The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Good vs. Great QBs, Belichick, Steelers Offense, USC

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

John breaks down the major dilemma with both Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins and why it's their biggest obstacle to making a Super Bowl run. He looks at which landing spots for Bill Belichick makes sense if the Patriots decide part ways with their Hall of Fame coach, and why a golden opportunity has presented itself to a couple of career backup quarterbacks. He explains why the Steelers’ happy talk about Matt Canada isn’t fooling their fans and why Lincoln Riley’s obsession with offense has left their defense lacking. He also answers questions from the “Middlekauff Mailbag”. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Bonus bets expire, 168 hours after issuance. See sportsbook.draft kings dot slash football terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecopterrey. Now podcast, how are we doing my people? Here's the game plan today. We're going to talk some football. Cousins and Dack.

Cousins might get traded. The Dack contract. Everyone's ripping them. Belichick, big game against McDaniels and the Raiders. Would he really go to L.A.? If this is it, if this is all she wrote for New England, I don't know. But I think I've kind of figured out the team most likely to get them. Quarterback injuries and why there's such great opportunities for guys that are lifetime backups.

And then them chanting Fire Canada at the Penguins game in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. Not going well for the Steelers offensive coordinator and a couple other college thoughts. So a lot going on today, football-wise. I've had a lot going on in the move and disaster of a house. So I didn't do a podcast yesterday. I apologize for that. So I'll do the mailbag today at John Middlecophis, the Instagram, firing those DMs moving and projects are stressful. They really are. I've had to keep my mentals. I've tried to keep them straight, but sometimes you just want to snap. But luckily, podcasting at about 9 o'clock at night on Wednesday, you can get out some of your animosity and your anger from the day.

But at John Middilkoff, Instagram, fire in those DMs. Subscribe to the podcast. If you listen on Collins' feet, appreciate everyone that listens. And we will have another podcast on Friday reacting to Andy Reid against Sean Payton. That's probably another L for the Broncos. We will react to that and talk some other stuff. Football-wise, I'm sure, going into the weekend with Stucky. That will be on Friday.

But today is today. So let's dive into it. Can I tell you about my friends, my partners, and a company that I swear by, Game Time? Grab your smartphone right now and go to your app store. Download the Game Time app, the official ticketing app of this show. Game Time, the official ticketing app of this show. And do yourself a favor? Do you want to go to a football game?

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They have you covered. promo code John cannot recommend them enough. Game time, fast-scoring, take the gap in America. promo code John. Okay, let's start with two guys. You know, it's weird. In football, when you become really good, we just kind of nitpick you for championships, right?

Like Lamar, Josh Allen, Herbert's going to become this, Trevor Lawrence, too. Until they win a championship, we'll nitpick you at the highest level. But everyone acknowledges how sweet these guys are. I mean, specifically, Josh Allen, Lamar, and Herbert. We can debate Trevor Lawrence, but he has games like he just did in London. He'll shut everyone up. Once you become Mahomes, Peyton, Brady, Breeze, Rogers, their trump cards always, I'm a champion.

Then there's this group of guys that are never going to win a Super Bowl, and we debate how good they are. We know we all acknowledge they're never winning it. But we also acknowledge, like, they're way better than the majority. of guys. But they're not the group that I just listed. Like, they're never going to be my homes. They're never going to be Josh Allen. They're never going to be what Aaron Rogers was. Like, never, not even close. But they're damn good. The problem is with Kirk Cousins, who today, and rightfully so, was asked if he'd waive his no trade clause to be traded, and Dak Prescott, who are both kind of in the same world. Like, if your team's built well, you can win a lot of

games, but you're going to have games throughout the year where it's going to be like, what the hell was that? But overall, the stats are going to look good, and you're going to go to the playoffs. And maybe win a game. Cousins a couple years ago, beat New Orleans on the road, Dak last year, hammered the bucks, and then you'll lose. And we'll say bye-bye. The problem is, and I was really thinking about this today, because my take has always been like, what's Jerry supposed to do? Just like, let Dak walk. Minnesota, are they being kind of crazy? for basically acknowledging, one, that they would trade them, but two, that they have no intention on resigning them.

I think once you get to a point with these guys and Cousins is older than DAC, but when I just know, there is no chance we're making a Super Bowl run with this guy, but I have to pay you $40 to $45 million. It no longer makes financial sense. I've stopped two guys. You know, when I worked with the Eagles, you know, as a staff member, you ate breakfast lunch and dinner at the facility. The players would basically just eat breakfast and lunch, but some of the guys, they would be there around dinner time and they would have dinner.

So you'd hold court with, you know, Shady McCoy was always there, Brent Selleck. And it was fun. Like, you'd be bullshitting about football, making fun of guys. And you'd get to know their personality. So when you see some of these viral clips of Shady now, like, Shady's fun. And I'll give him credit. He is not afraid to say. I always thought it was very disingenuous when the Zach Wilson scenario or situation a couple weeks ago, when Rodney Harrison called him garbage and then everyone pushed back like that's unfair. Every human being was calling the guy garbage. Maybe we were using a different word to describe him, but we all acknowledged the guy really sucked.

So when Rodney Harrison, one of the better players of his generation is saying this, you all were saying it too. I'm not talking about you, the listener. I'm just saying anyone that push back. Shady McCoy has been on this early. He doesn't believe in Dak Prescott. And I think a lot of people thought, well, he's an eagle, hates the cowboys, which is true. Right.

What's weird is, and I wouldn't have known the NFC East like I do if I hadn't lived it. I'm a West Coast guy. But the NFC East basically has a couple true rivalries. The Giants hate the Eagles and the Cowboys. The Eagles hate the Giants and the Cowboys. and the Cowboys hate the Giants and the Eagles. And Washington, at least under Dan Snyder, the last couple decades, is kind of irrelevant.

And as you see this year, not that they're terrible. I mean, last year they beat the Eagles. They have some upset wins a couple times over the couple decades. They've made the playoffs. But it feels because they've become so crappy that they're out of the mix. So when all these people, especially Cowboy fans, see Shady McCoy calling him ass, they think it's like personal. And he just thinks he's not any good.

And then in my neck of the woods, Dante Wittner, who does 49er post game on like local TV said basically they came to him. He's like, Dak Prescott sucks. And he took a lot of shit for saying that. Like, let's face it. Dak Prescott, I don't think necessarily sucks, but he's not good enough at the highest level to win, right? And same thing with cousins,

who I actually think it's better currently than Dak Prescott. But the complicated situation with those two guys is how can you pay them? No, this isn't, you don't take less money when you're throwing for 35, plus touchdowns. You make more. That's the way the NFL works at quarterback. So both these guys are in line for raises. And I've kind of come around with Minnesota. Like, how am I going to give this guy $43, $44 million a year? I can't do it because I can't build my team around that. Now, Jerry is adamant that they're going to pay DAC. But when you look at the puzzle pieces, like, how do I build a team if his next contract is $45 million a year?

we all know he's not a $45 million a year quarterback. We can nitpick Jalen Hertz. Like, was it too early to give him? Jalen Hurts is a better player than Jack Prescott. Period, point blank, end of the story. It's not even debatable. And we've seen him play. Hell, we just saw Brock Purdy be dramatically better.

And here's the thing with Dak Prescott. It's not like he's playing with nobody's. So I think these guys contract situations, I've kind of pivoted because I thought, like, how are you going to upgrade? Maybe it's not even about upgrading. Maybe it's just about, can we get 90%? of the player as a second round draft pick within a couple years, but the difference is financially he's making one 40th.

If that guy's making a million dollars and Dax's making 45, think of the advantage we have building our team. And I think Minnesota looks at the same. Now, it is hard, even if you take the guy in the second round, the likelihood that that guy is a good starting quarterback is very hit or miss. Most guys don't become in the second round Jimmy Garoppel or Derek Carr. Hell, most guys in the first round don't become legit starting quarterback. So it's a complicated situation, but I think cousins with Minnesota is strictly financial.

Of course, they know he's good. Hell, I mean, and they know it's going to be difficult to upgrade, but it's all about money. They can't build their team. Now, we'll see how this thing plays out with, I mean, next week's big. Monday night football, Dak Prescott against Justin Herbert. Justin Herbert makes a shitload of money. There is not a soul in the NFL, not one GM, not one coach, not one quarterback coach, not one assistant GM that would take Dak Prescott over Justin Herbert.

And they're in somewhat of the same world when it comes to money. So, Dax's going to need to step up. And last week he said he was shell shock with the 49er game and he thought they had an excellent plan. Like all that stuff's great. It's like when coaches are like, God, this guy was great in practice. Yeah, he sucked in the game. No one gives a shit what the guy knows in practice. You get paid for the games.

And I think the other conversation around this, like obviously, Dax going nowhere this year. They're not going to trade them. The Cousins trade talk is not slowing down. Now, he has a no trade clause. And if I was Kurt Cousins, what I would do, basically under no circumstances, am I waving that trade clause? I, like, where are you going to go?

The Jets, they just lost another offensive lineman, would not risk it. One, I know they don't want me back. They're going with Aaron Rogers. So I'm kind of a mercenary. And if it starts going shitty, they will not care about me. I wouldn't touch that one. You know, I heard some buzz just driving. around lists some sports talk shows.

The Patriots, could they be interested? Doesn't really feel like Belichick. And if I'm Robert Kraft, I'm not trading any draft picks for a quarterback when we got Mac Jones. We're going to go down with the ship this year. And honestly, it's not the worst thing. We'll be in position to draft a quarterback. Now, the one team that made me think was the Atlanta Falcons.

Not because I think they're that good, but because if you're Kirk Cousins and you go there, their head coach is also the offensive quarterback. So if you were to go there and impress, assuming that they would be interested, what if they wanted to resign you? Right? That's a huge part, like if your cousins, and cousins have been adamant, and he talked about it on Wednesday that he's not even thinking about that. He's not wrong until he's asked to wave his no trade clause.

It's all a bunch of outside noise. And I also think, like, the other element, like, how many teams are really calling and really that interested? Because if you are Minnesota, I don't think you're giving them away. for a four, fifth, six-round pick. Because let's face it, at the end of the day, if he does hit the open market, someone might give him two years,

$75 million, and you will get that third-round comp pick. So it doesn't make sense to trade him for anything less than a third-round pick, but how many teams are beating down the drawer at that number? It's why it makes these two players. I mean, honestly, they're, of my lifetime, usually the most polarizing players

are not like Peyton Manning, right? or Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers. And we talk about those guys a lot, but their resume speaks for itself. Like, honestly, the most polarizing players of the previous generation were like, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler. And that's kind of where these two guys fall.

And like those guys, once you make a lot of money and you're not really some elite guy, everyone questions, is it all worth it? And I think it's a fair statement on both sides because you could always push back, like, how are you going to do better

than Tony Romo or Jay Cutler? and most times it's very difficult to. But also, if you have Jay Cutler and you're paying premium money, are you at a disadvantage relative to the rest of the league? It's no different than Kirk Couss, at least the rest of the high end of the league. And it's what makes these conversations so difficult and difficult to the wrong word. But, you know, such a roller coaster. You hear so many different opinions.

I personally like cousins more than DAC, but neither guy would I feel great about having for, $40 plus million on my team. One story that is just never going to die as long as this season goes, especially the way it's going, is the Patriots and Belichick. And there is not anyone that follows the NFL that you couldn't bring up Bill Belichick and the Patriots, and should they fire him, how that should go,

and they wouldn't have an opinion. He's easily one of the most famous guys in the league, rightfully so, six Lombardis, he went to three other ones. He's just an all-time football guy. But this week, he happens to be playing Josh McDaniels. And it's weird, right? Because I don't think the Raiders are that good.

I think they're like got three players worth a damn. And those players are so goddamn good that they can win them a game. I mean, a couple weeks ago, Devante Adams had like 17 catches. It feels like every single snap, Max Crosby is in the backfield. But they're not good. And now you get Josh and Jimmy Garoppolo going back to New England. And you look at it and you go, well, if you're Mark Davis, and the Raiders, you go, well, we got to win this game.

We win this game. We're three and three, and we're right back in position. Our heads above water, and we're okay. But if you're the Patriots, you go, we can beat the Raiders. We definitely can meet Josh McDaniels. We're going to come beat us. Josh McDaniels is going to compete Bill Belichick. I don't care how shitty the team is.

So every single one of these losses with Bill is going to grow and grow in controversy of. And you've seen a lot of these headlines. If it was any other coach, he'd be on the hot seat. It's true. He's not any other coach. So it's like, I'm sorry. He gets a little different leeway, right? He's not treated like everyone else.

He's made his owners hundreds of millions of dollars. Most coaches do not. Most failed coaches lose their owner's money, essentially. So when you look at the situation, you've got to ask yourself, how ugly it's going to get? Because I saw a headline the day that made me laugh. and it was, you know, from a local Patriot reporter that said Robert Kraft is growing frustrated and angry with Belichick. Like, yeah, no shit.

So is every other fan. Like, that's not insight right now. If you were going to report on this, you got to give me some insight of, you know, Robert is having second thoughts. If this season, if they miss the playoffs, which they will, Bill will not be the coach in 2024. That's news. saying that Robert Kraft is not happy with what's going on, like file that under no shit. That's not a report.

That's common sense. Right. So until I see a report of some way Robert Kraft is feeling with Bill Belichick, I think we're all just going to assume he's not happy. This is not going well. And he is wondering how he should handle the situation. And let's face it, Bill Belichick, if he's fired at the end of the season, to me, is not tapping out.

He's too close to the record. Now, I was listening to Bill Simmons podcast. It turns out Andy Reid isn't that far away. And because it looks like his runway with Patrick Mahomes, that if Bill only wins, let's say, 15 to 18 more games in his coaching career, Andy could pass him if he keeps on coaching with Mahomes. But, like, that's a secondary conversation. The main conversation right now is Bill is going to try to pass Don Shula.

And listen, I'm born and raised in California. California ain't Bill Belichick. Not at all. I had a buddy of mine who works in football, who's worked in the NFL in college, who told me a long time ago, back when like USC was kind of sniffing around for some big dogs, under no circumstances would Nick Saban ever take that job. He hates the West Coast. He belongs in the South.

Look at the two programs he's coached most recently, LSU and Alabama. And a lot of that is culturally, he's from West Virginia. But also like, there's a cheating element to those schools. There's just a willingness when it comes to football. It fits his personality. And when you think about Bill Belichick, think about the teams that he worked for. The New York Giants in the 80s. Then he went to the Jets with Parcells.

And then he's been with New England. Like the Chargers, could you see Bill Belichick in Manhattan Beach hanging around Dean Spanos? No fucking chance. One, they would never be interested in paying him. And two, I don't think Bill would be that interested. So to me, you've got to think of cities and cultures around the. program or the organization that kind of fits his personality, angry, edgy, dark. It's why honestly Washington makes some sense.

If they fire Ron Rivera at the end of the year, new owner who maybe gives Bill Belichick, here's four years, $80 million. Come just try to resurrect my franchise. Just get me to playoffs a couple times. Now, I've said forever, it's very, very weird. The owner of the Sixers could not have owned the Giants or the Cowboys. It would never have been allowed. He could not have pulled it off.

Like he could not own the Sixers and own one of those two teams. Honestly, it's flirting with weirdness, and I would imagine many people in Philly think it is kind of weird, but luckily Washington has been so irrelevant. It hasn't gotten that weird yet. But there's going to come a time where week 18, right, the 17th game of the season, it's commanders, Eagles for a playoff spot in 2025.

Eagles fans aren't going to be cool if they win that game, the owner presenting the coach and the quarterback with the game ball. That shit's not going to flock. But if I'm him, I'm very interested in Bill Belichick. Hell, I might even trade for him. It'd be a big splash. It would kind of resurrect the interest in my fan base. I actually think they are the most likely team to be interested and go all in on Bill.

I had a couple people, DM me. What about the Chicago Bears? A little, I actually think the city in Chicago makes more sense for Bill than L.A., but a lot like Dean Spanos and the Chargers, they're kind of cheap. Like they're not exactly hiring $15, $20 million coaches. And you can be like, well, Bill's resume, a stock's at an all-time low,

is worse is worse. And someone would be willing to pay him $15 to $18 million for sure as probably Josh Harris. So when you look at a team that the most likely destination for him, when slash if, it's probably more likely when than if he's fired would be Washington. So my guess is this continues to go bad. You lose to a Raider team with a below average Jimmy Garoppel.

A Josh McDaniels, who even Raider fans will tell you, not very good. Feels like they're a two-man band. Max Crosby, Devante Adams, a little bit of Jacobs, but he hasn't quite been the same guy as last year. That loss is going to be bad. Not as bad as last week. Derek Carr and Dennis Allen, but not good either. You might be a pro when it comes to what you do, but we can't all be pros. at everything. Take home repairs, remodeling, and renovations. That's not something you want to

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Like, if I'm drafting the fourth round and I make the team at wide receiver, at defensive line, at safety, ultimately I'm going to end up playing. Injuries, defensive line, you rotate in at wide receiver. I get six, seven plays, even if I'm the fourth or fifth guy, I probably play special teams. I get game reps on Sunday. As the backup quarterback, if my starter never gets injured and never plays poorly, I never take a snap. And as someone who used to evaluate all these guys throughout the year, when it came to evaluating backup quarterbacks, like let's pick the chiefs, Blaine Gabbard, right?

If Mahomes never gets injured and he takes every single regular season, snap. If I want to put a grade on Blaine Gabbard, the only snaps I have to go off of, if I'm an opposing team, because if he's going to be a free agent, is preseason. And that is the majority of quarterbacks, right? You look around the league. Brock Purdy, if he never gets injured, the only tape I'm going to have to go off if Sam Darnold will be preseason tape. And you look all around the league, Drew Locke, whoever. I know some of these guys have played sparingly with the rolled ankle or whatever. But for the most part, they may have 17 regular season passes. So the majority of your grade is going to come in the regular season. That's not

true for these other positions. Hell, even the young punt returner for the Jets. Like if he doesn't play that much on offense, I still can evaluate him preseason table on offense. And I know that he returns and I get to watch all of his punt returns. Right? With the backup quarterback, you get nothing. So as that position, you need things out of your control, either injury or poor play, to go your way. And then you're given an opportunity. And then you have the opportunity to make yourself a lot of money. And I was thinking about it because the news came out today. Anthony Richardson is out for the foreseeable future.

They put them on a new reserve. Could be four weeks, but then they asked Shane Seichen, and he's like, we'll see. Like, ask, you know, if he'll be ready to come back in four weeks, you don't know. And there's a chance of guy like Gardner Minchu, who the last couple years hasn't played that much, right? Hell, he was the backup for the Eagles last year with Jalen Hertz. Like, I guess he got to a couple starts because Jalen's shoulder got injured.

but ultimately a guy like Gardner Minchu can make a ton of money. And you can look up if he has a stretch of seven, eight games where he plays winning football, he may never be a starter, right? Some team might be willing to give him like $12 million to be a bridge starter. But he basically ensures himself being a lockback up until he's 35, 36 years old. And all of a sudden you meet him, you know, Gardner Minchu when he's 44 years old at a dinner and he goes, I played 14 years in the NFL. And these opportunities open up at the weirdest times, right?

Took Anthony Richardson having a shoulder spring. Think of what happened for Joshua Dobbs, who looks like a lockback up for life. Then all of a sudden, Colt McCoy gets cut, they trade for him, he gets to be named the starter. And then you watch him, you're like, he's not terrible. Now, is he an ideal starting quarterback? Probably not. But if I'm any team with a good quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, would I not pay that guy for $5 million because my goal is to win?

So if my quarterback's out of month, I know I can win two out of the four games, three out of the four games with that guy. So these players, look at Brock Purdy last year. Not in a million years when the season started, even though he made the team, did anyone around the 49ers, anyone in the NFL, think the guy was going to throw passes, let alone to start games? All of a sudden, a broken ankle, a broken foot, he became the starter, a year. and a half later, he's like a star. So when your opportunity comes at quarterback and you never know what it's going to come, at all these other positions, you're constantly mixing in, you're constantly getting reps. At worst case, if you're dressing on game day, you're playing special teams.

Back of quarterback, you may never break a sweat. And guys like Gardner Minchu, Joshua Dobbs, get their opportunity. And honestly, you watched Minchu last week, you watched Joshua Dobbs throughout the season. I'm pretty impressed. I look at it and I go, that guy at Winschoolew. worst is the best backup quarterback in the NFL. And ideally, you don't want that guy. You don't want him to be your starting quarterback.

But when you're in that position, you basically, as long as you're healthy, you have a job for a long, long time. So those guys are great examples of when opportunity comes knocking, you can bust through that door and change your career forever and definitely change your bank account. The Steelers. I saw a clip yesterday, and I'm sure many saw this.

It was the Penguins game. It might have been, I'm not a huge hockey guy the opening night of the NHL. Could have been the last preseason game. Sorry, hockey guy, not super locked in. But they were chanting fire Canada. And before we dive into the specifics of just the Steelers issues on offense,

an underrated part about the popularity of the sport of football. Like in baseball, unless your position coach, like your hitting coach is Mark McGuire or Jason Giambi or some famous guy, you have no clue, unless you're a diehard, hardball guy, who your assistant coaches are. You know your manager and your players. And maybe if an assistant coach has been there a long time, you get to know them. But you don't know them like you do your offensive and defensive coordinator in the NFL. In basketball, you have no clue who your assistant coaches are unless they're former head coaches.

And I think one thing that is really separated in the NFL is head coaches in sports my entire life. have always been big parts of the reality television show that is just baseball, basketball, or football, right? The manager, the coaches in baseball, or excuse me, basketball in the NFL. But one thing that has really exploded in the NFL, and maybe it's always been like this, but it feels like more now than ever, and especially the last four or five years, they're more famous are the coordinators. So it's one thing to yell at your head coach for the decisions he's making.

it's another thing to know the intimate details of your coordinators, their background, and why they suck. And Matt Canada is not alone. There are multiple Matt Canada's in the NFL and in college football that that fan base can't stand. Can you imagine at any other at like a hockey arena throughout the country, anyone chanting fire the pitching coach for the Yankees? That would never happen. But in football, the coordinators are so powerful and they become so famous. And they become, when you're the coordinator of the offense and your head coach is Mike Tomlin, you're not really blaming Mike Tomlin.

He has nothing to do with the offense. And here's the other thing I would say. A lot of people in the media in a weird way don't like fans. You know, they view themselves as above the fans. And I have always hated that. Like, one thing we try to do on this show is represent the fans. fan just represent the normal guy. I haven't sat in the media room in a long, long time.

Because I think fans, especially of places that are successful, like a Steeler fan, when they're yelling at, and listen, I'm not saying that some fans can't have crazy talk. I mean, I saw it with the 49ers. People wanted Trey Lance to start in Brock Purdy to get benched in August of this year. So people can say crazy things, but that's part of being fan, right? Short from fanatic. But for the most part, I think universal fan bases understand what it's supposed to look like. Like if you're a Packer fan right now and you're 50 years old, like, you know what good football looks like.

You know a good quarterback play looks like. You know a good offense looks like. Yeah, actually, I've got a pretty good idea, even though your defense hasn't been great for a while, what good defense of football is. So if you're pissed at your team, like, you kind of have a right. Like, you kind of get it. Like, if you're a Bama fan, you go, God, something looks off. You kind of know what you're looking at. And one thing if you're a Steeler fan and you're my age, it's like, well, I live through Todd Haley, who, listen, we can nitpick them all we want, but his

offenses were pretty explosive. And before that, we had Bruce Arias. Last I checked, the owners got mad that didn't run the ball enough, but we were fucking pretty explosive. So what Matt Canada's doing ain't working. Pretty generic. And ultimately, we can nitpick the play calls all you want. This is a production-based business. It's very black and white. Either score points or you don't. You either win or you lose. And when you're the offensive coordinator, your offense is explosive and is putting touchdowns on the board or it's not. And if you watch the Steelers, it simply is not doing that. Now, I will defend them like, and part of it is if the owner or the head coach is mandating that you play a certain player, then that's not on you.

And only people inside the building know, right? So if they're mandating that you play Naji Harris, that's not on Matt Canada. I'm not saying they are, but I wouldn't play that guy. Because if it is, you have the power and the juice to play who you want to play, stop playing that guy. He's not good enough, especially given your situation. Who is? Pickens. Get him the ball. Now you get Deontay Johnson back off injury. We'll see if he comes back this week within the next couple weeks. Like, you have really explosive playmakers. Now, your quarterback is limited, but I was saying the same thing about Jordan Love the other night. Get him on the move. Stop asking him to play like Peyton Manning. Stop asking him to play like Tom Brady. He is very athletic. Get him on the move.

Turn the field into half and give him two reads and if not run. And get out of the of bounds or slide, right? So you can simplify stuff and actually improve, but the fans are not happy. And I don't blame them because they're talents, and we've talked about this before, they're lucky, it's good enough that at any moment their defense can score multiple touchdowns. That ain't normal. That's kind of what's happening in Dallas when they've been blowing people out.

It's like their defense's a special team are scoring points. It's not like their quarterback's throwing four touchdowns a game. So I love that the fans are this in this or this into it. I love that the fans know this much. I have a lot of respect for big fan bases of the right teams. It's one thing to be a cowboy fan like, this is our year or win the Super Bowl. Like, no, you're not.

It's another thing to be a Steeler fan and be like, what the fuck's going on with their offense? This is embarrassing. And I think a lot of the times, and I'll get into this in a minute with Lincoln Riley, is the, and I understand it because I'm like this, right? When your girlfriend, when your wife,

when your parents tell you something, it's easy to get defensive, right? Even when you know they're right, like bullshit. that's not right. Stop saying that and get defensive. And I think when you see some of these head coaches defend a coordinator, and listen, they're friends with them, they like the guy,

they know how hard the guy's working out. I was texting with a buddy the other night. I don't think the average fan, this guy works in the NFL, can even fathom how many hours these coaches work. I mean, I don't think they're there at the butt crack of dawn 5.5.30 a.m. and most of them aren't leaving until close to midnight. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and some hit or miss Thursday. But that is three straight weeks, and that includes traveling on the weekends, obviously,

play on Sunday. These are long-ass days game planning and preparing early in the week. It's crazy. And it's one thing if you're Belichick with Brady and you're winning. It's one thing when you're Andy Reid, and these guys put in insane hours. But when you're winning, Belichick now is like, What are you spending all this time? Like you could sleep in the office, Bill.

Mack's not going to throw any more touchdowns. And he does it because he's winning. Like it's all he knows, but it goes, it's worth it. Like this, it's equating to Super Bowl bursts, AFC championships, Super Bowl rings. That's what Bill would always say. Well, shit, I was, we're going to Super Bowl every other year. And we're winning 75% of them.

I can't imagine being like Joe Judge or Pat Schumer. He's like all night long grinding in the office. to get your fucking ass kicked on Sunday. Shoot me right now. Like, bro, go home and six. It ain't going to change anything and you're going to get fired. So when you, I bet Tomlin sees Matt Canada putting in these crazy long hours

and the same thing happens over and over and over on Sunday. It would drive me nuts. It's one thing like I bet Sean Payton's putting in crazy hours, but I think he'd justify it like it's my first year. I'm setting the tone, even though it ain't equating anything. but that's just the way these guys are wired. My ultimate point is,

I don't care what industry you work in. Football coaches, I'm not saying it's right. I'm not saying a lot of it even makes sense, but the hours they work, it's why you hear so many players go, I'd never be a coach. That's crazy.

Some of them end up doing it because they miss football, and then they just get back in the mix and they lose touch with how they once said they would never do it. But the hours are crazy. And Matt Canada, I'm sure,

works long hours, it's not equating to anything. And the only time that they really score is when T.J. Watt, Highsmith, or Minka Fitzpatrick makes a play, or Kenny Pickett just throws a bomb to George Pickens. So I think the Steelers have major issues. Can I tell you about my friends at Factor? With the busy fall season just around the corner, you might be looking for wholesome, convenient meals for jam-packed days. Factor, America's number one ready-to-eat meal kit can help you fuel up with fast

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A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 what 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 Ton Ton, 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

podcasts. A couple of college fell. One of the greatest all-time lines I heard Oklahoma put out a video. Remember a couple weeks ago, Oregon put up the video after they beat Colorado and it went pretty viral, and it was cool. I think Oklahoma put out an even better video of them beating Texas, of just a integrating all the, you know, pregame hype, the weak hype to the game hype. And one of their, I think their star team captain, linebacker gave a line that said,

at Oklahoma, we fear God. And at Texas, they fear Oklahoma. And I saw the kid on with Pat McAfee, said he kind of made it up on the spot. Just a great line. It's fantastic. Highly recommend going to Oklahoma football, social media channels watching that eight-minute videos. It's really good if you're a football nerd.

But speaking of Oklahoma, I saw Lincoln Riley. He got asked the other day about his defensive coordinator, and like the Tomlin with Matt Canada, he got very defensive. And he basically crushed the media for saying, you guys have been waiting for a defense to play bad to blame Alex, the defensive coordinator. Grinch, it's like, no, Lincoln, we just watched your defense, and he's terrible. Like, your defense is getting worse. You and Caleb are good. You can score a lot of points. No one's ever argued that. Caleb will go. You'll land another quarterback and you'll keep scoring points.

But you were brought here for $120 million and they bought your mansion in Oklahoma that no one in Norman, Oklahoma would have purchased. And they asked you what was the price? And you said, $4 million. And they said, we'll pay $500,000 over that for you to compete and ultimately win national championships at USC. Fight on. That's the goal. They want Pete Carroll again, but not. 2003 and they viewed you as that guy. And one thing Pete always valued was everything. He cared about linebackers, just like he cared about running backs. He cared about right guards, just like he cared about cornerbacks. He cared about the entire team.

And I think when I watched Lincoln Riley, and listen, I've heard some things through scouts and people that have been through there, Lincoln is obsessed with the quarterback in the offense, which most offensive coaches are. Andy Reed, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McFaugh, the difference, even Sean Payton in those guys, they care deeply about defense and they will allocate resources on the defensive side of the football. And if they don't have a great idea for who to land, they will use their GM or their personnel people to help them. I don't think Lincoln really cares. I truly do not believe that.

And when USC in their heyday was kicking everyone's ass in the country, they were a complete team. And the only way to win and compete to win national championships in 2023, just like it was in 2004, you have to be good on both sides of the ball. I don't care if you could score points. You have to be able to stop people. And I don't think Lincoln truly believes that. The other thing is I think he's too good of friends with his defensive coordinator because he likes the guy a lot. There's nothing wrong with that.

The problem is in the business of football, when you are such good friends with a coordinator and you're the head coach, and that guy is on the opposite side of the, of the, of the, of ball that you are and it's not working, you got major problems because ultimately you're going to have to fire the guy. And for Lincoln to act like it's no big deal, to me is a little concerning. Because Lincoln, like, listen, I want USC to be good. I want you to be good. But when I watch you say that, and most importantly, I watch your team and you get shredded

on a weekly basis, it's one thing to play Oregon or Washington and give up 40 points. Arizona with their backup quarterback, a guy honestly I'd never even heard of for Fita, fucking lighten you up like he's Peyton Manning, Jedfish smoking you on Saturday night at home? Like, you're not being paid $120 million for that. It's like Brian Kelly. You're not allowed to lose to Ole Miss. You're not allowed to lose to Old Miss. He ended up beating Missouri, but at one point in time in that game, it looks like he was going to lose to Missouri. You're not allowed to lose that game. You're not allowed to. You're allowed to lose to Alabama. Just like if you're USC, you're allowed to lose to Oregon. You can't play this closely to Arizona. It's not okay.

Not at that price point. Not for that much money. And the money is a huge factor in all this shit. And speaking of money, Mark Stoops, Bob's brother, made a comment that basically after he got his ass kicked by Georgia, that they bought a lot of good players. And of course, everyone, you know, Everyone came out of the woodwork to have crazy takes. And I've said it forever before NIL. I thought a lot of the media, especially for like the Jay Billis's of the world, were very disingenuous when they talked about players being paid,

especially in basketball. Like college basketball has always paid players under the table, straight cash homie for my entire life and well before I was born. Hell, John Wooden's team were doing it in the 60s and 70s, let alone Mark Stoop's school, Kentucky has the biggest payroll in the country well before NIL. And one thing I've been told through the grapevine is there's this thing called dark money. Because now that NIL, if I give a kid $150,000, he's getting taxed on that money.

And if he plays at USC, if he plays at Penn State, he is paying federal and state income tax. So if I give you 150 grand, you're going to pay $65,000, $70,000 in taxes, right? But this thing called dark money goes, hey, listen, school X is offering you, you know, 200 grand. How about this? We'll give you $100,000 NIL deal and we'll give you $70,000 under the table. So you won't have to pay a diamond tax. So you get taxed on the 100 and then I'll give you another 70 grand just in, you know, not necessarily in brown bags, but that way. And that's going on at all the big institutions.

It's why all these coaches are so pissed off because they're like, listen, it's not even just straight NIL money. It's NIL money mixed with this dark money, a bunch of shady shit's happening. It's pretty clear. It's not hard to figure out who's doing the shadiest shit. Just look at the top programs. And I've said forever, I have no problem with any of it. I pay to play is a huge part of most industries. Welcome to the real world.

but this notion now that everything's above board and all the media or like getting in some big circle jerk like great for the players it is still like it's it's very bizarre a lot have like political undertones right it's weird but it is not by any mean fixed and most of the top programs aren't just paying like listen if you're shador sanders or Caleb Williams or Drake may or whatever and making millions of dollars above board who can't cares about the taxes. You're making so much money. But if I'm getting 100 grand, I'm actually not getting $100,000, right? And before those type players would have got cash that was untaxed on top of a car. And then everyone was pushing for this, which is good for the high high, like top one or two percent. But the majority of guys that also would have been paid, they actually might have got more money and had less headaches. So this situation right now, and listen, Georgia is always going to have better players than Kentucky is not just like the most seamless operation that everyone acts when these coaches complain.

They're complaining about stuff that technically they're not going to come out and say just because they're just not. It's just a fact. Just like they never did back in the day when everyone was getting money under the table. But from what I've been told, and I know all these people that go into these schools, crazy shit is going on right now. And it's not just in 1099 payments, I promise you. you that. Okay, let's dive into a little mailbag at John Middlecock as the Instagram

fire into those DMs and get your question answered on the show. Question for the pod. I moved to Charlotte a little over a year ago and have had the opportunity to see the disaster that has been the Panthers organization firsthand. I wanted to defriend Frank a little. As the sense amongst local media and fans is that he's being handcuffed by ownership, meddling in coaching and personnel decisions. For example, there is a video making the rounds online of the Panthers owner saying he preferred Bryce in the draft and that the team didn't necessarily need top tier wide receiver talent because Bryce was a good distributor and like a point guard.

Just some thoughts on the situation as I don't think Reich is fully to blame. Well, I think David Tepper's ownership is a disaster currently. And I saw another clip go viral of Josh McCown, the former quarterback, who's now the quarterback coach, because he was the backup when Frank was the OC in Philly, so they know each other. So he's got a good staff. Josh McCown, high-level guy, Deuce Daly is running back coach. They went to CJ Stroud's Pro Day, and they were like hugging. And I might screw up the exact conversation, but it was something like, hey, man, next time you come, it might be full time. and it was like Josh saying like, hey, we've got to find you a place to live. Again, might be screwing that up.

I forget the exact verbiage. But I remember at the time when that video clip went viral before the draft, people thought like, ah, CJ Stroud to Carolina. And I think a lot of people, when that video, you know, is making its rounds this week is going, oh, Dave Tepper forced them to take the other guy. and Frank had a comment that I saw on my Twitter timeline within the last week, it might have been even on Monday, talking about the ownership and how his owner's very, very involved.

And I think he's had back to, you know, he's with the Colts, their owner was involved too. But I think when you look at David Tepper, I think Jim Ursay just wants to win, but he's not telling you like who to pick. I think Dave Tepper thinks he knows football and is telling you who, to draft. And if that is true, then yeah, it's a disaster. It's a major, major problem. And they're going to have serious issues. Because Frank's not good enough to overcome that. And if Bryce the wrong pick and the owner forced him to pick it, I would bleak something out if I was Frank,

because he's ultimately going to get fired very fast. So I think there is no disputing that if the owner has his hands in everything, which it feels like he does, they're screwed. they're really screwed. My man, I'll be the first to be critical of Lamar when he doesn't play good, and he made a terrible throw in the red zone for an I&T. But I feel like you got to at least bring up the drop passes. Eight of them.

Three were touchdowns. Not much he can do. Agree. You're right. I was going off the interception that I was very critical of them. I saw a couple people, you know, CBS football and a bunch of people tweeting and Instagramming all the drops. Listen, you have a drive.

drop, you hit a guy in the hands, it's in the NFL, that's not on the quarterback. Can't turn over the ball. But I hear you, like drop touchdown passes, drop first down passes, are not on the quarterback by any means. And I was saying this is someone who bet on the Steelers. So, I mean, I'm glad that it happened. Belichick to the bears, if Kraft gets rid of them, this is something Chicago would probably do, wouldn't they?

I don't think they would. I just think they are too cheap. So I can't imagine what Belichick's not working for $8 million. And the Bears like the Chargers, like having a cheap coach. Because the difference between a $7 million coach and a $16 million coach is $9 million for the owner a year. I mean, that's his private jet. That's his extra house.

Sounds crazy, but that's a fact. And I think once you're rich, being cheap is a disease. And I think the Bears have it. I think the Chargers have it. it's hard to fake it. It really is. Stan Cronky does not give a shit. He'll pay what the SEC schools will pay what they got to pay. Because winning and when you win, you get money.

In the NFL, you don't have to win to get rich. You do not. Look at the Chargers. Look at the Bears. Neither are winning. They're printing money. And the Bears could make more once they get a new stadium. So I think it would be cool, especially if they got the number one and number two. pick, but I just don't think they would pay them. Question for the bag.

I love how you closed out Monday's pod, questioning the Panthers move to hire Frank to be the head coach and trade up for Bryce Young. But I think we need to take a step further back and look at Tpper as an owner. Since he bought the team in 18 for straight cash, as you like to point out, I like to point it out just because, you know, let's say you bought a new suburbid, which are not cheap. And let's say, let's just pick an even number, 100 grand.

You're like, I paid cash for this. You know, interest rates were a little high. I had a bunch of cash. I just paid cash for the suburban. Now, some people might say, why would you ever do that? Let's just hypothetically said you did. Like, damn, stupid cash for a suburban. Hell, I'm sure some people know whether you did it, you know people that did it.

Maybe someone in your neighborhood did it. If you're in real estate, a real estate agent, you've seen clients do this, pay cash for a home. It's like, damn, this guy just bought, I see it all the time in Arizona. This house just sold for $1.4 million. cash. It happens in the Bay Area all the time. You're like, jeez, keep that much cash on you. But Tepper bought an NFL team and paid cash. All cash.

That's to me one of the most incredible accomplishments in the history of the world. If you can buy an NFL team with cash, nothing but respect. But the team has been mediocre. They have been straight up bad. Oh, they haven't been mediocre. They've been straight up bad. 29 and 57. Tepper has allowed the front office to trade away star play.

players, McCaffrey and DJ Boar. Those guys are pretty good, yes. They traded away the potential number one pick in 24, and he pulled the plug on a brand new football operations facility for the team. I'm concerned Tepper will move the team before he ever sells. What's your take on Tepper's ownership? The thing with moving the team, part of St. Louis moving to L.A., it's like, yeah,

St. Louis to L.A. is a no-brainer. Oakland's a dump, and they moved it to Vegas. no-brainer. Like, where are you moving from Charlotte? That's a no-brainer. That's my question. Part of moving is like a huge upgrade in cities. Charlotte's kind of like a big time growing city. It's not like Nashville needs a team. Think of all the booming cities right now in my backyard. Arizona, they don't need a team. So like all these areas that are booming, none of them need Charlotte is a booming area. Like I, that's a good area to be in. I think it's more about that he just might not know what he's doing. And I also think there's a human element to it.

When you're Dave Tepper and you aren't just as rich as him, but you're as successful as him, who is telling you like, hey, David, this is not a great idea. And maybe he had some of those in business. Like, let's not buy this business. Let's not invest in this stock. And maybe he had confidants, maybe he had a CFO, a C-O, some people that he relied on. Who's telling him in football what to do and what not to do? And in fairness, if you and I were in that position, we'd probably think we knew everything too.

And this is what I get back to with the bears and the chargers being cheap. He can fail. He can suck this year. They could go 0 and 17. He will get the same amount of money from the league office as the San Francisco 49ers in the Philadelphia Eagles. There's not many other industries where you can completely fail as a business. Lose games, suck, and still. make as much money as the team who's having the most success in your industry.

Now, those teams might make more in sweet sales and everything, but I'm just saying the $380 million, the league will give him on the media rights deal is the same thing. Well, his payroll for the players is $200 million. So he's up almost $200 million in positive, you know, in the green. It's impossible for him to go in the rent. So until you go into the red in most industries, like you don't. really need to be introspective and go, what do I need to change? In the NFL, you never have to do that.

Question for the pod. Would you say that Tyreek is being used more effectively in Miami than he was in Kansas City? Could McDaniel be the best offensive mind in the league? Well, let me just bring up, because that's a pretty bold thing to say, I would say. Let me just type in Tyree Kill. Let's bring up his stats, because in my opinion, Kansas City is pretty good. So he had his last year

for example, he was elite last year. 17 games, didn't miss a game, had 119 catches, 1,700 yards, 7 touchdowns. His previous year with the Chiefs, he had 111 catches, 1,200 yards, and more touchdowns. In 2000, in 2020, he had 87 catches, but he had 15 touchdowns.

In 2018, he had 87 catches and 12 touchdowns. So he had less catches. You have to remember also they have Travis Kelsey. And they also had hard. I mean, they had other receivers. So I, it might be a little sexier behind the line of scrimmage, but I think we'd be quick to forget how incredible him and Mahomes were. I mean, he's just a couple years removed from 50,

touchdowns with Mahomes. And Mahomes first year as a starter, he had 12 touchdowns. Mahomes first year as a starter was 18, 19, 20, 21, 22. Yeah. So I hear what you're saying, and it's fun, but I don't think it's that different. Hey, John, big fan from Australia. As a Denver fan, I saw that we released Randy Gregory earlier this week after signing him to a large deal.

He was actually traded, but you guys were going to cut him. a lot of times when you leak you're going to cut someone, you're basically just throwing out there, hey, give us a seventh round pick and we'll trade them to you. My question is this. Surrounding the cut of a recently assigned player to a hefty contract, how do the finances work? Does he just get paid out the remainder of the season

as he was on the active roster? And then the owner writes a check for whatever guaranteed was negotiated. Is it paid in a lump sum or in installments? Well, I'm not going to waste time and pull up his contract. But let's just say they gave him $20 million. in guaranteed money. And 12 of that was a signing bonus. The moment he signed his contract,

he got $12 million within a two-week span. So the guaranteed money usually gets paid out within a calendar year. You know, the bigger contracts, like the $100 million contracts over a couple of year period. But that team pays all that money, especially the signing bonus. And then it gets pro-rated on the salary cap.

So the 49ers take back his, active, just whatever his salary is, but depending on the structure of the contract, more than likely they won't have to pay much guaranteed money. And I essentially, I saw a couple days ago that they owe them less than a million dollars. So the Broncos, they're on the hook for the money. I mean, hell, they paid it out already. It's already been paid for. So that's the biggest difference in the NFL than like baseball and basketball contracts,

where Randy Gregory would be much more difficult to trade. And again, I don't have his contract in front of me, but let's just say he was a $15 million player. Let's just say they signed him to a four-year, $60 million. And he had played a year and a half on 15, so he had made like $25 million. The Niners would be on the hook for the remaining 35. And then he would be untradable.

But that's not the case because the guaranteed money is out and they can cut them after the year. Hell, they can cut them in a week if they don't like them. So it becomes easier because typically the team unloading the guy with the hefty contract, i.e. Randy Gregory, eats all the money. And that's what happened here. So the 49ers basically just owe him a pro-rated version of $900,000. And if he acts like an idiot or they don't like them, they can cut him whatever they want. They owe him no money.

What do you think the Dolphins defense will look like when Jalen comes back? They need to be able to play better because the offense is better when it has to. a lead. The dolphins really play well one kind of way on offense and the defense needs to compliment them better. Well, I think here's the problem. Obviously, Jalen would really help because Jaylen, he actually wasn't that good last year, but he's a big improvement for them. And let's just say he'd still, if he was healthy this year, would have been a top five corner. If you have a top five corner, it helps your defense. To me, when I think Vic Fangio, I think a fantastic front seven. Like that's what he had, his one year when they were sweet in

Chicago with Khalil Mack. It's what he had with the 49ers. When Vic Fangio has a fantastic front seven, he actually doesn't need great DBs. You watch the Dolphins like they're not that good up front. You know, they traded a first round pick for Bradley Chubb. And let's face it, Bradley Chubb is not like a Pro Bowl level guy. And I'd be lying if I broke down every one of the snaps,

but I wouldn't call Bradley Chub an impact player, given what they're paying him slash gave up to get him. So I think that's the bigger problem. and if you're not good up front as it gets colder and you've got to go on the road and if they're not the number one seed, it's very, very difficult to win. Because even though what's his name, A. Chan, the rookie went on injured reserve today, their running game's going to be fine. And you can, the thing with Tyreek, like, they can get on the ball,

they can throw a wide receiver screens, they get on the ball on end rounds. A guy like Tyreek, I don't just need to pass it to you. I can get you slants. I can get you the ball within five yards of the line of scrimmon. mentioned, you can take it 50. So you're right. The offense, I just don't think their defense personnel is going to be good enough. And I don't care what Vic Fangio does.

I just don't know what else he can do. Mailback question. It never seems to work out for the Broncos ever since Super Bowl. Last year, the defense was awesome and the offense, especially Russ, was awful. This year, Russ actually has been pretty solid while the defense is awful. If the Broncos continue to lose and have a high draft pick, would you try to get out from Russ and draft one of these quarterbacks, or would you draft some help in a different area and run it back with Russ?

If Sean Payton, who let's face it, is the grand poo ball of Denver now, he's in full control, was the guy that traded for Russell Wilson, I would say that's what they would do. He would write it out and try to fix him. But because he, now he signed up for this, but he's not like emotionally invested in the trade because that's already watered into the bridge like spilled milk, it happened. He's going to worry about what's best for the next five years. And let's say they

lose Thursday night. Hypothetically, they go 4 and 13, and they're drafting second overall. If I had to put a pie chart, if Caleb goes one, 95% chance he takes Drake May. And 5% chance he takes, you know,

left tackle, whoever the best pass rusher is, the best wide receiver. I would guess they drafted quarterback. You being a former scout, seeing all the footage from the Chiefs receiver, Justin Ross, in the preseason, why is he not getting any catches when the whole Chiefs receiving core has been looking mediocre at best this season? Because the preseason and the regular season don't really parallel each other in the sense of, in the preseason, I'm just running, let's just pick a number, the 25 plays that we've implemented with the two's

and the threes throughout training camp that we run well. And we just run them over and over again. Maybe 50 plays, whatever. But also, I'm doing it up against just generic defensive calls. Cover two, cover three, cover zero, right? We're just getting very, very, just generic calls on a playing in play basis. In the regular season, we're taking the entire playbook with Andy would be a ton of plays. and then we're adding variations to those plays that are our core plays to the game plan based on what they're running.

So it's a very complicated formula. I'll never forget Coach Reid telling me one time about Tyreek. He's like, you know the most underrated part about him is how football smart he is? He's like, I can tell him something one time on a, you know, depending on who we're playing, and he gets it immediately. His football intelligence is elite. Like part of most great players offensively, Tyreek, Travis Kelsey, DeMonte Adams, Christian McCaffrey, these guys' football IQ is like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. But we never really talk about, you know, skill guys like that.

But they have to have the ability like, hey, this coverage is actually zoned, this guy's off. Remember on Wednesday when we talked, if we get this look with this play, instead of running a go route, you're going to run a hitch. or you're going to run a five-yard out, or you're going to come in motion when he looks at you, you know, it's fucking complicated. So, for example, Justin Ross, maybe it's too much for him.

And I'm just taking an educated guess, but he's not alone. Maybe he's not good against press coverage. Maybe he's not good against press coverage slash the offense is kind of overwhelming as they've started game planning. I was texting someone like, why doesn't Hyatt with the Giants play more? They're like, well, he can't get out.

if you put a guy in front of him, he can't get around him. Can't do anything on press. So it's like, yeah, I mean, in theory, he can run really fast, but it's more complicated than that.

Now, if you're not playing for this version of Andy Reed, like, my educated guess is you're having trouble taking what they're coaching in the meeting room to the practice field. If you can't do it in the practice field,

like I've heard Dion say this, like, if we do something in the meeting and then we try to run it in the practice and you can't do it, if you can't do it, how am I going to trust you to do it on Saturday? How can I trust you to do it on Sunday?

Like one bad play, you run the wrong route. The DB's sitting there, we throw a pick and we fucking lose. Like the margin for error in these games, especially in the NFL, college is a little bit bigger, but the NFL is very, very small. Have you ever scouted a player that you really like but didn't necessarily have the stats or film to back it up? Just a hunch or feeling that a player could be great.

If so, how hard is to sell that perspective of a player to the GM and coaches. I often wonder how many players miss out purely down circumstances at a school or a team. Well, I only did the road for one year. So if you talk to some of my friends who have been scouting on the road for a decade, two decades, you become very close to the school, especially if you have an area to the players that you scout. It's one thing, for example, this year, like everyone's going to have an opinion on Marvin Harrison Jr. or everyone's going to have an opinion on, you know,

Bo Nicks or whatever. But they're going to be the random guard at Boston College, who's probably like a six-round guy. If for whatever reason, you love his toughness, you love his feet, and most importantly, you love his story, right? Everything you hear about him, the character, and you become very invested in it.

I'm just making this player up. But obviously, once you start introducing him to your coaching staff, to your offline coach, It can be difficult because he might not have the same connection. He might never build the same connection as you do. So it can't be hard. Now, part of your job is to stand on the table and push. Now, obviously, the better relationship you have with your assistant coaches, with your GM,

with your scouting directors, it makes the streamlining that process easy. Also, the longer you are in a building and you have equity built up, like, hey, remember the last three guys? I've been this adamant about. Well, two of them are on the team. The other guy's a fucking pro bowler. So I'm not just saying this to say it. So you can't cry wolf. So I don't remember it's been, you know, it's a decade now.

I definitely do more and more because I'm a people guy. So I tend to like people and I tend to not like people. I'm pretty opinionated. So it would have been an issue. And the one thing I learned, and this is really good advice, is you got to watch the player before you read the character. because if you read the character first and when I say read like you go meet with a person

and they give you the breakdown of the background and the character, you might fall for a guy who might not be that good. And vice versa, you get a character that's not great. Like, God, I hate this loser. And then you watch the tape.

You're like, God, this guy's good. And it can really skew the way that you view a player. So it's what makes this stuff so complicated, right? Because there's the person, there's the player, but ultimately they're the package. is together. The person is the player. But when you evaluate him, you kind of separate it. You do the write-up on the football player,

and then you do the separate write-up on the background, the character, the work ethic, all that stuff, all the intangibles. So it's why the job's hard. It's why you have so many people that miss. I'm a Patriot fan, and my girlfriend is a Broncos fan. We made a bet on the season. Whose ever team loses more games has to run a marathon.

Should I start training? I would say that what if you guys both win the same amount of games? Do you go marathon together? I think the Patriots have every bit the same chance as the Broncos to be worse. I would actually say the Broncos are more inclined to win a game or two more than the Patriots. Because like the previous DM or said, like Russell hasn't been that terrible. He's not as good as he once was, but he's way better in Mac Jones. So if you just go, God, if Russell gets hot for a couple games, couldn't they win five if their defense just, their defense is going to have some games where it doesn't play terrible.

The Patriots suck on offense. They have no talent. Their quarterback is awful. And now their defense is all banged up. So if I had to bet right now sitting here on October 11th, I say Patriots four wins, Broncos five. Five wins, that's a terrible season. But I think the Patriots got four wins written all over them. Okay.

We'll be back Thursday after the game. Pod will be out Friday morning. Appreciate everyone listening. Adios. The 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 a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starting. 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 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,

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