The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Cheap Chargers, Bad Take Confession, Amazon’s Sherman Miss, Becton Bust

Episode Date: June 17, 2022

John discusses what NFL players would command if there was a LIV Golf-style raid on NFL talent, why the Chargers going cheap on head coach with their stacked roster is a mistake, why Middlekauff is taking the L on his Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Steelers trade take, why Amazon should have given Richard Sherman the bag to call games with Al Michaels, and why Mekhi Becton busting isn’t surprising.  Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates. Go to  FanDuel for the best wagering action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. The three-in-out podcast with me, John Middilcough, is presented by Fandul's sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fanduel. Great odds and markets for baseball, the NBA, NHL, PGA Tour and so much more. Awesome new and existing user promotions. America's number one

sports book. Very easy to use. Safe and secure. You get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with Fanduel. If you are new, just download the FandualSportsbook app to get started. Now sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you.

What is up everybody? John Middlecops' three and out podcast on this beautiful, gorgeous. Thursday, June 16th. I got the U.S. Open in the back recording this before the Warriors game. So if you listen, maybe they're champions. Maybe we're going to a game seven on Father's Day.

Who knows? And if I don't talk to you, happy Father's Day to all you people. I guess I will because we have the Middlekopf mailbag that comes out on the weekend. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram. Way to get into my direct messages. You fire in those DMs. and you get your question answered here on the show.

It's very, very easy. I actually spent yesterday a couple hours going back and answering a lot of manually, a lot of you guys' DMs over really the last like month and a half. It was a fun little exercise. I like communicating with you guys. So slide up in those DMs and we communicate there. As well as subscribe to the podcast for those of you that have that listen on Collins' feed, subscribe to the three and out feed.

Greatly helps with everything. Share with your friends. Share with your enemies. We got a lot going on still in the football world We have several teams that practice this week We had some stories flying fast and furious A couple of things I saw that was like Oh, that piques my fancy

That interests me that we're going to hit on today And hopefully everyone is having a good start to the summer I guess let's start with this Because I saw that Floreo Mike Floreo that is who runs pro football talk. You know, it's one of the biggest blogs in the history of the internet.

I mean, he created a massive business. We all have opinions on the guy, but there is no disputing that PFT worked. It changed the game for a lot of people. And, you know, he's somewhat of a troll on the interweb, which, yeah, I can be too, so no issue with it. I don't agree with a lot of things he says, but he did throw something out just a hypothetical.

if the equivalent of what the Saudis are doing with Live Golf did it to the to the NFL, who would be the first quarterback to jump? And I thought, listen, with the golf going on right now, the Saudi talk, I mean, it's one of the bigger stories in sports in America. You could argue it's the biggest story in sports in America that are the NBA finals. And my first talk, oh, it's fun exercise, who would be the first quarterback? And then I thought, well, that is actually impossible. it would never happen.

It is not feasible. And here's a couple of reasons why. The reasons golf was there to be had is because they don't pay the players. You have to earn your money. Obviously, guys make money in endorsements. Tiger Woods, a ton of money in Nike, all these guys have different businesses

plastered all over them like a NASCAR. But so do NFL players. You ever turn on your television and see the ads and see Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rogers and Matt Stafford and Aaron Donald and all these guys all over the place, they also make money in endorsements. The main difference is the guy who's made the most in the history of golf on the course is Eldrick Tiger Woods. And his career earnings on the course are like $120 million.

He's the only guy in the history of golf to make over $100 million playing on the course. Now, obviously, I think he just became a billionaire, but that's because of his off-the-course ventures, which, as we all know with the athletes nowadays, they're making a lot of money off the field, off the court, off wherever. They make a ton of money. But they also make a ton of money on the playing field. The Warriors have four guys who are under contract for well over $100 million.

So when the USFL happened and reading Steve Young's book, learned a lot about it. because Steve Young, Reggie White, and Jim Kelly, back in the early mid-80s, were three of the biggest guys to go. And they got an astronomical amount of money relative to the time in like 82, 83, 84, right? Guys, the NFL was not paying anywhere near what they pay now.

Hell, when I was a kid looking back and seeing some of the contracts to like Emmett Smith and Troy Aikman and Brett Farv signed in the 90s, you're like, goddamn, that's like special team money now. but listen times change money's all relative the thing is now in the sport of football the top players are compensated they've never made more money the average top quarterback makes between 35 and 45 million dollars look at the money that these defensive players are making we have several pass rushers making 20 27 to 32 million dollars we have a ton of wide receivers making in the 20s Trent Williams

The Star Left Tackle makes like $20 million a year. So, and they also have the capability to make money off the field. So the best thing the NFL is going for it right now is they've never made more money. They've never paid the players more. And listen, the Saudis or some other league, we've seen it before post the USFL. And the reason the USFL went under is because unlike the Saudis, most of these startup leagues do not have the cash. I'm sure you've seen the headline Vince McMahon, not that he paid an affair to be quiet a long time ago,

but him and Oliver Luck, Andrew Luck's dad, are going at it. Why? Because when the VID came and the AAF cratered and went bankrupt or the XFL, I get all my leagues mixed up, they declared bankruptcy. And he's refusing to pay Oliver Luck. He's like $20 million that he owes him. And they're about to go to court. And not that Vince McMahon doesn't have the money to pay him,

but it wasn't feasible. He's like, I'm not going to take a huge loss and keep this league going. So he just cratered it and went under. And then ultimately, I think they sold it to the Rock for a cheap price. But that is the majority of these leagues. They don't have the finances.

And even if someone now did have the finances, the reason these golfers were there to be had, they could give $100 million to Bryce and Des Chambot. They could give $200 million to Phil Mickelson. They could give $150 million to, Dustin Johnson. Well, Patrick Mahomes signed a $450 million contract. Josh Allen makes $45 million a year. Dick Prescott makes $40. Hell, Mika Fitzpatrick just now makes $18 million a year. So the NFL, the price and the premiums they're paying for their players is great. It has never been a better time to be an NFL player,

whether you're a star player or whether you're just a solid starter. Because a solid starter now makes $4,000 or $5 million. I've said it forever. The greatest business partnership in the history of the world is the NBA. All the money's guaranteed, and you don't even need to be that good to get paid a premium. Because not just the Steph Currys and LeBron's get paid premiums.

A lot of average guys that don't win and don't contribute to the moneymaking of the league get paid $20 to $25 million. I think the average salary is $7 million in the NBA. And every penny is always guaranteed. Greatest partnership in the history of the world. The amount of money that's flowing to a small percentage of individuals is incredible.

Now, the Steph Currys and LeBron's, the honestest, they're worth every penny. but you look at the dudes on the magic, on the Knicks, on some of the shitty teams, they sure was hell or not. And I just think that the NFL is in a great position that they are, their recession proof one, which we know that thing's right around the corner. They are, the competition, they are like an empire with a big wall in front of it. You're not getting through.

They're paying their talent way too much money. And they're pretty lucky that way. And speaking of paying talent, a lot of money, I actually think that the top NFL coaches are very, very underpaid. Like when I was a kid, I loved Arnold Schwarzenegger. I grew up, you know, born in the mid-80s, so I grew up in the time of like Slice-Slai Sloan, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and then the comedians really took off the Jim Carries of the world,

and they were just box office movie stars. Now, not every one of their movies worked. But when you paid Schwarzenegger 20 months, million, when you paid Jim Carrey 20 million, when you paid these guys a premium, and now it's turned that way to Leo and some of the modern day actors, obviously to me, Tom Hanks, some of those type guys, who was in their crew as well, Denzo Washington, more often than not, you were going to have a cash cow movie. Because the box office used to be a really big deal, getting me to come to the movie theater. I no longer go to the movie theater. I've been to the movie theater

probably five times in a decade, and I grew up going to movie. It's now kind of irrelevant. I haven't seen Top Gun yet. A lot of people on the internet say it's incredible. It's like a movie theater movie. I have to do it before it leaves theater. But who knows, that thing might sit in theaters for like six months. The only thing that anyone's going to see. But when you have someone of value, you pay them a premium.

Because you're ultimately going to make more than what you're going to pay them. It's why in the podcast world, we have to, I have to drive people to me. And I'm lucky to be associated with Coward, who the top podcast, Like forever, when I worked in radio, if there are two stations, for example, in the Bay Area, I worked at the number two station. We had the Raiders and the A's. The big properties here were the Niners and the Giants.

The other station had them. If you're on the other station, you might be talented. Tom Tolbert is one of the biggest radio stars here. He's very, very talented and dominated for a long time. But there are other people that aren't that talented that quote unquote might rate. It was very hard at the little station, the little engine that could, to rate. we weren't as big, we didn't have the resources, and we didn't have the properties.

But if you did when you were there, it proved, you know what, you might be kind of good. Like, if I put you on ESPN and you host SportsCenter and it does a big rating after, let's say, an NBA finals game, and your name is not Scott Van Pelt. I don't know if you're talented enough or not. I don't know if you're talented enough or not, because I'm just on the station. But if you have a podcast and all of a sudden it's like 50,000 people choose to listen to this guy, 100,000 people choose to listen to this guy. You're talented.

You have something that people want. Call her daddy. Joe Rogan. Colin Coward. Just go around, look at the biggest pod. Bill Simmons. They have an audience because people seek them out. I don't have to listen.

I don't end up on their channel. The game is YouTube is a great example. Some of these guys with massive, massive YouTube followings is because we seek them out and they bring something to the table. Period. Point blank. End of stir. end of story. It's why they make the most money. They drive the audience, not a network, not some backing, them individually. Colin does not need a network at this point anymore.

Now, maybe at one point in time, a lot of these guys to become stars, him, Dan Patrick, whoever, you know, that helped facilitate and grow their career. No different in the Barstool guys, pardon my take. Barstool and them have been an incredible partnership and help them grow, but their talent separates from the pack. And I think in football coaching, we just think, well, this is the going rate. I hate that term, the going rate. No, what is the value that you're going to bring to me?

The Chargers forever, it's like, well, they can just get this coach because he's not as expensive. And Brandon Staley right now, because he did not have a big resume, is probably one of the lower paid coaches in the league. And listen, you know where I stand on him, but who's to say the next couple years because of their roster

that the Chargers aren't one of the best teams in the league and he's vastly underpaid. Why would you even take that risk? Wouldn't you want to go out and try to get a top flight coach, try to pay a premium, try to get a guy that's worth $20, $25 million? Because let's face it, besides your quarterback and maybe a pass rusher,

should there be an individual on your team, like an actual player that is worth, worth more than your coach? We say it all the time. It's a quarterback league and it's a coaching league. So if that's the case, why would you have a $5, $6, $7, $8 million coach? If you want to have a big box office movie,

getting Tom Cruise to be in your movie costs $25 million. Getting Leo DiCaprio to be in your movie costs a lot because you know it's going to work. Albert Breer wrote that the Miami Dolphins, when they were thinking about getting Sean Payton, and they were trying to hire him with Tom Brady, and no one loves to, you know, throw that out there quite like the Miami Dolphins. Miami Dolphins were interested in this guy.

They were interested in this guy. They almost had Tom Brady. They almost had Sean Payton. It never ends, and they didn't get him. But as Albert Breer reported, they offered Sean Payton essentially four years, $100 million, $25 million a year. And Breer wrote, it's not really that crazy because he was on an $80 million contract for the Saints. And I go, you know, the $80 million contract, he's probably underpaid. Andy Reed, Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan,

some of these guys, they are underpaid, right? Because how could you have 10 guys on your team making more money than your head coach? How does that add up? I get it in baseball. The baseball manager, a ton of them now don't even make a million dollars. Well, they don't set the lineup. They're not in control of the changes during the game.

The front office does it all. It makes more sense to pay the GM more than the manager in baseball. In basketball, you could argue they're somewhat of a happy medium, but essentially you still need a basketball coach to be really good, because ultimately he is in charge of stuff, and you need him to communicate to the players. In football, they have to do multiple things. They have to lead, they have to run practice,

which the other sports don't really do, and they have to scheme. So you are paying the guy to not just be your leader, but to be your schemer. And to me, the top, however many percentage of coaches in the NFL, even if they make $10 to $14 million are vastly underpaid. We now know that several teams are worth $3 to $4 billion, and these guys with your quarterback are the face of your franchise.

So if you're going to be willing to pay a wide receiver, arguably the most replaceable position in the league now, given how many wide receivers come into the NFL every single year, why wouldn't you be willing to pay a top flight coach, $25 million? And I don't want to hear anyone complain when their coach is not, is underachieving or is not good enough, and he makes $7, $8 million. That's what you get paid for now.

Like, you get what, you know, that $8 million just ain't enough, you know? Nick Saban makes $11, $12 million. You could argue he's easily to Alabama worth $20. What is the revenue that you're bringing to the table? We've never known because the Patriots are very cloak and dagger, how much Belichick makes. Can you imagine the revenue? that he generated for Robert Kraft over two decades,

the amount of money he made that franchise. Now, him, I'm including Tom as well, but even Tom quote unquote underpaid, he made $250 million over his time with the Patriots. So if you're going to go cheap on a coach or be like, you know, maybe we get this guy for $8 million, like that's on you when you suck. Because here's what I know.

You pay a premium for Sean Payton, you go to the playoffs basically every year. You pay a premium for Andy Reed, you win. you pay a premium for Sean McVey for Kyle Shanahan, you win. Now, if you take some of these flyers and some of these unknown guys, who knows? Good luck. But I just think that the top coaches in the NFL are easily worth at this point in time, given the value of the league, the value of the teams, the value of winning,

I think you could argue $25 million. Just look at what CEOs in the NFL, or I mean in Fortune 500 companies make. Isn't that essentially what these guys are? You're paying the labor a premium. Why wouldn't you pay them? I just think that Sean Payton, when he does come back, is going to make $25 million and he'll be probably worth every penny. The NBA finals are here, and so is your chance to score big on Fandual Sportsbook.

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dot com slash RG, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 18777-7-7-7-7-1-7-1-7-1-1-7 for confidential help, Michigan. 1-8-8-8-N-Y, or text, Hope N.Y, 467-N, New York, Tennessee, 800, 8888-9, Tennessee, 1-800-5-2-4700. Wyoming. Visit www.1-800 gambler.net, West Virginia. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal. but encouraged.

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

or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two.

Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your point. podcast. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me. Not

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

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I probably got to take the L on this because I underestimated the Pittsburgh Steelers years ago. And I know we have a lot of new listeners, a lot of people that didn't listen,

that are new since this podcast has joined the volume before I was just, me and Colin, and just pumping out pods. And when they traded the Pittsburgh Steelers, that is, for Minka Fitzpatrick, I thought it was insane. I thought it was a borderline reckless, move. Because if you remember, Rathesberger had just

torn his, had just basically torn whatever it's called when you need Tommy John surgery. He was out for the season. And that was the year that they ended up going with Mason and Duck Hodges combination. And at the time, they made the trade maybe a week after Rathusberger had torn his elbow. And I thought, you're going to trade a first round pick for a really good player. But there's a decent chance that you're going to win three or four games. And the thing that I underestimated is that the

Steelers don't view three or four wins as an option. Internally in their building, the Rooney family, the culture, the mindset of the business, they couldn't fathom doing that. And they ended up going eight and eight. They didn't sniff, you know,

being in the top ten in the lottery, in the top ten of the draft. Because that's just not what they do. They adapt and they overcome. Even that year with pitiful and embarrassing quarterback play. They overcame it and got to eight wins. It was an incredible accomplishment.

At the time, I tip my hat to Mike Tomlin. I think it's one of the better coaching jobs he's done probably in his career. I know he's won a Super Bowl. I know he's had some great teams. But it's one thing to have great teams when your Hall of Fame quarterback is balling. It's another thing to compete in games with a guy named Duck Hodges. And I'm sure Duck Hodges is a nice guy, bad football player. But I think the best businesses in America have a couple things.

things in common. They are consistent with their actions, but they also pick and choose when to put their balls on the table. Because you can't be successful, whether it's in the NFL or whether it's in other industries in the private sector without taking big swings. Because the easiest thing in life is just to stay in the slow lane and not take any risks. And the reality is when you do that, you get lapped. You get lapped. We reward people in this society for hanging out in this fast lane. That's a fact. Now, sometimes you crash. You're not always going to get to your destination the fastest.

It's not always going to work perfectly. But there's a reason that the fruit is on the edges of the branches, not on the trunk of the tree. So you've got to be willing to go out on a limb every once in a while. And the Pittsburgh Steelers, who I would say would tend to be on the conservative side, took a huge swing. And you know what they took a huge swing for? A guy that was in a second year that I would be shocked. And if you're a diehard Steelers fan, I'm sure this has been a big. reported on and talked about over the years.

This guy was probably one of their top three or four guys graded in that given draft. And here's what we know about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarterback is, they got to prove some stuff. We'll see about that position. But every other position, they can draft as well as anyone in the league. And they saw a guy that I'm sure in their draft meetings, they thought was going to be a future Hall of Famer. I remember when I was with the Eagles and we needed a middle linebacker.

And we were hoping, I think we were drafting like 11. or 12. It was the year that we ended up getting Fletcher Cox. And Luke Keekley was in that draft. And for a while we're like, let's just, I think we're going to get Luke Keakley. And then the combine happens and Keakley ran like a 4-4. And then Andy Reed was basically like, yeah, this guy's going to go to the Hall of Fame. This guy's never lasting till we draft. And he didn't. He was gone. And we ended up trading for Damiko Ryans, who I actually saw at practice a couple weeks ago and I went up to him. He didn't remember me. But I said, you know, I just, I followed his career closely.

I was like, you know, I was with in Philly when we traded for you. It's awesome to see you ball. And basically, I was hoping to get them on a podcast in the future laying the groundwork. But the point of the moral of the story is, once there's certain guys in a draft that teams go, we might not get this guy, but this guy's going to be a superstar. And I would imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers thought about that with Mika Fitzpatrick. So when they took a huge sling, maybe it wasn't that crazy. Because they don't view themselves as four wins as a possibility.

And they also view themselves when we're going to trade. a first round pick for this guy, even if we did draft fifth overall or eighth overall in the future, this guy would have been worthy of that pick. And then it turns out a couple years later, he's been one of the best defensive players in the league now for four straight years. They gave a ton of money to. And it's well worth it. Because whenever you watch the Steelers, Minka Fitzpatrick is literally everywhere. He's a physical player. He can play the ball. He can cover. There's like nothing he can't do. And from all accounts, he's a great guy. He's the type guy the Steelers love. He's kind of like the modern day Rod Woodson for them. Like he has Hall of Fame

upside. So I tip my hat to Colbert and Tomlin and the organization for pulling the trigger when, let's face it, I was not alone. A lot of people thought it was nuts. And looking back, not only was it not nuts, it's the tight moves in life. Anyone listening to this, you got to be willing to make. Because most times when you go out on a limb, especially when times are a little up in the air, people will call you nuts. People will say you're an idiot. It's why you got to be very careful asking for life advice from family and friends. There are certain people you can, but a lot of people don't quite understand all the variables. Only you truly know what's in your gut and what is right in front of you and what the future may hold if you do a certain move. You are the best

indicator of the future because you control everything. And I think the Steelers knew we get this guy in here, sky's the limit. And they got him in there and Sky was immediately the limit. And he's a big time ass kicker. I did this thing a couple weeks ago about potential people in the media. And because Drew Breeze basically got fired. I said, of course he did.

I mean, he was, listen, great guy, great player. Kind of boring. I mean, Drew Brees put you to sleep. You know, anyone at NBC, the amount of people, listen, haven't been in this business for a little while, the amount of people in quote-unquote executive roles making three, four, five hundred thousand dollars at some of these companies that are in charge of hiring are pulling an all-time scam artists. I mean, they are legally stealing from their companies. They got no fucking clue what they're doing. And they keep throwing shit at the wall hoping some of it sticks.

No different Jason Witten and. Bougar McFarland. Again, nice guys, good people. It was embarrassing. You can't roll that out. I could have told you that. It doesn't take, you don't need to be in the business long. That's not going to work.

Well, I've said for a while, like anyone that's followed Richard Sherman's career, Richard Sherman is the total package. Stanford educated, tough guy, great player, articulate about just life and football. There's literally nothing he doesn't bring to the table. and when Amazon bought the NFL's Thursday night package, I say, awesome. A lot of people push back like, how's my grandpa supposed to watch? I don't know. Buy a fucking $200 60 inch TV at Target smart TV and sign up for Amazon Prime.

It ain't that hard. It's pretty easy. Honestly, it would take an hour to go to Target, get the TV, plug it in, sign up for Amazon Prime. Not very difficult. If that's your excuse, I think you're, living in like 1996 at this point. I mean, it's, we are now, we're almost closer to 2003 than we are 2022. Like all of a sudden you're going to wake up. It's going to be 2030. Time to adapt. Time to get on with our lives here. Stop holding on to the past. It's on

Amazon, easy to consume. But when they did it, they were going for big swings. They tried to get John Lynch to pair up with Al Michaels, which a guy, Hall of Fame player who'd been a GM, well-spoken, good-looking, Stanford guy also, no-brainer. He turned down, he admitted, $15 million a year. Let me repeat. John Lynch turned down $15 million a year. I've said over and over, having someone that does this for a living and worked in the league, and I was never a GM, I was just, you know, one of the minions helping him out,

is the time constraint that you, and he's not making $15 million of the GM, that guy's a football junkie. That guy loves being in the trenches of football more than he cares about money. He's not doing this for the money. He's doing this for the juice of winning a playoff game. Because winning at Lambo Field

as a seven-point underdog, there is no amount of money if you're a football guy that can give you that juice. You know, you hear gamblers talk about it, Phil Mickelson gambling problem. I saw Charles Barkley on the Golf Channel talking like, I love to gamble.

And you know what? I raise my hand. I do too. There is a juice to gambling that I don't get anywhere else in life. I don't get when I do a massive business deal. I don't get, I mean, even personally in some other areas, there's nothing like it. And there is nothing like to a football guy, whether you're a coach, whether you're a player, whether you're executive, winning a big game.

To me, ultimately, it didn't mean that much. I get more out of those other aspects of life. It's why I've never ever thought about going back. But to John Lynch, I respect the shit out of him and his love of football. football because if you turn down $15 million, hats off to you. You know, he's the opposite of the live guys. But they, what they struck out on him, to me, getting Herb Street, who again, I had some people in my DMs like, you're being mean to Herbst Street. I love Kirk Herb Street. I think Kerrb Street is fantastic doing college games. He's awesome. He's been doing it

now for multiple decades, the morning show, college game day, which is not as good anymore. And part, it's no fault of anyone's own. You know, Lee Corso's just, it's just, he's just, he's just so old. Obviously, he's not quite there anymore. It's honestly kind of sad. But in his heyday, that's one of the best sports shows. Honestly, I would put college game day in its heyday right there with Barclay, Ernie, and Kenny.

You know, it's one of the greatest pre- or post-game shows in the history of sports. And it'll never be topped, probably. There have been a lot of shows to come on. Fox has a good. one now, it's not even close. And once they put Fraud Meyer back on that show, like, I'm sorry, I can't look at Fraud Meyer ever again in the face. I can't take the guy seriously. But when it comes to

signing Kirkhurp Street, and listen, I don't know for sure if he would have done this, because I saw that Sherman said that he's still holding out hope and he's going to stay in shape, but opportunities like to come, you can't turn this down. Why didn't they just make Richard Sherman, the analyst, to go with Al Michaels? Why didn't they just put Richard Sherman in the booth?

and pay him $15 million, because they could have paid Richard Sherman what they were willing to pay John Lynch, and then he's not going to make that much money. Hell, when he was an all pro for the 49ers, he made like $12 million. Just pay him that to do it. He's smart enough, he's a big enough personality.

He would have figured it out just fine. I don't understand why they just didn't throw the bag of money at Richard. So when I turn on Amazon this fall, with maybe your grandpa's missing it, but all of us under 70 years old will not be, Richard Sherman and Al Michaels. It would have been an easy no-brainer. But I don't know who's making these decisions.

Kirk Herb Street, because he's called a couple NFL games the last several years for ESPN. He's a college guy. Now, again, the NFL is easier than college, but why not just hire an NFL guy who's been a league now for a decade, who knows the entire league, who knows all the coaches, and while he, quote-unquote, doesn't have experience,

he would figure it out and he would figure it out really fast. I don't think it would be that difficult, especially on a streaming service. It would have been fine. So I think that ultimately Amazon made a mistake by not just going all in. Now, I know Richard is going to do the pre-and-post game show, but let's face it,

that's not as important as the actual game. And I think it would have been an easy one. The other thing that I keep seeing, and I saw this guy interviewed yesterday, and oh my God, he might be the biggest guy in the end. NFL. He is a massive, massive human being. And listen, left tackles are huge. When I was with the Eagles, we had Jason Peters. He was enormous. Just at Niners practice seeing Trent Williams, fucking massive human beings. This guy's bigger. And his name is Mackay Beckton. And when Joe Douglas

a couple years ago drafted this guy, he passed on several other guys. And Tristan Worf's, now a couple years later, is clearly the better player, more consistent human. And he's, and And if you could redo the pick, you would have taken him, not Bechton. But I have no problem. I say this all the time. When you're drafting really high, swinging for the fences. But when you swing for the fences, and I was terrible at baseball, but I have friends that were good to play in college.

And they will say, like, when you swing, try to hit home run, especially if you have a little bit of an uppercut, you're not trying to drive the ball. If they throw the pitch in a different area than you think, you will miss. and right now, let's face it, Bechtin has been a disaster for the Jets. Now, Joe Douglas, Robert Sala, they've benched them, they've just had some issues with them,

and clearly the number one thing is, and I learned this when I was in the NFL with defensive linemen and offensive linemen. I think this holds true for any athlete. The bigger you are, when I'm talking about weight, you're just inherently a little lazier. Why? It's just basic science, right? It's physics.

The more weight I have, have to carry around, the harder it is to operate. I remember Deshaun Jackson. He couldn't run all summer long show up. He wouldn't break a sweat. He's 165 pounds. Tyree Kill, you think the guy ever gets tired? Mackay Beckton's, the big defensive tackles, like, they're huffing and puffing for a reason. They carry around more weight. Just like it takes more horsepower to pull a boat than it does to pull a pinto. I mean, it's just basic math. And when you get these guys, And the number one question on Beckton specifically was how he would handle his weight.

Because remember, it could get up to almost 400 pounds. And that's when he was in college. So a lot of red flags all over the league. And it made people nervous. To a much smaller level, Jordan Davis, the Eagles pick, just had some of those questions. Like, is he two? Zion, Zion Williamson battles that. Because it's a legitimate question.

The asset is the player's body. Now, the thing Bechton had, great athlete, great feet. In scouting terms, they're considered dancing bears. I was in Tahoe a couple weeks ago. When a bear goes by, you kind of back up. Because you know, deep down, the massive bear can run way faster than you. And Bechton is a special, special town. But his weight issues are coming to fruition.

Like, they are a massive problem. And if you don't keep that weight down, a couple things come into play. one, you're more likely to get injured because the bigger you are, you saw at Shaq's end of his career, he got so big, he got injured a lot. And it's just hard to stay in shape. It's very, very difficult to be like,

yeah, I'm 375 pounds and I'm in great shape. I would say most great left tackles, even the bigger ones, Trent Williams, Jason Peters, would be examples, could be and look really good at 335 pounds. But if they were 360 pounds, you'd have a problem. and I think the Jets right now have a problem on their hands

because this guy is teeter tottering and I know he said I'm in for a big year I'm going to make everyone eat their words to me the number one thing with him he's got to be very careful about what he eats moving forward and not just eats but his workout plans and staying focused which can be difficult when you're that big because like I said you're inherently a little lazier because it's harder for you to work it's easier for me to have energy and work out when I'm 175 pounds than when I'm 200 pounds. Whatever the body weight is relative to your body, that comes into play here.

And I think that has come into play here for the Jets and Becht. But if he gets it together and he focuses, he's still a really young player, they can have one of the best tackles in the league. And that position, if he is a Pro Bowl level player, is then immediately one of the most valuable players in the league. because that's a $25, $22 million player. And he protects the blind side of your quarterback. But if you're constantly going back and forth,

benching him worrying about his weight, and he's not playing well, you have a bigger headache than you do a talent. And that ultimately gets back to, which I commend because I am more likely than not going to support making these decisions on draft night swing for the fences. But right now it looks like Joe Douglas

is more likely to strike out. on this pitch than to hit a home run. Now he still has time left. This is a young player. He's not 30 years old. But this is a massive, massive year. And I get a lot of people to DM me about the Jets specifically. Because to me, the two New York teams are in completely different lanes.

The Giants should bottom out unless Dayball can resurrect Daniel Jones career. And then Dayball would immediately be viewed as a top offensive coach in the league. But in a perfect world, their cap situation, their talent, they're lacking of talent. the giant should basically just bottom out and restart next year. They have a new GM, they have a new coach. That's what I would do. Where the Jets now, bottom out a couple years ago,

have had an influx of all these draft picks, and they have a young quarterback. Listen, I don't think they need to make the playoffs, but I think anything less than 7 and 10, it's like, do they get the right GM and the right head coach? And a huge Robert Saul guy. Don't know Douglas, but I'm rooting for the guy. But, like, ultimately, this is a black and white league.

Do you win or do you lose? This isn't moral victories and all that stuff go out the window once the season comes. You just get judged. It's one of the greatest businesses in America because there's no, well, they got great technology but they're not turning a profit. Well, you know, they got this incredible product

but they're just not selling it yet. No, it's like, we won 10 games and we made the playoffs. Or no, we won five games when we fired our coach. Like at the end of the year, it's very cut and dry, whether you had success, or whether you did not have success. Now, you could argue for most teams, seven and ten is not a successful year.

But given where the Jets are, seven and ten, winning some big games, maybe upsetting some teams, and just getting the momentum and looking like your quarterback is successful, getting Bechton on the field all season long and having some success, have these two young wide receivers

and the young running back, some of your young defensive players look good, is a really, really big deal. In a franchise that's just desperate for something positive to happen, Other than that, I mean, I saw Deshawn Watson talk. I don't really know what to say. I didn't really think he said anything. Again, girl after girl after keeps coming after coming up. And obviously the New York Times story about the NDAs. And listen, famous people get NDAs before you enter something, not usually after. I've never been a part of an NDA. But reading about them over the years, that to me, I think seems to be a lot of the pushback. It's like, why didn't you get him to say? sign the NDA before you dealt with something instead of after. There's just no way around it.

The Deshaun Watson situation has gotten worse, dramatically worse, since he's been a Cleveland Brown. It's not only not going away, the problems are continuing to mount. And, you know, I don't know where this goes. A lot of people have DM me, why did the Browns not have Baker Mayfield or why wouldn't Baker Mayfield show up? Because he's never playing another snap for the Cleveland Browns. Whether Deshawn Watson is suspended for this year or whether he's not,

Baker Mayfield, under no circumstances, is ever entering that locker room again. To me, the only question now with Baker Mayfield, are they able to trade him and eat some of the salary, or are they going to be forced to cut him and eat the $18.8 million? My guess, again, educated guess, no inside information, is that ultimately the Cleveland Browns cut Baker Mayfield for $18.8 million. million dollars and eat the money because the reason they went after Deshawn and just the reason they would have gone after other quarterbacks they were done with baker mayfield their head coach and

their GM were over it was no moss and clearly their locker room was over him as well so i don't have no clue where he's going to end up i think the whole situation is a little bizarre um i i've said over and over and over again i think i saw brear right about it this week the seahawks like drew lock I know that sounds insane. They legitimately like Drew Locke. Now, is it going to work? I do not think it is. I think it's going to be a disaster.

No different than, I've said, I didn't like what, Kenny Pickett, the Steelers pick. But like I read, I've seen some headlines from people that have been around the team. Like Mitchell Tribisky is going to be their starter. That's going to fail as well. Mitchell Tribisky is not very good. He can't complete basic passes.

I like him as a backup. if he's got to fill a game or two, but if he has to start 17 games, you have a major problem. Like, even if the Browns are a disaster this year because Deshawn's suspended, how are you going to beat Joe Burrell and Lamar Jackson with Mason Rudolph?

That's not going to happen. It's just not. Like, that is such a big gap. Now, I'm not saying Kenny Pickett could either, but ultimately you draft a guy number 20 overall. Like, he better be able to beat these guys sooner or later. But your quarterback situation is like, Some of these teams, they like a guy internally more than we like them on the outside.

If you told me that the Steelers like Ms. Trubisky coming out, I'd believe you. They've already admitted that they love Drew Locke coming out. They had them high in the draft board. I think it's fair to say that John Snyder had him as a top 15 player. What I never understand is like, when you love a guy coming out and then you have a bunch of information, it's like having a crush on a girl. It's like, God, this girl is a total babe. and then you get to date her.

And then you date her for a while. And then like a year later, you're like, yeah, it's not quite what I thought it would be. And then what usually happens? You break up. Now, in football, it's a little different because the quarterback's not yours,

or a lot of players aren't yours that you had good draft picks, or draft grades on. They go to other places. But you do get to evaluate their play. You know, in the dating analogy, when someone else dates or you don't get to experience a lot of things, right? The good parts, definitely.

And the bad parts. But in football, you get to evaluate them playing. And like, we've seen Mitch. We've seen Drewlock. Drewlock couldn't even sniff beating out Teddy Bridgewater. Like, that legitimately happened. Now, you could argue that that's because Vic Fangio was kind of a puss and he went with the guy that he knew could complete basic passes

because they thought they'd have a good defense, whatever. But I just won't believe that a guy that can't beat out Drew Locke, or, I mean, Teddy Bridgewater, in practice every day, can't, like, really go, What are we doing here? And he couldn't do that. And I just think that some of these teams and these GMs, man, they get so caught up on the past.

Like, it's not 2019. We have information. It's 2022. Why are we holding on to a draft grade from four years ago? And I get it if you're going to give them no money or a flyer. But to say the guy's going to be your starting quarterback is insanity. Have a good weekend. We will have the mailbag out there.

this weekend. And yeah, at John Middlecoff, Instagram, fire in those DMs. Have a great day. Peace. See you. Adios. Volume.

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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way,

the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfields of conversations. conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.

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