The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - MNF Reaction, Jordan Love's horrendous turnovers, Jags-Bills

Episode Date: October 10, 2023

John Middlekauff reacts to the Las Vegas Raiders' 17-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers. John discusses Maxx Crosby's dominant performance, whether Matt LaFleur's gameplan is hindering Jordan Love, and why Josh McDaniels has failed as a head coach. John also discusses Brock Purdy outdueling Dak Prescott as the San Francisco 49ers demolished the Dallas Cowboys, Travis Kelce's gritty performance vs. the Vikings, and Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars defeating Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

and Draft King Sportsbook is hooking up new customers with an offer that's even stronger. Bet five bucks on any game this week to score $200 instantly in bonus bets. And Draft Kings isn't stopping there. All customers can take advantage of a sweetener, offer every game day this October. Get in on the game day greatness. Download the Draft King Sportsbook app now and use the code John, J-O-H-N. New customers can score $200 instantly in bonus bets

when you bet five on the NFL. That's code John only on Draft King Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. The crown is yours. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit www. www.1-800 gambler.net. In New York, call 8778, Hope N.W.

Or text, Hope N.Y. 467-369. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling call 888-78-7-7. Or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort, Kansas, licensed partner, Gold Nugget, Charles, Louisiana, 21 plus. Age varies by jurisdiction. Void in ONT. Bonus bets expire, 168 hours after issuance.

See Sportsbook.draftkings.com slash football terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms, and responsible gaming resources. What is going on, everybody, John Middilcock, 3 and Out podcast. Just watched a little Monday night football. And Deraiters beat the Packers in Vegas. We will dive into that game as well as Travis Kelsey battling through injuries as he's Dayton Taylor Swift. The Jags might be on to a little NFL hack. And then some thoughts that I've just been, that have been in my head about that Cowboy 49er game

and the way we view quarterbacks. And then some other stuff. Belichick, the Steelers, we'll kind of dive into it all. No mailbag on this podcast. The plan will be a couple mailbags for Wednesday and Thursday show. So at John Middlough is the Instagram. Fire in those DMs and get your question answered on the show. show. So there won't be a mailbag on this podcast, but we will have them upcoming this week.

I know I got a lot of DMs, so we will fire through some questions. Other than that, make sure you subscribe to the podcast. If you listen on Collins' feed, what else is going on? So we plan on having a podcast every day this week. Obviously, we got a little Broncos chiefs. Look probably a little bit better a month ago than it does today, but it could be worse Thursday night games. So we will just podcast all week until that bad boy, and then we will react to that later this week. I think that's all she wrote. So let's dive in and talk some football.

Do you want to go to a game? Tonight, listen, I've never been to a game in Vegas. I would love to go. Anyone listening, if your team plays there this upcoming year, and you want to check out a game at Allegiance Stadium, that place looks sweet, looks fun. Obviously, it's right on the strip. You can't beat Vegas.

Here's what I need to do. Grab your smartphone, download the GameTime app. The GameTime app just happens to be the official ticketing app of this show. And you sign up for your first pair of tickets and use the promo code, John, J-O-H-N for $20 off. promo code John for $20 off. Your first pair of tickets, cannot recommend them enough. Love my friends at GameTime.

Use them all the time. You should to appreciate everyone who has. Let's type of this Monday football game. And first and foremost, just a big picture thing. on the NFL. You know, so many games on Saturday turn out to be not that entertaining, even if you see two highly ranked teams. You get blowouts, you get a lot of games that don't live up to the hype.

Yet in the NFL, tonight, we saw two teams that Newsflash are not going to be playing in January. Well, they might because they have a game in January, but these aren't playoff teams. Yet because of the NFL and about 80% of the games are. within one score in the fourth quarter, there's an entertainment value to the leak, right? I mean, both these two teams have way more questions than answers. Obviously, the Packers are attempting to replace Aaron Rogers.

The Raiders have a ton of issues all over the place, yet we're all glued in the second half because either team can win. And it's one of the driving factors to the NFL's success is I can give you two random teams, and I can put it on Thursday night. I can put it on Monday night, Sunday night doesn't allow it, and we can be entertained. Now, people can complain on social media, yet the final stretch of that game was really good. Well, we'll dive into the actual coaching and some of the decisions that weren't really good,

but just in terms of the entertainment value, you didn't know who was going to win, it could go either way, and that's a pitch that the NFL has that just the other sports don't consistently have. All their games feel big, and most of them, you know, especially a lot of the prize, primetime games, especially a lot of these Monday night football games, come down to the wires. I love Monday night football. It's why I want to keep it at one game. But, you know, tonight was, for a crappy game, was still entertaining down the stretch. Let's start with the winning team, Der Raiders. Let's do a little good, bad, and ugly.

I want to start on a positive note, the good. Max Crosby is worth the price of admission. That guy is just freaking awesome. What a fantastic football player. He brings you literally everything you want. Effort, motor, production, domination, obviously character in terms of leadership on and off the field, team captain, he's the total package.

If you're a fan of a team and you have that guy on your team, I don't care how shitty your team is, you take a lot of pride in that guy. You talk about whose jersey you want to buy, you want to buy that guy's jersey. They touched on it tonight on the broadcast. For those that don't know, for those that do, it's been well documented. It's kind of relatable. It has dealt with addiction issues, has been sober now for years, is very open about it.

Just feels like a fantastic guy in the peak of his powers. On a very, very, honestly, he's on one of the better team-friendly contracts in the league. But the dude's a baller. what an enjoyable player to watch tonight. Every single snap laying it on the line. They say you can't coach effort. That's a famous coaching saying, right? It's just like sometimes you either got it or you don't.

You either play harder or you don't. And there is no question. I'd be hard pressed to say, you know, Aaron Donald for a long time, it felt like no one played harder. I think in 2003, you'd be hard pressed to find a defensive player who consistently plays harder.

Snap in, snap out, then Max Crosby. I didn't realize this. They mentioned it on the broadcast. He's never missed a game in his NFL career. So clearly he plays hurt and banged up because it's impossible not to be when you're a defensive lineman. But what a badass. What a fine by the Raiders.

Listen, you can say what you want about Mayock and Gruden. They left you that guy. And I don't care whether you like the Raiders, whether you hate the Raiders. You like Max Crosby because that's a fun player to watch. The bad. You know, his stats through the first half are pretty good. He was like 12 to 16.

But Jimmy Garoppolo, to me, has gotten worse over the last several years. Obviously, he's battled injuries. He's not bad, as you saw tonight. Like, he can lead you on drives. But at a moment's notice, he can throw the ball to the other team in stride. Where you're just left dumbfounded. If you're gambling on his team, if you're a Raiders fan, if you're the coach of his team and Josh McDaniels,

Jimmy, what did you just do that for? And he just kind of looks at you, like, I don't know. And that is the Jimmy Garoppolo experience, because the Raiders gave him a lot of money. He's clearly the best quarterback on their roster. But despite having some talented players, right? Obviously, we talked about Crosby. Might be their only guy on defense.

You know, Marcus Peters can still make place, but they got a ton of guys on offense. The problem is Jimmy Garvey. And it's very, very hard for me to trust him on a team that clearly is not as talented as the team that he's used to playing on with the 49ers. But tonight, you just saw a head-scratching decision that ultimately could have cost them the game. They were just lucky they were playing Jordan Love. And speaking of Ugly, I just don't see it with Josh McDaniels. I think he, I hate his body language on the sideline.

He always seems like this thing's about to implode. There was a moment at the end of the game, or toward the end of the game, where they got into a fourth and one situation. And he rolled out his kicker, who's a really good player, one of the better kickers in the league. Cool story tonight. Brothers the punter.

His parents are there in a split jersey. That's awesome. I'm a sucker and a sap for that type of stuff. But to roll out Carlson, listen, Carlson is a very reliable player, have no problem rolling him out when need be. But tonight, when it's fourth and one, and hey, Josh, I know you haven't coached Jimmy,

till this year, but have you not figured out the last six, seven years, beside Tom Brady and now Jalen Hertz with the tush push? He is one of the best quarterback sneakers I've ever seen. Why are you kicking a field goal in that spot when Jimmy Garapol has proven

time and time again that he is very, very good at getting you a yard? I don't understand it. I don't understand why these coaches get in these positions and coach scared. What do you have to lose? More games, you lose constantly.

Now, you ended up winning this game. You got a little lucky once you missed a field goal. But the game, the Packers never should have got the ball back. Call the quarterback sneak. He will get it. I just watched Josh McDaniels, and there was a play early in the game. They ran a trick play, like a double pass. Back when he was with New England, with Bill, those plays always seemed to work.

They would call him at the most opportune time, and there would be a guy wide open, and you'd be like, God, these people, Patriots are freaking geniuses. How is this happening? And you'd be like, well, Middle Coff is Tom Brady. No, it was more just like, when they called it, it always works.

Yet when these guys leave the nest of Bill, and obviously Bill's imploding, we'll get to him later, none of their stuff really works. Right? It just, it's not the same. And it's just, you know, some of these guys must feel good in like the driving range, and you put them out in the course,

and they're just hitting the ball out of bounds. And that's what Josh McDaniels feels like a little bit to me. I just, I don't see it. Now, luckily for the Raiders scheduled their next couple games, they play the Patriots, which a huge storyline will be Josh and Jimmy Garoppel going against Bill Belichick. But, you know, that's a very, very winnable game, given what we've seen out of New England.

And then you get to play Chicago. So the Raiders do have an opportunity. I don't think they're very good. At 2 and 3, you'll look up. 4 and 3, anything other than 4 and 3 to me is a disaster for them. So, I said they're not a playoff team. You get to four and three. If you can just hover around that 9-10 win spot, you're never totally out of it.

You never know with the Raiders. I mean, at any moment, they can lose to anybody. But awesome game by Max Crosby. The Packers. I think they have a good problem. I would compare Jordan Love a little bit to what I've seen of Sam Howell. Right? By no means you'd go, God, I think they got the guy for the next 10 years.

but on the flip side you'd say God, he's not terrible there's much worse in the NFL I don't know if he's a good player but for a guy that hasn't played much there's definitely something there I think the floor is a good coach I really do

and I don't pretend to be some you know no more offense than the guy and clearly he's around Jordan Love all the time what I don't understand though about his approach with Jordan I would say one of Jordan's big strengths right now is mobility. You know, I wouldn't call him Lamar Jackson,

but he's definitely a very, very, you know, mobile quarterback. He's very athletic. Why don't you get him on the move more? And I don't mean past the line of scrimmage. I just mean to the right or left. Roll him out, utilize his legs. He clearly has a powerful arm, but as you saw tonight a couple times,

when he sits in the pocket, sometimes he kind of fades away like he's Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant instead of setting his feet. He's not, you know, he's got a long way to go just sitting there and throwing strikes. He proves that he can do it sometimes, but he gets a little rattled, gets a little pressure. He'll kind of lean back and the ball will float on him a little bit or just not even go remotely close to the wide receiver. But I don't understand why the Packers don't move them more, especially, like they got some talented young offensive players. and the defense to me has always kind of been a downfall of the Packers. They always feel like they have good individual players,

but as a unit, they're always leaving a little something to be desired, and this goes back to McCarthy years and years ago to now with Joe Barry and this Packers defense. But I do think the Packers, they're in a very, very kind of intriguing time internally for Gutakins and LaFleur. They got something to work with, and they're not going to be bad enough where they're going to be drafting high enough to get one of the sweet quarterbacks. But this guy, given what they're paying them, is worth messing with for the next couple years. Now, the problem is their standards in Green Bay are high.

Last year was devastating, right, when they missed the playoffs by a game week 18, losing at home to the Lions. They're not used to be in three, four games out of it. And not saying that's the case this year, but, you know, to me, just I test, I'd say they feel closer to a 7-10 team than they do a 10. and 17, but it all comes down to Jordan Love. Like, if the guy's making plays, then they got a chance. But you watch them at any moment the ball could just go to no man's land.

Like he did on the last play, like, what is that? What are you doing? But then he makes some plays where his guys are dropping, the timing, rhythm, throwing guys open out of their breaks. You're like, that's pretty impressive. So he's just a pretty raw product, which, like Sam Howell, he's more physically gifted, I would say, just because of his mobility. is just worth to continue to work with.

Okay, let's fire through some things here in the National Football League. I think sometimes we overthink football. You know, it's like, God, this defensive coordinator, or they just are not good enough in their secondary, or, you know, just their slot wide receiver is just a big downfall for this offense. When sometimes it's just simple, like, is your quarterback healthy? Is your quarterback playing well? is Joe Burroughs

okay? Because if it is then he's going to look like how he did the other day against Arizona. Look fantastic. Lamar Jackson early in the season looked like an MVP candidate and I was betting on the Steelers on Sunday and I was watching him. The Steelers won because he was really terrible

in the second half. And I think those two guys are a really good example. When Lamar Jackson is on, now he struggled historically against the Steelers but if he plays well in that game, the Ravens win by double digits. When Joe Burrell this year has not been himself, the Bengals are simply fucked.

They do not have a chance. I don't care if they're playing the Texans or the Cardinals or they're playing the 49ers or the Eagles. He has to be healthy for them to be good. That's a fact. So now he looks healthy, and sometimes an injury like that, it takes a little time.

clearly looks much more confident than he did early in the season. If he is going to play like that, they're going to be okay. If he's going to play like he did earlier in the season, they're screwed. Football 101. Lamar Jackson, the Ravens lost to the Steelers because he did not play well in the second half. Period, point blank, end of story. If he's good, they win that game going away. So we can break down and listen, I'm guilty of this coach doing that, this player not being good enough. When you're paying these quarterbacks, $45 to $50 million, when they play like an all pro, usually you got a pretty good chance to win. When they play like the guys we saw tonight, you're going to be in some trouble against the better team. So watching that game, it's obviously

a fantastic and entertainment product, even when it's ugly because the Raven Steelers, the logo. But to me, the reason the Ravens lost that game is a quarterback. It simply did not play very well. something that I don't think we talk enough about is you know there's a lot flying around with Travis Kelsey right his relationship with Taylor Swift him and Rogers going back about commercials and honestly the Kelsey family I swear to God is in more commercials than Dion Sanders right now

there is not a brand that when their commercial comes on you don't expect to see Travis Jason the mom or just Travis. His marketing agent, my theory, honestly, because of how many commercials Travis has,

is like, does he have the same marketing agent as Taylor Swift? Is that how they met? Because the guy has just an unlimited amount of commercials right now. And obviously their podcast

is really successful. There's just, there's a lot going on with him. Yet to me, the other day in the game, I was watching when he slipped on the turf. And it clearly wasn't

an Achilles or anything because he kind of hobbled off. But he was clearly frustrated. He gets off the field and he slams his helmet. And you go, God, did he just sprain his knee? Did he just pull a muscle really bad in his leg? Did something weird happen? Because one, you don't usually see him react that way.

And two, then he walked very gingerly to the locker room. So I'm thinking, did he reagravate the knee injury? Like, what just happened? This is not good. And they go to halftime, and then you look up when they come out of half, and there he is catching balls from Mahomes. And I saw some quotes from Mahomes today talking about Travis Kelsey

and what a competitor he is. And I think it was on full display the other day. So for all the stuff on the outside about the girlfriend, the off the field, money that's flowing from the commercials to the podcast, that guy is a football playing Jesse.

That's what means everything to him. That's why he's one of, if not the greatest tight end we've ever seen. And I think sometimes one thing that always makes me shake my head, and a lot of young players, I don't even blame them, this is just what they hear is brand, I want a brand, I want a brand. It's like the two, I would say the two biggest brands of my life as athletes were Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

And the reason their brands were so strong is because they fucking dominated. and their brand always came second to the competition. Winning and doing everything humanly possible to win came first. It's why they became so big. Yet when you watch so many young athletes now, it's like, well, it's about the brand and this. It's like you got no shot. You're never going to be what you think you're going to be.

And I respect Travis Kelsey. When you see stuff like this, I think it would be easy as you won a couple of Super Bowl. He's probably making more money than ever. Like, why push it? Why push it? Because he's one of the great competitors this league's ever seen.

And I think it was on full display the other day. Mahomes talked about it after the game. And if you watch that game, one, they're very dependent on this guy, more than ever now, right? Tyreeks long gone. You watch their wide receivers. A lot more questions than answers.

Their defense is better. But, you know, they're kind of depending on Mahomes if Kelsey is, even with Kelsey, to just pull rabbits out. of the hat nonstop. So I have a lot of respect for the competitor and just Kelsey's willingness to do whatever it takes to help this franchise, which let's face it, is kind of in the midst of a potential dynasty here to keep this thing rolling.

And that's why these commercials want him, because he's a champion, you know, competitor. Like his brand in a weird way actually comes second. Football comes first. and that's why the Chiefs love them so much. I think the Jags are on to something and if I was them from now on I wouldn't just ask for this I would try to sign up for it

clearly they like sending them over to London for the game and for the first time they just stayed and they played back to back games and they won them both and one thing I was reading about today is that their guys said they felt a lot more comfortable

the second week right? No jet lag, no questioning when they got to the locker room the second game, they were just very comfortable with the entire situation. And it was a huge advantage for them against Buffalo, who flew over on Friday, which to me sounds a little more crazy than it actually is because I'm pretty sure it's like a five-hour flight from Buffalo to where they were playing. No different than if Buffalo was playing L.A. or Buffalo was playing Seattle. Well, if they were playing, LA or Seattle, they would also fly out on Friday. So I think sometimes we make a bigger deal than it is, but still, you're going to a foreign country,

right? I mean, it's one thing, you go to L.A., half your team either has a house in L.A., spends time and trains in L.A., you're much more comfortable in that situation. You go to London, all of a sudden, you're kind of checking out the sites, you're only got 24 hours till your game. Meanwhile, the Jags have been practicing all week like it's a home game. So if I was the Jags, this is a huge, huge advantage moving forward if you can kind of play this doubleheader. And it's not like you're giving up two home games.

You just give up one, and the other one is the other team's home game. So you kind of get to piggyback, and then you get the advantage that you would never get. If Jacksonville was going to Buffalo, even given the injuries that they had in that game, what's the likelihood they win? No chance. So if I'm the Jags, I'm all over that moving forward. Another thing that stood out to me, I thought a lot about the Cowboys and the 49er game today. I was thinking about the quarterback position. You know, when you're drafted really high, right, and it doesn't even have to be like one or two,

just in the first round, in the top 15, in the top 20, the moment you start showing something, everyone that follows your team, everyone that follows the league, just kind of gets bullish fast. See, this is why the guy was a first round pick. See, this is why they drafted him 11th overall. This is why the Bears took Justin Fields. Do you see this talent?

Right? Yet when you're drafted in the fourth round or the fifth round or the sixth round or pick Mr. Irrelevant, you have to do double or triple what that guy has to do, to get anyone outside of your building to believe in you. People will forget when I was definitely the end of high school early college,

Tom Brady had won a couple Super Bowls, but Peyton Manning was viewed as the far superior player. And everyone made these excuses. Well, Tom has these defenses. Well, Tom has this great coach. Well, Tom has this and Tom has that. Peyton has to run his organization. It wasn't until he had three Super Bowls

and people were still having this conversation. It wasn't until 2007, he threw like 50 touchdowns, they go undefeated, the people like, oh, maybe they are the same guy. And I think a huge part of that, if Tom Brady had been doing that as the 10th pick in the draft, the conversation would have been dramatically different.

Hell, Dak Prescott, who in a weird way felt better when he was younger, definitely as me and Colin talked about much more mobile it took a while for people to truly believe but a lot had to do with him being a fourth round pick now part of the reason he went in the fourth round if you remember he got a D-Y

you know like 45 30 days before the draft probably shot him down around I mean he was a better prospect than where he got drafted but still he was never going to be a first or second round pick Cousin's another good example and we can nitpick these guys all they want but they had to put, if they put five good games together, ten good games together, people always wanted more.

Yet the moment Justin Fields has one good game. See, I told you, the talent is there. And this is Brock Purdy. If Brock Purdy hadn't been the last pick in the draft, but he had been, the 49ers had taken him in the second round, people would look at him much, much differently. But people expect when you're a seventh round pick, a six-round pick, you two suck.

maybe not you to suck but you definitely not to be a starting quarterback in the NFL not to be a guy that a team can build around because those type guys are complete outliers if you're going to get your starting quarterback you're supposed to draft the guy really high that's where you get starting quarterbacks in the NFL

so I think Brock Purdy is and the I don't even want to say the blowback but the people questioning him before the cowboy game. And let's face it, people will continue to question them because that's the nature of being a late round pick. People don't want to believe.

They don't want to believe that their team could have passed you, that the entire league could have passed you, that a guy can become a starting quarterback, can last that many picks, that many rounds in the draft, and be that good. So he's going to have to go above and beyond. If Tray Lance had had two of the games Brock Purdy has had over the last 10, the national narrative, the talking heads on these shows, would be doing cartwheels on air screaming about how talented and great this player is. Yet when Brock Purdy was putting up numbers, the 49ers were rolling, it was clear.

You watched Jimmy Garoppola tonight, the irony, too, of Brock played last night, Jimmy played tonight. Brock Purdy, there is a wide gap between Brock and Jimmy Garoppolo as players. Honestly, it's not even close. Yet, you know, it took a while even last year. Like, is it that much different? Hell yeah, it's a lot different. His ability to push the ball down the field and complete passes is dramatically better than

Jimmy Garoppolo. The other thing Jimmy Garoppolo could not do, I would say at minimum once a week, and depending on the opponent, sometimes more. Kyle will scheme you a touchdown. It might be from the 10-yard line, it might be from the 50-yard line. But it's going to be a guy, either some sort of trick play like last night, or a guy leaking out some misdirection where a guy is going to be wide open. And if you hit him in stride, that guy is going to walk into the end zone.

And I would say Jimmy Garoppel hit this pass. I don't have the numbers 20% of it. of the time. So he cost the 49ers a ton of points. Yet I feel like Brock Purdy hits that pass 85% of the time. It's why they average over 30 points every game they've played in the history of the 49ers, a team that is known for some of the great offenses ever. They have never had five straight games to start a season over 30 points. Hell, they had never had four straight games when they did it two weeks ago. So this is a team that is benefiting from this quarterback, but I'm telling you he's going to have to do a lot more

which is crazy to say to get people to go yeah he's pretty freaking good that guy we just use our eyes like we can tell when a guy's good he's mobile he's accurate he gets the ball to the guys who are open hell he throws guys open and then when shit hits the fan

he can make plays with his athleticism so I just at this point in time no one's putting him in the Hall of Fame no one's even saying he's got some 200 million dollar contract coming. He's got a lot of work to do. But given what he's done so far, if you can't say Brock Purdy's a really good player right now, I don't know what to tell you. I can't help you. Maybe just go watch softball or something. I mean, I don't know because football might be a little much for you. And before we get out of here, speaking of Brock Purdy, how about our friends at

Morgan and Morgan who we talk about making it look easy on a weekly basis? And I don't think any player, I could have gone Crosby, but Max Crosby doesn't make it look easy because he never stops running, throwing around people. Max Crosby, what he does, the result is pretty awesome, but it's very hard what he's doing. Yet when I watch Brock Purdy, it doesn't even look like the guy's sweating. He's in cruise control. You talk about a guy who is making it look easy, getting the ball to his playmakers, making Kyle Shanahan and his vaunted.

offense look like the cream of the NFL, looking like and leading a team that I don't want to say has a chance to go undefeated, but I would say at minimum 15 and 2. And let's face it, last night with the stats, no interceptions, I don't want to say he's the MVP frontrunner and he's not from a betting perspective, but he's definitely now in the MVP conversation. So for a guy to be the last pick in the draft to get an opportunity because of a couple injuries. And listen, sometimes when an opportunity comes, you never know when it's going to come. And for a lot of us in life, stuff's out of our control. For Brock Purdy, it was definitely out of his

control. He needed Trey Lance to break his ankle. He needed Jimmy Garoppel to break his foot. And then he got thrust in the game. And he never let it go. And now he looks like Kyle Shanahan's favorite quarterback since like Matt Ryan win the MVP. So to go up against that defense on Sunday night football with 26 million people watching, Brock Purdy made it look easy. So if you're ever injured, you can check out Morgan and Morgan. Their fee is free unless they win. For more information, go to for thepeople.com

slash john. Or dial pound law, pound 529 from your cell phone. That's for the people.com slash john or pound law, pound 529. This is a paid advertisement. For a limited time, you can see. 40% on NFL Plus premium annual subscription when you sign up through Plus Play from Verizon. Plus Play is a platform where you can shop, manage, and save on the subscriptions you already love.

Like NFL Plus. With NFL Plus premium, you get access to live games on mobile NFL Red Zone, NFL Network, and more. So you can watch multiple games all at once on any screen around you for updates. Never miss a touchdown. And for fantasy football players, NFL Plus Premium, makes all the difference. Access to programming,

like Fantasy Live through NFL Network, Red Zone, for tracking player performance on Sunday, access to live local primetime games, access to Fantasy Plus.

Just go to Verizon.com slash NFL to get NFL Plus premium today. It's 40% off an annual subscription. That's just 5999 for the full season. Get it before it's gone.

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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skit. 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 They 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, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. 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. Yeah, let's go over to the. New England Patriots. And after the Dallas game, pretty big red flag.

Like they might have some issues. After the Saints game, I'm sorry, it's open. You lose to Dennis Allen and Derek Carr like that at home. Like, there's nothing more to say. Albert Breer had an article on the MMQB talking to executives that simply said their team is not very talented, which I don't need a GM or an assistant GM to tell me, we can all see, and I watched a decent amount of that game for at least the first quarter and a half, and it was over and it was over fast.

That team stinks. And here's a reality in New England. There is one grand poo ball. He makes all the decisions from a coaching standpoint to a personnel standpoint. It's why so many guys I know throughout the league leave that place. Because when you work there as a scout, he doesn't care what you think. you're just accumulating information for him ultimately to make a decision. So when you look at this roster, this is a team.

Every single guy on that team is because of him. And that can't be said in every organization. Some GMs have juice. Some GMs convince their coach to do stuff. That's not the case. And this team, especially once Judon and their rookie corner Gonzalez goes down, they're screwed. I mean, this is a four-win team max.

Mac Jones, I will never get off this leg. A guy with those physical attributes and that talent never gets drafted at pick 15. And when he does, the Christian ponder types, you immediately get boat race. You're in major trouble. And when you look at Belichick, he's always drafted overachievers, you know, guys that made other teams scratch their head. Cole Strange, remember a couple years ago, McVeigh and Lesneed laughed because they thought they, remember, they didn't have any picks. They're like, we thought we could get that guy in the third round. Belichick just took him at the end of the first.

So Bill, relative to some of his contemporaries, and we've talked about this before, Pete and Andy, the two other old guys who are successful, have GMs that they totally lean on to help them make personnel decisions. So you look at this Patriot team, their margin for error coming into this season, if they were going to go nine and eight, was extremely small.

but he's always drafted and make moves like this. He just used to have Tom Brady. And Tom Brady could help guys like Julian Edelman come out of nowhere. You put Julian Edelman on this team. And I love Jules. I'm as big of a Julian Edelman fan as you're going to find. But if you put him on this squad, he looked terrible. So when you look at the Jujo and the Devante Parkers and those type Hunter Henrys,

those guys could have had success with Tom Brady. So you remove Tom Brady from the equation. and I've never been one to be like, it's 80 Tom, 80, you know, 20 Belichick or 50, whatever. They were an unreal combo. You put those two guys together. They're boat racing the fucking NFL. I watched it my entire adult life from the time I was in high school till a couple years ago when Tom left to Tampa.

It was remarkable. I've seen them play multiple times live. When I worked for the Eagles, they destroyed us. I've seen him countless other times. it was an operation. We all watched. Anyone listening to this watch those two guys operate together.

It's why all the former players that played for Bill speak so highly of them. But a huge part of his operation which helped him make draft choices that sometimes left other people scratching their head was Tom. So you remove Tom, you got to pivot.

You got to change your strategy. And he hasn't changed his strategy. So when you watch his team and they're struggling, it's not really that shocking because Mack Jones, who's a bottom three quarterback, and honestly on any given drive, he looks like a complete scrub. You go, well, of course, these personnel moves are not going to work.

Like, it's over. This team is terrible. There is no miracle work to be done. So at the end of the game, when Bill says we're going to start over, he has no answers. He has no other pitch. He does not have some Barry Zito curveball in his back pocket. There's nothing he can do. They're not very skilled on offense.

Now they're missing key defensive players. And they just, I can't overstate this enough. To lose to Dennis Allen, who's proven to be a good defensive coordinator as a head coach, more than questionable. And Derek Carr, who Bill used to kick his ass. Derek's been there multiple times in New England. It has not gone well. To get humiliated like that at home. To me, it's one thing when is the Dallas Cowboys, who if they get a little lead,

on you, that defense, whatever, they overwhelmed you, scores on defense. The New Orleans Saints, now New Orleans might be a 10-win team, but still Dennis Allen and Derek Carr, any New England fan listening to this right now, knows that's way lower than it was the previous week. And that felt like it's going to get uglier because that's the way bad team seasons goes. Like as a season goes, you just lose and lose and get your ass kicked and your ass kick. That felt like the nail in the coffin of like, this season's going to be a joke. and I think the other angle of this is, listen, it's a conversation.

He's 71, 72 years old. They're going to need another quarterback. And if they continue to suck, and I always thought he was too good of a coach, he was like recession proof. You know, they say like alcohol, recession proof. Recession, people drink more. Times are good, people are boozing. It does not matter the economic times.

Alcohol moves off the shelves. I thought the same thing was about Bill. you could give them just a trash roster and he'd still find a way to go 7 and 10. Well, this roster is so bad and his quarterback is so shitty right now, they might be a 4 and 13 team. And if you're a 4 and 13 team, you're going to be in the mix for all these top quarterbacks. You might not get Caleb, but the Drake Mays, the Michael Pennix, I've said this over and over.

Bill hung his hat and rightfully so on being cutthroat, on being emotionless, on making decisions, that left other people shaking their head, but he didn't view football. He wasn't emotionally connected, right? He could trade from Richard Seymour's to Logan Manichens. He could do anything. Hell, he tried to trade Rob Grikowski.

And Rob's like, I'm going to retire if he'd send me to Detroit. He does not care. Robert Kraft is going to eventually have to take that tactic. And to me, it starts with how do you trust this guy to draft your next quarterback? One, just his age. He's not going to be there forever. And two, like, listen, we've been talking about this for a while. And I find it fascinating because this is going to, he's going to go down as one of the greatest coaches of all time.

Divorces get ugly. They just do. But divorces don't always have to be like, sometimes it's just time. Right. There's not one individual instance. Right. Like, Bill let Tom go. And then Tom won a Super Bowl.

It's not like Robert fired him then. Now, there are lingering things that lead to resentment. There are, you're paying a guy 20 million. and there's no hope in the near future that I think it's pretty clear. Like a divorce is inevitable. Now, I'm not going to act like I know Robert Kraft and those guys are going to fire him at the end of the year. But I've said over and over. A guy of Bill's age, a guy is now that has Bill's wealth,

and a guy with Bill's resume doesn't typically just go, you know what, guys, I can't figure this out. I got no answers. So you know what I'm going to do for the betterment of the franchise? I'm going to step away. I'm going to say, hey, someone else take this, I can no longer do the job. Usually not how it works. Now with the 71, 72 year old, super rich, huge ego, super belief in himself and rightfully so,

the only way to have a divorce in this situation is essentially fire him. Now, they might not report it like that. It may be reported mutual breakup. but if Bill Belichick is not the coach in 24, it will be because he's fired. Told his services are no longer needed. And let's face it, it's over. We just have to admit it. It's over.

And that's okay. Everything good comes to an end. Everything, especially in the coaching profession. You can't just coach in the NFL, especially as you get into your 70s in just forever and expect success to just sustain, right? The Packers are a good example. They had success over a 30-year period with Fav and then Rogers, but think they went through multiple general managers.

They went through multiple head coaches. It's like, yeah, like sometimes change. Change is very healthy. Anyone listening to this knows that when they've made professional changes in their life, whether you've been forced, whether you've been laid off, whether you've been fired, whether you just actively leave for a new job, whether you start your own company,

it's invigorating. It creates a sense of emotion. that you don't get when you're just kind of, I don't want to say Belichick's in the slow lane, but like it's kind of stagnant there. And it's more than stagnant because they suck. So I think one thing's clear. Roster stinks.

We all can acknowledge that. But like, is Bill the guy for the future? No. So let's just call a spade a spade, probably his last season in New England. One thing I noticed yesterday, I was watching a bet on the Steeler game. And if you listen to Stucky segment,

you just hammer Tomlin as a home dog. And the majority of these Raven Steeler games under the Tomlin Harbaugh regimes when they've played each other, it's a staggering amount of games that have been, that have come down to under a field goal. So the Steelers were getting four points. Now, when you're watching that game,

it felt like for a split second, it was going to be 20 to 3 and the Steelers were in major trouble. Now, sometimes winning bandage your issues. The Steelers won, I don't think they're good. But one takeaway I do have. I was wrong thinking they could compete to be the number one seed. They have no chance to win 13, 14 games.

But they do have a chance to win nine-ish games. I would say 10 would be their ceiling, probably eights their floor. Given, and this is the biggest difference between the Patriots. I was watching three teams Sunday morning pretty closely. The Giants, they're awful. the Patriots are worse. The Steelers were playing like those teams, but they ultimately now have pulled two games out of their ass.

Why? Because unlike those two teams, they have elite players. T.J. Watt is one of the best players in the National Football League. Hightower is an unreal second rusher. Pickens, dude has a chance to be a high-end wide receiver. Joey Porter, son, Joey Porter Jr., had a fantastic, interception, clearly high hopes for him. Minka Fitzpatrick. The Steelers, offensively, major issues.

Naji Harris, not very good. They'd like a redo on that pick. Hell, they would like E.T.N. over him if they could redo it. But when you look at the Steelers, the difference between those two teams that are probably headed toward four or five wins and the Steelers, you're going to look up, be like, their offense was terrible. And they went nine and eight, Tomlin still doesn't lose because of personnel. And this is where the NFL more than college is about the X's and the O's.

In college, it skews jimmies and the Joe's. If you have elite players, you can be average at the X's and those and still win 11 games. Look at James Franklin's career. Right now, if you have the X's nose and the Jimmy's and the Joe's, you can win national championships. Nick Sabin, Urban Meyer, Kirby Smart. In football, in the NFL, a lot of teams have high-end players. Obviously, the Niners, the Eagles, some have more than others, but there is a large group of teams that have impact players at several positions.

So it's a scheme game. And the Steelers offensively clearly lack some innovation. Matt, Mac Canada, people aren't just randomly making fun of the guy, randomly calling for the guy's job. Look at his resume as an offensive play caller. It's not very good. And Kenny Pickett, to me the difference between him and Mack Jones, Now, Kenny is slightly better athlete, but I think they're of the same, like if they were on the

quarterback tree, they would be from the same tree, right? They're not Josh Allen, Mahomes, some of those guys are down the road. But Kenny Pickett, pretty good athlete, and hits a couple big plays, which he's done this season. And I will say this about him. And I had Cam Hayward on in the summer. And one thing he mentioned is last year down the stretch when they turned around their season. He played well, specifically at the end of games. And I gave last week, what was it, the Thursday night game, Justin feels a lot of credit because it was not going well. It was ugly. It couldn't have gone much worse. Yet mentally, he did not fold. He did not just say, you know what, screw it. This season's going to be a disaster. My career in Chicago's over.

Fuck it. I don't care anymore. He just kept swinging. And now thinking about the Thursday night game. Did I overrate his game a little bit? A lot of it was after the catch. Maybe a little bit from a statistical standpoint, but from a mental standpoint brought a lot to the table. Did not tap out. And in the NFL at the highest level, in pro sports in general, hell, in life, it's easy to kind of mentally fold. And I think Kenny Pickett does have a little mental toughness to him. Because that was a game where he easily could have just waived the white flag. Like this ain't to work, I'm screwed, and he made a huge, huge throw to essentially win them the game to, you know, their star wide receiver. But listen, the Steelers just won't die because of personnel.

And I think that speaks to the organization, like Mike Tomlin ain't drafting the players. I'm not saying he doesn't influence the draft Vicks, but it's a group effort. It's always led by Kevin Colbert, the Roonies. It's an organizational philosophy where when you look at the page, Patriots, it's Bill. And a Bill doesn't like them. Nope, not going to take them. It's like sometimes it is healthy to get some outside opinions,

to not just have your views as the only thing that is taken into account when making a decision. And I think that shows in Pittsburgh because it shouldn't be that good. They honestly, the way they're playing, especially offensively, in 2023, should probably be like a seven win team. But you're going to look up and they're going to win. nine. And the difference is elite guys. Listen, Lions are for real. They just are. There is no disputing it. They are a 12 plus win team. Now, part of that is the schedule, but their last 15 games, they're 12 and 3. And they have

high-end players all over the place. And everybody under the sun, and I probably was a little guilty of this, though, you know, football, this isn't Wall Street. There's a little little meathead into a lot of coaches. Dan Campbell might be pretty good. Like, you watch the Lions, they consistently start fast, they consistently show up ready to play. They take on his personality of a very, very physical football team. They've been built in the correct way at the point of attack. Their offensive line, high and top notch.

Aidan Hutchinson, you think Trent Balke would like that pickback? you know what's crazy now listen did he fall in the draft he went too but he was also drafted over a guy who was a huge projection because sometimes and I'm guilty of this

that we undervalue not elite athletes we go how high is their ceiling well actually Aiden Hutchinson's is pretty freaking high why he's 6, 7 he's a badass he's highly skilled the interception he made

yesterday was just elite I really like this Lions team. And there's a chance they're better in the Cowboys. At worst, they're just as good. Because let's face it, Dak Prescott and Jared Goff, Jared Goff's been better the last two years.

It's not an opinion, that's a fact. And when you look at the Detroit Lions, there's like an aura of, this is fun. There's pressure because a lot of people are picking them and make the playoffs. they should make the playoffs, but there's not like this aura for a historically bad franchise

of negativity surrounding them. Like when you look at the Dallas Cowboys, the first thing that goes wrong, there's this negative cloud. And that's part of being the Cowboys, the Lakers, the Yankees, the Big Dog in town, right? Tiger Woods in his prime,

bogeys a couple holes, it's viewed at a lot differently than other people. It's part of the brand of the Cowboys. But if we take away the brands and all the bullshit and just look at the talent on the field. If you got the Niners and the Eagles as the top two teams in the NFC clearly, are we sure Detroit isn't the third? And are we sure Detroit isn't whoever ends up depending on how the seating goes?

I'd rather play the Cowboys in the second round in Detroit Lions. I'm not saying the Lions have like a really good shot to be in the NFC championship or even win the Super Bowl. But I do think they're for real because they're built the correct way. in a day and age where physicality has been taken out of the game in space, and rightfully so for the health. Though, I'm never apologizing.

I miss the violence. I grew up on the violence. I'm a consumer first, and I loved watching it. Whenever I, on my Instagram feeds or whatever, videos from the 90s, the 80s,

the 2000s, it's like, I like that level of football. I watched this as much football then as I do now. Maybe a little less. I have more options because of YouTube TV, but I watched a lot of football then and I fucking loved it. but the one area where you're still allowed to be extremely physical

and it's treated somewhat obviously you can't hit the quarterback the same way but in terms of offensive and defensive linemen against each other it's not much difference than it was 15, 20, 30 years ago is the point of attack. Your de-tackles, your D-Ns, your guards, your centers, your tackles and the lions are good there. So the lions for sure are not going away. And last but not least,

you know what's funny is forever there was this argument about guys that got fired giving them a second chance like second chance coaches had a really good chance of success they're like look at Belichick failed in Cleveland then went to New England Andy Reed in Kansas City

maybe they're just really good like maybe they're just all-time great coaches because like Pat Schumer got a second chance how'd that go McCarthy's getting a second chance like clearly probably going to be a little more underwhelming than the height. Now, he's better than all these second chance guys because you look at Frank Reich and you go, are we sure he knows what he's doing?

Are we sure Frank has any clue what he's doing to be a guy worthy of immediately getting hired? It wasn't Sean Payton, won a Super Bowl, been in the playoffs a bunch. Frank was in Indy and got dealt a bad hand, though he inherited the Josh McDaniels match. mess, but the luck retiring on them, totally understand. But I'd say the last couple years, just watching his team, which pretty talented, I wouldn't say they're Niners or Eagles, but they definitely weren't as shitty as they showed. Hell, look at this season. Who would you rather have right now coaching your team?

If all things were equal, I get two teams, exact same personnel. Shane Seichen or Frank Reich? Shane's literally coach five games in his career. And I don't think there's one person in the National Football League, not a GM, not an owner, and definitely not a defensive coordinator that wouldn't want to be with Shane. Like ultimately, for example, Doug Peterson, the dude won a freaking Super Bowl.

Then his second year gets him back to the playoffs when Carson gets banged up again, wins a game with Foles. So you look at Frank, you go, what did he actually do? Same thing, played in the NFL, big looks to play. part, nice guy. People really, really like the guy.

Are we sure he should be a head coach right now in the NFL? Because I watch his team, one, and listen, you go, well, John, you thought they should trade up to get Bryce Young or should take Bryce Young number one. Yeah, I'm in the podcast business. They are paid to make that decision and get it right. I'm not, whether I'm wrong, like, I'm paid to entertain and push advertisements. That's my industry. If you're frank, you are paid to get the right fucking quarterback and then coach them up.

and make him look good and figure it out. That's why you're paying millions of dollars. And right now I'll watch Frank and I go, I don't think he has any clue what he's doing. Honestly, I think they are completely lost. Clearly, there is a chance. If you could do a redo, now I know Richardson's banged up,

but there's no disputing the two players and C.J. Stroud in a different universe than Bryce Young. So if I was a Carolina Panthers fan, I wouldn't just be nervous because listen, you take the wrong quarterback, it sets you back. It just does. Most teams are not the 49ers where you can trade up, take a guy, and it not impact you. Bryce Young already has more starts than Tray Lance.

But if you get the wrong coach, that's what really sets you back. Because within two years, you realize we just made a similar mistake, then you fire them and you start from scratch. And that's kind of what it feels like right now in Carolina, that are we sure that Frank Reich is going to be the long-term solution? Because I sure is hell not. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.