The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Big NFL Season Optimism; Bad Arrest Headlines; Rooney Rule Flaws; Mailbag

Episode Date: May 19, 2020

In this episode, Middlekauff thinks there's more momentum that an NFL season is going to happen than at anytime since the beginning of the Corona quarantine, why a week with several high profile arrests is a product of the lack of OTA's, and why new proposed changes to the Rooney Rule won't produce more minority head coaches. He also answers questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on twitter @JohnMiddlekauff and go to theherdnow.com to find the latest content. Subscribe now! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. 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 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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 IHeart 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 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This episode is made possible by PWC. When you bring together human ingenuity, passion, and experience with the latest technology,

the future starts to look a whole lot smarter, which is why the new equation is meeting the future of work today with pro-eastern. Edge. Digitally upskill your entire organization to keep ahead of the curve and drive growth. Learn more at the new equation.com. What is going on, everybody? John Middlecough, three and out podcast, May 18th as I hit record in the afternoon. It's been a good day. It looks like we'll dive in off the top on some news about Corona and football,

and just sports in general being able to be played in California, potentially New York, and I think that was a major question mark. And it really has been over the last month, and we'll dive into that all. The NFL is turning into a little bit of the Wild Wild West. They've had about four or five players been arrested, several involved with guns,

and it's been a crazy time. It's not ideal. The NFL and football, in general thrives with a very, very strict schedule. And right now the NFL, because of the quarantine and corona and the Zoom meetings, these guys are all over the place doing whatever they want to do. And it's kind of causing some issues. And then the Rooney Rule and some new additions potentially,

by the time you're listening to this, the vote will have happened or not on adding some compensation in the form of draft picks to high. hiring minority coaches, so I have some thoughts there. And then, of course, the Middlecoff mailback at John Middlecoff. I've had some people reach out and be like, Middlecop, kind of sarcastically. Why do you keep saying slide into your DMs? That's what young people say about trying to hook up with each other. I know, I'm being sarcastic.

It's a joke. The DMs are just wide open. The DMs are wide open. You can shoot me a message, however you want to say it, slide. I don't care how you consider it. It's a joke. I've been sarcastic about it the whole time. on Twitter, or excuse me, on Instagram,

Twitter, my DMs are not open. Instagram, they are. And ask me whatever you want. We call it the Middle Coff mailbag, and we do it right here. Twitter, you can tweet at me whenever you want. Same handle. At John Middlecoff is the name.

Also, appreciate everyone that has done it. You can keep doing it. If you have not, and you like the show, three and out podcast on Apple, on iTunes, leave a review, preferably a five star, but I've seen some people leave two and three stars. Listen, do whatever your little heart desires,

whatever you feels fair. It's on you. I'd appreciate a five. If you listen, great. If you're a hater, I like haters too. So dive in there, and thanks for everyone that has. The last time I checked, we were at 980. You just need like 20 more to get to 1,000.

Let's start off with this. The Michael Jordan documentary, I think, was just fantastic. And anyone probably my age or a little older that lived through Michael had to just be, it's just awesome. It's a trip down memory lane. I found myself, being pretty nostalgic over this probably past month plus. You know, so many games from the 90s were on in all sports.

I found myself in some YouTube deep rabbit holes watching music that I used to listen to. And it's been fun that way, just kind of living in the past. And no one, it shows you how famous. If you became Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, just think of some of the most prince, Eddie Murphy, whoever, some of the most famous people, Will Smith in the 80s or 90s, in my childhood, super famous. You were really freaking famous. Like now is famous like online that famous?

Maybe, but nowhere near. Like Michael Jordan's fame actually has never been stronger than it is today. Just because just in his shoe sales and he hasn't played, I know Colin keeps saying, he hasn't played 20 years and he makes way more money on shoes than everyone else. But I think it speaks to how powerful fame, like true fame, true fame. I remember Garth Brooks saying he did a concert when I was in, like, junior high, it's Central Park. And it was like his album was the most listened to album of all time at the time, or maybe right behind the Beatles.

You know, now with downloads and everything, it's so different because social media you can go viral. Back then, like, if you were Will Smith, if you were Michael Jordan, if you were Cow Ripkin Jr. Like, you were on a completely different level. And social media and the internet has just changed that a little bit. But I digress. Michael Jordan said something on the documentary that really, really stood out to me.

And he said when he got to the Bulls and they were terrible. Remember part of the documentary when he first showed up, they were called like the cocaine circus or the... A lot of cocaine was in the league, but his team was a joke. And said, the thing I had from day one is I had hope. I believed, and I'm a big believer. The older I get, the more people that you, you know, either you read about or you talk to is how important optimism is. And listen, my dad, you know, passed away a couple years ago could be somewhat negative.

And I think, you know, I kind of could too. And I've really, really worked on that in my 30s of just being more of a positive person. because I do think it impacts your life dramatically, professionally, personally, in just in every element. And I think you are, it's life's too short to be miserable. And I'm not talking about people that are just like homeless people. I mean, we all know them. A lot of people that are quote unquote financially successful are miserable SOBs.

Terrible way to live. And that's the thing that stood out in the Jordan documentary is how positive he was. And hope is really positive. positive. It hopes else. There is no disputing it. It's what I've struggled with the corona is the negativity became, especially on social media, became like cool. It became like the way to get likes and retweets. Shut it down forever. It's like guys, can we take a step back and take a deep breath and realize that it's not plausible? It's not feasible. With sports, it became a little more, you know, complex because whenever a governor or an elected official would bring them up,

well, sports are just more popular, you know, are just going to get more reaction, whether it be on television or whether it be on social media, than talking about restaurants. Even though we all need to eat, we don't all consume sports, but they are the polarizing topic, partly because sports include a lot of people, whether it's the NBA and it's 20 grand, whether it's football and it's 60, depending on college, 100. But I'm just, there's so much unknown. We're in early May or even late April, and everyone's making these absolutes.

I'm like, why is everyone so quick to put it in Sharpie? Can't we just write things in pencil? Changing by the day, everyone's freaking out. And I've tried and attempted to, and listen, I'm human, probably like many of you, I've had some shitty days, been really mad, been angry. and you realize, like, what am I so mad about? I don't control.

None of us control any of this. I have zero power to influence when these restaurants, when sports come back, it's all out of all of our control. But it is nice to see that the governor of California said that starting June 1, sports can be played without fans. And I think Cuomo in New York said something similar. Clearly where we're headed is things are going to come back. Normal, I don't know if they're.

ever going to be normal, at least for this year, probably not. Our fans, by the time we get to the NFL season, going to be allowed, who knows? It's May 18th. But I never understood as we started flattening the curve why we started freaking out acting like we had to lock it down before we found a cure. And I know Dave Portnoy had a big rant about it. It did become that on social media. And it was crazy.

And so many people, it felt like we're rooting for it. And I, this shouldn't be that polarizing an issue. We should want to save people and at the same time attempt to get back to normal. Do it together, right? We should celebrate people being able to go back to work, not lose a job. But of course, that's not the way society works anymore. Everything's so splintered. It becomes, it's why I try to not even talk about the corona, because it's so easy to get negative about it.

Whether you're talking about yourself, listen, I would imagine everyone listening has been impacted in some way. Whether you know someone that had it, whether your business, hell, maybe you've been laid off, maybe you've been furloughed, maybe you run a business, and you've lost business. I know I have. I've lost a lot of, but again, these are the cards we're dealt. You've got to figure it out. And I do appreciate some of these governors, and listen, big business runs America.

It pays for everything. The state of California isn't just one of, you know, arguably the last 10 years, the most profitable and the most highest money generating state in America. It's one of the biggest economies in the world. Where do you think all the money goes to run the state? All by tax revenue. What do you think happens when you shut down the economy? Well, these businesses aren't generating any cash. How are they going to pay their tax bill? Especially taxes got pushed back. You can't operate without big business operating. Makes the world go round. Pays the teachers, pays for the road, pays for it all. It's all kind of tied together. Whether you like it or you don't,

This is the reality we have. And I thought Richard Sherman had a tweet that said, of course, you know, Gavin Newsom pivoted. There were threats, and I don't even know if they were threats, but it was like, you can't afford to lose the 49ers, the Rams, the Chargers, maybe some of these collegiate teams leave, and lose all the tax revenue from them leaving. Because they're going to play.

Football's going to be played. Just like now it's clear, basketball and baseball, they are going to be played. This is no longer a question. It shows you Dana White, who took a ton of heat. You know why he took a ton of heat? The guy who's usually first is the guy getting questioned called an idiot. And I think sometimes we lose sight of this in pro sports in general.

They're not a charity. They're a pro, their for-profit business. Their goal is to make money. It just happens in what I talk about. It's a game that they monetize, whether it's football, whether it's basketball, whether it's baseball, whether it's golf, whatever sport you talk about in the media or that you like watching, you're ultimately just watching a business.

It just happens to be their business is a guy playing hoops or playing basketball. It's why we call players assets, right? They're not your normal employees. Like Tom Brady is an asset. LeBron James is an asset. just like if you sell real estate, a piece of property is, or a business you have is an asset. It's not that much different. Now, it's a little complicated, and there's a human element, this, because you're talking about a person being an asset.

But you could argue, is Bob Eiger an asset for Disney? Of course he is. You know, is Colin Coward an asset for Fox? Of course he is. Is Howard Stern an asset for Sirius? Like, so a lot of other businesses are like this too, and they, you know, Listen, I haven't worked in the corporate world beside a little bit of radio, but I do think this rings true.

The power in any business are the, not the walls that enclose the business, it's the people within those walls. But I do think everything has gotten so negative that it's nice to just go, okay, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Because the conversation is constantly changed, whether you believe it's political, whether you believe whatever, it got a little out of control. And it felt like we lost a lot of hope.

And it felt like, is the PAC 12 not going to play football? Well, of course they're going to play football. If other conferences are playing football, they have no choice. Because if football didn't get played in college, like in the NFL, you're not subsidizing anything, right? Your football team just pays for your football operation. In college sports, and I don't think people quite realize this, and I didn't realize this until I worked at Fresno State. And one day there was like a town hall meeting.

Every coach was at this meeting and the athletic director was up there talking about different stuff. And at the time, Pat Hill was the head coach. And he came in a little late. In one of the non-revenue generating sports, i.e. every sport beside football and depending on your university basketball, one of the other head coaches said, Coach Hill, look at you, getting special privileges late to the meeting. And Pat said, I'm not late to the meeting. I was at a fundraiser that they sent me to, paying your salary. Because the football coach and the football program literally pays for everything.

So if you told me right now, UCLA football or Oregon football, we're not going to take place this fall, Oregon being outlier, because Phil Knight at the end of the day could subsidize and save everything. Washington State, Arizona State, those athletic departments would go under. They could not survive. So the nice part about this hope is you go, okay, maybe USC, UCLA, all these schools in the West Coast are going to be able to play football as scheduled times. Now, our fan's going to be allowed. Me and a buddy, we were going to go to the Oregon Ohio State game.

I think it was a second week of the season. It's pretty clear that no one, if that game still takes place, will probably be allowed in there. Now, who knows? I even struggle saying that because, again, what I harpened back to, it's really. May 18th. And you would have said two weeks ago, Gavin Newsom and the state of California are done! It's over!

And then all of a sudden, Friday afternoon, the Lakers, working with some officials, were allowed to go to the practice facility and play hoops. And then by Monday, he goes, yeah, we'll be playing by June 1. Everyone just take a deep breath. Let's just keep attempting to follow the rules, whatever state you're in hell,

half the states feels like are just rocking and rolling. In California, it's going to just operate a little slower. way more people. But I think it's fair to say, football's going to happen this fall. Basketball and baseball, who knows about baseball? Their union and the owners are kind of at odds. Basketball's definitely coming back. Golf's coming back.

UFC, Dana White led the charge. You know what he's been proven? He probably made ESPN a lot of money. He made ESPN a ton of money because he had a lot of free eyeballs. There's open real estate. If I was baseball or basketball, I would be doing everything humanly possible to be the first one back and own a couple weeks. and just have it all to myself.

Now football, and I've said this from really the jump of Corona, got lucky. It was their off-season. Now, they would have pivoted, they would have pushed it back, they would have found a way to play games. If this would have happened in October, it just might have started the season in June or March, or who knows. They would have done whatever they had to do to ultimately play games. Because for all these sports, the games are what pays the bills.

And I think sometimes we forget, Pro sports, I know some people act like it, and the media kind of does too. They are not the moral compass for society. 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. SportsSlice 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 Slices 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, 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, this guy, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out of my. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What? 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 Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor.

I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends

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Hey, cream. Cream a chicken suit. This is help from a hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hippocrat as part of the Mike Coultera podcast network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Multi-billion dollar businesses, and they need huge amounts of revenue to come in because they have huge expenses. It's why in colleges, basically one sport at every school, depending, I mean,

some of the schools, the big basketball programs and a couple schools, like the women's basketball program make some money. But just go to USA today. Most of them do not. And without football, it would all go under. So I think it's finally nice to say, like Michael Jordan, we have a little hope. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination.

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If I could be you And you could be me for just one hour If you could find a way To get inside Each other's mind Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes Walk a mile in my shoes

We've all felt left out And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with us.org, brought to you by the ad council. Walk a mile in my shoes. The NFL is, you know, basically essentially partners, and they do a lot. When I worked for the Eagles, we used to have military, you know, servicemen and women come to training camp.

I still have the best backpack I own is this big camo backpack had my name on it with the Eagles that they all gave us sweet I mean the NFL sent their coaches remember when a lot of stuff

in the Middle East over the years I send their coaches over there they've always aligned closely with the military now clearly they do it for business reasons it's good branding right the military I guess there are people but has a pretty universal

positive approval rating, at least with normal humans, people I know. But I also think the way football operates aligns with the way the military operates. It's a discipline-oriented sport. It is a sport that is mapped out from the moment you get up to the moment you go to sleep. And just like the military, who goes through basic training and training exercises, right, SEAL Team 6 didn't just show up to take out Osama. They practiced it. Just like to become a Marine or an Army Ranger or whatever,

you have to go through elements of whatever the training is. Football is very similar, right? You only play once a week. You practice all week to get ready for the game. Really, you have this entire thing called training camp to get ready for the season. You have an entire off-season just to get ready for training camp. there's a huge disciplinary element to football.

Unlike basketball, if you watch the MJ documentary, you don't really have anything to do all day. Hell, I mean, back in the 90s they practiced. And the NBA now, they don't even practice. And baseball, it's like, yeah, just get to the yard at like two or three and we play at seven. Football's very, very regimented. And the players are kind of like, you know,

the Army Rangers on the front lines. Coaches are like the generals, and the owners would be like the politicians. But it works. And it makes a lot of sense. on a lot of fronts for the NFL. But right now, because of the corona, there is no really off-season.

There is a mandatory, I guess not mandatory because of the off-season, so it has to be voluntary. So it's a voluntary off-season of two hours a day, four days a week, max, to do Zoom meetings with your coaches. That's a total of two times four is eight.

Eight hours a week right now that you are being, again, it's voluntary. But I would imagine most teams are getting a high-level participation and they're seeing their players and they're doing mental work, right? They're going over plays, going over installments, whatever. But it's just on Zoom. No different than if you're a sales guy. I'm sure you're doing Zoom meetings or me.

If I do Zoom calls with whoever on podcasts or we're all just pretty based in our home office. And that's what's going on in the NFL. Well, here's the problem. Typically, the OTAs would be in full swing right now. I don't know if it'd be phase three or the organet, whatever they like to call it. I just call them OTAs and that encompasses everything. But I think by May 18th this week, it'd be full go. Every team in the league would have practices throughout the week.

And the majority of teams, maybe a guy like Dak Prescott wouldn't be there, but the majority of the teams would have close, if not all, 100% participation. A lot of those guys get bonuses. And they'd all be around the facility. Now, underrated part of the offseason, college offseason is a lot more difficult because school is still going on. You actually practice in pads and recruiting happens. It's nonstop. The offseason after the draft for the NFL is actually really chill.

Usually practice three days a week. Maybe you have the one other day of like mental stuff, but you get three-day weekends. You know, it really becomes like a nine to five type job. coaches, you know, don't work crazy hours. Scouts don't have that much to do. Players, you know, just are getting their workout in and on the field and off the field. You get, eat breakfast, lunch.

It's very, very chill. But everyone's together. It's a big team bonding aspect. And that wouldn't, you know, just because of OTAs were going on, would not mean that no one would get in trouble. But we had a stretch these last six or seven days. Ed Oliver got a DUI over the weekend,

which, listen, in 2020, I have little room for any sympathy for getting a DUI. I don't even care what your excuse is, like Uber's lifts. Again, I haven't taken an Uber a lift, probably like a lot of people in a couple months. Are they still even operating? I'm sure they are. I get Uber Eats, but you shouldn't get a DUI in modern times, especially when you're rich. Like, you have pretty easy access to press a button, someone will pick you up. Cody Latimore, I don't really even know all the details, but they're,

There was a pistol whip. There was a shooting. Potential molestation. I don't know if it was with someone involved with Cody. Not that he is being said that he did that. But there's some gray area there. All I know is he got arrested. Involved a gun and a pistol whipping.

Which there might be more of the story. And if the molestation angle comes on the other side, we might go, wow, you know, I don't totally blame Cody Latimore. But still, headline, arrested gun. And then clearly the story last week of Dunbar, and D'Andre Baker Dunbar is the new corner for the Seattle Seahawks

DeAndre Baker, former first round pick and as someone told me over the weekend who knows the giant slash covers them really well questionable human that was well before this happened and the Giants didn't draft him as he said they traded up to get him

I think it's questioned on that team how many guys on that 53 man roster like this guy they don't trust this guy there's some red flags So anytime you get a red flag guy in a situation where there are no rules, and when I say there are no rules, there's still laws and stuff in society,

but there are no rules with your team. They can't do anything. You can be wherever you want to be because everything's over Zoom. The NFL does turn into the Wild Wild West pretty fast. Now these were four guys, there's over 2,000 players. I say it all the time.

The majority of guys, I mean the heavy majority of guys that when I worked in the office for two years, had lunch every day with the entire, team was around them all the time. Majority of them aren't just like pretty good guys. Like I'm talking high level high character guys. Every team, just like in every office, it's going to have some sketchy people.

Now the difference is with pro sports, especially football, is when you get first round picks that happen to be sketchy people, they also have some money. Like not everyone in the NFL has money, money. You know, if you're seventh round pick, even if you make the team, what do you make in $600 grand? After taxes, agent fees?

Like, yeah, you're, you know, top three or four percent in America, but it's not like, I wouldn't call you a millionaire, not even close. You get drafted in the first round, you're an immediate millionaire. And that's when you're reading some of these stories are getting in these dice games of $60,000, $70,000, well, they have more money to bet.

You know, I never, ever criticize someone for betting. Like, listen, I'm pro gambling, but I couldn't bet. I don't have $70,000. When I look at my bank, I wouldn't even have the ability to get into a $70,000 dice game. But I could get into a $700 dice game. Some people would be like, you're crazy, right? Money's all relative. And these guys have a lot of money. And I don't care. Even if you do have a

million dollars in the bank, $70,000, still $70,000. It's one thing to lose $700. Even if you only have, you know, $1,000, $70,000 is a lot of money, regardless who you are. Because to get $70,000, you have to make, you know, $130, $140,000 because of taxes. So $70,000 is net income. But, I think it does show that the NFL, the nature of their sport, they just got some crazy guys. And they got guys that just part of putting a team together, you're not going to have 53 or, you know, and the thing about the off-season is some of these guys,

now DeAndre Baker was a first-rounder, so he wouldn't get cut. And Ed Oliver won't either, also a first-rounder. Cody Ladimore on the Redskins? Who knows? You know? There's 90 guys, give or take, I would imagine. if we did the breakdown on every roster.

That's the thing with the offseason. So you have 90 times 32. So you have a large percentage of guys that could get in trouble. Now, again, I'm not trying to make excuse or anything because two of these four are first round picks and are basically untouchable. But you do have guys that can get in trouble because they're sketchy characters to just play football

that won't even be on the team in the fall. But the NFL, and this is why coaches, you know, I get they've adapted well, but they would do anything to have OTAs right now because they could at least have their team. team altogether. And the story for DeAndre Baker is like, he won't be allowed to attend the virtual meetings. I was like, yeah, that'll teach him a lesson.

No virtual meetings for DeAndre Baker. Way to go, Giants. No franchise like the Giants love getting on their moral high horse. We stand for something here. Give me a break. And again, I'm a little biased, Philly guy. But it's like, you know, you had Josh Brown a couple years ago. Your best player ever was doing crack.

Like, you're no different than anyone else. and DeAndre Baker is a great example and let's just hope for the NFL's standpoint that this does it kind of you know we don't have an arrest here for a couple weeks so have some guys lay low try to stay out of trouble keep the firearms in the safe

and let's try not to discharge them okay let's dive in and as I said off the early in the show that by the time you're listening to this maybe this rule gets overturned I guess they're just voting on it, so maybe it doesn't pass. But let's dive into the Rooney Rule.

And the additions of if you hire a minority coach, you move up six spots. If you might hire a minority general manager, you move up 10 spots in the third round. There are also different additions if you have a black quarterback coach who's there more than a year. You get compensation as like fourth and fifth rounds as compensatory picks. And full disclosure, I'm a white guy. So there's only so many elements I'm going to be able to talk about this. I can't relate to some of the situations that come across with coaches or general managers of color trying to get jobs. But what I have always pushed back on a little bit.

And I know the Dan Lebitards and the extremists that love talking about race, it's clear they always think everyone's getting screwed and it's a major issue in the NFL. Now, from my experience, working two years at Fresno State, our team was definitely majority black, and I think our coaching staff was too. And then with the Philadelphia Eagles. I never heard race come up one time with a player, talking about player acquisition. With coaching, I was never involved with hiring a coach, so I don't know. Now, I know when I was at Fresno State,

when we hired black coaches, multiple black coaches. We were looking for a wide receiver and a running back coach, and that's just who we hired. When I was with the Eagles, we hired Sean McDermott, or we fired Sean McDermott, Juan Castillo became the defensive coordinator, and Todd Bowles was also hired.

So again, in my experience with Pat Hill and with Andy Reed, it never came up. I have zero experience around that or that type thinking. Clearly, it impacts some franchises. I'm just speaking from my experience. I've never personally gone through it. Again, white guy. And working, unlike the media, who just can be consumed sometime with this stuff,

I've lived it, and I didn't see it. But I only worked for one team and a pretty open-minded team, led by Jeffrey Lurie, who was really, really open-minded. But clearly, things need to change in the NFL. I counted today. There are four blackhead coaches. or I guess three black head coaches and Ron Rivera, who's a minority.

And there are issues and that's often talked about, it's hard to just get in front of an owner. And Albert Breer wrote that the most three recent general managers of color were promotions. So a big element was they were already in the building and the owner was around the guy. And the hardest part is just getting interaction with the owner who's at the end of the day signing the checks.

Now, I don't necessarily have an issue with attempting to fix this rule and try to add incentives to hire a minority coach. But I also think, ultimately, again, maybe I'm naive to this. If I'm an owner and I interview three guys, and I think this guy is the best guy for the job, and I have a $2 billion franchise, I'm pretty sure I'm going to hire who I feels best for the job. Maybe call me crazy.

But in my experience, that's really what you've done. Now, factoring in who that head coach hires, the nepotism and stuff, that's a different conversation. I'm just talking about it from an owner's standpoint. And the reality with general managers, they really don't get fired that often. Maybe get like one, maybe two a year. The head coaching turnover is really high. And it's a complicated issue because, like, like the one year when there were a ton of minorities and they all got fired, it's like, yeah,

Hugh Jackson was awful. I think Vance Joseph is one of the worst defensive coordinators I've ever seen. Steve Wilkes was beyond over his head. Like, is that okay to say? Now, from a hiring standpoint, one addition potentially to this Rooney rule is they're going to add a minute, instead of just one minority candidate you have to interview, two. and as people in the industry and reading quotes from MMQB and Peter King, a big thing is just getting in front of them.

I actually like that because sometimes Mike Tomlin once upon a time was a Rooney Rule candidate. Look at him. Turned out pretty damn good. Probably a top five coach in the NFL. But when you talk about incentivizing a team with a third round pick, you think an owner, if they don't think the guy's good or if all things are equal, the third round pick is going to change much? I really don't.

I really don't think they will give a damn about that. Now, when it comes to coordinators, I also struggle with this. I think sometimes when you see guys at coordinators and they're not getting head coaching jobs, people go they're getting screwed. I've said this before, but, you know, the guy getting screwed is the dude in a warehouse who's doing the majority of the work

and he's probably getting $15 an hour. 30 of the 32 offensive coordinators in 2019 made over a million. and there are way more than two head coaches calling plays, right? There are a ton of head coaching playcowers. And I would imagine the two offensive coordinators who were not making a million were making somewhere between $850 and $1 million, right, or $999,000. So you're talking elite wealth. And when these coaches sign these contracts as an assistant coach,

for the most part, you get three-year deal. Every defensive coordinator in the league, let me repeat, every defensive coordinator in the league, made over a million dollars in 2019. That includes like Vance Joseph, who's a god-awful coach. It seems like a nice guy, just not a good coach. Robert Sala.

I mean, there's just minorities all over the league at coordinator positions. Now, I get a lot of people aspire to be a head coach, but I've always said this. A lot of guys should just stay in the coordinator role for a long period of time, rack up millions of dollars and not have to worry about

they're not meant to be head coaches. Just like not everyone, not everyone's meant to be an A. Some people are B's, right? We see it all the time in football. A lot of guys become North Turner, really good coordinator, bad head coach. Wade Phillips, good coordinator, bad head coach.

Now, the incentive for quarterback coaches and get guys in the pipeline, I understand. But I'm not a coach, never aspired to be, never wanted to be, don't have the patience to be one. I don't know if you can like force guys into spots. Like, are you just going to take a running back coach and put them at a quarterback coach? Like, do you think a coach is just going to do that?

Or an owner going to force a coach to do that? That doesn't make much sense. Arguably, the two best position coaches I've been around in my life was Tim Skipper when I was at Fresno State, who went with Jim McElain to Colorado State in Florida, who's been at UNLV and do Staley with the Eagles, who have been blocked from different coordinator jobs, but those are too easily the best position coaches I was around by far.

Now, I don't claim to have been around football for 30 years. But I also, whenever I went to a practice, and this is what I struggle with, once you start working in sports, you don't even see race. You don't even talk about it. It's just part of the team, right? Whatever has to happen to win the game. Now, the point of this, you know, change is a hiring practice, which I understand. And I like, hell, make it three people.

Because if you're going to go to a legit open search, I also struggle with this. If you're a team and, you know, let's say next year, you want to hire Lincoln Riley. And Lincoln Riley says he's in. Do I still, like, that's my issue with the Rooney Rule. And most teams, right, don't have one candidate in mine. They want to interview like five or six people.

Hell, I might up that number to three. You have to interview three minority candidates, right? That wouldn't bother me. Like, I think that would make some sense. Why two? What make it three? You're already going to interview 10 plus people anyway. Might as well interview a bunch of different people from a bunch of different backgrounds.

I also think the hiring practices are very cyclical. You know, it's like anything. Things change up and down like the stock market. Right now, offensive coaches are really in vogue, right? Have a guy. 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 SportsSlice 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 SportsLice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic 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. Trip 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.

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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? Quarterback on office blue 42.

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It's skinny, chiseled jaw-lined, white offensive coach. That's feel, felt like everyone. got hired the last couple years. It's not going to be the case forever. You know why? A lot of those guys are going to fail. Cliff Kingsbury, probably going to fail. Never won more than seven games in his life. LaFleur, are we sure he's any good? I know they won 13 games. The offense was terrible. It could be a disaster with Roger's love. He could be out of a job. Some of these guys are just going to be out of a job. And you know what's going to go, I don't want to hire a young offensive guy. Maybe I'll hire an older defensive guy. So the guys that haven't been

getting chances the last several years, I think it could dramatically change. because like anything, nothing ever stays the same in the NFL. Now, you would say the rules, and I've said this before, kind of dictate that defense is at a huge disadvantage. And is that really going to change? Are we going to go back in like five or six years and be like, you know what, the Ronnie Lott style of just taking guys head off and Dick Budkiss and Nitchke, we're playing like that again.

Probably not. So offense is more than likely going to be in vogue, and that's why they're pushing to have quarterback coaches incentivize, you know, fourth or fifth round pick if you have a quarterback coach that's a minority for over a year. I just don't know how you force that. What if you don't have a guy on staff and you want to elevate your quality control guy and he just doesn't fit that bill or whatever, right?

He's more of an offensive line coach or a wide receiver coach. Now, again, I'm not a coach. I think they're on the right path here. I just, the draft pick compensation, I just, I really don't think owners are going to care. That one to me looks better on paper. And what if you're like the Steelers? and you go 7 and 9 and Mike Tomlin's your head coach

and you've always done it the right way hell the rules named after you and some team hires a guy you know a head coach this black they can just jump you you're like we're not screwing around what are we doing or what if you're the Redskins you got Ron Rivera

and you just get jumped in the process because some other team I think it's a little bit of it looks good on paper and I know it went kind of viral on Twitter but I don't know if it works great in practice On January 19th, 2020 for BBDO and AT&T Radio, ad ID AXWR 0975000. Spot title, Fiber Lifestyles, Meet the Walker's, BAU 60, 60 second radio.

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Fire up in there. Leave a question. This is part of your DMs that you fly through as fast as humanly possible to get to the actual question. So I'll keep it brief. I'm a big fan of the podcast. Keep up the good work. Appreciate it. Okay. My question is about the AFC South.

Admittedly, I'm a Titans fan. I don't fully understand the hype around the Colts and Chris Ballard as the clear favorite to win the division, according to most of the media. Ballard and Reich gets so much praise, and I think they're really good at what they do, but it seems so overblown, comparatively speaking. Meanwhile, these same people are calling last year a fluke of the Titans, despite retaining slash upgrading nearly everybody and having a great draft. Look at the last couple years. Chris Ballard with luck, 10 and 6.

Chris Ballard without luck, 11 and 21. John Robinson with Marriota, Castle, Gabbard and Tanyhill, 36 and 28. Well, John Robinson's been on this podcast, a friend of the show, friend of mine. I'm a big John Robinson guy. I like John Robinson, the Titans. Love for able. Remind me again why Rivers, who is 35 and 45 himself, over the last 45 years is suddenly going to turn the Colts around into a 10-win team.

You're making sense. These are fair arguments. Also, Tanny Hill doesn't deserve the reputation he gets as the washed-up dolphin quarterback that hands the ball to Henry. Everybody is somehow missing that he came in last year and was one of the best quarterback statistically all year. He didn't go to the Pro Bowl and win-comeback player the year for nothing. He was...

Now, maybe this was a fluke, and this year he'll take a step back, but until he does, he's getting so much disrespect. So there's not really a question, just a statement. That was a pretty good little rant right there. I can't necessarily disagree. The Titans are going to be good this year. Vrable is a big-time coach. He's basically like the Kyle Shanahan or Sean McVeigh of defensive coaches.

A little different because he played in the league. But, you know, guy in his early mid-40s, complete badass, went to the playoffs last year, multiple. I mean, he went into Foxboro, ended Brady's career in New England, ended it put a stake in it went to the league MVP hit him directly in the teeth and kicked john harbaugh's ass and then like he ran into a buzzsaw and andy and the chiefs was up 10-0 their team's good they are going to be good now the colts to me are a great wild card i think they had a good draft buckner pitman and jonathan taylor if you can keep tywy

healthy, their offensive line's really good, their defense is solid. You're right. The River's thing, there's a chance he's shot, right? There's a chance. I'll use a golf analogy. If you're just like a single-digit handicap, let's say you're like a seven. That means on any given day, and let's say it's been Corona, you haven't played that much. Like you might go out and shoot 78, but you could easily, and I know I can, shoot like 92. And there's a decent chance. You know, if River shoots in the 70s, the golf equivalent, the Colts have a lot. shot. But there is a very decent chance when the season ends. You look at

the scorecard. It says 93. And there are four triples, two doubles, and a bunch of out of bounds. And no birdies. That is very possible. The guy I watched last year, and I watch way too much Charger football, was terrible. He was not very good.

He was bad. He just plainly was not good. So they're betting on him coming back. And I think sometimes when you use your connection to a player, and that's what Frank, and I forget their offensive coordinator, how to say his name, younger guy, Nick something, they know him really well. And I think sometimes like that, it's like standing up for your kid when he gets in trouble.

It's like, you know, you might be a little too emotionally close to this. Because the tape spoke for itself. It was bad. Now, if he can somehow just be decent, maybe they'd be okay. But I think it's very fair to say that you guys, and I think Bill O'Brien would say what, now, they lost Hopkins. I mean, they lost their best player. Now, I guess they're most important players, the quarterback,

but DeAndre's been their best player the last two years. JJ's a year older. They're depending on a lot of injured guys. Yeah, I mean, if you told me the Titans win the division, like, I'm not going to argue with you. I think the Broncos are going to be a surprise playoff team in 2020, and I think there's a real chance that Drew Locke has a better season than Baker-Mayfield. What are your thoughts about Denver and Locke and how they might stack up

against playoff teams like the Browns? Well, I was actually, I was driving home. I was in the car the other day on a decent, on like an hour drive, and I flipped on Wojj's podcast, and he had on Stefanski and his dad. His dad's like an NBA exec. That's why he was on a Wojj.

But Kevin, the new coach of the Browns, is on, and he's really impressive. I know some people, obviously, that are, you know, in Philly that know them and they really like him. But it's his first time head coach and only been a coordinator for one year. The Brown's roster top to bottom is better than the Broncos. Now, I like Fangio.

I know Fangio can coach. And last year, despite a crazy awful start with Flacco playing like a total stiff, they still ended up seven and nine. And Drew Locke showed a lot of, like, promise toward the end of the season. They add Melvin Gordon. They added Pat Schumer to be their offensive coordinator. You got Melvin Gordon and Philip Lindsay, so your running game's really good. You add Jerry Judy in the first round to go with Noah Fant last year in the first round

to go with KJ Hamler and Sutton. Like, they got some dudes on offense. You know Vic Fangio is arguably the best defensive coordinator in the league. You got Bradley Chub coming back off the ACL to go along with Vaughn Miller who still got a little something left. They got the really good safety. Yeah, I mean, the great part about Vic Fangio's defense is one of the reasons they could let Chris Harris leave is they don't need top corners.

When Vic was kicking everyone's ass in San Francisco, the corners were like Carlos Rogers and Chris Culliver. Got to Chicago. He's had randoms. First I want to say three and I was become my go-to pod during the lockdown. Appreciate it. I was listening to you a couple weeks. back when you predicted that less

need may not be as good as a Rams GM. And thinking about it, I tend to agree. Especially if they balls up, if they balls up the Ramsey deal. Can't blow up the Ramsey deal? If he moves on, who could you see replacing him, I guess less? Could the Rams

throw big money at someone like Howie Roseman? Love to hear your thoughts. I would say well, Howie's under contract. Howie, I mean, I don't know how much money he makes, but he's the boss of the Philadelphia Eagles. Would you rather be the boss of the L.A. Rams?

I think what happens, depending on how the season goes, McVeigh would get a lot more juice, and McVeigh would basically pick a partner, kind of like Kyle Shanahan did with John Lynch, or Pete Carroll, you know, did with John Schneider, or kind of like Andy and Veach. Like he'd want his own guy. I don't know who his quote-unquote guy is,

but that would be my guess if it happens. The problem with the Ramsey trade, and I was told this by someone in the NFL, when they traded for them, if I'm going to trade a lot for a player, I sign them that day. If I'm trading multiple ones, just like Ryan Pasted,

I sign you the day I trade for you. Because it just makes everything much easier because in a couple years the contract's not as crazy. Well, Ramsey's big deal, I was told, is like he told him, yeah, you don't need to sign me right away. He's kind of like Derell Revis. He wanted to get to the end of his contract so he could totally break the bank.

Well, here's the problem. Off already broke the bank. Aaron Donald broke the bank, and Ramsey, who knows how much he'd cost, might not be quite Aaron Donald's $87 million, but it ain't going to be 50. It's going to be like $75,80. So you're going to have three guys guaranteed money

combined like $200 million for a couple years. It would just be a little complicated. I just don't think Lesneed knows what he's doing. I don't know, like, have some name of some guy, because I don't know who Sean McVeigh knows or likes. but I think it would be someone he wanted. I'm wondering if you think the chargers would work if they moved to Salt Lake City. Like you mentioned, they are disaster in L.A.

and Salt Lake geographically would be a fit given the rest of the division is located. Don't totally hate that idea. Let me Google. Obviously, you guys got an NBA team. It has a fervor fan today's. Utah is a big deal. Utah football, that is. Salt Lake City population.

because that's a big thing for the NFL. You guys' population, 200,000. I just, I don't know if there's enough people there. Especially with Vegas being relatively close and them already having an NFL team. I like where your head's at, and I like the idea. I don't know if they would give into that. You know, like, for example, Sacramento's got like 450,000 people.

I just, I don't think it's big enough. Do you think Blake Martinez and James Bradbury was a better fit for the New York Giants over Corey Littleton and Byron Jones, or was it about the money? Well, I think Littleton is a better player than Blake Martinez. Though I think Blake Martinez gets shit on by the media, he's not a terrible player. He's a solid starter. I would take Littleton just because he's a damn good cover guy.

Now, Byron Jones is a better player than James Bradbury. Given that they gave Byron Jones $40 million guaranteed, and Bradbury got like $15 million a year, the money factors in. I think the Giants would have rather had Byron Jones. He just cost too much money. so yeah i don't love Blake Martinez and James Bradbury I would rather have a little tin in Byron Jones

so I think it was just simply yeah it was about the money I'm wondering about your thoughts that are on the Wisconsin Badgers I personally believe the program is held back by Barry Alvarez who hires close-minded coaches who continue his legacy of running the ball on first and second down we have such bad quarterbacks that we can't get anything going against good teams or we get crappy programs that just put up nine in the box

and still beat us I'm tired of going to Rose Bowls and looking like clowns Alvarez 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 Podcast, 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, Tript 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, 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. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her.

What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, it's Edwin Castro, also known as Castro 1021. And I'm Conky, his best friend and business manager. And we've got a new show called The 1021 Podcast. I'm taking you behind the scenes on how I became one of Twitch's most popular streamers.

We also love sports. And with the World Cup right around the corner, we'll be. breaking down the biggest storylines ahead of the big tournament here in the USA. Listen to the 1021 podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Is a drunk bastard. Barry's a legend, but I think that their program's really, really high level. You know, they're not getting five-star guys.

Yet every year they're competing to go to Rose Bulls. We're in the mix and in the conference championship game against Ohio State. and even last year, like, they're just not going to get the athletes on the whole of Ohio State's going to get. But they beat the crap out of Michigan. I remember watching that game, wasn't it 21 or 28 nothing at half? It was like, hey, Harbaugh, you don't belong on the same field as us. Chris is a good coach. Jim Leonard's a badass, the defensive coordinator.

I'm with you. Was it last year that they had the left-handed quarterback? They could throw like 20 yards? Like, that's a joke. Like, this is Wisconsin. You run a pro-style offense. you should get a guy that is a borderline NFL player. The left-handed guy, I'm sure he's a nice kid,

but God, he was bad quarterback. You can't roll that out. Now, I'm pretty sure I heard, like, Boomer Asiason. I don't know where I heard this, but didn't they sign like a five-star kid from New Jersey last year? So I'd imagine he's going to be the starter. But losing Jonathan Taylor, I mean, that's a big blow. But the one thing they do better than anyone is produced running backs.

But if they can get more explosive on, on offense as a passing game, they've always had the defense. When I was a GA at Fresno State, they had like JJ Watt, they had this other defensive end who was sweet. I remember them coming out. I think Joe Thomas was on, they were so big. Maybe Joe Thomas wasn't on the team, but they had some other sweet

offensive linemen. I love the program. There seems to be a huge disconnect from the national media and local media when it comes to the Steelers. What's your take on listening to Cowards of the World and comparing it to what the 25 year old beatwriter says. Also, the Steelers, well, I honestly don't, what's Collins take on the Steelers or the 25-year-old beat, I don't know what they're, I know Colin's been critical of Tomlin over the years, but I don't think he thinks they suck or anything, does he? Also, the Steelers are absolutely loaded on defense, and Colbert and Tomlin have doubled down on what they think of Big Ben will be ready. Are they being slept on a little too much if Ben ends up being healthy? Well, Ben tweeted out this video, very humble of him on a private jet flying somewhere to go, throw to Juju and James Connor and all the guys. And he looked, I mean, just throwing the ball pretty well, which is saying something, right?

Because he had Tommy John, his shoulder fell off. He is 38 years old, and he's a weathered 38. Like Drew Breeze and Tom Brady at 38 and Ben at 38, you could say that Ben is more like a 47-year-old. We all have that friend who's like, you know, I'm in my mid-30s. I got some friends who look fantastic. You're like, God, a guy could pass for 27. And you just got some friends that just look terrible.

They're like, is that guy 46? And to me, Ben is one of those. Now, Ben is, you know, he's had a lot of success. He can play in big games. Their defense is really good. Mike Tomlin's never at a losing season. If Ben is just, I would say, you know, a 7 out of 10 next year, actually they win 8 and 8 with Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph.

So if Ben can give him 16 games, which I think I saw a stat. It's either three or four of the last 10 years he played 16 games. The reality is Ben just doesn't play 16 games. He gets hurt a lot. He can't move. Unlike Rivers, right, or Eli or one of those guys that can't move, Ben, because when he was younger, could kind of move.

I mean, no, he could move. Kind of thinks he can move still. So I think he gets in these just precarious situations, and that's why he ends up getting hurt. Guys fall on them, guys roll on them. Ben's just a trip, man. There was a Raider game a couple years ago, where Rathsburg gets hurt at halftime.

They're killing the Raiders. It's like 19 to nothing. Gets hurt at the end of the first half, sits out the entire second half. The Raiders then take the lead late in the game. Ben puts back on his helmet and comes back in the game. Like, Ben, if you could come back in the game, either come back in the game.

He literally waited until they were down. Got like Captain Hero and came back in the game. And don't get me wrong. I'm making fun of Ben. I have nothing but respect. First ballot hall of famer. I just, it's just hard for me to trust him saying healthy.

And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the, and there they go. Almost on time this morning. Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like dad has the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed. Dipers and toys are everywhere.

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

That mug was a fam favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at NHTSA.gov slash the right seat. Visit NHTSA.gov slash the right seat. Brought to you by NTSA and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest?

Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think.

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And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Just found your podcast the other day. Been loving it. Great insight. No bullshit.

No bullshit. No question there. I actually knew when I started reading it. Just wanted to read a little compliment. How do you feel about the Ravens off season and what are your expectations for the season? Yeah, I mean, I've been saying the same thing about the Ravens for the last six months. their team stacked. They're going to be a double-digit win team.

They're absolutely loaded. I mean, we know their coach is good. We know their whole operation's good. They're strictly in this season going to be judged on the playoffs. They're like the Houston Rockets. No one gives a damn how many points you score anymore in these regular season games. Or how teams you beat or how many threes you shoot. Like, can you make it out of the second round?

Can you win a playoff game for the Rockets? Can you win a playoff series that matters? if you're the Ravens, like, can you, when you're at seven, eight point favorite against the Tennessee Titans in January, can you win the game? Like, when you're playing the Broncos in the first round of the playout, can you beat them? Or we're going to be one and done three straight years? Because that's, reminds me of Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant left, three straight years, one and done. Why do you think so many people are unsure about Justin Herbert?

I've been going back and comparing highlights of him and Trevor Lawrence and Herbert's highlights actually look better. I understand it's hard to get a clear picture from the highlight real. but most of Lawrence highlights are jump balls to Higgins, and a lot of them, Higgins has to slow down and wait for the ball. Herbert's highlights, to me, look like NFL lover accuracy. Yeah, I think it's the offense that he runs. There were moments when balls, if you watch him play, and I watched a lot of Oregon football this year,

balls do, he misses some wide open guys, but he also makes plays. I think he kind of got this knock that he was kind of robotic. And, like, when you watch Tua, now granted, he's got Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Chris Carter, and DeShon Jackson out there. But he'll go through his reads at like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning level speed.

Fly across the field. One, two, to three, and then back across the... It's incredible. Joe Burroughs a lot like that, too. Herbert, you don't really see him just firing all over the field. I do agree he's a little robotic, but he's very talented. And I saw two guys, I mean, we all have. the last five or six years come out that were kind of raw elite talents

in Carson Winston, Josh Allen, like, it works. So the Chargers have no excuse. Like, you got this raw talent, you got a guy 64, 6,5, who has been pretty accurate in college. I think of the average, like, 65%, is he's been a four-year starter. He's got a huge arm and he can move on a team with just big-time weapons. I think Herbert should be good next year. I mean, they got Mike Williams, Keenan Allen,

Echler, Hunter Henry. I mean, what else you need? Vincent Jackson and LT? Why are people predicting the Raiders to finish third, possibly fourth, and the AFC West? I get it that our defense was atrocious last year. I mean, that's probably a big reason. But we upgraded our defense with the addition of Littleton, Kwikowski, Mukamura, Demarius Randall, and John Abram is coming back from injury.

Also, why do you and the various other not credit Max Crosby? The dude had 10 sacks as a rookie last year on a terrible defense, and he didn't start for a few games. Show the man some love. Well, four and a half or five of those, I think. I think he racked up about six of the ten against the Chargers' backup and the Bengals. I like Max Crosby. Good player.

But sometimes sacks, and I learned the scouting college guys, are not all equal. Getting a sack on Trent Williams or Jason Peters or, you know, Mitchell Schwartz is not the same of beating the crap out of the Chargers backup left tackle. It's just not. Or an unblocked play. The guy's good. He plays hard.

He should be a very good starter in the league for a while. Is he going to make Pro Bowls? I don't know. Maybe he will. Maybe he's like Jared Allen. Maybe that's his comp. He can become Jared Allen. He's a good player.

Their defense is terrible. And I'm not sure their defense of coordinator is any good. But offensively, they got a lot of weapons now. You got rugs, you got Waller, you got Jacobs, you got the two dudes they drafted, bowed in the kind of do-it-all dude from Kentucky, Edwards from South Carolina, they signed Tyro Williams last year, they got a good offensive line, their offensive points. Now, Jonathan Abram, like, I know he was the first round pick.

He played a half, and his defining skill is kind of hitting people, which is the reason he tore his shoulder. Like, you can't, it's hard to play like Ronnie Lott in 2020. Now Jonathan Abram, if it was 1987, I'd be like, you know what? He's going to be one of the baddest MFers in the league. But you can't really, he's like Cam Chancellor, I don't know how he plays.

So I'm not saying he can't be good, but he's going to have to be a really good cover guy and be like, you don't get, you're not allowed to knock people out anymore. If they were, I'd be like, I'd want Jonathan Abram on my team. You just need to be, there's a balance to it. You know, like you kind of got a cover. Now, you can still hit.

I think the Niners' defensive backs were a good example of that. Like Jimmy Ward, Jimmy's a versatile piece because he can cover. Jonathan's got to be able to cover, especially in a division with Hunter Henry, Travis Kelsey, Noah Fant. They're going to need him to cover the tight ends. But I'm with you.

Like, the F.C. West could have, I mean, the Chiefs are going to be dominant, but the Chargers and Denver have probably better rosters than you. They have way more Pro Bowl players than the Raiders. Now, if Derek can be like 2016 again, you guys could win nine or ten games. But it's just hard for me to, I wouldn't pick you to win nine or ten games, though I wouldn't be shocked if you did. The division is really good. I think when the dust settles, the AFC West could be the best division in football.

All four teams, the chiefs are going to the playoffs. It wouldn't shock me if one or two of the other three teams did, especially in a seven-team playoff format. I think the AFC or NFC West probably the best on paper given you got the Niners Seattle, the Rams went 9 and 7, and then just all the people, the Cardinals added. Hey John, big fan of 3 and out.

Also a big Purdue fan. Coming off an injury-riddled season without Randall Moore and playing with a four-string true freshman quarterback, how do you see them playing the season? Having a star set of wide receiver core of Randall Moore, David Bell, and Malik Carr, what do you see their season turning out to be? Full disclosure

I don't know that much about Purdue football Let me bring up their schedule The thing I would first say Is it's kind of like playing in the AFC or NFC West They play in the Big Ten And I think the last couple years It's easily been You know the best

Conference of Football after the SEC I mean last year it was by a mile right Last year they went three and six So this upcoming season at Nebraska. I'll give you a win. Memphis. They were good last year.

Coach went to Florida State. Home opener. Well, the game is at Nebraska, but I'll still give you a win. First Memphis, that's a sneaky game. Then you get Air Force, who, I don't know, runs a triple option. That's not easy.

At BC win. Rutgers win. At Illinois win. At Michigan, probably an L. Northwestern. Okay, I'll give you a win there. At Minnesota. I mean, PJ Fleck has a program rolling.

Wisconsin, Iowa. Yeah, I think you guys could win six, seven games. After going, whatever you, what do you win? Three and six this year? Question for the pod from a 22-year-old Pat's fan. On Howard Stern, Tom Brady openly admitted that he would refuse to throw to guys he didn't fully trust. New England is a notorious, tough environment for rookies and rookie-wide receivers. Always seem to struggle gaining Tom's trust.

now with Brady out of New England and stood them in Do you think a second year guy like Nikiel Harry and Jacoby Myers Could have serious improvement now they have a quarterback more willing to throw to them for sure I would imagine Being a 22-year-old rookie Last year for those two guys But especially Nikiel who got hurt and then came back and it did not go well You are playing with Tom Brady

Not like 2007 Tom Brady Not 2015 Tom Brady 2019 Tom Brady Six rings, the goat in pen, in Sherpy, like it's not even an argument. And he's 42 years old. So you're 22. He's got you by 20 years. He's not throwing you the ball.

The offense is really complicated. You got McDaniels yelling at you. You got Belichick in your ass. You got Tom just staring you down, mean-mugging you. Even though he's a good teammate, you know what I mean. Like as an offensive player trying to help force you to get better. It's just an intimidating situation. Now you got Jared Stidham.

If you're Nekeel Harry, Schidim, you know, as he's learning everything, can take a little heat off you. You got Belichick and Josh McDaniels up his ass, and you can just run routes and just try to get open and make some plays. But Stidham, in theory, given that he's replacing Tom, is going to take the majority of the heat just because they're going to need him to understand what's going on.

So there's no excuse for Myers and Nekeel to not know what's going on. They've been in the offense a year. So is Stidham, but the pressure of being a quarter, quarterback is just immense, right? They're going to be on them about being loud in the huddle, being on guys. It's going to be a year-long thing of them riding him. And, I mean, if he's good, Patriots could be competitive. If he's bad, I mean, they're probably screwed.

Appreciate everyone. Listen, if I didn't get to your question, I will try to get to it next week, or not next week, this Friday, because we do two podcasts a week, even in quarantine, in the corona, don't worry, keep content pumping. It's what we do. Holler at your boy. Have a good week. later, tell your friends, and leave a review.

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Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

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