The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - OC Patricia Problems, Lamar Leverage, FitzBroadcast, Mailbag

Episode Date: June 7, 2022

John explains why a report that Matt Patricia could end up calling plays for the Patriots is a big problem, why Lamar Jackson has all the leverage in his negotiation with the Ravens, if Ryan Fitzpatrick has the broadcasting “it” factor. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates. Go to  FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations

that'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 to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The volume. The three-in-out podcast with me, John Middilcough, is presented by Fandul's Sportsbook. There's no better place to make every moment more than with Fandul.

Great odds and markets for baseball, the NBA, NHL, PGA, Tours, and so much more. Awesome new and existing user promotions. America's number one sports book, very easy to use, safe and secure. You get your winnings fast. I cannot recommend it enough. Love gambling with Fanduel. If you are new, just download the Fandual Sportsbook app to get started. Now sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you.

What is going on everybody? John Middlecop, three and out podcast. Back at it again. Rocking and rolling, baby. I'm jealous of whenever Dremond right after an NBA finals game or a big playoff game just goes right home and podcasts. Like, there's just not a bigger avenue given what he's doing to do. I mean, it's just perfect.

It's like kind of the complete opposite right now. It's the offseason. It's the summer. Now, we do have mandatory mini camps. But I'm jealous. I wish I could feel that juice of just, I just played an NBA finals game. Boom. Go home and hit the mic.

Instead, I just shower, cold shower. because that's what Jocko tells me to do. Quick cold shower. Fire up the endorphins. Fire up the mind. And then come find some stuff talking about with football. Recording this on a Monday, Monday afternoon, a little after lunch, 1240, to be exact. And I'll be at Niners OTAs the next couple days.

And then, you know, headed Arizona for the weekend. It's going to be hot. But God, I love Scottsdale. And, yeah, so I'll be at Niners practice, which, again, the main thing. mandatory mini camps happening all over the NFL. I would imagine most teams have their mandatory minicamp this weekend. They might do something with rookies next week, but for the most part, everyone goes on vacation for really the next 40-plus days.

And it's an incredible time. You go on vacation for 40 days. Now it's a unique job. You work crazy hours in the season, especially coaches. But for the next 40 days, you don't have to do a goddamn thing. And it feels good unless you're a grinder. You know, I mean, I don't, Belichick, Andy, some of these guys, you know, sling into the office every once in a while.

And if you've got a player contracts and stuff, there's still some little things here and there if a guy gets cut. But for the most part, it's an incredible, incredible time. I remember when I was, you know, my first year, technically you're an intern. It's like a personnel,

player personnel intern. They pay you like 25 grand, no bennies. And that's when the lockout happened. So I got the job in OTAs. You know, got hired on my interview, no big deal. And then I went to a couple OTAs and then summer hits. but we had been preparing, or maybe it was the following off season,

and then the lockout hit. And I remember going to summer break, and I had our entire free agent board, and I was taken it home, and it was crazy. Like, there was nothing going on because the lockout was happening. We didn't know when it was going to happen. Looking back, clearly, they were not going to miss any games. But people thought that it might go into training camp,

and maybe it did a couple days. But for the most part, we hit the ground running. but I didn't really summer break back then for me I didn't have any money what the hell was I going to do but if you're a head coach or a position coach you know you got a lot of free time and you got cash good time a year uh we'll talk about some football of course middlecoff mailbag at john middlecoff is the instagram fire up into those direct messages going to need some questions this off season gonna need you you and i are going to do this show together so fire into those direct messages if you haven't already it's just my name at john middle cough and get your question

answered here on the show it's very very very you and you're very you're very easy. If you listen through Collins feed, listen on my feed. Subscribe to my feed. Share with your friends. Share it with your enemies. Share it with anybody. I really don't care. But I do appreciate sharing it. Grassroots. We love a good grassroots organic movement. And I appreciate everyone for you guys. We've obviously increased our listenership since going to the volume and things are going well. And I'm glad that everyone is entertained by me just talking into a mic here looking into my computer screen. It's kind of bizarre that this is my job. But it is. It is a job. But it is. is and it's better in digging ditches. I know that. As Belichick would say, it's better than being a

plumber. And being a plumber's hard. And I'm not very good at that stuff, so I'd be a terrible plumber. I mean, I just would. Anything breaks around my house? I'm screwed. I got a problem right now on my dryer. I don't know what to do. Called this guy over. He said the parts out of stock. It's like, bro, I don't want to buy a brand new washer and dryer just on the principal. Like, I'm not going to live here that much longer. But if I rent it out, maybe I need to, he couldn't fix it. But I'm not handy enough to fix it. My brother's the opposite. He moves into a house. Fixer. He's able to fix it all himself, probably saves himself $100 grand. That's not me.

You got to know who you are. And I got no problem to admitting I can't do anything besides like change the light bulb and change the television. Now I can talk. Thank God I can do that because if I couldn't, I'd be in trouble. So let's talk. The New England Patriots. I've been saying for a while, I have them red flagged.

And I am not a Patriot hater. If anything, I enjoyed their dynasty the last 20 years as a fan of football, as a fan of winning. as a fan of greatness, as a fan of everything that they stood for. They pushed the envelope. Everyone in life, great pushes the envelope. They worked harder than everyone else. In a league that works harder than most industries. Everything that they stood for, the anger that they drew in other people, I loved it all.

And I had no dog in the race. I didn't necessarily care unless I was gambling on them. I just watched them from afar and enjoyed what they did. and no one could take anything away from them year after year in the biggest games we saw them come through because I appreciate most in pro sports when people come through in the biggest moments. It's why I've become a warrior fan. If the Warriors had James Hardin and Anthony Davis, I wouldn't watch their games, I wouldn't care about them. I care about them because of their three core players that stand for winning, championship, heart, and just determination, win or loose, they go down swinging.

And I always thought that about Belichick, Brady, and the crew. But I think they're in shambles right now. in complete and utter shambles. And listen, some people in life, like Jeff Bezos, could probably do a lot of things. And he's proven he has. Elon Musk has a lot of different pitches. You know, he can get involved in several different industries and succeed.

Those type guys are outliers. Most people, even the best at what they do, are good at a couple things. It's why that old adage, you are better, if you have 10 different things in life, focus on a couple and become A's at those, become nine out of tens at those. Too many people try to be six out of tens at like 10 things, and they're not good at one or two things. Instead of just mastering one or two, and then you'll figure out how to monetize that and paying for all the other stuff.

Don't waste your time on stuff you're not good at, right? Besides like personal relationships, which we're all trying to work on. And most people, like, for his town, like Bill Walls more than likely could not. have been a good defensive coordinator. And he's arguably one of the greatest coaches in the history of sport, not just football, in sport. And he needed George Seaford a great defensive coordinator. Why?

Because you master one side of the ball in football. There are only so many guys who can do a little bit of everything. Belichick would be unique. He could probably call offense. And I've said before, I bet he could, but he never has. Right. The reason Andy and Sean Payton, those guys have been focusing on the, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McPhey, focusing on the offensive side of the ball for 30, 40 years.

Learning. Hell, Andy went to BYU as a player in the early 80s. When they were setting records throwing the ball with Jim McMahon, Steve Young, they had a unique offense for the time. So he has been around the passing game as an adult, as a player and then as a coach for 40 plus years. That's four decades. Matt Patricia, rumors are the buzz in New England

that he's going to be the offensive coordinator and call plays for the New England Patriots. My first response is, that is fucking insane. That is nuts. And the only conclusion I can come is Belichick is out of options. He has no clue what to do, and he's lost. For the first time in his life,

because when you look at him for the last couple decades, he's always had a plan, he's always had an idea. I remember when I was in the league and it was clear that Bill O'Brien was going to take over for Joe Paterno and the disaster that was Penn State. He immediately hires Josh McDaniels in the playoffs. And then when Bill left, Josh McDaniels, boom, took right over.

Maybe it was the end of season. But either way, he always is thinking a step ahead. When Patricia was going to leave, he had Brian Flores coming up. Josh McDaniels was the first time where he had no other options. None. And forever, in one, he doesn't hire, for the most part, coaches from other staffs. because he likes to teach you from the ground up. It's where he benefited with Pioli,

then he benefited with Casario, then he had Ziegler, Josh's guy. He's had a bunch of those type guys on the staff to be executives for him, and they've, for the most part, had pretty smooth transitions. Now, they've missed on drafts because sometimes he can be closed-minded with that stuff,

but regardless, the resume speaks for itself. This is the first time where Matt Patricia was one of the biggest laughing stock head coaches we've ever seen. It was a joke. Like, this is not, I'm not picking on the guy. I don't know the guy. I have nothing against them.

But we all watched what happened in Detroit, and it was a clown show. Even Stafford has basically said so since. And he had a front row seat there with Jim Schwartz, Jim Caldwell, who listened. Both those coaches got them to the playoffs. They had some success in an organization that historically doesn't have much success.

Patricia was the worst. Patricia, you could argue, besides like Jim Tom Sula is one of the worst coaches we saw last decade. And just the whole operation. Remember when you have the media guy sit straight up, it's like Matt Patricia, you look like a fucking slob, bro. And now this guy, who if you remember, he was the defensive coordinator when the New England Patriots

played the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. And it was a complete embarrassment, right? So now Matt Patricia, who also as a defensive coordinator, wasn't that great relative to Flores, who was dramatically better. I don't even think it was close. I'd argue that Mayo, Steve Belichick, and Bill Belichick, this little crew that's run in the last couple years,

has been way better than Patricia too. Like, Patricia's not a very good defensive coordinator. And you can tell me he's an astrophysicist or a nuclear engineer, whatever the hell he is. He has 17 million degrees. He's really intellectually brilliant. Great. That doesn't matter when it comes to calling defensive football plays.

Because how great you are in a classroom learning about nuclear physics or rocket science, I don't care. Do you know when to call the A-Gap Blitz? Do you know when to call a certain coverage? And I've watched him coach defense, and I would say no. And he's a lifetime defensive coach,

hasn't even sniffed the offensive side of the ball since 2005. And now they're going to make him the offensive coordinator? The most, in 2022 and 23 and moving forward, easily the most important side of the ball, and listen, I'm not saying you need a good defense. But you have to score points because the rules are advantageous for you to be aggressive and good on offense. Josh McDaniels, I'll talk about him in a second.

You can't argue that as an offensive coordinator under Belichick, the dude wins and the dude has success and the dude score points and the dude gets it done. He's been fantastic. He's been one of the better offensive coordinators in the league. Does he have a bad game or two? Sure, so does everybody. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVey have bad games. Josh McDaniels has been a big-time curve ball for Belichick

and helped him out dramatically for years. specifically last year when he got Mac Jones. And now we're going to Matt Patricia? Like, this happens sometimes. You get old, you get super rich, you just lose touch. And I don't necessarily think Belichick loses touch. I still think he's a fantastic football coach. I still think from a, if you gave, if every team was equal, he would dominate.

But every team is not equal anymore. And he no longer has Tom Brady. He no longer has a huge advantage. He no has a young quarterback. And they don't have many weapons. and Matt Patricia, if you gave me a list of coaches in the NFL, assistant coaches and head coaches that I needed to call my offense in Sundays, in the fall, in the National Football League,

I don't even think Matt Patricia would crack the top 100. I don't give a shit that Belichick's comfortable with him. I don't care that Belichick thinks he's next Ernie Adams. I don't care. I cannot have him call an offensive place. And I'm shortening the hell out of the Patriots. And on the flip side, let's face it, part of talking about Matt Patricia and the Joe judges and the Romeo Crenelles and the Eric Manginis is we make fun of them.

They underachieved because they came from this tree of the greatest coach ever and it's pretty clear like do they, does he not help them out? How are they so bad? Do they just imitate and try to be little Bill Belichick's? And that's, I think, what we all kind of agree on, right, is that they can't be themselves. Yet the guy I worked for Andy Reid has a ton of coaches all over the league that have had a lot of success. John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Ron Rivera, even Matt Nagy made the playoffs. Do you know what Matt Patricia would have done to have Matt Nagy's record that he had in Chicago

in Detroit? A lot. Because that's just to re-out. Doug Peterson won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. First time in franchise history. Now he's coached in the Jacks. Like Andy Reed's tree has success. The greatest tree of all time is Bill Walsh.

Mike Holmgren to Andy Reed to that whole tree. It all starts with Walsh. You know why? clearly Walsh taught his guys. And forever, for whatever reason, Belichick did not. Or there was some weird dynamic there, and they struggled. I do think for the first time that he gets a second chance is Josh McDaniels has a chance to change that narrative.

And I've said over and over, the three coaches in the AFC West have a ton of pressure, right? Hackett, Staley, and Josh McDaniels. Because we're picking them all to make the playoffs and obviously the Chiefs, but Andy's under no pressure. Resumey speaks for itself, won a chip, went to another one. It's been to four straight AFC championship games. I'll be shocked if he's not in the playoffs again.

You know why? Because the Chiefs go to the playoffs every year. But one of the other guys is not going to be in the playoffs. Right. So Josh McDaniels has a playoff team, literally. Inherits a team that won 10 games where their star wide receiver killed someone is going to jail for years.

Their coach got fired in the middle of the season. They had an interim coach and coach special teams. They had injuries all over the place and they still won 10 games and got to the playoffs. And honestly, they got outplayed in the playoff game, but they still had a chance to tie it at the end. Technically, win it if they went for two. And I think Josh McDaniels,

who has done a lot of self-reflection, their articles written about them, people say he's changed. Listen, I give you the opportunity to change. I wasn't the same five years ago as I am now. Hopefully in five years from now, I won't be the same as I'm sitting here right now. You should always be growing.

You should always be adapting, especially if you're in a competitive industry. If you say the same, you're going to get laughed. If you're not just, you know, sometimes, you've got to dramatically improve. You've got to be willing to adapt. You've got to be willing to change.

And Josh McDaniels has been open about it and claims that he has. Now it's time to tell. He inherits a quarterback too. That's the other thing. He doesn't just come to a team while they got no quarterback, give him a break.

No, he gets a quarterback who is now, when he's been healthy, has been really good. Now, is he a top five quarterback? No. Is it LaFleur taking over Aaron Rogers? Of course not. Is it a guy, though,

that you can immediately win with? And maybe Josh McDaniels, ironically, who's kind of screwing Belichick because he leaves him high and dry and he has no one to slot into a spot, can actually be a positive for Bill because we can finally be like, well, Bill clearly started teaching Josh

the last several years, gave him the blueprint. Josh, you know, had some introspection on his own, became the total package and became a very, very successful coach. Because I do think the microscope is going to be on Josh. And I said over and over, I think their off-season has been fantastic. Add Chandler Jones to the Niners should have been all over.

I don't know why they weren't. Chandler Jones stud. They trade for Devante Adams. No-brainer. They don't pick up any of the fifth year options and all Mayock and Gruden's failed picks. Love it. Like, they have had a clear direction. Now, their offensive line needs a little work, but it's not like their players, Derek or Waller or Max Crosby is intimidated by the Chargers chiefs or anybody.

Though, I mean, last year, I think the chiefs beat him like 90 to 20. I do think that Josh has a chance to really change the narrative and I'm excited to watch it. The NBA finals are here and so is your chance to score big on Fandall's sportsbook. Throughout the NBA finals, Fandu is giving new customers $200 in free bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Bet the money line, point spreads, player props, and so much more.

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three and a half, and I am taking the Clay Thompson over for points. Clay Thompson bent a little off these first two games, needs to get his sea legs under him. Not just saying that because he owns a boat and drives around on the sea, it's because he's still getting his legs under him. I like Clay to go for about 25 in game three in the Warriors to at least cover, not necessarily win, but to cover. Just sign up with the promo code, Colin, if you haven't tried Fanduel now is the perfect time to give it a shot, because the only thing sweeter than watching the finals is cash. in on all the action. Join today with the promo code Colin

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A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits. the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. One thing with the OTAs happening this week is I think sometimes, the top players just complain about stuff. And the irony is, it's why, like, on Twitter, I've stopped complaining. I still have the same complaints in society with the government. But it's like, what's the point of just sitting there bitching and moaning? And for the most part, it's all these famous, rich people

that just spend all their time complaining. It's like, what actually happens? Absolutely nothing. You just complain and complain and complain. It's why I hate Twitter. It's why I joke all the time. I hope Elon blows that thing up. Because I'd be fine if it disappeared tomorrow

because it's so negative. Now, on football Sundays and Warriors games and during golf events, sometimes for me it is enjoyable. But the overwhelming percentage of it, it's not. But I kind of need it to still get information. It's just love-hate relationship that's mostly hate.

I despise the place. But it exists. So I still have to use it because it's the easiest way for me to get information. but ultimately I've chose years past I probably just like most people doing the same thing over and over it's starting to bore me

but I do think sometimes the richest people are just when they talk it just we're going to see that right if Elon does something if a president does something whatever it's no different in the NFL and when the star players

start bitching and moan about things we listen to them no one's going to listen to the backup guard who's a practice squad guy and in reality that guy like especially in the NFL unlike in society, random people can complain on social media. The backup guard or the special team

for the most part is not going to complain because it's not worth it for him to piss anyone up. He's just happy to be there. He's got a great job. He's making seven figures. He's got a good gig. And I talked about this when Aaron Rogers talked about retiring. He keeps talking about retiring.

He keeps talking about retiring. And I talked about this the other day about football's the easy part. And you often hear that. Like the games are the easy part. It's all the other stuff. And Alex Mac gave a good. great quote. He just retired to Albert Breer. He said, to prepare for the NFL and prepare for football, it's a monumental task of monotony to be good. It's basically over and over doing the same

thing at a really high level to sustain being a really good player, a really good team, whatever. It's very, very difficult. And in season in the NFL, it's, I've seen it firsthand. It is a mother. the grind of the weekly game plans, of the practice, of the training staffs, of preparing your body, the whole thing, of preparing for games, it is intense. But it's a, let's call a spade a spade now. Because Aaron Rogers and Brady and some of these guys have complained. A lot of guys don't go to mandatory or voluntary minicamps. And guess what?

They're voluntary. It's what the players really fought for. Voluntary, voluntary, voluntary. And now a lot of star players do not attend anything all off. season. Now, that doesn't mean they're not working out. They train on their own. That's fine. But they have now a six-month-a-year job. I saw a headline today. Aaron Rogers is going to go to mandatory minicam. So for beside the season, which basically starts August 1st, and for Aaron goes somewhere to usually in the middle of January, because he's not getting that far. But let's

say, you know, middle to the end of January. He has one month a year, or not even, one week a year beside those six months that he has to show up to Green Bay. One week, Tom Brady, now he lives in Florida, has one week a year that he has to go. You go around the league, star players. Trent Williams comes to the 49ers. Beside the season, one week a year.

And it's not even one full week. Trent Williams is at the NBA game on Sunday, has stuff today on Monday, three practices and it's gone by Thursday. It's five days. It's actually five days. And listen, being in the NFL is, it's incredibly difficult.

It's hard to make it there. as a player, it's hard to coach there in terms of the time and the effort it takes, whether you're good or not, it's a different story, but just the whole thing. I have nothing but respect for everyone that grinds in that industry. It's really, really hard. But for the players now, especially the high-class ones, the highly compensated ones, the pro-bowers, if they choose not to, they do not have to attend anything but five days in the off-season.

So let's face it, it's a pretty good gig. the game's never been safer the game's never been guys have never made more money and they've never had more time off because historically in OTAs even as of 5 to 10 to 20 years ago they were voluntary but they weren't voluntary

your ass better be there that is no longer the case that not only players or coaches openly talk like there's nothing we can do it's voluntary so what they asked for in the CBA which is fine I don't even blame Trent Williams or Aaron Rogers for not going But I don't want to hear like it's pretty good gig.

Like you got it pretty damn good. Because historically in the NFL, you played the season, you had five weeks of double days, and you had a really long offseason. Termo Williams gets just Nick Bosa, Joey Boat, they just get to hang out and work out on their own, which is fine. That's part of the perks coming with being a great player. But that's a pretty good perk.

You know, most people don't get to work six months a year and make what you make. And listen, I'm pro them making what they make. They earn it. the league generates the money, it's a whole big cycle of cash, which I'm not against. I don't even want to come off like that. I'm not like the media. I celebrate cash.

I don't resent it. But I do resent sometimes when we talk about the difficulty of this whole thing. The season is difficult. The offseason is an incredible thing for most of these guys. Lamar Jackson, the Ravens had talked about, I saw a headline today that they want to get back to their roots. and when they say their roots, when he was winning an MVP, and they were the number one overall seed in like 2019.

And that means running the ball more. And as of recording this, I haven't seen when the Ravens Band of Corey minicamp is, whether Lamar will show or not. Technically, you get fine as a veteran player, $90,000 if you don't show up. But like the 49ers, for example, with Jimmy Garoppolo. Now, he's injured, but you can choose to give someone an excuse absence. like you don't have to find them for not showing up.

Like it's you control whether you want to get mad about their attendance or not. So to me, if I was in Lamar Jackson's camp, maybe I would say, okay, it's mandatory in camp, we will show up, but under no circumstances, will we take another snap for you, especially when you want to be in a run heavy offense, you are admitting it. And you should. I mean, that is your best chance to succeed with Lamar Jackson and your team. team, play defense, run the ball with your quarterback and your running backs. But you're going to want to run the shit out of my client.

Now, technically he doesn't have an agent, but you know what I mean. If I was in Lamar Jackson's camp, if I was his friend, Lamar, you cannot take another full speed rep, whether that's in the middle of June or whether that's in training camp, let alone the season, until you have penned a paper of your full guarantee and signing bonus. Because it is not worth it. Because they can't function. and they have no chance at success in terms of doing what they want to do, and that means being a top seed,

competing to win the Super Bowl without you. You have leverage in this situation. Because even Debo Samuel, there's a chance. And I wouldn't agree with this. But Kyle Shannon's like, you know, we drafted LSU guy. We got some other young wide receivers. Our defense is going to be better. We could manipulate some of that offense.

Now, obviously they're better with Debo Samuel, but he might go, you know, he's been out of shape, before he's been injury prone. I don't feel comfortable giving him $23 million. So if he wants to hold out, that's fine. I think I could win games with other guys. And ultimately, I think he'll crack. But you can't do that with Lamar Jackson because he's your quarterback. Your whole offense, like he makes the whole thing go. The reason the running game works is because of the fakes with him. I saw it when I was in Philly with Michael Vick. When you'd have a zone read or when I was at Fresno State going against Colin Kaepernick

in Nevada. When that quarterback and the running back are both threats, it freaks the whole thing out. And when you are as great as Lamar Jackson with the ball in your hands, and you could argue, I don't know, I mean, has there ever been a quarterback more dynamic in the open field than Lamar Jackson? RG3 had the one year. Michael had a couple years. But I think, and I'm not trying to be prisoner in the moment that when he's going and when he's healthy, I think Lamar Jackson is the most dynamic quarterback in the open field I've ever seen. the combination of fast, elusive, the whole thing. Cam's the most powerful.

I think Lamar is the most dynamic. It's like Barry Sanders. And the Ravens can't operate without him. So listen, I questioned the draft pick at the time. I didn't see it. I was wrong. And then when you factor in the guy, he's beloved in the locker room.

People like the guy. He's the heartbeat of your team. I think you've got to figure this out. I really do. Just give him $40, $45 million a year and move on. It's just Cowboys did it. And I take Lamar Jackson every day of the week and twice on Sundays over Dak Prescott. And I don't see how Lamar Jackson would turn down that contract.

Maybe not it was four for 160 or whatever. So basically 40 a year. Why not 42 for 4? Guarantee every penny. I would do something like that just because that's just the cost of doing business. You don't really have a choice. And we talk a lot about announcers. I think it got announced, you know, Kevin Burkart and Greg Olson.

are going to be the number one team this year. And some people think that if Tom Brady were to get bounced, maybe they would bring him for the NFC championship game or because Fox has a Super Bowl, maybe the Super Bowl, I don't know. Who knows? I still kind of feel that, and Brady, I think at the match,

talked a little more openly about retirement. Not like Aaron, who's like, I think about retirement all the time. Just like, you know, I used to be 100-0. Play now retired. Now it's more like 60, 40, 50, 55, 45, 45. He's just being very organic. Roger's just kind of being a drama queen about it.

Like, Aaron, just fucking, if you're going to retire, just retire. Or just take the money. Just take the money. Because that's what you're doing, taking the money. Which I have no problem with. Stop talking about retirement. Either do it or not. Tom's seven years older than you.

Like, stop being such a drama queen. That's, the retirement talk with him is really kind of getting on my nerves. Because I think it's so pointless. I think it just brings like an energy siphed out of the Packers organization. Like, ultimately like, why are you doing this? Like, is this the reason Devante wanted out? He just couldn't take it anymore? I mean, Brady's 45 years old, a little different category.

Brady's also never got $50 million a year. But one thing I think looking at football in general, and I think this speaks for all of sports, let's face it, most announcing crews are not good. Most times you turn on sports and it's just terrible. And a lot of it has to do with it's hard, it's not easy. I don't act like I could do it. I have no desire to do it.

It's very, very difficult to call games, whether it be a baseball game, a basketball game, a football game. I wouldn't say it's very difficult as a craft to do a play-by-play guy, but it's much easier to find a play-by-play guy than a good, an analyst, right? They are few and far between to find Troy Aikman. There's a big drop-off with Fox's last crew. Just like if you watch bat, like Reggie Miller and Chris Weber, I think, was fired,

was horrendous. Like, was so bad. Obviously, baseball can be very, very hit or miss. though it's such a regional sport. You tend to kind of like your guy, but it's not guaranteed. I'm lucky as a Giants fan to have Mike Kruko and Dwayne Kuiper,

who actually are both former players and Dwayne's the play-by-play guy. It's a unique thing. And I bet anyone listening, maybe you love your hometown guys, maybe you don't if you're a baseball fan. Same thing with a basketball fan. But in football, I'm not 70 years old.

I'm not listening to the radio. We consume the games through television. And when we do, we are, if our team sucks, If you're a Giants fan the last couple years, you get the worst crew for Fox. And usually it's a tough listen. And I think it is difficult now probably more than ever to get announcers because even a guy like Ryan Fitzpatrick who just retired. I bet he's made $80, $90, $100 million.

I was listening to Bill Simmons podcast and he was talking like in basketball. Dwayne Wade, who's dabbled in it, had made $400 million. $400 million. dollars. So like what is T&T going to pay him to call games to make it worth his time? Because the most valuable commodity we have in life is not money, it's time. And the more money we get, that means the more options we have to pick and choose what we want to do with our time. That's the power of money, right? It gives us the opportunity to go, I want to do this. I don't want to do this. I want to do that. I don't want to do that. It's why I'm actually changing my idea of quote unquote a money grab.

I think that's a very, very popular term. And I'm actually, becoming much more pro money grab for good people. Because I believe if you're a good person and you do a quote-unquote money grab, it gives you more opportunities to impact the world. You can start a company, you can hire people. You can give more money to charity. You can influence your community.

You can donate to your local high schools. You can help small businesses around the community. If you are a good person, if you're a bad person, you just pocket all the money, then yeah. But most people I know with a lot of money impact the communities greatly. Like it's like the more money I give to the government, I just drove when I was driving back from Tahoe,

I had to go to the Sacramento airport to drop someone off. And we kind of turned off this road, and it looked like a thorough world country of homeless people. It was the most eye-opening thing I'd ever seen. I went down this long frontage road, and it was a community of thousands of people living on the street. And it was like, we pay that, does anyone in this state give a shit about the poor people?

And the answer is no. So the more money you have, the more you could actually influence and help people out, you put your mind to it. Now, we're all different, but that's just a fact. That's not an opinion. Now, that doesn't mean everyone's willing to do it. People in my life that have had some cash have always been pay it forward type people, help people out. So that's the way that I think. And I do believe that it is difficult. Like, I've always thought I talked to Carson Palmer a couple years ago. And Carson Palmer, he was at this I heart Fox put on this golf tournament in L.A.,

and I got to go to it with Coward. And Carson, was there. And I had him on my podcast. A lot of you guys are new to the podcast probably didn't hear that pod. I have his number. I probably hit him up this summer and see if he'll come back on the pot. And I remember talking to him. One, just at the thing, first and foremost, he's enormous. Carson Palmer, you realize, yeah, that's what a number one pick looks like. I swear to God, he looked like 6-6-250. He's a fucking tank, an absolute monster. But super nice guy, super impressive. And then when I had him on the podcast, I'm sure you guys have seen him either on Colin or Dan Patrick or whatever. He's really engaging.

And I've thought ever since I talked to him like, this guy would be perfect for television. This guy would crush it. He's got the name recognition. He knows football. But he's kind of got, from being a rich guy, this blue collar kind of normality

that you'd want to hang out with him, that's kind of one thing Tony Romo has, is he kind of seems relatable. I think Boomer Asiason really has this for being like a famous guy. It's like, I think I could have a beer with Boomer. You know, I just could bullshit and talk some football and talk life

and talk whatever with Boomer. And I think that's a huge quality to have as a TV guy. And I think sometimes when guys don't have it, it's a huge turnoff to us, the consumer. And I think that's what you're always looking for. Now, the problem is I don't have Carson Palmer's career earnings, but there are a lot. So could you convince him to do that? Would he even be interested? If I was a television network, I would be all over.

And obviously Richard Sherman, who is dabbling, I think, potentially with Amazon, I think would be fantastic. He's a big personality. But he's also kind of funny. and he clearly knows football. He loves football. I think Carson Palmer and Richard Sherman, because listen, they're always looking for it.

Look at some of the guys they roll out. And listen, nothing against some of the guys that are on television because they played in the NFL. But just because you played the NFL doesn't mean you should be on TV. And let's face it, we've all watched some of these games like, this is hard to listen to.

And this is the NFL. This is, you know, $100 billion business right now. Shouldn't they go after the best? Shouldn't these television networks work with the league and try to get the cream of the crop? and I think if, you know, you know, those guys are difficult to get because ultimately to do the job you have to commit and now that the, like Carson Palmer and Richard Sherman,

those guys have made $15, $25 million a year. So they know what it's like to make big money. And now that they see some of these guys making big money, it's not like they'll do the job for $2 or $3 million. So it's very expensive to acquire those guys. But I've seen Ryan Fitzpatrick talk several times. Big personality, clearly knows football, clearly loves football if you play that long.

Why not go after a guy like that? like to me Carson Palmer Richard Sherman you swing for the defenses like those are no braiders but why not a guy

like Ryan Fitzpatrick like someone in my DMs the other day was like Middle Coff I got to push back on Philip Rivers he's he's too much of a Bible thumper and he doesn't swear

they're not allowed to swear on CBS or Fox you're not Troy Aikman's not dropping F bombs like me so that who cares Philip Rivers have you heard him talk

he's a huge personality he can articulate football He's passionate about football. Tony Romo doesn't swear. Who cares? It's more about like if you've seen Philip Rivers, you feel his energy. Even if you dislike the Chargers,

Philip Rivers would be fantastic on television. It's why I immediately said when they hired Drew Breeze, this is not going to work. It's not because Drew Breeze isn't quote unquote cutting edge or whatever. It's just his personality. Like maybe one thing with the team, but I've seen him enough in press conference like,

yeah, this ain't it. This ain't going to work. Like it's why we've talked forever about like McVey and Tomlin, why they'd crush it on television. Just watch guys communicate. You could tell. Pat McAfee was a star when he was playing as a talker. You either got it or you don't. And Drew Breeze, to me, falls under the category closer like he's great with the team.

Drew Breed should be like a team president. Drew Breed should be like a Pat Riley. That's his, like Jason Witten, get in the front office. You're not a media guy. Media guy. You got to entertain. And when I even say media guy, like, if I put a microphone in your face, can you entertain me? That's what the job is.

And there are few and far between guys that can do it. And part of it, when you're calling football games, the game is ultimately there. But we're hearing your voice. No one I shorted harder than Drew Brees. It's like, no chance this is going to work. And immediately, whatever, a year later, he's done. He's fired. Because they're like, yeah, we missed.

I mean, I could have told him that. A lot of these television execs are fucking clueless. It's not like they know what they're doing. And they clearly didn't there. But hey, you know, I think I'm a pretty good talent scout as well as a football scout. How I might have a better talent scout than I would have evaluated football players because I'm more passionate about this now more. So I'd be all over Carlson Palmer, Richard Sherman.

But I think Ryan Fitzpatrick, man, I've watched enough of his press conferences and his personalities. I think he'd be awesome. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because. of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

Podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app,

Search learn the hard way and listen now. Okay, let's get into a little Middlecoff mailbag. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram. And the direct messages wide open, fire on in there. Fire on in there right now. Hey, Middlecough, I'm one of the nine Cardinals fans in existence. You guys got more than that. Been listening to the pod for a while, and I'm a big fan.

However, listening to my team gets shit on isn't the best thing to hear, even though we have Thanos as our GM. What are some positive things you see for the card's upcoming season? Well, your roster is really good. I mean, you have a lot of talent on your team. I didn't love the Hollywood Brown acquisition for the price that they paid. Now, I just don't think a guy that's going to need to be compensated soon, a first round pick.

I thought that was kind of crazy. But, like, if he's productive with your quarterback, to go with Hopkins, to go with Ron Dale Moore, You guys got some players on the outside And Cliff doesn't really care about running the ball But you got a little Kyler to run the ball And your defense in theory should be pretty good Your team on paper is good

I just don't love I was actually Someone I was texting with said that they were on a plane flight Or they knew someone that was on a plane flight From L.A. to Phoenix And they're like you know I bet Cliff's not on the plane flight It was yesterday on Sunday I'm like I bet it was him

Sean McVe got married on Saturday I bet he was in LA for the weekend. You're not going to pay 30 grand to fly private when you can get a $350, not even. I mean, $200 Southwest fly. I don't care if you make $9, $10 million like Cliff does. Again, I like Cliff personally. I think from everyone that I've talked to,

they love the guy. I just fundamentally philosophically don't view the offense. We don't view offensive football the same way. And I'm not claiming to be some smarter football guy. I just philosophically don't believe in the way he runs his offense. But they have some talent

and you saw last year. You don't go 8 and no without talent. They won 11 games. I just believe big picture can Kyler stay healthy? He wears down. He's tiny. It's understandable. He's a tiny guy in a big league.

And in a very physical league. I mean, the Rams and Niners will fuck you up. Excuse my language to the little kids. But that's just the fact. That's how we talk in football world on defense. So I do think it's just going to be a challenge for them to sustain them. Now Kyler's contract thing, are they going to pay them? I doubt it.

but if I were you, I think we're going to make the playoffs again. It is hard to forget. Listen, you lose in the playoffs. People lose in the playoffs. The Bill's lost in the playoffs. Mahomes lost in the playoffs. Brady lost in the playoffs. Kyle Shanahan lost in the playoffs.

You can you lose in the playoffs. But can you lose like they lost? I mean, that was one of the most gutless losses we've ever seen. And really, it was the quarterback. It was like he did not care. This was not a game in. September. This was not a game in November. This was literally, I mean, winter go home against a division rival. Yeah, on Monday night football. First Monday night football, a playoff game I think of my life.

Am I crazy? Is the national media just fishing for a narrative with Jimmy G? I listened to a lot of sports talk and three minutes of elite NFL insider and a well-known national NFL host talk about how stunned they are that he's still on the team. And Joe Jimmy might end up starting because Trey might not be ready. WTF and my I'm missing. The dude hasn't thrown a football since January, and if they cut him, they eat 25% of a salary. Isn't that shitty business? What moron would cut them today? Why doesn't anyone talk about that part? Yeah, there's no point to cut them today. Zero. At this point time, when you couldn't trade them in the offseason, you might as well keep them. They're having

mandatory minicamp this weekend. Jimmy's excused. Jimmy's not even around. Trey is taking all the first team reps. I've been to several Niner practices. Trey, I don't know. Listen, I'm not pretended to know more about football than Kyle, but he splits the reps a little too evenly. You know, it's like three for Trey, three for Sudfeld, three for Brock Purdy, which I get it. But like, Trey Lance isn't your typical starting quarterback. Like, I would give for every, if there are nine reps in an individual set, I would give six to Trey and then have the other two guys split the third. If Kyle asked for my opinion, that would be my take.

But, Jimmy, Trey Lans are starting quarterback. Trey Lance is going to be the starting quarterback. Is Trey Lance's team? I just don't quite know what they're going to do with Jimmy. I think ideally they would love to trade them. They are not. There was some buzz on the sideline talking to some people, not necessarily 49er people,

but people close to the team that cover the team that they think he'll be released if they can't trade them. Jimmy G is not going to be on the team. Even Kyle said in the press conference that I went to a couple weeks ago, just acting like a Big J, he said that we plan on trading Jimmy Garoppolo. I also mean if they can't,

can't trade them, they will release them. I'm a Colts fan, and after the draft, I hear a lot of people talking about the RAS scores and how athletic our draft was. As a former scout, how much credit did you put into RAS? Is there a connection to success? Honestly, not exactly sure what RAS is.

If you mean the percentile, like what you are in terms of 40 times, height, weight, shuttle time, at, you know, athletic, the different, you know, the vertical jumps, all that stuff. Yeah, I mean, certain teams value that stuff. And ideally, you want to get the best players who are the best athletes, right? You want to get the best players who can run the fastest, jump the highest, and are the most, you know, in terms of like change of direction, have the most agility.

But sometimes, like, guys don't perform as well in those drills and they perform better on the field. One thing Belichick's always said is, like, we don't pay guys to, to dominate the combine. We pay guys to play football. And ultimately playing football and excelling at football is the most important thing. It's why guys like Keenan Allen,

Richard Sherman, Devante Adams, I mean, some of the great players fall in the draft because some of their athletic testing numbers don't, you know, equal what the marketplace would be for a first round pick.

But it matters, yeah. I mean, you always want more athletic guys. Now, can those guys play? time will tell. I would say, and I think you would agree, one thing that I think Colts need are just more explosive athletes on their team. They felt like kind of a group of overachievers sometimes, which they have some excellent players, but they just, they lack like, where's there Travis Kelsey and Tyree Kill? You know, where's there George Kittle? Where's their, you know, C.D. Lamb. I don't even know that's a great example. But you know what I mean. Right. You know, where's there, whoever it may be. But

like where's their guy? And I think they've kind of lacked that. Now, their first pick this year was in the third round, so I don't know if they're going to find that. But you never know. Big Chiefs fan from Kansas. Fan of your pot. You're my favorite sports podcaster

beside because of how candid and Rio you can be. Any chance you start doing more pots, I eat daily. Also, I'm a big soccer fan. As well, I've listened to your comments about David Teper this week. He also owns a new MLS franchise, Charlotte FC, incredible dumpster fire so far. He fired the CEO and head coach manager only three months into the season. I think he really has no idea how to run sports organizations, but wanted to point that out

to you. Keep up the great work. Yeah, I mean, technically I do a podcast on Monday. I do another one on Tuesday. I do a golf podcast on Wednesday. I do a podcast on Friday, and then we put a mailbag over the weekend. So I think if you added up my content, I mean, we're doing five days a week, I don't want to do it to just do it. I do it because I'm fired up and excited to talk about the stuff I'm talking about. If I'm not excited about the stuff I'm talking about, you won't enjoy what I'm talking about. Because what I can't do, I can't fake it. You know, I can't do, and listen, I'm not trying to hate on these guys, but I can't do Skip Bayless and make things up. So I have to be excited to talk about what I'm going to talk about or I'm not able to podcast. Now,

luckily, I talk a lot and I find a lot of things that I'm excited about. But I do think there's a little bit addition by subtraction if we did it every day, which again, like I said, we basically every, we do. And now you could argue if you want my football content, like golf's a big part of what I want to do moving forward. It's an untapped area. I think that I love the sport. I watch the sport. And anything that, if I'm going to spend a lot of time watching it, and I would anyway, I might as well monetize it. And I think it's an area that I can really grow in.

Football, like, I'm not worried about football. I can do football podcast with my eyes closed but golf is going to be an area that if I'm going to expand anywhere it would probably be golf stuff because we do a lot of football stuff especially during the season. But I appreciate you listening. Thank you very much for supporting.

Ryan from NYC, how many years do you think it'll take my Panthers to go on notice around the league? Do you think we should trade Christian McCaffrey for more valuable assets on our staff? Will DJ Moore ever have his name mentioned with the NFL top of receiver? All he does is put up big numbers when the games are still relevant.

I think the hard part is is quarterback sucks. So they got to figure out the quarterback. Like the number one thing we talk about with the Panthers is like, you got to win some games, you need to figure out the quarterback. All the other stuff doesn't really matter. So you have this rich owner, Teper, who now I found out is bad MLS owner. They need to figure out the quarterback position and they need to be competitive. You don't need to make the playoffs, but can you have like seven wins in the middle of December

and have a chance to make the wild card? To me, that would be the question. Can they have a chance to make the wild card? And the only way to have a chance to make the wild card in the NFL is to have good quarterback play and a good coach. Obviously, the Saints quarterback play was a little questionable last year, but they had John Payton. Like, does Matt Rule, is he an NFL coach?

I think we could ask that. He's an impressive guy. People I knew that went through Baylor really liked him. But, like, is he an NFL coach? He coached in the NFL for one year's an assistant offensive line coach. And think about the guys he's going up again. now. It's a little different animal. So I think it's fair to question that.

I like DJ more a lot, but, you know, it's hard when you just play in meaningless games. Part of becoming a star in the NFL is playing in important games. Asked Devante Adams. Ask, you know, George Kittle. Ask Richard Sherman. Ask, you know, just go around the league. Just go around the top players. They tend to be on good teams like Mike Evans, Godwin.

Those guys became pretty big time once Tom Brady got there. Right. Michael Thomas became a big deal. When he got to the Saints, he started catching a lot of balls from Drew Brees. Right. Kyler Murray became a big deal. When they started winning games.

You're the AFC, like the Pittsburgh, the Lamar's, the Mahomes, like, it's not very complicated. Tyree Kill. Tyree Kill. Because they win double-digit games a year his entire career. So you got to win. You know, obviously all the guys with the Rams. When you don't win games, like ultimately we go,

Yeah, good player, but shitty team. Fair or not? And you could argue it's not fair. But you got to... Pro sports is about winning, man. No one cares about losers. They really don't. Big fan of the podcast and UGA football.

Just wanted to tell you about a guy on our defense. You may not have heard much about. But he will be at worst of fifth pick in next year's draft. Jalen Carter was the best defensive lineman we had on our team last year, including the three first rounders and the number one overall pick. He blocked three field goals, including one of the first-year.

the national championship, absolute freak athlete, maybe even more so than Walker was. Watch out for 88 next year. If you find yourself watching the dogs, he's going to be an insane player on Sundays. Well, I'm sure you're correct. So that would mean the two best defensive players in college would be this guy and Will Anderson. And the talent in the SEC on the front lines is just remarkable, is just eye-opening. To me, that's the biggest difference. The They have definitely over the Big 12, the Pac-12, and the ACC. Is their play on the defensive lines? Now, the Big Ten has some defensive linemen.

Obviously, they get guys drafted, you know, Aiden Hutchison, and they've had some guys over the years, the Penn State guys, the Ohio State guys. Wisconsin has a guy here and there. But for the most part, the top pass rushers and the top guys come out of the SEC. And then you get a Kvon-Tibodeau, you'll get a Drake Jackson, you'll get a, you know, a guy like that here and there. I'm sure the Florida State had a guy,

but think about Florida State's guy. It's on the New York Jets, Johnson, the last name. He wasn't Georgia transfer. I mean, he's like, where did Florida State get this guy? Oh, yeah, from Georgia, that he transferred because they had 8 million defensive linemen. So it just shows you that all the talents in the SEC. I'll definitely watch.

I mean, I would imagine Georgia's going to be one of the best teams in the country. High school football coach in Clovis. We have some mutual friends and acquaintances, was briefly a Bulldog football player before you got there. Love the pods. Wondering what you are working on within Gulf Bay these days?

Taylor made guy, tidaless Calloway. I have tailor-made irons. I have tidaless wedges and I have Calloway Woods, but I might have just bought some tailor-made woods, got them specked out over the weekend. Now, it's a driver, a three-wood, and a hybrid, even with my discount at the club,

cost me $13.50. it is insane how expensive golf equipment is. Now it's the new tailor-made driver or whatever, but holy-money. 1350 for three clubs? I got no issue spent a little coin on golf, but man, my tailor-made irons are just, my favorite irons have ever owned, bar none, second. I mean, not even a close second. And I've owned them all.

The 790s are incredible. Long-time Kansas City fan. In Mahomes' era, near every pundit has every year picked another team to win the AFC West, with the Chargers being the favorite since the days of Rivers. How much disrespect should Mahomes and KC feel about that? Also, I think KC had a great draft. We filled the need, got value in the process. One thing I noticed that no one has talked about is that all KC's picks,

except the DB from the South Carolina College, were from cold weather colleges. How savvy is this as a KC is a place to get that gets cold? snowy and those players already understand the conditions. I didn't notice that. That's a good little nugget by you. I don't think it hurts. You know, the disrespect card,

Kin City wins all the time. So it's like, I guess you could use it. But like, who really cares? You're winning the division six straight years. So yeah, keep picking against me, whatever. I think you're an idiot. I think maybe the first year, it's like, I don't know if the Chiefs can do it.

And then you do it, maybe the second year, but like by the sixth time, who cares? Now, if the other team say that, But if the pundits, like, and I get it, you got to use that to your advantage, but who cares what the pundits say? Benifancin's finding you in the herd a couple years ago, had a question regarding your thoughts on the Patriots leaning in to the RAF rating system for the draft.

My Pats and BB been taking a bit of heat for their season and draft. Just curious your insights on the reported change. What's RAF rating? I'm not... You guys are giving me some action. acronyms that, hell, I don't even know. I would say the only thing that people question is that Bill

like in this draft, I think people view their draft two years ago is good, right? They get the Alabama defensive tackle, they got Mack, they got some other good players. I think Cole Strange was viewed around the league as like a third round draft pick. So when you overpick a guy based on his market value, it doesn't mean the guy's

not going to be a good player, but if the league views a house is worth 800 grand and someone spends 1.7 million dollars, it's okay to go, yeah, that was a little weird. That might have been an overpay. Now, if in five years that house is worth $4 million, no one cares. But if in five years, that house is only worth $800,000, I think it's fair to question. And that's how people look at the draft. Did you need to take him right there? And Bill would argue, yeah, we thought people were going

to take him. And maybe he's right. Maybe he's right. I don't know, though. Only time will tell with these things. My name is John messaging you from a podcast account because I hate social media and I don't have a personal one. I've recently started my own podcast called Based on History Podcasts. I take a movie that claim to be based on actual events and look at the true history of them and see what they got right and wrong. I'm doing the podcast because I enjoy doing it, but would like to make some money in the future. Could you go into how you find sponsors and charge for ads and sponsors for an average guy? I've read some different things online, but I would

appear to like your advice. P.S. You're a good sports podcast. I don't blah, blah, blah. You're the man of the people. Respect. Also a lifelong Cowboys fan. Okay.

Obviously with this, I have I heart and Colin behind me and they sell it. And we have an arrangement financially. The other podcast in which I started from scratch, I basically hustled. So for the first couple years, I would DM with Instagram and Twitter,

major companies. And I would ask them for money and ask them to become part of it. and probably I sent hundreds of those. And eventually I got a couple. And I also just worked the back channels and figured out ad agencies funnel you ads. So I found contacts through other people

and started reaching out to ad agencies. So I do a lot of organic business to business, which we hustle ourselves through direct messaging or just organic reach. And then we work with some ad agencies that funnel us business. it really is not that much different here on this podcast. We use ad agencies on some bigger ones.

I'm sure Fandul, Colin and his money team work directly with that. But for the most part, it's like anything. You have to sell it. So whether you're going to pay someone to sell it or do it yourself, but it takes time. And once you have sponsors, then more come. But until you get that first sponsor, it's very, very difficult. I'm not going to lie.

It is not easy to get someone to give you money on a podcast. But once you get the first one, especially if it's a credible company, more will come, I promise. And it will open the gates for others. You just have to find a way to get it. And the only advice I give you is like start DMing people, start emailing people, go to LinkedIn, find companies that you think might work. I don't know. Try to figure out what companies. Go to the History Channel.

Who, you know, who advertises on the History Channel. I wish I watched the history channel more. I really don't. But find a people that advertise on the history channel and then maybe hit them up. And if you can't find them on DMs or Twitter or Instagram, if you can't get to them,

go to their LinkedIn, find out their chief marketing officer, people that work in marketing at those companies. And DM, you know, connect with them and then shoot them emails. I've done that before. Now again, I would say 90% of the time, you're not going to hear anything back. And the other 7% of the time,

you're probably going to get, yeah, we're not interested. But if you just, a couple percent, someone says, yeah, tell us more. Boom, you're in. I mean, you basically just need to become a sales guy. That's what I would recommend. Or if you hate sales, hire someone to do it. Because that would be the way to get people involved in your podcast.

Because you, honestly, if you're going to do something that you're passionate about and you're good at it, and I'll assume you're good at it, you want to make money off it. That's the key to life. If you can find things you're good at, figure out ways to monetize them. And eventually, if you're good enough, people will find out and you'll be able to monetize it. I promise you, regardless of what you do. That's one thing Gary V's always said, and he is right. Whatever you love to do, you can find a way to make money about it.

Cut, because ultimately you're going to like doing that more. I would imagine that you probably like doing your project on your podcast, on your movie, about the historical relevance to the movie more than your regular job. and you would, the moment you can monetize what you enjoy doing, you spend so much more time doing it. And the more time you spend doing something, the more money you end up making. I get up at 6 in the morning, walk right to my office, grab a coffee, boom, start working. If I worked for somebody, I probably wouldn't do that. Sleep in, hit snooze, take my time.

No, I enjoy doing this. It's not work to me. Even, again, you naturally complain about things you have to do, but you know what I mean. and I promise you you just got to hustle. That's my best advice. Now, it's not going to be easy and you're going to hear a lot of nothing because people won't even respond

but if you try hard enough, I promise you, because I used to be frustrated with this and eventually I had a breakthrough and then we never look back. So that would be my advice. Good luck to you. Appreciate you. Everyone firing those DMs at John Middilcoff. Share the podcast with your friends. Share it with your enemies.

Talk to everyone soon. Peace. Follow you. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. more behind the scenes. Follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hardway 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. to learn the hard way on the iHard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.