The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Huge Seahawks Problems, Mishandling Zach Wilson, Gruden-Free Raiders , McVay vs. Shanahan Big Picture, Mailbag

Episode Date: October 26, 2021

John reacts to the Saints lackluster MNF win over the Seahawks, why he doesn't believe in Jameis Winston, and why Seattle's major problems are only going to get worse. He also looks at the trend of weak arm QB's struggling, what the Jets have done with Zach Wilson that's borderline malpractice, why Derek Carr and the Raiders are rolling without Jon Gruden, why Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay are suddenly headed in opposite directions, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag.Make sure you follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The volume. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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, unfiltered 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. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1,800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise. Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecough, three and out podcast.

Back at it again. I hope everyone's having a good Tuesday. Hell, maybe you're listening to this on a Wednesday. Hopefully you're having a good week. I just watched the Monday Night Football game, kind of, was in and out. I mean, it was terrible, but it was locked in toward the end.

Obviously, watched the Mannings and Brady. It was fantastic. Have a thought of something Tom Brady said. We'll talk a little bit about James and Seattle's situation. We'll dive deep into some quarterback situations all around the league. Zach Wilson situation. I went in depth on the mismanagement of the Jets situation. I recorded it actually earlier in the day before the Joe Flacco trade.

I actually think everything I said still rings true. And the trade like Joe Flacko having a guy like that, they should have done this in the off season. You'd want a veteran presence. So I didn't know of the trade at the time I recorded that segment, but it still, to me, it not only holds up, it even kind of brings it in even more to light. Derek Carr, the Raiders, they're rolling.

Very, very impressive win. It really was. And then, of course, Middokov, bag at John Middilkoff is the Instagram. Slide up into those DMs. Also talked a little bit about McVeigh and Shanahan and how their careers, it feels like, are going in opposite directions very, very quickly. Also, leave a review if you could, Apple iTunes. I know many of you have. I greatly appreciate it. It helps us with the show. Main takeaway is, James, I get into depth about Sam Donald and he has some flaws. James is the same thing. He is just a very, very, very

flawed quarterback. That play at the end of the game, the tight-in screen when he would have walked into the game, and they paned to James on the sideline, and he says, I, you know, bleeped up, fucked up. That's the non-PG version. I might as well just sit at the first time. I don't know why I censored myself. Peyton had to censor himself, though Marchand did not censor himself. Is that, like, that's James Winston in a nutshell.

And I know the Saints right now are four and two, but I don't know, man. They play Tampa this week. I think it's going to be very, very difficult for them. He's just not good enough. He just simply is not good enough. Their defense is good. Sean Payton's good. Alvin Kamar is a star.

He just can't trust James Winston. If Sean Peyton can get James Winston and the Saints to 10 wins, that is really, really impressive. I will be shocked. I think they end up eight, nine wins just because his fatal flaws against, I mean, if Russell Wilson plays this game, the Saints 100% loose. So it's just, I think it's going to be tough sledding

as long as James is your quarterback. Now, I give Sean Payton a ton of credit. I don't think he had many options. Clearly, what's his name, Tassam Hill? You know, can't really function game in, game out as a quarterback. But James is just a reckless player. He's not an accurate player. Balls are flying all over the place.

I know it was raining. And I know Seattle's a tough place to play, but still, hard to trust that player. It just is. There's a reason Ariens, where they got Tom or not, like, he couldn't have gone on with James Winston because they wouldn't have been able to make the playoffs with the guy. And listen, I want to like Jamesis, but I just have a hard time to as a player because I think his decision making, and I just don't think he's that accurate of a quarterback. And in 2021, with the rules, you got to be pretty accurate. It's not like without Michael Thomas,

they don't exactly have these big high point wide receivers. He's got little speed guys. You see some of these throws, it looks like I'm watching a college game. Like, where the hell is this ball going? And it flies over like seven people. It just just makes you shake your head. It hit me though at the end of the game. And listen,

Russell's hurt. Seattle's built like a basketball team. The moment he goes away, what are they going to do? But Seattle and San Francisco, Seattle's the defending champs. San Francisco was the betting favorite coming into the season to win the NFC West or a combined four and nine.

are a combined four and nine. Seattle does not have their first round pick. The 49ers do not have their first round pick. And it's really just the power of the NFL. Now, obviously Seattle, a big part of the reason there, two and five is Russell got hurt. But still, it was clear early on. This team was not that good.

They were flawed when Tennessee came back on them. Something was just up. Even that first half against the 49ers, it looked off. The Shane Waldron experiment hiring him from the Rams has not gone well. And, you know, I don't hold Gino against them. Like, Gino's just not that good.

What are you going to do? But those are two teams that are, you know, I don't even know what to say. In absolute shambles, neither of them have first round picks. So it's not like, you know, if this season goes to shit. Now, Russell, is he going to demand a trade this off season? Who knows? I know people in Seattle are clearly not confident that he is just going to stick it out and be a member of the squad for years to come.

I mean, he did that last year after they went 12 and 4 and hosted a playoff game. What's he going to act like when they win six games? They go 6 and 11. No first round pick. I think he's going to say bye-bye. I think he's going to want to go somewhere else. But where's he going to go?

I can't even pretend to know. I mean, he's a different cat. He's on the field pre-game, running two-minute drills by himself with his broken finger. But I had never argued he's a great player. But it does feel like this off-season is going to be a tipping point. I don't know if Pete doesn't come back.

I don't know if Russell forces a trade. But if I was a Seattle fan, I would really try, hopefully you soaked up this last decade because it was sweet. Your team was awesome. You won a Super Bowl. You went to another.

You've got to experience Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll chomping down on his juicy fruit on the sideline. But it feels like we're headed upstream, up Shits Creek, without a paddle right now. And there's a waterfall coming.

and you don't have the ability to get off the boat. And it feels like you're about to tumble down that waterfall. And who knows what the hell is going to happen. But it might not be pretty. The other thing, I mean, having Tom Brady, I didn't watch much of the Drew Breeze. I was watching the actual broadcast. But watching Tom on with Peyton and Eli, he said something.

And I don't think that most people watching quite understood, like, this guy is such a machine. It's Monday. After they just beat the living, you know, what out of the Bears? he threw his 600 touchdown. He comes on with Peyton and Eli, and this guy on the Saints makes a play. And Tom goes,

oh, that's the rookie corner from Stanford. He's a really good player. And he listed off a couple of his attributes, like he already knew his strengths and weaknesses. And then he tells Tom and Eli, he's like, yeah, I was watching Saints film today. So I immediately go to Tampa's schedule. Of course, they play the Saints this week.

Tom Brady on Monday, he is two days away from Wednesday when they get the game plan, was already diving into the Saints and clearly had a scouting report on their entire defensive backfield. This is the greatest quarterback of all time, who is in the peak of his powers,

who just threw a 600 touchdown, grinding like he's a second year player. I think one of the greatest attributes for any person that's great at their profession is discipline. That has the discipline to sustain just the great habits of whatever that profession demands.

And Tom's discipline, it's more than just the avocado ice cream or going to bed early. It's just he keeps doing the same thing over and over and over again. If I would have said, hey, you know what Tom did this Monday? Not a damn thing.

They won that game. He went out with his family, had some drinks. He just laid around, Netflixed and chilled, kicked it with his family, laid in bed with his beautiful wife. and did who knows what, you know, and just had a good old day.

No one, and I mean no one would have been like, you know, Tom's just not working hard. You would have been like, Tom deserves that. Take a deep breath, Tom. You can get into the Saints Tuesday. That's not how the goat's wired, man. That guy is a machine of ass kicking. He never, ever stops. He said something on Tom versus time.

He said, if you're going to beat me, you better. dedicate your life to this because I have. Can you imagine competing against that guy? Honestly, he reminds me of Tiger Woods, like in the peak of his powers. Like, how do you beat Tiger Woods? He practices more than you. He works harder than you. He's already better than you. And he wants it more than you. He's already super rich. He's already super famous. He ain't in it for that. He ain't in it for the money. He ain't in it for the fame. He's in it to beat your ass every Sunday. and it's really borderline impossible to outwork him. Because every time you think you're working, he's also working.

In that moment, you're like, I'm going to put my feet up and take a deep breath. He's still working. The work ethic on these human beings that are great in any profession, just know this. I mean, I'm paranoid of it every time, you know, take a little time off or, you know, maybe I'll just go watch some TV. It's like, am I getting outworked? And the reality is you probably are. You know, we all, you know, these thoughts cross our mind.

but to hear Brady, and he wasn't bragging or anything, he was just stating that he knew the guy because he had just watched the guy. But most players in the NFL, even quarterbacks might take Monday off. The dude's diving into it. He is just, I mean, the bar has been set, and I think it'll be very, very difficult.

Obviously, no one's ever probably throwing 600 touchdowns or, you know, winning seven Super Bowls. But I think it'll be very, very difficult to ever match his discipline. You're saying I can't have a cheese. burger during the season? You're saying I can't go out with the boys. You're saying like I just I marvel at it. As someone who struggles with the discipline as an eater, you know, working out has never been my problem. My problem is diet. The discipline of eating a good diet consistently,

anyone can go a week. Anyone can fast for a couple days. Anyone can eat a couple salads. Can you do it for a month straight? And I know some people that are healthy eaters are listening to this. Like, it's not that hard. Just got to get over the hump. Well, it is difficult for a lot. of people. And it's obviously it's his diet, it's sleep, it's his drive, it's his study habits. His study habits, this guy, procrastination, he doesn't even know what that is. I mean, they're probably going to kick the Saints ass this week. How's James going to beat that guy? How's anyone going to beat this guy? How is Tampa Bay not going to win the Super Bowl again? I'd find it hard press not to bet on them to win it all right now.

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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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 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,

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Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with 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 all 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.

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Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Okay, I wanted to start with, uh, quarterback play from Sunday. And let's face it, Sunday, most of the games were blowouts. There was a lot of poor quarterback play. And I know for me as a fan, that's all I am now, going back to when I scouted, and even before that, I just have some deal breakers when it comes to the players I like. We all, I'm sure, you know, it's natural, right?

Whether you're a coach in the NFL, whether you're a fan in the NFL, whoever your football, whoever your football team is and the best players you've had on those teams, you usually gravitate toward those skill sets. It's what you like. And for me personally, if you've listened to me for a while, you know I like stronger armed quarterbacks. Because my overall take is it's not a guarantee because you have a strong arm. You're going to be a good player.

We know that. Right. It's just because you have a big arm doesn't mean you're going to be Marino, Elway, or Mahomes. but it does give you a larger margin for error late in the season and in playoff games when the weather changes. As of course, we just had torrential monsoons, as you saw in the Sunday night football game in the Bay Area. When we get like three or four inches of rain here, we freak.

I mean, it's a disaster. For those of you that live in inclement weather, geographical spots around the country, you probably laugh at us, but we're not used to it. But I like my quarterbacks to have bigger arms. and it's the baseline for which I judge and I value a player. Now, that does not mean because you have a weak arm, you can't be a good player. Steve Young did not have a host. She's an all-time great player.

Drew Brees did not have a big arm. All-time great player. Alex Smith did not have a good arm. Went on once he, with Harbaugh and then with Coach Reed to have a fantastic career. But they all shared something in common. Their accuracy was elite. I mean, Steve Young was the most accurate quarterback until Drew Breeze came around, and Alex Smith, over the last decade, right with Drew Breeze, was consistently one of the more accurate players in the league. And because of their arm strength limitations, they were careful with the chances they took and not turning over the ball. They didn't play like Bahams. They didn't play like Josh Allen. They didn't play like Brett Farb because they couldn't. And I'm looking around yesterday at several quarterbacks who I think their fan base would be like, this guy sucks. We need to get rid of this player.

And they all share something in common. They do not have very strong arms. Sam Darnold, Tua, Jalen Hertz, Jimmy Garapolo. Yet, let's start with Sam Darnold, who, listen, I was wrong. I said, I wanted the 49ers to give up a second round pick and do it. I thought the risk reward was worth it. But when we talk about risk reward, sometimes part of doing anything, part of risking anything, you see this in the stock market, you see this when you invest, you see this, you know,

if you take a chance on a startup company, you leave an easy, you know, a job that's paying the bills and you go, I'm going to take a chance with his up-and-coming company. It might fail. So anytime you hear risk versus reward like that, there is a risk element. And the risk element for Sam Donald was he might not be that good. Now, I'm biased. Pack 12 guy. I root for him. I watched him at USC. I kind of justified his failures with the Jets as a Jets problem. And I had a buddy in the NFL that was part of a team that was in the quarterback sphere of teams looking for quarterbacks this offseason. He's like, my big issue with the guy is he reminds me a lot of James Winston, the Tampa

Bay version. He is not a good decision maker. He turns the ball over a lot. He's reckless. He's reckless with not a great arm. He throws a very catchable ball to defenders. and right now he has eight interceptions through seven games. Not good.

He was just bench for a guy that was in the AAF. Here's the thing. Again, they took a risk. They gave up a second rounder for him. They also picked up his fifth year option. He is going to be on the books next year for $18 million. There's nothing you can do about that. If he was a free agent, he would not get $18 million on the open market.

He does not have a great arm. Tua. Like, let's face it. I tweeted yesterday he stinks. I don't think he stinks. He's just not that good. You know, just because I compare him to Herbert. And I've said on Herbert's worst days,

two his best days are probably kind of equal. He will never, ever sniff being that good. Can one day he be like a functional backup? Yes. Is he a starting quarterback on a team that can win games? I do not believe he is. And if you look at the last couple weeks, they play terrible teams.

He makes terrible decisions. He throws a very pickable, bowl. Like Sam Darnold, there's not much velocity on it. And let's face it, there's a reason that they are constantly in the rumors sphere for Dishon Watson. It's because of him. If he was Justin Herbert, they would not be involved in these rumors. Jalen Hertz, another guy who just does not have a very strong arm. Now, I think Tua is a better thrower than Sam Darnold, just in terms of accuracy and timing. I think Jalen is the worst of those three.

Weak arm, bad decision maker. No, when I say instincts at the position, just no feel and rhythm for the timing of getting the ball out of his hands. I once famously said, I thought he was a running back. And then early on his career last year when he came in for Wentz,

and that game against the Atlanta Falcons, I thought, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he's better than that. It turns out he's not. He's not very good at all. And then finally, the most experienced guy of this group, Jimmy Garoppolo. And Jimmy Garoppolo's fascinating because he's accomplished more than any of these guys. And I think it's fair to say that none of these three guys will accomplish what Jimmy Garoplo did.

He was a starting quarterback on a team that went to the Super Bowl. And he had, like, I watched every snap he played that year. He had games that season against the Saints. I think he threw four touchdowns. He had a final game against Seattle to win the end. NFC West. I think he went 18 and 22. And he was fantastic. He's more talented. Let me rephrase that. He accomplished more than these guys will ever, in my opinion. But like these guys, his arm strength is very questionable. And he's not accurate. And like Donald, he's very reckless. He's not a great

decision maker for a guy that's 30 years old that's studied under Josh McDaniel, studied under Tom Brady, studied under Bill Belichick, and now been with Kyle Shanahan for five years. He is a terrible decision maker. He turns the ball over at way too high of a clip. In a must-win game, he threw two picks and fumbled the ball. But it's his arm. It's just not very good. Like those guys, when the ball's in the air and he's not that accurate,

it's very easy for the defender to pick it off. Because it just kind of floats. And it goes back to what I said. I like my guys to have velocity on their throws. And it's not going to determine your success or failure, but it does impact your ability to be a really good player. And I think all four of these guys, Sam Darnold, Tua, Jalen Hertz, Jimmy Garoppel share that in common.

Their arms are just not good enough. Let's talk about the Jets and Zach Wilson. I think I have respect for any general manager who pulls the trigger on a quarterback really high. It is a difficult decision. It is not easy, especially in a quarterback class, where you have three or four options, you could have taken Mac Jones,

you could have taken Trey Lance, you could have taken Justin Fields. They had conviction. They believed in Zach Wilson. And whether they're right or wrong, it's early in his career, we have no clue. But they made that decision,

they went all in with it. I respect it. It's a lot easier to make suggestions than decisions. Joe Douglas, Robert Salo, they put all their chips in the middle of the table. So I have nothing against, though I would have taken Fields or Lance just because I think they're physically more gifted.

Joe Douglas, very well respected. I know people that have worked with him. I think he has a long track record of evaluating players, quarterbacks, we'll see. But I respect the guy. When you're going to take a quarterback really high and your team is going to suck because, let's face it, the Jets hired Robert Sala two years ago,

under no circumstances, was he in the mix to be a head coach? they made LaFleur, who is Mike LaFleur, Matt LaFleur, the head coach at Green Bay. He'd never been a coordinator. Their defensive coordinator had never been a coordinator. The special team's coach had never been a coordinator. And obviously, solid, never been a head coach. So their three coordinators and their head coach had never been in their positions. They were brand new to the job.

Zach Wilson had spent his entire life in Utah. And you're going to bring these three coordinators plus a head coach plus a rookie quarterback. back to New York, the ultimate pressure cooker. And as someone who comes from a smaller town in California, when I went to Philly and I worked in the NFC East and obviously playing the Giants, but just feeling the markets of Philly, D.C., New York, it's intense. It is something that we cannot relate to out on the West Coast. That would be California. That would be Colorado. That would be Utah. That would be Nevada, Arizona, we do not have similar mindsets out here, just in terms of our personalities.

It is completely foreign to us. And yesterday he gets hurt. Zach Wilson, sprains or strains is PCL, not a doctor. Not even quite sure what that means, but he's clearly going to miss, as Schefter said, a couple games, two to four weeks. Listen, their team's bad. They had a bunch of injuries. I don't blame the coaches or the GM for Zach Wilson getting hurt.

young players get injured, that happens. There's nothing you can do. It's football. People overreact sometimes injuries, though it does feel like they've never happened at a, like a higher clip, but it's part of the sport. You can get hurt training in the off season.

You can get hurt lifting weights. You get hurt in training camp. You get hurt in practice. You can get hurt in games. It's a violent game. It's why, big part, why I love it. I like the violence. I'll never apologize for it.

A lot of us do. It's why ratings are up. Let's face it. Even though the game is clearly less violent than it was when most of us were kids. But still, it is the most violent of all the team sports. And it's just, there's collisions on every play. It's part of the deal.

But I think it was malpractice to not have a veteran quarterback in that group. Mike White is the backup. I had to Google who he was. Now, once I realized he was on the Cowboys, drafted in the fifth round, but he was drafted in 2018. How could you not have a guy, an Andy Dalton, a Nick Foles, a player, a Joe Flacko, anybody, a guy who had been in the league for a decade plus that Zach Wilson could just go to dinner with, could just go over to his house with that guy and his

wife, that just could spend time with during the week and talk about quarterback things. Because his coordinator, a younger guy in his 30s, never coordinated. Now, they did have Greg Knapp, who had been a longtime quarterback coach and offensive coordinator in the NFL. and he had a tragic incident that actually happened about 15 minutes from where I'm sitting right now in Danville, California. I think it happened in the summer.

He got hit by a car and died. I mean, it's fucking terrible. And so they did, you know, have a elder statesman on the coaching staff, but to not have a player of a veteran presence for this guy to lean on, to me is borderline malpractice. I think it's insane.

I think it is the, the number one thing that you could ding Robert Sala and Joe Douglas for because their team was not going to be any good. They didn't have that much talent. Then their team has been injured. You can't do anything about that. But Zach Wilson going through ups and downs,

having moments where he's throwing picks and struggling to not have a veteran quarterback that you could just go, hey man, come over to my house. Let's have a cocktail in this bullshit on Sunday night after the game. Hey man, it's Tuesday afternoon. We're one and six.

Just come over. and kick it with me and my wife and my young children. Just come hang. I'll just talk to you about football, about life, about just the big picture of this. Because I was listening, Coward had Bruce Arients on his podcast. And Bruce brought up a really good point

because Colin asked him about Brady and what it's like to coach, you know, have Tom Brady as a leader on his team. And I think any coach would tell you this. From high school up to the highest level in the pros on a team like Tampa Bay. That when you have a great leader as a player, who's also your best player,

you can say whatever you want as a coach, but eventually you're going to need players to talk to other players. And Bruce was like, you know, I'd tell a wide receiver, you know, a coaching point and he won't listen to me. But then Tom says it and the guy does it forever. Because it resonates with them.

And it happens all around the league. It's why I got to take the L on the signing with J.J. Watt with the Arizona. of Cardinals. Having a guy like that with his credibility and his resume, when he can look at a player and say something, those guys are going to listen potentially more than even a position coach, a coordinator, or the head coach. It matters. And to not have that guy on the offensive side of the ball, to me, is borderline insanity. I think it's a poor job. Now, I'm not saying that would have led to a different record. But when you look at the maturation of a young quarterback,

you want to put that guy in a position where he has people to lean on, players to lean on. And I don't think the Jets did a very good job of that. And they're now in a position where the guy's hurt. And they have a quarterback starting for him that most of us could not point out of a lineup. A game yesterday that really stood out, I guess it was, if you're listening to this on Tuesday, it would have been on Sunday. The Raiders beat the living, you know what, out of the Eagles. They absolutely destroyed them.

It was an old school ass kicking. If you didn't know anything about the hierarchy of football, you know, how the Raiders haven't been a playoff team, you know, basically one time in the last 20 years. You're just watching that, you'd be like, this is one of the better teams in the league. And right now they are. Technically, they're the two seed.

They are in first place. Even though the Chargers beat them. Chargers want to buy. But right now they would be the two seats. It's a long way to go. So it's pointless to even say that. But they're a playoff level team. And clearly,

elephant in the room with that franchise is John Gruden and the situation that took place a couple years removing him. And listen, I grew up. My dad was an old school. He was older. I mean, he was born in the 40s. Old school conservative guy, tight, didn't drink. Just intense. We had high standards in my family in terms about schoolwork, about athletics, just about when when he said something, you had to fall through. It was just intense, especially when I was young. I was his first kid. It was just an intense environment. Now, as I probably got in high school,

definitely in college in my 20s, mellowed out like most people. You know, I think parents just do. It was much easier on my little brother. But for me, it was just tense. There was a tense environment in my home. And it just, it can take a lot out of you. You know, you're always kind of on eggshells, right? Of just like, am I living up to it?

Am I doing a good job? Is it going to be pissed off? It was just, can everyone just take a deep breath? And finally, as I got older, everyone started taking a deep breath and we could just relax. And just, we became really close and really good friends. And it becomes a different environment. Anyone listening to this who's, you know, as you're graduating college or in your late 20s, your relationship changes with your parents.

It's cool. I mean, it's one of the more powerful things in your life. And listen, I've been having worked in college football and the pros, it can be a really, really difficult relationship with certain coaches with certain players, right? They're just, scared is the wrong word, but you never feel comfortable. And there was a level with John Gruden, like, let's face it. I had said for years, he was much more famous than he was a good coach. Because when you said John Gruden, he was as famous as Andy Reid, as Sean Payton,

as Bill Belichick, as Pete Carroll, as Sabin. He was as famous as any coach in the NFL or college. But unlike all those guys I just listed, They win a lot recently. John hasn't won since like the mid-2000s. He became like a caricature. And clearly the players, it was just a weird environment. And you removed him from that environment the last two weeks.

The Raiders have looked free. They have just looked like there's a burden lifted off their shoulders. We no longer have to prove every single minute of every single day, Monday through Sunday to John Gruden's standards, which you could argue are like not even realistic, right? It's like we don't even know what he really expects because it's clearly not really working. But removing him, like you watch that Eagles game,

I watched Derek Carr and I just see a guy who's free, who's relaxed, who was clearly comfortable in the offense, but it's spent the last three and a half years. Every single snap, every single day trying to prove to John Gruden he was worthy to be his quarterback. Like John Gruden was Bill Walsh or something. When you really look like, how many good quarterbacks is John Gruden actually coached? Rich Gannon?

Besides that, like, who was he some quarterback guru on? But he had that mantra. That was kind of the way people described him. That was the way we thought about him. John Gruden, quarterbacks, Gruden grinders. And there's like an intensity lifted. And having been around Derek since high school and seen him at Freser's, State and followed his Fresno State career once I went to the Eagles.

Derek had a lot of success at Fresno State. He is not like some angry player. Derek smiles. Derek enjoys football. Gruden is like this ultimate grinder that just is always mad and always angry and always screaming F-bombs at players. Saw a quote after the Denver game. Josh Jacobs was like, yeah, our sideline was just a lot more relaxed.

We didn't have everyone yelling at each other. Josh Jacob played for Nick Sabin in Alabama. He was like, yeah, it was just much easier to kind of function on the sideline. Basically saying, like, thank God this guy's gone. And Derek Carr just had a game in the modern era of the NFL. It is the second most accurate completion percentage game behind Drew Breeze a couple years ago, I think went 29 of 30 for the Saints. Derek went 30, I think of 33.

He was 91%. If you're in the 90% tiles in terms of completion percentage, even in 2021, and you have over 30 attempts, that's incredible. Like, Derek is playing, and he was playing really well, but now I watch a guy that just, he can just relax. He can just have the burden of John Gruden staring at him, about to scream at him. He doesn't have to worry about that anymore.

Because Derek was already, he's been a team captain before John Gruden ever showed up. Derek had played well before John Gruden ever became the head coach of the Raiders. And then there was this pressure the moment John got there of like, can Derek prove himself? 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap 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 Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. John's always, you know, chasing around all these quarterbacks.

John's going to try to replace Derek. He no longer has to worry about that. He's the best player. I guess Waller's technically the best player on the team. But when you're the quarterback, you're the most important player on the team. and he can just play football now. And as just a fan of football and as a fan of Derek,

it was refreshing to watch these last couple weeks because the Raiders have had a lot of talent. But for whatever reason, I saw someone tweeted this the other day. Like, John Gruden's the only coach in the modern playoff era to go six and three multiple times and miss the playoffs every single time. Like, there was an intensity to John Gruden that just wore out players. And as someone, I mean, I can't relate ever playing for John Gruden,

but I've been around intense people. If you're not super wired like that, not everyone is motivated by that. If anything, it can diminish whatever your talent and abilities are. Now, if you're motivated like that, like a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning and you're just kind of like this chip on your shoulder, kind of you got this asshole mentality.

I'm not saying that in a negative way. That's fine. But some guys, you talk to any coach, you talk to any teacher. Hell, you think about your own family. You know, if you have three or four kids in your own family, whether as a parent or whether as a sibling, you know you're all wired differently. Hell, you get two dogs from the same litter. And one dog's personality is the polar

opposite of the other dog's personality. So different with players. So John's personality might have resonated with a couple guys, but it probably didn't resonate with other guys. And clearly he wasn't getting the most out of it. It was not working. So Mark Davis should thank his lucky stars that this whole happened because he got to rid himself. of potentially, I don't want to say Gruden was the entire problem because he's a big reason that a lot of these guys are on the roster. He's a big reason Darren Walters on the roster. He's a big reason Max Crosby's on the roster. He's a big reason Henry Ruggs is on the roster. So it wasn't like he was some complete failure. And he was starting to kind of head in the right

direction, kind of. But I think by no means with John Gruden, would they have been a lock to win these last two games? No chance. They probably drop one of the two of them. But with Derek Carr, and as their head coach, Rich Pascacia, it's a tough name to say, Italian name. So Derek Carr is basically the voice of the team now. And Derek just gets to do that. And he does it more with like joy and love than Gruden style of just anger and F words. And as someone that swears a lot, I'm not anti-Fords, but it doesn't work with everyone that way. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts, I'm here to tell you that 1-800flowers.com is your ultimate birth.

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If I could be you. And you could be me for just one hour. If you could find a way to get inside. Each other's mind. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. Walk a mile in my shoes. We've all felt left out.

And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belonging begins with us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. Let's get into something in Sean McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan. And listen, if you go to social media, there is an excuse for everything. you can make, and every human being can make an excuse for anything, right? And listen, sometimes excuses are justified, right? If you have a quota every quarter of $500,000 in sales,

and one quarter, you know, you only sell 100, but you have a long resume of getting the job done, you can say, listen, my kid was sick, I got sick, I was off, whatever. You can, and your boss or the owner of the company, no big deal. It's not a problem. But if you have four or five or eight straight quarters of not living up to the numbers of the quotas that you're supposed to hit. Like, your excuses eventually run dry. In the world I live in, like, I either produce or I don't. I either do the, like, there's no one to fill in on my podcast. So if I'm sick, last week, I was so hungover.

I mean, it was insane. I hadn't been that hungover. It felt like in like five years. But I have no choice. And it was my own decision to go out hard on Saturday night. But if I don't do the podcast, it does not get done. and no money is generated. It's just black and white.

And I'm sure many people listening, if you got a deli, if you got any business, you either do it or does not get done. It's just a reality of life. And listen, we all have different curveballs that come in, that you need a day off,

that you need a week off. That happens. We're all human beings. But eventually your resume kind of speaks for itself. And the Niners forever have made this excuse about injuries. And it's been valid.

They have had more players injured than anything I've ever seen. It's crazy. Guys go down all the time. For five straight years, just guys getting injured, guys getting injured, guys getting injured, and this team, guys are still getting injured.

But eventually, your resume as a head coach is simply black and white. You get judged on wins and losses. My favorite part about pro sports, it's very simple. There is a defined winner and a loser every week.

I say it all the time. In business, there's not like a defined winner and a loser in business. Because you can't make more money. You know, it's not like you can't win like some championship. But in pro sports, it's very definitive. You either win the game, you lose the game. You either win the division, you lose the division. You either make the playoffs, you don't make the playoffs.

You either make the Super Bowl, you don't make the Super Bowl. Right? And right now, Sean McVeigh, here are four numbers that stand out. Sean McVeigh, 49 and 22 in his career. Kyle Shanahan, 31 and 39. We can make a million excuses. Quarterbacks, injuries, you know, Niners last year got kicked out of Santa Clara

because of these radical politicians and had to play away games in Arizona. That's insanity. So we can line them all up. But this year, with Super Bowl expectations, they look terrible. They look God awful. They look unprepared.

And I'm not some Kyle Shanahan hater, though I'm critical of them this year. Because I think any great person, like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, they missed. They had bad six-month stretches. They had bad years. They made bad decisions. You can be great at your job and have poor performances.

And right now, Kyle Shanahan is having an awful performance in 2021. I also, I can't remember where I wrote this down. We got this little quote section. I try to keep in my notepad on my phone. and I think it might have been on some like inspirational super multi-millionaire guy on Instagram. He said the difference between wealthy people and non-wealthy people is the wealthy guy will always take a short-term loss for a long-term gain every fucking time. And I was thinking about this.

Like if you're listening to this and you make $100,000 and I came to you and I offered you $400,000. I said, leave your job for $400,000. The overwhelming majority of people, and it's guaranteed. I'll just give you a two-year deal, right? $800,000. Would not even flinch a bit. Give me the money. There would be a small percentage of smart people be like, you know, I would take a little less money. Can I get some points in the deal? Can I get some equity in the deal? Can I get, you know, some sales bonuses?

They would negotiate some big picture thoughts because they think big picture. You can't always live short term. Now, listen, sometimes you got to worry about feeding your family. I'm not saying that. But anyone, to me, successful in any walk of life in any industry, always thinks big picture. And Kyle Shanahan was obsessed with starting the season with Jimmy Garopla. And I could not, for the life of me, I understood Trey Lance had barely played. He had played the one game last season because Division I, AA football was canceled. And their season was canceled. He had no choice.

It wasn't his fault. but his reps, he was only a one-year starter. He had limited playing time. He was a major project. But once you invest three first-round picks, the only way you learn at quarterback, like obviously you can learn on the practice field, in the meeting room, you have to learn by playing games.

And Kyle Shanahan was obsessed with basically giving him a redshirt year. And I understood when Andy Reid did it with Patrick Mahomes because his starting quarterback was Alex Smith, who had had a long, long resubes of making the playoffs. Jimmy Garoppolo could not stay healthy. He already got hurt this season. And it forced Trey Lance to get thrown in the game.

But I didn't get why Kyle Shanahan couldn't go, listen, we might lose some games this year. But in the next couple years span, thinking big picture, I am going to be a mother. Because this guy is going to be so prepared and going to learn so much from potential, some failures that when you see me in 2022, when you see me in 2023, When you see me in 2024, you better be fucking ready. Because I'm going to get this guy so ready.

I'm going to get this guy so good. But he was obsessed because a lot of coaches are in the short-term mindset. I just got to beat the Eagles this week. I just got to beat Seattle this week. But the reality is you're not beating any of these teams. You lost four games in a row. Three of them with Jimmy. So you're not winning any games with Jimmy.

Andy Reid, the year that he red shirted Patrick Mahomes, they won the AFC West. They clinced the division by, week 16, you know, the final week of the season, Mahomes got to play because they had clinched home field. Clearly, Kyle Shanahan had this false sense of his own team. They are not sniffing the playoffs right now. And they have a quarterback who's only got to play one game. And in that game, he got hurt. Where if Kyle could have seen the big picture, like Kyle, you have a six-year contract. You were a guy that like put all your chips in the table. And like I said with Joe

Douglas, I admire that, having some balls, taking a big swing. Most humans, in any walk of life are terrified. They love staying in the slow lane. They play it safe. They play scared. That's not the way to win. And it doesn't mean you're always going to dominate in the fast lane, but you got to operate there if you want to win big.

Obviously, the chiefs did it once upon a time when they traded up for Mahomes. The bills did it when they traded up for Josh Allen. You got to take big swings. And the Niners did. And then they refused to let the guy fail because they were so obsessed. with the short term instead of thinking long term. And I don't know. Front office people don't think like that.

We always thought big picture because we think talent. Jimmy Garoppolo is not that good. For whatever reason, he got worse the last couple years. And I think a big part of that was he got injured a lot and he doesn't get to practice. And if you don't practice in football, you get worse. This isn't baseball. This isn't basketball. You don't get to play that many games.

So you have to practice and he got to play. And Jimmy didn't either. And Kyle Shanahan right now is eight games under 500 in his career. And listen, Jed York doesn't even care. We ain't dealing with some crazy owner. Jed York wants Kyle Shanahan to succeed. Kyle Shanahan is not on some hot seat. I think Kyle Shanahan is a good coach.

I think his miscalculation of this situation because he was obsessed with like winning October in 2021 when he had this quarterback that he paid all these draft picks for was not just a miscalculation. it was a major mistake, and now he's paying for it, because he's not winning games anyway. Now, Sean McVeigh's situation, like obviously he got a plug-and-play player in Matt Stafford. But all Sean McVe does, all he does is win. And win big.

He is 27 games over 500. They both got head jobs the same year. Now, it was clear right, when he got there, the Rams were a little more equipped. But still, we see Jared Gaffes. like Jared Goff was that good. So this notion that like, I just think

Kyle needs to do some self-evaluation, needs to look in the mirror, and it's hard. Kyle Shanahan has power with the 49ers that was like John Gruden with the Raiders. Every player on the roster is handpicked by him.

He is the boss. He has complete control of every decision-making apparatus on the team. The draft, free agency, a waiver claim. If he says no, the answer is no. And I think the way he operated with his quarterback

in his faith for whatever reason in Jimmy Garapolo has come back to Biden. I was alerted by my producer, James, that there were some people I talked about on Monday about Jamar Chase and his stardom. And I guess a lot of people on the social media streets were like, he's not Randy Moss, though.

and Randy Moss as a rookie and anyone that's watched the 30 for 30 on Randy like Randy shouldn't have been at Marshall you know Randy should have been at Florida State or Notre Dame I mean he's one of the greatest probably recruits ever he's clearly one of the greatest NFL players ever he's a freak and then he fell in that draft

because of the character concerns and he ended up on a team the Minnesota Vikings who you know I think his rookie year they went to the NFC championship game and they lost at home to the dirty birds and he was incredible he scored 17 touchdowns as a rookie. And I don't think Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, who also had

statistically the greatest rookie season last year of any rookie in terms of catches, like the league's a lot different. When Randy came in the league in the late 90s, no one cared about concussions. You couldn't run over the middle. The game was different. The running game was obviously

much more of a part of every team's operation. Though, when he got to Minnesota, they had Chris Carter, who's also a Hall of Famer. They had Robert Smith, who was kind of like a poor man's Marshall Falk they were awesome. They had a guy, I forget his name, Jake something 86, ball or two. Their offensive suite.

Jamar Chase goes to the Bengals, who every single person, and I would imagine most Bengal fans listening, did not think the team was going to be very good. And through seven games, pulled up some stats here, that Randy had six touchdowns through seven games. And he went on to have 17. Jamar Chase also has six.

And obviously he's got the extra game to work with. But he is on pace like, he's going to have 17 or 18 touchdowns. Now, if I had to bet, probably more realistically, it'll be like 13 or 14. But I don't think it's inconceivable. He is, he's different, right? He does not, Randy's probably just, you know, in terms of the top guys, Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss. Like, he is just, he's so much different than him all, right? Terrell Owens, Larry and Calvin were so physical, right? They were like NBA.

players. Randy was too, but he was also so I don't even know the right, eloquent and just smooth and fast, but he could jump and he had it all. I mean, he's just probably one of the most unique athletes in sports history. This guy looks just like he's much smaller, but he's so physical

that I think he's got a chance to be an all-time great player. And so does his teammate, Justin Jefferson. I mean, who's also killing it this year. But it's pretty remarkable to see how great he is immediately. And unlike, he doesn't have Chris Carter. T. Higgins, when the dust settles and the career ends,

I would imagine T. Higgins' career is not Chris Carter's. Right? Now, Joe Mixing's pretty good. But what Jamar is doing, and especially yesterday, when everyone in that stadium on their couch knew that they were throwing it to him, they couldn't do anything. They could not stop him. And I'm not saying he's going to be Randy Moss or Jerry Rice.

But I'd say, as a rookie, like Randy, he immediately is, you know, Randy was a top four or five player right away, right? I don't know, you know, Jamar, in a vacuum, just through seven games, is a top 10 wide receiver right now in the NFL. And if you wanted to argue his top five, I don't know if I'd push against you. Not with what I've seen, not statistically what he's doing. I mean, he's averaging over 100 yards a game. I mean, it's just, 100 yards a game is a rookie for a guy that couldn't catch it a month ago, right? Or two months ago now in August.

It really is remarkable. It speaks to Joe Burrow the scout because he pounded the table. And it's the best part about the NFL is every year, like, we don't really get this in baseball. We definitely don't get this in the NBA. Not a soul saw the Bengals competing to be a playoff team. And honestly, I don't know how you watch them yesterday and go, if Burrow and Chase stay healthy, how they are not a playoff team. And it's just something that we consistently get, you know, every fall is a team that no one expected makes the playoffs.

And if you just make the playoffs, it's not seven-game series. It's just one-off games. And if they were somehow to win this division, they would get a home game, right? And unlike some of those Marvin Lewis teams that could never win a playoff game, Andy Dalton had major limitations.

Like I said, with Donald, Tua, Jalen Hertz, and Jimmy G, when you do not have a big arm and you play outside in cold weather places, it can expose you fast. And I thought it always did. And Andy played on a lot of, really, really good teams.

Burrow doesn't have a great arm, but it's better than Andy Dalton. I mean, he's a much better player than Andy Dalton. Now, I don't think this Bengal team on paper is quite as good as some of those Dalton teams. But when you have a quarterback who's this damn good, who knows, man, I would not discount them, you know, not just making the playoffs, but kind of being a factor if they can stay healthy. Okay, let's go a little Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlekopf is the Instagram handle. two Fs.

The Eagles and Fresno State. Two places I worked right out of college, neither of them spelled my name right with a nameplate. Always offended me, kept a little chip on the shoulder. It's like you guys can't even, I guess there wasn't LinkedIn back then, but still, you know, you can't spell my name right? Two Fs at John Middilcoff.

Start with Mike. Mike question. Why doesn't LSU go after Joe Brady? He seems like everyone is saying Lane, but given all the success Joe had there in 19, wouldn't he be a good fit? He's also young and proven to be able to develop a quarterback. Well, I stumbled upon, I don't know if it was like an LSU message board

or an article that was written in Baton Rouge. One thing that Brady had told his confidants, and let's face it, it's not, you know, Sam Darnold is a disaster right now. Now, he was a disaster before Joe Brady got there, but it's not like Joe Brady has vaulted his stock with great coaching in terms of the quarterback. Now, I like Joe Brady, but just a couple years ago, he was a quality control guy, right? He was not this Mr. Can't Miss coach.

The thing that I read is that people around the LSU program, he hated recruiting. He is a, you know, he is like an NFL wired. He just wants to game plan, talk ball, X's and O's, not recruit the jimmies and the Jos. And when you coach in college at a program like LSU and you're the head coach, I would imagine he would also be the offensive coordinator Recruiting recruiting recruiting recruiting recruiting It would wear your ass out And from the story that I had read

And I think you can Google this Is he doesn't want to recruit And I just don't blame him And I think he just has to keep swinging his pick And he'll eventually be an NFL head coach So I would say that I'd say that's the reason They need to get a guy

Who loves, who's a good coach And loves to recruit Nick Saban, Kirby Smart, Urban Meyer, Ryan Day, right? You know, Mario, he can recruit, and he likes to coach. So, you know, their guys, Chris Peterson was like this in college. You know, you can Chris, you know, Pete,

I almost said Chris, Pete Carroll when he was at USC. Total package. Coach defense, even though he wasn't the defensive coordinator, they actually had that bald guy. But you know what I mean? He was, you know, an integral, you know, he loved the coaching aspect, but he loved to recruit.

So if you love to recruit and you just treat it like a competition in itself, and I think that's what Sabin does. He treats recruiting like a game. And he plans on winning that fucking game. And he does. If the Browns can stay healthy,

do you think they have a chance of making noise in the playoffs? Well, they're not even close to healthy. So I... I would say no. Because I just do not trust Baker Mayfield in a playoff game. I know.

won that game last year, but it was against Rathusberger. I think when you look at the playoff teams, they'd have to play. They'd have the worst quarterback of all the teams, right? The Chargers, Raiders, or Chiefs, Lamar, the Bills.

I mean, they just, they have a quarterback now. The Titans, they could be the Titans, but the Titans are going to be like a four seat. So I don't think so. And I, the Browns are good, right? If Chub's healthy, if Kareem Hunt's healthy, they get their offensive line healthy Jarvis back

Make noise Yeah they could win a game I guess But I don't think they could make quote unquote noise In terms of winning the EFC I just don't think he's good enough And I'm not I'm not some Baker hater And some people like

You're just doing Colin's dirty work You're just your boss Tells you to hate Baker Mayfield No I honestly I don't even think I've ever talked to Colin about Baker Mayfield Maybe just beside like on an interview before But like we don't text about him

I don't care I'm in agreement and I told him this actually when Baker was coming out. I liked him more coming out than Colin did, but I am in agreement his limitations now. I don't think you can really argue it. Like he is their problem. You put Josh Allen, if they could redo the draft,

think about this, if you could redo the 2018 draft. I think the only question is who goes one, Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. Probably Josh Allen. Because I do think Lamar, while he's gotten a lot better early on, you'd have to curtail your offense. and only, you know, Greg Roman was equipped to do that because he had coached with Kaepernick.

And he had kind of instituted and taken that Nevada pistol. And he was just, he had a unique skill set to be able to do that. Now, Lamar, credit to him, has developed into this passer. But it's a no-brainer who's going one and two. It's one of those two guys. And the other guy's going two, right? With all the problems the dolphins are having a quarterback, at the moment, an uncertainty about Deshaun Watson, my shout would be to Cam Newton.

got his jag now. I think you meant to say jab. He said jag. But I know what you're saying. We'll open some running playbook options and warm weather. Tua, you know, to me, you draft Tua number five overall. Even if you're not going to make this trade for Watson, and obviously as of recording this, they haven't made it.

It could happen at any moment. They are just going to write it out with Tua. And Tua lit up the Atlanta Falcons defense, which is terrible. but you just got to keep getting him reps and see if he could ever just be a serviceable like top 15 quarterback, right? We know he's never going to be a top five guy. I think it's fair to say, I believe he's never going to be a top 10 guy.

I think you just ask yourself, can he become like the little left-handed version of Alex Smith? Can he become that? I would say no, but if you're the dolphins and you've used the fifth pick, now there's also the counter argument of when you make a bad investment in life, if you run a business as a homeowner, as just an independent investor, do you chase that? Right?

Like, I bought a bunch of stocks over the last year. Every single one of them dipped. All of them. Some dipped 50 plus percent. I had two options. I could either write it out and let it go back up. I guess I had three options. I could write it out, let it go back up, and who knows, maybe it wouldn't.

I could sell at a loss, you know, and basically just wave. the white flag, or I could chase my loss, and hopefully one day it would be a gain. Keep investing. It's why my gambling, or not a gambling philosophy, my investing philosophy, I tend to only buy when things go red, right? I buy on red days because it's cheaper, right? And definitely, if I buy something in $100 and then it goes down to $80 and $70, well, if I love the company, I keep buying more. If I do not like the company and I regret it and I don't need the money, I just let it be. If I have to have the cash that I sell at a loss. Ideally, you don't ever want to sell it a loss. And when you invest the fifth overall pick, you know, that's the equivalent of investing

75% of your portfolio into one stock. So the amount of capital in investment they've put into Tua is pretty high. Now, if they trade for DeShaun Watson, they've basically just immediately pivoted and they've sold and they just waived the white flag. And they basically probably try to pawn two off. But what would Tua be worth? I think we talked. We talked about it. I think we talked about. I think we talked about that last week when the rumor broke. Could they get a second round pick for Tua? He's halfway through year two. He was the fifth overall pick. So it's not like he makes $800,000. I would guess he makes $6,000 million dollars a year. Is he a $7 million quarterback? Maybe. Yeah, probably. But do you want to trade a second round pick for a guy that you're probably not going

to give a second contract to? It's a complicated situation. And it all boils back to they fucked up the pick. They missed. They whiffed. Wift would be strong because Tua can, you know, Tua can start games. But they took the wrong guy. Anytime you take the wrong guy at quarterback, it is a devastating pick. It really is. And most people do not get put in the position Steve Kime got into, right? Steve Kime drafted the wrong guy, Josh Rosen. And I agreed with his pick at the time. I would have taken Josh Rosen too. Then the next year he takes Kyler Murray. Best thing he ever did. Smartest pick of his life. and he's made great picks, right? Honey Badger, David Johnson, Buda Baker. He traded for Calvin, Calvin, my head's not quite firing on all cylinders.

Maybe I got the long COVID or something. Chandler Jones, he's made fantastic moves. The most important move, I guess he traded for Carson Palmer too. But anytime you get a guy on a rookie contract, that is a, it's really, really important, right? And he didn't even have to, he just used his pick next year to get Deshaun Watson. and they're going to have to trade so many first round picks. That sucks. It really sucks because they could just have Justin Herbert. Love the pod, following you for six months now.

I'm a huge Cleveland fan, but I'm not sure about the future at quarterback. With Baker's future on the line this year, it puts the Browns at a tough spot. You see a quarterback that would fit in Stefansky system that could be a big-time playmaker? Rogers and Wilson seem ideal, but don't have hope of that happening.

I would agree. Russell Wilson, Aaron Rogers, not coming to Cleveland Browns. Love to hear your take. You know, Baker fits. Baker works. Case Keenham works. Kirk Cousins works. Matt Schaub works.

We've seen average quarterback. Jimmy Garoppel worked for a while. You can run with average quarterbacks in this offense and function. I think ultimately, though, you want a top flight quarterback. Because if you get a high-end guy, he can function in this offense.

Look at Rogers. And he can do other shit. So I just think, you want to get the best possible quarterback, a guy that's accurate, a guy that's mobile, a guy that's really talented, and he'll thrive in this offense. That would be my take.

Do you see Zach Wilson as our guy, lifelong Jets fan? Do you see Zach Wilson as a guy, and if so, what pieces do we need around him to end my decade of pain and misery? I haven't watched that much Jets football, but I would say I'm not going to knock Zach Wilson for poor play this year.

he's injured now but the offensive lines banged up their offensive weapons are pretty putrid. They're teams in Chambles. Their teams and Chambles. His offensive coordinator had never called plays. I think next year, given that they got two first round picks, and hopefully

Beckton's healthy. They drafted an offensive lineman this year as well, so you're going to have a much better offensive line. Hopefully you add some skill guys. I would go land like a Drake London from USC, put him with what's the Elijah is Elijah Mitchell? No, that's the 49ers

wide receiver running back. Whatever you're, Elijah Moore, the wide receiver from Ole Miss. Get a big guy to go with the speed guy. You have a good running back that you drafted, I think in the fourth round from North Carolina, Carter, the last name. So all of a sudden you start building around

Zach Wilson. That would be my focus. I would do everything humanly possible to build around Zach Wilson. Get them skill guys. Get them impact players. And I don't think you can properly. even begin to judge him till start of next year. I really don't.

Is he your guy? I can't say that. But do I think he's good or bad? I'm not going to make an judgment till I judge him next year. This year is a joke. I mean, this year, they're terrible. They're absolutely terrible. Terrible, as Charles would say.

They're really bad. And I can't put that on a rookie quarterback who came out early from BYU. That ain't his fault. It's not. I put that on the, I put that on Joe Douglas. I put that on, you know, Sala and the coaching staff.

I do not put that on Zach Wilson. So I would say you just, you just got to wait. You just got to wait till next year. Use a couple of those top picks on offensive players. I would not fuck with the defense until I put everything I possibly could around Zach Wilson. Who do you think is the bigger bust?

Josh Rosen or Tua. Well, it's not even close. It's Rosen's, you know, a practice squad level player. Tua is starting quarterback in the NFL. He just threw for 300-something yards against... I know it was Atlanta, but it's Rosen. Rosen, in a crazy way, is one of the biggest busts of all time. Now, it doesn't seem like he's like a bad guy.

It doesn't seem that he's, you know, lazy. You know, Jamarcus was like doing drugs. Ryan Leif was just, at the time, a major asshole and didn't study or anything. I don't think that's the case with Rosen. I just think he's not very good, which is nuts. I thought he was, he can't move, watching him at practice,

he's not that accurate when he was with the Niners, bad athlete, just not a very good player. If you didn't know he was a top 10 pick and you just put him against some random guy who was an undrafted free agent, you would not know the difference. And whether that's just the case

that that first year with Arizona, when they were that terrible, it ruined his career, I don't know. I don't, I'd have to talk to people that have spent time around him to get some better insight, but I don't think it's close. I mean, Josh Rosen will go down.

He was a number 10 overall pick, and two years later he was on practice squats. Practice squats. Salon Iverson, they're talking about practice. That's the only place he plays is in practice. So it's, Josh Rosen is just from a pure talent standpoint, I think one of the biggest busts we've ever seen.

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