The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Kyler Injury Aftermath, Zach Wilson/Trey Lance Lessons, Mike Leach Legacy, Mailbag

Episode Date: December 13, 2022

John reacts to the Cardinals losing Kyler Murray to an apparently serious non-contact knee injury, and explains why it's the perfect chance to blow the whole thing up, and why Bill Belichick keeping his talent deficient Patriots - which he built - in playoff contention is one of his best coaching jobs. He also gives his takeaways from a pair of unimpressive Week 14 W's from the Chiefs and Cowboys, what lesson about draft value teams should learn from 2020 QB duds Zach Wilson and Trey Lance. Finally, he pays tribute to Mike Leach’s immense impact on offensive football as he reportedly fights for his life, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content. It's always FanDuel for the best wagering action! #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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to get started. Now, sign up with promo code Colin, so they know we sent you. What is going on, everybody? John Middlcock, 3 and Out podcast. How are we doing? A, uh, not a beautiful night. I mean, it's freezing cold. And Kyler Torres ACL, it looks like the Patriots win a game.

We will dive into Monday night football. Some thoughts on the Cowboys, some thoughts on the Chiefs, who, you know, I think some say squeaked by, but a win's a win in the NFL in December. Something with the 2020 draft and Zach Wilson and Trey Lance, and now this Brock Purdy thing. Some thoughts on not forcing quarterbacks. And I think too many teams often do it.

And a couple years later, they immediately regret it. And some thoughts on Mike Leach, who as of recording this, is about 10 o'clock at night on Monday, doesn't look like he's doing well at all. And I watched his career closely when he was at Washington State and my last year doing the West Coast. He took over Washington State, and he's just one of my favorite characters.

I mean, I think he's universally just one of the most unique characters we have in all of football authentically. Not many like them. There just isn't, and obviously an innovator, in a game that is always seeking innovation. So he was definitely ahead of his time, and let's face it, it not only impacted the game, but I would say changed it.

and influenced it, basically college and pro. His concepts are everywhere. So I'll give some thoughts there as well as the Middlecoff mailbag at John Middilcoff is the Instagram firing those DMs at John Middlecoff, just my name on Instagram, firing those DMs. And if you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe to three and out feed. Appreciate everyone that listens. I appreciate everyone that shares it with your friends. And yeah, let's dive into some football.

Okay. on these Monday night games, you lose track of time. And, you know, you come in late. I'm not a big pregame show. Like, I'm not looking to get RG3's takes on my Monday night. So I usually come in right around 620, but I'm never, I'm always confused as a 615 or 625 mountain standard time here in Scottsdale. And sometimes I'm too lazy to check my phone to see the exact kickoff time. So I realized, damn, look down, it was like 622. I'm like, turn on money. night football. And the first thing that came on my television was a dude on a cart. I'm like, this game had to just kick off. And I look at it was 13, whatever, 55. I'm like, is that? Oh,

my God. And it was pretty clear, very fast, that it was Kyler Murray. I immediately check on my phone and see the injury. And obviously by the time I'm recording this, all reports are that he tore his ACL, which is an absolute devastating injury for the team. Even for a guy having a rough season. and they drafted this guy number one overall and they gave him, you know, a 200 plus million dollar contract and guaranteed him 160, $170 million. That's just, that is a crippling injury to a franchise. And really tonight in this season,

this team is a disaster. And that feels like icing on the cake. Like, what are they doing? How does, after tonight with him now, who knows, I mean, this is, the ACL injuries can take nine to 12 months. He's a running quarterback. He's a guy like, for him to come back, he has to be like a wide receiver or a DB. He's like, sometimes quarterback can just live in that pocket.

That's not how his game is predicated on excelling. So that injury, obviously, it's December 12th when he tears his ACL. I would say that for sure puts early next season in jeopardy and who knows what that has. what that has in store for next year for Kyler. This post-contract has not gone well. Obviously, tonight's out of his control. But what's going to happen with Cliff Kingsbury and Steve Kine? In my opinion, I would blow the thing up.

I would completely start over. This feels like and felt like tonight watching, and really a lot of this season, beside when Kyler would just make the miraculous play every once in a while, and this year he did it a lot less than pre-year. previous years, like a rudderless ship. And I don't want to say this team quit because Hopkins was trying at the end, and I think Colt McCoy is trying, and Buda Baker when he plays tries, and JJ Watt tries.

They just feel like they have no direction. They just feel like all this talent feels like it's being wasted. You know, the Rams over the last month since Cooper Cups been injured and Stafford's been out, and then Aaron Donald gets injured, and Jalen's kind of a. shell of himself. They're playing with a practice squad level roster. But a couple weeks ago against Seattle, and obviously the other night against the Raiders, it felt this team is throwing every single punch they have.

And of course they do. They have Sean McVeigh coaching them. So even on the season, from hell for the Rams, they don't have their first round pick, which is going to be a top five pick. Their team, their record sucks. I mean, they might win five games at best. When you watch them, you respect them. When you watch the Cardinals, it's hard to really respect what's going on.

And Michael Bidwell, I have no clue why, extended Kingsbury and his general manager after last season. And I know Kingsbury was going into the last season of his contract. This isn't college. You're not worried about recruiting. Why didn't he coach it out? Because he made the playoffs. Who cares? You guys got boat race.

You were curbstomped on Monday night football last year. And this year has bled, right into that. The majority of the season, they've looked like that game on Monday night. And now Kyler's injured. I would completely start over. To me, it makes no sense to roll it back and keep doing whatever the hell they're doing. I would honestly, this offseason, think about selling some of these parts and just tearing this bad boy down to the studs and maybe doing a complete redo. It's like, you know, when super rich people, if they buy a house, they're like, yep, we just wanted a lot. We don't want any part of the house. We're going to bulldoze. We're going to

bulldoze the whole fucking thing and build a new house. And hell, we might buy the lot next to it and do the same thing and build a mansion. That's what I would attempt to do because this Cardinal franchise tonight felt kind of like the ending. It had been trending this way, but I don't know how you recover from the night. And on the flip side, I think people think that I'm like a Belichick Homer, that I'm over the top and hyperbolic on how Grady is in his career. It's like, what do you do with without Brady? And I think this. this season and honestly even last are a pretty good example. Mac Jones is pretty average. He'll never be any better probably than the 15th quarterback. And clearly, and you could win with

the 15th quarterback, Kyle Shanahan's gone to the NFC championship in a Super Bowl with Jimmy Garoppel who's right around there. The difference is Kyle Shanahan's had a loaded team. Star players at different positions, I mean an excellent defense with a ton of impact guys. And Belichick has a good defense and really no impact guys on offense. Yet this year, and after tonight now, right? He's seven and six. He's playing the Raiders, who I like the Patriots this week, playing the Raiders, and then he ends with the Bengals, the Dolphins, and the Bills. If he's able to get to 10 and 7 this year and make the playoffs again in a conference with really good quarterbacks and teams with way more talented, talent on his team than him, that is impressive.

Now, can we be critical? He is the general manager. He's picking the team, obviously. And most people with a working brain and that watch football have been critical of the way Bill has built his teams. But you can also give him credit because the general manager, which is him, team's pretty average. And they're competing. And I don't know. I mean, if they win this week against the Raiders, they'll be eight and six. And they basically just have to find a way to win two of the last three. And who knows? Maybe that last week at Buffalo, Buffalo has the number one seed and they don't have anything to play for. So they just got to find a way to either the Bengals, who they'll be an underdog against, or the Dolphins, both games at home, to win one of them.

I think we have to agree that if he goes back-to-back seasons with 10 wins, with Mack Jones as his quarterback, all these random guys playing wide receiver, and beside Judon, not that many impact players on defense. Some of these young cats he's drafted at DB look pretty good, but this is not the 07 pats. This is not the 2015 pats. This is a, I would say average at best NFL roster. And you could argue it's problem bottom 20. Also, again, he created this and he chose this guy to be his offensive coordinator. I don't think there's a head coach in the NFL who could make the playoffs with Matt

Patricia as his offensive coordinator. Now, you could argue maybe Belichick's ego is so big, he's trying to prove to everybody. Look how great of a head coach I am. Look how great of a. leader I am that I can make the playoffs with Matt Patricia, a lifetime defensive coordinator, who check his defense is honestly not that great, one of the worst head coaches we've ever seen,

and Joe Judge, a special team's coach, who was also one of the worst head coaches we've ever seen, coaching my quarterbacks, those two guys running my offense, my quarterback, and my offensive line, and calling the plays, and I'll make the playoffs with them.

If he does that, again, he created this, we'll have to give them, as the kids say, his flowers. because tonight, ugly game, I'll be honest, didn't watch one second of the regular broadcast. Not one second. Tonight was all Peyton and Eli. And for the most part, this season, I've watched the regular broadcast because bringing Joe and Troy, the game has felt a lot bigger to me.

And tonight with these two teams, especially the Cardinals and Max, pretty boring to me, I couldn't take it. So I just, from the start of the kickoff to the end of that game, it was Peyton and Eli, and whoever they had on, from, you know, Key and Pee and, Peel to Bill Simmons. They could have had on nobody. They could add on a dog, and I was watching them the night. And they entertained me.

And the game was not that entertaining because the Patriots, when they win, and if they get to 10 wins, or if they end up 9 and 8, the only way they win is like tonight, they can't get into a shootout. It's why they have no chance against the bills. The bills have way more firepower than them. It's why when they play teams with offensive weaponry, and they can score 20,000. 24 plus points, they're at a huge disadvantage. That's why when you look at their schedule, the Raiders,

like them against the Raiders. Don't like Derek Carr matching up against them. The Bengals, that's going to be a tough matchup for them. The only saving grace, it's at home, maybe Belichick can throw some curveballs at Joe Burrell. Gonna like the Bengals there. But I got news for you. When Tuatanga by Loa rolls in New England,

and it's freezing cold, and it's, it's, uh, snow's coming down, sleet's coming down, it's wet, You can't grip the ball. I don't like to. I'll promise you that. I like Tyreek and Waddle, but I don't think their quarterback can get them the ball. So if they can win the beat the Raiders game, they can beat the Dolphins game,

and maybe hope that the bills don't have them anything to play for. The Patriots could be in the playoffs. Now, they're pretty clearly, like last season, would be a one and done team. Because at the seven seed, playing the two seed, which would probably be the chiefs, Adios Bill. But I do give you credit if you go 10 and 7 back to back years and make the playoffs back to back years with Mac Jones. So that game was the end of the Cardinals and the Patriots just won't die.

And they never will die as long as Bill Belichick is their head coach. 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,

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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Football season is underway. So now is the perfect time to download FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. Because right now, new customers get a no-swet first bet up to $1,000.

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New York, Tennessee, 888-98-9, Tennessee, 1-800-5-2-4700. Wyoming, visit www.1-800-gambler.net, West Virginia. Okay, I wanted to hit on a couple teams that, I don't want to say lay duds because I think the games were a lot different, but had disappointing outcomes. The Chiefs were a heavy favorite on the road against the Broncos who were terrible. And the Cowboys, I think it was like 17 points.

I mean, a massive, massive favorite against the terrible Texas. I want to start with the Cowboys. In general, when you're a good team, I allow you a somewhat of a dud, or underperformance late in the season against a bad team. Why? We're all humans. And I know, you know, Belichick for years, right, when he had his really good teams, they could be playing the worst team in the league, be a 20-point favorite.

And he would talk about the opponent on a Wednesday like they were the 85 bears, you know, like they were the 93 cowboys. You'd be like, Jesus, Bill, this team is 1 and 13. You're acting like they got 17 pro bowlers. and their coach is going to the Hall of Fame, and he was great at it. Now, there's a difference between saying that publicly and getting your players to believe it. Because ultimately, like, one thing that's always said just around the sport of football is the eye in the sky doesn't lie. Mean the tape, right?

What you put on tape is your resume in the sport of football as a coach and as a player. And you can't watch the Texans and think they're very good. I mean, there were one, 10 and 1 going into that game for a reason. They stink. They don't have many good players. And when you're the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy and the coaches, because, listen, having been around coaches, the one thing I couldn't relate,

I could never relate to two things. When a player is bad, like trying to figure out how to coach him up, and two, taking bad opponents seriously, like keeping the same level of focus when you're playing the Texans as you would when you're playing the Eagles or the Chiefs. Right?

That's why most coaches are kind of crazy that way. Players are much more like us normal people, right? It's easy to get up for the big games, the divisional opponents. It's another thing, an uncommon opponent who stinks, like, I allow you to not be focused. The only result I care about in terms of judging you is winning the game. Because, hell, I remember in 2019 when the 49ers made the Super Bowl, they lost to a terrible falcon's team. So this happens throughout the season.

And like you can go 12 and 5, potentially one of your losses, maybe two of them are going to be when you were the heavy favorite in the game. Right. It's not always you're just losing the good teams. You get up for big games. So the Cowboys finding a way to win that game. Now they lucked out. Dak Prescott's arms hit. He's lucky that guy didn't have a clear route to the end zone and walk in a pick six.

And then they get the ball basically inside the five yard line and they can't get it in. I mean, their play on fourth down was pretty fucking embarrassing. But Dak, who's, let's face it, been a little pedestrian lately, let them down the field. They had a game winning touchdown. Zeke punched it in, and they won the game. And that's, I'm going to judge them how they look against the Eagles in home. And if they can win that game, then I will take them seriously as a playoff opponent. But I'm not coming to any judgment against the Houston, Texas.

Because I know if I was in those shoes, if you listening were in those shoes, probably wouldn't get your best effort. Or maybe not that I don't get your best effort on game day. I don't get your best effort during the week. And part of football, unlike these other sports, you don't get to play every day. So how you approach the week, like one thing that's cliche,

but it's very true is like your focus, your preparation during the week leads to success on game day. Unless you're some genius, I definitely never was. I had to study to have a chance when I took a test. And even then, I probably was going to struggle to get like a B. but I'm not the most intellectually smart guy

when he came to the classroom. But if I was going to have success in the classroom, I really had to study. And it was difficult for me. Turns out, you know, I got some learning disabilities. Maybe I just didn't care. Who knows?

But part of being a football player is, you know, approaching the week very seriously. And usually when you play shitty teams late in the season, you know, the focus may wane. And then the chiefs. a lot different than the Cowboys, despite the game being close, they were up 27 to nothing. 27 to nothing.

This is not college football, 27 to nothing in the pros in the first half. I mean, that's the equivalent on a Saturday game of like 48 to nothing. That is blowout city. But then somehow before halftime, they're only up 27 to 14. But to me, once you're up 27 to nothing, the team, like the Denver Broncos stink. I mean, they are really bad. Now, obviously they made this a game. Mahomes turned the ball over.

But like I don't have any takeaway from that Chiefs game beside of what I already thought about them is to meet them and the bills. And I guess you have to throw the Bengals in there too. Like they're really, really good. All three of those teams can win the AFC. And I'm going, I'm not going to bet against the Chiefs. I don't, I'm not confident they're going to win the AFC, but I'm not going to pick against them in any of the AFC.

the games they play against the Buffalo, against Cincinnati. I will go down picking that team, but that is going to be my team. And like I said yesterday, if the bills do make it to the Super Bowl, whether they play the Eagles, whether they play the 49ers, I don't care, the Cowboys, I don't care who they play. I'm picking them to win it. But when the Chiefs play the Bills in the AFC, I'm going to pick them to win the game. Bills, incredible dome team. The Chiefs, they've been through the ringer. They know how to win in a lot of different places, up 27 to nothing, giving a little bit of the past. I was thinking about this because Mike White,

who is clearly dramatically better than Zach Wilson. I mean, listen, no one's trying to be mean when we talk about these quarterbacks. Like, it's all relative. You're being judged by really good players. So when people say, two is not that good or two is overrated and Zach Wilson stinks,

yeah, relative to top 15 starters, like, that's just a fact. And Mike White, you just watch the Jets play. They have a pulse now because of that guy. Now, he a little bit,

and we'll get into the Niners here in a second. Like, they're built with defense. They have really good wide receivers who do a lot of their, you know, I mean, Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore, those guys can crush and shorten in the intermediate passing game. And obviously, their running game is good. And the 49ers, like, Brock Purdy in a game and a half has looked better than Trey Lance ever did.

And Trey Lance and Zach Wilson went two and three. But you know the craziest part about that draft? is it was fucking loaded. Do you know the guys that came after those two guys? Kyle Pitts, Jamar Chase, Jalen Waddle, Haney Sewell,

J.C. Horn, who had a sweet pick yesterday. Patrick Sartan, who's like a faster Richard Sherman. Devante Smith. Baller. Justin Fields, who is clearly better than those two guys.

Micah Parsons, Roshan Slater, and Verrett Tucker, who's injured for the Jets, who's also a stud. So this draft was absolutely loaded. And my point of this exercise is the Jets fell in love with this guy who beat absolutely nobody,

had one good season, who a lot of people felt like maturity was a question mark. The 49ers fell in love with this guy because maturity was not a question mark, really high level guy, but is football based off one season, small level, who knows, who needed a lot of work mechanically? I did the math.

The 49ers in two seasons since drafting Trey Lance, remember they didn't just draft number three. They traded three first round picks. The 12 pick that year and two other first round picks, those that led to Tyree Kill and Bradley Chubb. Some valuable assets. And Trey Lance has started two games, start to finish. He's played in other games.

He came in at a half when Jimmy got hurt. And this year, he got hurt early in the Seattle game. But in games that he started and finished, They are one in one. The other 28 games they have played, non-playoffs, these last two years, they are 18 and 10. So they're proving that if they could get a redo on that, just like the Jets, they would do a redo. Now, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance have a lot of years left. These guys are 22, 23-year-old guys.

They have a lot of career left. Well, Trey Lance couldn't beat out Jimmy Garapolo because they fixed the job. Like if they would have had an open competition, Trey Lance would not have been the starter this year. They fixed the job for Zach Wilson. And clearly by midseason, they realized we can't do this anymore. And I guess ultimately what I was thinking about

when I looked at this draft and was thinking about this morning is when you force quarterbacks in spots and the Jets are kind of a poor man's version of the Niners, right? And you have a really good team. It really bites you in the ass. because think of what those teams could have done with that pick. I mean, the Jets could have traded back. They could have taken these guys.

The 49ers could have sat at 12 and taken Micah Parsons or hell. Maybe they could have traded up. Got Jamar Chase. Taking Pane Sewell. I don't know. Drafted one of these offensive linemen. They could have done a lot of different things. And I think it shows you when you, like, Brock Purdy and Mike White came in.

And what Brock Purdy did against Tampa was insane. If you have a chance, go to. Brian Baldinger, Baldi's Twitter account, and just watch his breakdown of what Brock Purdy is. Two minutes, it's easy to do. Like, that wasn't fake what we saw. And there have been a lot of rumblings in San Francisco. Like, Kyle was pretty intrigued with Brock Purdy over the summer.

Like, Brock Purdy pretty easily won the third string job. And if it wasn't for Jimmy coming back, and let's face it, the reason Jimmy came back is because they had some reservation on the quarterback. They could say whatever they want. but Trey Lance was all over the place. And listen, I understand. I like betting on big, fast, strong arm guys,

but that doesn't mean he's going to turn into Justin Herbert. And Zach Wilson was like this raw guy who actually had this great film against nobody with this big arm. And both these teams are absolutely loaded and they've invested all this in a quarterback. And I would argue that both those quarterbacks are probably not the long-term answer. So the example I'm going to use here is like I talked yesterday about it with the lions. you don't need to force a quarterback. The Houston Texans, for example, have no choice. They're going to have the number one pick.

I would just take Bryce Young. You got to try. But so many teams that have a decent base, like, do you need to do it? Like Seattle, for example, they are going to get the Denver Broncos pick. Just like the L.A. Rams are going, or excuse me, the Detroit Lions are going to get the L.A. Rams pick. Take a sweet player. Like, just let things breathe. Unless you believe that guy is going to be, to me, he's got to be at minimum,

he has this ceiling to be a top 12 guy and you believe it. But if you're wrong, it bites you in the ass and it bites you in the ass fast. Because you can use that on immediate, an impact player, whether it a pass rusher, whether an offensive tackle, whether it a linebacker, whatever. And you can dramatically help your team. And I think we've seen in the history of the league so many quarterbacks like, Aaron Rogers wasn't a top 10 pick. It was 24th.

Brock Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant. Now, I'm not saying Brock Purdy's going to become Aaron Rogers. Jack Prescott, fourth round. Russell Wilson, third round. Kirk Cousins, fourth round. We think that all these top picks hit at quarterback. I mean, a couple years ago, that draft,

greatest quarterback draft ever. No, not really. I'm recording this before the Monday night game, but we already know what Mack Jones is. Very, very average talent. Zach Wilson and Trey Lance are never going to be as good as Justin feels. He's just dramatically more talented than both the guys. Now, Trevor Lawrence is a good example. To this day, the Jaguars do not regret that pick. They would 100% take him over. And even he

has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride. There was that article a couple weeks ago about Andrew Luck and his retirement, how he regretted the way he handled it. But to me as a player, Andrew Luck is such an outlier. He came to a team that had just been the number one picking the draft and immediately they went to the playoffs. And let's face it, looking back at that organizational structure, kind of a joke. They did have some good players, but what he did there is not something that's very normal. So I think teams have to be very, very careful about the hype machine. And the hype machine on quarterbacks trumps every other position by 10thold. And it's easy to talk yourself into it, but when you miss, you regret it immediately. Sometimes like Jalen

Hertz, who might win the MVP this year, was a second round pick. I just think you can find value and you don't have to force the pick super high if your team is already pretty good. Now, I understand the Jets were not good at the time, but God, do they regret that pick a year and a half later. And last but not least, as I'm recording this right now, I'm not the most religious guy, but I've been thinking a lot about Mike Leach. And obviously, what seems like just based on internet reports, fighting for his life in a hot. hospital in the South. And I hope, let's pray to God that he can make it through this. But, you know, some of these these reports coming out, I would say are a little ominous and not the most positive reports. At any time, you know, you're over 60 years old. You're in a hospital.

Hell, I've seen it with, you know, my dad's been sick before he passed away in another situation where it was not good. You know, you just, you never know, once you get to a certain age, anytime you go to the hospital, it's scary. But I do want to just talk about it positively what an absolute legend this guy is. I mean, I think the coolest part about the sport of football. And it used to be like this in basketball and baseball. But in baseball, now the GMs are the stars. Coaches don't matter.

And when I was a kid in basketball, I mean, there were some huge personalities from Pat Riley's to Phil Jackson's. even that is waning a little bit, right? Because it's a front office-led sport. Football is still a sport that through the history of time, obviously the players and the quarterbacks are big stars, but the coaches are every bit as big. And the personalities of the coaches in college and pro football really make this thing that we all love so much cool and fun and interesting.

If we just consider football a big television show, because ultimately that's what it is. Power 5 college football in the NFL. The coaches are absolute major, major, you know, they play a major role in that television show. And I would say Mike Leach is one of the most unique characters we've ever seen college or pro. One, he did not play college football.

He went to BYU and he played rugby. He got his start, which to me, this always hits home, at Cal Poly, where I went to college. and he just kind of worked his way up. But to me, what's so cool, just kind of looking at his records over the years, is he's never got the shot. Who knows, maybe he never wanted it, and he clearly made a lot of people uncomfortable with the big boys.

He's never got some premium job. Ohio State, USC, Texas, LSU, right? Michigan. Hell, Oregon and Washington, these schools were never going to hire him. He went to Texas Tech, Washington State, and now Mississippi State. And you know what he did at all of them? He won.

The influence he had on the sport of the spread offense, historically, I remember being in college, and his offenses at Texas Tech were by far the most potent. And everyone said his quarterbacks do not work in the NFL. So it basically was like an indictment of his offense was like Rinky Dink. And at the time, it was somewhat true, but it worked. Because he couldn't just run the same offense that Texas, and Oklahoma were running, or he would have got his ass kick.

So he spread that bad boy out from learning from how Mummy at Kentucky, and he lit up other teams like a Christmas tree. And under him, he developed guys like Cliff Kingsbury and Lincoln Riley, who played quarterback for him and then became coaches. Hell, Wes Welker, one of his better players, is now a coach, and I would imagine one day might be a head coach in the NFL. So he influenced the coaching profession. but from an offensive profession, think how many people that you hear talk over the last,

definitely the last decade, and I would say even more recently, it is such a positive now to say, yeah, I use Mike Leach's air raid concepts in our passing game. It's like a point of pride. I bet if you talk to Nick Saban, if you talk to Urban Meyer, obviously Lincoln Riley uses it, these guys speak about this guy in reverence for his offensive mind. Because when you hear him talk, he doesn't sound, and honestly, he doesn't even look like many other football coaches. But like I said, the thing that was most powerful about Mike Leach is how consistently good as football teams were at non-consistent football programs. At Texas Tech, he never had a losing record.

He went 11 and 2 there one time, 11 and 2 at Texas Tech, and have them obviously competing to be the number one team in the country when Crabtree beat the University of Texas in the game. Then he went to Washington State. He inherited a team that was 1 and 11, a complete joke, an awful football program. Within three years, he had a stretch. He went 9 and 4, 8 and 5, 9 and 4, 11, and 2. And he lost to Washington in the Apple Cup, or he would have gone to the Rose Bowl. He had Washington State a game away from the Rose Bowl. And then from there, he goes to Mississippi State, which is clearly probably the worst program.

in that division. And last year he went 8 and 4, and he beat Lane Kiffin in the Egg Bowl. Like, you hire Mike Leach, you are guaranteed to win. Now, I understand he's a different cat, and he's not, I don't think he's the easiest to deal with.

When I, the year I scouted on the road for the West Coast, it was his first year at Washington State, and I remember going into the school. Like, you know, as a scout, it's a little different now with technology, but you'd like go in really early in the morning, like 7 o'clock.

and usually depending on what the football program's doing, sometimes you watch tape for a couple hours, take some notes, then you meet with the coaches, or maybe you meet with the coaches, then you go to practice and you watch tape. Every school is a little different. But I remember going to the school probably, you know, between seven and eight. And sometimes the first guys you run into are like the GAs.

And I remember talking to the GAA, who was actually the guy who Lagert Blunt hit at Boise State. I forget, I think his last name's Hout. And he was Mike Leach's. is GA. And I remember asking him, like, where's Leach? He's like, yeah, man, Leach doesn't get into the office till noon. I'm like, till noon.

What, what's he doing? Well, he stays. We have, like, offensive meetings at like 10 o'clock and midnight. He's a night owl. I'm like, that's the craziest thing of ever. Most coaches, Sean McDermott, Andy, Reed, Belichick. These guys are getting there like four, third, Sean McVeigh. These guys are getting there like 4.35 in the morning.

But Leach gets there at noon. It's like, that's the coolest shit I've ever heard. This guy's a different cat. And then within a couple years, he had them win in eight, nine games and competing with Washington and Oregon and USC to be the best team out West. At a program that has no business doing that. And I'll never forget when Washington hired or Washington State hired them, they asked their AD before they hired him.

He had just fired his coach and they go, well, who are you going, what search firm are you going to use? And the AD said, the search, you're looking at him. I'm the search firm. and he knew right away when after Mike Leach after the Craig James thing happened he locked him in the

in the shed when they get out of concussion Craig James' dad's a complete loser but that is just it would hurt your heart if you're a football fan if Mike Leach can't make it through

so prayers up for the big guy and football cannot afford to lose an absolute gem of a human 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. Hey, let's dive into the little Middle Coff mailbag. Start with Cam. This is an old school account. At John Middlecoff's the Instagram, firing the DMs. That's how you get your question answered here on the show. Love the podcast.

Isn't Tom Brady to the Jets like the obvious move if he continues his career? Elite offensive weapons, good enough O-line, assuming health, studs everywhere, that can compete with the top end teams in the NFL, Bill's Chief Spangles. everything has been a home run for two seasons now. Zach Wilson, the exception.

I know it's the Jets and he was a patriot for however many years, but if he's obsessed with winning and is being an assassin looking for an opportunity, why aren't the Jets' team? Stay close to a kid, staying close to his kid out east. You know, this is a good point, which I have not seen raised by anyone else. They do make a lot of sense, right? They are loaded defense, multiple wide receivers, Moran Wilson.

They're going to get Breece Hall back. They got a couple other running backs. Their old lines, pretty good. They got picks. Only thing I would say is his relationship with the owner, Bob Kraft, is, I mean, it feels like he's a second father. So now, you could say he sniffed around with the dolphin, so maybe he's not worried about playing in that division.

That would be the only hesitation I have for thinking that he won't go to the Jets is he wouldn't want to have to play against Bob Kraft. Not Belichick, not the Patriots, but Kraft. Now, the Patriot story, or excuse me, the Dolphin story that they got fined might throw that theory out the window. The other thing is the Shanahan offense, which this team runs, does or is predicated on your quarterback moving around not like Lamar Jackson

but you got to be able to boots and waggles and just scramble the left and scramble to the right after the play fake that is not Tom doesn't move now you could argue who are the Jets change your offense around him yeah I would

say the more and more I think about it does make some sense so maybe you're on to something have you noticed that there is a large amount of bad coaches in the league this year I think there's objectively 10 coaches that are bad. Staley, Josh McDaniels, Dennis Allen, Hackett,

McCarthy, and you know, McCarthy's 10 and 3, and he went 12 and 5 last year. So I'm going to take him off. Lovie Smith, Kingsbury, Rule now Wilkes, Reich now Saturday. That's not even including coaches like Arthur Smith, Iber Fluse, and even someone like Stefansky

whose time may be running out. What do you think? Oh, and Todd Bulls. I think it's football. Most coaches are not good. Or excuse me, most coaches are, are looking to replace, kind of like a offensive guard or a corner. If you're the owner, like

when I was in the league, you're constantly thinking like how do we upgrade our right guard or right tackle, our left corner, or starting safety, and our second wide receiver. Just, that's the way teams operate. You know, if your team's just solid. If your team's good, you're still thinking about replacing a couple guys. If your team

sucks, your GM and your coach are thinking about replacing all the players, well, your owner's thinking about replacing your coach. So, I would imagine if I'm Dean Spanos, if I'm Mark Davis, if I'm the Benson's, if I'm the Walmart people, if I'm the Texans, if I'm, yeah, all these people. I mean, the Panthers are already interviewing people, I would imagine. Ursaid's already sniffing around.

Arthur Smith, to me, there are positives there, but how's he going to find a quarterback? Now, he is starting Ritter. We'll see how good he is. Not the biggest fan. I mean, Todd Bowles is going to be one and done. If Brady leaves the bucks, which he's going to do, whether he retires or goes to another team, how are they not going to fire Todd Bulls? It feels like a lock.

But I also think this represents, if you went to like 07 or 2002 or 1996 and you just looked at all the head coaches, you'll see good ones, right? Parcells, Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, you know, Tony Dungee, whoever, John Gruden, back then, not now. And then you'll probably find a ton of coaches.

You're like, that guy, that guy, who's that? That's the way the sport is. You know, for every Lincoln Riley and Nick Saban, a lot of crappy coaches. You know, it's a way this, it's very, very difficult. For every Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, there are average to below average quarterback starting. It's no different with coaches. It's very, very difficult to find good ones. So I don't think this year is any different than a couple years ago.

Freddie Kitchens, Pat Schumer, Joe Judge, you know, you go through the names. You're like, God, these guys stink too. Question that must be discussed on the podcast. How much credit does Dan Campbell deserve for the success of the Lions? Offense. Do you think he is calling any of the plays? He did take over play calling last year and is a former tight end. All the credit seems to be going toward Ben Johnson.

I'm a longtime Lions fan and I'm worried that once good old Ben Johnson leaves in the next year or two, the Lions are doomed. Honestly, I don't know the inner working with the Lions. I don't think Dan Campbell's calling the plays. Watching that game last night, they zoomed in on the play caller. I do think he plays a role in the identity of the offense.

The physicality, the toughness of their offensive line. They've been one of the better running teams. It feels like, I don't know if statistics match up, but they feel like they can run the ball on anyone. Their defense has gotten a lot tougher. So to me,

he is in the mold of like John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin. Like, that's kind of going to be his deal. Little Ra, Rai, tough guy leading the troops in the battle. He's never going to be viewed as like Kyle Shanahan or Sean Payton. Just not his deal. So yeah, he is going to be dependent on coordinators.

But I don't know if the Lions' offensive coordinator is getting a head coaching job this year. Could be wrong. We've seen crazier. But I would just take a deep breath and enjoy the positivity that is coming your way. And if the Lions start losing assistant coaches to head coaching, you're in very, very good shape. But I think we're at minimum still a year away from that. I would be very, very proud of the squad this year,

coaches and players. Longtime listener, long time listener, big fan. But got to say, I get consistently irritated by the nauseating references to TB's age. But more specifically, the avocado ice cream praising. Anyone with the pulse knows TB is 45 years old, and while I understand he is an outlier and a freak and how he facilitates his diet in physical and mental preparation.

It is ridiculous to continually applaud him for eating avocado ice cream. I mean it's 2022, and every single player in the league, especially the vets, are more or less making the decisions like Tom Brady is in regards to their fitness, nutritional intake, ETC. Tom Brady is not the only guy with admirable diet restrictions. I mean, who are we kidding by implying this? We need to stop this cliche. We blow the guy enough already without making him seem like a hero,

for choosing to eat ice cream made from avocados. We'll keep listening and recommending your podcast. And yes, I'm a salty judge fan. When I bring up the avocado ice cream, I hope you know, it's like ironically, it's in, it's like, I'm joking. I'm fucking with Tom Brady. Like, it's a joke. Who doesn't like normal ice cream?

I do think, yes, a lot of pro athletes, especially as they get into their 30s, make changes to the diet. Just like most of us normal humans, any human that doesn't want to be a fat, that slob, like we got to eat different foods. You know, I would say the last week and a half, I've had a terrible diet. When I gain a little weight, like, it's from my eating. When I'm disciplined with my diet, like discipline with your diet is I would say the number one hardest thing, whether you're a pro athlete or whether you're a normal human being,

something we all battle. And I think it's fair to say, non-joking, the avocado ice cream is a joke. Like, Tom, just you don't need to eat avocado ice cream. But like, he's disciplined for working out in food is, I, I, I, I mean, up there is unprecedented. It just is. You know, that being said, like, yeah, he's not alone. But he's also 45 years old.

Now, he's playing shitty now. But what he did is, I don't know if ever going to be, I mean, he's having an outlier career. And I do think you've got to give the guy some credit. I mean, he dedicated his entire life. Gave up his family, man. Gave up his family. But if you're eating avocado ice cream,

I would say, like most normal people, I think you're kind of a weirdo. So listen, I have a lot of reverence for Tom the player. He's like Football Jesus. I don't know if you saw the clip going viral. The 49ers lined up from guard to wide receivers. Drake Greenlaw took the ball that he intercepted Tom Brady. And he's like, man, I don't want to do this.

But can you sign my ball? Aaron Banks went to Notre Dame, stood there and asked him to sign his jersey and take a picture. I mean, these guys, the reverence the other players in the league, these guys that are 21, 22, 23 years old that they have for Tom Brady. Think about a lot, if you're 23 years old, when Tom was becoming a megastar, you were 8, 9 years old in like 07, and they had an undefeated team.

And then you get to play against him. So, like, when I bring up the avocado ice cream or anyone does that talks about it, it's because we've never seen anything quite like this. The players have it, you and I have it, nobody has. Now, he sucks right now. He's terrible. It's hard to watch him. I'd never watch Willie Mays for the Mets,

but I would imagine that's kind of what it looks like. It's honestly kind of sad. Now, is he going to retire? Who knows? But we can't be hating on Tom. Tom, and I know personally, Tom's been a huge reason that the NFL has been more popular. Like, he's their biggest star for basically the last two decades.

Definitely the last decade. And a big reason people just, there's not a woman that doesn't know who Tom Brady is. There are a lot of women that don't know who Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are. I mean, Tom is the most transcendent star football has. And more than likely, this could be his last couple games. Tom Brady to the Niners makes too much sense. Who on earth would you trust more to manage a game on a team that is defensively driven?

He's done it before with the Patriots early in his career, and he's a million times better now. Also, who would you want to mentor Trey Lance other than the best quarterback ever? It's a no-brainer. Purdy, bro. I want Purdy mentoring Trey Lance. I would say Trey Lance's careers in major flux right now. Not that the Niders are going to get rid of them or anything, but there is absolutely zero chance. Tom Brady or not Tom Brady,

Trey Lansis is going to be the starting quarterback going to the offseason. That's what happened last year. Same thing was Zach Wilson. Those days are over. It's just not going to happen for either guy. It's different. Like I said, the players don't like Zach Wilson. Players like Trey. but he's not going to just be handed the job anymore because that doesn't happen in other positions. And it happened at quarterback and it kind of backfired.

Now, I think the 49ers are not going to sign Tom Brady. I also don't think Tom Brady's going to want to go to the Bay Area. Like I said, I think Tom Brady is headed to the Vegas Raiders with his avocado ice cream. As somebody with a degree in finance and mid-level experience in different financial sectors, what's the best way in your opinion to track a career within sports? NFL NBA teams.

With hundreds of millions of dollars circulating through these leagues, there has to be some entry for career. Like even a relatively small market team like the Houston Rockets and the NBA, any advice. I think the easiest way to get involved in careers that are difficult, because ultimately a lot of these teams, the Houston Rockets, the Houston Texans, the doubt, whoever, they're not enormous operations, right? So if you're a finance guy, Welsh Fargo or Bank of America are massive companies. they have branches in every city, everywhere you go, right?

So you can get a job and kind of get your foot in. That's not the case with pro sports. Certain cities have pro sports teams, and then their operation is not nearly as big as you think. I think the easiest way is just get your foot in the door is in sales. You're a business guy, get in sales if you have like some extroverted tendencies or you think you can close. And if you ticket sales, sweet sales, and then kind of get you in that way. Now, if you have a law degree, maybe try the contractual stuff, but you have to realize, like,

these people, obviously they're enormous businesses, they're all managed by business people. You know, all these teams have a president of business operations. They have law firms, you know, they have the big accounting firms. It's not like they just have football coaches or basketball coaches managing their money. So what I always recommend is, and I did not have this, use LinkedIn to your benefit. use LinkedIn or Instagram or even Twitter and find people that have roles that like this guy manages a salary cap or this guy is the president of the team and shoot him an email you know think about this like if you're a coach like Nick Sabin Kyle Shanahan Andy Reid whatever you get a

million coaches or a general manager right like Howie Roseman John Snyder you name it a million young scouts and young coaches try to contact these guys. How many young workers contact the team president? Probably not as many as you think relative to the coaches. So I actually think it's an easier entry point is the business side. But use technology to your advantage. There are a lot of those avenues when I in college, like in 06, 07, when I was 22, 23, 24, they didn't even exist. Well, I had to go old school way. Send a letter. They got immediately probably thrown in the trash. Technology, baby.

It's got a sound falls, but it also has its benefits. You have a great pod, but for fuck's sakes, can you go one show without mentioning Staley or small-on quarterbacks? You're turning into skip. Well, I mean, I think Brandon Staley stinks, and I don't like small-armed quarterbacks. Beside Purdy, who's kind of growing on me?

So no, I don't think I can skip a show with doing that. First time in your DMs. From Nova Scotia. You are my go-to podcast. Can't deal with other podcasts. Two questions for you. In the past, you have talked about how, who the top coaches are and how even they needed the right people around them.

Bill with Brady, Reed with Mahomes, Walsh, and Montana. Have you ever seen a really good coach that could have been an all-timer, but because of ownership and general manager decisions, didn't succeed and was considered a mid-of-the-road or bad coach? Maybe never got another chance. Secondly, I'm not a Raider fan, actually a Vikings guy, but I've always found their franchise to be interesting. I know they are not one of the wealthier teams,

and they are paying Josh McDaniels'Dainals' but they have to fire him, right? Josh McDaniels is one of the most overrated head coaches ever. He has got to go. On the coaches, you know, Freddy Kitchens, Jim Tom Sula, you give them Mahomes, you give them Josh Allen, who knows? I mean, I'm sure it's happened. You know, I'm a big believer that cream eventually rise to the top.

I think most coaches figured out. And the ones that don't, we're never going to figure it out. Same thing with players. And there are probably individual examples of a player that got screwed, of a coach that got screwed. But I think for the most part, the good coaches are the ones that you know of in the main sports and the bad coaches are the ones that you don't.

Now, there are probably some mid-level guys that could have been a little bit better if they had the right quarterback. But then they're also quarter, you know, this guy doesn't want me to talk about Brandon Staley, but what if Brandon Staley had Baker Mayfield? What if Brandon Staley had Gino Smith? I mean, would he have lasted two seasons?

You know, I think that happens more often where an average coach, an average to below coach, gets a decent talent, and that guy's able to just have a longer career than he probably should have. The Raiders are a fascinating franchise. You know, I used to spend a lot of time around them

when I was in the radio business. and they have a collegiate feel to them. A lot of their former players take a lot of pride. I mean, their owner, Mark, obviously his dad's Al Davis. I mean, they just love the Raiders. But it's a pretty dysfunctional place. It's a lot of lifetime employees. You know, most good businesses, you know, hire from outside,

especially as you get bigger and bigger and money quadruples and, you know, 10x, 20x, 50x because you need different voices, you need different thoughts. It's not really the way the Raiders have ever operated. And yeah, I mean, even when they try to do something like hire Josh McDaniels, it fails. Now, I've had a lot of people DM me that go, Josh McDaniels, he's the most overrated coach of all time. And you watch his team, like, that was one of the most embarrassing sequences we've ever seen.

I mean, that was, as someone that's hard on some of these other coaches, that's inexcusable. like that's just one of those things where you get over the headset as the head coach and you have to have some understanding of what's getting this defense that under no circumstances they get in one-on-one man coverage on the outside against Baker Mayfield. So yeah, I mean, I don't know if he's going to be one and done, but I think the Raiders are in major shambles. And like I said, I believe Tom Brady,

I think the owner will basically mandate to Josh. And I don't think Tom Brady is going to have as many options as people think, just like last time. He did not have that many options, but I think the Raiders are going to be an option, and I think they'll trade Derrick R. Can you explain how everyone jumps on the Eagles saying, oh, they found a way to beat the Colts? But then the Cowboys roll them and they become a bad team? I'm not even sure what this question is asking. I think we spend too much time, like worrying what a couple people say, talking heads say, you know, like the buzz on a team good or bad, Like, ultimately, if you're a cowboy fan

and you're 10 and 3, or you're an Eagle fan and you're 12 and 1, right? Like, it's pretty clear, your team's pretty good. Like, you're going to the playoffs. All you want when the season starts is to be in the dance and have a shot. And unlike the other sports, like, if you get into the basketball playoffs,

if your team's not that good, you can easily get swept in the first round. If you get to the NFL playoffs, it's fucking one game. I mean, the 49ers were underdogs both times last year and whoop that, you know what? The Rams went on the road.

Like, the Bucks were much better last season. And before the game got weird in the second half, kicked the crap out of the bucks. The Bengals went on the road to Kansas City. They're four straight AFC championship game. Every single human alive, including Bengals fans, chiefs are going to win this game. And what happened? You guys went to the Super Bowl.

So I'm not quite sure where your question's asking, but I wouldn't worry about that crap. Like, even if you're a Vikings fan, Everyone's kind of shitting on you, calling you frauds. Well, just find a way to get the two-seat. Because you know what happens if you get the two-seat? You're guaranteed two-home games. Guaranteed two home games.

Assuming you win the first. But like, that's a pretty big deal. Get the two-seed? You can call me a fraud all you want if the team I'm on, if the team I'm coaching, the team I'm a fan of gets the two-seat. So I think we worry about too much about the outside crap. Love the show, bro.

refreshing to have a personality with good takes. I agree. Question. With Lincoln, Chip, rule, and Big Dick Fick from joining the Big Ten, rank the top three coaches in the Big Ten. I would go Harbaugh one. I would reluctantly say Ryan Day,

but I'm not, you know, he's 45 and 5, but I just do not trust him in a big game. He can shut me up. He beats Georgia. Who knows? He can win the National Championship. I don't think he will. I think Georgia is going to shove them around

but you can't ever dispute that Ohio State has talent who else would be there Rule no Lincoln Lincoln would be right Lincoln and Luke Fickle I would have really really high I mean Luke Fickle took Cincinnati to the playoffs that's pretty impressive

I'd probably go Lincoln than Luke Fickle I think PJ flex pretty good you know say what you want about James Franklin not a great in-game guy it's college football Just recruit your ass off. You're in games like, yeah, they're never going to win the national championship, but Penn State's going to win 10, 11 games every year.

Like, Penn State's pretty good. Between 9 and 11 games. Yeah, they're not Michigan or Ohio State. And he's not Mr. Dynamic Coach, but he can recruit. And their team always is super loaded. And if they ever just hit on the right quarterback, who knows? Maybe they could win the Big Ten. I think the Big Ten coaching is really, really good.

Obviously, adding that rule, we'll see. I think it's not that I'm not bullish on him because clearly he's pretty into it but you know you watch him talk it's a little political you know in terms of he's just kind of a politician which James Franklin is too that's he's going to be a recruiter

what's his scheme tough guy can he recruit to Nebraska I don't know we'll see I guess I'm not as I'm not not bullish because you got to be excited for the hire he's won but it's going to be tough

I know you can win at Penn State. I know you can win at Wisconsin. Obviously, Michigan, Ohio State, USC. To me, Chip isn't, I don't think Chip even makes the Big Ten. What would be one take I have? I don't not think Chip Kelly makes the Mick Ten. If I was UCLA, after next year, I would fire Chip Kelly and I would hire Jonathan Smith at Oregon State.

L.A. guy winning at Oregon State, you know, loves defense, can really coach the run game, just need some players. He'll be able to recruit at UCLA. That's what I'd do. So the Big Ten, you could argue coach for coach. Now it's hard when you got Sabin and Kirby in your conference, but the Big Ten might be deeper with coaches. Okay, appreciate everyone listening.

Share it with your friends. Check out the volumes YouTube page. And yeah, I will talk to everyone later in the week. Peace. The Volume. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends,

me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.