The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out: Bears' Trubisky Troubles; Antonio Brown/Raiders Disaster; Jerry Always Pays; Goff Value; Week 1 ATS Picks; Mailbag

Episode Date: September 6, 2019

In this episode, Middlekauff reacts to the Bears' bad night against the Packers, why Mitch Trubisky isn't good enough to entirely skip playing in the preseason, what's next for the Raiders and Antonio Brown after his altercation with GM Mike Mayock, why Jerry Jones stays true to form by paying Zeke, and if Jared Goff is as elite a franchise quarterback as his new contract says, and answers listener questions in Middlekauff's 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.

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Everybody, happy. Officially, I'm recording this after the Thursday night. Regular season game, Bears at Packers, 100 year anniversary, Hallis, Lombardi, McCaskey. You know all those famous people. that I don't really know much about

besides Vince Lombardi. But football is back. I'm John Middleth, Thoreen out podcast. Thanks everyone for listening. Colin Coward's podcast network. I waited till after the game. I recorded some of the meat in the podcast before. So if I mentioned Aaron Rogers,

I kind of prefaced it by saying, I'm not sure what happened in the night. I do know what happened in the game. Obviously, the Packers just won. Trubisky was a train wreck. We'll dive into all that here in a second. I'm going to dive into Dallas, and Zeke, obviously Antonio Brown

and that fiasco right in my backyard. The Goff, I mean, he got $110 million. Some thoughts on the Rams and that whole situation. I used my bookie to gamble and I went and I wrote down every game on Sunday. I'm not talking about the Monday night games because I'll record a podcast on Monday night and I'll just talk about the games there.

But Sunday, I go through every game and I spent about probably 30 to 45 seconds, maybe a minute, just kind of hitting who I like, the point spread and just maybe something about that game and the reason why. And then we'll do Middle Coff mailbag. I say it all the time. The easiest way to get a hold of me is not a phone call because if you call me, I probably won't pick it up.

Text message, very easy, email easy, but also DMs. At John Middlecoff, Twitter handle, but my Instagram DMs are wide open. And I interact with a lot of people on there. If you DM me, I'll respond. And if you DM me with a question for the Middle Coff mailbag, I will answer it here on this podcast. So this is how we interact. 2019. I like

interacting, but I don't take phone calls or anything. Those are my phone calls. And if this is the show, and this is the way you get on it, you slide up in those DMs. But let's start with the game. And listen, I hang my hat on authenticity. I am an open book. You can ask me any question.

I'm not an agenda guy. But when I do have biases, I have no problem admitting them. I have a bias in this game. Matt Nagy's my guy. I've known him for 10 plus years. Consider him a close friend, even though, I mean, once the season starts, I don't talk to him that much. But he's my guy. So I'm biased when it comes to Matt Nagy.

But I also can take a step back and go, the guy had a bad game, right? He didn't have a great game. And that happens. Welcome to the NFL. Won't be his last bad game, just like his best games last year won't be his last best game. This football's hard. He was bad tonight. But the guy that was even worse was the quarterback.

And Mitch Trubisky was atrocious. I mean, he couldn't have been any worse. And people would kept tweeting at me like, Middle Cuff, why aren't you crushing your guy Nagy? Look at what he's doing with Trubisky. Well, I got news for you. He didn't draft Trubisky. He inherited Trubisky, and he's trying to make something that might not be there.

Because there's a chance, and I got news for you. And, I mean, hell, most of you guys already know, Trubisky might not be any good. Tonight he was terrible. But here's one thing I would disagree with Matt Nagy on. At Cal Poly, where I went to school, our school motto, and I still live by it because it applies to me, and it applies to a lot of people, is learn by doing.

I always get better when I do something because you can fail at it, you can figure out what you're good at it, what you need to improve on, whatever you're doing, whether it's recording podcasts, whether it's building a business, whether it's playing quarterback. I think, and I think most of you would agree with me, you get better by doing stuff. The Malcolm Gladwell 100, you know, 10,000 hours of practice, like Tiger Woods didn't just randomly get good at golf.

He worked at it forever. Played, played, played, played, played, played, played, played, Tom Brady, played, play, play, play, play. Right? I mean, hell, no different than people that are successful. Warren Buffett, how did he get good at stocks? Well, he was into him when he was like eight years old. When he was selling newspapers, he was locked in him. He loved business.

So he just started messing around with business, and it stuck with him, right? And he just got better, got better, and now he dominates because he's the richest man in the world, or one of them. But you get my point. Like, you literally learn by doing in life. the preseason, you look around the preseason where Matt Nagy comes from, Andy Reid, plays Patrick Mahomes in the preseason.

Doesn't play him for a game, sometimes doesn't even play him for a half, but he gets some live reps. And you go, why he's the reigning MVP? Well, he's 23, 24 years old. When Mahomes is 31, yeah, he might not play in the preseason. But even though he's the reigning MVP

and was an offsides away from being the quarterback in a Super Bowl, he still should play because he needs some live reps. I got... Russell Wilson, who's won a Super Bowl, who's the highest paid player guaranteed money in league history. Pete Carroll plays him in the game. I'm pretty sure Tom Brady got some snaps in a preseason game. Might be wrong on that one.

But he's definitely played the preseason before, not that Tom needs it anymore. Mr. Busky has no business avoiding the preseason. None. Absolutely none. Now, would he have been terrible in this game with or without the preseason? Maybe. but I know for a fact that a guy that has not played a game since the first week in January that used to try to throw him in a game in early September, I got news for you.

That bald guy on the other side in the green sweatshirt, Mike Patton, check out his resume. He's a pretty good defensive mind. I know people laughed at him in Cleveland. A lot of people have gone to Cleveland and failed. I did know when he was the defensive coordinator for Rex Ryan in New York, they were kicking the crap out of people. Pretty sure they had the number one defense a couple years in a row. Oh yeah, they went to a couple of AFC championship games. That guy knows what he's doing.

So Mike Petten with the full off season, they get ready for Ms. Tribisky. And Mr. Trisky, who hasn't taken a live rep, and I get his practice, well, here's the thing in practice. You can start, even if you're going up against the Bears' defense, you start knowing what they do and what they don't do, and you get a feel for everything. So you're watching the game the night, when he's throwing near interception after near interception, it's a little different when you don't know what the defensive guys are going to do. And your offensive players aren't quite as sure when they're running in space. Like, do I break off this route here? Do I break off this route here? Because the DB's here.

They didn't know. And it looked kind of like just discombobulated mess. Now, at the same time, like Mitch, this is your what? Fourth year, a third year in the league, I guess this is rookie year, the naggy was with him a second year and this is third year. Here's the other thing. Mr. Bisckey did not start until only one year in college. So it's not like he was a three-year starter.

And he didn't start originally his rookie year because John Fox and the debaubes. and the debacle that was that coaching staff and then Glennon came in. He got to play all last year, but he's a guy that should not be avoiding live game reps. And I'm not talking about playing, you know, a hundred snaps in the preseason, but a couple series just to get the guy loose

and get him a feel and a rhythm for going up against live defenses. If anyone needs those situations, it would be Mitch Trubisky. Khalil Mack, no, he's good. Aaron Rogers, yeah, he'll figure it out. Right? Devonte Adams?

Yeah, I mean, preseason might not be... Miss Trubisky? Mitch freaking Trubisky? Just gets to just mail in the preseason? Especially when the top coaches are playing guys. Pete Carroll and Andy Reid have done it forever. Mike Zimmerman's been at the playoffs multiple times. Mike Zimmer, not Zimmerman.

He plays them. It's just like, come on. That's the one thing where I would highly disagree with Nagy. And here's the other thing. Again, Nagy's my guy. Offensive philosophically, we might look at things a little differently. The gun run stuff, which I don't mind. I got no problem running spread formations in the NFL.

But when that is all you do, and maybe that's because the quarterback can't do anything else. Like, I'm sorry, I'm a sucker for a fullback. I like putting a fullback in the game. Why? Because there are situations in every football game, whether you're in peewee football or whether you're in the Super Bowl, where you're going to get into a third and one, a fourth and one, a goal line situation. and football of probably any profession in America besides like MMA and maybe like

that might be it where physical toughness like literally moving another human maybe like rugby that's what it comes down to can you get a yard and when you do gun run you know just that that's your go-to

run when I'm saying gun run I mean you know Mitch Trubisky's in the shotgun and there's a running back to the left or right of them So you're basically just handing it off to a guy not coming downhill, just kind of stagnant. It's not a, one, it's not a downhill run, and two, it's not a physical play. And the Packers, who I think historically, at least under the McCarthy run, had been a softer defense. It's why Harbaugh's teams used to kick the shit out of them. Used to toss them around because they were more physical.

This Aaron Rogers, I mean, Packer defense is pretty physical. Their defensive line is good. And when you're going to try to run, basically, you're going to side. side line to sideline on them, you're going to lose. You do have to be a little physical at the point of attack, and they couldn't do it, and they kind of got punked tonight. Because the Bears' defense is elite. Gave up 10 points to Aaron Rogers and LaFleur, which I can't even.

Like, Middokoff, what's your take on LaFleur and Aaron Rogers? Like, Aaron Rogers is still really good. I don't know about Matt LaFleur and his offense. I can't. I have no takeaways. They scored 10 points on the road. Like, if Mitch Trubisky could have just walked straight and chew gum at the same time, scored 12 points. I mean, they win the game.

So you got to judge Aaron Rogers once he plays a couple normal teams. The Bears' defense, especially their front, is just dominant. You see the Packers' offensive line is really, really good, and they still had to hold those guys all the time, and they weren't calling penalties. But I just, I think Nagy's offense can get a little soft at times, so Mr. Bisky, like, there's no change in your quarterback. You've got to make this thing work,

and maybe it's just a really bad game. maybe this is a product when you don't play a guy all preseason. He's rusty. Because again, most humans learn by doing. Most humans get better by live reps. Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 hour rule. Like Tiger Woods didn't just show up on the PGA tour and start winning majors. He'd been playing since he was two years old, right?

I mean, these guys, they work at their craft, work at their craft, work at their craft, how many preseason has Tom Brady played in? Even if he hasn't played the last couple years, like 15? Like that, there is something to that, especially, when practices are such a joke, there's no two a days, there's no hitting, the quarterbacks can't live rep getting hit in practice, that a guy like Trubisky would benefit, and you go, oh, McVeigh didn't do it with Goff. Like I said, Jared Goff is a superior player. They're not even in the same stratosphere. Jared Goff, well, we'll get into how much he got paid a little

later, which I think might be a little rich, but listen, I'm a Jared Goff guy, is in a different stratosphere than Ms. Trubisky. Like, Trubisky's feel for passing, feel for touchball, are just very hit or miss. And the only way to get better than that is not just throwing into the net in practice situations. It's not just hammering it home in individual drills. It's repping it against live defenders. And even defenders that are not your own.

And again, I get Khalil Mack and Akeem Hicks, it feels like I'm getting great reps in practice. But deep down, you know that when Roquan Smith blitzes you in practice, he can't hit you. He cannot touch you, and he won't touch you. So you just kind of slide over and then you complete it. Or Killelea Mack, they're going to pull up. Where you saw tonight with Aaron Rogers, they were blasting them.

They really were. I think the scary thing would be, can you imagine if like, this is the great part about the NFL is there is a lot of parity because the Bears did have a quarterback? Shit, it'd be game over. I mean, that'd be a 13 or 14 win team. But they struggle to get first downs. And they have good offensive players.

Alan Robinson's a stud. Tariq Cohen's a stud. it looks like the young guy Montgomery's going to be a player Trey Burton whenever he can get healthy the Bears' offensive lines struggle a little bit and my thoughts on the Packers is their defense is good that's why they kept Mike Petten

it's why they forced Matt LaFleau to keep him and offensively I'm not quite sure because I can't really take anything away from the night Rogers didn't turn the ball over he did what he had to do to win but I just I'm going to have to judge him when he plays normal teams It's going to be very hard to judge offensive teams against the bears

because the bears just dominate and they collapse offensive lines. It's like, oh, how's your NBA defense? Well, we played the Warriors. And Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Clay Thompson, like, I can't even judge your team defense. The bears are just not. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying,

and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who live, them listen to sports slice on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and for more follow timbo slice life 12 and the ticot podcast network on tic talk welcome to my new podcast learn the hard way with me your host and your favorite therapist care 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,

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and listen now. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th And on my podcast The Cliverts show I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet

famous referee. We're in the middle of a game This linebacker This linebacker walks up to me He goes, A ref my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Come on. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life, one hot flash and hormonal crime. I'm jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenapausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamia Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive.

Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be? Getting naked at 50 with a new guy. That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter,

and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm not going to be the team to have a takeaway from LaFleur and Rogers. Though it didn't seem like they were arguing tonight, which I would say was a plus, right? No on the field arguments.

Rogers look pretty happy. Devonte Adams is a great player. Jimmy Graham looks like he's got a chance to still be a contributing member. But we'll see. I'm not feeling any better about the Packers, but I'm definitely not feeling worse. I mean, a win's a win. That's a great thing about the NFL. The only thing that matters when the clock's hit double zero is winning.

We don't necessarily judge you on style points. This isn't college football. You're not trying to impress the voters. It's just trying to win the game. And it's a big-ass win for the Packers. To go on the road, Chicago, Thursday night. Again, this isn't the NBA. There was not 2 million people watching.

There's probably 30 million people watch that game. So all eyeballs on them. Big victory for Aaron Rogers. Can I tell you about my friends at LinkedIn? Listen, it's a new year. year 2022. We're all trying to find people that hire, for those of you listening that are in HR, running small businesses, wherever you are. And LinkedIn makes it easier than ever to find people you want to talk to faster and for free. Create a job posted minutes. I've done it on LinkedIn

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Come seek the Royal Caribbean. Visit royal caribbean.com to learn more. Let's dive into Antonio Brown and the Oakland Raiders. A.B. has now officially mispractice as he did of recording this on Thursday night. He did not show up the day. And before the morning, the Raiders didn't know he wasn't going to show up or not going to show up. So he just randomly mispractice. I'm sure my ex is going to find him again. He's now done that about four times in the last three weeks.

I know Hard Knocks, which was an abomination of a season. I mean, the Raiders, they had one of the biggest, craziest situations going on ever. They skipped over at Antonio Brown. They played on an 80-yard field. I mean, it was just, I felt like propaganda. It was a terrible season for how good it should have been. But the A-B situation, I was thinking about, like, how do I even compare this to anything else in life?

Probably the only thing, like, I'm a single guy. I mean, I date, but I'm not in a serious relationship. Though I do feel there's probably never been an easier time, definitely these last three or four years, to find out information about a girl, or vice versa about me. and I'm probably a little bit of an outlier because my whole life,

you know, and my whole profession is on the internet. If you're going to date me, you can't be shocked at like, John, are you watching football again on Sunday? Yeah, that's kind of what I do, right? It's so different than if I'm going into date someone and I kind of creep, not even creep, like look at their Facebook, look at their Instagram,

hell, look at their LinkedIn. Like, it's pretty clear and pretty obvious. You can find out a lot about the person. Well, the one great part about definitely the NFL is there's a lot of information. is there's a lot of information. It's a public business. But even on the inside of the stuff that's not public,

stuff is pretty public and information that you're able to gather. One, because Mayock and Gruden worked in the media forever and were able to go to these practices and have inside information with the Steelers, but also coaches are close, and you can pick up the phone, even if Mike Tom was not going to give you the information,

call one of their assistant coaches on the staff, and they can tell you about the guy. And if you and I knew that Antonio Brown was crazy, you better believe that Gruden and Mayock knew that Antonio Brown was crazy. But here's the thing. And as I said from the jump about Mike Mayock of knowing people that know him pretty well, he's not into the BS. And the way I've always described myself, I'm a media guy that just happened to work in the NFL. I was a writer in college. It just, my career just kind of went a different path, and I ended up in the NFL. I liked it. I enjoyed it. It was

really fun. I love football, but I'm more at probably in the right situation and doing what I'm supposed to be doing now than when I worked in the league. Where Mayock, I think is kind of the opposite. He was always, and this is why I think he was so good on television, he was always like an NFL personnel guy who happened to work in the media. Where I personally love this Antonio Brown story. I can talk about it, tweet about it, Instagram about it, 24-7. I'm a I can't get enough about it. Mike Mayock, even before he worked in the league, and this was actually his problem, he would hate talking about stuff like this.

He detested this type of off-the-field activity. So when they traded for Antonio Brown after a pretty head-scratching off-season, when they got rid of Khalil Mack, they trade Amari Cooper, which was a little nuts, but you could be like, okay, they're starting over, they have all these draft picks, and then they acquire one of the craziest humans, not like in the league. Now, maybe ever. I mean, a dude that is, it's impossible to corral the guy because there is no rhyme or reason to anything he does.

As I've talked to people around him since he's been with the Raiders, they basically just say he's crazy. We don't really know what he's going to do. Clearly, he's very sensitive, he was offended by getting fined. He literally got fined for missing practices, stuff that he did. It's like, Antonio, welcome the NFL. You miss practice, you get fined. Maybe that's because the Steelers never find him.

I don't know. But he's not handling it well. he snapped on Mike Mayock, he threatened to kick his ass. You know, the irony is he was held back by Vontes Burfitt. And it was just a disaster. There's no way around it. But I don't blame, like, of course this is happening. This is who they signed up for.

This happened in Pittsburgh. This happened when he threw the ball at Ben's face. It had been happening for years in Pittsburgh. But he's such a good player. And the problem is, when you get in, basically in bed with a guy that is talented, who becomes the best player on your team immediately. you're kind of dependent on him. And this is why, if it had just been a random free agent,

like if Terrell Williams was doing this, the guy I think they gave $22 million to, they might cut them. They would not tolerate it. But Antonio Brown is so freaking good, is so good, despite what you traded for him, because they didn't give up much. Pro football talk,

they said that they actually haven't even give them any money yet because he had to be at 85% of the off-season activities, and he didn't make it, so he didn't get his money. Now, he will be paid a premium once the game start, but as we see, he might not make it to the game. They're in a tough place. Because I've gotten a lot of people asking me, like, what would you do?

And I said, well, trust me, I have, and I say it all the time, I refuse to get on my moral high horse about football. Because at the end of the day, you need guys like Antonio Brown. And I would imagine Gruden, who, yeah, hasn't really seen him practice that much in the fall. They did see him in the spring. and one thing was clear in the spring from just the little videos the Raiders were tweeting out, talking to people on the staff. He's an ass kicker.

Of course he is. I mean, he's had six straight years of over 100 catches, over 1,000 yards, and over double-digit touchdowns. He's a elite player. He's the best player on this Raider team by a mile. And the reality is, he's been the best player on the Steelers by a wide margin for a while. He'd be the best player on the majority of teams non-quarterback in the NFL. He is a dominant force. And once you see him be a dominant,

at force on your team, it makes it much more difficult to cut him. Because the moment he basically says FU and threatens to hit your general manager on a face, it's a no-brainer, you suspend him. But then you take a step back and you go, well, we're playing a division rival at home. We want to win the game. This guy's our best player. We also want our quarterback to prove what he's worth, and the only way to really value him is to see him play with a full kind of loaded deck with the first round running back

and two sweet wide receivers. Where you take Antonio or Brown away, then I get to double Tyro Williams, and then Hunter Renfro because of my go-to guy. that's probably a problem against Vic Fangio. So I can already see where Gruden's trying to justify in this mind, in his mind, like, how do we make this work? Maybe you get Antonio Brown to beg Mike Mayock for forgiveness because Antonio tweeted that picture.

It had to make Mike Mayock mad. But I just think that, of course, this happened. Now, could we have ever envisioned it being this crazy? No, but we envisioned it being crazy. We didn't know he's going to burn off his feet. We didn't know he's going to have helmet problems. We didn't know he was going to tweet out the picture of the fine that Mayock find him. And it wasn't just a fine for missing that one day when Mayok gave the press conference.

It was a fine for missing a walkthrough when they were in Canada. As someone texted me tonight while I was watching the Bears Packer game, like when Antonio leaves, where does he go? It's not like he's playing for a team in Florida where he's from. He's playing in California, in Northern California. He's not from here. He's never lived here. is he just go home and sit with his kids?

Like, what did he do all day today? Just not show up at work. That's the other thing. Only in pro sports can you call out your boss, not show up for work, and really not even get in that much trouble. There's like, yeah, we'll figure it out later. Most of us would be fired. Now I get pro sports are different.

I'm not trying to compare the NFL to regular life. But still, like, Antonio Brown is pretty nuts. And I don't know how this ends. I have the craziest part about this. situation is it's got so crazy you could convince me of anything you could convince me that maya quits this weekend like look just quits the raiders like i'm done being the gym you could convince me that Antonio brown apologizes and they pretend it's okay and he has two touchdowns monday night you can convince me that they suspend them you can convince me that they trade them

everything's on the table there is no scenario that could happen Friday Saturday or Sunday Antonio Brown retires, Antonio Brown demands a trade, that I would not believe. And we knew this when they got them. This is why anyone with common sense said, why on God's... Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff.

Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, ref.

My mom, I want you. to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squad, from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate

Midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas,

sex drive, wait, what sex? Dating at 45, how can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard, you know? Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turn. but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask,

how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Green Earth is John Gruden trading for Antonio Brown. When he just got rid of his, I mean, his best player in Cleo Mac, then traded another really good young player in Amari Cooper,

accumulated all these first round picks, wanted to restart, rebuild, and then he trades for the craziest mercurial wide receiver, like since Terrell Owens, a guy that is a terrible combination of being narcissistic, selfish, super rich, and super talented, and who's not a big, and sensitive, and he doesn't really listen. Like, yeah, it's probably not going to be a good match on a team that's pretty dysfunctional. Like, you also see, where the Raiders would be probably on the list of 1 to 32.

If you had to rank the teams of who could handle Antonio Brown, obviously the Steelers would be number one, because it's really a testament to how well run they are that they were able to just handle this human being for eight years of his career. The Raiders, I don't know if they'd be 32, but they'd be between 30 and 32. They'd be damn low on this list. because in my adult life, in the internet era of the last 20 years,

players have gone to Oakland to be crazy and to not play good football and to kind of have their careers end. This is where I defend Derek Carr all the time. Not many people are succeeding in that situation. Is this Derek Carr's fault that John Gruden gets rid of Amari Cooper? Like, okay, well then just get a couple more normal wide receivers. Trade for this guy who immediately goes AWOL and training camp, who now probably won't play Monday night,

who when you're playing a division rival and Vic Fangio, one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, you probably have a game plan thinking the guy's going to play. Now he's not playing. Now Derek, again, is throwing to Hunter Renfro, and I bet Derek, let's say he doesn't look good, and everyone will just crush him. Is it really his fault?

No, they never should have acquired this guy in the first place. They never should have built their team around number 84 in the first place. Like, they shouldn't have given them a huge signing bonus in the first place. This was easily avoidable. It's why to me the two big winners are, one is the Steelers, think how good they look right now. They go, damn, the Steelers, that's a high-level organization. That's what we're all thinking.

The loser is clearly John Gruden. Like, John, you've had back-to-back years, and the guy, Tim Kawakami, who runs the athletic in the Bay Area that I basically work for that I write for out here, he wrote it perfectly. He said, this is back-to-back years of mismanagement by John Gruden. One, he trades Khalil Mack the week before the season. and this year he acquires Antonio Brown and it's almost tanking his first two seasons in the NFL.

Like this is on John Gruden. You should not have acquired this player. I don't care how cheap he is. Some assets, regardless of how much they're on the discount rack, just don't buy them. They're on the discount rack for a reason. Just walk away. And I think Carr's a big loser on this one

because what do you do? Like, how's he supposed to succeed without... I mean, you got rid of a Mario, Cooper last year, now Antonio Brown's not going to play Monday night football, and who knows, maybe you cut them, maybe suspend them for the season. That's a disaster for Derek. How's Derek supposed to get his career back on track when you keep screwing up the personnel situation?

And it's just classic Raiders. They just can't get out of their own way. And Gruden, who's got so much Al Davis in him, can't avoid these talented players that he has no business messing with until he has a legitimate foundation. and he clearly doesn't have a legitimate foundation. And even if he did, here's the thing, even if the Raiders had had a foundation, it might not have mattered with this player

because he's that crazy. He's living in a different world than the rest of us. Now, is the, you know, Drew Rosenhouse being interviewed on the NFL network before the Thursday night game because he was a Packers Bears? Can he fix this? You know, if anyone can, it'd probably be him. But this might even be too far gone for Drew, who was probably born for these situations.

but man, Antonio Brown. What are they saying in a Bronxdale? The worst thing in life is wasted talent. That's what Antonio Brown's becoming. Wasted talent. These days, it can be hard to find and hire the right candidates for your small business. That's why LinkedIn jobs made it easier

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That's LinkedIn.com slash reach to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. This clip is brought to you by State Farm. At State Farm, they know it's important to ensure the things you love. They also get that everyone has a budget. That's why they have options, like insuring your car and your home, getting you great rates on both. It's a good idea to consider State Farm.

For surprisingly great rates, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Call or go to StateFarm.com. for a quote today. In high school, I never really was like dating around or anything like that. And then I got into a long-term relationship and was dating someone for a few years. And then after getting out of that relationship, I think this past year or so or whatever, whatever has been like actually living life as a single person. It's very hard.

And I think it's not hard, like not hard, I should say, but like it's very different knowing nothing but long-term relationships and then moving into like the single lifestyle that's like quote dating around and like feeling people out that's kind of been something interesting to navigate listen to the my culture podcast network available on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts hey everyone it's dramos from life as a gringo podcast i heart radio sounds of my culture is brought to you by state farm at state farm we know how important it is to celebrate Hispanic heritage every day. That's why we support my culture and invite you to continue enjoying all its great podcast.

We also know what it takes to manage money, no matter the budget. That's why it's a good idea to consider State Farm and their surprisingly great rates. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. All right, Prince Royce, my guy, thank you for hanging out. And I got to say, listen, I'm curious. When you look back on growing up in a Latino community, what comes to my mind? for you. I think growing up in New York and being surrounded by so much

Latin culture was a blessing for me. I think I was able to listen to so many different genres of music from hip hop to salsa to marangue to rock, go to a bachata go to regettone. And I think that that's what I loved about New York. There was such a big present community of

everything. Support Kutura all year long by listening to the Mike Kutura podcast network available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen a podcast. Okay, let's dive into the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones. And a message that I've had this entire time for Zeke Elliott, when you play for Jerry Jones, despite what the player and power movement might say, and I get the media hates big business and management, Jerry Jones is

pretty unique. One, he owns the team and he's the general manager. Two, he has more money at this point in time than like basically everyone in pro sports except probably like five or six people. He prints cash. And if he drafts you, that means he likes you because he had a big part in the pick that he's going to want to pay you. My issue was Zique and just anyone is when you're a valued member of whatever organization and Zeek clearly was really valued and you cause problems for that team or that organization, as Zique did, I don't. think that you have or should make it hard for them when you're trying to negotiate a contract. And going to Cabo, just making a little bit of a pain in the ass. Now, I do understand, I watched

a little bit of the press conference. They wanted to be out of sight, out of mind. They didn't want Jerry, you know, sitting down with Zeke and influencing them. I get there was probably a method behind the madness, and clearly it worked. But I think, as I, it was going to work the whole time. Jerry wanted to pay this guy. I think some of this drama could have been avoided. Maybe Jerry told him to go to Cabo. It's just good for business. But the one thing, and I will defend Zeke on this, and just the contract in general, where with running backs, and I watched Jerry talk about how he's one of the unique players that can take it to the house from any position, I think he's just one of the unique players that pound for pound is one of the best players in the

NFL. So whenever you get quote-unquote a pound-for-pound best player in the NFL, a Julio Jones, an Aaron Donald, a Khalil Mac, you build partially your franchise around him. Now, he does play a position that is easily replaceable.

I think we've all acknowledged that, right? You don't need to be in analytics, or analytics, as Colin would say, or anything, to realize that you can find running backs in every draft past the first round. You can find productive players that are undrafted free agents. We saw in 2018 an undrafted free agent make the Pro Bowl, and he wasn't an alternate either,

legitimately made the Pro Bowl for the first time in NFL history in Philip Lindsay. It was awesome. But I got news for you on Zeke, and here's where I understand why Jerry broke this man off. He's better than all these guys. I don't think there's a player maybe Seekwan, but Seekwan's done it for one year. I've seen Zeke from the moment he got in the NFL until the end of last year be again, pound for pound, one of the best players in the league. there is nothing the guy cannot do.

You can win championships with this guy. He is that big of a game changer. If you've built your team well. And I'll say this for Jerry. He's put all of his chips in the middle of the table. He's paying good players left and right. So this notion, and I think the NFL takes a lot of shit in it, and a lot of teams, rightfully so, the chargers never want to pay anyone,

even though they're technically doing the right thing with Melvin Gordon. The Bengals are kind of notoriously cheap. Just a lot of teams kind of penny pinch. That has never been Jerry's problem. And especially now, it's just on full display for everyone to see. They've been one of the better drafting teams now. The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the better drafting teams. I don't think we say that enough for the last five or six years.

And look at what they've done. They've paid them all. Tyron Smith, Frederick, Lyle Collins, Zeke, they're surely going to pay Dack. Jalen Smith, DeMarcus Lawrence. They'll pay Vandrash one day. Sean Lee, they just kept paying him over and over. They just paid Jason Whitten. They paid him like $5 million,

even though he's 38 years old and bald and hasn't played football in a year. Like, they're going to give Dak stupid money now that we see the Jared Goff contract. They'll pay him all. That's what Jerry wants to do. When you're good, and he likes you, which if you're on the team,

that means he likes you because ultimately he controls the entire roster because he owns the team and he's the general manager. it was clear this was going to happen. Now, I get people just naturally going to hate Jerry. He's one of the great showmen, not just in sports, but in the history of America, one of the great businessmen. But for all the fluff with Jerry, and for all that we make fun of them and is like,

how about them down as cowboys? And, you know, a Southern drawl, this team is legitimately good. It is stacked at every position. They got a superstar running back, one of the best of the league. They have a, if Amari Cooper plays well and Gallup, they got a good passing. game. If Jason Witten can just run curls and outs, it gives DAC a little underneath option. Dak's solid, right? Their offensive line is legit. Their linebackers dominate. Their pass rush is good. This team can compete to win a Super Bowl in the next couple years. And I commend

Jerry for putting all of his chips in the middle of the table. I also commend Jerry for, and I think I talk about it a lot and a lot of people in the media, just because we have to react to the information when I crushed Rocky Zeke's agent for getting emotional about the comment that Jerry made and the Jerry doubling down saying he's earned the right. Like the one, the thing that separates Jerry and probably anyone at a high level business, they're not emotional about any of this shit. So even if they work through the media and they're talking shit about each other, you know, publicly, they're not actually contentious behind the scenes when they're making these phone

calls. And I've always been told, I don't know Stephen Jones, but I've always heard he's actually kind of calms his dad down. The Cowboys are a pretty well-run operation right now. They got star players everywhere. They have them all under contract. They're equipped to dominate. And you could say, oh, I would never pay a running back.

Yeah, I wouldn't either. If his name's Melvin Gordon, right, if his name's Jerich McKinnon. But if his name's Ezekiel Elliott, and every time I step on the field, I mean, unless you have Khalil Mack or maybe Aaron Donald, I could argue I have the best player non-quarterback on the field every time I step on it with this guy, number 21. He can give me 200 yards and catch the ball. He can block, but nothing he can't do.

That's the one thing. Like linebackers, middle linebacker, and running back are actually my two favorite positions because they encompass everything in the sport. On offense, a running back has to do it all. He's got to run inside the tackles. He's got to run outside the tackles. He's got to catch the football and he's got to block. There's literally no element of offense that he doesn't have to do besides technically throw the ball, but the ball's handed to him. And same Same thing with linebacker. You have to play the run, inside the box, outside the box, especially now, side line to side line, and you have to cover zone and in man.

All the good ones can do it all. That's why I have nothing but respect for those two positions. I feel like those two positions kind of get shit on. I'm never anti-paying a Zique. I've always heard this like, you can't draft the linebacker high. The hell you can't. You've ever seen Luke Keakley play? You ever see, I think, what we think we're going to see.

I'm actually recording this before the game but Roquan Smith How sweet Roquan Smith is? Like I'll draft those guys high No problem. You just got to be the right guy And Zeke is the right guy. Now the only question mark And this is the great unknown Like Zeke can you just keep your nose clean

Literally and figuratively maybe? Like can you just stay out of trouble? Can you just stay on the straight narrow? Because you have a chance to be an all-time great player Like a Locke Hall of Famer Like one of those guys that we talk about forever like we do with a previous guy that played your position on the same team. Like an absolute legend.

You could win a Super Bowl, maybe two in Dallas. No, Dax got to be a lot better. That might have been bold. But maybe just win one. Get to a Super Bowl would be a big deal for the Cowboys. But riding you. Riding you like Secretariat, because that's how talented you are. There's no one, there may be one guy truly on your level

and he's Sequin Barclay and his team's so shitty. It's hard to even judge him. But like, Zeke, you earn this money with your play. you're off the field, you're lucky you were so good that you overcame it. Just say out of trouble now. Become an all-time great. And every time you see Jerry, say thank you for always going to the mat for me, for paying me, always having my back, and making me a cowboy.

Because you've been pretty lucky. You earned the right to go to Ohio State. You were that talented a player. But there was an element of luck you ending up with the Cowboys. Because there were a lot of people in that draft room that wanted Jerry to take Jaylon Ramsey. And at the time of that draft pick, no one would have crushed Jerry for doing that. He actually probably took a lot of heat for taking a running back there.

You know what's turned out? It turned out to be the right pick. Now it does just make it continue to be the right pick? Because if you get in trouble and you get to spend it again, you're going to cause a lot of headaches for a lot of people, a lot of people that believed in you. And it's just a fan of your game. I hope you do stand up.

I love watching you play because you're an absolute ass kicker. I mean, you're a dominant, dominant player. So kudos to Jerry for putting his cards and all of his chips in the middle of the table. Now it's just time for Zeke. Keep playing like he normally plays. You just got to stay out of trouble, man. Okay, let's dive in to Jared Gough. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context,

and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 about 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 hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. What's up, guys?

This is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff, like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, Hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office, Blue, 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got him in the game.

manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nasree. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball like. After you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And his new massive deal from the L.A. Rams. Stan Cronkey, just printing cash. And just the entire Rams and McVeigh situation.

Listen, at the end of the day on the contract, by the time you're listening to this, everyone's given their take. my takes out there. We talked about it on my other podcast, talked about it on Instagram. Like, it is what it is. I can be a fan of Jared Gough and think, it's a little, little pricey, but I'm also, I understand the way the business works. And I would imagine many people listen to this, the way your business works too, the way my business now works, is just everything's on comps. So you're just, you're worth, like in my podcast business, if I get X number of listeners, that's what I can sell an ad for. If I get a hundred grand, $100,000.

thousand people listening, if I get 200,000 people listening, it's all comped into that. If you're a quarterback, well, based on stats and based on what I've accomplished, if Carson Wentz gets, you know, X, and he got $100, I think, $8 million. If I'm Jared Goff, I've actually won playoff games, I've accomplished more on the field and I've proven I can stay healthy, I'm going to get more. Even though I think we'd all agree, or at least most people, the way I look at football, I like taking swings with higher upside guys, though I think you could argue, what? Yeah, Wence has much more talent than Gough,

but there is talent in staying on the field. The best ability, right, is availability. And that's a major question mark with Carson Wence. But I get it. So I'm not going to freak out over the money. Though, I will add this. The guy, I know Bruce Tolner, I mean, a little bit. I haven't talked to him in years.

But, you know, I used to know him when I worked in the NFL. He has both Gough and he has Wins. He actually has Bordles too. I mean, he's a big-time agent now with these quarterbacks. He has Marriota. He's a ton of quarterbacks. And I do think when you look at Wentz and when you look at Goff, especially Goff, with Wentz a little riskier because he's been injured. But they were both drafted one and two, so they've already banked big cash. Especially Jared Goff, he's going to sign another contract.

You could, when you're playing for the Eagles or the Rams, and I'm not into one to like quote unquote take less money. Like Zeke, you can't take less money for Zeke. This is the only contract you're going to get. If you're Kahlil, Mac, Aaron Donald, you got to take all you can get. But if you're a quarterback, the way this league works, how they protect you, you could quote-on-quote take a little less money? And when I say that, could Jared Gough and Carson Wentz have signed for $90 to $95 million and given their teams that extra little cash,

especially with the Rams and the Eagles, who have shown, like, same thing with the Cowboys. These teams are not the Chargers. They're not pocketing your cash. They are spending it on players. They are doing everything they can to win Super Bowls. So yeah, I think maybe they could have, but listen, that's not the way it happened. So I get it.

And don't love it, but I understand it that I think at the end of the day, Jared Goff should thank his lucky stars. And he knows this because that first year, he played for a meathead head coach. And Jeff Fisher, that's, you know, the game has passed him by. And he's a defensive guy so he can't help the quarterback. And it was a disaster. Think how many guys that come into this league, even like Maddie Ice, who's made a ton of money and has some of money.

and had success. Think about that he's had so much coaching turnover. He's had different offensive coordinators. Look at Brady. At the end of the day, his entire career, he's just had Belichick. And for most of it, he's had three guys. Charlie Weiss, Bill O'Brien, and Josh McDaniels for a majority of, especially once he turned into this just dominant force. He's had a lot of consistency from a coaching staff standpoint. Even Peyton, like Peyton was his own OC. How many head coaches have in his career? He had Tony Dungey, I guess he was inherited Moore's dad, but he didn't have that many. Now, at the end of the day, Peyton was in control of his offense, even far.

For a long period of time, he had a lot of success with Holmgren. When Holmgren left, it was kind of hit or miss from then on. We're going to find out with Rogers. And again, I'm recording at least this part before the game. But when you look at Jared Goff and your head coach just signs this long-term deal, you're pretty lucky. Like, you're in a hell of a situation. the guy we always come back to you. Like, what if Matt Stafford had got to inherit an Andy

Reid, a Sean Payton, a Sean McVeigh? How different would his career have been? Like, think how lucky Carson Wins is. He gets drafted, and they got rid of Chip Kelly, and they got Doug Peterson. His head coach is his offensive coordinator. Patrick Mahone should thank his lucky stars that Veitch and Andy loved him, and that they drafted him. And that, you know, more than likely he's going to spend the majority of his career until Andy wants to retire. They can win a couple of Super Bowls. He's going to have his guy.

When you go to these teams, like Jimmy Garapolo, he should think every day look up, and I'm not a religious guy, but just get on his knees. You gave me Belichick, Josh McDaniels, and now Kyle Shanahan. I'm pretty lucky, you know, because for all the money and all that stuff,

like these guys are going to make so much money no matter what. Because taking a haircut, taking a payout, cut. The numbers I was throwing around were like, could you have taken $90 million guaranteed instead of $110 million guaranteed? You know what you can't do? You can't get a crappy coach. Because when you get a crappy coach, you suck as a quarterback more than likely. Like it's, it derails your career. Like is Derek Carr good? I don't know. He's really, really difficult to judge at this point in time. Who could overcome the BS that he has to

overcome. Just the constant drama in that organization. It's impossible to judge him. Where the Rams, these two years under Sean McVeigh, have felt like one of the more normal organizations in the league. I mean, Jared Goff, think about this. Jared Goff was the number one overall pick in the draft from Cal. You know, not a school that's a traditional powerhouse. His college career, he only had one winning season. Like, he's going to be a much bigger legend. A lot of these guys, like Peyton Manning was a really big deal in college, right? Baker Mayfield, really big deal in college. I'm trying to think of like

Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, like they were pretty big deals in college. They're going to be welcome back to their university. Like, Jared Goff, not saying he's not going to be welcome back to his university, but he didn't really accomplish that much when he was in college. They didn't win anything. Now, it wasn't his fault. His coach knew nothing about defense, was a terrible fit for Cal.

Jared Goff's going to be, when you're going to close your eyes and think Jared Goff, you're going to think L.A. Ram. Even though he was the number one overall pick from a, non-traditional power. Like, it's, he's, he got, he got gifted by the football gods landing in this place. And back to what I was saying about these teams, he's with a team and a general manager. I'm not the biggest less knee guy, though he shut me up these last couple years. I give him credit for this.

He doesn't GM scared. He puts all of his chips in the middle of the table. He will take swings for his coach, for his quarterback. They'll do whatever has to be done to try to win games. Obviously, the Eagles operate like this. Seattle operates like this, the Chiefs operate like this. The Patriots do, but they're always kind of getting a guy on the cheap, but they do. And he could have easily gone to an organization that doesn't think like that.

We see it all around the league. Teams that, yeah, you know, Philip, we'll give you a running back, but we're not going to pay Melvin Gordon this extra money, though, and I don't even blame them. But that does make the charges worse. So Jared Gough is lucky to have Sean McVeigh, and it's crazy as this sounds, and I never would have said this three or four years ago. He's lucky to be drafted by the Rams.

Hey, everyone. It's Dramos from Life as a Gringo podcast. IHard Radio's sounds of my culture is brought to you by State Farm. At State Farm, we know how important it is to celebrate Hispanic heritage every day. That's why we support My Coutura and invite you to continue enjoying all its great podcast.

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And of course, man, you know, our culture is always going to be a big part of our lives. So for you, what is one thing that you think makes our culture so special? When thinking about this question, the first thing that's, that comes to my mind is the food aspect of it. I mean, whether that's menudo on the weekends or, you know, Sopa de Fidelio for breakfast, like, I feel like living in Los Angeles, I am blessed and fortunate to be around so many other Latinos, whether that's Mexicans, you know, Ecuadorino, Cubanos, you know, people from all different types of walks of life, food is the one thing that truly ties us all together.

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Not necessarily who I think I'm going to win the game, but just the team with the point spread. I basically just went to my bookie, the list that they had the games in, wrote them down only on Sunday. The Monday night games, just because I record a podcast on Monday night, I'll be reacting to those games. The Denver Raider game at the time, I mean, who even knows? And the first Monday night game actually is pretty good, Houston at New Orleans. But I'm just going to talk about the Sunday games here. I'm going to fly through them, not spend too much time on each one. Falcons at Minnesota.

Falcons getting three and a half points. I like the Falcons here in the points. I think it's pretty simple. Atlanta's strength, they have an elite passing game. They have a superstar receiver and two other really good ones. I mean, Calvin Ridley might be one one day. I hate Minnesota's cornerbacks. I don't know if Atlanta wins this game, but I definitely like them plus three and a half.

Washington at Philly. I just think the point spread on this one's out of control. 10 points. I also think Washington's getting talked about like, they're the Raiders or the dolphins or the Bengals. Google their roster. It's not that bad. Ten point victory.

This is not college football. The Eagles could kick their ass and win by nine. So you get ten points, double-digit points in the NFL, week one. And it's not like they've got to fly across country or whatever. It's a division rival. I like the Redskins plus ten. It's just backdoor covers. That's way too many points.

And obviously the Eagles are really good, but this is not college football. Bill's at Jets. I'll be honest. I have no clue about either one of these. teams. I think when the season ends, one of these two teams will have been in the wild card mix. I started leaning with the Jets. Now I've kind of convinced myself the bills. I just don't know. I'd probably just take the bills in the points, but I don't have a great view for this game. I think at the end of the day, one of these two teams is going to be a sleeper wild card contender.

I don't know if they're going to be a wildcard team, but a wildcar contender. So I'd just lean, take the points, but this one's a tough one to figure out. Ravens at Miami. Again, you got to be careful week one. You get teams approach it like the Super Bowl. Yeah, Miami traded a bunch of guys. I don't think it matters that much. Fitzpatrick, remember what happened last week or last year, week one?

Threw for like 450 yards against the Saints. I like the Dolphins plus six and a half against the Ravens, a team whose defense is not going to be as good. They're a ball control run offense. I know everyone's been telling me how great Lamar Jackson is. We'll see. And we will this game. the humidity in Miami is going to be out of control.

I like the Ravens to win, but I would take the six and a half points. 49ers at Tampa, I think this game comes down to one thing and one thing only. Tampa Bay's offensive line is atrocious. And the 49ers, Nick Bose is playing in this game, DeFords playing in this game, DeForest Buckner is a badass. I mean, Solomon Thomas is not that great of a player, but he's a backup. And Eric Armstead, he's like their fourth or fifth best defensive line. I mean, I think the 49ers defensive line is the difference in this game.

It's going to be a high-scoring game. I like the Niners. This one's interesting. Chiefs at Jacksonville. I think the Chiefs are clearly one of the best teams in the league. You know, I actually think they're going to make the Super Bowl. But this is a weird game. You go into Jacksonville, massive chip on their shoulder.

Everyone's kind of been shitting on them all off season. Foles is there now. Leonard Fournette skinny. They got a sweet player in the draft in Josh Allen, plus three points, all the humidity. I think there's going to be a really. really tight game. I like Jacksonville. Maybe not to win the game, but I like him plus three. I also think that the Chiefs are just, this is one of those classic. When everyone's betting on one team, go the other way. This is another good example. I like Tennessee plus five and a half

against Cleveland. Odell Beckham said that he struggles his hip injury to open up and run full speed. That's a problem. Cleveland's still really loaded. Nick Chub's a baller, Baker's a baller, Jarvis Landry's a baller, the tight ends a baller. Their defensive line's awesome. But Tennessee isn't chopped liver. They were a borderline playoff team last year until Marriota fell apart and couldn't play the last game of the season. They had no chance to get in when Indy beat them.

But it really affected them the game before when they lost to Jacksonville. I think a lot of people are sleeping on Tennessee. I think they're poised for another eight, nine win season. And you get five and a half points with a team that's getting a lot of hype and they really haven't done anything. Can you imagine if Tennessee is like up 10-0 in the second quarter,

how on edge that building will be just because the hype is so out of control. I still think Cleveland wins, but I like Tennessee and the points. This game is simple. Everyone loves the Rams. Carolina, the humidity's out of control. I think my sleeper MVP pick is Christian McCaffrey.

Ron Rivera doesn't get the love he should. He's one of the best coach in the league. Carolina's got a lot to prove because they missed the playoffs last year. I don't know about Cam's health. That's a major concern here. But I've been saying over and over, I think the Rams come back to Earth.

Now, when I picked the divisions, I thought the Rams were like 8 and 8. Maybe that's a little harsh because when you start looking at them, I'm not quite as confident in the Niners anymore. Seattle gets clowny, but still, I mean, the Rams probably a 9 or 10 win season. But this isn't, wouldn't even, they'd be that crazy of a loss. Rams at Carolina, we know the stats of teams going west to east. It's not good. There's no way for us to get ready for the humidity in California.

I mean, it's hot where I live right now. it's 85 degrees. It's not soaking in humidity. I like Carolina in the points. I like Carolina to win this game. Then I have the two games. In my next two games, I basically wrote down,

who the hell are watching these games? Detroit at Arizona and Cincinnati at Seattle. Now, the reality is I will watch both of these games. But Detroit at Arizona, I don't know how much I'm going to watch. Detroit minus two and a half at Arizona. Arizona is terrible. They have a coach that couldn't win in college.

They have an offensive. line that's an embarrassment. Their defense is terrible. Their defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph, is one of the worst coordinators, maybe in league history. And Cincinnati at Seattle, nine and a half points. So I like Detroit minus two and a half at Arizona.

Cincinnati at Seattle, I don't know, nine and a half points a lot. Now Seattle, tough home field advantage, they got clowny. You know, that ones, I just don't feel great about that game. I'd probably lean Cincinnati nine and a half. Again, you start getting points

spreads around 10 points in the NFL, despite Cincinnati might suck. Cincinnati might go win two games. But usually don't just get destroyed. Now, sometimes when you do suck and you go to Seattle, you do get destroyed. So if I do bet on this game, I'd probably take Seattle minus nine and a half, but I wouldn't feel great about it. But again, these games kind of suck on paper. This game's really interesting.

Indy at L.A. Obviously, the luck retirement, but the reality, and we've talked about it on this show for weeks, luck was not going to start this game, whether he retired. or whether he didn't retire. They were going to play with Jacoby. Here's the good thing about Jacoby. He's been starting all training camp. He's been playing with the ones.

Eric Ebron, T.Y. Hilton, all the running backs, the offensive line. They're used to seeing him in the huddle. I like Indianapolis in this game six and a half points. Do I like them to win? Chargers are really good. Melvin Gordon, it sure as hell doesn't feel like it's going to be there. They still got Bosa. They still got Ingram.

They still got Keenan Allen. Mike Williams from Clemsonsons turned into a monster. Hunter Henry's back. You know, you think the Chargers are a lot. 10-11 win team. I like Indy to still win 8-9, best-case scenario, 10 games. It will not shock me if you look up

and it's 17-17 at the Home Depot center in the fourth quarter. That's what I would expect. It's why I like Indy plus 6.5. This is one of the better games on the docket for sure. The Giants at Cowboys, I think it's safe to say the Giants stink. They have one elite player

and then a bunch of question marks at every position including quarterback. Eli stinks, their offensive line stink, their receivers stink, their defense is even worse. This team's bad. I don't think Pat Schumer is a very good coach. And I think the Cowboys, after signing Zeke, this place is going to be rocking. They have Super Bowl expectations.

Whether that's fair or not, I kind of view them as a fringe, a team that could make it to the Super Bowl. I don't see how you could discount them. Their roster is loaded. Their one question mark is the coach, which is never an ideal thing. But they definitely have the talent to dominate. And I think AT&T Stadium is going to be going just to. bananas for this team and you get up early, you start smelling blood and they'll look to kill them.

How are the Giants going to move the ball on the Cowboys? They're just going to stack the box, not let's say Juan beat them. How's Eli beating this team? Especially with the Cowboys Pass Rush? I would expect the final score in this game to be like 30 to 3. I'm serious. And like I've said, I'm hesitant week one blowouts. I think the Cowboys absolutely destroy the Giants.

And then the game of the night, Pittsburgh got in New England. I'm basically just picking the Steelers on a law of averages. Like how many times straight are the Steelers going to lose in New England? Eventually they're going to get them. And if you go, well, if they are going to get them, it's not going to be in a playoff game. It'd probably be a game like this. Now, the Patriots don't lose many games of Foxborough,

especially when you've had an all-off season. But the Steelers team is a little new. You know, it's usually your game planning for Levion, your game planning for Antonio. Now it's like you're game planning for James White. Or I mean, excuse me, James Washington. So I just think they're a little bit of the unknown. I think the Patriots are clearly going to run away with the NFC East and win 11, 12 games.

But they're also integrating a lot of new young players. Like even Sony Michelle, I mean, he had a big playoffs, but the other kid they drafted from Alabama, they have an undrafted free agent that's going to play a lot as a rookie as a wide receiver. Gronks gone. There are some unknowns. Now, the Patriots defense is going to be really good. I would expect the Patriots, you know, I still probably expect them to win this game, maybe like 20 to 17, but you're giving me five and a half points with a good Steeler team.

I think that's the pick. Okay, let's go middle coffee mailbag. I'm going to bang out a bunch. Pry guy's already pretty long, so I won't go too long. I'll try to go quick. A lot of Colts fans. Did the Colts get a steal in Jacoby's new contract extension? If I'm not mistaken, Jacoby doesn't have an agent.

He doesn't. Neither did Richard Sherman. Both gave big organizing. discounts for their services in my opinion. Well, I don't really necessarily agree with that. Agents love to say that because they don't ever want to be devalued, but look at Richard Sherman, who's basically made $9 million a year these last two years, so he'll play two seasons at $18 million.

He was coming off a major injury, and he was an older player. I actually think that's been a pretty good deal. Jacoby was scheduled to make like $750,000. Is he good? I don't know. I mean, they basically gave him $30 million. I mean, he's got two-year $30 million extension. I think that's a pretty good deal.

You know, they say, what, a bird in the hand's always better than two in the bush? What if he sucks? I mean, seriously, what if he goes 6 and 10? He never would have sniff that money? Now, if he goes 8 and 8, would they have given him a contract extension at the end of the season because he's going to be a free agent? Maybe they franchise him. Maybe they don't.

What if no one gives him any money? I really don't blame him at all for taking the money. I think it was the right move to make, especially when you're a mid-round pick. You've only made, you know, like a million bucks or $1.5 million. Someone offers you $30 million. I think it was $20 guaranteed, but as long as he's serviceable,

he's going to see a decent chunk of it. I think it was a no-brainer move. Because, again, this was not a player. We don't know if he's good or not. Like, Zeke Elliott was holding out. He knows he's a superstar. Even Melvin Gordon, who's holding out, and he's a running back or whatever, he's still a good player. Like, people are going to be, he would start for a lot of teams in the NFL.

Is Jacobia starting quarterback? I don't think we know that right now. Now, I think most people in the know think he's good, and he's on a team where he's kind of equipped to play well. But did anyone's ever going to give him $30 million? I don't know. So I don't blame him for taking that money at all. and he gets to pocket without an agent. I love that.

I always like cutting out the middleman. Hey John, fan from Argentina. What's going on? Messy. Isn't that where Messi's from? Or is that Portugal? Where's Rinaldo from? I get my soccer mixed up.

Any chance my Minnesota Vikings get to the NFC championship? Break or bust year for Cook? I think the Vikings are going to be pretty good. I think the question mark is going to be their cornerback position because offensively they get stacked. receiver. They got multiple tight ends. Their offensive line should be improved. Dalvin Cook's a stud. Cousins,

solid, probably a little overpaid, but he's good enough to win with. Their defensive front four is good. You know, Kendricks and Barr aren't quite what they once were, but Harrison Smith's still a good player. I just wonder about their DBs. Is Xavier Rose any good? I don't know.

I really don't. And if he's not like a top-notch corner for how much money they're paying, hand them, they got problems. And just lists some different, you know, podcasts and reading some stuff. I don't know if Minnesota's super high on their, on their DBs. So if you can't cover, now you can say in that division, well, Mitch can't throw, so you're good there, Rogers can, and obviously the Detroit should be able to. So you're going to need to cover someone. And, you know, this week, you're playing the Cardinals, so you'd probably be okay. Or excuse me, that's Detroit.

Minnesota is playing the Falcons. That's why I like the Falcons this weekend. Because who's covering Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley? Who is? I don't know. That's why I kind of like the Falcons to win that game. Who do you think will be the most irrelevant team in the NFL this year? Not necessarily the worst, as we all like to talk about a train wreck.

That would be the Raiders who could be shitty, but we're talking a lot. But the team people forget about. I would lean the Bengals. I think it's the Bengals because the Bengals AJ Green's out they've gotten rid of a lot of their star players they're probably just going to be terrible

they're just kind of a blah team even the dolphins the one curveball they have even if they start like two and six what if they start Rosen in the middle of the season that will draw some interest plus you play the Patriots twice a year the Jets and the bills are kind of interesting

so I would lean the Bengals right now that would be where I'd put my money recently discovered your podcast and love it. Honest and well-informed opinions sports industry have become increasingly rare these days. Appreciate it. I just wanted to ask, I'm a Notre Dame fan, what do you think our problem is?

The team's record over the last couple years, 2016, 2014 has been well above 500, but they just can't deliver when the light shine the brightest. I know Notre Dame is academically challenging, religious and isolated institution, but do you think there is more to do with Brian Kelly and his staff? I think Brian Kelly is a really good a really good coach

I do and like you said it's a hard place to win it's a unique institution with the academic standards plus the religious element but they've been producing a lot of NFL players that they really have and watching them against Louisville they started slow but Ian Buck I like them I think you can clearly tell

that they've done a better job of recruiting a higher end athlete these last five or six years ever since that one championship game when Alabama kicked their ass they've been on a different level. Now, are they still on Clemson or Bama's level? No, but I think they're pretty good. I have a lot of respect for the schedule they play.

I mean, just the teams they play week in and week out. It's no joke. I think they went from they had no business being in that championship game a couple years ago, or, you know, what was that, like seven or eight years ago, to last year when they made the playoffs, it was well deserved. So I think Brian Kelly is maximizing everything he possibly can. Is it ever going to be the Lou Holt's days of winning national championships? I don't know.

Did the Lou only win one? Maybe one, two. But like when I was growing up in the 90s, it always felt like they were a legitimate national championship contender. It's like they're a playoff contender now, but I don't feel like they're a national championship contender. And maybe there's a chance that at the end of the day, they're really not going to be.

Because the SEC can just, I've gotten this big argument with people in the SEC. They're like, God, our academics are just as good as yours out West. I'm sorry they're not. You know, it's just like, it's impossible to win at UCLA and Cal. They care too much about academics. I don't personally. I wish they cared more about football, but they don't. Florida's a top 15 school.

Yeah, football's the number one priority. Same with Georgia. Yeah, those are good schools. I'm not diminishing, like, a degree from there doesn't matter. It's impressive. But your football players, like, I'm sorry. Football is the number one priority at these schools. It's why they win.

Like, Alabama's a good school, too. No one cares about academics when it comes to their football players. UCLA was just rated the number one academic institution in the world. They care more about books than they do first downs, which pains me because I wish they cared equally. I'm pro books, too, though I'm more of an audiobook guy than an actual reader. But I just want these teams to be good at football. And that's what I have a lot of respect for in the SEC.

They care about football. And they also care about academics. They have good schools. Same with Notre Dame. They kind of fight the balance a little closer where they care about football a lot too. I just think it's hard. Whenever you have requirements

to say that guys can't get into school, if you won't let a guy into school that Georgia will and then you're playing Georgia, you're at a disadvantage. It's just that simple. I know that I was talking to someone the other day, Gary Anderson, when he was at Wisconsin, he had those issues.

He couldn't get guys into Wisconsin. Think about that. And then the guys that he tried to get in like ended up at Michigan State and ended up at Ohio State. He's like, what the hell are we doing? Like, we're going to play against these guys. You won't let them in my school?

It's not like they can't read or whatever. They just had lower test scores than ideally that the school wanted. Like, let's make some exceptions. Who do you think the best young tight end is in the league? Fant, Hawkinson, Hawkinson, T.J. Hawkinson. Excluding Kittle, the following up with another tight end question. What are the odds we see Gronk come back in 2020? I think Gronk is done.

I think he's legitimately retired. To me, it's hard to judge Hawkinson and Fant. They haven't, as of recording this, they haven't played a game in the league. Kittle has got a chance to be pretty damn good. Just being at some Niners practices, he's a baller. I mean, George Kittles a baller. So if I was excluding him,

I'd probably go, Ingram for the Giants, the Joku for the Cleveland Browns. And those guys are really more, like, you know, receiving threats. That's what makes George Kittle, basically, the new Gronk, is he's an ass kicker in the line of scrimmage. Like, he can

block, you know, and he can really catch. He's a really good player. If Gronk was the standard, like Travis, Kelsey, and Ertz are elite, but they are elite pass catchers. Now, Kelsey will try, Ertz can't block.

I don't know. I mean, it's probably one of the guy, the New York guy, or Nijoku. I'm trying to think. You know, O.J. Howard just kind of getting ready for this 49er game and just looking at some of Tampa's stuff, he's a pretty good player. He's got a chance to be a good player. Kind of came on late last year. I think he had six touchdowns.

Him and Cameron Bray, that's not a bad little one-two right there in Tampa. Bruce Erians get things going. They combined for 11 touchdowns last year. A lot of good tight ends in the league. There's just no way around it. Sometimes if the questions are too long, I just avoid them. It seems like Greer and the Dolphins are taking a page out of the Brown's playbook and rebuilding even though they may publicly state otherwise. As a result, the Dolphins will have two and likely three first round picks depending on their season and also two seconds. Who are some of the upcoming prospects that would make sense for the Dolphins at those spots? Would you buy dolphin stock?

Are we the Browns two years ago? Are there other teams that should consider making these moves? Here's a thing. And people give so much credit to Sashi Brown. he definitely helped like tanking, getting all the picks, but eventually you've got to make the picks and that was Dorsey making the picks.

So the guy that tanked was not the guy making the picks. It's why I had zero faith that Sashi would ever be able to make the picks. I didn't think he would be able to, like, could he evaluate a player? I don't think so. Now, can these guys do that? The jury's out. I don't know.

I don't know enough about Chris Greer. Flores has, again, like Hawkinson hasn't coached an NFL game. Hawkinson has played an NFL game. You know, it's just hard. You look at the Dolphins roster. I mean, first and foremost, if you don't have a quarterback, you're just wasting your time.

They now need a tackle because they got rid of Laramie Tunzel. They really don't have any wide receivers. There are some sweet wide receivers in this draft. Defensively, they have the one corner, Xavier's a pretty good player. They got rid of Kiko, so they don't really have lineback.

I mean, they need everything. What don't they have? What do they have, I think, is the question, just they need good players. So, I mean, I think part of having multiple first round picks and multiple second round picks, beside the quarterback, you just need a lot of players. Chris Carson against the Bengals or Juju against the Patriots

as my flex this week. I would probably go Carson against the Bengals just because the Patriots, one, their best attribute is taking your best player away and now Juju is their best player. And two, their best unit on their team, beside Brady is their defensive back group.

So I would go Carson against the Bengals. Chris Carson's a, I mean, a monster. He is a hard-running SOB. There's no way around that. Do you think the NFL will go to the Madden camera angle more? I feel like it's given a better perspective. Camera angle from behind the quarterback. Love they show.

Love the show. Yeah, I... I like it for replays. Like when a running back breaks a sweet run, I like it when they go behind the quarterback for the slow motion replay and you kind of see the hole open up and the running back cut it. Like, you know, when I work in the NFL, if you look at the all 22,

it's how coaches watch the tape, especially offensive and defensive line coaches from the end zone views. But I don't know if the average consumer likes it or not. I think really that's all that matters. Like what does the consumer like as a football fan? I like it for replays more. than in real time. I like the side view,

like the TV view in real time. I do like the, I do like the behind-the-end-zone view for replays. How do you think the Bears will miss Adrian Amos? I thought it was a big loss when he signed with the Packers and there feels like there's a huge hole in their secondary now. Yeah, I mean, you're just part of having, you know, an expensive team. You can't keep everybody.

The Bears still have, like, Adrian Amos is not going to be the, the Bears problem. You watch him the night playing the Packers. Their front four dominates. Roquon Smith, a texted buddy with the Bears. I mean, he looks like Navarro Bowman running around, just kicking ass. Their corners are good. Prince and Fuller. Eddie Jackson's a player. Like, their defense is fine. At the end of the day, losing Adrian Amos won't have that big of an impact. The bear's got to score points. I mean, he had the big pick. I mean, that was sweet, but it was a terrible throw by Mitch. throwing a double coverage, just throwing it up there, jump on. Like, what do you do?

doing. Just throw the ball away. Live to find another down. Again, in a perfect world, they would have kept Adrian Amos. But at a certain point, when you start paying some guys, you just can't keep everyone. I don't think at the end of the day, it'll be that big of a deal. Well, enjoy the games this weekend. Thanks for listening. And yeah, man, football's back. Thank you, Jesus. If you're not religious, just enjoy it. If you are, thank Jesus again. and have a great weekend. And just week one is officially here.

Can't wait to, God, I can't wait to watch all these games on Sunday. It was, you know, rough start to the season. You know, they say week one's the new preseason, which, you know, it's better nothing, I guess. But can't wait for next week, and I'll talk to you guys on Tuesday. Using your Aspiration Zero credit card helps fight climate change. It's true. See, Aspiration Zero plants a tree.

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