The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Burrow/Eddy O Immortality; Lawrence Dud; Mahomes Avalanche; Niner Tough; Vrabel Is Parcells 2.0; Quick Hits

Episode Date: January 14, 2020

In this episode, Middlekauff gives his takeaways from LSU's national championship game win over Clemson, Joe Burrow's case for the greatest CFB year ever, Eddy O's Louisiana immortality, and Trevor Lawrence not rising to the moment. He also explains why Patrick Mahomes is already an all-time great, looks at the Niners physical dominance in beating down the Vikings, why he thinks Mike Vrabel is Parcells 2.0, looks at the Kevin Stefanski hire in Cleveland, and other headlines from around the league. He also 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.

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 headlines. 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 Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel. Help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. 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 with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford 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. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come until he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800 Flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination.

1-800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are giving. guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. What is going on, everybody? John Middlecop, three-out podcast. It's about 4 in the morning.

Had to wait for this game to end. Not really, but it's about 9.30. I don't know how you guys on the evening. Coast do it. Obviously, college football is a little bit longer than the NFL. The NFL, Monday Night Football usually starts at 5 is over by about 805-ish. College football started at 5, and I don't know, once, I mean, that's a long game. But that was fun. We'll talk about Borough, Eddie O, and Lawrence off the top. Then we're going to dive into just about everything. Mahomes, the 49ers, Mike Vrable,

an old famous coach he kind of reminds me of, the Packers, Seattle, the Browns, Drew Brees to TV, maybe, Lamar Jackson, Kurt Cousins, and then obviously the Middilcoff mailbag at John Middlecough is my Instagram handle, slide up in those DMs,

and it's the easiest way to get a hold of me. And I actually already recorded it earlier today, answered a bunch of questions. Smart because I knew the National Championship game was going to be long. So I recorded a lot before, so I'm not going to have to do too much. But let's start with the National Championship game. You know when you're growing up, like when I grew up,

my dad always told the story, like, how he went to lunch with Mickey Mantle. And the part of the story was like Mickey threw down like five or six drinks before appetizers got out. But part of it was like, you don't understand. Like, he was just always in awe of, like, Mickey was such a big alcoholic. but like him going to, you know, my dad was older, passed away a couple years ago, but he was in the 70s. I got to watch Mickey Mantle play and was like,

you don't understand how good Mickey Mantle was at baseball. And there are players like, my dad is a big 49er guy, used to swear about Joe Montana being better than Steve Young. And obviously he probably was. But I could never really have the argument because I didn't really see Joe Montana play. And especially the majority of your, like when you're young and you're arguing like,

No, Steve Young's better. Or Brett Farv's better. You're just going off what you have. And again, for the kids, like, there's going to be a group of kids. You could make an argument and you just go to YouTube and do your own little scouting. I couldn't do that. You just kind of went with what you saw. I know this.

I will argue for the rest of my life that what I watched Joe Burrow to do this year was just beyond stupid. It was freaking incredible. Like, it just had a loss for worse. I had multiple NFL scouts text me tonight. Like, that's the best college season. I've ever seen a guy play at quarterback. His athleticism, his deep ball accuracy, his playmaking, he dominated.

He simply dominated. I pull up his box score right now, 463-5 touchdowns, but he had an incredible season. He had a season that will live on as a legend. And tonight, officially, Ed Ogeron and Joe Burrow, and all those guys,

but those guys are the headliners. We'll never pay for anything in Louisiana again. I mean, those guys are made men in the program. I would imagine they'll get a statue. Because it wasn't just a national championship season. It was a, we're the best freaking team in the country by a wide margin. That offense that the LSU had, they have the number one quarterback,

this guy is going to go number one in the draft, who had the greatest statistical season in the history of the sport. I think he wiped out Timmy Chang, the kid from Hawaii, Remember, they used to run like the Mike Leach spread offense, June Jones. This guy is running an NFL offense, just five, six, seven touchdowns a game. Now, you know, he is playing with an NFL running back. That kid number 22 is probably going to start in the league. Maybe not as a rookie, but eventually.

Someone DM me. They're like, bro, have you seen, like, do you think that DeAndre Hopkins compares to the Chase guide number one for LSU? And I'm like, you know, it's pretty bold praise. I haven't watched that much of them, but DeAndre Hopkins Elite. And then about halfway through this game tonight, I'm like, yeah, that kid's going really high. And then I realized he's a sophomore. Jordan Jefferson number two is first round pick.

So they got special, special players. But Burrow, the cream always rises and he was their best player. He was remarkable. I thought Honey Badger, Tyron Matthew, put it perfectly. He was at this game the night, and his tweet was pretty simple. Joe Burrow was better in person. And I said, I was thinking Honey Badger, you perfect tweet because when you see something in person you go wow it's one thing to watch something

on TV especially a sporting event but when you go watch tom brady in the peak of his powers or mike trout in the peak of his powers or lebron james or step curry they blow you away you know and i i can't imagine being there or night what was on the line given where the game is how special that performance was and very very cool moment for ed ogeron a lot of people like my You know, referred to him as dumb. Referred to him as, I can't believe. SC never should have hired him. And you know what?

SC fans love talking about it. He didn't belong to you. Ed O'Don belongs in the South. Now, would he have been better in Clay Hilton? Of course, he would have. But would he have done what they did? Probably not. Like, he was perfectly suited for the South.

And I say it all the time. I've been fired a couple times, and it's led me to be much happier. And it's led good things. to happen in my life because it forces you to kind of reevaluate. It forces you to change. It forces you to be uncomfortable. And Ed O'Dron, when he didn't get the job at USC, I remember he was devastated.

And I think he might have gone to the Saints for a year before he then. Maybe that was before. But he definitely, then he got on to LSU staff with Les Miles. His life changed. And now I turn the TV off. I'm sure he'll be in tears. Like this is a, this is a. this is a moment that a guy, I can't even imagine.

Like, I'm from the West Coast, and college football is nowhere near as big as out here. It's not big out there. It's a, or down there. It's a way of life. It's part of their culture. It's part of, you know, God family football. And all three, there's not like one, two, three.

They're all basically even. Like, when you meet guys from the SEC, it's God family football. You know, it's football family got. I mean, the order, the order may change a little bit, but it's all, they're all the same. and you could see the magnitude of this moment for the guy, how much Joe Burrow will always mean to him,

and Joe Burrow gave the speed to the Heisman Trophy, how much he, that guy, like Joe Burrow said, he gave me the keys to this program, and it's not like this is Texas Tech. I mean, this is L.S. freaking you. And it changed everyone's life, and those two guys will be immortalized in that state as long as they live, and well after they're gone.

You know, it was that everyone that witnessed it, Everyone that saw it live will never forget it. Because I never will. I would say the best teams I'd ever seen before this were the Ohio State team and some of the Miami teams in the early 2000s, the Reggie Bush team, but this team might have been the most complete, given their firepower on offense and how good Joe Burrell was.

Like he's better than Matt Liner. He's better than the quarterbacks in Ohio State or Ken Dorsey. He's way better. He's in a completely different level. So that to me is the Trump card. Because when you think about it, a lot of like, I'm 35, a lot of the teams that I vividly remember watching like the late 90s and the early 2000s, like they're quarterbacks and weren't NFL guys.

Even like the sweet Nebraska team under Tom Osborne. It was like Tommy Frazier. So just special, special night, the SEC flexes their muscles again and Ed Ogeron and Joe Burrell. I'll never forget it. And most sports fans worth their salt won't either. And on the flip side, Trevor Lawrence wasn't very good tonight. Just period point blank. He definitely has all the talent.

He's everything you look for in terms of size, arm strength, in theory, accuracy. But he was terrible. He was awful. Now, could some of that to be to blame is LSU, probably every DB they have is a first-round pick? Their wide receiver struggled to get open, but he was air-mailing guys left and right. He was erratic. He didn't play winning football. It's just that simple.

He did not play winning football. And once they kind of could corral ETN, who's, going to be a really good NFL player. They needed Trevor Lawrence to play like Joe Burrow. And he didn't just not play like Joe Burrell. He just didn't play good. I mean, he threw for 230 yards and didn't have any touchdowns. If Joe Burrell is going to throw for 450 yards and five touchdowns,

you're going to need Trevor Lawrence at minimum to throw for three or four. So it's just a lot of people tweeting at me, a lot of people DMing me, is it going to hurt his draft stock? Is he overrated? I don't know if he's overrated because he has all the requisite talent. And we've seen a guy like James Winston, you know, be very, very inaccurate to still go number one overall. So I think this guy's

on the path to be the number one overall pick. But I do think you can nitpick him a little bit. Like, you'd have to go back, study that film, go, why was he overthrowing guys left and right? And really, if you think about the Ohio State game, they took off when he ran. Here's the thing. You know what NFL people? I don't give a shit how you run. Like, it's cool. And you get, Twitter thinks you're great all season long. You know what happens in the playoffs?

you got to throw and make accurate passes. We just saw it with our guy Lamar. Like running fun and all. It's sweet. You can have all these yards all season. Run for 11, 1,500, 1,500, whatever yards. Run for 10 touchdowns. It's cool.

When the rubber meets the road in January, in college football and definitely in the pros, and it's third and eight, you've got to hit the guy in the hands on a deep out route from the opposite hash. And Trevor Lawrence wasn't even close. I mean, Shaquille O'Neill or Kevin or a net in their prime couldn't have caught the ball. I don't know what was up with the guy. I like him.

I mean, who doesn't? You can see the skills, but he was, he was borderline atrocious tonight. Now, I do think you got to chalk it up. LSU. Their defense is awesome. The other standout player, that Isaiah Simmons, number 11 for Clemson, he to me, and I tweeted this tonight, I think he's the second non-quarterback off the board. And when he goes to the combine, a lot of coaches are going to be, what position do you play? And he's going to look at him, he's going to list like seven positions. Well, I can play outside linebacker. I can play basically a stand-up defense event and pass rush.

I can play strong outside linebacker. I can play middle linebacker. I can play safety. Hell, you need to cover a tight end in the slot. I got you, dog. There's nothing he can't do. Special, special player. An elite player.

I don't see, now, depending on how the quarterback works, but I think he's got top five written all over him. If I had to go my top five, middle Koff draft board right now. I would go Joe Burrell. I would go, I'm going to put two at number two, assuming the hip checks out. I would go Chase Young. And again, I'm putting Tua over Chase Young just in the fact that I like quarterbacks are more important. I'll go Chase Young. I'll go Isaiah Simmons, and I will go Herbert, based more on upside and just talent. That would be the top five. And there are other, there's a ton of other good players. I mean, this draft's pretty good in the first round.

But if that's your top five, Tua, Burrow, Isaiah Simmons, and Chase Young, that's pretty star-studded right there. Again, I'm assuming Tua's hips is going to check out. But Simmons, then you see a Clemson. I mean, they had an off night and their quarterback was bad. They got elite talent. They got elite talent. Dabo is now, what, he's been to five national championships,

or four national championships. He won two of them. So it's just, it's a shitty night for him, but it's, you know, it's also a symbolic, like, we're pretty freaking good. I mean, we get here all the time. And that, there's something to be said about getting there. 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 SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced 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. 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, I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway 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? Come on out.

Quarterback on office blue 42. Hey, Brett, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip.

I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boke. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, inside American soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. To win it every year. Part of the Patriots dynasty and even the, even the,

Alabama's dynasty is they were going to the playoffs every year. Alabama never missed the playoffs till this season. So if you go to the playoffs every year, in pretty good shape. And, yeah, it was just, that was a fun game. Little long, little long. You know, we'd like to keep those clocks running clock if it's a little bit of a blowout in the second half.

That's just, that'd be the middle cough rules. But a fun night and just happy for Eddie Ogeron. That was pretty cool. If you love to be remembered at the person who gives the best birthday gifts? I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1-800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1-800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1-800flowers.com slash tune-in. That's 1-800flowers.com

slash tune in. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide through this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure.

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

at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Okay, let's dive into what we saw in Kansas City a couple days ago. And it was simply remarkable. You know, you only see stuff like that every so often. It actually was a first in NFL history. A team up 24-0 in the first half is then losing by halftime.

First time it's ever happened in the Super Bowl era. I think the highest number before that was 21-0. It had never been as high as 24-0. So what we saw, what was remarkable. But I think sometimes, and I am guilty of this, we go, we have never seen this before. Lamar Jackson. Yes, we have. His name is Michael Vick.

Even Mahomes. Like, we've never seen Patrick Bahams before. I think we kind of have. His name is Brett Farv. And he felt Farvian on Sunday in the comeback. Just his energy, his. his remarkable physical gifts. But the one thing I think Mahomes has,

and this is a cross sport comp, and I felt it for many years going to games, even before Kevin Durant showed up, there was something with Steph Curry when the Warriors could be down. And people forget, there were many games over the years, definitely once Kevin Durant came,

where they just didn't give a shit. And they would just kind of coast to start a game. and all of a sudden they'd be down 20, 25 points. And you never, ever felt like they were going to lose. Because the moment Steph Curry would hit a couple threes, he'd start shimmy and he'd start shaking, the entire crowd would awaken. And it would be on like Donkey Kong.

And there was an energy that came off of them. Just, I understand if you don't like the Warriors, you thought he was hot dogging. And he is. Well, Mahomes does too. but that type stuff when you're at home or to your teammates, you don't care what the other team thinks or what some fan on Twitter thinks. It's about giving them the belief.

Because deep down, you know, they say the most successful people in the world are eternal optimists. Well, you have to have some of that as a player, especially as a quarterback, the point guard, you know, the head coach, whoever you are, because you can't just, you know, when it's 24-0 or you're down, you know, 30 and a half, or whatever, just look at the squad, like, yeah, we're screwed. It's over. Let's just, who cares? You know, there is, especially in the NFL in a playoff game. And texting around, like probably most people, like, are they really going to go out like this?

I never stopped totally believing. Now, 24-0 is a huge number. But they have Kelsey, they have Tyree Kill, they have Sammy Watkins, they got the rookie Hardiman, they got dudes that can just fly. and then they have the special catalyst. And that is Mahomes. Now, it's hard. Marty Morgingwig told me once,

and I think Andy Reid would know this as well, he thought the best player he'd ever seen in all of his years in the NFL was peak far, like 95 to 97, when he won three straight MVPs. And Mahomes clearly didn't win the MVP this year, but like, who's the better quarterback? Lamar Jackson or Mahomes? Give me a break. There's not, there's zero people in the NFL

including John Harbaugh, they wouldn't take Mahomes over Lamar Jackson. That's not a conversation. That's not even hate on Lamar Jackson. He's become a fantastic player, and he should only improve. Mahomes is a different level. Mahomes is an all-time great already.

The dude's a legend. Think about this. The Kansas Chiefs, for 50 years, had never hosted an AFC championship game. Now, in back-to-back seasons, they're hosting AFC championship games. In 50-plus years of the conference championship. championship game. Started in 1970.

They'd never hosted it. Now they're back and back-to-back years, and that was a game yesterday where you're like, I don't know, it's just not their day. It's a little cold. They're off. They're rusty, and it didn't matter. They scored 51 straight points. And Andy Reed took Romeo Crennell out behind the cleaners and absolutely just ravaged him. And the reality is, when you got a guy like Mahomes,

just like when you have Steph Curry, and that avalanche starts, the crowd feels it, the team feels, feels it, and there is no looking back. There is no stopping it. And there are only a few players in sports, probably basketball or quarterbacks in football. I think Russell Wilson definitely has this characteristic. And it's a little harder for him, even though, God, he's fantastic, because his team's just not as good. Where Mahomes, his team is so much better, his offensive lines better, clearly his skill guys are better,

and his offensive play collar is on a completely different level than Seattle. there's no stopping it. And once that avalanche cops starts coming down the hill, bodies are getting buried. There is only, you can run and you can hope to avoid it, but if it catches you, you're getting wiped out. And Bill O'Brien, who, you know, Coach Reid supported him after the game on the fake pun, I'm just going to vehemently disagree because the momentum in the game.

I do believe game to game, there's no such thing as momentum, right? Because a new game starts. They say in baseball, the next day's pitcher is the momentum, and it's true. Like, in basketball, baseball, whatever. There is no such thing. Now, there's an internal belief when you go into a game. Like, I think the Titans have. But if the Titans just play crappy, they'll lose.

Like, you need to play well in every game. Now, I do think your confidence raises. That's what makes Mahomes special. Like, he doesn't need a great season to be super locked in. He doesn't need a great season to then make him confident. I think the dude is just kind of born with, the swag. You know, he just kind of has, we hear this so often, and the reality is a small percentage in sports, just like in life, have the quote-unquote it, and he clearly has it.

And when you factor in the offense he plays in, the players he plays in, but when you're playing the Chiefs, and they are laying a complete egg, and you're, you know, I don't even know what yard line they were at, it felt like they're 30, but you're up 24 to 7, and you're run a fake punt, the crowd is completely silent. The chiefs are borderline dead. Now, there's a lot of game left. I think there was eight minutes to go. But when you ran that fake punt and then it gets stuffed, you woke up the crowd. And worst of all, you woke up Mahomes. And then they scored. And then obviously they fumbled on the next kickoff return, led to another touchdown. And the route was on. By the time he fumbled on the kickoff return after they had scored the

touchdown on the stop-fake punt. The man on the mood knew this game. I didn't know they were going to score 51 points, but the Chiefs were going to win the game. And Bill O'Brien deserves criticism for that. In that situation, it's reckless. And I am the number one proponent about having balls, about having big old Cajonis, in business, in football, whatever you do. I think what truly separates people in this country, we're capitalism,

is the way that we operate is having stones. The smartest people are not the richest people. It's the most aggressive people. And clearly football is an aggressive game. So I'm all for going. 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 Slices Life, 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. 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, is 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 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 with 42. A rep. My mama want you to wave at her.

What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American Soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart for Chip. I'm Ty Bramos.

I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Polisic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers,

he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tabramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast,

wherever you get your podcast. For in situations, running fake punts. But in a situation where you're up 24-7 on the road and you're on your side of the field. So it's not like, it'd be one thing right if you were at midfield and maybe you think you can totally cut their head off. But you gave them the ball, which the Chief's Red Zone basically starts at the 40. So it was reckless. Like there is a fine line and it's a slippery slope and there's a lot of gray area between having stones and being reckless. and I got to take the L on Bill O'Brien.

I've often supported him, and I don't think he's some village idiot. His team goes to the playoffs all the time, but he is not anywhere near the top tier guys. The Andy Reads, even the Sean Patens, the obviously Kyle Shanahan's, even Pete Carroll. He's in another category. Now he's not Tom Sula or Freddie Kitchens or anything, because he clearly is a capable guy,

but I'm sure you saw the video on TMZ, or he's screaming at the fan. He's got to screw loose, and I'm pro guys that have screw looses. Like most people that are successful in football, definitely. And you can argue in business, are a little nutty. Normal people probably aren't the most successful people financially in their field. You've got to be kind of nuts.

And Bill O'Brien might be too far on the nut side because that one, what I don't get, there's no rhyme or reason to what he does. Like with John Harbaugh, he was consistent all season long. He was going for it. Bill O'Brien, remember that game, I think it was like Week 17 against Tampa. He refused to go for it. And then this game, he's running a fake punt.

And then he claims when they kicked a field goal, I think the next series, or maybe it was the series before, they didn't have the right play call. Like, Bill, what are you talking about? But when you're unsure like that and when you're kind of lost upstream without a paddle and you're facing the Mahomes, who is the Steph Curry of the NFL? and that avalanche starts coming, it's going to bury you, it's going to kill you, and you're going to lose the game.

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dollars more. Go to 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. 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 is... 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 Nita and the Ad Council. 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 at belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council. Okay, let's dive into the 49ers. And I was at the game on Saturday. I learned something this weekend.

And really all season, I've been to like three games this year. The Seattle game, a Monday night game against the Browns, and then that playoff game. And for about five years, the 49er stadium. Now, granted, I live, you know, I parallel to San Francisco, I live in the suburbs. I like my space. And, you know, it's like 45 minutes away.

With traffic it can be a little longer. But on Saturday, it took me probably 40 minutes to get there. So, yeah, I mean, candlestick. Actually, Candlestick was actually just as far too because you had to go over the bridge and kind of through the city. But I get it. It's not in the city, so it got kind of dumped on. And rightfully so.

Santa Clara. Now, granted, here's the irony of the whole thing. Bill Walsh, his office, like, their offices have been down there for 35 years. So they basically just built the stadium where their office was. We, the fans, were just accustomed to having candlestick close to the city, even though Candlestick, for those of you that have never been there, was in the hood. And it was not a safe environment at all. People often act in players and everyone, act like the Oakland Coliseum,

was like the ghetto and you had to be worried about getting taken out at a game. I'll promise you, having been to both places, candlestick was way worse. So they didn't build there. The city, San Francisco is such a messed up place. There's not much room either. Couldn't have built there. Maybe you could have.

I don't know. Ended up in Santa Clara. It got dumped on. But the reason they got dumped on because the team sucked. The team was god-awful. And this year, the team suite, and people are there. Here's the way it works. On the West Coast, when you're really good,

we can support a winner as well as anybody. San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, two of the biggest brands going. The Lakers, same thing. The difference is we ignore a losing. I lived in Philadelphia. When we lost my second and third year, I would imagine the radio ratings went up.

Same thing in New York. Same thing in Boston. They thrive in losing. They like it. They also like winning, but they don't mind losing. It's good for the media business. People have opinions. Here, we ignore it.

We don't care. Apathy sets in really quickly. Not me. I mean, this is what I do for a living. It's what I care about. It's what I talk about. But the casual fan, like I am dependent on my business. when I do Bay Area stuff on them winning.

Because if they lose, people just tune out. It's really a simple formula around here. So the 49ers, that place was rocking. And having watched this 49ers team all season long, the one thing social media loves telling you, it's like the softening of America, how soft people and nice people are winning now. And again, when I say nice people,

I believe that you can be an aggressive human being and be a tough-minded human and treat people well. I'm not saying treat people shitty. But like give ribbons for seventh place and that's something as societies change and everywhere that tells you like that's what's in vogue now. That is what is in vogue.

Just like in football, it's a passing league. And it is a passing league. But like you can get away with Lamar Jackson running around. No, you know what works in life? Just like in football? Toughness. Now in football, it's actually, physical toughness because you're actually hitting someone.

In life it's mental toughness. In football it actually incorporates both. But that is never going to change. Ever. Ever. In this country, what works? Tough people dominate in every freaking industry, including the NFL.

And when you look at the two games on Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers and the Tennessee Titans, they came in and they hit their opponent square in the jaw. And that opponent quivered to the ground. and then they just kept swinging. And I'll give Seattle credit, they operate like this too. They had no business this year, winning 11 games, being in the second round of the playoffs,

but they are like a Chuck Liddell in the MMA. All they want to do is just throw blows at your face. And that works in football. Because why? Because football's a violent game. It's a tough game. Now the rules have changed, and during the regular season, passing,

you're an idiot if you don't. Cornerbacks can't press your wide receivers. your wide receivers don't have to be worried about going over the middle because they can't hit you. And if they do, a flag comes out, your quarterback can't get hit. The rules and the officiating leans to a quote-unquote softer game. But just like the NBA, when the playoffs start, people swallow their whistles a little bit more. It gets a little more violent. Just like, yeah, you can give that seventh place ribbon to little Jimmy.

But guess what? When he's 28 years old and he uses his first big meeting with his firm or whatever the hell he's doing, he's either going to have to put up or shut up. No one gives a shit how he feels. That's just a reality. And the faster you learn that, the better you offer for life. Life's not fair. And I would say the more mentally tough people usually thrive.

In football, the more physically tough teams usually thrive. And the 49ers, at every level on defense, their defensive line when D. Ford is in the fold and healthy, which hasn't happened much. is dominant. Nick Bosa, I was wrong. He isn't just good. He's elite.

I've been talking about football, watching football for a living now for 10 plus years. If you factor in college, about 13. He's by far the best rookie I've ever seen. And again, I was on record. I would have taken Quinn and Williams. That's insane because I couldn't have been any more wrong. This guy is better than his brother.

He is an elite player, complete ass kicker. I had a front row seat for Kahlil Max rookie year. This guy is in a different category. Now, Kaleel became a special player, but he was raw early on. Now granted, he was coming from Buffalo. Nick came in like a seven-year

vet. Not like a seven-year vet that's been to the Pro Bowl six times. kicking ass, taking names, and destroying everything in his path. It is really, really impressive. And then the two guys they got from Oregon are 6'7. They look like an NBA player that are 290 pounds.

They're unstoppable. Then you look at their linebackers. Fred Warner is a tackling machine. They got Kwan Alexander back, just kind of the heart and soul of the team. They have multiple other linebacks. They've drafted Dre Greenlaw, the guy that had the tackle in the Seattle game. It's built for this modern game because of his athleticism. But all three of them lay the wood.

And the one thing I tell all my NFL buddies, like the thing that separates this nine or unit is their DBs. A lot of times, I think Herm Edwards uses this term a lot. contact courage. Football, back to the violence of the game, you got a guy running full speed, and we all watch the combine, we know the speed in which most of these ball carriers,

running backs, tight ends, are moving, coming right at you. Some people don't have contact courage. And a lot of corners, and I always defend them on this, if you're a cover corner, what prime time once famously say, they don't pay me to tackle.

He's right, they pay him to cover. But every guy on this Niner team, obviously Richard Truman's one of the best tackling and the guy, to me he's the best tackling corner of all time. Kwosky Tart lays the wood. Jimmy Ward lays the wood. Emmanuel Mosley, their backup corner who's now their starting corner, lays the wood.

And Kwan Williams, their nickel corner, physical player. All of their DBs hit like linebackers. Now they're not as big as linebackers, but the violence in which they attack a ball carrier is that level. They're hitting everyone and they're hitting them hard. And a guy like Kirk Cousins who, let's call a spade a spade somewhat of a metal midget. When times get tough, he is not physically capable of overcoming.

He does not have the talent. It's just that simple. Like Rogers, whether the Niners rattle him or not and they're hitting him, like he's good enough. He can overcome it. Now, I don't know, I'm going to pick the Niners in this game, but when Rogers is on, the throws he can make, he's an all-time great player.

And he's proven, like, you might beat him, but it's not because he doesn't have the physical characteristics to make plays happen, or you can hit him. Like, Kirk Cousins wils. As I think DeForest Buckner told Albert Breer in the MMQB article that he wrote the other day, we knew we can get him seeing ghosts. That's who you were dealing with. Take away the money in the $85 million contract.

He's not talented enough. And then a team like the Niners are just going to hit you over and over and over again. They're just going to keep swinging on you until you say, uncle. It's really that simple. And then their offensive style is, for most young coaches, typically they're going to throw the ball. Why? Because throwing gets you jobs. It's fun. We all love it. Throwing bombs. Kyle Shanahan dreams about running inside and outside zone. And in that game, I think there was a point in time in the second half where he had eight straight runs on a touchdown drive.

And then the next drive, he had two more straight runs. He will, Jim Harbaugh once, I think against the Arizona Cardinals, in like 2012 or 13 ran the play power. It's when you put a fullback and a running back in the I formation and you run it basically behind, let's say, the right guard and you pull the left guard to lead up. So you got the full back and the guard leading the hole. It is the ultimate tough guy play.

And I think in a game, in like the peak of the Harbaugh years, he ran power. I don't know if it was at the same side. It might have been, I think, eight or nine straight times. It was basically, we're tougher than you, and you can't do shit about it. And the thing is, and I was talking to a buddy in the NFL, it's not like the Vikings are soft. I mean, they got Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Harrison Smith, Everson Griffin, Danielle Hunter. Like, they got dudes.

And they got shoved around because the Niners where they really separate themselves is toughness. And when you think about the 49ers historically, you think offense. Bill Walsh, West Coast offense, Kaepernick, now Kyle Shanahan. The irony is, and I'm 35 years old, and I started watching the Niners that I can remember in the early 90s. Their defenses were awesome. In 94, which I still think is one of the best teams I've ever seen, they were littered with defense of all pros and pro bowlers. From Bryant Young to Dana Stubblefield, the Dionne Sanders, to Tim McDonald, at Ken Norton Jr., Gary Plummer. They've always been at Merton Hanks.

They will knock you out. Obviously, the Harbaugh years, for as much as we talk about Kaepernick and the pistol, it was Bowman. Willis, Justin Smith, Alden Smith, Amad Brooks, scumbag, Ray McDonald, but he was a dominant player. And Wittner and Goldston, they were just cracking skulls. And this defense is a little different than the Harbaugh defense. It's more built on speed. It's just perfect for 2020.

Teams a little more spready. You need a little more speed. The Harbaugh teams were built more for, you know, to stop the Marchons and the power runs and the physical teams. But at the end of the day, in the playoffs, Now, in San Francisco, you know, it was 57 degrees. Now, granted, for us, that's cold. It wasn't Lambo.

It's not Kansas City. But the toughness and physicality plays in cold weather. It plays in January. It plays for Super Bowl teams. Just like, you know, the guy that was told, you need to get better. They got a seven-place ribbon when he was seven-year-old. That's not good enough.

I mean, that's Tiger Woods probably. You think Earl Woods gave him a standing ovation when he finished fifth when he was eight years old or seven years old? Of course not. Now, granted, Tiger probably wasn't finishing fifth many times. But being mentally tough, being physically tough, that will always play. Okay, let's dive into, start with Mike Vrable, and then we'll dive into the Packers. It hit me this weekend, watching Vrable, who, you know, just the ultimate guy's guy, what a badass.

If he was the coach of my favorite team or in the city that I lived, that'd be awesome. He is a, he's a cool mofo. It's hard to not see Mike Vrable and go. Yeah, that guy's sweet. That guy just kicks him ass in his day. Looks the part, played the part. Now has a team that had no business being this far in the AFC championship game. Incredible story.

But I was thinking about this when I was watching. I'm like, who is he? And I got up early this morning on Monday and had CNBC on the morning. There's not much like, I can't really do sports TV or sports talk. radio in the morning till like coward comes on at about nine. I like to get, like to get my mind working a little bit and just have something on, you know, auxiliary noise

in the background, just have CNBC in the back. And they were talking how Elon Musk, like there's never going to be another Steve Jobs, right? But he was a pretty unique personality. I bought the enormous jobs book. You know, I'm going to be honest, I made it through probably 40% of it. It's huge.

He's nuts. I mean, the guy was certifiably insane. again, when I talk about usually nut jobs or the guy's kicking ass, but in a good way and in some ways bad. I mean, it could be an asshole to people. But there's not going to be another Steve Jobs. But there is kind of somewhat of this unique personality now in Silicon Valley named Elon Musk, who also, if you've read and just Google like Elon Musk,

slept in his office, started all these businesses, some of them failed, some of them work. Obviously now is Tesla. Just a special, unique kind of outlier human being. and he's kind of like Jobs a showman. You know, he's just, he's the closest thing probably to Jobs. Now, is he going to, is Tesla going to be Apple? I don't know. I mean, right now there's stocks over $500.

But he's just, when you say Elon Musk, kind of like Steve Jobs, he evokes emotion. You're going to have an opinion on him. You know, I get a lot, like my brother's in the farming business, and I bring up, you know, Jeff, you want to get the Tesla truck? He thought it looks terrible. And then he goes, Elon doesn't make any money. Everything subsidized. And he's never really made any money at Tesla.

It's one of those classic kind of tech firms that eventually they got to turn to profit. But Mike Vrable, it kind of hit me. Do you know who Mike Vrable is? Now, there are differences to this human being, but Bill Parcells. Bill Parcells was a big guy. He was a massive personality, and he gave zero Fs about anything. He was not scared, zero hesitation going into any game, because the way that he coached, the intensity, the physicality of his teams,

defensive-oriented guy, and he was just a badass, like the big tuna. I'm not talking Dallas Cowboys, mid-2000s Big Tuna. I'm talking Giants in the mid-80s with Parcells by his side, that big tuna.

The guy who was constantly screaming at players, screaming at opponents. It was like, this guy is sweet. The one guy who could go toe-to-to-toe with Walsh and gave Walsh fits, him and Belichick. And I think when you look at Vrable,

you go, this guy has a little, Parcells to him. Now the 2020 version, you know, he's probably not as big of an asshole. And I think some people would tell you like Peter King that covered him like Bill Marcel is actually a nice guy. Now I think he could be like kind of a dick if you're working for him and just the intensity of being around him all the time. But that's a football coach. I think it's stressed out. But like when I see any clip that goes viral of Mike Vrabble screaming at opponents, one reason like if I saw like Freddie Kitchen screaming at an opponent, like telling him F you, calling him whatever. I'd be like, Freddy, you're the biggest clown of all time. When Vrable's doing it, I go, yeah, Mike Vrable thinks he would beat that guy up right now, without zero hesitation. And he'd probably be right. And there is some Parcellian kind of parallels to Mike Vrable that I see of just this leader,

of he has a team that isn't quite as talented of the team he's taken on. Now, underrated part about the Tennessee Titans, they have talent. I mean, they have a good offensive line, they have a star running back, They have a star rookie wide receiver. They have excellent defensive linemen. Roshan Evans, the linebacker from Alabama. Number 54 has really become a player. I never say the guy's name right.

Number 31, the safety. The guy that Dion Sanders didn't know who he was. He was like an all-pro. He's a stud. Their corners have improved a lot. They have a talented team. But if Rable has these guys believing like they could take on the 85 bears or the 84-49ers or the 93 Cowboys,

and they shouldn't. And to me, that's a parcel's like characteristic and quality. Because you look at him, just his intensity, one, just his size. Now, he's unique because he played, and he played for a long period of time for Belichick. And I see this a lot on Twitter. Like, can we just stop acting like Vrable coach for Bill Belichick? No, he didn't coach for Bill Belichick. But he was the guy's team captain for several years.

And he was one of the key players on a stretch where they won three Super Bowls. in one of the years where they went undefeated and lost in the Super Bowl. Like, this guy had a vital, vital role. So when Bill Belichick was instilling these complex game plans that he's known for, right, of taking your number one, whatever makes your offense tick, he's going to take away. Well, that's how Mike Vrabel thinks, because he was a part of the installation of those game plans,

as the team leader with Teddy Bruske and Rodney Harrison to install that with his team. and then he was on the field to execute it. And clearly he's a cerebral type guy, despite being 6-4, 260, whatever he is. And then he immediately got into coaching when he was done playing, worked for Urban Meyer, worked for Bill O'Brien, a Belichick guy,

and now he's running his own team and just kicking ass and taking names. Now, I think if you Google Parcells, it took him a little longer, you know, to kind of get his shot, maybe he became a head coach, you know, maybe in his mid-40s. Now, I think Vrable is also in his mid-40s, but clearly a big portion of that in his 20s and 30s he wasn't coaching.

He was playing. But he was probably doing a lot of coaching-like stuff when he was a player because of the way he studied. He wasn't the best athlete. He wasn't, you know, the most talented guy, even though I think he was, you know, a mid-round pick. And then he bounced around on practice squads. But he's just, he's got it. And it's pretty clear. And if you've watched football long enough, which everyone listening to this probably has,

you know, this guy's pretty special, and I do think, like, he's not Belichick. He's really much closer to Parcells. And when you look at the Packers, one thing, like, I kind of fall with Colin on this. I don't think they're that good. But you're 14 and 3. You're in the NFC championship game. You've had a hell of a season. You still have Aaron Rogers, the first ballot hall of famer.

You still have Devante Adams, who's one of the, I don't know, seven or eight best wide receivers in the league. where their franchise really changed. And I think if you're McCarthy, now I get you're with Jerry right now, and you're walking around the star in Dallas, and you're checking your bank account, and the new direct deposits are coming in,

and you're feeling good. But you got to go, you know what? Ted Thompson really screwed me over the years. Now, we don't have unlimited budgets like Jerry Jones or Jeffrey Lurie or Stan Cronkey, but in the NFL, everyone has money. Even the broke guys, like Mike Brown and Mark Davis, get a big check from the league.

So we can afford to pay for players. But Ted Thompson fundamentally disagreed with signing guys outside the organization. Really in the last 28, 29 years, they've done it three times. Red You White, Charles Wilson, and really Charles Watson didn't cost as much. And this year, Zadaria Smith,

who also, when you look at his number, only got $20 million guaranteed. Zadarius Smith... 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 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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.

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...ch their franchise. Because whenever I watch them and they're winning, and clearly they do a lot of winning, they've won 14 games, he is unblockable. They put him inside, they put him outside, against the run, obviously against the pass. He has been a force. You can't list five better defensive football.

front players this season than him. Hell, you might not be able to list three better ones. Maybe Derek Watt had a better season. Not Derek Watt. T.J. Watt. Kahliel Mack didn't. Find me the best. Shaquille Barrett, maybe, with Tampa.

But he wasn't really playing. Now, I know they battled back, but they were three and seven at one point in time. Zadaria Smith, the Packers were had a great record and were kind of set in the tone you know, all season long. So I think that the Packers, I give them credit that Goudicans clearly just didn't follow the Ted Thompson blueprint. Because it worked. I mean, for a long period of time, operating like Ted Thompson, drafting, developing around Farr and Rogers, led to a ton of wins. Division championships, playoff victories, but usually expose them in the playoffs because we go, God, they're a little soft.

Well, when you got Zadarius and Preston, they are not. soft at all. Their DBs all hit. Really, their weakness is probably linebacker. But signing players, like, you've got to sign players. You need to supplement. You're not going to bat a thousand in the draft. Even if you're doing good in drafting 50%, you're going to have a ton of holes. Look at the Patriots. Historic, they've signed guys. Chris Hogan, Burke, Burkhead, Stefan Gilmore, signed Jamie Collins back, Patrick Chung back. Now, granted some of those guys, but Gilmore's a good example. And definitely on offense, they've signed a ton of guys over the years.

Look at this 49er team. They traded and paid D. Ford. They went and signed Richard Sherman. Those guys are pretty important in what they do. They sign Kyle Use Check, made him the highest paid fullback of all time. Benworth every penny. Every stinking penny. So if you're going to make a run, look at the Kansas City Chiefs.

Boom, Honey Badger. Change their defense. Also offensively. Now they overpaid this guy a little bit, but he is pretty important and makes them really potent in Sammy Watkins. Once upon a time, they signed Mitchell Schwartz as a free agent. Like you don't need to be the Yankees, sign like six or seven guys every year because that's not going to work.

But you do need to isolate three or four guys every offseason and be aggressive to get them. And usually you'll probably, if you're a good team, end up with one or two of the three or four of them. And if you've got good scouts and you've isolated and have a good coach, and have the right scheme for those players, it's going to work. Because a guy, if he's showing you what he is on tape

and you're going to ask him to do that same thing for you, it will work. Where you get in trouble in free agency is when you see a guy doing something and then you ask him to do something else. It'd be like, you're the number one sales guy in Tempe, Arizona, and I own an IT firm, and I double your salary,

and then I ask you to code. You'd be like, well, this is not going to work. That's essentially when free agency screws up. If you are a power running back, and then I ask you to be a third down pass catching back. And you're like, why is this not working? Because that's not what he did when you signed him. And I've seen it firsthand. When I was in Philly, when we signed Namdi Asimaw, asked him to play inside,

and he couldn't do it. It turns out he was just over the hill anyway. But you have to ask guys to do what they're good at doing. And that's what the Packers have done. And to me, it starts with the general manager and the organizational shift on signing and isolating two or three guys, their impact players, and being aggressive to pay them. Because, yeah, you don't have an owner like Jerry Jones

that has unlimited cash in his bank. But you do have the NFL check. And that NFL check grows every year. And it's an enormous number. And the Packers took advantage of it this year and find themselves in the NFC championship game. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about

and we're here to change that. I'm April Dinwiddie host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption presented by Adopt U.S. kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them.

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Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Okay, let's dive into a couple other just headline stories and, you know, other parts of the other games that happened. Let's start with the Browns. They hired Kevin Stavansky. and the big talk, and of course it was after the game is,

after Minnesota, San Francisco game, there was no way the Browns, because it was clear, when I fell asleep on Saturday night, I think there was a report on Friday, Robert Sala was out. By the time Saturday came, and definitely by the night, it felt like it was basically his job. And then in the morning on Sunday, it's reported that Kevin Stefansky is the new Browns coach.

and Twitter freaks. How, did, did they watch the game? Did Paul D. Podesta, the baseball guy, watch the game? My answer is no. You know what number and analytical guys believe, especially from the baseball community? That small sample sizes are meaningless. Billy Bean doesn't even watch baseball games.

He works out. If you told me that Paul D. Podesta went for a hike during the Niner Viking game, I would believe you. he was going to put zero stock. The Niners could have won that game 100 to nothing. And Stefansky and the Vikings and Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook could have ended that game with minus 100 yards. It could have been the worst performance in playoff or regular season history.

And Paul D. Podesta wouldn't have cared at all. These baseball people, they don't believe in small sample sizes. They believe in what the masses think. Paul D. Podesta loves that everyone thinks he's an idiot for hiring this guy. He thinks you guys are the morons. They're very black and white. It's quantitative. It pumps out of the Excel spreadsheet and they believe it.

And I say it all the time. My issue, everyone used analytics. I was doing some accounting today. Talk 40 times. The combine is not too far away. Analytics are a huge part of anyone's life who lives in normal society. My issue with the analytical sports movement in football

is why can't anyone ever admit they're wrong? I admit I'm wrong all the time. I wanted the Niners to draft Quinn and Williams. Nick Bosa isn't just good. He's the best rookie I've ever seen since I've been professionally doing this for about 12 years. He's incredible. I say I'm wrong all the time.

I thought the Vikings would put up more of a fight. It's like those, the number guys never believe they're wrong. Because when the number tells them they're right, that's just they're right. And again, it's parts of their brain. Like my brain thrives in gray areas. A lot of people that I know, they think like that. But I also know number of people.

That's just not the way they think. I've worked with them with the Eagles. They just, you get in an argument, it never ends because they're never going to back off. Well, I have no problem changing my opinion. If you present me with new information, I do it all the time. Invest in a company, it starts going backwards. Sold all my Netflix stock about six months ago. I just didn't like where it was heading.

Now it's actually going back up. But you're crazy if you're not open-minded to anything. But to think that Paul D. Podesta put much stock in this game, you're crazy because that's not the way the Billy Bean process and all his minions think. He puts zero stock in that game. Let me repeat, zero stock in that game. My big issue with the Browns is Paul D. Podesta lives in San Diego.

It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I haven't been everywhere, but I've been a lot of beautiful places. Hawaii, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Philly, I'm kidding. but he lives in San Diego. There's not a human alive that would rather live in San Diego than Cleveland. But when your football team is in Cleveland, you've got to live in Cleveland if you're going to be the boss.

And from the latest reports I've seen, he doesn't plan on moving to Cleveland. Yet, on Friday, part of the reports of this Kevin Stefansky deal, and I get why Stefansky or Robert Sala, because I kept tweeting, like, these guys should turn down this job. But they probably both make about a million bucks. If Jimmy Haslam, if you're making a million dollars a year and someone offers you a five

million dollars a year for five years, so you could make five million dollars over the next five years, or you could make $25 million. It's just basic math. If you're making $100,000 and someone offers you $500,000 for a guaranteed contract of five years, it's a huge, huge economic difference. But to think that you have to present your information to the analytic group on Friday and that was one of the reports. To me is assonine. Because one, that structure isn't going to work. Because you should be working hand in hand

with them throughout the week. There shouldn't be some like come to Jesus moment at the end of the week. And there specially shouldn't be that situation when these coaches work crazy hours. They get there at the crack of dawn. They don't leave till midnight, Monday, basically through Thursday. It is a grind.

And to have this guy that's living by the beach, I'm sure, living like a king, where they all wish they would be, especially November and December when it starts getting cold and snowy, flying out every Friday, hell, maybe even teleconferencing in from his place in San Diego, and then dictating what you're going to do in the game plan? We're dealing with humans here, not robots. If that is the setup, it is going to be the biggest tire fire in American history, not just in sports, but in American history. That is destined to be, like Freddie Kitchens blew up because

Freddy Kitchens was a moron. This is going to be the infighting here. Like we think the Browns have had a lot of infighting over the last decade. It's about to really amp up if this is going to be the case. Because, again, just whatever you do is a job. Imagine working, and this was, you know, when I remember growing up, I was never the smartest guy in the group, so I'd always align myself with smarter kids and group projects.

They would do the majority of the work, and then I would just write John Middilcoff on the project, and then you get an A. But imagine if those people, you don't know those people and they don't want you in their group and you get in their group and you try to piggyback the credit and you come in on Friday, they'd be like, what have you been doing all week? It's just, it's basic human dynamics.

It is not going to work. Now, I look at the thing Jimmy Haslam, I don't know any owners in the NFL, so I don't know if it's normal practice to have a weekly meeting. I understand if you're the owner of the team, you want to know what goes right and what goes wrong, but I do think that you could just, because one of the reports, is Stavansky has to meet with Jimmy Haslam every Monday, which I think if there's an issue, like something happened in the game, couldn't you just go into his office?

You do all in the team and just ask him what happened? Do you have to schedule a weekly meeting? Part of Monday is one, to evaluate what happened in the game, and then two, look forward. I just think that they have too many chefs in the kitchen right now. And the best organizations, one, are all working hand and hand. not separate and then you get together at the end of the week and you start fighting over what's going to work and what's not going to work.

The other thing, you see the play sheet that a Kyle Shanahan that are an Andy Reed or whoever, any coach has. I guess McVeigh's got a smaller one, but most coaches have pretty big play sheets. Well, if you read that play sheet like Andy Reid's or Kyle Shanahan's, it would, if you speak English, it'd be like reading Chinese. You would have no clue what any of this shit means. So how is Paul D. Podester or one of his men? unless they learn the offense,

going to know, well, like, X, Z, wing, right, razor, whatever. You know, the crazy play calls, I can't even do it. You know, Tiger left, razor slot, all that stuff.

How do they even know what that means? So it's like, you've got to turn in the game plan slash play sheet. Okay. I mean, I could hand you a book in Chinese. If you can't read it, you could just look at it all day long and say it's right or wrong.

I think the setup is already a disaster. And I'm not, anti-analytics. I'm just anti-your-analytic guy who's in charge living in San Diego when the operations in Cleveland. That's a joke. And if you can't see that, then I just, maybe we don't live in the same planet because that's a clear setup that's not going to work. One story that came out that was kind of interesting is that TV networks have been sniffing around Drew Brees to gauge his interest. My recommend Drew, as long as someone's willing to pay you

20 to 30 million dollars a year and you can lead a playoff team, TV ain't going anywhere. Now, the setup up, one day it might be on Amazon in five years or Netflix or Hulu or wherever the hell it's headed, but Drew, you're going to be fine. Play as long as you can. You've been blessed by

the grace of God to be able to play at a high level up until your 40s, and I think I read that he still plans on playing, but like, it's cool. They're going to call you when you're 45, whenever you're retire. So unlike, you know, you saw Jason Whitten, who ended up going back. Now, part of it he was bad. Like, Drew Breeze would be good. I think Drew Breeze would be really good. I don't think he'd be as Romo-e. I think he'd be more kind of like a little more serious, kind of like a John Lynch. Like,

John Lynch was really good at TV. You know, you don't need to be, like, we're almost kind of unique personality. But I think Drew Breeze would be destined if he wants to. The difference of like, Drew Breeze is going to have hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank. Now, he loves football, but he also has little kids. Who knows? But if he wants to do it, I think he should. There's another big story by, I'm not trying to not give credit.

I just forget some front office network or something that ESPN, of course, Boogers not coming back. Thank God. Nice guy, just, you know, ESPN, do better. And they're trying to. They're going to offer Tony Romo between $10 and $14 million to do Monday night football.

To me, he's worth every penny. If John Madden was worth 8 in 92, I mean it's just basic math, the top guy in 2020 should be worth 15. So if you're Tony Romo, to me you have leverage. You just go, I will stay at CBS. CBS offers a couple things. One, they have the AFC. Now, granted, their quarterbacks are getting a little older.

I'd argue the NFC, you got Mahomes, you got Watson, you got Lamar. Actually, it's pretty good. But you work with Jim Nance. Like, you work with a pretty powerful brand. They also have access to golf. which Tony Romo values a lot. But money talk, shit walks, and if they're going to offer $14 million, CBS is kind of historically cheap.

Doubt they match. So Tony Romo, more than likely going to break the bank. It'll be interesting to see who he hires as his play-by-play guy. I mean, when you start paying a guy that much, he's going to dictate who he's going to want to be next to him. Lamar Jackson. Had a fantastic season. And you know the thing I appreciate much about Lamar in his worst moment of the year?

because he was not good. And I thought Colin did a good job on Monday, breaking it down. Just watch the game. You can give me the box score at the end of the game. The hollow yards in the second half were on full display. When the game was in the balance in the first half, he was atrocious. Turning the ball over,

he could have thrown multiple picks. And yeah, his wide receivers drops some balls. It's freezing cold. It's hard to catch the ball in inclement weather. When they can't run the ball, he can't function. And here's the other thing. No quarterback is ever going to win the Super Bowl running around, consistently running around. Quarterbacks that win the Super Bowl, Google it, throw the football.

And he can throw the football, but he just has to become more consistent at it. He had a fantastic season. He earned the MVP. But he's not the best quarterback in the league. Mahomes is better. Russell Wilson's better. We'll just use those guys for, I was going to say Brady, but Brady didn't play that well. But those two guys are like, no one in the NFL.

NFL, not one human being would take Lamar Jackson over my homes if they could choose right now. Just like if I had to pick for the next five years, I'd take Russell Wilson over Lamar Jackson. Remember when they shamed Bill Polion for picking Russell Wilson, first team all pro? Did you watch the two guys this weekend? Do they play the same sport as a thrower? Sir, just ask yourself that. And I'm not anti-Lamar Jackson because I really respect the way he conducted himself in his post-game press conference. He's really mature. He's the opposite of kind of what Baker's become. He just, he's an impressive guy.

He's easy to root for. He's young. He just needs to keep adapting and he'll be okay. Seattle, I've never seen a team quite like it. Not much talent, but just heart, toughness, and obviously the quarterback is, he's one of the most special players I've ever seen. He really is. And I don't know when it's all said and done, what his numbers will look like.

But for example, like Drew Breeze. Drew Breeze is like a fringe borderline top 10 quarterback. of all time, you know, somewhere between like 8 to 12. When it's all said and done, would you rather have Russell Wilson for 10 years in his prime or Drew Brees for 10 years in his prime? Because I'd take Russell Wilson. And, I mean, they both have a Super Bowl. Russell's obviously been to, Drew can't make it pass like the first round of the playoffs.

But Russell is just, he's a freak, man. He is, he's everything you want in pro sports. He forces the consumer to watch. he makes you feel good about when you pay a lot of money to attend a game. It's just, he's a special player. He really is, and I just enjoy watching him. Kirk Cousins, man, he just is what he is. He's a robot.

He is very, very limited. And for the amount of money he got paid, he can never live up to it. Because the reality with him, he just doesn't possess the talent. Like Russell Wilson, Aaron Rogers, Mahomes, even Watson, Lamar, because there's so much more talented. Well, when you get to the playoffs, everyone's talented, right? There's no more shitty teams. You don't see the Bengals anymore.

You don't see discombobulated Browns. You just see good teams. Well, you're going to see the highest level of coaches. Smart players, because good teams don't have dumb players. They have smart players. And he just doesn't have the ability. As someone in the league told me, he is a preparation all-star. Really smart, which I respect.

his ass off can come into a game. But it's like if you prepare your ass off for a big meeting or some big investment strategy and then you go meet the client, it's usually not going to go as planned. Sometimes you've got to ad lib. Sometimes you got to hang a left

when you thought you were going to hang a right. And he's just incapable of doing that. And when your knock is, we got to make him throw. We got to make him be a dropback pastor. That's a pretty big red flag. when you signed an $85 million contract that was fully guaranteed. Say that out loud.

If you're the Minnesota Vikings and you sign them to that contract and the number one game plan around the league when they play Kirk Cousins, let's force him to throw if you're a good team. I mean, if you don't have bad, if you have bad corners, they have enough talent, they can get you. But if you got Richard Sherman covering the feeling, you got problems. And there was a play in that game where Richard Sherman picked the ball off

that Cousins just can't see. Richard knows the route. He's running, Kirk. he's standing right there. Can you not see him? Are you just so robotic? They're running the right coverage. This is what I'm going to do.

Richard's smarter than you. And unlike you, Richard can't adjust on the fly. And he's sitting right where Thielen is supposed to end his route. And Kurt Cousins hits him in stride. That to me sums up Cousins. So far as Minnesota career in big games. Okay, let's do a little Middilcoff mailbag. Bang out a couple questions.

and get you all out of here. Hi, John. Love the show. Question. Who do you think is going to be the next quarterback of the L.A. Chargers? Well, I think I was reading a day in an MMQB article that the Chargers might franchise them, but it's not a lock. That'd be Philip Rivers. I don't know.

I mean, call me, I always lean like, of course, you're not going to let the quarterback go. But at 38 years old, the season he had, I'm a Rivers guy, but he looked kind of, of washed that it kind of felt like it's just over. Now teams hate just letting a guy go for nothing, but what's, what are you going to do? Do you franchise and trade them? Maybe they're nervous. If they don't franchise him and let them walk, he goes to like the Raiders. Who would the Chargers get a quarterback? I mean, they do draft high. They could draft Herbert. They could always sign like a bridge like Dalton or something, but then you're asking yourself, why don't we just franchise guys, Rivers, but do you want to pay Rivers, like almost $30 million at this point?

I don't really see it, so I would lean like a Dalton-type guy in draft Herbert. Huge fan of the show and fan of the Colts. Going into the next season, does the front office realize that Jacoby should not be our quarterback? Any chance we trade up for Tua, maybe sign Cam, Rivers or Brady. Yeah, I think they would be in the, I think they'd be all over Phillip Rivers. I think they'll be all over Brady. I think you could argue Andy Dalton's a better player than Jacoby. At least he was when he was playing earlier in his career.

I don't know if you trade up and draft someone, just given that so many teams need quarterback, so many teams are already up there. I don't know if that's really an option. So I would say that Jacoby, maybe they bring in a little competition. You know, I keep using Andy Dalton, Marietta, maybe try to resurrect his career, maybe trade for like a Nick Foles.

Do something like that. You know, your options are pretty limited. People keep asking about these quarterbacks. Let's just list them right now. Just off the top of my head. We got Brady, who is a free agent. We got Rivers, who's a free agent, who looks like they might not tag them, or 50-50.

Bree's, free agent, but he'll never leave. Foles, Flip got fired, so they could have a new offensive coordinator, could be on the move. Dalton, he'll be on the move, because Burrell will be there. Cam, potentially, I don't know, I have no clue what Matt Rule thinks.

of Cam. If I had to guess right now, Matt Rule probably just goes one year with Cam, just sees how it goes. Remember Chip Kelly when he got to Philly, he kept Michael Vick. So not that obviously Cam's career in Carolina is better than Vicks in Philly. It was just kind of the one year. But you get what I'm saying. Like you just need a quarterback. And I'm trying to think, Marriota. It's not as many guys you think. You know, there's not, there's not seven Joe Montana's out there. So you just kind of is what it is. is. I mean, Jacoby is just a good backup. That's just kind of what he is, but you're kind of stuck with him. Everybody talked about Jason Garrett's contract expiring on January 14th. If the Cowboys

had made the NFC title game or the Super Bowl, would his contract have automatically extended until their season ended, or would the Cowboys and Garrett have had to sign an amendment to manually extend his contract? Yeah, I think you see a lot of guys in a lot of assistance. You know, their contracts end that kind of date, you know, first or second week of the season. and if you make it to the Super Bowl, it just rolls over. Not like another year, but you just get paid. Like if you're making a million dollars,

it must be nice. Whatever that direct deposit is, I think you just get it like for the other week. That's a pretty good question. I'd have to ask someone in the league that deals with that. But yeah, I don't think you have to like, you don't need to resign anything. You just kind of work on no contract at that rate,

which luckily if you're an NFL coach, I mean, what was Jason Garrett making like $7 million? So he probably could have made it two weeks even if they didn't pay him. He would have been okay. Here's my question. I'm a Rutgers fan. What do you think of Greg Shiano? I've never really been a fan, but I do think he's perfectly suited for Rutgers.

My first year at Fresno State in 2008, I was a GA, we played Rutgers. And he had the McCordy brothers. He had, I think Ray Rice was already in the league. He had a couple other NFL guys. Kenny Britt, maybe, on that team. And he's just perfectly suited for that. He really is. I was against when Tennessee and the fans revolted.

I always thought they were right. He didn't belong in the South. He belongs in the Northeast. That's just kind of his... In college football, unless you're an elite coach, which he's not, like an Urban Meyer or even Nick Sabin, you know, Chris Peterson. You can coach anywhere.

But most guys, the majority of the majority of... of guys need to coach like Davo, Eddie O, the South. Jimbo, the South. Jimbaugh would not do well in the South. Jim Harbaugh is a West, northeast guy, right? Urban Meyer's an outlier. You can put Urban at Florida, you can put

them at USC, you can put Ohio State, put him at Washington, he's going to kick everyone's ass. For as much shit as I talk about Irvin I think he's a great coach and he transcends wherever he goes. Nick, Nick probably even more than Urban, probably does just belong in the South. And you look at the

job. I know he was at Michigan State, and he's such a good coach. He would work anywhere, too, but he's really suited for the South. Like, Urban probably is perfectly suited for Ohio State or even USC, because I do think regions matter when, uh, in college, in the pros, it doesn't. Like Matt Rule, he could have coached the Panthers, you get to coach the Chargers, you get to coach the, you know, Seattle Seahawks, it wouldn't matter. Like Pete Carroll, look, look where he's really done damage. USC and Seattle. Like the West Coast culture kind of fits him. My question is, Alex Smith coming back, and if he does, should the Redskins start him over Haskins? Well, if Alex Smith is healthy, which is a big if, I mean, his leg basically almost

fell off. And that video, I don't know if you saw it, but it went viral like a month ago of his wife. It was like pretty touching. I mean, it's hard not to like get teary-eyed. Did, like, him rehabbing of that leg, but it looks like he's like trying. I mean, I don't know, he'll have to get cleared to play. If he can get cleared to play, and he's He's 100%. Yeah. I mean, he's a better player than Haskins. Now, he missed this entire year.

He missed the majority of last year, so he's missed a lot of time. Why do you think Pete Carroll has never won coach of the year, John Snyder, GM of the year with both of their recent success? Can't even talk. Love the show. I don't know. It's a good question.

I mean, Pete, I'd have to look back on the years when he made runs the Super Bowl. Like, who won it that year? Belichick? Probably not. I don't know. You know, it's just, I think coach of the year is a pretty, pretty hollow award. I don't even really think, who cares?

You know, Pete Carroll's kicking everyone's ass every year. He's going to the playoffs every year. He's won a Super Bowl. So, yeah, I wouldn't put much into that. I'm a big fan of the podcast all the way in Brazil. That's cool. I really enjoy listening to you around you and Colin. I was doing a little research, and I'd like to ask you a question.

It's pretty clear that the Broncos will cut flaco this off season. At least they should, right? Yes. What were they thinking? I really don't know. Me either. If they do, he will be responsible for dead cap money on back-to-back years in different teams. A total of almost $30 million.

That's got to be some kind of record. Is there any way to finding that out? Keep in mind, it's the same contract. Denver just made some cap adjustments. That's a hell of a question. Yeah, I could probably text some people. I don't know if you can, like, run queries on that. I'm sure NFL people can.

Odell Beckham costs, I guess, you know, he's going to be on the Browns this year, so it won't really matter. but he cost the Giants last year like $20 million on dead cap. So every year guys cost money on dead cap. I think Des Bryant and Tony Romo this year costs money for the Cowboys dead cap. I'm like 99% positive that Tony Romo and Des Bryant. Because moving signing bonus money back is just kicking the can down the road. It's like a credit card.

Eventually that credit card payment is due. Whether it's due now, whether it's doing six months, whether it's due in five years. You have to pay the money. you know and Jerry Jones was king of that he pushed all their money back money back money back and flaco a little bit like that because he signed those enormous contracts and it was that's why the Ravens were always letting sweet free agents walk because they had so much money on flaco you were right stuck to your guns I took the Titans love it it's Lamar versus the charges part two but you can claim zero credit sports right yeah I mean it's just Lamar's struggling the playoffs no there's

just no way around it. He just, the playoffs has thrown him off. I was wondering if you would like to do an interview on a podcast I co-host called the Two Point Conversion. This is a political free podcast where we just talk about football. Please let me know my phone number is, I'm not going to read your phone number out loud. Okay, I'll, uh, I'll shoot you a DM. Maybe I could get on that podcast.

I do, I do other random podcasts here and there. Lamar Jackson played well all year, but most of the time he had an early lead. Against the Titans, they were behind and struggled to mount a comeback. It's apparent that quickly became frustrated and then self-infloded and he met adversity during the game. Do you think his immaturity played a role in his poor performance? I think when you, I'm going to say, would you use the word immaturity you're using it as a player? Because he's actually a really mature guy, just the way he handles himself. I mean, he's like relative to Baker. It's not even close.

Yeah, I just think it's difficult for them the way their offense built. I tweeted this during the game. The Bills and the Ravens have inaccurate quarterbacks. I mean, Lamar can be accurate, but in rhythm, like, he's hit or mess. Josh is much more inaccurate. And they surround them by a bunch of midget-wide receivers. Now, the Ravens, in fairness, have a couple tight-ins. They got Andrews.

They got the Redhead Hayden Hurst, so they got some big bodies. But, like, Marquise Brown, Hollywood Brown, who's awesome, can fly? He's tiny. Like, you know what you need? Like, I'm watching the National Championship game. you need to get Lamar and Josh Allen some of these dudes. Higgins, Jefferson, Chase, get them some dudes with huge catching radiuses. It's hard.

It's one thing when you're Peyton Manning or Drew Breeze and you can close your eyes and hit a guy in the hands, it's another thing when you're not that accurate and throw into a bunch of little tiny guys. Like you need some size for these guys. Huge fan of the pod. Can't believe the Texans versus Chiefs game right now. What is your My Bookie promo code? Ham and the number one.

That was a crazy game. Okay. Mailback, good day from show in Australia. As a Texans fan watching this implosion today, would love to get your thoughts on whether Bill O'Brien stays as the head coach. In my opinion, we definitely need a GM and potentially an O.C. in the offseason, easy to say, but who would you hire? Well, Bill O'Brien said today that they're not going to hire a general manager,

and, I mean, he's going to keep calling the plays. so I feel for you, man. I just, I don't know. He just struggles. He needs some help. He needs people in his life to tell him, like, no, this is not a good idea. Or no, don't do this. And he clearly doesn't have any of those.

Odds Andy retires after this year if he finally gets a ring. Had an argument with someone the other day about this topic. Would love to hear your thoughts. I think there would be zero. And I repeat, absolutely zero chance. I'd say the number one reason he wouldn't retire is he loves football. Absolutely loves football. Like, besides his wife and kids is his life.

Two, two words, Patrick Mahomes. Three, he makes a lot of money. I mean, we're a lot of money. So when you factor in, you love what you do, you get paid a boatload of cash, you got a sweet job. I mean, he's got it. The Chiefs is a great job. I don't even think Clark Hunt lives in Kansas City.

He lives in Dallas. And then you have, I don't know, the greatest quarterback prospect, just in terms of like cool to watch. Like, Andrew Locke was really good, but he wasn't always that fun to watch. Like since Farv, so I say the chances at zero, like legitimately zero that he retires. I know you think the Colts best chance to grab a quarterback is in the free agent market. How crazy is it that we think we could or should trade for Carr or Stafford? and if we did get one of these quarterbacks, Brady Rivers, do you think it would be smart to still draft a quarterback like Fromm or Hertz?

Well, I wouldn't draft Hertz. If you could trade for Stafford, I would 100% do that. If I was the Colts and I could trade for Matt Stafford, I would do that. If I could trade for Carr, car's probably better than Jacoby. But he makes a lot of money, so you'd have car, same with Stafford, so I don't know what, like, that's a lot of money to be paying two quarterbacks. It's kind of a tough situation. It really is.

I don't know if there's a good answer. It's just, you know, to be honest with you, it's kind of the shitty part in being in the quarterback purgatory mode. You're just always like, what should we do? Should we sign a free agent quarterback? Tom Brady? Well, like Tom Brady sounds great in theory, and he's still a good player. But he is 43-year-old Tom Brady.

You're not getting like 33-year-old in his prime Tom Brady. Well, how about Philip Rivers? You mean the guy that was 38 and kind of look washed last year? you know, the best option would be Drew Breeze, and I've had some people DM me, why wouldn't Drew Breeze just go to the Colts? They're like, well, why wouldn't he just stay with the Saints if they want them back?

That team's better. And he already knows the coach, and they're already on the same page. Like, what would be the difference? Now, you could argue the NFC, the road might be harder. Like, let's just look next year. Who's going to be good in the AFC? The Chiefs, more than likely

are going to be defending champs. They're going to be sweet. The Titans, but look at the Titans. Like, they got a couple question marks. Danny Hill and Derek Henry are free agents. Now you can franchise and transition tag both. The Texans are still going to be around. Patriots will be back.

Colts will be sneaky. You know, there's not... The Ravens, obviously, will be good. The AFC kind of sucks. Look at the NFC. I mean, the Chiefs are really good. But look at the NFC. You've got to have the 49ers are going to be really good again.

The Rams are solid. Seattle, Seattle. The Packers are all coming back. You know, if the bear somehow can get a quarterback, They'll be decent. The, who am I missing? The Vikings will be a 10-11, you know, 9, somewhere in there, win team. The Eagles will improve.

They'll be better. The Cowboys could be dramatically better with Mike McCarthy, you know. So it's just the Falcons, in theory, shouldn't start so freaking slow. The Redskins could be more competitive. They got a real coach. So it's just, I think the NFC is stacked. It really, hell, the Cardinals, who are one of the worst teams in the NFC, or like sneaky, not bad, but Tampa Bay?

What was Tampa Bay's record? Like 7 and 9? With James threw 32 picks? Imagine if James just throws 18 picks. It might be 10 wins. I'm a Giants fan. Should I be worried about the Joe Judge after he hired Patrick Graham? When I saw like Rapsheet or Schefter or whoever tweeted that Patrick Graham's their new defensive coordinator,

my response was who? I mean, I know a decent amount of coaches, but there's now a new kind of cycle of guys in their mid-to-early 30s. that I've never heard of. Because these guys are, and like I'm no different than you guys in the sense of, if you're some 31-year-old coach has been a position coach for one year, I'm not going to really know who you are, especially if you're not coming from a big-time college program. These guys are shooting fast up the ranks so quickly.

What's his name? Sean McVeigh just got rid of Wade Phillips for a guy that's been in the NFL for three years as a position coach for Fangio. Now, if I'm getting Vic Fangio Jr., I'm feeling pretty good. but this guy's been in the NFL for three years, and that's who you're replacing Wade Phillips. That's a pretty bold move there, Cotton. What do you think of the Packers need to do to beat the Niners?

I think they need to get the Niners to turn the ball over. They're going to need to probably force multiple interceptions with Jimmy and probably create a fumble. So I would say the turnover, they got to win at like two or three to zero. And if they turn the ball over once, that number, there still has to be two to three buffer. so it's, I think the only chance the Packers have to win the game is to turn them over. And the Niners, you know, if they don't let Jimmy loose because they're running the ball,

he's throwing a lot of high percentage completions, you know? So it's just, you know, he threw a pick, but he can get rattled when he faces a really good defensive coordinators and you throw off his, you know, you throw off the coverages. I mean, he just didn't see Eric Kendricks, who's just a really good player. I think he thought he'd get it over him. It was a good play by Kendricks. but like is Blake Martinez going to make that play? Now your DBEs can pick the ball off.

You know, the Niners are pretty well equipped to just neutralize the front. It's hard. I mean, the Packers just aren't as good as the Niners. Now, Rogers is a stud, but, you know, he's got one sweet wide receiver. So he's at somewhat of a disadvantage. Appreciate everyone listening. Enjoy the week. And I'll talk to you a little later.

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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 SportsSlice 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 headlines.

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 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. 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, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out.

Look. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. 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.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. We didn't talk ever again. I was crying.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to you. He's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.