The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Jags on the Clock, Ben Simmons Factor, Deebo Latest, Draft Mailbag

Episode Date: April 26, 2022

John discusses the chance Trent Baalke and the Jags have to turnaround their laughing stock perception, how the drama surrounding Ben Simmons and the Nets could impact NFL teams draft boards, if Deebo Samuel gets dealt before the draft, how the NFL is planning on dominating Christmas Day, and answers listening questions in a draft heavy Middlekauff Mailbag. 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! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. The three and out podcast is presented by Fandual Sportsbook. There is no better place to bet every moment more than with Fandual. With football ending, we have the NBA rolling, March madness right around the corner,

and my personal favorite, betting on the PGA. tour. I cannot recommend it enough. You get winnings fast, and winnings are also delivered in under two hours. It's a fun to combine multiple bets from the same game parlay. No big deal. NBA, Steph Curry, Clay Thompson. That would be what I would do. If you are new, just download the Fandual app. To get started now, sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you. What is going on, everybody? John Middlecop, three and out podcast. Monday, a I hope everyone is doing well. Life is good.

You had a good weekend. You had a good Monday. Your Tuesday's going well. Coffee's kicking in. You're feeling alive. Ready for life. NFL draft week is here. Let's roll.

I'm going to dive into a lot today. Tram bulky, avoiding Ben Simmons is in the draft. The New York Giants. NFL coming for Christmas. The New York Jets and Debo. A lot going on. subscribe to the podcast. If you listen through Collins' feed,

please subscribe to the three and out feed, separate, appreciate it. Also, leave a review. We greatly appreciate that as well. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram. Fire up in those direct messages. I'm actually, I talked about it a little bit later. I'm recording this intro after I've recorded the podcast.

I might go watch the second half of the Nets game and answer a bunch of DM. So I might, you know, spend the next couple hours interacting with the people. on there. And other than that, any other, I guess we'll have a podcast. I'll have a golf podcast Wednesday. I'll have a draft podcast on Friday. May do another one for Saturday. If not, definitely we'll have something Sunday, Monday. So we'll have a lot of content coming. Great part is once you're subscribed to the podcast, it automatically humps. But you've got to subscribe to the three and out podcast. Let's dive in the show. So we are, you know,

less than four days away from this draft getting underway. And the Jags who have been, you know, they're probably, I don't know, market size. I mean, they might be bigger than Green Bay or whatever. But to me, they're the most irrelevant franchise in the league. And I do think they've gotten two guys who are, let's face it, Trent Balke and Doug Peterson. And let's start with Trent. Pretty polarizing individual, right? I live in the Bay Area,

49er guy, all my friends and family are, you say his name, it brings up and evokes emotion. And I think when you are a public figure, like truly famous, like an NFL football coach, an actor, a singer,

and this is kind of true, you would say in the city you live in with your friends and family, perception becomes reality. Right, when you say something about someone, you're going to have a perception of famous people. Like if I say Leonardo DiCaprio, Most people would be like, oh yeah, he sleeps a lot of women.

Right. If I say Bill Belichick, you'd be like, Henri old SOB. If I say, you know, Steph Curry, you'd be like, oh, a lot of fun. Good guy. Right. LeBron James, control freak.

Like, you just have these perceptions of these people that you don't necessarily know, right? Singers, actors, athletes, and coaches, and executives. And I think Trent Balke, fair or not, I've said it before, I can only speak to my own experiences. he was always pretty cool to me. But I never worked for him. I was never around him in a professional setting

besides just kind of bullshitting with him. When I was on radio, he came on the radio and he was always like giving me props. He was cool. But that is not the reaction that most people have inside the business. So then people on the outside, and for a long time it was the Bay Area

because he was the reason Jim Harbaugh left. And then it became, once he took over last year, the rest of the NFL all is an opinion on him. And I'm talking the fans. I think Trent Balkey is kind of a bad guy and think he's an idiot, thinks he's bad at his job. And listen, I saw firsthand. He made some pretty good moves.

He was a big part of getting Jim Harbaugh to come to the 49ers once upon a time. They used to go on jogs like in 2011 when Jim first got the job. He made some great signings in free agency and some great early draft picks. But we don't think about that anymore. We just think about this power hungry, bad guy who somehow keeps getting big job. and now he's got Trevor Lawrence, who's his starting quarterback. And Doug Peterson, a lot of times when you've won a Super Bowl or accomplished whatever in an industry like the NFL,

like if I was a venture capitalist and I hit some home run as an investor, I would get another shot immediately. People would give me money to go invest more. Doug Peterson didn't just win a Super Bowl. The following year, he won another game with Nick Foles. He couldn't get a job last year. Now, I know he's claimed he took a year off. No one was going to hire him.

And I would argue even this cycle, it was going to be a struggle for him to get a job. And if it wasn't the Jags, he was not going to become a head coach, which is pretty crazy. And I'm not claiming him to be like John Harbaugh or Randy Reid, but he's pretty damn good. We see these coaches get hired every year. Joe judges of the world, and Doug Peterson couldn't get a job immediately. He wasn't just the head coach. He was the play caller. So the perception on these guys won, Trent Balke, bad guy, in over his head.

I saw a report today that him and the owner are already at odds over who to pick. He wants to take Walker, the kind of Alden Smith of this draft, trying to hit a home run. The owner wants to go safe, Aidan Hutchinson. And honestly, it could be true, it might not be true, but with Trent, we always believe. Because when there's always kind of feels like there's some smoke with bulky, and then there's always been fires in the past. So it's believable. And then Doug, who I think has been discounted, like, we saw this guy for years in a big boy market, where it's really, really hard to be successful.

It is not easy. It ain't Chip Kelly alive. Siriani actually is pretty impressive. But it's not a place where most guys are going to go have success. Philly, New York, they run through Washington. It's intense. He handled it with ease. And now he gets to take over this quarterback who just a year ago,

and I've had a lot of people DM me and I think it's fair. And I don't, I'd be lying if I said I watched a lot of Jags football. But clearly he's straight. Now, I would defend Trevor Lawrence that any young guy who is used to stability, high level, just consistency in their life goes to chaos. It can overwhelm you. And I am not going to judge a guy that came from Clemson, probably the most stable program in the country beside Alabama.

But unlike Alabama, he had the same coaches. It was just stability, consistency, and then went to Urban Fucking Meyer, who didn't even make it through the year. It was a complete shit show. Excuse my language, little kids, if you're listening, earmuffs. But the reality is, is that there is going to be some pressure on this guy that we said, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, like that level of a prospect. Doug Peterson, we've seen him.

He's coach Carson Wentz, who was drafted two overall at his best year under Doug Peterson. We've seen Trent Balkei, take a team and win. But here, you can't deny, there's a lot of pressure this franchise is drafted one overall. this quarterback just to kind of figure it out. And ultimately if they screw it up, you know, especially Trent Balke, like he is going to be a gettelman like laughing stock. Because I'd argue he kind of is right now and I think it's a little unfair. Now granted, he's brought some of this on himself, but, you know, the Jags,

this is a big couple days for them just to kind of get the train back on the tracks. Because when you have the number one overall pick, if you hit a home run, you get a guy under contract. if he immediately becomes a pro bowler or an all pro is one of the best deals in the league. And whether this draft, I mean, I don't think it's that great, but that doesn't mean great players won't come from it. It's just not going to, it's going to be all over the map.

Like there would probably be a pro bowler, which there are every year. But in this draft, I think there are going to be so many guys and you've seen it around. I've got Peter King writing about this, and I just talk to people in the league, that some guys are going to get drafted like in the teams that other teams have rated number four. 50. Some guys are going to get drafted number 50 that another team, because they're a bunch

of teams that don't have picks, would have taken in the first round. And that is, I would say, a little not typical. Last year, the top 50 picks, I would say in the league, the overwhelming majority had like a group of 3540. Like most people were on the same page. Not the case in this draft. Jim Nagy had a tweet yesterday. He is the director of the senior ball. And he used to work for, I think, Belichick, that he worked for Scott Pioly. He tweeted about Ben Simmons, because Ben Simmons was supposed to come back for the Nets forever. He's supposed to come back for Game 4, and of course he's not coming back, and it feels like his season's over.

And his tweet basically said that Ben Simmons situation is going to make every general manager in the league overthink their board, or at least re-look at their board, given people's character. and I actually saw Lewis Howes. He has like a, I don't even know if it'd be called a motivational podcast. He has an interesting guest. High level guy.

It's just a good podcast. And I was, you know, scroll on Instagram today. And I saw this, you know, I just follow some random accounts that have like, I don't even know if they're like leadership quotes, but they just have videos of people talking about interesting stuff. And he had this statement that said like, to have a healthy relationship,

you need more than love. And his point was basically like, we're told when we're kids, find someone you love, marry them, and he'll be happy forever. And he's like, that's a big part of it.

But you also need to have similar values, similar vision. Because if you're going to get married at 25, 30, 35, you know, if you're relatively healthy, you're going to live another 40 years. So listen, I know I've changed dramatically from five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago.

You're constantly, you should be evolving. And you have to get, you got to be with someone who's somewhat on the same page as you in terms of life. And I think when you're looking for players, part of like Patriots, why they have their Patriot guys, their core guys over the years, Mike Vrables, Teddy Bruske's, Devin McCordy's, Slaters, because they get guys that fall into their vision, guys that want to be high achievers, right?

And Ben Simmons, I think the knock on him, a lot of people think he does not like basketball. And there are people in every pro sport, baseball, basketball, football that don't like their sport. They were given these athletic gifts from the man upstairs and they're just get special gifts and they're able to monetize it and they do it. Like most human beings, what Ben Simmons is like 6-9, 610, walk around downtown any city. You won't see one person that's 610. He is just an outlier in terms of his height immediately. And then obviously he's really skilled. but I think it's pretty clear he doesn't like basketball.

And there have been guys in the past, like Jadabion Clowny is a good example. Jadabion Clowny, if you look, is that a solid career? He's going to play for a long time in the league. He was drafted number one overall. But I think people have questioned, like, how much does he really like football?

He's almost viewed as an underachiever because it's like how good he could have been. Is he really all in on football? He's like what football provides. Nidomac and Sue battled that a little bit for a while too. Now, I think he's got with the right people in Tampa and has really excelled. But I think both those guys, if you look Sue and Judevian Clowny, would almost be viewed as underachievers. They should have been no doubt about it, Hall of Fame players.

And Sue's probably had a better career when it's all said and done than Clowny. But I think if you ask most general managers and coaches like, yeah, it probably should have been more. And when you're drafting a guy, and we talked about this a lot last week, we're going to talk about this forever. you're drafting a person before you're drafting the player. You need this guy to have all of his chips in the middle and basically be obsessed. When I think of most of the great players in my adult life, which is basically the last 20 years, they have been football junkies.

Obviously the quarterbacks, but you just go around to other positions. Ed Reed, right? When I think Ed Reed, do you think a guy who's just like kind of half in, half out? Richard Sherman. I had a chance to just be around him a little bit. that guy loves football. I mean, an absolute junkie.

And you just go position by position. The best players, DeVante, some of the great players right now, Travis Kelsey, Devante Adams, football's their life. And the media often, when these stories come out of like unnamed scouts, they get up in arms when they're like, why do we care if the guy's balance? Because a lot of people in life, when they're going to be great at an industry that's very competitive,

very, very competitive. You can't really be balanced. You have to be somewhat psychotic. And it's hard to kind of know that with young people, right? Because you can get the information. I've gone into these schools. You ask around. And it's hard to truly know.

You're taking educated guesses. But the more and more guys that you can get that are just, football is a huge part of their life. A massive part of their life. You can build your franchise around guys like that. I was with the Eagles when we drafted Jason Kelsey. he's going to go down as one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise.

Because when you talk to people in that building, when you talk to people in the city of Philadelphia, the guy's all in on football. Football means everything to him. Being a team leader means a lot. Being a team captain, battling on Sunday, working through the week,

and we're going to have all these players be drafted. A large percentage of them are not going to play well in the NFL. And a large percentage of those guys would have had, have the talent to excel in the league. But maybe they don't like football as much as they think. Maybe they don't actually like...

Because a huge part of football is working at it. I say it all the time. Baseball, you get to play every day. I saw Christian Yelich, right? Brewer Star, signed him to $180 million a couple years ago. It's kind of struggling right now. His career feels like it's trending down. If he starts...

He gets to play every day. All it takes is like two weeks of batting 500, hitting seven home runs. Boom. He's back on turn. track. He doesn't have to wait once a week to play. Even in the NBA, you get to play all the time. Even in the playoffs, you're playing three times a week. In football, you get one shot a week. You get 17 games. And most of the teams aren't making the playoffs. So you got to love everything

else that comes with football. Studying. Lifting. Like, listen, I'm not a huge fan of lifting. Lifting's hard. You know, and especially the way you have to do it in football, heavy weights. Most people are not doing the Tom Brady pliability thing. They're hitting squats. They're working on their lower body. Working on your lower body is hard. Training in the summer, in the heat. It is very, very difficult.

So the teams that draft the best are the best at identifying the people because they put those people with the people already in their building that are high level and then you get success. The teams that struggle can never figure out the pieces of the puzzle. They never can.

I was listening to this financial podcast talking about Elon Musk. And obviously he just bought Twitter, but he hires such elite guys at Tesla. Like these venture capitalists were like, the people that know, most of us have no clue who these actual individuals are. But clearly, he gets really,

really high level people that are running Tesla. It's why the thing's dominating and printing money. He's the richest man in the world. So you have to have a vision and know what you're getting. And then with that vision, get the right people. because this is ultimately a people business. The playoffs are here. You can make every game feel like game seven on Fandall Sportsbook,

an official partner of the NBA. Fandals hooking you up free bets through the playoffs. Free bets. Doesn't matter if you're a new customer or already have an account. Be sure to check out the app. Exclusive weekly same game parlay promos. Fandul's got so many ways to play. Best of all, when you win, you get paid faster.

than a fast break. If you're new to Fandul, download the Fandul Sportsbook app, sign up with a promo code Colin. If you already have an account, you're all set to get in on the action. Either way, you'll get an assist from Fandul when you've had a same game parlay during the playoffs. Van Delsk, an official partner with the NBA. 21 plus and present in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana and Louisiana permitted parishes only. Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia. First online, real money wager only. Refund issued as non-withrawable site credit that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. I see terms at sportsbook.Fandul.com.

Gambling problem, 1-800-800 next step or text next step to 5334-2-2-A-8-8-8-9-7-7-7-1-1-7. or visit C-C-P-GG or visit Fand-Duel. Connecticut, 1-800-G or visit Fand-Duel. com slash RG and Colorado, Indiana, Georgia, and Virginia. 1-8-7-7-0-1-1-1-1-1-7-0-1-1-1-1-1-Gabler. For confidential help in Michigan. 1877 H-O-P-E-N-Y, or text H-O-P-E-N-Y-4-6-7-369 in New York, Tennessee. Redline, 1-800-8-9-9-Tennessee.

Visit 1-800-Gambler.net in West Virginia. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'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, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 J. 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 Lynch talked today, and I mean, I wouldn't say he shot down the rumors. I mean, there isn't a rumor. Devo Samuel went to Jeff Darlington and requested a trade. Like, that happened. I mean, it's not, there is no narrative out.

He requested a trade. Now, John Lynch made it pretty clear. They're not in the business of trading Debo Samuel. And they shouldn't be. I say this. Belichick trades everyone. Actually, he doesn't. Belichick did second and third contracts for many of his stars over the years.

Like Grunkowski, McCordy, obviously Brady, but Richard Seymour got a second contract. Logan's got a second contract. He did not let every guy walk in the, their second contract. He extended core guys. And when you get great players who are core members of your team, you keep them. Now, you can't control when a guy wants a trade and who knows, unless Debo comes out and gives us the bullet points of why we're all just making educated guesses. Is it California? Is it playing running back? Does he want to be closer to home?

Is it the taxes? Who knows? I'm just, we're all taking educated guesses until he speaks and he hasn't spoke on the details and who knows he might not. But John Lynch made it pretty clear we're not in the business of trading Debo Samuel. He didn't say under no circumstances when we traded Debo Samuel because just a couple years ago he traded to Forrest Bukter

for the 13th pick. And I saw Rapsheet say today on McAfee's YouTube show that underrated part about McAfee's YouTube show he's obviously an absolute rock star in the media landscape. He has a football show.

You know, his start now, obviously he's a former football player but he talks 90% football. It's pretty clear what's King in America. If he did that with basketball or baseball, it would not work. He does a football show. I say it all the time with Peyton Manning. Like everyone's trying to do a Manning cast.

That works because it's Peyton Manning. The baseball cast ain't going to work. The basketball cast has no shot. The football thing works, one, because of the NFL and it's Monday Night Football. And two, because it's Peyton Freaking Manning and Eli Manning. You can't just do it with anyone. Like Pat McAfee is a pretty unique,

character and he's talking about the biggest league by a mile. But back to the Jets, does the Jets have no shot to get Debo Samuel for pick 10? Because his rap sheet told McAfee that basically the two trades that happened for Devante and for Tyreek added up to the 13th overall pick, give or take, on the value chart for the draft, which, you know, makes sense if you just do the basic math. Well, both those guys were going on to their third contract. So like I about Belichick, the Packers and the Chiefs extended those guys when they were in Debo's shoes. So it's crazy to not extend the A.J. Browns, the Debo Samuels, the Terry McClorence. The whole point of being a general manager, being a head coach, running an NFL operation,

is to find guys like Debo Samuel and then keep them in their prime. Now, contract negotiations, I don't care what industry you're in listening to this, are difficult. They're not easy. And the older you get and the more, leverage. I remember being 27 or 28 years old and getting offered jobs. Like, yeah, I'll take it. You'll pay me 50 grand to do the West I'm in. You'll give me 85 grand

to host a radio show. I'm in. You just didn't care. But the older you get, the more success you have, it can get contentious. You want certain things. You have certain demands. Just like the other side does. And in the history of pro sports, but specifically football, it has been, it's not always simple.

quarterbacks have become relatively simple, position players have not. And it's because injuries, right? More people get hurt in the sport of football than the other sports, especially at certain positions. When I pay a defensive lineman, when I pay a running back,

when I pay a tight end, at any moment, their leg can get snapped. Their career can end. It happens like once every other year. A guy's career is just over in the prime of his career. So I understand, like I always get both sides. And I tend to be a little more team. management because team management, the more success they have, the more fan friendly it is,

the more fan friendly it is, the more success the league has. And I'm paid to talk about the league. I want the league to thrive. And I've said it before. The NFL is not going to be on top forever. Right now they're humming. And in my last 10 years, I'm at last 20, but one day, kids, I'll promise you this. And anyone listening with young kids, they watch people play video games right now. The video game industry in my lifetime is going to be massive. If you tell me the video game industry at one point in time as more people watching than live sports. It might be 2050, but it's coming. I do believe that the Jets should be quote unquote overpay.

And I don't think it's crazy for them to overpay. They're in a division that's loaded. Belichick is the greatest coach of all time and has a playoff team. The Bills are a powerhouse. The Miami Dolphins, while they have some unknowns, do have a lot of good players and have been winning lately. The Jets are clearly the fourth team in that division. their quarterback needs a lot of help.

Well, who is a guy that can immediately help a quarterback? A guy that you can hand the ball off or throw to him behind the line of scrimmage in Debo Samuel. Now, it does not behoove the Niners to give them for pick 10. I've said it over and over. Pick 10 in a bad draft, isn't that valuable? And I'd argue pick 38, like, yeah, I'm giving you Debo Samuel for pick 10 and 38 in theory that has good value, but I no longer have Debo Samuel. And Debo Samuel literally just carried me to the playoffs.

So if you want Debo Samuel, who is on my team, and I do not need to trade, you have to pay almost a buck 75 on the dollar. I would demand pick 10, one of the second round picks, and honestly, the first round pick next year. And most people would say, no chance you do that. Then you don't get Devo Samuel. But the Jets are in desperate need of life. This is a bad draft. Whoever they pick, especially if it's an offensive lineman or defensive lineman, no one's paying. for tickets to go see that guy play.

Now, if the Jets do draft with a 10th pick, Garrett Wilson or whatever, and he turns into Justin Jefferson, for sure. But it's risky. It's why I would probably not trade Debo Samuel under any circumstances of the Niners, even if I got pick 10, pick 38, and next year's won. Because more than likely at pick 10, I'm taking a lave or Garrett Wilson.

And I just think, and we've talked about this before, there are no sure things in the NFL. There is no such thing as a high floor. because every, we've always said, this guy's a high floor, this guy's a high floor, and half those guys don't even make teams. They get cut.

They get washed out of the league. So just, and especially at wide receiver, I think we've, we've become accustomed to think it's just, it's so easy now to find a wide receiver, plug and play,

and that guy becomes a star. Jalen Rager still happen. Like, not every guy's Justin Jefferson. Not every guy's Jamar Chase. So you got to be very, very careful. But if I was the Jets, I would get over, aggressive. I don't think it's crazy

given the situation they're in and how desperate they're just for some juice, for some people to care about them. So it wouldn't totally shock me if they come with an aggressive offer. And hell, the Niners might, even if they came with a crazy offer, still might say no. This draft.

I've been thinking a lot about and I talked to a guy in the NFL a while back who said, you know, and I remember this when I'd go to pro days, some of these older scouts would get mad like when a guy would decline to run. And I didn't know any better.

I was like, yeah, you should be running. And then now that I've seen, kind of can take a big picture view of it all, if I had a client who was slow, we would never run. Because the moment you run and you run slow, it hurts your draft stock. Because I've said it over and this is an economic exercise. And your draft, you're 40 time,

while probably a little overrated in the grand scheme of things, is a determining factor of where you're going to go on the draft. Because if you play safety or you play wide receiver and your card is up there on the board, a lot of boards are digital now. And it says 460, it's hard for me to pull the trigger as a GM, as the head coach, as the owner.

With that time, not great. It's much easier to draft, and it's not saying it's right to draft a guy that ran a 4-4-1. It's very easy to draft Chris Alave. It's very easy to draft. these wide receivers and these corners that fly. Kyle Hamilton, the safety from Notre Dame,

who actually has a podcast with the Notre Dame guys, ran really slow. And for a long period of time, he was going to be, which, and I agree, because I watched him play at Notre Dame, and I thought, this guy is a star. This guy is a baller. He is going to be a top five pick.

Then he goes to the combine and runs a, whatever, 4-5-0, or 4-5-5-5, or maybe it was like a 4-5-8, runs at his pro-date even slower. So now people around the league think he's slow. And now you hear these mock drafts and people talking about him

like he might go in the mid-teens. Before he ran, just based on his film, he was viewed as a top-five pick. And when I watched him, I thought, this guy's top-five pick, this guy's going to play in the league. And then he runs slow, and now he's talked about going in the teens.

I was listening to Michael Lombardi's podcast and he was talking to someone with a team that's picking in the late teens that goes, Hamilton might fall to us. Drake London, who got hurt during the season, broke his ankle, so, you know, slow to rehab, but he's healthy now, refused to run. Why?

He's not fast. Most people in the league think he'd run 4-6, but he didn't run. So there is no time next to his name. And he's being talked about potentially going in the top 10. Well, if Drake London had ran either at the Combine or at his pro day and put up a 4-6-4, there's zero chance on God's Green Earth, he's going in the top 15. Now, maybe when the dust settles, he ends up not going in the top 15. But if he had that time on his card, no chance.

Kyle Hamilton is going to lose money. He did lose money for running slow. So if my client is not going to be fast, we ain't running. And on the flip side, I've said it all the time. Lamar Jackson cost himself millions of dollars because he didn't run at the combine. Period. Point blank, end of story. if Lamar Jackson, we've seen a guy play for four years. He's fast as a mother.

I mean, I would guess 4-3-1. He'd probably run the fastest quarterback time in the history of the combine. Maybe RG3 ran high 4-3s, low 4-4s. I think he would be the fastest quarterback in the history of the combine. Maybe there have been like guys that transitioned to other positions, but probably not. I mean, he just would never have gone 32. But he refused to run because people thought he was a lot. a wide receiver. Well, some of these guys

run and then they hurt themselves. And I think Hamilton's a good example of a guy that's just trying to do the right thing because he's a competitor, and then it hurts him. Drake London refuses, and now it's like, well, and I, listen, I've heard people that are pretty torn on him. Some people think he's going to be a really good player.

I know when I watched him at USC, I thought he was a stud. But I've talked to other people that think he's sluggish, think he's not fast enough. And sometimes, you know, the contested catch guys, it's harder for them to transition in the league. Speed always translates, right? Chris Olavé is going to get open.

Immediately. Like, even Henry Ruggs, who is going to be in jail, by the second year it was clear, like, he could get open with ease. And he wasn't even a great route runner. Alave is. When you can go that fast, like, it's just harder.

The corner is reacting to you. He's backpedaling, you're running forward. Well, the backpedaling, most of these corners are now four-four guys. If you're a 4-6-5 guy, you have to have some special traits. Now, the positive on Drake London is he's very physical. He's a tough MFer.

I mean, contested catch guys. But I would say the contested catch guys make people in the league a little nervous. The Giants right now, there's some rumors about them getting rid of their former first-round pick, Cadarius Tony last year, who was a guy that had red flags coming out. Here's what I know. When you hire a new general manager and you hire a new head coach, and we see five to seven of them, every single. single year. Every guy on that roster, unless it's like an Aaron Rogers, is basically

immediately available. Because there is a chance that that coach, or that general manager, did not like that player coming out. Doesn't think that guy fits the scheme. And then there's the character stuff of questionable character guys, depending on what team that guy comes from, that guy was off the board. So it could just be as simple as, it's easy to be like, everyone starts fresh. That's always something like coaches love to say, or like people that take over companies, companies love to say, like, everyone starts fresh. I don't want to know. I just, whatever we start from ground zero, we'll go from here.

We'll just, by open door policy, come meet me, and we'll just develop a relationship from scratch. That's not the way it works in the NFL. Because when I take over as a GM, Joe Shane, who's coming from the bills, and Dayball, they evaluated this guy last year. They would know a lot about them. They would have an opinion. So it's easy to say that.

But when you come into a job and it's going to happen. in all these franchises, you're going to have an opinion on that player. It's always where it gets a little weird when the general manager stays and he hires a new coach. And then that coach doesn't like one of the guys that that general manager drafted. And then it can create a little animosity because obviously that general manager thinks that that player's good. But that coach may not like that guy from his previous stop or that his former organization

didn't. So it can become very complicated and convoluted quickly. But I can understand. were the giants, this rumor of them getting rid of the guy, like, what if both those guys hated him coming out? Now, I saw today on Elon's app Twitter that Tony has been at the facility, because I guess he didn't show up last week. He's been there this weekend and today.

Maybe he's trying to do his part because if I was him, I'd want to be with Dayball, who's clearly a really good coach and try to excel, because it's never good being a top 20 pick and immediately getting traded going into your second year. This story, I think, came out on Friday, and I didn't pay it too much attention that the NFL is going to take over Christmas, which I didn't look at the date, I guess, on the calendar.

So when I saw it, I'm like, Roger Goodell is coming for Adam Silver's throat. And obviously the last couple years, definitely last year the NFL had games on Christmas, right? They had the Raider Colts game, and it was Arizona played some, one. I forget, but I got a little drunk on Christmas, but I remember sitting at my brother's house watching the Christmas game. Well, I look today, Christmas falls on a Sunday. So it's not

that crazy. Now, reading about it, historically when the NFL, Christmas has fallen on a Sunday, they have put a bunch of games on Christmas Eve, and they plan on doing that. The difference is, instead of just putting one or even two games on Christmas, they're going triple header. They're going a 10 a.m. kickoff, a 1.30 kickoff, and a night game kickoff. And the NFL knows this, that right now, the real estate for our attention has never been more crowded. It's very, very difficult to hold my attention. Like I talked about yesterday, the Netflix thing. I truly believe Netflix quality of their shows is really, really shitty. I have never probably the last three or four months clicked on the Netflix app less.

and it's not because like I'll watch whatever but whenever I go I can't find anything to watch that's any good I'm much more likely to go to Hulu go to HBO Max because I feel their content is better well one thing is clear when the NFL is on television their content supersedes every other live sporting event and basically everything besides like presidential elections you put the NFL on TV millions upon millions

upon millions of people are going to watch it's why I've been talking about Amazon Prime if you're one of these archaic individuals it's like where do I find Amazon Prime well it's like you're going to figure it out if you want to watch the NFL game because I would imagine a lot of people that aren't subscribed to Amazon Prime

don't necessarily know who any of these human beings are because I don't know one in my life will subscribe if they're interested in the NFL well the NFL this is just I think they're going to own Christmas forever and that was always the NBA's day they would have like five games on Christmas I saw it firsthand because the Gold State Warriors

when they became a powerhouse they got the prime time game on Christmas. You never wanted to miss it. It was always Warriors first LeBron. It was a must watch. Well, the NBA's in major trouble on Christmas Day. Who the hell is watching? Not with NFL games on.

And I would imagine that the league, I mean, think about last year. Like Raiders Colts pretty good. That was a playoff game. Cardinals were a playoff team. They will not just put like Jags Texans on Christmas. Wouldn't shock me if, like Steelers Ravens, Niners Rams,

like they'll probably go some big boy matchups to get some big boy ratings and kind of take a stranglehold because I would argue in anything, in any line, in any industry, when you see an opening, you have to take it. You know, you have to be aggressive

when times are good and be even more aggressive when times are bad. But the NFL right now is full pedal, full, I mean, just full steam ahead. And even in their press release reading about it today, they called, you know, we're not trying to infringe on our friends at the NBA.

I mean, yeah, you are. You're trying to wipe them out. You're trying to take out their number one regular season day. And you're going to succeed with ease. So it's just, the NFL is just, they're in the peak of their powers right now. You know, if they were a player, they'd be in their prime. It won't last forever, but it's, they have a long run way ahead. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encourage.

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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes

of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark 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 finishing that sentence. Yes. 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. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or 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. Okay, Middlecoff mailbag time at John Middlecoff is my Instagram.

Slide up into those DMs. Like I've said, I'm way behind. And maybe might be a project for after the draft, but I got to reply to a lot of DMs. So if I haven't responded to your DM in a long time, I'm coming. I promise. I will.

Gary Vee always preached, manually respond to everybody. I always have. I hang my hat on that. So let's start with Sydney. This guy in the NFL. Sydney Dawkins. Yeah, it looks like he's a college player, maybe. I'm a big fan of your pod.

I listen to it every day. Appreciate that, bro. I'm interested in your take on the Niners. Do you think they have buyers' remorse for moving up to get Lance? It feels like they have cold feet going into the season are stuck in a love triangle with Lance and Jimmy G. I like the love triangle reference there.

It's funny. I hear so many famous people that are involved in like open marriages and swinging. It's like I have just yet to date any girl that would even be remotely close to open to these things. But I guess these rich people getting these open marriages and these love triangles. But also have to throw Lance to the wolves because of how much they spent. now there's drama with Debo. What's your opinion on the current 49ers heading into the season? I just think Trey Lance is a major, major project.

Talking major project. And the 49ers, like Josh Allen was a major project. But they weren't trying to make the playoffs immediate with Josh Allen, even though I think they did relatively quickly. Like the 49ers are trying to win 10, 11, 12 games. Trying to win the division. So last year, I think Kyle got cold feet definitely with Trey Lance. Because there was a moment.

I went to practice and I was like, Traylant's the starter. But practice is a lot easier in the games than he clearly got a little overwhelmed. And he couldn't beat Jimmy out. I would say a year into it, he should improve and have understanding of the knowledge of the offense. Like any young person, anyone listening to this who is like over 30, the first time you get a job, like a real job, especially if the job's intense, it's pretty overwhelming. I remember the first time my first couple weeks at Fresno State, my first couple weeks with the Eagles. it was intense.

But then a year in, you're comfortable. I mean, not like comfortable where you're content, but like you just know what to expect. And I do believe, and a lot of people in the NFL have always believed the biggest jump of player takes is from year one to two. So I think that the expectations of Trey Lance, he's going to be the starter this year.

I don't think they're necessarily stuck in a love triangle. I just think they're stuck. They couldn't trade Jimmy Garoppolo and don't have a backup quarterback. so they'd be okay in theory with just keeping them. They also benefit from Jimmy's hurt. So it's not like Jimmy's going to be throwing at OTAs.

Jimmy is just going to be, you're not even going to be there. So they're not really in a huge rush to figure it out. I think they're hoping ultimately Carolina caves and they can trade them there. I've been listening to you since way back when you had hair. That's probably a lie because I haven't had hair

since my first year in the NFL. So if you've been listening to me, I've been bold. What if an end of every NFL season, the winner of the XFL championship would play the worst NFL team that season? If the XFL team wins, they get promoted to the NFL.

And if the NFL team loses, they get demoted to the XFL. I feel like that's something fans of the sport would love to see. What do you think? I find it hilarious whenever you speak and change the tone of your voice to a higher pitch and say,

ah, you know? I probably didn't do that. Right. I would say the owners would never, ever go for that. Like if I'm the Ford family, if I'm Cal McNair, if I'm Shad Khan, if I'm con and I've just paid billions of dollars for the Jags, under no circumstances can you send me to the XFL. So I agree.

It would be sweet. Though the NFL team would fucking kill them. Do you know what the Jags would do to like the XFL team? I mean, the Jags would be the Colts, week 18, with an interim coach. they would destroy them. Duh, destroy. I talked a little mess about the USFL. I went to the gym Saturday morning.

And, you know, I would imagine most treadmills now, you know, at gyms have TV. So, you know, I always like to throw on a game or something if I'm just running or jogging or fast walking or whatever I'm doing to get a little sweat. The USFL was on. Wasn't terrible. Now, I would not watch at home with other stuff on. I would only watch in a situation like I'm on the treadmill and there's not like some sweet golf tournament or the Warriors are playing.

But it was, it was, it was viewable. Now, an NFL team, you're talking the XFL, but the U.S. they would destroy those guys. Destroy. But I like, like you thinking outside the box. We're always looking for ideas here. Thrive on ideas.

Hey, John, using my wife's Instagram for a quick question. What do you think will happen with Baker Mayfield? Could you see him being cut? If so, where do you think he would go and what type of contract do you think he would get? Keep up the good work. I don't know if you had a chance to see Baker Mayfield's statue at Oklahoma. It looks nothing like him. Like his statue doesn't even remotely resemble anything of Baker Mayfield.

I think there's a decent chance he gets cut, yes. Because there's only a small handful of teams that would take him and no one's going to take is $18 million. Now, what I also think is pretty likely is the Browns eat a bunch of money and maybe Seattle trades like a fifth round pick for $8 million Baker Mayfield. And they split the cost.

I think that would be on the table. But cutting, I think cutting Jimmy Garaplo and cutting Baker Mayfield is on the table for both guys. Now, the 49ers, I mean, if they truly had to and Jimmy would accept to be the backup, could keep him. John Lynch said that they're open to paying him $27 million to be on the team,

which I think is a little bit of a lie, but Baker Mayfield will not be on the Browns. So if they cannot trade him, Baker Mayfield will be cut. That will 100% happen. Do you think LeBron gets traded in the offseason? I don't because anyone, he's going to be a free agent after this year.

So any, and he's 37, 30, he's my age. I mean, we graduated high school the same year, which is pretty crazy. He stayed in great shape. I've fluctuated. and he's still an excellent player, but what would the Lakers get in value that would make it worth it trading LeBron?

It's a star-driven organization. Winning time is one of the best shows. I hate it. I mean, I really do for the way they made all these guys look, especially Jerry West. I met Jerry West a couple times at the Warriors games back when I was doing radio. He was such a badass,

and they make him look like a nut job. even though he had one of the greatest lines in the latest episode ever about he was talking to Magic Johnson and he said you know what talent gets you? Women and press. I was like, that is a great line. He said, winners are assholes. Now, Jerry, you know, but just talent gets you ladies and press.

And I started thinking, it is so true. We love talent in America. You don't need to live up to the hype. Because if you're talented, we hype you up in the media. all the ladies want to be with you, you don't even actually have to be successful. If we just, like, think of all the guys in the draft. Half these guys are going to be busts.

We've an anointed them. They're going to get a bunch of money. They're going to get a bunch of press. It was a genius line. And he didn't use women as his line. He used another line. But, you know, I'm trying to be kid-friendly. Not totally kid-friendly, but love the show.

Listen all the time. Have shared it with my friends. I appreciate that. I'm a loud and proud member. of the Ramley. I'm wondering if you have any insight on this. I haven't heard anyone talk about it. Has any team ever had to play two division opponents

in the playoffs to earn a Super Bowl birth the way the Rams just did? Pretty amazing that they had to face two division opponents three times in a four-week period. Thanks in advance. That's a hell of a question. I'm not going to do the research,

but if you think about the Rams, the Rams played the Niners' Week They played the Cardinals a week later on Monday night football in the first round of the playoffs. Then they played Tom and then they played the 49ers again. And that final game, they got lucky because the Cardinals lost. They had to win if the Cardinals hadn't blown it to Seattle to win the division. It was one of the weirdest situations and vibes I've ever seen. What's his name?

I wanted to say Josh Norman, but it was Ambrie Thomas. The 49ers rookie picks off Matt. Stafford. And the Niners just go nuts. They storm the field. But the Cardinals had just lost to Seattle. So after, at SoFi Stadium, like, their video board is circular. So it's basically one big circle on top of the stadium.

And it just says Rams Division champs. But obviously, they're not celebrating. It was a devastating loss. It was bizarre. But then they kicked Cliff and Kyler's ass. and then Kyler wants $200 million. Kind of weird. So I would say that their stretch is pretty unique, yes.

But we've seen a lot of... We've seen a lot of divisional matchups over the years, right? I'm just trying to think. I mean, the bills and the Patriots played. But yeah, two divisional matchups in the playoffs, pretty hard. Because that means that you need three teams from your division. If you get three teams from your division in the playoffs, that's pretty impressive. It really is.

It happened a couple years ago, right? Ravens, Steelers, and the Browns. But the Browns, who the Browns end up playing that year? The Chiefs? Yeah, the Browns play the Chiefs. And then the Steelers. I don't even remember the playoffs from two years ago. Oh, play the Bills.

I might even have that screwed up. It doesn't even sound right. Hello. What are your thoughts on Trevor Lawrence? I am an invest on his cards and memorabilia, so I'm hoping for big step forward. I have, what's funny is the card investing in memorabilia in cards

is probably, maybe it's something I should be involved in because I feel like I, you know, at least could take some pretty good educated guesses. I love Trevor Lawrence as a player in college, all my friends that do the SEC. I mean, so I only have a couple, but guys that, you know,

they've been doing it a long time, say he's the best quarterback they'd ever watch. So I think it's a, pretty good calculated risk. I think it's a pretty good educated guess. Now he's got Doug Peterson, so I would like your chances. Lifelong Seattle fan.

Hopeful but terrified. Not sure the perspective outside Seattle is, but here it felt like Russell Wilson era needed to end. I'm sad to see Russ the football player go, but I have to say I'm relieved Wilson, the brand, is gone. The drama, the baseball agent,

the behind-the-scene, rumors and the descent from his own teammates dating back to the Legion of Boom Days. There became a level of rumors and speculation with him on a yearly basis that became exhausting. He absolutely earned the right to be a bit of a diva, but the nice guy platitudes in front of the camera wore thin. I agree. I can't stand that crap. One issue I have with Russell Wilson, and maybe it's because of his wife, takes bodyguards everywhere. When Peyton Manning goes to the Nuggets game, he just shows up with his son, Marshall. I think his son's Marshall.

Maybe that's Matt Ryan's son. Maybe his son's Knox. I don't know, whatever. But he just, Peyton Manning just goes to his place. You just see Peyton Manning. You know, like, he doesn't need a bodyguard. I've heard a story about Russell Wilson having a golf tournament or everyone at the golf tournament, maybe it was a charity event.

Maybe it was a golf tournament that turned into a night dinner, a charity event, and he showed up for that. Every single person at the event, he invited, so he knew, right? teammates, business partners. He brought security to that. It's like, Russell, you're not fucking Prince Charles here, buddy. You just, it's not that big a deal. I just feel like he's kind of in his own little world.

But beyond that, the greatest weapon on the field, I don't deny he could go to Denver. Your thoughts on the... Yeah, I mean, he would have drove me nuts. He really would have. I don't do that. That type stuff, I mean, just makes me cringe. but you're ultimately in the football business

and Russell's the best player in the history of your franchise. So trading Russell Wilson, when the two quarterbacks on your roster are Drew Locke and Gino Smith, even if you get Baker, that's pretty risky, man. Like you guys could really suck. But I don't blame them for getting a divorce. You know, it's...

I get it. But it's risky. A fan of the pod, I'm a fellow NorCal guy. I'm from the Marysville area. I'm a huge Eagles fan. What are your thoughts on the NFC East this year? I would say if the Eagles hit some home runs on this draft,

if the two guys they draft in the first round are immediate starters, you know, the Cowboys got worse. Now, the Cowboys, in the one game they tried against you, kicked your ass. But you lose Gregory, you lose Amari. You know, Zeeks not as good. Their O-Lines not as good. They lose Collins.

I think the gap, again, I'm not the biggest Jalen Hertz guy, but their team is going to be really good. The Eagles team is good. If you put DAC on the Eagles and flip-flop, the Eagles would be dramatically better than the Cowboys. The other thing is, like, I would take Siriani over Mike McCarthy. I don't think Mike McCarthy's any good. So if Siriani is a good coach, I think you could win the division.

And honestly, this year to win the division, 11 games could win it. My question is, what are your thoughts on the most underrated trait in elite player possesses? I always hear talent, this, talent, that. But Carson Wentz is talented. Jay Cutler had one of the best arms we've ever seen. I feel like self-awareness is overlooked by the media

and fans alike. Great talent who lack any self-awareness end up like Cutler, Russell Westbrook, thoughts. Yeah, I'd say self-awareness is just a quality for any successful person to know when, because we all, I mean, any human being, has somewhat of an ego and somewhat can be hard to be told you're doing this wrong or do that. Self-awareness is important, but I think one thing those guys, Cutler, and definitely

Carson lacks, is the ability to resonate with just other humans. Russell, I think, struggles with that. Now, he's so good, it doesn't matter, but, like, can you just be a guy's guy? To be a quarterback, like, you have to get along with the receivers, the tight ends, the fullback, the running back, your offensive lineman, your coaches, your general manager, your owner, you got to manage up, you got to manage down, the trainers. Like, it's just, I think you have to have a good understanding of people. You know, it's what, like, makes a great salesman.

They can just interact with anyone. I think a great salesman is actually just a kind of a get-it guy. He just understands how to interact. He doesn't necessarily have to be a faker or a phony. I think Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, I think. I think they have Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen. They just get along with people. People just like them.

So I think obviously the intangible stuff, the work ethic, the intelligence, the love of football. But I'd even put above self-awareness just being a really good guy. I think that helps a lot. I've seen it here with like in the Giants and the Warriors, like Steph Curry, Buster Posey. People really like them. And when they really like you, that means they really respect you.

And when you're the best player or star play, or the highest paid player, you got to be respected by your teammates. And the easiest way to gain respect is obviously through good play, but being a human being that others kind of look up to. Because I think whether you're from

low-income, high-income, Division 2, SEC, USC, Texas, doesn't matter. You just kind of gravitate toward impressive people when you're a talented individual, right? and for whatever reason

some guys have it and some guys don't. But I'm with you. I think talent, I mean, there's been a book. Talent is overrated, right? It's true. It's a good question. Like, I think Russell Westbrook, people like them. I think Carson Wentz people don't like him.

Cutler, I think, was kind of just a weird dude. You know, I think all those guys kind of fall in different categories. But I know what you're saying. What are your thoughts in the wide receiver market? Do you think teams will realize paying some of these wide receivers the second most on the team isn't worth it with these great college-wide receivers coming out, you could argue the Vikings won just by letting Diggs go in drafting Jefferson. It feels like the market will catch up with them.

I think Berks could replace Debo without much of an issue. See, I think it's easy to say that. Debo Samuel last year was one of the best players in the NFL. Like pound for pound, one of the most dominant players in the NFL. He was unstoppable against him. playoff teams, bad teams, playoffs, dominated. Like the chance that Birx can replace Debo,

turns out Justin Jefferson's just immediately a top five wide receiver. You know, I'm not saying Burks couldn't replace Debo, but there's no guarantee. But I hear you, like, if you told me Burks was 90% of Debo, you would do the trade. You would just be like, give me 10, 38, here's Debo Samuel, we'll get a cheaper player and we'll get another player. but it's not that easy.

And I think it's, from an economic standpoint, it's easy to think like that, and I think it's fair to think like that, and I think it's correct to think like that. But it's easy to get on the whiteboard to start doing supply, demand, theories, and it all makes sense. You go to Harvard Business School, fuck,

they could build any company on a whiteboard. And then you get to actual football practice. And then you actually play the games, and I'm playing the Rams. Like, is Burke's going to score me a touchdown against the Rams? second game of his career as a rookie? Because Debo can score three

immediately and I'm trying to win games. So that's what you kind of have to ask yourself. Okay, last one. Question for the pod. I'm a Panthers fan, lifelong. Trying to make sense of the situation we're in as a franchise. As bad as rule has been, Teper was the one who put him in place at a price point

that was hard to justify at the time given he had very little pro-coaching experience and impossible to justify now, given how little we've improved. Now, before I read the rest of the question, I'm going to pump the brakes there. He was making, I think, $8 million at Baylor. So he just, the reason he got so much money,

one, he was not going to leave Baylor if they didn't blow him away. And he was making a ton of cash in Texas, no state income tax. So the reason Teper had to give him, whatever, 68, 5, I forget the number. They gave him a ton. was because of what he was made

if he would have been making $4 million, they wouldn't have paid him so much. Just supply demand. And ultimately it doesn't impact, it's just temper. It doesn't like impact the salary cap. But I hear what you're saying. You see the guy making that much money and your team's not that good.

You're like, what the hell's going on? The team seems to have almost no direction to sustain success in the near future with bad contracts. No draft picks and a frustrated fan base. It feels like it needs to be torn down but management insists on finding these bridge guys to keep us afloat. In your opinion, is there anything more damning than bad ownership?

At the end of the day, rule is replaceable. Darnold is replaceable. Teper's vision and ego is not. If Teper is a meddlesome, crazy-ass owner, you are screwed. That is not debatable. I don't follow the Panthers that closely, but from afar it felt like Jerry Richardson, let Ron and I guess Gettelman at the time kind of do a lot.

Just let them pick players and run the thing and you guys were successful. And when Cam was healthy, you guys were always in a playoff mix. TEPPER pays all this money for the team. 2.2 billion, 2.4, forget the exact number. Put yourself in his shoes. Everything you've ever done was had your hands on it. You were the leader of the firm making all the money in the stock market. These were your ideas.

People anointed you as this great stock trader. And then you own the NFL team, and let's face it, you know nothing about football besides what a fan would know. But you're going to have ideas on how to do things. And it's probably not easy to work for him. It's been pretty clear that it's been floated out by the Mortensen's, just people in the NFL that covered the NFL, they kind of know shit,

that Matt Ruhle doesn't care if he gets fired. Almost like, you know, Matt Ruhle doesn't love working for this guy. he left a situation where he was the boss to where he's not the boss which why when you have a great situation in college right Nick Sabin Kirby Smart what Matt Ruhl had at Baylor what Lincoln Riley had at Oklahoma

now has at USC what Urban had at Ohio State what Harbaugh has it you don't answer to you run the school it's all you you're the boss you don't no the AD's not signing your checks

it's not his money if you win like lane kiffin doesn't have to take orders from the ab now besides like your business partner's kind of or whatever i mean you have a good relationship but like he's not telling you to do certain things you don't want to do

in the NFL if the owner wants you to do something you're doing it his name is signed at the bottom of all your checks and I get you get direct deposit but you know what I mean if Matt Ruhle calls or excuse me if David Tapper calls Matt Ruhle and says, hey, we're meeting tomorrow at 7 a.m. You're meeting them tomorrow at 7 a.m.

If the AD calls Nick Saban, Nick Saban doesn't even have to pick up, let alone do something that he doesn't want to do. So I think these situations, like, I just think Matt Rule had been in the league one year. So when you make that jump to the NFL, you're in charge of the salary cap, you're in charge of the draft, you're in charge of free...

He'd never done any of that. It's just very... There are only so many Jimmy Johnsons that can go a seamless transition from the college game to the NFL and crush it. Most got Chip Kelly ran out of the league.

Urban Meyer, all-time laughing stock. Steve Spurrier didn't last at all. Bobby Petrino went running back to college. I don't blame them. Like, college pays a lot. It's not like they're going from a job

that pays $7 million to a job that pays $1. Some of these guys it raises. How many NFL coaches do you think make more than Nick? But it is it's a different business model because there's a true owner. Think if you like how many people run the University of Texas.

How many boosters think that they are the guy in charge? Probably 30 of them. Or USC or Oklahoma or Georgia. Now there are certain boosters that have more juice than others but there's not one individual booster unless you're at Nike, or I mean, Oregon with Phil Knight, or Oklahoma State with T-Boon. You know, I mean, there are three or four guys like that throughout the country.

But for the most part, like, you're answering kind of to the group and the school. In football, you're answering to, like, Jeffrey Lurie, Jerry Jones, Bob Kraft, right? John Mara, Glazers, Wolf. Like, they tell you to jump, you say how high. So it's just, I think it's just, if he's bad, which is very possible. Shad Khan is a great businessman, but every single team he owns sucks. David Teper is one of the great stock traders in the history of this country. It's been a debacle so far.

Newsflash, really, really hard to own sports teams and be a good owner. Very, very difficult. Appreciate everybody. Draft coming up Thursday. Let's keep rocking and rolling. We have a golf podcast coming out Wednesday. Phil Mickelson officially joining the Saudi League. Live golf.

We'll talk about that, I'm sure. Greg Norman 30 for 30. Even if you're not into golf, the Greg Norman 30 for 30 if you have ESPN Plus. Fantastic watch. I mean, it's an awesome watch. Highly recommend it. Talk soon. Peace.

The volume. Are you looking for the hottest gambling advice out there? Check out the Moneyline Monaco podcast powered by Fandul. Every weekday. Alex Monaco will give you his best bets, including game picks, props, same game parlays, and much more. Monaco is in another groove and is won nearly 60% of his bets all time. So don't miss your chance to make some money by downloading the Moneyline, Monaco,

wherever you get your podcast, only on the volumes podcast network. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard weight with your favorite therapist and host, Kare Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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

Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. guests. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.