers left and right. I'm like, who is this guy? I mean, Ronnie Lott? He's just crushing people. I love this guy.

Google it. I'm like, oh, this is the guy that the Lions traded him? What? Now they got him and Jamal Adams. They're going to have a physical ass secondary. I'll promise you that. Pete Carroll's,

I mean, Pete Carroll gets excited when he thinks about dudes getting crushed by his safeties. He loves that. He loves his DBs to hit, which I do too. As a football.

what I like in football, I like big hitters. Now, obviously it's changed. You know, the day and age is just knocking people out with flags, stuff are different. But you can still play like Jamal Adams. Like, try to run a sweep at Richard Sherman. He'll light your ass. I appreciate DBs that hit.

And I don't know how I got away. Oh, there's lions because they traded a guy. I just don't know. I just don't think they have any clue what they're doing. And you go, well, why would they? You go, one, what was our head coach really doing for New England? Not that much. Two, what was their GM doing when he worked for New England? Clearly not that much because he doesn't know what he was doing. Belichick wasn't listening to that guy.

And I think there's got to be just some toxicity in that organization. They always lose. And I'm not trying to talk shit about your team. Like, I'm just trying to be real here. The best two players in the history of the franchise, or at least in my lifetime, I'm 35. About to be 36, field, I'm getting old. Is that they both retired at like 30 years old. Barry Sanders and Calvin John. They said I quit. And I understand Calvin had injuries, but he just quit. He said, I can't take it anymore.

And really, no one blames either one. You know? No one blames either one. We're like, yeah, I probably would have quit too. That sucks. I wouldn't want to play there. It might be the Ford's. I, you know, they're, I don't know.

Maybe Ford peaked. My brother actually has an expedition. So is my cousin. They says he loves them. I actually think fords, they make great trucks. They make great SUVs. I just don't think they make a pretty good product. I don't know what's up with the Ford family.

I don't get it. Honestly, my overall take is less about ownership and more. They consistently hire the wrong people. And they finally, like, it felt like they got it right a couple years ago. Not right, but Caldwell, solid coach. They fired him. They hire Mariucci, and they get Matt Mill in, and he's terrible. Like, can you just ever just hire a normal coach?

Dave here, if Wentz sticks it up this year and doesn't feel like a number two overall pick, Could that impact the draft stock of Trey Lance? Same school and position, and these two guys are the entire sample size? I would say no. I mean, Carson's already played pretty well. I mean, the year that he tore his ACL, he would have won the MVP, or probably win the MVP. Last year, the last five or six games, I know it was against his division.

He played fantastic, especially when he factor in. He was playing with me, you, and two other randoms. I mean, he was playing with three practice. guy's another guy from the A.A.F. And he was winning games. So, like, I think that here's the other thing. Players don't impact other players

past, like, five or six years. So if I draft you, and you're from Oregon, and then three or four years later, same type prospects coming out of Oregon, I don't go, well, Carson didn't work out, so this guy's not going to work out. One, Carson's already hit. He was the second overall pick.

he's been a starter from the moment he got in the league. He's proven he can take you to the playoffs. And I know those two years were Foles, he didn't play in the playoffs, but they were in the playoffs. Maybe the second Foles year, Carson wasn't that good. But the first year when they won the Super Bowl, Carson was fantastic. Carson was a huge, huge reason they had the number one overall seat.

So I actually think Carson, even if you were to have a down year, is already a positive. If I can get this guy to be Carson Wentz, like Carson, let's face it, Carson's biggest issue right now is injuries and not consistently being on the field. Now, you could say if we really wanted to dive in, I think sometimes, like, he needs to learn to take something off, some passes. Like sometimes he'll throw a fastball when the guy's 15 feet away.

It's like, Carson, just throw him a change up. It's like, that's what Rogers and Russell and even Mahomes are great at. You don't always need to throw, you know, Max Scher's heat to the dome. Just throw a little change up. and I think he'll get better, but he's always injured in and out of the lineup, playing with different wide receivers. So, you know, he was a little inconsistent last year,

but Trey, is Trey Lance? I don't even think, is the, are North Dakota State even going to play this year? Like I saw today, the big sky, I don't know if North Dakota State's in the big sky. That's like Cal Poly, Montana, UC Davis. It's basically for us on the West Coast,

like our second division, D1AA. I know you guys have D1A out there too, but D1A is not a big deal out here. I went to a D1A school, but no one went to our games. And I just think that if North Dakota State doesn't play, does that guy even come out? He's going to come out on one season. Now, the season, he didn't lose a game. It's like 70% passer. I mean, DJ, and I've heard a couple people say he's like the most talented guy.

He's more talented or just talented as like Trevor Lawrence. I don't know what he'd do. It's kind of a complicated situation. That'd be a fascinating topic, but I don't, honestly, as I'm sitting here right now, August 6, is he playing? I don't know. If I had to guess, if you said, do you think North Dakota State's playing football this year? I'd probably say no. Who are they going to play?

All these teams that they normally play aren't playing. They were supposed to play Oregon week one. Well, the Pac-12 canceled the game. So if their conference is canceled, they're non-conference canceled, they don't have anyone to play. Maybe the guy should just hold workouts and put them on Instagram. I'd watch. Appreciate everyone listening. Have a good weekend.

Godspeed. Enjoy the PJ championship. Hopefully, Tiger could make a little run. I got a lot of money on guys like Kepka, Tiger, and my guy, Tony Fiena, Sleeper. Adios, Godspeed. Peace. See it. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800 Flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 Flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guide, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Oden

Kirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others. say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast,

Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skin. my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media.

Well now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to and learn the hard way. with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences,

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