The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Matty Ice to Indy Reaction, Overhyped AFC West, Urban Pile On, Mailbag, RIP Professor, Mailbag

Episode Date: March 22, 2022

John reacts to the Falcons sending Matt Ryan to the Colts, if he still has enough game to make the difference in Indy, and why it's good for the Falcons to take the biggest dead cap hit in NFL history on the chin this year. He also looks at how quickly the Baker and Deshaun situations went from great to terrible in Cleveland and Houston, why the AFC West isn't lock to be the all-time power division people think, and why the latest Urban Meyer hit piece is completely unsurprising. He also pays his respects to longtime NFL insider John Clayton after his passing, and answers listener questions in the 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! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. Okay, recording. You have a story to tell, and maybe you've thought, I should start a podcast. Meet Anchor. It's a powerful app that lets you record a podcast anywhere and get it heard everywhere. All you need to do is download the free Anchor app and hit Record. Just go to Anchor.fm. slash get started.

Make a podcast with Anchor. That's anchor.com. slash get started. Great. I think we got it. This offseason, get football on your terms with NFL game pass

for just $999. It just starts getting good. Welcome to the NFL draft. Experience the draft like never before with live streams into draft rooms. It's an absolutely home run pick. And relive every unbelievable moment from the past season with games.

replays. That's the play. Get football on your terms this offseason with NFL game pass. Go to NFL.com slash game pass to start your free trial. The volume. The three and out podcast is presented by FandualSportsbook. 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 can't I 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 Middlecock, three and out podcast. Live it in charge on a Monday after just a bananas. Bananas might be strong, but it was pretty crazy. I mean, a lot of quarterback movement. Maddie Ice traded, James, Marriota. We had some quarterback musical chairs that I will dive into off the top. Some thoughts on the AFC West, which I think a lot of us are anointing,

and rightfully so. I mean, it's the best division on paper. Some thoughts there. Urban Meyer, an article coming out just destroying him. Again, a lot of things we knew. Some details in there, but I think it kind of symbolizes what I said from the moment. I know we have some new listeners, but for those of you day ones, I've been an anti-urban. I used to call him Fraudmire, but definitely once he started getting rumored for the NFL,

I mean, give me a break. Could have seen this one coming from a mile away and talk about a couple other things. Share the podcast. If you listen on Collins' feet, subscribe to the three-and-out podcast feed. Greatly appreciate it if you like it. share with your friends, share with your enemies, share with your people, grassroots, take any share I can get, leave a review, Apple iTunes. I know some of you guys listen on Spotify, I think they have a review section there, but statistics show us the majority of you listen on Apple iTunes, leave a review, helps wish selling of the show, and a Middilkoff mailbag. I'm sure I have a lot today.

At John Middlecoff is the Instagram. Fire up in those direct messages at John Middlecough, Instagram. fire in those DMs and get your question answered here on the show. And we also do another big one on the weekend. So yeah, pretty easy to do. Let's talk some football. Okay, we got to start with the big trade that really set off a basically a quarterback dominoes around the NFL.

And I think ultimately the Atlanta Falcons now have been a predicament for a couple years because before they got a new general manager and a new head coach, they signed historic deals with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. They invested in, you know, arguably two of the greatest players in franchise history, right? Dion, Matt Ryan, Julio, I mean, it's shortlist. Tony Gonzalez, but they didn't get the, they got the older Tony Gonzalez. And they gave him huge contracts. And the way these huge contracts work is Arthur Blank, because he has a ton of cash,

is able to have these enormous signing bonus and guaranteed a ton of cash. Well, when you do that, you amortize that on your books. And Julio Jones cost them money to get rid of last year. Just like Matt Ryan now, I just read on Twitter before hopping on that Matt Ryan's dead cap for the Falcons will be more than any cap hit for any other player in the NFL.

So there is a reason they didn't get much for either one of these two guys. because the contracts backfired. And contracts in the NFL in a salary cap league really impact your value as a player. People are like, why did Bobby Wagner get cut? Because he was making $20 million. And his trend is probably pointing down, not up at this point in time in his career, right?

Amory Cooper, why did he, because he was making $20 million. Your salary impacts what your value is. Because if Matt Ryan was a $10 million player, honestly, goes for more. But here's the reality. Is the Indianapolis Colts, who, you know, is there anything worse than the guy that doesn't have a great feel for what other people feel about him? Albert Breer wrote today in the MMQB that Carson went, said he was shocked by all the reports coming out in Indy about him. He didn't, when the report came on the evening of the Super Bowl, that Indy was over him.

they'd had enough of them that they were going to move on, that they didn't like him. He was taken back. It's like, Carson, man. It's like, take a look in the mirror. You need some people in your life that can tell you what's really going on because you've had back-to-back places where people didn't like you. And here's the thing with the Colts. He replaced Philip Rivers, who literally everyone that plays with Rivers loves the guy.

I would put Matt Ryan in that category. So they went from Philip Rivers, and I text a couple people in the league today, and I said, what is the difference between the Phillip Rivers that they acquired two years ago, right? Who was at the end of his career? And this version of Matt Ryan. So I had one buddy that said he thought that Matt Ryan was a little bit better. I had another that said it's basically a coin flip. He might lean rivers.

Bottom line, it's really close. I think you could argue they're basically the same player upon acquisition. Well, looking back two years ago of the rivers they got, they won 11 games. they loved him. Frank Ballard, everyone was happy. They wanted him to stay. I mean, they only had Carson Wentz. Let's face it, for nine months. They couldn't get the guy out of the building fast enough. Now they get Matt Ryan, who was beloved in Atlanta. As a person, as a player, we can nitpick him. Has some flaws. Like Rivers, when you do not have a huge arm, you are very dependent on accuracy. And when you're a little off, you're going to throw some picks because it's a pickable ball.

It's not going that fast. So there's a reason most defensive backs play defense and not wide receiver, they don't have great hands. Well, when you don't throw it as hard, if you're off in terms of accuracy, it's easier for me to catch. So I think that is a big reason that Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers, they've turned the ball over sometimes. But Matt Ryan, one thing he said, the team in Atlanta the last couple years is terrible. They don't have much talent. Their offensive line has been awful. And like Rivers, they can't really.

move. And they are, I don't want to say dinosaurs, but that is not the type player, the Josh Allen, the Lamar Jackson, the Mahomes, the Herberts, the Trey Lances, the Justin Fields, mobility, mobility. I'm not talking about Kyler Murray or even obviously Lamar. You just have to be able to scramble behind the line of scrimmage. It is a huge advantage in 2022 when your quarterback can move and still be accurate. See, Herbert, Mahomes, obviously Russell Wilson. has been playing like that. Aaron Rogers is the older version of all these guys. He's been moving, pinpoint accuracy.

Most guys, historically in the game of football, can't move much. They got to play within the pocket and get rid of the ball. Well, that's Matt Ryan. And that was Philip Rivers, a tight player that Frank and the Colts are comfortable with. You know, for whatever reason, Matt Ryan, more than likely,

the crazy part about Wince, he threw 27 touchdowns last year. His production wasn't that bad. Yet when you watched him, the eye test, it was a little off. And then the person, I say it all the time. You cannot separate at quarterback the person and the player. They're interconnected.

The leadership, they're the CEO of really of the guys on your football team. Like the head coach is the CEO of the football building. But the quarterback is the CEO of the players. And when those players aren't comfortable with the guy, you got a problem. He doesn't need to be beloved. Like Peyton Manning could be an asshole, yell at guys, hold guys accountable. But everyone liked him. Everyone respected them.

Ideally, you get Tom Brady. I mean, it's greatest teammate of all time. You could be somewhere in the middle. And clearly Carson Wentz skews on the side of, one, he doesn't even understand what he's missing. And it might just be he's incapable because he's kind of a weirdo or who knows. Narcissist, egomaniac.

I don't know. I don't know the guy. But I got that guy red flagged. And so does everyone else in the league, except the football team who was, you know, and in fairness to the football team, they're so desperate. He really has, like,

he has more talent than me. Mattie Ice. He is more talent than Marriota. He has more talent than James. All these guys go in places. The problem was what you had to give up to acquire him. And I think the Colts now go, we got a grown up in the room. We got a guy who's won a ton of big games. Matt Ryan, like Rivers, toughness, elite toughness. And he's accurate. The problem is arm's not great, but we play in a dome. The greatest player we've ever had, doesn't have a great arm, but we thrived in the dome, aka Peyton Manning. Obviously, Maddie Ice, you know, I call him like more Mattie Melton. Ice Cube than Maddie Ice.

But I do think this is an upgrade. You get an upgrade as a person. And you just bring some stability to your building. A guy that knows what he's doing. A guy that's not trying to prove himself, you know, in the sense of Carson and like resurrect the human being. Like I think he's very secure. He's already made more money than probably every player in NFL history except like

10. I mean, this guy's filthy rich. And the Falcons get to just break up. Now, who knows if this would have happened if the Deshawn Watson fiasco hadn't led him to be interested in the Falcons and then it being reported that they might get Watson. That means Matt Ryan's on the block and that led to Indianapolis. But however, this transpired, Indianapolis upgraded. I'm sure they feel really good. And the Falcons can kind of start over.

Because as long as they had Matt Ryan and listen, they basically ate this huge dead cap for a third because they weren't going to get very much, but are able to just set their sights forward. They're able to progress. You know, they were just kind of stuck in neutral. You know, for those of us that grow up, you know, closer to the rural areas, you know, when the rain comes and it gets a little muddy, I've had a lot of friends that you need to come bring a truck and get them out of the mud because you're just stuck. You cannot get out of it.

And that's what the Falcons felt like. And they got rid of Julio, they got rid of Matt Ryan, and now they can just move forward. Now, it doesn't mean they're going to figure it out. But I do think they got rid of these two contracts. And really these two players, but specifically, Matt, like, it was going to be very, very difficult for them just to completely suck. And this year, more than last year, great quarterback draft. I mean, some big time prospects.

Ohio State guy, Alabama guy. Like, you got legitimate guys that could go in the top three or four picks. That was not the case, obviously, this year. And I guess Marcus Marriota going there. Arthur Smith knows him, coached him in Tennessee. James now goes to New Orleans who really not that much money. They give him $21 million guaranteed for a couple of years.

He can just be serviceable and have them compete for a wildcard. The NFC stinks. I mean, the AFC is absolutely loaded. The NFC, all the top quarterbacks, you know, beside Brady, who obviously returned for a reason, he saw an opening.

Rogers just lost Devante Adams. That's a problem. You got Stafford, you know, I mean, the 49ers are, probably the third best team, or fourth best team right there with the Packers, Rams, and Tampa. But, I mean, Trey Lance, Jimmy hasn't moved yet. What's going to happen there? Wouldn't shock me if they just rolled back Jimmy, as crazy as that sounds.

But I think that's on the table now. Definitely Kyle would do that. So, you know, to me, Marriota doesn't do anything for the Falcons. And I don't really know, like, to me, James is just kind of a guy. And the other thing, Sean Payton's gone. So I don't value James as much without Sean Payton. So I just, you know, I'm not a huge believer in Dennis Allen, but their roster is pretty solid. I think the Colts are immediately now, like, they're not losing that game to Jacksonville, Week 18, if they're in that position.

And I think that's how they look at it. And maybe they're even in a position where we're not having to win Week 18 to get into the playoffs. We're just like a couple years ago with Rivers, we're just an 11 win team. And I think that's where the Colts lay their head at bed at night now and feel much better about themselves. and they probably knew this has been in the works now, three, four, a week, however long, definitely upgraded. Bet $5 to get $150.

Right now, Fandual Sportsbook is giving new customers $150. Instant bonus, guaranteed. That's right. You get $150 in bonus site credit, and all you have to do is place your first bet of $5 or more. How do you bet the bracket is up to you? How can you choose the money line, the totals, the prop bets, and so much more?

You can choose the money line, the prop bets, the totals. You can do it all yourself. Which team would you like to take a chance on? Me, I like Tennessee, I like UCLA, and I like Arizona. So I would hammer those teams throughout the tournament. 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever 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 a little kill? 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.

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.

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, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Plus, with cash out, the ball's in your court. so you can close out your bet whenever you want before the game is over. Join Fandual today with promo code Colin, then you can place your $5 bet to score $150 in bonus site credit. Guaranteed. That's promo code Colin on the Fandual Sportsbook app. 21 and present in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia.

Refund issued as non-witrable site credit that expires in seven days. Max refund $10. Restrictions apply. See terms at Sportsbook. fan duel.com. Same game parlay available for multiple sports in all states on mobile and web. Gambling problem, call 1-800 next step, or text next step to 533-4-2 Arizona, 1-800 gambler, or visit fanduel.com slash RG, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Virginia, 1-800-7-1-1-17 for confidential help. Michigan, Tennessee, Tennessee, visit www, 1-800-gambler.net, west Virginia.

Boosters provide stronger COVID protection for everyone who's 12 and older and vaccinated. Boosters mean fewer people who are seriously ill or hospitalized and far fewer needless deaths. So if you think about it, when you get a booster, you're helping us all stay in the game. Be part of the strongest defense against COVID. We can do this. Find boosters near you at vaccines.gov. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Health and Health. human services. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook

world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure. And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service. and the Ad Council. This offseason, get football on your terms with NFL game pass for just $9.99. It just starts getting good. Welcome to the NFL draft.

Experience the draft like never before with live streams into draft rooms. An absolutely home run pick. And relive every unbelievable moment from the past season with game replays. That's the play. Get football on your terms this off season with NFL game pass. Go to NFL.com slash game pass. to start your free trial. I was thinking a lot about the Watson,

Baker Mayfield thing. And listen, society has probably never moved faster than it moves today, right? On the blink of, you know, you snap your fingers, market could be down 10%. You know, you snap your fingers, market goes up 20%.

It's just crazy. The world is accelerated. Things change at rapid rates. Obviously, the internet, just the way everything works. It's never been faster. And as someone who's impatient, I don't mind it that way.

I'm not a huge, like, whenever I get behind a slow walker, I'm like, early this, come on, pick it up, let's go. So I enjoy the fast pace of 2020 society. But as a sports fan, sometimes you can sit there and go, we got a squad, this is going to be good for a while. And then you look a couple years later, you're like, what the hell happened? I'll never forget the Harbaugh 49ers, like, this thing's going to be a dynasty, 10 years.

They're going to win a couple of Super Bowls, and then after three and a half years, it was over. And we've seen examples of this over and over in sports, how quickly things changed. No matter how great a situation is at any moment, just look last year. We're like, is Aaron Rogers going to leave the Packers? Now, he ultimately didn't, but let's face it, it got very weird, very fast. Things come out of nowhere and change on the dot. Look at Watson and Baker.

When Watson was drafted, Davos Sweeney's pounding the table, calling him the Michael Jordan of college football. And you're watching him, you're like, you know, he went toe to toe with Alabama. He beat Alabama's junior, senior year, whatever. Then he kind of fell in the draft. Not really, but I mean, went 12. But, you know, for quarterbacks that usually go on the top five, people freaked out. This guy Baker Mayfield, John Dorsey's like, you know, I was around Brett Farve, the bravado. I draft Baker Mayfield won, both places.

Hell yeah, we got our quarterback. Now, obviously Deshawn hit the ground running, became kind of a star, was legitimate pro-baller, got a contract extension. the Houston, Texas, you're thinking we got a star quarterback for the next 15 years. Baker was a little different, but by his third year, he leads the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs and wins a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Do you know how crazy it is to imagine five years ago, the Cleveland Browns, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a playoff game?

Now, I was never the biggest Baker-Mayfield guy after I watched him, but listen, he had a good 2020 and they won a playoff game. So if you're a Browns fan, obviously they had a ton of expectations. Now the Watson thing got weird quick. Like he demanded a trade and then he got in trouble. The Baker thing coming into last year,

the expectations were sky high. Now a year removed, Watson's on the Browns for a historic hall. Baker still, as of recording this, technically still on the team, but he's going to be gone. And their careers, like, I say this all the time about the draft, which is, A little over a month away.

Everyone in the first round will draft a player. And, you know, whether you're watching on NFL Network, you know, I guess there's on the NFL network and ESPN. They'll show the war room, which is cool. You know, someone that aspired to work in the NFL and finally got there, the war room never was not cool. And it's the coolest on draft day, right? Everyone's in there.

You got your tie on. You know, you got your snack plate and you're just waiting for your pick. and then you pick a guy turning the card for Baker Mayfield, turning the card for Deshawn Watson, you go apeshit. But it happens for literally every player in the draft. All these guys that will get drafted in, you know, 40 days,

there's celebration, hugs, chest bumps, owners going nuts. And then we know, I mean, time and time again, half those guys are not going to amount to anything. And then even the guys that do, half those guys will get traded, we'll get moved, we'll want out. Like, weird shit happens. And I think this deal and the way it all went down is a great example, even with quarterback that is clearly becoming, it's been like this for a while, but it's completely separating, right? Rogers got $150 million.

They just gave Deshawn Watson $230 million. The importance of the position given the rules has never been, the gap has never been wider between like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen and just even an Aaron Donald. And we all know Aaron Donald's were the greatest players of all time. But if you just had a draft from scratch, right, if all the players in the NFL were in just this hypothetical draft, what pick would the first position player go? Because quarterbacks would go, I would say, at minimum, first 15 picks. And honestly, we could probably talk ourselves into like 18 to 20 picks. So the importance of that position has just grown with the rules, with the way the games played, and rightfully so, it's understandable. But the one thing that hasn't is how fast weird shit happens.

And that's the one great part. And it's why pro sports are, you know, that in politics are the only thing anyone watches. Everything else is so segmented, right? We don't. It's not like 1994. We're all watching the same four shows. Sports is the one thing we can all agree on that a lot of us, especially football, we all watch against enormous ratings because it's truly reality television.

That you can have this guy like Deshaun Watson, you think he's going to be a pillar of your team for 15 years. You're going to the playoffs all the time. A year later, he wants a trade. then he gets in trouble and boom he's gone. Baker Mayfield, it feels like he's a savior of the Cleveland rounds. Looking back, think about this. He's not even a top two quarterback in his own first round, right? And you could argue, we'll see how it plays out the next four or five years,

but obviously if you could redo that, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson are going one and two. You know, Josh Rosen's terrible, and Sam Donald is a disaster. And Baker, who knows? Like, maybe Baker's just not that good of a player. I don't know. obviously he's better than Sam Darnold and clearly Josh Rosen but his Cleveland career just ended like that

and part of it is the turnover with head coaches and general managers like I've been in places where someone hires me and happens to me in football and it happened to me in radio and the person that hires me leaves and when that person leaves

the person who supports you and really believed in you when that guy is gone it's a game changer right I mean it's anyone who's listening to this, who's worked at a company where your boss leaves and a new boss comes in, you know, it's just, especially in a business where you're under contract, right? Not like necessarily an at-will employee. It, you know, it just changes everything. And if you're not

talented enough and if you're definitely a pain in the ass, now we've seen it with Wenson Baker, no one wants to deal with that. Unless you're as good as Watson and then they've showed you, they'll deal with your problems, which like I said, on Sunday's podcast still feels a little crazy to me. The risk there, I looked up his contract today. I mean, some of the dead cap numbers, when you pay a guy that much money, I mean, it's the most guaranteed money in the history of the league. Like this, because someone DM me, they're like, what do you think? If this gets a little weird that the money ball guys could flip him. I'm like, it's not possible to flip Deshaun Watson once you pay him that contract. You just saw it with Matt Ryan, who got $100 million

guaranteed. $100 million guaranteed. Deshaun got $1 million. Deshaun got. 2.3x that. And it really doesn't start kicking in until a couple years. So they're all in on them, as they should be. But, you know, we'll see how it works out. The other thing I've been thinking a lot about is the AFC West,

which is clearly kind of the apple of everyone's eye now as a division, and rightfully so. The talent that has, I was going to say, migrated, but really, you know, these teams traded for them. A lot of these guys didn't actively choose. I guess Chandler Jones did. Devante kind of did, but they still had to trade for him. You know, Russell traded for,

Khalil Mack traded for. These guys, these teams went out and made moves to acquire these guys. And to me, I love all their moves. You know, but there is a difference between just having a stack team on paper. Like I said, this is reality TV. These are real people. And ultimately, like, you can be great on paper. but what about the pressure and expectations?

You know, pressure is real. I know the analytical elites hate the word pressure because they don't think it exists. You know, if you follow Major League Baseball, the analytics community does not believe that any AB is different than any other AB. That your AB in the second inning is no different than your AB in the ninth inning of a playoff game,

which is just complete bullshit. We're all human beings. pressure is a real thing. Now, you can argue pressure is what you put on yourself, but once you get to the highest level of any industry, like there is pressure on you. You know, like it's easy to be the hunter and going after whoever in your business, right?

It's easy to compete, get up every day, and chase something. It's hard to be the hunted. Like, it's hard to be coward, right? Everyone watches everything he says, every show, he's got to do a good, job. He's got an enormous audience. Like, that's not easy. It's easy to be the little radio guy that no one's listened to

and just throw shit at the wall and see what sticks and maybe it works. Right? The wind blows the hardest at the top of the mountain top. I'm a big golf guy. It's easy to shoot in the PJ tour level, a good round on Thursday or Friday. It's another thing to sleep on the lead

Saturday or Sunday and have everyone gunning for you, especially when you're kind of a nobody. It's one thing if you're Tiger Woods or Jordan Speeth or Justin Thomas. But as we just saw this weekend, Davis Riley's sleeping on the lead for the first time in his career going into Sunday. And all of a sudden by the fifth, hole, he triple bogeys, he's no longer in the lead. Pressure is real. And that's the thing, when I look at the AFC West, there's one team who's had true pressure and who's truly

been the hunted for the last three or four years. And that's Kansas City Chiefs. They have been, you know, ever since that New England game that they lost in overtime, I guess it would have been four and a half years ago right the a fc championship game they have been the top team in the league or in the conference and everyone in the conference has been gunning for them and they have answered the bell three straight years getting back to the a fc championship game obviously one two of them and this year blew it to the bangles but they have been you know arguably the marquee team in the league for the last three years so when i hear that like they didn't improve but all these other teams well one i'll say it over and over they have a huge advantage

at coach and at quarterback. They have the best quarterback in the division. But to me, where they have the advantage, their core guys, which is ultimately what matters the most. Like, they win and lose how Tyreek, Travis, Patrick, Chris Jones play, and now adding Justin Reed, Eric Reed's brother, how those guys are going to play. And the other guys, you know, those guys have to bring the other guys with them.

But I know they can handle the pressure. I know that in a big game, November whatever, Sunday night football against the Chargers, they'll be ready. They might win, they might lose, but I don't worry about them crumbling or succumbing to the outside noise and just rightfully so, trying to win a division that is stacked on paper every team. So when I look at all these other teams, like the Chargers, they're an underachieving historical franchise.

Like, let's face it, they have had a lot of stacked teams. One of the best teams I've ever seen in my adult life, like basically the last 20,000. years was that team that the Patriots beat on the road with L.T., Sean Merriman, Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson, RIP, they were stacked. And they got beat. And that kind of to me is the Chargers. You know, they just always underachief. And then they have this coach who, let's face it, like, can he shake his reckless nature?

I know the media elites love giving him pressure or giving him credit because he's always going for on fourth down. But like that bit him in the ass last year. That is a huge reason that the Raiders were in the playoffs and they were not. No way around it. But I think, you know, even including the Chiefs, because I think Justin Herbert's top five quarterback, you could argue they got the best roster,

not in the division, in the league. They are absolutely stacked. I've said it over and over. Love the Khalil Mack move. I just, I like keeping Mike Williams to go with Keenan Allen, to go with Herbert. I think you can add a back pretty easily. I think they need a bigger running back. You can do that in the draft, no problem.

But their roster on paper is really freaking good. Now, I look at the Broncos. They haven't been good in half a decade. They literally have not played in a meaningful game. Their head coach, who say it over and over, rooting for the guy, bald brother, never been a head coach. He's becoming a head coach for the first time, and he's going to be calling the plays.

with the pressure of calling the plays for Russell Wilson. And unlike Mahomes, and unlike Tom Brady, and unlike Aaron Rogers, that if you work for these guys as a coach, you're on the offensive staff for Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, you get jobs, your career grows. It ascends. It's incredible for your personal business. When you became the offensive coordinator, historically for Russell Wilson,

you get fired. That's not an opinion. That's a fact. So the pressure of being an offensive coach for Russell Wilson is not the same as these other players. You coach Josh Allen, boom, you're the head coached the New York Giants. You coach Russell Wilson, fired. These had three offensive coordinators fired.

They've had three offensive staffs blown out. It happens time and time again. So there is dramatic pressure on Hackett. But like I was saying by the Chargers, they got a squad. Their offensive line is excellent. That running back they got from North Carolina is good. The wide receivers are awesome.

They got players on defense. Their general manager is good. But Chargers underachieving franchise. The Broncos haven't played in a meaningful game since Peyton Manning. That's been a while. He just got in the Hall of Fame. Last time I checked, it takes five years to be Hall of Fame eligible. So it just shows you.

And then the Raiders, as a franchise, they haven't made the playoffs in back-to-back years in two decades. That's a long time. Now, last year was really, really impressive. That coach is gone. And it was an interim coach, you know, for as shitty as everything was, the Gruden emails, and obviously the horrific event that was the Henry Ruggs situation and the moronic event. Now, I don't think the Damon Arnett with the guns really impacted them.

But the Ruggs thing that, I don't care who you are. If you're around a guy like that every day, and that happens, that rattles you. and they did a fantastic job of rallying around it. But there's no rally. Oh, that's over now. They have a new head coach who I've watched a lot of Josh McDaniels interviews. He feels very comfortable in his own skin. I actually feel like this is, he doesn't remind me of a Patriot guy right now

that are super tight and super angry. He's just, I think he's comfortable. But let's face it, his one time as the head honcho, it couldn't have got any worse. He got run out of the building. So you have this franchise that is not used to winning since the internet got invented. And then you have this head coach who is just until he proves he can win, there's going to be this stigma around him. But as I've said, adding Devante Adams, that was stealing.

Chandler Jones getting rid of Yonick, no-brainer. They have legit impact players. Chandler Jones can play, Max Crosby can play, Devonte's a star, Waller's a star, Renfro baller. Cars was excellent last year. They got dudes. So I'm looking at these three teams and going, any one of them could win 12 games. If the coach is on, if they mesh.

But that's not, some of these teams, like there's going to be a team in this division probably that goes 8 and 9. And ultimately it's going to be a disaster, an absolute disaster. And I don't know. But one of these three teams is not going to handle the pressure in the expectation as well because that's the way it works.

Like not everyone just pressure, expectations creates a diamond. You know, I'm very confident in the Chiefs. Even if they have quote unquote a comeback year, hell, they don't win the division. Like, they're winning double-digit games. I would bet $10,000 on that yesterday. But one of these three teams, I don't know which one it is. Because, listen, I'm not a Brandon Staley guy. I love, I don't like, I love their roster.

The Broncos, I think Russell's going to have a chip on his shoulder. But the coach makes me a little nervous. The Raiders, there's just, you know, can't. they shake like this frame are you just a good franchise now obviously you got good players on your team still have some holes on the offensive line someone's going to underachieve and to me that's as fascinating as all these teams kicking ass another story that came out on the athletic today i'm not going to spend that much time on this because we've talked about this over the year was urban mire and you know i i think it's easy to be a bully when other people that you're bullying whether you're a boss

of a company, whether you're a head coach in high school or college, they're kind of stuck and they don't have very much leverage. Like, if your high school coach is being an asshole to you, what are you going to do? You know, you just, you kind of got to take it. It's like, you know, most people aren't going to be some super, they're not going to transfer high schools. He's like, ah, this guy just doesn't like me. Once you get to college, I guess now it's probably a little different, but he didn't coach in the transfer portal rule. You know, I would imagine a lot of places where you have like minimum wage workers, that boss can be able to, a royal dick because that guy might be very dependent on that job.

And Urban Meyer at the end of the day is a bully's bully. He's a legit asshole. And it worked for him. It thrived for him at Florida. It thrived for him at Ohio State. Because when he told someone to jump, they always said how high, especially once his resume work. And I said over and over, once you get to the pros, no one gives a shit what you

did at Ohio State or Florida. No one cares. The guy you just drafted number one overall had been to multiple national championships, had won a national championship, and just got $35 million guaranteed. You have several guys on an NFL roster making millions of dollars. So, listen, it's football. Sometimes you're going to yell at guys. There's nothing wrong with yelling at guys.

We're holding guys to high standards. But some of the things in this article about just berating guys nonstop, Bill Parcell's, you know, some of these famous coaches could pull this shit off. Urban Meyer, to me, is just an absolute clown. I mean, this notion, I'm not shocked at all. He didn't know who Debo Samuel was. He didn't know who Aaron Donald was. I've heard Nick Saban say this.

And I've worked in college football. Sunday is a huge workday. Sunday is like the NFL's Monday. The thing is, as an NFL's Monday, you're just working, getting ready for your next opponent. putting the last game to bed. You're not missing any football beside the Monday night game that's on at night.

Where in college football, you're working for your next opponent. You're not watching NFL all day. You're watching your last opponent. You're getting ready for your new. You're recruiting. Urban Meyer never watched the NFL. How could he?

He was always working. So he came into the league. His ability to understand personnel, he had none. He didn't know the league beside the guys that he had coached against in college. But as we see every year in the combine

and as we'll see in the NFL draft, not everyone is just coming from the Big Ten. You'll have a guy from the Montana State that's going to get drafted in the third round. You'll have a guy from Liberty that's going to get drafted in the first round. Like, guys come in all shapes and sizes from all over the place.

So this notion that Urban Meyer was over his head, I said it the whole time, he was going to be over his head, even if he was a good guy, it was going to take time. Because guys like Andy Reid, Sean Payton, you know, Belichick, even though like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVey

that have been in the league for over a decade. Every single player in the NFL, they have seen come through the draft. And at one point in time, they have coached or schemed against that player. So they have some scouting. There is not a player in the NFL that Andy Reid, you know,

that it's a starter in the NFL, or Bill Belichick, couldn't tell you about his strengths or weaknesses. Or even Pete Carroll. Listen, I know he's getting drug through the mud right now. These guys have seen it all. Urban Meyer came in. He didn't even know the best players

because here's the other thing in college. You can be a little lazy. Because when you're recruiting all these elite players, I have the advantage. I have all the best players. So I don't have to spend as much time on the details. The NFL is a detailed league. It's a schematic league.

It's not a machismo league. You have to know a guy's strengths and weaknesses. Like ultimately, Aaron Donald might have one small little weakness. And if Belichick can find it, he's going to use that to his advantage. ultimately Brady might have a small little weakness. It's not just about motivating and rallying the troops, especially when you take over a team like Jacksonville that sucks.

But his only tactic, the only way he knew to operate, was be a royal asshole to everyone. And no one took him seriously. Because operating like that, one, you have to earn my respect. A new boss can't come in. One time I, the dumbest guy I've ever worked for came in when I was in radio and acted like he knew everything. And listen, anytime you get a new boss,

you're going to give him the benefit of the doubt. You're like, I'm working for this guy. Let's see it out. But then over time, you start realizing, I don't think this guy knows what he's talking about. This guy has no clue. And the moment you think that as a professional, it's hard to look at the guy and take him seriously.

I don't care what he's accomplished. Because you know what? Every single person, like, they're not always going to be right. I've never met anyone that's worked for Belichick, that works for Andy Reid. It's probably saying it could be said for like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk that goes, yeah, these guys know what they're talking about. I don't always agree, but I respect the shit out of him because of his experience, because of his knowledge,

and more often than not, he's going to be right. Where he was running drills, like he wanted to run these drills in training camp that ultimately DJ Chark got hurt on, and a bunch of assistants are like, bro, we don't do this in the pros. But he didn't know what he didn't even know. And if you don't know what you don't even know, it's one thing, if you're going to, if you don't know anything, but you're a nice guy, people give you the benefit of the doubt. But when you don't know anything and then you're the mean guy, I mean, people can't stand that human being.

So this doesn't shock me at all that this article came out, making him looking like a complete buffoon. I said from the jump, he had no business in the NFL. That's what we call highway robbery robbed Shod Khan. A couple other quick things. I just wanted to say this. Because like everyone that's listening to this, at my core, I'm a football fan first.

And as someone that, you know, I was born in the mid-80, so I grew up in the late 90s, early 2000s. We got cable. I watched, you know, back ESPN now to me is pretty irrelevant, but in its heyday in the 90s and early 2000s, and even throughout the 2000s, I watched so much ESPN. And obviously their football coverage,

as the league really blew up, a guy like John Clayton played a huge role. And I met him a couple times. I think of the Combine, I've had them on when I had a radio show. Couldn't have been any nicer. But the guy to me is just a symbolic, and iconic figure in the growth of the game from a media standpoint.

Listen, I make fun of the media sometimes, but I like a lot of people in it. Like, you know, Peter King is a legend. Been awesome to me. Love Schaefter. I don't know this guy like that, but I know when I saw that he passed away, I was like, damn, man. That guy played a bit... 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, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

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

Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, 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 a little kill? 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 you 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. Now you're 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 Hardway 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, 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, is 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. big role in, I would say the love that I have for football,

because you would watch him in Salisbury screaming at each other. He was one of the first main insiders for ESPN as kind of that kind of role took off and made football feel bigger than it is. And now football feels massive. But guys like that, you know, as cable took off, as the internet took off, played a huge role. And he was only 67 years old. I haven't read anything about the details, how he passed away.

But to me, that's pretty young. And obviously the iconic commercial about him screaming at his mom with the ponytail. But the NFL lost someone that played a massive, an underrated role, I would say, as the league shot off like a rocket ship. As I always say, the magic and Larry Bird of football was Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. And guys like John Clayton, Chris Mortensen, Peter King, you know, help just really grow the sport of football to random people. It made it seem really cool. And Amazon, I guess, made it official that Al Michaels and Kirk Herb Street will be the Thursday night crew. Someone told me that Kirk Herb Street still could call college games.

We'll have to see how that plays out. So now we know. Monday Night Football is Troy and Joe Buck, which is, you know, big time. Monday Night Football is going to feel big time. Sunday Night Football, Mike Torrico, Chris Collinsworth. I mean, Mike Torrico's a star. Dude did Monday Night Football with John Gruden forever. So that's going to feel big.

And obviously, anytime you put Al Michaels, listen, I think Herbst Street feels big. It's not very hard to learn the NFL in terms of just calling games. It's much harder to do college. I think it'll be an easy transition. I think he'll be good. I feel pretty good about the slate of our prime time announcing crews. It's kind of crazy that Al at like 76, 77 years old can just keep doing it.

The great part about being a play-by-play guy, you never have to quit, you never have to retire, until they really force you. Like, Marv, if you, if you watch, like, the NBA on TNT the last couple years, Marv would be calling like Kyrie Irving, John Stockton, he had no fucking clue what was going on. Honestly, it was kind of sad. It was hard to watch Marv Alberg games. You're like, there's one thing to be slipping, you get a little old. I mean, the guy was lost.

And ultimately, I mean, absolute living legend, kind of forced him out. But I'll still, you know, I don't know if he's throwing 98, but he's still throwing in the 90s. I'll still got it going on. and you give them kind of a younger, hipper partner. I'm excited to watch a little Amazon Thursday night football. And we're live here outside the Perez family home just waiting for the... And there they go. Almost on time this morning.

Mom is coming out the front door strong with a double-armed kid carry. Looks like dad has the bags. Daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh, but the diaper bag wasn't closed. Dipers and toys are everywhere. Ooh, but Mom has just nailed the perfect. car seat buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter who looks

to be about nine or ten has secured herself in the booster seat. Dad zips the bag closed and they're off. Ah, but looks like mom doesn't realize her coffee cup is still on the roof of the car, and there it goes! Oh, that's a shame. That mug was a fam

favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just nail the big stuff. Like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Learn more at nhtsa.gov slash the right seat. N-H-T-S-A.gov Slash the right seat. Brought to you by Nidza and the Ad Council.

Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them. You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure.

And they see you. Their fearless guide is this fascinating world. Find a forest. near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. What grows in the forest?

Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other.

The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near you and start exploring. I Discover the Forest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Okay, let's do a little middlecough mailbag. At John Middlecough is the Instagram. DMs wide open.

Fire in the DMs like my guy Tom here. And get a question answered on the show. It's just my name. Instagram. Fire in. Let's go. What your Marriota to the Falcons take? Good move or tank job.

I think it's a combination of both. I think they needed to get Matt Ryan, as I said, off the books. they need to reset their franchise, and they give themselves a veteran who's a high-level guy who the head coach knows, who's also the play caller, and maybe you catch lightning in a bottle. I'm not pro-Mariota, but I've always liked the guy. I always thought the player was a little overrated,

but I've met the guy a couple times and know people that know him, they swear by him. Raiders loved him, Titans loved him, the guy. The player, you know, he's a little inaccurate. He's been banged up a little bit, He was hurt last year in training camp, I remember, for the Raiders. I don't even know how you get hurt in training camp as a quarterback. John Huge fan, a quick two-part question.

Deshaun Watson, can a player be suspended without pay? Yes. If so, if the team doesn't pay them, does it count toward their cap? That's a good question. I'm not a capologist. So let's say you owe a guy $10 million. You know, or let's use Calvin Riddley as an example. Atlanta was going to pay him $11 million this year.

He gets suspended. I don't think the $11 million counts. Again, not a capitalologist, but I'd have to ask like Roseman on that one. I'm pretty sure you do not, you don't incur the hit on the $11 million. Wouldn't make any sense, right? You're not paying him any money. So you can use that money. I guess would probably be the second part of that question.

With the Kirk Cousins extension, do you believe this is the Minnesota Vikings' last attempt at winning a Super Bowl with Cousins. I mean, winning a Super Bowl, let's just win a couple of playoff games. I just think they extended a good player that makes a little more cap-friendly. I don't think it's that big picture. I mean, obviously, most team's goal

is to win the Super Bowl, but I think it was more just about, we got a good player, we're not going to be able to upgrade, let's just extend at a price point that we feel comfortable with. I think that is, kind of the gist of it.

What are they doing with the whole Jimmy situation? Seems like they fucked up and got a release or keep now. How do you bungle this? Well, I think he's injured. So when you're injured, your options are limited. He also makes $27 million. Like James. You know, I think I might have mentioned the numbers earlier.

I'm recording the mailbag a little bit later in the day. I think the numbers I saw, I thought it was $21 million guaranteed, and then I saw a rap sheet 15 million. million dollars guaranteed. That's over two years. Jimmy, one year, $27 million. He's missed eight and a half games the last two seasons. So I think Jimmy's a little complicated. In my opinion, I'm going to say it over and over.

I like the Niners guys a lot. I trust their coach. GM's a stud. Money guy's a baller. John Parag and Kyle, I mean, it's a legit trio of doing football stuff. But, like, you could have cut Jimmy. part of like I'm all for value. Like there's a reason I haven't bought a house in Arizona yet. Like I'm not going to pay double the amount when I think chaos is coming.

I could be wrong. But I have told myself, and it might bite me in the ass. I don't know. Time will tell. We'll find out if I'm right or wrong. But like there's a difference of you could have just cut Jimmy. Now it's like, well, we didn't get value for him. Who cares?

You could have used that money. I don't know to sign Chandler Jones. I mean, that would be my take. You could have used that money to sign someone sweet. Now, there were only a couple sweet free agents, but that one makes a lot of sense. I don't know, Chandler Jones, Nick Bosa, Eric Armstead. Pretty good D-line sounds to me.

But you can't do that when Jimmy is on the books for, you know, $27 million. Now, I've also said I think Kyle's okay bringing them back. I really do. Now, ultimately, if Trey's better than Jimmy in camp, they're not going to have Jimmy be a $27 million backup so they would cut them anyway. It's just they played poker. They did not have pocket aces.

They had like an eight and a seven. And now they're finding themselves like these cards that turned over did not turn over in their favor. And today was not a good day for the Jimmy Garoppolo. Trade market for Jimmy Garoppel personally. Now, not necessarily he's stuck on the Niners, which isn't a bad thing. But what do you think of the Watson trade compensation?

versus Seattle got for Wilson. Are the Hawks officially a worse organization than the Browns now that Paul Allen's sister owns the franchise? Well, I would say the difference is Deshaun Watson is 26 years old. And like I said, on Sunday's pod, the Browns were extremely desperate.

Seattle valued some of these players. Like, Noah Fant is like a second round pick to their value. So they got two ones, two twos, you know, fans a second. Russell's old. You know, Russell's six, seven years older than Deshawn Watson. Now, I'm with you.

I would have wanted the third first round pick. I know a lot of people in the NFL thought they'd get the third first round pick. But I still think Seattle, they got the ninth overall pick, which is, you know, better than the 13th overall pick. But I hear you. I could understand why people would be mad. My buddy and I have a podcast called The Pure. It's Carolina Panthers podcast.

I would love to get your view on the organization and what the Panthers should do at quarterback since Watson has said it didn't come to Carolina. It would just be a short conversation over Zoom. Thank you. Shoot me an email. My email's on my Twitter account. Fire me an email.

We'll see if we can figure out of time. I would say the Panthers got some issues. I mean, I think they're number one issues. Does their coach know what they're doing? Does Matt Rule know what he's doing? And obviously their quarterback situation, Sam Donald stinks. I rooted for the guy.

I wanted to be good. but the Sam Darnel I saw last year was an atrocious football player. I mean, he made the Tampa Bay James season look like Tom Brady. He was bad. I mean, he was really, really bad. But I go back to it's a coaching league, man. And I just wonder, Matt Ruhl one year in the NFL as an assistant online coach, I know he had success at Temple, I know he had success at Baylor.

Guess what? Last I checked, everyone has some success at Temple. Last I checked, everyone's kind of killing at Baylor. The last three coaches at Baylor, Baylor, a lot of success. Our Bryles rule. Now, what's his name? The ball guy now, Aranda.

It's like people go there and win. The basketball coach crushes it. They won the national. Like, it's a high-level place. This isn't the Baylor I grew up on. So it's not like he just was winning at some random school that know what. Like, what Mark Stoops is doing at Kentucky? To me, that's impressive.

You're winning at Kentucky? That's impressive. Like, when guys go to K State and win nine games, that's impressive. Like, you win at Baylor now. our briles was kicking ass in Baylor. Seahawks fan, I'm listening to your take on Pete and the John Presser from Wednesday, and I'm so with you, it was horrible, what a joke.

They're trying to sell his fans a bunch of BS, and if any 12 is buying that shit, they're going to be sadly mistaken because we're going to be horrible next year, and until Pete and John are gone, I'm sad. I also wanted to tell you about the Coach K book that just came out, which I'm sure you've heard of, I have, but I'm about three quarters of the way,

through and it's a great book. I think you would enjoy it as well. I like you, only listen to audiobooks. Take care. I might have to check that out. I heard Coward had on, I think, the Ian O'Connor that wrote it. Probably pretty good. I love a good audiobook. Okay, started listening to the pod about a year ago. I like it. Appreciate that. With Deshawn Watson going to the Browns, do you think they will still refuse to trade Baker expecting Watson to miss some time for suspension? I heard from another article that Watson's first year salary is only a million dollars. So have him and Baker on the roster seems doable. Also, do you think Baker would refuse to play if that's the case? I think a good trade scenario if he refuses to play could be Baker

to Philly for Minchew and a draft pick. I would, I mean, there was articles out that he was going to refuse to play. Like, Baker, who are you? Who do you think you are? You're just not going to show up? You, Khalil Mack here, buddy? You holding out? For what? For who? For what? As Ricky Waters would say. I think once they signed Jacoby Percette, Baker Mayfield's done. Now, because he's injured, they can't cut him because it's full guarantee and have to eat the $18 million. I think they're hoping probably to trade him Seattle.

If I'm Seattle, like, you know, John Schneider, Pete Carroll, I think it makes some sense. I would imagine that Jacoby Brissette starts when Watson is suspended and Baker is traded sometime in the next, probably, if not now during the draft and just doesn't show up during OTAs. Absolutely love the pot. My question is, how is certain teams have other teams' numbers over a long period of time, even when the coaching staff and the players are always changing? For example, the Colts haven't won in Jacksonville since 2014, which is probably the

craziest stat in the NFL right now. Even though there's been multiple changes on both ends at every level, Brady struggled with Miami, even though they've been. there have been multiple changes throughout the streak in Miami's in. I think the Brady thing might just be maybe the humidity, especially when they play them late in the season. The Colts thing is bizarre. Because like you said, Philip Rivers lost to him,

Carson Wentz lost to him, Andrew Luck lost to him, Jacobi Brissette lost to him, Frank lost to him, Pagano lost to him. That's pretty wild. I don't know what to say about that. Because Philip Rivers, two years ago, lost to him week one in the NFL. Now, you would say...

I bet it's hot as hell in Jacksonville in September 8th or 10th or whenever week one, you know, that game was. Last year was just Carson Wentz was atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. And unlike the previous season, week one, I think we all agree. Anyone can lose or win on week one. Remember last year the Packers lost like 50 to nothing to the Saints? Week one's a weird time. Week 18, when you win and you get into the playoffs and the team is going to,

a draft number one overall, like that can't happen. So I, it's crazy to sound like, I think it's kind of random. I don't think there's like any rhyme or reason to it, right? Like, why did the Patriots forever beat the Jets all the time? Well, the Jets were a joke. The Jax Colts one is, that is nuts. Thoughts on the Deshawn Watson contract details with the Browns. Seems a little slimy.

Talked about it yesterday. I think the NFL is going to do a double. middle finger to them. Like, wait, you think you're doing this to us? Like, Calvin Ridley didn't get to do that. So I agreed, not only is it slimy, in a public business, when you do something slimy and you have a governing body, usually they take you out. Right? In NCAA forever, if you did something slimy, the NCAA would nail you. I think the NFL is going to nail these guys. I think Deshawn Watson is going to get a suspension. Everyone's going to be like, damn, he got suspended 17 games. Maybe he's not. Maybe he's going to be. He's going to be. He got suspended 17 games.

maybe it sounds crazy but if you told me you get to spend it for the whole year I wouldn't put it totally past anybody I'm a high school senior and avid football fan

I was wondering if you could give me any tips to potentially getting into the football industry still haven't decided which path I'd like to pursue and was wondering if you could help me out

love the show well you're a high school senior so depending on where you go to college and if you're going to go somewhere for college I would think about trying to get involved with a team there. Whether it be your college team,

if there was a pro team in the area, and just get your foot in the door any way possible as a college freshman. And that could just start your career and you never know where it would go. If you go to a Division I college, try to volunteer. Tell them you'd love to do something

you would love to help out. You have so much time ahead of you, so much wiggle room to figure things out. I didn't really get involved. than football till like the end of my junior year at Cal Poly in terms of working in it. So, you know, you have so much time, man. That would be my example. Lamar Jackson needs to hire Deshawn Watson's agent, period.

I agree. I think Lamar Jackson, can you imagine being former MVP, a guy who resurrected the franchise, who is one of the highest character guys, not just in your team, but in the league, he is beloved in Baltimore, never gets in any trouble, does everything right, lays it on the line, and then sees this guy who gets in trouble and doesn't play for a year, get $230 million. Now, I wouldn't give Lamar Jackson $230 million, but I understand from Lamar Jackson standpoint, like, hey, hey, John, hey, Mr. Bashati, hey, DeCosta, uh, last year's rate, ain't this year's Ray, buddy.

the cost of doing business you know in 2002 America factor in inflation which I don't know where you live but inflation where I live is about 30%. I live in when they're like 7%. Yeah maybe in like rural New Mexico

Bay Area, L.A., New York, Chicago fucking things like 40%. I mean some of these things I mean for a fact it's like you go to the store some things I used to buy and now that I'm buying if it used to cost me $120 and now it cost me $200.

That ain't 7%. And if I'm Lamar Jackson's like 7% raise from last year, ain't enough. Just wanted to get your thoughts on Gardner Minchew being a starting quarterback. He played in Jacksonville with a terrible team, won six games. Could he be a good starter in Carolina? I think he's better in Sam Darnold, so yeah, I mean he could be better

than what you had. I think he's probably a little bit overhyped. He went from undervalued to now overvalued. I think he's just a solid. I think he's a really good backup. Who, in a pinch, and a really good backup, if you've got to start three games and you're on a good team, that means you can win. Teddy Bridgewater was that guy.

What happens when Teddy Bridgewater starts? He's not any good. But when he backs up on the Saints, you go 5 and 1 or 6 and 0 when Breeze was out. And the team keeps rolling. And now Teddy Bridgewater's back in that role. But when he has to start on the Broncos, team sucks. When he has to start on the Panthers, team sucks. It's not his fault.

I think Minchu would, at the end of the day, probably falls in that category. he's not a top 20 quarterback but he's not like 40 below he's probably like 30 to 40 range which ultimately equals a good backup I'll get to some of you guys questions later this week middle cough mailbag so if I haven't answered I'm going to answer

not forgetting about your people and appreciate everyone reaching out on the mailbag have a good week we'll have a golf podcast tomorrow or I guess in two yeah if you're listening on Tuesday it'll come out Wednesday because we got the match play breaking news Phil Mickelson's not allowed to go to Augusta kind of big news I'll have some takes on that on the pod tomorrow and yeah enjoy the week

have a smile on your face summer ain't that far away it's getting a little sunnier outside depending on where you live talk to you guys soon peace are you looking for the hottest gambling advice out there check out the Moneyline Monaco podcast powered by Fandu every weekday. Our guy Alex Monaco will give you his best bets,

including game picks, props, same game parlayes, and much more. Monaco is in another groove and has 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.

Hello, Discover here. To explain our cash back match, here's how it works. of you cash back for using your Discover card on the things you were going to buy anyway. Then we match that cashback in your first year. And that's why we call it cashback match.

Now to recap, and say cashback one more time, we match all the cashback you've earned at the end of your first year automatically. Discover, exceptionally common sense. Learn more at discover.com slash match. Limitations apply. Mama, what does the chicken say?

Uh, Dog. Cat. Giraff. Giraff, really? Giraffe. You're not going to get it all right. Just make sure you know the big stuff,

like making sure your kids are buckled correctly in the right seat for their age and size. Get it right. Visit nhtsa.gov. Slash the right seat. Brought to you by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy,

not quite, unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the IHeard 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.