The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Aaron Rodgers Speaks, Zach Wilson Saga, Problems in Carolina

Episode Date: December 7, 2023

John questions why media members are always afraid to change an opinion that they've had on players if their first thought was wrong, he reacts to Aaron Rodgers comments on The Pat McAfee Show, what are the Jets doing with Zach Wilson, and will the Panthers ever be able to solve their problems with this ownership group? Lastly, John answers your questions in this episodes mailbag segment. Change your opinion - 6:00 Aaron Rodgers comments - 16:20 Zach Wilson Saga - 24:03 Trouble in Carolina - 29:00 Mailbag - 44:43 NASCAR or WWE - 48:08 Bengals moving forward - 50:05 Problems in Seattle - 57:58 Patriots and the draft - 1:05:12 Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What is going on, everybody? John Middilcoff, three and out podcast. Here's the deal. Talking a little purdy, talking a little DAC, Rogers, talked to McAfee, said some stuff about Jordan Love, the Jets, somehow are going back to Zach Wilson,

Dave Tepper, rumors are, based on the athletic article, that internally it's like the hunger games so we will discuss the craziness there the NFL man there's always you know the good teams are rolling and the bad teams

are always doing crazy shit so we'll dive into it all we'll also do a little mailbag at John Middilcoff Instagram firing those DMs easy to get on the show we obviously did a long mailbag on Tuesday show and I think we've had podcasts I had one Saturday night reacting to the games the college football game.

We've had a lot of content. So YouTube page, all the contents up there. If you like the video aspect of it, go to the YouTube page, subscribe to that. Appreciate everyone that has. Obviously, if you're listening to this on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and out feed. That has all of our content, no matter what, always on it,

so you don't miss anything. We're in a great time. I was looking at the schedule today. Pretty terrible Thursday night game, but I'll watch it and I'll react. But next week, we got three NFL games on Saturday. So that's always, you know, like a little gap between when college football has the break, and the NFL just really kind of flexes their muscles and puts games on basically every day of the week.

So that starts three games next Saturday. Not this upcoming Saturday, but a week from, if you're listening to this, I guess, on Thursday, basically like 10 days away. So that's exciting. Other than that, I think we will, we got some, I got volume merch. So if you want to go to the volume.com, we have three and out hats, flexfit hats. I'm actually wearing one right now. Go copy yourself one of those.

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And I understand having an opinion, and that's the business I'm in, and sticking with it. But eventually you get some information that you can no longer keep saying that and be taken seriously. Like you can't, listen, I'm not the biggest LeBron guy, but if you're saying LeBron sucks in 2023, I can't take anything that comes out of your mouth seriously. Right? And it happens a lot with football, with players. People hate guys and people love guys coming into the league.

And you stick with that opinion for far too long when the information is out there. Just because you didn't like the guy as a draft pick, well, three or four years later, if the guy's been in a couple pro bowlers, you got to take the L. Just admit it and move on. I have a lot of opinions on coaches. I've been right on some and I've been wrong on some, right? If Brandon Staley would have turned out to be Sean McVey or Kyle Shanahan, I would look like an idiot because I was crushing that guy a couple games in to his career.

Now, I've been proven right, but I have other ones like, I've been as critical as anyone on Steve Sarkeesian. I always thought he was one of the most overrated coaches in the country. Well, if he goes on to win the national championship, like I'll have nothing to say. I'll have to take the L on that one. Like he'll forever be the guy that resurrected the university, of Texas and won a fucking national championship. Now, he's got the best team but he can buy,

and his roster's loaded, his conference kind of sucks, but he beats Washington. I'm going to have to shut my mouth, right? I just am. Now, I'm going to bet heavily against him, but I'm a little nervous, not going to lie, and I've seen it forever in scouting, right? You put a high grade on a player,

or you put a low grade on a player, and then that guy goes to the opposite of what you thought. Like, in a couple years, you just got to wave the white flag and say, I was wrong, and figure out why you were wrong. And maybe sometimes you're dealing with human beings. You can't control it. Right?

Sometimes that guy, there was something deep inside of him that you underestimated. And I think so many people when it comes to Brock Purdy just never, they weren't even thinking to the guy. He was just completely irrelevant to them. And when players are completely irrelevant, it's easy to have a tagline. I think Anthony Richardson's going to be a big time player. I think C.J. Stroud was overrated. Everyone has opinions on the top picks.

Let's face it, most of the guys drafted in the fifth, sixth, seventh rounders. You just assume that guy's not going to be good. Specifically at the quarterback position. You go, oh, this guy can't be good. Seventh-round pick? Look at the history of the league. Seventh-round picks are never any good. Who's the best seventh-round quarterback of all times?

Like Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was like, you know, a high-level journeyman. Those guys don't go on to be franchise-level quarterbacks. If you watch Brock Purdy play, there is no disputing that he's really good. Now, should he be the MVP of the league? I don't know. I look around the MVP-level. landscape and go, not great candidates this year. Most of the quote-unquote star players,

like, Mahomes doesn't have an MVP season relative to his past. Right, Josh Allen, his team's playing kind of shitty. Not all his fault. But some of their big losses, he's played a big role in that, throwing some key picks. Right? Lamar Jackson has kind of hit the skids a little bit relative to his numbers earlier in the season. So yeah, I understand why he's in the mix.

Listen, if Dak Prescott beats the Eagles, and then they got some tough games against like the big, They play the dolphins. The Cowboy schedule is pretty hard. If he keeps bawling and then they go on to win a couple of playoffs games and all of a sudden they're in the NFC championship game, I'll be the first to admit. Never thought he could have done it.

I've been one of the most critical guys on Dak Prescott, not because I didn't think he was a good player, not because I didn't love what he brought to the table from an intangible standpoint. I don't know if he's good enough once you start paying him $40-plus million a year. Well, if he's going to play like the way he's been playing this year, he's definitely good enough.

Now we're going to judge him in the playoffs and if he beats either the Eagles or the 49ers, I'll be the first to take the L. But I see it over and over and over. So many people struggle to be like, change your opinion. Who gives a shit? It doesn't matter if you're wrong.

Hell, even in the scouting world, people are so, you know, it takes them so long to go, yeah, I was wrong on this guy. And I think Belichick forever, and it's easy to kind of kick him when he was down, was easily the best GM at this. Because most general managers never want to go,

Yeah, screw this pickup, man. This guy can't play dead in the Western. This guy stinks. And a lot of times when you draft a guy in the first couple rounds, you hold on to him when he's not good enough for a year too long. You play him too much. And it hinders your team instead of just pivoting. Belichick was always the best during the Brady era of just trading a guy,

cutting a guy, just moving on a year early instead of just keep playing a guy that can't play. And I think we do this a lot in this media. that's talking about football. I think fans struggle with it. It's okay to just go, yeah, never saw this coming. He's way better than we thought.

I think people forget, and I was talking to someone about it today, is early on, and happens a lot with later round picks, right? Because, like I said, everyone has an opinion on a top drafted guy. Right? Everyone had an opinion on Baker Mayfield or Johnny Mansell or Anthony Richardson or whoever,

because we've watched them play, they get drafted high, there's just a lot of talk. When you get drafted in the seventh round, have you ever watched the draft? It's hard to stay locked in. in the fifth, six, seventh round. On television, they start going to the zoo.

They start screwing around. The broadcast doesn't even focus anymore. And listen, when I went to practice Brock Purdy's rookie year, I didn't know that much about him. I mean, I knew he played a big role on Iowa State, helped Matt Campbell become a name that was, you know, USC, Ohio State, Michigan. Like a lot of teams were sniffing around Matt Campbell.

But not in a million years, little guy from Iowa State. Like, I would have bet against him without even knowing that much. As we sit here today, I go, fuck, I don't know where the Niners be without him. Does that mean he's the best player on the team? I don't know. They have one of the best left tackles of all time. They have one of the most versatile running backs of all time. They have the best linebacker in the league.

But guess what? Most great quarterbacks that have a lot of team success play on really good teams with a lot of other really good players. Like when Peyton Manning went to Denver, guess what? They had a lot of dudes. DeMarcus Ware, Vaughn Miller. Ever heard of them? Right?

Those guys are pretty good. benefited from having a really good defense. Right? So some players, like Joe Montana, last I checked, played a lot of Hall of Famers. So just because you have good players around you, I think we love diminishing that. Like, oh, he's just,

Steph Curry is one of the best players we've ever seen. He literally played on a team that was arguably the best starting lineup of all time with Kevin Durant, Clay Thompson in his prime, and Andre Iguidalla. Like, I mean, do you think he just would have been as sweet as he was,

and would have been as important to the league if he had played with me, you, and two other guys? Of course not. Most great players need other really good players. Michael Jordan benefited from, I don't know, playing for Phil Jackson, having Scotty Pippen right next to him, and Dennis Rodman and BJ Armstrong and Ron Harper.

Like, you can't do this by yourself. This isn't golf. This isn't just like Tiger Woods out there and his prime just kicking everyone's ass. You need help. Peyton Manning had a lot of help even in Indianapolis, right? And let's face it, sometimes they were limited on defense,

and that was a problem why they couldn't get over to the same. the hump. Their defense wasn't good enough. So this notion of people just unwilling to admit, whenever I see people, all purdy's overrated out, he's pretty fucking good. Now, who are we comparing him to? Are we comparing him like Dan Marino, Joe Montana, and Patrick Mahomes? Well, yeah, that's unfair. But just in a vacuum, if you're watching them this year and you can't just go, God, the guy's pretty good. Dakota Prescott has been a guy that I've always, I don't know, I don't really see it. I think he's a solid player. But when they start paying him $40 million a year, I'm like, I don't know.

Well, if that goes on to, he easily could win the MVP, right? He beats the Eagles, then he plays the Bills and the Dolphins, you know, throws for 35, 37 touchdowns. They win the division. They're a one or two seed. He goes and wins a couple of playoff games. I'll be the first to admit. Never saw that coming. I would have bet against it.

And I have, because that's always been my take. Like, he's not good enough. I was saying the same thing about Kirk Cousins. And then I'm watching Kirk Cousins slice and dice the Niners. Kevin O'Connell's like, this is the best football he's ever played. I'm like, fuck, I never thought he would be this good. He really became it. And I think so often people just struggle with like, just say what you see.

And when you see some guy playing well, we can just play it. I thought Jalen Hertz was an NFL running back. And then last year you're watching him play, like, God damn, this guy's pretty good. Right? So this notion of people unwilling to change their opinions, whether you work in the league, whether you do this for a living, is just so stupid to me. Like, some things are pretty obvious. Brock Purdy is a good player.

Dak Prescott's a good player. Do they benefit from playing with other good players and being on well-run organizations? Of course. Like, most great players that have success with their team don't play for shitty organizations. Don't play for shitty coaches. That's not the way it works,

especially in the sport of football. You need a good coach, and you need talent around you. And usually you need, unless you're Peyton Manning and can literally call all the plays, need a good play caller. So, Brock Purdy or Dak Prescott, odds-on favorite right now to win the MVP. And I think it's safe to say that one of those two guys might win the MVP, right? I would say they're probably one of those two guys is going to win the

MVP. Now is Brock Purdy the greatest MVP of all time or Dak Prescott? Like, I don't know, but on this given year, it's really not that crazy. And if you just watch the two of them play right now, you have to go, yeah, they're really freaking good. And isn't that the point of all this? Like, can you watch a guy, is he good or is he not? Right? I mean, how many guys have we watched that we want to be good? And you're like, God, I do not see it. This is not happening. And that is definitely not the case with Brock Burdick.

With Dak, I mean, he's been in the league a long time. He's just kind of putting it all together, which some guys, now, Dak had a good season a couple years ago, but then he shipped the bed back-to-back years in the playoffs. So there's going to be a lot of pressure on him in the playoffs, but I'll be the first to admit. Like, he goes and plays well this weekend and keeps rattling off wins against really good teams.

Cowboys of the Super Bowl, I'm like, yeah, that contract they gave him was worth every penny. Aaron Rogers said something that I thought was pretty interesting that were too quick to shit on guys and too quick to anoint them. Speaking of Jordan Love, and basically told McAfee that he holds no bitterness and, you know, obviously he wishes things would have played out differently in Green Bay, which I think, I mean, he played a big role in that. And he admitted that, like he wishes things he could have done differently. But then he roots for these guys. And listen, it's Some people are able to live in this like vengeful

Have a hold a lot of animosity toward other people forever And you know, I think I heard I think Colin said this once upon a time that holding a grudge is like chain smoking hate Some people can pull it off right and be really successful Portnoy is a good example He just he's very spiteful and it fuels them and it works For me whenever I do that it just creates. I don't like the way I feel. I think it makes me counterproductive. So I've really, in my

latter years, in my 30s, tried to be much more of a positive person when things in my past haven't worked out for whatever reason and served me well. And I do take Aaron at face value when he says like, yeah, I'm rooting for these guys, specifically Jordan Love. Now my pushback would be, we're too quick to crush guys and annoying guys. The general manager of the Green Bay Packers, Brian Gutakins was the guy that went on record several weeks ago that said these last 10 games for Jordan Love will determine his status for the team. Because that's a fact. Right. When you're a coach, when you're a GM, you evaluate every game.

And when you have a guy like him who is contracts and years matter, right? They have them on a two-year, $11 million deal. So if he would have sucked like he did early in the season all year long, they would have been in position to draft a guy. and he wouldn't be their quarterback any long. Just like Brian Gutikin said, these next 10 games are going to go a lot to determine his future. Boy, he's playing well, they're winning games. He will continue to be their quarterback now,

and they're not going to draft a quarterback anymore. He changed the narrative. But internally in that building, whether it's LaFleur, whether it's Gudecans, whether it's everyone with the Packers, they're constantly evaluating you. And they're trying to figure out, are you not good enough?

Or are we just anointing you as our starter moving forward? That's the job. That's part of the deal. Now, putting guys on pedestals like, listen, this is back to the Purdy thing. Anyone acting like Purdy is like destined to go to the Hall of Fame or going to be an all-time great quarterback, we've got a long way to go. I mean, anyone doing that is an idiot. But anyone that can't say like, Jordan Love these last three weeks looks freaking awesome. Brock Purdy in 2003 has been mostly a badass.

I can't help you. And there were moments with Jordan Love where, was Rocky. And now looking back, you go, kind of understandable. Played, you know, hadn't played it all despite being an older guy and has figured it out. The other thing that's, you know, very eye-opening is, and I guess we knew this when he was drafted, but the physical skills. He's got a big arm. He can move. His accuracy is a little hit or miss, but I can live with average accuracy if you're a big-time playmaker. That's always what Josh Allen had. Josh Allen was never going to be Drew Brees, Steve Young. That wasn't a

Peyton Manning. He's not going to be some pinpoint guy, but he's going to make so many freaking plays, it won't matter, and he'll overcome that. Now, I'm not acting like Jordan Love is about to become Josh Allen, but if you can become a big playmaker like he has become these last three weeks, then he can carve out a niche as a really good starting quarterback. I don't know if he'd ever be best case scenario, a top five guy, but you sure as hell can be a top 12 guy, and if you're a top 12 guy, I can build a playoff roster around you. And in the NFL, if I'm going to the playoffs every year, listen, even if you're a lot of the playoffs, listen, even if we don't quote unquote ever make a Super Bowl run or ever win a Super Bowl, who cares?

If I'm just winning 10, 11 games and being good on a yearly basis, that's all that matters. And I think the Packers are definitely in an intriguing spot now to be kind of that level team. And then just how good the guy can become, because one thing we've learned, people forget, people thought Tom Brady was not that good relative to Peyton Manning in like 02, 03, 04. And that's when he was winning Super Bowls. A lot of people said very similar things that they're saying about Purdy. not comparing Brock Purdy to Tom Brady the player. But sometimes when you win, people want to, oh, it's the team, it's the roster, it's this.

We did it with Russell Wilson, right? Oh, it was Legion of Boom and everything. And obviously, he didn't have to do as much for some of those teams. But then when he started getting big money, the team started winning less, but he started becoming a great player. So there are always going to be a lot of variables with these guys. But right now, the Packers have a two-year, $11 million contract with a guy that looks like you can go to the playoffs with.

and you get two years to evaluate it, and that's an awesome position to be in, especially if you like the guy, he's coachable, he understands your offense, he fits what you're trying to do, it's all you can ask for. And I would say if they make the playoffs this year, you would fucking be a static.

I mean, it'd be one, I simply bet against the Packers this year based on the law of averages. It's like, who goes from Favre to Rogers to just another top 15 quarterback? That never happens. I think the only one I could ever fine was the 49ers.

Went from Joe Montana to Steve Young to Garcia, who was never going to go to a Hall of Fame, but made several Pro Bowls, was really good, and they'd go to the playoffs with him. If Jordan Love becomes their Jeff Garcia, it's truly one of the great draft picks of all time. I mean, it really is. And based on these

last three years, I don't know why, or the last three games, I don't know why he couldn't. Now, we'll see how this plays out. I think they'd play the Giants this week, but you've got to give them a lot of credit. Things change. Right? I mean, three or four years ago, Uber was a dog shit company. They were losing money.

They were, you know, Martin's scandal. It was a disaster. Now, as we sit here in 2023, because of the lockdowns, Uber Eats started thriving. Now their driver business makes money. Companies crushing.

Things change. Sometimes they take a while to change. Sometimes they take a month to change. And my job is just evaluated and talk about it as it changes. I'm never stuck on opinion. I thought Jordan loves stunk. Now I think he's pretty good.

We'll evaluate him game by game because that's all we got to go off. That's what Brian Gutakins is doing. That's, that's what Matt LaFleur is doing. That's what Packer fans are doing. It's exciting. Right? I mean, I, the reason 49er fans are so quick to defend their guy is because they're watching them, they go, this guy's pretty good. What are we talking about? Like, he's made $800,000. Hell, if he was playing like this, making $35, we'd feel, $35 million would feel good about it. He's making $800,000. He's on pace to throw 30 touchdowns and be the starting quarterback on a team that wins 13 or 14 games and everyone's taking a shit on them because you thought he sucked

two years ago that seems like a you problem so yeah this quarterback stuff man it's just it gets everyone into tizzy because everyone is just so it's just they struggle so much to just change their opinion i i never understand that i just i have nothing in common with that i'll change my opinion tomorrow yesterday we're talking football players they're constantly changing some are getting worse some are getting better. Some are going through struggles. You just evaluate what you see. When I worked as a scout, what do we do? We just evaluated the games. No broadcaster, all 22. You put in some AirPods, listen some music, listen to the radio, and you just fucking evaluated players. It was very emotionless. It's like good or bad. Is it getting worse or are you getting better?

Give the guy a great. That's the business. And it's pretty easy to see when a guy's playing well or guys playing not. It's like the Jets. I've been saying this over and over. Everyone, when the story broke about Diana Rusini said that Zach Wilson didn't want to come back, it was so easy to go after Zach Wilson. And like, I'm done having opinions on Zach Wilson, the person, the player. To me, this whole thing revolves around the Jets. It's easy to be like, oh, this guy has to play. It's his job.

And listen, of course, if they want you to be the starter, you've got to be the starter. They're paying $9 million. To me, this is more about the musical chairs now for two straight years of getting in this situation. This is a reflection of the general manager. This is a reflection of the coach. And one thing I've heard over and over from people in the loop is it's not easy to work for Woody Johnson. He's got a lot of opinions. He always wants to talk to the GM. He gives ideas. David Tepper is doing something similar right now. So when I see Zach Wilson playing, I go, I bet the owner wanted to see him. And honestly, if the owner did, I'd probably side with him.

Like, we're just going to suck with Tim Boyle? What's the point of that? We're paying this guy $9 million, even if he does suck let's just put him on the field. We're not winning games as it is. It's not like the guy you're bringing up off the scrap heap looks any good. What's the fucking point of playing him?

Maybe we catch lightning in a bottle and he looks kind of good and maybe we can offload him this off-season. I don't know. But there's no point from a value standpoint to play anybody but Zach Wilson. Zero. Just like the New York Giants

sticking with Tommy DeVito. In what world you're so out of it. You're not sniffing the playoffs. Your team stinks. would you go back to Tyrod Taylor? Tyrod Taylor is someone you play when you are trying to win a game because your starting quarterback is injured

and you're trying to keep your season alive. Your season's over. It's dead. So if you told me that John Mara looked at Brian Dayball on the coaching staff and said, listen, even when Tyrod's better, play DeVito the rest of the season. Let's see what we got.

Why wouldn't you? I talked to a scout that went through Illinois. You know what he told me? He's like, Tommy DeVito's not bad. Because one thing we've seen with Illinois is not much change on their offense, beside him, and they are dramatically shittier on offense. No one's acting like DeVito is the next Brock Purdy,

but maybe he's not terrible, and maybe he could be your backup the next couple years. So why would you not play him? Coaches are always, and this is a great part about the NFL, is the tanking, everyone's always trying to win, no matter what, no one's ever trying to throw a game, maybe the last game of the season. Hell, Miami Dolphins owner offered Brian Flores

all that cash every game to lose, and he refused. So coaches are very prideful, rightfully so. Players definitely are, but that's the right move. Play Tommy DeVito. Play Zach Wilson. How's this even a, you know, even a question mark. Now, Zach Wilson, I guess one thing I would defend him, like you're just fucking with me nonstop.

Like you bench me, you bring me back, you did it last year, which a lot of that was self-inflicted. I acted like an idiot. But this year, from all reports, is like he's been much more mature. It's one thing to go last year to Mike White. Mike White's a real backup. It's another thing to. bring Tim fucking Boyle. I mean, is Tim Boyle starting in the XFL or the UFL or the European League or

whoever the hell is some seven-on-seven league? No. So to do that, I understand Zach Wilson like, you guys can't stand me anymore. So now you're going to throw me back in there. Now, part of it is, it's easy to say, be a professional. We hear that all the time with pro athletes. Think about your own job, right? We obviously, most of us don't make, you know, $9 million a year. So something that comes with the money is like you got to take the shit but it's how often do you get angry at a boss at a coworker at an employee and it's like god i just got i got i got to i got to act like a pro here but you don't want it for whatever reason someone pisses you off someone screws you in business you know an employee just won't listen to you a partner is being shitty and you're like it's so

easy to be like be professional be professional like we're all human beings we all get to a breaking point. We all, you know, are biased in our own world and think we're getting screwed. So I understand if it is true that he was hesitant to go. Now, he's ultimately starting. Maybe they talked him into it. I know Aaron Rogers shit on the report, but regardless, like, it's much more of a reflection of this Jets turmoil to me than it is Zach Wilson. We learned who Zach Wilson was last year. Not very good. We knew that the Jets were completely over Zach Wilson, but because Aaron Rogers and the Packer situation fell into his lap. They're like, oh, let's just keep him because they're kind of buddies.

And we've seen this year what we saw last year. If you play him, you'll lose games. Like, that's a fact, Jack. So once you start going back and forth with all these no-name quarterbacks, just put yourself in his situation. Maybe like, God, this sucks. Now, ultimately, he did the right thing. That's all that matters.

But I could understand him on Monday, like, oh, we're really doing this again. We're playing this musical chairs. It would suck. I mean, he's a human being. One story I saw today, the Athletic wrote this piece on the Carolina Panthers. And one thing in the NFL in general, when things get really, really ugly, because there's so much money in the line, right? I mean, you're talking position coaches are making $500,000 to $800,000.

Coordinators making one to three, obviously head coaches making a ton. GMs, it's hard to get a GM job. Everyone starts pointing fingers. Everyone starts blaming people. And everyone tries to curry favor with the honor. because ultimately they're in charge of hiring and firing everybody. And the story basically, the headline was the Carolina Panthers is essentially the hunger games of the NFL, which even if you didn't watch the hunger games in the movie theater,

you would have seen it on television over the years because I swore to God TNT played it like every other day. Even though I was thinking about this on YouTube TV, like when I had Comcast or whatever you're listening to this, if you just have the cable and you haven't cut the cords yet, you would just stumble onto a lot of movies. You'd be like, oh, Con Air, Ah, The Rock, Oh, Hunger Games, you know, Shawshank. With YouTube TV, you don't really stumble upon anything. Like, it basically just feeds me through the algorithm.

It knows I watch games. It knows I watch the golf channel. And it knows I watch CNBC. Like, I don't watch random channels anymore. Where I used to stumble on a lot of those with cable television. So I do wonder if the movie scene, and maybe that'll change with, like, Netflix and stuff. but even you don't go to Netflix often or Amazon Prime or Apple Plus

or HBO Max and just watch a random movie from like your childhood where you would on cable it's always struck me like that's something that's going to die over time that you know they just I've watched Shawshank parts of it 700 times

I've watched Goodfellas or casino or the godfather just bits and pieces of it over the years you know 75 times I just don't know if that's going to happen anymore But back to David Tepper in the Hunger Games, that Tepper, part of this article is that he would give ideas, you know, he'd have coordinate people on the staff.

One thing, because like he's taking this business mindset, right, of all these different strategies, bring people into your building with different ideas, have a specific onboarding practice. Try to hire people that think differently than you. It's very techy, it's very financey, it's very just the private sector. Yet in football, if you look at like Andy Reidstaff, who's just rattling off Super Bowls, look at some of his key guys.

Matt Nagy, known him for 15 years. Brett Veach, known him for 20. Spagnola, coach for him 20 years ago. I mean, Tom Melvin, been on the staff forever. His offensive line coach, been there the whole time. Dave Tob, the special team's coach, entire time. So Dave Tepper wanted Frank to hire all these coaches he didn't know Instead of just letting him I don't know hire a staff

And there's a difference of just hiring people you know and just hiring good people Like obviously the Andes the Harbaas like they know a lot of people but they're good And clearly Frank was forced because the only way he was getting a job is to listen to everything David Tepper was telling him to do To hire a bunch of guys he didn't know and all these guys have no loyalty to him And they have completely stabbed him in the back even if Frank sucks but part of this story is they're constantly texting the owner like his footwork's falling apart and the GM doing this too the GM constantly doing this to temper and then Tepper would tell Frank that he needs to work on Bryce Young's footwork and I'm all I completely understand big picture stuff like I said with the Jets if I was Woody Johnson put Zach Wilson back in the fucking game Robert he's starting this week if I'm John Mara I don't want to see Tyrod Taylor just play Tommy DeVito people around Jersey, people around the metal lands, enjoy it. It's the only positive thing we have going for us.

Tommy DeVito, Tommy Cutlets, starts. Completely understand that level of meddling when my team stinks. I don't understand talking about specifically like, hey, work on his arm mechanics, work on his footwork in the pocket. Dave Tepper knows nothing about footwork in the pocket. Hell, most scouts and coaches don't know it that well. the coach in America is the quarterback, right? So once he's getting involved like that, they're destined to be screwed.

And I do wonder, how are they going to get a coach to come into this organization? How are they going to get someone to come into a place where clearly the owner is, kind of has some Dan Snyder qualities, and has unlimited money? So, yeah, I mean, ultimately it's the NFL. There are only so many jobs. And if he pays you $30, $40 million and you're making a million dollars as a quarter. who's turning that down, but you know you're kind of selling your soul. Like you're, you know, you know within two years you could be, you know, shit out of luck.

It could be over. And I just wonder, like these stories, I was talking to a buddy today, like, how many stories? Because I've taken a lot of people in like Giants, Twitter, we're like, you don't know what you're talking about. You've never been to a training camp. Journalism put your, like I'm not a journalist. I'm not a fucking media member. I'm just telling you what I know. And I know it to be fact.

The Giants have issues. Yeah, I'm not at training camp. It's fucking 2023. It's called text messages, phone calls, DMs, knowing a lot of people in the national footballing. I'm not just saying it to say it. I don't even care. It doesn't matter to me.

I can give two shits about the Giants. I'm just telling you they got issues. They got problems. I'm not just making that out of thin air. But how often do you hear these stories of like, a lot of issues up there, a lot of issues internally, and then it turns out it was all false. in my time around the NFL

Now I got it hired in 2010 and it's 13 years later I'm still around it talking about it Do this for a living I don't remember one story That broke from a glazer from a Schefter Just I mean from people that know people in the NFL About animosity

About weird shit going on like Dave Tepper I saw it with Harbaugh I've seen it with the Raiders like Some of the red flag internally And it not turned out to be true I'm not saying word for word every specific thing being reported is true, but usually where there's smoke,

there's fire in the NFL. And one thing that has always covered that up is winning. So when you win, it doesn't mean you don't have internal problems. I saw it when I first got out of the NFL and started working in radio with the Harbaugh 49ers. They were having success, and they were a disaster internally.

You're going to the NFC championship, you're winning 12 games, you're sending half your roster to the pro ball. No one, you just, everyone keeps their mouth shut. moment you start losing a couple games, the moment you're not playing in January, shit hits the fan. And the moment you win one game, three games, four games, that's a long season for a lot of angry people. People start talking. People start singing, you know, quick. People in the NFL like to talk, man. A lot of times when you work that much and you're stuck in this office and

things are going really poorly, you feel like you can't tell anybody. You feel like no one knows what's actually going on. And I would imagine Tapper is like furious. I'm all this stuff's leaking out, but I would say 90% plus of everything you read about the situation is true. Why people want it out, people want you to know what a disaster situation is going on there. And when you get this new owner, when you get a guy with all this money, when you get a guy with all this ego, and rightfully so, if you told me, you know, in 10 years, you know, say we're 11 years, when I'm 50 years old, you're like, John, you fucking made $100 million in this podcast thing and this internet thing, making some investments, you've done really well. Do you think my ego is

going to be smaller or bigger? It doesn't mean I'm not going to treat people well or whatever, but do you think I'm going to have more belief in myself to be successful or less? Right. So if you're a David Tepper and you go, this guy's made billions of dollars, when you talk about like the greatest people on Wall Street of all time, it's like a short list. His name comes up. You're talking like the Buffetts, Charlie Munger's RIP. It's pretty quick for David Tepard to be to Steve Cohen to be disgust. So you don't think this guy, even though he doesn't know anything about plays, footwork, and his shit, doesn't believe he knows how to make it successful.

Even if he's wrong, you're crazy. That's not how these guys think. That's what I've said forever about Belichick. If you think Belichick, at 71 years old, is going to go quietly when he's been making $20 million for a decade, when he's fucking rattled off six Super Bowls, when even if Brady was a bigger reason than him, he's the reason for, Brady was there. He's the guy that made Brady the starter. He's the guy that built great defenses around Brady. He's the guy that hired all these coaches. You're fucking on drugs.

Like his ego right now, even in a rough time, and right now it's never been ugly. If you don't think Belichick deep down believes he knows what he's doing, you're out of your mind. And if you don't think Dave Tepper believes he has good ideas how to make this work, you're crazy. Now, it doesn't mean it's going to, and it's clearly not. Same thing with Dan Snyder. Dan Snyder got that team early. He made a bunch of money. Dude was had a private jet by the time he was like 30 years old. So sometimes when you get the money really quick, you just get this inflated sense of like I know everything. Even if you don't. And that's the hardest thing. Like the finance world, the marketing world, the internet world has nothing to do with the football team. Nothing. It's why so often, like there was a story about Kevin Warren, the former Big Ten commissioner who's now the Bears president.

like he's trying to like stronghold his way into power or he gets to run that organization. You know why he's doing that? Because even if he was the president and he dealt with sweet sales, he built the Bears a new stadium, he helped make the owners an extra billion dollars. He became one of the great NFL businessman cash cows in league history.

Let's just use that hypothetical. He wouldn't get a hundredth of the credit if he was the lead guy to hiring a coach that won them Super Bowl. In football, you get all the credit for the football team. It doesn't matter how much your team is making. It doesn't matter how sweet your stadium is. None of that shit matters.

It's why so many business people want to be in charge and run the football operation. It's why so many owners want to get the credit when the team starts winning. And it's difficult. And it's why most teams don't win. And David Tepper, to me, feels farther away when you read these stories.

Because again, like I said, when this stuff comes out, it comes out for a reason. I fucking always believe it's true. Because you know why? I would say 95%, it always has a ton of validity. It feels like they are farther away now, however many years after he bought the team, than he was when he first purchased the team for $2.4 billion or whatever he paid.

And that sucks if you're a Panthers fan. That sucks if you're like, God, what are we doing here? How is this going to get any better? And the news, the reality is it's just not. Not until he realizes just cut the checks, take a step. back, enjoy your fucking life, and let your GM and let your coach cook. You've got to be willing to go through some hard times. Because if you're not, it's going to suck and you're going to consistently lose. And you're just going to be a miserable rich guy. And that's what Dan Snyder was

forever. That's what David Tepper is shaping up to be. Because this is not like some retirement gig where you just like pay for the team and then just chill if you want to be involved. Because if you're going to be involved, then it's not going to go well. It's a miserable business to be in. losing in football sucks and there's not much you can do about it and their team lacks talent if the quarterback's wrong the other thing you're going to have to do

he's like adamant like this quarterback this quarterback what if the quarterback's not the guy in a couple years you're going to have to pivot and you're going to have to be willing to pivot because it's pretty clear like the one game they started Andy Dalton this year they were much better on offense like Andy Dalton right now is a better player than Bright young now I also understand

playing Andy Dalton and he snaps is a waste of time you got to play the kid but it clearly this guy is completely overwhelmed and he's getting worse. So you could argue maybe it's not crazy. Just like take a deep breath. And maybe they should have sat him for a couple more games

or even the seat. But they didn't because the owner never would let him. He's too involved. Like what's the point in paying your coach to make those decisions because the rumor's word that they wanted to sit him down? And the owner just doesn't want to listen. So I don't know, man.

I feel bad for you, Panzer fans. 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. Yep, that's me. Clever 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, personal health, personal health, personal. 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you. 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. They're finishing that sentence. And 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. Okay, let's dive into a little thing called the Middle Coff Mail. If you're watching this on YouTube, subscribe to the page. The way you get in the mailbag, easy. Slide in to my DMs.

Add John Middlecop, DMs wide open. Get your question answered here on the show. We will start with Andrew. John, will you and Colin please break down the elite podium quarterbacks? This is in regards. This guy sent me a clip of Purdy with his hat backwards. Obviously, I was making fun of Colin. on Sunday night after Purdy shredded the Eagles,

hat backwards. Listen, you know, I'm bald. I don't follow the hair rules. I can wear a hat anyway I want. Now, I did grow up in a home where I would say the hat backwards. Like, I couldn't just rock a backwards hat to school, right? I didn't want to say I grew up in the military, but we had some pretty, you know,

some rules that had to be followed. That was one definitely. Now, I'm not saying that once I got to school, I didn't throw that bad boy on backwards, but I didn't grow up in a house where you're going to, just wear whatever. I don't think he's crazy for the big picture. Like, if you're going to a job interview, would you wear a backwards hat? I also think going to these podiums. I've been to enough of these press conferences. I think they're kind of dumb, right? I mean, during the week,

I mean, most of these guys are wearing sweats, like legitimately, come in sweat, socks, and sandals. I don't put that much value into it. In 2023, maybe it used to meant more. But to me, it's more. I always judge more on like what what do you actually do more than what you say. I personally have always hated optics. I think it's like so overrated. I think it's very, it's why maybe I don't play the political game well enough just in business. I could be better at that. I'm just a big actions guy.

Like do you produce? Do you get the job done? If you're in business, do you make money? I grew up in an area where, you know, some of the richest guys I knew were farmers. they wore boots and jeans every day to work. And then when I lived in the Bay Area, like the billionaires were sweatshers. So like the day and age,

I wearing a suit every day, I don't give a shit. That's just maybe it's where I grew up, not as important. I'm more a bottom line guy. Now, in terms of best press conferences, you know, I always thought Brady was kind of boring.

You know, he was part of it was Belichick, the cliches. He just didn't give much. I've been to a couple of Peyton Mannings. He was pretty good. Philip Rivers was a beauty. I think,

I said it forever. I think Philip Rivers would be a star on television. I really do. I think he'd have a chance to be like John Madden. Now he's got 75 kids. He's coaching high school football. Maybe he's got a different calling. He doesn't need the money.

His ego doesn't need the spotlight. I just truly believe it's a talent. And I think so many people that are just so ego-driven, like Jason Garrett clearly to me is an egomaniate. Why the fuck you're on TV? Now part of it is they're giving them sweet gig, so why wouldn't he be? But he's terror, right?

At least Tony Romo, I think he's a little overrated, just in terms of a broadcaster. I've always kind of liked the guy. Just could be a little annoying, but at least he's got a lot of energy. You know, Maddens, the Gruden, some of them are, even Aikman. They're just kind of nat. Chris Collinsworth, there's an energy. I think Philip Rivers, honestly, would be a star. I really, I could see Drew Breeze failing from a million miles away, and guess what happened?

He didn't last. Here's a question for the mailbag. Would you rather have a success? career as a NASCAR driver for a WWE wrestler. Well, I would say both are pretty dangerous, right? We've obviously seen NASCAR drivers die, and we have seen wrestlers die early deaths and struggle in their later years. That's a hell of a question.

I would imagine if you're a really good NASCAR driver, you know, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin. I'm not a huge NASCAR guy, obviously, Earnhardt's. You make a lot of money, just like if you become a WWU wrestler. I would probably choose WWU wrestler. I'm not a big race guy. Like, I mean, I don't follow NASCAR and I definitely don't follow F1. Have a lot of respect for the adrenaline junky nature of being in a car going that fast.

I did like wrestling a lot as a kid. I mean, grew up on Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, obviously the Rock. Those guys were really Goldberg when I was in like, you know, junior high in high school. They were a really big deal. Hulk was a superstar, Tropic Thunder. I think I'd go WWE. I do think it opens more doors to become just a star. I mean, you've seen it forever. And there's something special about, you know, it's kind of the best of both worlds, right? You're big athlete, working out, you know, performer. You're almost like an actor. So I think I would go, I would go WWE wrestler. I was,

I mean, look at Hulk. I mean, I would say Hulk Hogan, one of the most famous individuals in the sporting world of my life. Like, I mean, pretty big. If you just say Hulk Hogan, people know who he is. And he was famous well before the internet.

Right, look at the Rock. I mean, the Rock became easily one of the most famous people in the world. And he was just, his career started as a wrestler. His career technically started as a football player, but I would go WWE wrestler for sure. What would you say

is the best plan for the Bengals going forward? I personally believe Joe and Jamar are enough offensive superstars for you to win. For that reason, I want to see the Bengals absolutely prioritize getting a top 5 O line and top 10 defense. I think, you know, I would imagine that's a priority for most teams while keeping our current defensive coordinator. Hell, make him the head coach if you have to. The other big thing is, even though he's a great culture guy and has drafted very well, I do not think Zach Taylor is it for the Bengals. Could you ever see them going for a more established offensive mind like McVeigh or LaFleur?

Well, let's take a step back. I just saw Jake Browning was named the offensive player of the week for the AFC. I think they do AFC and NFC because Debo was the NFC. But what a cool moment for Jake Browning. Zach Taylor has to get a lot of credit there. Now, he was also calling about seven double passes, one void through. right to Josh Allen, but still, he gets a lot of credit for Jake Browning looking good. He just does.

And I think that you went to the Super Bowl with the guy and you went toe to toe to last year with the Chiefs. Now, I'm with you, your defensive coordinator is really, really successful. I think part of it is, like T. Higgins, you can't have multiple wide receivers making huge money. You just can't build your team like that. So I think you're going to have to part with him, but could you trade him? Now, the problem is he's lost some value and, you know, acquire an offensive

lineman, acquire a draft pick to draft an offensive or defensive lineman. So as long as you got a good defensive coordinator and invest in that side of the ball, your defense is going to be good. And to me, the key is then offensive lineman, you've got to draft and develop, and then just hit on maybe a sweet running back in the third round, find a tight end in the fourth round. You're going to have to hit some. That's part of sustaining, right? How the chief sustain.

Isaiah Pacheco, seventh round pick. You know, you're going to have to replenish that way. So to me, as long as Joe Burroughs healthy, and you have Jamar Chase, and you have you know, Lou Amaruno as your defensive coordinator, you're going to be good. You're going to be good. So I would feel pretty good about it. McVeigh and LaFleur, McVeigh makes $20 million a year and lives in Los Angeles. Matt LaFleur is the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.

Cincinnati Bengals, you guys are good and fun. I'm sorry, it's not the Green Bay Packers. Like, you don't leave Ohio State to go coach somewhere else in college. You don't leave Alabama to go coach somewhere else in college. You don't leave the Green Bay Packers. if they're good in the pros. Like Mike Tomlin's not leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers if he's winning. So not to burst your bubble, but you're not getting those guys.

What's your advice on finding one's purpose in life or choosing the right career? You know, I can only speak to myself. The reason I went and I basically burned the boats and the only thing I've ever done as revolved around sports is because when I was young, and especially early on in college, I realized, like, I'm not as smart as a lot of people. And I saw buddies that have gone on to build their own businesses. And I have one that sold it for a lot of money and he's really successful. Guy was a genius. I'm like, I saw the capabilities intellectually you had to have.

And I realized for me to have success, I had to find what I liked the most. Right. And then just figure it out from there. And what I liked the most was sports, specifically football. and I was able to kind of eat shit for a long time, not make any money, work long hours, which I don't think I could have done the same

if I was working at a car dealership or I was working at an insurance company or I was working at Morgan Stanley. Now, as I've aged, my palate has expanded and other stuff interests me, but when I was young, find what you like the most and just go all in. and I think that's only my experience,

but I've heard enough successful people talk about, like you've got to follow your passion. And if you can monetize your passion, which most of the time you can, and it might be ugly at first, I didn't make any money until I was like 35. My girlfriend has been making big cash since like a late 20s. I have so many people that I went to college with that were,

you know, I graduated in like 0, 708 range when the, financial crisis hit. And a lot of those people went into San Francisco in like 09, 10 and started working for those tech companies. And we're making hundreds of thousands of dollars in their mid-20s, up through where we're at now, I mean, made a ton of money. And when you do what you like to do, you don't get envious over other people having more financial success, especially when you have belief that you have room for growth and are going to be able to make money doing what you're doing. but if you don't like what you're doing,

at least for me, I'd be miserable. And, you know, I think it really, really helps when you're passionate. Like, the reason Andy Reed can work 20 hours a day

is he fucking loves football. I mean, he loves football. The reason Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger could talk finance all day long, they were addicted to it. Those are passion. And when your passion is what you do,

it's lights out. Because you can spend so much more time. Like, yeah, I don't get to do, like there's sometimes I got to not do what I want to do. I don't get to go on a vacation or go hang out on Sundays or Saturdays and football stuff's going on. I have to record well late midnight or 10 o'clock and get up early and do it over again.

You don't even think about it. You just do it because it's what you like to do. And when you get to do something instead of you have to do something, when that mindset is you can just go a lot farther. It's why I like the greatest players in sports history, like Tiger Woods loves golf more than anything, besides probably his son and daughter. Michael Jordan loved basketball.

Tom Brady was addicted to football. You can't spend that much time doing it over and over and over and over again if you don't really like it. So if you don't, you've got to find out what you like to do. And that could be, you know, making food. It could be selling car. It could be anything.

And then just go into that industry and just do everything humanly possible to figure it out and find out how to be valuable. in that given industry. When you work in the business that you're passionate about, it gives you an upper hand on the competition. Because the majority of people you're going against aren't going to be truly addicted to what they do. When I say addicted,

like truly have a burning desire. It's why when you meet people with a burning desire for what they do, especially the older you get, most of the time the person's pretty successful. Because it's hard not to be. What's the answer for the Chargers? Is it easy to just hire a new coach. I hate to see the Chargers waste away Herbert. I mean, I don't think they have a choice.

What else are you going to do? You're not changing Herbert. You're not changing the owner. I think there's a decent chance they blow everyone out coaching staff and the general manager and just start to scratch. And then the question is, would they pay to get a Belichick and Josh McDaniels and let him hire the general manager? Would they hire general manager first and then let him hire the coach? Would maybe Dean Spanos's his son, John, take over? and run it? I don't know. I don't know. They have a lot of question marks because I say historically, it's hard to have a lot of faith. They're going to get it right because they tend to go cheap when it comes to the coach. So I would be nervous if I was a Charger fan. But the one positive thing you have going for you is you have the quarterback and he's under contract and he's really talented

and he's a really good guy. And then he's got the ability if you put the right people around him and get him the right coach you could win. That's all that matters. Hey John, I'm a Seahawks fan, and you and Colin are talking about how Gino is the problem with our team. A lot of Seahawks fans disagree and Carol is the problem. He needs to go. For a defensive coach, he hasn't had a good defense since 17. We've invested the second most money in our defense in the NFL behind the Niners, but our defense is 24th in points allowed. Many other top 15 defenses have even worse rosters than us, such as the Patriots, Panthers, Falcons, Saints, Bears, and Vikings. Our offense has been horrible, not because of our coordinator, but because of Carol.

Our OC is from Washington with Mike Shanahan, and he worked with McVeigh, so his offense is supposed to be creative, yet the offense that Seattle is more basic than vanilla ice cream. There have been many stories come out about how Carol interferes with the game plan and the play calling and how our OCs inherit 70% of his playbook. our defense is vanilla with no creativity. This guy hates to beat Carol. The Rams are way better than us with a way worse roster because of coaching. Carol always seems to get out coached in every game schematically.

You and Coward blame Gino. I don't blame Gino. My thing with Gino is he has a ceiling. Like, Gino does not suck. He just has limitations. Even if I gave you Sean McVeigh, like you're not winning a playoff game with Gino Smith. Now, would you be better with Sean McVey? Would I take Sean McVeigh over Pete Carroll?

Of course. You can't get Sean McVeigh. He's not available. Okay, so you fire Pete Carroll, which I don't think, how do you fire Pete Carroll? Especially if you make the play. Now, if you miss the playoffs this year, maybe you could justify it, but I don't know. I think you guys are in a spot where, yeah, I hear you. You know, it's hard when you don't think you have a creative coach.

Right. Listen, Tomlin has won more recently than Carol in the sense of, maybe he hasn't, I guess, if we look at the records. But I think they're kind of similar. Like, what are you guys really doing? Like, clearly you guys know what you're doing. Like, you know football. You know how to lead a team.

You know how to keep the building together. You know how to win games. But like, what's our ceiling? Where are we going right now? And both those guys feel like they're more 2010 than they are 2025. So you can say, hey, and the guy just how you get McVeigh? No one's getting McVeigh, right? There was one offensive coach recently available in O'Shaun Payton.

$90 million. Like Sean McVeigh is not available. So I don't really, I think you're kind of screwed. And I just don't think your team's going to fire the guy. Plus, I think they owe him a lot of money. He makes a ton of cash. He's just going to be your coach. As long as he's your coach, yeah, you're probably screwed.

He definitely plays a part in defensive limitations. Like you said, they've invested a lot of money. And to me, their defense sucks. Now, it gets back to, they made a huge trade and they paid Jamal Adams a lot of money. And I know Jamal Adams is making fun of the one reporter's wife. Jamal is a fantastic downhill tackler. That's all he can do. He can't cover anybody.

He plays safety. He doesn't play defensive line. So he's like, oh yeah, he made two TFLs. It's like, well, fuck, I pay you to, can you cover a tight end? Can you cover a big wide receiver? No. Well, I can really shoot the gap in a blitz. It's like, your number's 33, not 96.

So it's like, yeah, I saw that, I saw, you know, Pete Carroll basically said, like, that's unacceptable for Jamal to do that. And Jamal was like, when they go low, I go lower. I do kind of like that quote. You know, going after someone's wife who just basically quoted a tweet, which I've done a million times saying yikes of a bad play. It's like, Jamal, the play was bad. The play was a yikes.

I think the problem with Jamal, who I like his playing temperament as a bad, a physical player, but you are paid to play a position that is, you know, that has to encapsulate going backwards as much as it does going forwards. And you can't cover a soul. And I think he gets very insecure about that. And also, like, he's an edgy, angry guy and he's super rich now because I gave him a huge contract. But God, he's, he's a very limited player.

And that's on Pete Carroll. It really is. How do you feel about Josh Allen being over critiqued in the media this year? I don't even know what that means. I think a lot of times we do like reaction to the reaction. Like you don't have to react to everyone's opinion, right? Like, listen, if you have an opinion, like Nick Wright thinks Brock Purdy, if he says five weeks ago, he's thing. I understand like, okay, I disagree.

But if he's going to do it every single week, like, you have to react to every reaction, right? Like, David Carr said that Jalen Hurts should get bent for Mariotta. Like, I can't even react to that. Like, I'm not even, I don't even have the energy. the fuck are we talking about, right? There are some opinions that are just, you don't always have to react to someone's opinion. Everyone has one.

Every single person. You can type anyone's name into the internet and get seven million takes on something. It's like everyone's going to have every angle cover. And like Josh Allen's really good. Every team beside like Patrick Mahomes. And shit, the Eagles take Josh Allen over. Jalen hurts.

Like 49ers, obviously. I mean, every team, Josh Allen's one of the most talented, quarterbacks we've seen in recent memory. Does he have some flaws? Of course. Does he play bad? Sometimes? Sure. Part of the reason, once you get 40, 45, 50 million dollars when you have a bad game, people critique you. It's the NFL. Wind blows high as the top of the mountain, right? No one cares about the shady players. We talk about the good ones. You think the bills are about to make a run, looked really good in Philly, and do you think Jordan Love is showing a franchise quarterback potential? I do think the bills, if we look at their schedule, still pretty hard. They play the chief

week. Then I think they play the Cowboys. Let me just, let me just pull up their schedule really quick. So here's what the bill's got. They're six and six. They play at Kansas City Sunday. That's obviously not an easy game given the cheats are coming off a loss. Then they play the Cowboys. Then they go to L.A. and play the Chargers, which is just always going to be a weird game. It'll be a home game. But that's a long travel. Then they play the Patriots. And then they finish said the Dolphins. So if they could win three games, they will be nine and seven, and that probably would get them in. So could they beat the Chargers, Patriots, and the Dolphins?

Yes. But if they win two or three of those, could they split one of the next two games? So if they're seven and seven going into the Chargers, Patriots, and Dolphins, I think they're in pretty good shape. They obviously just got a fun. I mean, obviously beating the Chiefs would be a huge, huge win. But these next two weeks at Kansas City, that place is going to be bananas. They're coming off a loss. Andy's going to try desperately to get them back on track.

That'll be a kitchen sink game for Kansas City. And then Dallas, like if they were to beat the Eagles, that game would be huge. So it's just they dug themselves such a hole. To me, if they were 7 and 5 right now, they would be like, you'd be fine. But their margin for error is so slim. Big fan of the pod. If you were the Patriots, what would you do going forward with such a high draft pick? pick what you hope is a generational talent at quarterback

or build your roster like San Francisco and then find someone who can execute and distribute the ball. Seems to be everyone still thinks getting a top quarterback solves are your problems. But look at the charges and bills. They have top tier quarterbacks, but still are a long shot to make the playoffs. Yeah, I think it's hard, right?

You can't, pretty's an anomaly. Like, Dak Prescott's an anomaly. Finding Kirk Cousins in the fourth round. You can't bank on finding a quarterback in the mid-rowns. you can't. It's very, very difficult. Most times when you draft a guy, that guy is going to be average,

even if Sam Howell, Sam Hal might be decent. I actually think when you watch him, you go, he definitely doesn't suck, but is he a 10-year starter on good teams? Probably not.

He's more likely to be like a high-end backup would be my educated guess. And he was a highly touted guy who kind of fell in the draft because he had a rough senior year. It's hard. Not a soul saw this Brock Purdy thing come. Right?

No one thought Kirk Coddard. Cousins was going to become like legitimate every year pro bowler. So it's, if you think the quarterback has a chance to be really good, you just have to take him. You don't have a choice. 49ers didn't build up their roster and then found Purdy. They got lucky Belichick traded him Jimmy Garoppelo in year one. So they's had a quarterback and they used all these other picks on players. So, and then they tried to do Trey Lance.

So it's, I wouldn't say the 49ers path to building this great roster. I mean, they landed Trent Williams because Trent Williams would only go play for Kyle Shanahan. They try to trade into Minnesota Vikings for a better pick. Trent Williams said, I'm going to stay retired. So it's like, you know, there's some luck involved sometimes in life. And the 49ers definitely had some luck involved with their roster. And this, do you think the way Brock Purdy has changed the way scouts view quarterbacks? I really don't.

I think every quarterback's an individual entity, right? I think we start overdrafting small guys. You know, I don't think Bryce Young before a couple years ago would have ever would have been a first round pick. 5-9, a buck 75, buck 80, first overall pick in a league full of massive human beings who can run like fucking dears

and hit harder than the rock and Stone Cold. What are we talking about? And a couple little quarterbacks kind of hit and Russell Wilson happened and Kyler kind of happened and you know you kind of talked yourself into it. And then you watch CJ Strategy like, wait,

they took that little guy over that guy. Even the Anthony Richardson games before he broke his shoulder. Like, Jesus, guy the freak. So I think you got to be very careful about one individual changing it. Brock Party might just be an outlier. And usually they are.

I just wanted to see what you think about teams, in this case, my Titans, calling their more aggressive plays that work only at the end of the game. I'd be lying if I watched any of that game. Every game Will is played, they only let him really cook on the last drive. It's cost us nearly every game since he started.

What do you think is going on in the play caller's head when they choose to call a very conservative game. As fans, it makes zero sense. For us to on Thursday night football, run the ball three times on the other team's 40-yard line with less than 40 minutes to go needing a touchdown, only to let him throw it on fourth down and get Burke's knocked out on the way down from a deep throw. In my opinion, you always have to open the playbook to win even for a rookie. By the way, Tim Kelly let Big Jeff have a passing touchdown when we were down 20 plus.

us in the fourth. Why wouldn't you save that play for a time we need it? To hell of a question, man. I think sometimes one, like you said, you don't have a choice, so you just call past plays. I think coaches are so hesitant

when they don't think a guy is capable to call a play they would normally call when they think they have a capable guy. But you never know if the guy's capable until you let them do it. And then sometimes at the end of the game, they start playing pre-event defense and you kind of just, it's kind of hollow yards. but I haven't watched that much

Titan football lately so it's hard for me to specifically talk about the instances you're talking about but I think sometimes coaches can be stubborn I think I think sometimes coaches you know it's an old school organization you know one thing I've always heard about Vrable is he's I don't want to say that he's

in the game playing meetings with the offense but he he leans running the ball he's an old school throwback so I think he plays a role in it and it's easy to say we're throwing here when we're down two scores and there's six minutes left in the game. You don't have a choice. But I think that's an underrated part about coaches

that are coordinators that are working for a conservative head coach, the influence that guy has on them during the game. Why did you transition from scout to radio, when and what time frame, how did you go about it, new people start without a job? Honestly, good word. Well, I got fired when you. Chip Kelly came in. My buddy Guy Haberman had a radio show in the Bay Area. I was living in the

Bay Area because I was scouting the West Coast. I started going on his show. And then it just kind of organically took off and we got a radio show probably six months later. And then from there, we had that show for about three years and we had management change. And the guy that originally hired me, liked me, because I would say whatever. I didn't care. I wasn't worried about hurting people's feelings talking about the teams we were covering. And we had the Raiders. And I started being pretty involved with the Raiders doing their post game show and being around them a lot of training camp.

And when you're covering a team that's not very good, you're not always going to be positive and you're going to piss them off. And then they wanted me gone. And they put one of their employees in my time slot. So they kind of forced me out. And it's led to podcasting. That was like 2014 to 16. and then I've been in the podcasting world since the fall of 2016 until now.

And it's, you know, I really benefited from radio. I would say it really kind of started at least where I was. I mean, still big in New York and some cities in national radio like Colin and stuff, but local radio in the Bay Area is dead. People don't listen. Which think about it like this. In 2023, there has been probably close to 15 years worth of cars. that are Bluetooth available.

So if you have a newer car in the last 10 years, you don't go to the radio anymore. You connect to your phone. So the advantage that we have as podcasters, as streamers, is massive. And the advantage that they always had that when you were in the car, you only have the choice of listening to the radio

is no longer the case. They're done. And the way that they valued the listener in the sense of the way they equated ratings was, it's too long to explain, but was just such a Fugazi. And I know everyone that's listening to the individual and by the hour. So our technological advances is not really a fair fight.

So I benefit a lot from being forced into this. I mean, I was fired twice by the time I was 31 years old. And I wouldn't, you know, I say it all the time. Like a lot of people that grow up like me, people that got fired just because they're lazy or shitty at their job. You work in certain industries. It's just, you know, you never know. And it was an incredible life lesson for me. And it's the best thing that ever happened to me,

forcing me into the podcast world. And I couldn't be more grateful and lucky. I mean, there was luck in the way this all worked out based on the circumstances that happened to me. I grew up in your local area and was an avid Niner and Redskins fan in the 80s and 90s since both were always on TV. I still hold a place in my heart for DC.

That team, but it's an abject failure since the Kent Cook family passed in the late 90s. With the team in what seems to be tank mode and Howell seemingly throwing a pick six a game, now do you think they'll draft a quarterback? They're just getting worse by the week. They quit last week for sure. I mean, last week they got, they got clowned.

And Rivera's nice guy, but he's not a very good coach. It's over. I think before we get into what's going to happen next year, who's going to be their coach? When you're going to fire everybody, and that's what's going to happen there, you have to have an administration to kind of get some idea. Because if I tell you Belichick's the coach,

I could see him not drafting a quarterback. If I tell you Ben Johnson or some young offensive coordinator, then yeah, I could see them wanting their own guy. So I think until, or Harbaugh, until we know who their coaches, it's really, really hard to even guess what the hell they're going to do. Like to me, that's the only question in Washington that matters. When they fire Ron Rivera, who are they going to hire?

and I saw Albert Breer in his mailbag a lot of people are trying to connect Belichick going there which who knows I mean there's a lot of variables at play but that's going to be a guy that we're going to talk a lot about and if he goes there I can see him like I think I could win 10 games with Sam Howell play defense add some other players maybe draft Marvin Harrison to go with McLaren

maybe draft someone else I don't know so I would say everything would be on the table if Belichick's their coach younger coach usually would probably draft a quarterback maybe the owner will run draft quarterback. I don't know. But I think until Rivera is fired and they hire somebody, it's just,

it's wasted time to speculate. We do it a lot in the draft. Like who's going to draft who in like February? And then free agency happens. And then you sign players like, well, they're not drafting that position anymore. So it's the same thing with a coach.

Until you know the coach, then you can kind of get some idea of what potentially they will or will not do. Really love the content of your pod. I listen to the, acquired podcast you recommended it and loved it. I know this isn't a football question, but wondering, if you have any other businesses or life inspiration podcast, you listen to, and if you'd want to share on the podcast. My finance podcasts are animal spirits and the compound. They're all

kind of under the Josh Brown umbrella. I list all their finance stuff. On the tape is a couple other guys that you see on CNBC sometimes. That's not bad. Dan Nathan is his name. Pretty good They have a lot of like finance guests on there is one I listen to. And a lot of golf podcasts acquired the all-in podcast. But that's kind of a combination of like tech politics, a little bit of moats. Like pure finance stuff would be the compound guys, animal spirits and the, on the tape podcast would be the ones I listen to. As a lifelong Steelers fan, I think Tomlin has got to go.

No Super Bowl with Prime Ben, Levion and Antonio Brown. their year was the year that Levion got hurt against the Patriots. I thought that was, they were the best team. And I think if I remember correctly, that was the year Shazir got hurt, who I don't know if you've seen Shazir, man. Dude's going through some shit with his wife. Sure, there was no horses in the defense, but that side of the ball has got to get it together.

His teams consistently play down to opponents and our offense hires have been nothing but misses. Yeah, man, I, that game against Arizona was a fucking embarrassment. You cannot. I don't care if seven tropical storms, a hurricane,

and a tornado come through, and the game takes seven days to complete, you cannot lose to Jonathan Gannon and the Arizona Cardinals, even when Kenny Pickett's get knocked out. You've got to win that game. That's unacceptable. Those are type losses that are fireball offenses.

They really are. That loss, I thought this couple weeks ago when they were potentially going to lose to DTR. Or no, Jake Browning. I just, I think he's kind of run its course. I think he's a good example of like, maybe it's just time. Maybe it's just time. Now, the problem with maybe it's just time, like, who would you hire? But it does feel like, has it just kind of run its course?

I love Mike Tomlin. Someone, people will be lined up to hire him. But it does feel like it's kind of over. It really does. Like, there's a difference of firing a guy because he's not good at what he does. Brandon Staley, Ron Rivera. And just like, we need a change. Andy Reed, Philadelphia.

How'd that work out? Worked out for everybody. Andy went to Kansas City, became a legend. The chiefs hired Doug, won a Super Bowl. Sometimes you just need a change. It's just time. And that's, I feel Mike Tomlin and the Steelers are a little similar. It's different because Andy, I think, went four and 12 his last year.

this Steeler team at worst going to go like 10 and 7, but they're not going anywhere. I just sometimes you just know it when you see it like it's over. Like Belichick the Patriots, it's over. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers, it's not over in the sense like they could just keep doing this over and over and over again. But isn't it time just maybe to throw a different pitch? Isn't it time like are you really just want to hold yourself? Well, if you only have three coaches in 75 years, well, who cares?

You know, it's cool if you're going to the NFC championship every year. But not if you, you know, struggling to get to 10 wins and can't score 20 points a game. What's the point of all this? And that would be my take on Tomlin. He would get another job faster than you could blink. But it kind of feels like it's running scores. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down,

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It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman. Human 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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