The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  OTA Chemistry, Aaron Donald Watch, Belichick OC Idiocy, Baker Market

Episode Date: May 24, 2022

John explains how OTA’s help build team chemistry, why Kyler Murray should show up, if Aaron Donald and the Rams might be headed for a split over his next deal, why Bill Belichick’s refusal to name an OC makes zero sense, if Sam Darnold can revive his career with Ben McAdoo calling plays, if anyone believes in Baker, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag.   Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black. people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The volume. The Three Now Podcast with me, John Middilcoff, is presented by Fandual Sportsbook.

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Now sign up with promo code Colin so they know we sent you. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecob? That'd be me. Three and out podcast. That'd be what you're listening to. Hopefully you're having a beautiful, I guess you're listening to this probably on Tuesday. What the way podcast works, some of you listen on Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully you're having a good week.

It's Memorial Day weekend right around the corner. Great time of year. Sun shining. Get yourself a little tan. Get yourself some vitamin D. Smile. Let's enjoy life. And let's talk some football.

A lot coming up today on the show. Subscribe to the podcast. If you listen on Collins Feed 3 and out, subscribe. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlough. You guys are flooding these DMs. I'll be honest. I was out of town a week ago. busy week, and then my cousin came into town last weekend,

and then I might be going out of town again this weekend. So a lot of people, I'm not going to be able to get everyone DMs. I'm a grinder. I will eventually get to every single person's DMs. That is a fact. It will happen. It just might not happen this week. But at John Middle Coffee, the Instagram, slide up in those DMs and get your question answered here on the show.

Yeah, I guess OTAs. If you're listening to this, I'm recording this on Monday. So I'm going to go to 49er practice on Tuesday. I heard they have a young quarterback that is of some interest. So let's go peep him. Even though, like, I mean, it's OTAs. He's going to look good. He has a big arm and he can move.

You know, it's hard to tell. Like in OTAs, who's picking you apart and who's not. But I'm not going to complain. Football's in the air. Great time of year. OTAs. If you listen to this on Tuesday, the Warriors playing tonight, they're about to head to the NBA finals again.

No big deal. and it's golf season. So let's rock and roll, talk a little football. Okay, we've officially entered phase three of the OTA program. And as I was reading some comments that Robert Sala, head coach of the New York Jets, fellow bald brother, talked to Albert Breer about. And he was basically saying that there's nothing like getting on the grass.

And in my experience being around football coaches, they like practice as much as anything. they value practice at the highest level of their profession. Like on the practice field, whether it's in May, whether it's in training camp, whether it's in the season, is everything to them. Because ultimately they're teachers. And this is a big time. But this is also a big time of year. I'm watching the Warriors game last night.

And I really believe their greatest quality. Beside, obviously, they have some of the most talented. I mean, Stefan Claire are the greatest shooters of all time. Draymond is one of the most unique defenders ever. Andrew Wiggins is the number one overall pick. Their team chemistry is pretty special. They legitimately like each other. And one thing as you get older, you realize,

you do not have to like the people you work with. But it helps. You know, it incentivizes you when you like being around someone you're doing business with, someone you're playing football with, someone you're in a partnership with, it makes it a little bit easier to do things. because ultimately at the highest level of any profession

or whenever you're trying to make up ground if you're not the top dog in your profession, it takes time. It takes, you know, depends what job you do, but sweat equity, time equity. And it's much easier when you surround yourself with people you like. And this is a time of year

when all these teams ideally find out like, you know what? Our guys are having a good time. Why? Because OTAs aren't that hard. You end up playing a lot of golf. You end up. up going to like NBA playoff games or NHL hockey games.

You just kind of hang out with other guys like they're your friends. Think about the majority of people at OTAs are under 30 years old. Most of them are single. Like Tom Brady and the guys that are married are outliers. Most guys, young guys, looking just meeting friends. I mean, that's essentially what this is. Now, obviously some of these guys have played together. But what's unique about football is after the draft,

you get this huge influx of a new group of guys. Right? Seven to nine draft picks, a bunch of undrafted free agents, and you get just new blood. And then you also usually have a bunch of signings in the offseason. And team chemistry, you never really know until you put guys together. And that's why we talk about so much in the draft. High character guys, good people.

You got to avoid the turds at all costs. Now, sometimes it's impossible because sometimes bad guys are really good players. And you can't just have a team of overachiever high character guys. But, like, there is a, this is what great team builders do. They strike the balance. Because let's face it, like the Warriors, the Patriot Dynasty, the second half, the one in the 2010s, they didn't have the most loaded roster. But Brady, Julian Edelman, Slater, McCordy, Gronk, David Andrews, like all those guys

really got along together. You could tell playing with each other meant a lot. And this is when you develop it in the offseason, getting to know their girlfriend, playing 18 to holds a golf with them twice a week, doing whatever on the weekend. You end up spending legitimately, you know, legitimate quality time with one another, right? And you get to know them.

Because the closer you get with someone, the easier it is to battle with them when times get tough. Because even if your team is awesome in the NFL, you're going to lose five games. And if your team is just fighting to make the playoffs, you're probably going to lose eight or nine. So, and then on top of the really shitty teams that usually splinter. So this is a huge period of time when,

Guys make big strides in their game. Young players get indoctrinated to what is going on on the team. And then you kind of come together as a group because once you go to summer break, once you come back for training camp, it's off and running. Pads are popping. You're running real stuff. You're getting ready for the season. You are competing for a job.

Not that you're not competing right now, but it's really a blend of, you know, a chemistry building exercise on top of a football improving exercise. And so, listen, I'm not. not trying to, you know, kick a dead horse on this one. But of course, right before I jumped on, who's not showing up to OTAs, Kyler Murray? You know, now listen, if Aaron Rogers at 37 and five MVPs and a Super Bowl champion who doesn't want to show up at OTAs, listen, I can live with it. I would recommend against it, but he's accomplished enough. Like, if Tom Brady wants to spend some time with Giselle and the kids, he's allowed to do that. But Kyler Murray's peers are not

those guys. Kyler Murray's peers are the other young players. I just watched Justin Herbert. He went to the podium. They must have their first practice today. And they said, God, you look like you've gained some muscle. He's like, yeah, I weigh 245 pounds. Justin Herbert ain't skipping OTAs.

Is Patrick Mahomes skipping OTAs? Is Lamar Jackson skipping OTAs? Is Josh Allen skipping OTAs? Because isn't that the crew that he wants to be paid like that group of guys? Is Joe Burroughs skipping OTAs? Because if all those guys aren't, this is separation season, right? And these guys are putting an extra work and this guy's training on

his own. Like, this to me, if I'm Arizona, it's the little things. Little things usually add up to big things. And it's like, you don't have the equity that most of those guys do. Josh Allen is one playoff games. Joe Burrell took his team to Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes has won a Super Bowl. Lamar Jackson has won an MVP in one playoff games. Like, you're pouting, not showing up to OTA's because you're training it on your own and wherever in Texas? Like, I'm sorry. Like, is JJ Watt there? is the other members of my team, is Buda Baker there? And again, I get back to, you are held to the highest of standards at the quarterback position. Like, I'm going to 49 in practice.

If you're listening to this, I'll be there Tuesday. Is Nick Post is going to be there? I don't know. I mean, Kyle lets him train in Florida. You know why? Because every year he produces, 15 and a half sacks. Is Trent Williams going to be there tomorrow? Doubt it.

Guess what he's got. Nine pro bowls. All pro every year. answers the bell no matter what. Not everyone is held to the same standard. And quarterbacks are held to this, you could argue, an unfair standard, but that it is what it is, especially the young group of guys. Herbert's Mahomes, Burrough, Josh Al and Lamar.

Like, the bar's pretty set. It's why we're crushing Deshaun Watson for his off-the-field activities. Whether he's guilty or innocent, it's like, bro, can you not make good decisions? Like, what are you doing? Why are you with these massage therapists? How can I trust you off the field? Now, Kyler Murray has never been in trouble, but like, we need you here, buddy.

Like, we're trying to make the playoffs again. This is not easy. There's no guarantee. Cliff Kingsbury, 8, Belichick, or Andy Reed, there's no guarantee that he's ever winning 11 games a year. Again. So I can imagine the Arizona Cardinals are nowhere near closer to paying him than they would have been,

even if he would have showed. Like, bro, what are we doing? We've got to meet in the middle somewhere, and it's just a constant pain. That's just, let's just call a spade of spade. That's just the reality of the situation. The playoffs are heating up and you can make every game feel like game seven

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

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TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick 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. clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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 Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite

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is aaron donald who is scheduled to make $14 million this year 19 million dollars the following year and $19 million the following year now none of that money is guaranteed that $87 million which he signed four years ago they're basically at the point now where it's year to year no guaranteed money and he is one of not just the greatest players in the league but one of the greatest players ever and he deserves based on what he's done and they won a Super Bowl and he was I mean he's a dominant dominant player he has been if you just whether you like the Rams or not if you're a football nerd a football geek someone that just likes physical play he is a joy to watch but I do think there becomes a line of like delineation of where you got to pick your spots and I do think this is a little

bit challenging for the Rams now ultimately they have no choice he is the best player on their team. If he's going to play like he has the last several years, he's one of the most important players on the team. But football is not like some of these other sports. Guys at positions non-quarterback, running back, linemen, hell, linebackers can fall off a cliff. And this guy has been in the trenches, kicking ass and taking names for almost a decade now. And if I'm him, I'm going, well, I got $87 million guaranteed last time. I want $130. I've seen what Miles Garrett got. I saw what Joey Bosa got. I know what Nick Bosa's about to get. It's time, you know, for me to break the bank again. And he's threatened retirement, a little Roger style. Like, do these guys actually want to retire?

No, they want more money, which I have no problem with that tactic. You use whatever leverage you have in life. The faster you learn, if you're a young person listening to this, to use every ounce of leverage. A lot of people, and I know I can speak from myself in my 20s, were scared to kind of make threats. Mainly I didn't have any leverage. But I'm telling you, If you don't have any, you're never going to get any money. Now, this is a different level of wealth. You know, we're talking $25 to $30 million a year. But still, his leverage is simple.

The only thing he can play is, because he's under contract, right, I'm going to quit. Of course, he's not going to quit. I think Sean McVey did a little bit of that too. Like, hey, Stan, I'll go work TV and they'll pay me $20 million a year. I need $15 to $18 million from you right now. And it's easy because there's no salary cap. The problem for Aaron Donald, there is a salary cap. And the way the Rams operate, like, let's face it, they are heavily invested into three or four guys.

Now, luckily, all three or four of those guys are elite players, right? Stafford, Cooper Cup, Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey. If you're going to invest and you're going to pay premiums, they better be premiums. Right. And that's where the Rams have traded all the way their draft picks and it hasn't mattered. And they've also hit on a bunch of late round picks. But to me, this is the first time I think they're hitting a little bit of the slippery slope, depending on what they give them.

If somehow they could give him like two years, guarantee him like $50 million and add that on to what he's already got coming, you know, $25 million a year, but short term it, I think that's a no-brainer. If he wants another broken off six-year deal at the Joey Bosa Miles Garrett, I do think that's a little complicated from just a pure football standpoint. Doesn't mean they're not going to do it because he does have him by the balls a little bit just in terms of, I mean, he's beside him McVeigh, you would say that Aaron Donald is the poster boy. player of their franchise. Like when I think the Rams, I think McVeigh and 99, right? And he's still really good and he dominated in the Super Bowl. But this is where Belichick separated himself over the years. He rarely, if ever, did the contract the third time when it's like, well, you know, in a year

or two, this might not be the same. And all of a sudden, I'm giving a 33-year-old Aaron Donald $30 million a year and he's no longer a pro bowler. then we have problems. And these are the conversations I'm sure they're having. Now, ultimately, I expect them to pay them. Ultimately, I expect them to give him a lot of money. But if you tell me in a couple years, the Rams,

their strategy of trading all the picks and loading up basically like a basketball team backfires, it would probably be because of this contract. If he just falls off a cliff, which isn't even that crazy. He's had 10 of the greatest seasons we've ever seen, basically. Like, is he going to have 15, 18? And I know he's a workout, guy. He's clearly a physical freak, but it's football. I mean, most of these guys are. And most people

can't maintain just all pro level as a defensive tackle. He already is an outlier, but if he has another four strong years, he's an outlier's outlier. So I would just be a little nervous doing some crazy deal, even though, in fairness to him, he kind of deserves it. But when you pay for what you've done, not what you're going to do, that's when you can have problems in any pro sports, but specifically football where, you know, guys just slow down. I've been saying

this for a while and I'm going to keep beating the drum on the Patriots. I'm shorting the Patriots this year. I'm shorting the Patriots. And that doesn't diminish what I think of Bill Belichick. I think he's the greatest coach I've ever seen. But you can only maintain losses from a coaching standpoint so many times. Eventually, everyone makes some bad hires.

Hell, I was in Philadelphia. when Coach Reed made Juan Castillo the defensive coordinator. I've seen it. The 49ers made Jim Tom Sulla their head coach. People make mistakes, right? Now, that was Jed. I'm not comparing Jed to Andy Reid. Like Andy knows what he's doing football-wise,

but that was a mistake. And it backfired. And I think Belichick partly sometimes, remember by that time in Philadelphia, Andy had lost 7 million position coaches. And eventually you hit the line where you just don't have anyone else. And you kind of got to start back.

over. Belichick has lost so many coaches, but for the first time this year, he lost a guy in Josh McDaniels, who has been his offensive coordinator for a total of 14 seasons. A total of 14 seasons. Josh McDaniels, and I've talked to a couple of people that have been there, they say he's an integral part of what they've done. Because think about it. Josh knows exactly how Bill thinks. Bill respects him at the highest level. Brady Forever loved Josh. And Bill could basically just focus on the entire operation and the defense, while Josh, not saying that he didn't help him or he didn't chime in, but Josh could basically be the CEO of the offense. Well, that's gone now. Josh is in Vegas, you know, hanging out with Derek Carr and Devante Adams. And Bill did not

have an heir apparent to him. And clearly, I think he would have been interested in bringing Bill O'Brien back, but Nick Saban said that was not allowed. And because they have a special relationship, Bill O'Brien is still in Tuscaloosa. And let's face it, if Bill had his choice, he would probably have come back to the pros. You think Bill O'Brien wants to recruit? I doubt it. But I just read the headline today, and I think we talked about it last week, Joe Judge, the man that was just the New York Giants head coach who ran through Jason Garrett and then to Freddie Kitchens, who could not help the offense. One iota is more than likely going to get the first shot at being the offensive coordinator. Matt Patricia, who is a lifetime

defensive coach who hasn't coached offense since 05 when Belichick put him there as a low wrong assistant is coaching the offensive line and running game. And listen Bill is a genius. He could scheme up against anybody any era anytime. But you can only do so much.

You can't hold these guys' hands. You cannot convince me that this is not going to be a disaster. Because they don't have Randy Moss, Wes Welker, you know, these guys, Corey Dylan, Rob Grinkowski, they ain't walking through that door. It's like Nelson Aguilar and Kendrick Bourne and Mac freaking Jones.

So listen, I picked the Patriots to make the playoffs last year. I felt very, very confident. I'm picking them to not only not make the playoffs. I think it could be a disaster. I think Bill could have a major problem on his hands. Now, could he ultimately take over the play calling duties early on in the season? Potentially. I saw Albert Breer says, ideally he doesn't want to have to call plays.

But what if these guys don't know what they're doing? We just saw Joe Judge be a fucking head coach and have no clue what he was doing on offense. I mean, they were calling quarterback sneaks on third and nine. And now he's going to call plays for a playoff team? I can't see it. I just can't. And those two guys, listen, prove their worth.

And it wasn't much. They looked like Belichick strictly creations. And it's one thing, coached in special teams, special teams is Bill's baby. You think that was all Joe Judge? do you think Bill was helping him out? You know, Patricia, when Patricia took over or left and Flores took over, the defense was dramatically better.

Are we sure Patricia is even that good? I know he's got the pencil and I know he's some rocket science, and I'm not saying he's not an intelligent guy, but I'm talking about coaching football. I'm talking about scheming up on offense too. Two spots that, I mean, Joe Judge, while he was a college quarterback, he's been a lifetime special teams coach. And again, we saw him run a team and the offense. be a complete embarrassment.

It's one thing they'll not have the players. I didn't expect you to be the 07 Pats. But when did the Giants do anything over the last couple years where you're like, damn, I see some scheme. I see some ingenuity. I didn't expect to see that. I remember when Kyle Shanahan first got to the Niners and the Niners were a joke.

I mean, their roster was awful. Every game, you'd be like, God, Kyle, Kyle, even when the quarterback situation was Hoyer or CJ Bethard, guys would be wide open. They just couldn't hit them. You watch the Giants. you're like, snooze fest, turn this thing off. So I just think he's, I think he's out of people.

And I think he's at the lowest level of people that he's ever had. And I think the Patriots are in major, major trouble. Talk about a guy who felt like he was in major trouble, but actually I could see have a little bit of a renaissance, at least given that he has an opportunity. Sam Darnold, last year was bad, right? It was really ugly. Now, part of that,

and listen, I think sometimes the media hype, train when it comes to assistant coaches can take on a life of its own. I see it with executives and GMs. I mean, I see a list of some of the GMs. I know some guys in the league that aren't even on these lists and I'm like, there's no chance that the guy I know is not better than this guy. But they don't have, you know, the Peter Kings or the Albert Breers or whoever, you know, the agent circle, they're not in tight like that. So part of having a PR campaign can take you to another level. Now, with an assistant coach, Joe Brady was part of that team, right with Ed O's run and out and LSU.

But looking back, like, could you or I have coordinated that team? They had Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, and Joe Burrell. You could argue that is the greatest two-wide receiver quarterback combination in the history of college sports. I mean, it was the number one overall pick who just took the Bengals of the Super Bowl and two wide receivers that within a year or two might just be one and two, the best two wide receivers in a wide receiver league. So Joe Brady star shot off like a rocket.

A year and a half later he was running in town. He wasn't any good. So Sam Darnold was not any good either. But we've talked about this over and over. As a quarterback, you are very dependent on the players around you, your offensive line, and your play caller. This is not the NBA. If you are Luca Donchich or Nicholas Yokic,

where it doesn't matter who you're playing with, you can drop 40, 20, and 10 and carry your team to the playoffs. that's not really how it works in football if your team is shitty and your coaches don't know what they're doing. There's only so many Tom Brady, or I mean Tom Brady's, but even Tom Brady has always had good coaches. Peyton Manning probably had some questionable ones. He had some pretty good ones,

but he easily could have been his own offensive coordinator. I would say he's a complete outlier. Most quarterbacks, Josh Allen, needed Brian Dayball, Patrick Mahomes, needed Andy Reed. It's the nature of the sport. And I think we're going to see Sam Darmu for the first time have a really good offensive coordinator. Because Ben McAdo, while it was very ugly as a head coach, and it was ugly,

never forget when he took over as the offensive coordinator, Tom Coughlin, toward those latter years, Eli had one of the best seasons of his career. Now, Sam Darnold does not necessarily have OTAs and training camp. He has a lot of pressure on him right now. But for the next 20 days or 25 days or however long they're practicing until summer break, Sam doesn't have, they have not traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, they have not traded for Baker Mayfield. like it's just him and Matt Corral

which he clearly has a huge advantage over because he's been in the league for a while so Sam Darnold can just get in with Ben McAdo Matt Ruh is not an offense Matt Matt Ruhle's a CEO head coach so if Ben McAndew goes listen I've won with Eli I've been around Rogers

I'm not saying Sam Donald's those guys but what if Ben McAdo looks at him goes I think I can win some games with this guy I like this guy we're hitting it off I think Sam Darnold can just resurrect his career is probably the wrong word because we got to see how he plays but just keep his spot

because the number one question, if OTAs go a little weird, is going to be like, is Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppel are going to be their starting quarterback? But if Sam Darnold has a really productive, good, and hits it off as a relationship with his offensive coordinator, I think Sam Darnold could survive. And never forget, Sam Darnold is not like some random fifth or sixth round pick. This guy was the third overall pick.

And I remember Daniel Jeremiah had this comparison, and I really liked it, had some Russell Wilson to him. Now, based on what we've seen, not even close. I'm not trying to pretend he's been anything other than what we've seen and it hasn't been good. But what if he's just been in the shittiest of shitty spots? Adam Gase, complete laughing stock. Joe Brady completely over his head. What if it just takes a guy who's coordinated offenses at the NFL level on the

playoff level to just get his career. We're not talking about a 32 year old. Sam Donald's like 24 years old. They have some weapons. If McCaffrey can somehow stay healthy. What if Sam Donald can just all of a sudden, week one comes around. Sam Donald's are starting quarterback. I wouldn't necessarily rule it out.

Some other NFL nuggets. Baker Mayfield, no go. I just don't see. If Sam Donald kind of gets things going, I don't know where he goes. I really don't. I saw his wife Instagram. They took a little getaway trip. He was drinking a beer.

I guess he's just hanging out. You know, it just his career went from being the savior of the Cleveland Browns, leading them to the playoffs, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs on the road, Heinzfield, to now being told, not only we don't want you to come to OTAs, you don't even have a home yet. Now, luckily, because the fifth year option, he's guaranteed basically $19 million. He's making that money no matter what. But are we sure, is he a lock?

This might sound crazy. Is he a lock to be on a team come week one? I wouldn't say it's like 50% chance that he doesn't have a job But if you told me there's a 20% chance that he's like Doesn't have a job just starting week one I'm not saying his careers over or anything But it is going pretty weirdly Like this is pretty bizarre that we went from there to now here

And a little like Carson Wentz it feels like Do guys like them? Do people like them? That's an underrated part about playing quarterback Right hell you could say in any business Do people like you? Like do the people you work with or people are trying to work with or do your reputation, do people like you? Right?

That's one thing, Jimmy Garoppel, I don't even know how good he is. You know, average your best. People just like Jimmy Garoppel. He's like, yeah, just like the guy. Good guy. Matt Stafford, when everyone was shitting on him for basically a decade that he's overrated, not worth it, every single person who competed against him or played with them

got his back saying his praises. He was beloved. Matt Ryan, all these guys, Philip Rivers that we nitpick who are not like the top five guys. they're just loved by their teammates, by their coaches, underrated part in football, especially at quarterback. You could argue any position, but at quarterback, coaches will overlook some of your flaws if it's like,

I want that guy in my meeting room, I want that guy in my building, I'd want that guy, this is an old scouting term, and you could probably use it in any walk of life, like, I'd like that guy to marry my daughter. And it feels like Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz kind of have this negative connotation around them, and perception can become reality pretty,

quickly. And eventually if you're around enough people, it's no longer perception. Just simple facts. And, you know, this guy just, again, two years ago, leading a team to win playoff games, now it feels like he's untouchable. The number one overall pick, Trayvon Walker, and listen, we made this comparison nonstop when Balke was going to have the pick, was he's going to look at this guy like Alden Smith. And Alden Smith, at the time he drafted him, people thought he was pretty crazy. Now, he went to a defense that was loaded. They had Justin Smith. They had Patrick Willis. They had a Mod Brooks. They had Navarro Bowman. Ray McDonald, terrible human, really good football player. They were stacked. And Alden shined. Now, the one thing I've heard the difference

between Alden and this, Alden was a fluid athlete. When you saw Alden in person, you just, you marvel that is body type. Still to this day, and I've been going to NFL praxis for, you know, over a decade on the sideline of games. He is a freak show. Now, this guy physically is pretty big too, but the thing that I've heard, and I know he tested well, is he's not Mr. Fluid.

He's actually much more robotic, but they're playing him at outside linebacker. So I think Balky has these visions of he's got his next Alden Smith. And again, I don't claim to like watch every snap this guy took, but the people I know and trust in the NFL think that is laughable.

And I understand why Balky did it. I commend bulky, you might as well take a swing. But part of taking a big swing and hitting home run is you might strike out. I mean, there's going to be, there's going to be some pressure on this kid, especially because a lot of guys on his own college team, let's face it, I would say at minimum three of the Georgia guys that were drafted in the first round, like 10 of them were drafted, are probably going to be pretty good. Like Jordan Davis, I would guess, not going to suck.

There are several other guys on that defense that are probably going to be impact players. So when you're the number one overall pick on a really bad team, It's going to be interesting. Talk about a former number one overall pick, Clownie, who resigned in Cleveland. Clearly, they feel comfortable with him. You know, I'd say his overall career a little underwhelming.

Obviously made a lot of money. Had some moments, but, you know, he's just, a little Nadamac and Sue-ish, I would say. I would say Sue's had a better career. Sue kind of found himself and became much more dependable as he got older. It still feels like, to me, He doesn't feel like a dependable player.

But luckily for the Browns, they just look at them like a role player. I didn't see how much money they paid him, but I can't imagine as much. I think I missed this story last week. Drew Brees was essentially fired at NBC. Part of the reason why he tweeted about what his future is, made a joke about coming back to the NFL. Just because you're really famous does not mean you're going to be good at the media thing. part of being good on television as a host, as a podcast, as an analyst,

are you willing to say things? And I said it from the jump, like Drew Brees, not one time in my life, I'm not disputing his character. I'm not disputing how intelligent he is. I'm not disputing how much football he knows. I'm not disputing how well-liked he was. But I've been watching, like most people, his entire career. And I never, for one minute, thought, like this guy is going to be really good on TV.

So I give NBC some credit for like, this isn't going to work. Now, I never would have hired him in the first place. Like when I think Drew Breeze, my recommendation would be Drew, you're not a media guy. You're not a personality. You're much more like a football guy. Like Jason Whitten should be a GM, right? John Lynch, GM, like Drew, you should work in football.

Go be a team president. Go be a GM. You'll cut the line immediately. That's probably your destiny. Because you know what? You refuse, and it's your prerogative, it's your right? you'll never say anything negative. Well, ultimately, when you're doing that job, you're talking to us.

You're talking to the people. And we just saw a quarterback throw three picks. We just saw a coach go for it on fourth and seven in the second quarter. And we're pissed because we're betting on the game. That's our team. We want you to speak for us. And when you're unwilling to do that, you don't bring much to the table. And ultimately, Peyton, isn't really doing that either, but he's got such a big personality.

That's just not Drew. When I think Drew, I close my eyes, I think family man. I just think super high. I think guys should be like a CEO of a company. And to me, if he asked me for my advice, it's just a guy that consumes a lot of personalities. I would say, Drew, media, stay away from that. That is not your destiny. Your destiny is in the football side.

Hell, you could be like a, you could get a Power 5 job in like two years. If Drew Brees wanted to be a team president, he can do that in like five years. Purdue guy, super intellectual. very smart. He's just well thought. He's calculated. I need my guys on TV to have a little shit to him. And that's just not Drew when it comes to talking. I'm not as a player, clearly as toughness. I'm not disputing any of that. But I could have told you this was never going to work from a mile away. Same thing with Jason Whitten. No different like you put Peyton on TV, going to work. Philip Rivers on TV, immediate going to work. Tom Brady, I don't know. Now, I think Tom Brady is going to be so passionate about being good at what he does.

he'll try, but I don't think it's a lock. Like, Peyton Manning was a lock to be great. We'd seen him host SNL many times and it was hilarious. He just, Peyton Manning has pitches that most guys have. Just like Philip Rivers. You watch Philip Rivers for five minutes. He just captivates you. And he doesn't even, I mean, he doesn't even swear.

You know, that's part of his deal. Everyone in the league has been saying for like 15 years, no one ever talks more than Philip Rivers on the field. I'd never heard that about Drew Brees. He's just, he's kind of quiet. Not to his own team. I know he just the pump-up speeches, but I just, I had originally thought that I guess NBC's idea was him to take over for Collinsworth,

but I think they learned immediately that like, this guy doesn't have what we would need. He'd put me and you to sleep. And last but not least, the Eagles signed James Bradbury. They did that last week. I think we'd already done a podcast. The Eagles have a really, really good team. They really do. Their only question mark is a quarterback.

And I think the quarterback's solid. but for them to be a real factor in the NFL, I'm talking like win playoff games. I think they can be a playoff team. I mean, they were last year, but last year they got lucky. You know, you win nine games, you get the seven seed. I'm talking about being like 11 or 12 win, win the division.

I like the Eagles. It's hard for me to say it like in concrete. The Eagles are going to win the division because Dak Prescott, who I think is a flawed player, is much better than Jalen. As of right now. Now, young players improve. and knowing people in that building,

Jalen's work ethic and his desire, like Dak, is really high. So he's only going to continue to improve. But at the highest level of pro sports, there's a talent gap. Some guys just throw the ball better than others. There have been a lot of players in the NFL who have failed that tried really, really hard,

that cared a lot, that worked on their craft at every moment of every day 365. And eventually, you can only get so good. And I do wonder if Jalen has a C... No, I mean, I don't wonder, I would bet that he does, that he can only be so good of a thrower. No different DAC. Like, I don't think DAC can be that much better.

Like, we've seen the best of DAC, which is pretty good. But as you see sometimes when the games get his hardest, in the playoffs, he just lacks some physical attributes. His arms is kind of average. He's not actually the most accurate guy. And sometimes I think when you have average arm strength, you don't need to be Josh Allen. But you do need to have a strong.

strong arm unless you were the most accurate quarterback in like the history of the NFL, like a Peyton Manning or Drew Breeze, to dominate. And you could argue even Peyton Manning and Drew Breeze had some letdowns in the playoffs. And I'd push back. The reason is because their arms were pretty average. 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'll say it. 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.

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

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. 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 IHeartRadio 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? 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, Keer 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 Hardway and listen now. Okay, let's dive into this little thing we call the Middle Cough mailbag.

It's very easy. You just go to this little app location that they call Instagram. You type in my name, John Middlecough, at John Middlecough, two Fs. A lot of people over the years have spelled it with a 1F, but it has two. And you fire in my DMs. They are wide open. And let's start with Doug. You and Colin Rock, love your pods.

Diehard old school ram fan. What's your take on the Rams wide receiver room? Love Robert Woods, also goes by Bobby Trees, and miss him. but I'm pretty excited about adding Alan Robinson. Wood stats are probably better than Allen's, but Alan played with the freaking bears. It's got me thinking his ceiling is awesome, and I think we really, really need Odo Beckham Jr. back.

Your thoughts? Well, Odo Beckham Jr. got hurt his second ACL in the Super Bowl that was in the middle of February. So there is a chance that Odo Beckham Jr. in 2022 are not happening. I think, listen, the quickness in which guys recover from ACLs is one thing with one. It's another thing with two. Alan Robinson, listen, I love Bobby Trees. Robert Woods, I once upon a time in a draft meeting, compared him to Reggie Wayne. Now, I don't know if he ever quite became Reggie Wayne,

but he's damn good. He's a high character guy, high level guy, awesome player. So anytime that you trade an awesome player, it's a blow. But he did, he does have a torn ACL. You know, I mean, part of it, I think if he's healthy, he's still on the team. Now, Alan Robinson, I think is a good number two. He's not a number one, and ultimately you didn't pay him like a number one. So you get Cooper Cup, who's one of the best players in the league.

You get Alan Robinson, who's immediately one of the top number twos in the NFL, right? And I'm a big Higby fan. You have Matt Stafford. They drafted... I think it was a two-two out well they drafted last year,

a little speed guy? They're going to be fine. To me, they're running back situation needs to be better, but Cam Acres coming off the Achilles. You guys' offense is going to be pretty good. Your team's going to be really good. You are, to me, if I was making a sports book,

you guys would be my NFC favorite. This is such a bad take. Huge fan of your stuff. Just a bad take. The 21 playoffs were by far the most injury-riddled playoffs compared to the bubble or previous years. People got very, very angry about my bubble take. Because they think, again, when I say people, like five people on Instagram.

Because I do not believe the bubble is a real championship. I do not. Just like I believe some of the golf majors were questionable. The L.A. Dodgers won the World Series. It was a 60 game regular season. Now, do I think the Lakers and LeBron and Anthony Davis were a title contender? Of course. Do I think the Dodgers could have won the World Series in a normal year?

Of course. Do I think Colin Moracawa could have won the TPC Harding Park, PJ Championship? Of course. Do I think it was normal pro sports with no fans? Of course not. And nobody I know worth their salt believes that. This is not a Skip Bayless take. Skip Bayless says LeBron sucks. I'm simply saying that playing in a fucking bubble in Disney World was not real basketball. And one of the parts of this statement is like guys that played well in the bubble are still playing well now. Well yeah. Guys who are good at basketball, play good at basketball, wherever you put them.

But my point is that that wasn't real basketball. How do we disagree with that? Just like playing a game at Lambeau Field, empty, is not an actual NFL football game. Now, you play the game against other NFL football players, but I remember was it in New Orleans when the Packers played the Saints. Aaron Rogers on the road was getting them to jump offside

with a hard count. that doesn't take away from like good athletes or good athletes. They would perform well in any situation. But when we're talking championships, when there are no fans, like part of the no fans, we'd never seen that before. So it was glaring we didn't know what we were watching. Two years removed, now watching sports with fans, it's a completely different world.

It just is. And the bubble in terms of they got three months off, LeBron's old. We've seen LeBron since. I mean, he's trended in the wrong way. Anthony Davis can't stay healthy to save his life. Like, listen, I do not take the bubble seriously. I just don't.

And I never will. And no one I know in real life believes that. Not one person. Now, if you're a LeBron diehard, it's going to piss you off. I get a lot of Laker fans in my DMs that are like, yeah, it's not really real. You know why? Because they've seen real championships with Kobe, with Shaq, with Magic. Just like we've seen real all these championships.

Like what Justin Thomas just accomplished in front of all these fans relative to what some of the majors were without fans, it's a different world. That's not saying that what they accomplished in the vacuum of the bubble wasn't impressive. Everyone was playing by the same rules. But it ain't what we're watching right now the last two years with fans at these NBA playoff games. It just isn't.

How could anyone argue that? This is not Skip Bayless's Labor. bronze sucks. Right? I mean, some of these takes, this is not, people gave to, oh, you're Skip Bayless.

No, I'm not. LeBron's the second greatest player I've ever seen. But the bubble championship, simply put, was a joke. I'm all worked up now. Sean in the UK

got a shout out on the mailbag and won't shut up about it and he didn't even ask a question. My question is, with college players now getting paid, could you see the first round draft pick in the NBA or NFL

choosing to skip the draft and sitting out a year instead of going to a shit team, what's stopping them from joining any team the following season as a free agent? Well, I think there are rules. I don't think you can do that. You know, like in baseball, you know, when guys get injured in the draft and, you know, the team doesn't sign them, they're not just eligible to sign as a free agent.

They go back into the draft. So there are like labor laws in the CBA. You know, it's above my head. I'm not some litigator here. I'm just a business major from Cal Poly. But it's not that simple. But I hear you. I don't understand why more players don't do that.

And I think the simple answer is because you get a lot of money. If you're the number one overall draft pick in the NFL, you get $40 million. So Trayvon Walker could have been like, I don't want to go to the Jags, but his agent goes, well, they're going to give you $40 million. NBA is a lot, too. Baseball, a little different. But in baseball, you don't go right to the show. You know, in basketball and football, you get a ton of money. I was listening to a podcast.

Something about Zion. I mean, Zion makes like $10 million, which is not $30 or $40 million, but it's still not nothing. So I don't think, think how often we've seen that in the last couple decades, right? Eli is one of the only guys that stand out. In basketball, it happens every once in a while, but it usually doesn't happen with the number one overall pick. People got really fired up in my DMs about the bubble comment. Like they think I'm like making it up. I'm trying to get a reaction.

I literally don't give a shit about a reaction at all. I despise the media about that craft. I'm simply giving you my take that I don't take the bubble seriously. Listen, I don't take a lot of the playoff games that had empty fans as seriously. I remember watching that Heinzfield Cleveland Brown's game.

Was it impressive that Baker won a playoff game? Of course it was. He beat the Steelers on the road. I'm pretty sure if memory serves me correct, there wasn't a soul in the seats. I mean, what are we supposed to make of it? Like, oh, that was really impressive. Getting hard counts in New Orleans,

the Packers? even Rogers will tell you that's crazy that's insane Hey middle cough mailback question Not a question Ari your discussion on the pod this aim I ran into JT last month

At the Duke Carolina game I'm 6-1-200 He could not be more than 58-165 Because we were talking about On my other podcast The size of Justin Thomas And he's He's yeah five

I think he's 5-9-165-170 You know A lot of these, Roy McElroy is not very big either. If you walk by, Tiger's pretty big. Phil's big. Dustin Johnson looks like a quarterback. But Justin Thomas and Roy McElroy are not big at all. In terms of height or just size.

I could honestly listen to you discuss just about anything. My question is, what about Trevor Lawrence? Are we sure this guy is all in on being a champion? Okay, let's see where this is going. I remember an interview he had with S.I. a while back that Colin also mentioned with him saying that there is more to life than playing football. While his dad described him as not

I want to win a Super Bowl at all costs type competitor. We've seen Burrow and Luck resurrect franchises from the ashes, but Lawrence to me seems he may not be the best leader when things are in turmoil. With him being the best quarterback prospect in decades, should we

have seen more from his performance last year? We're judged when things we are judged when things get tough, like you say. Thoughts? I agree. I'm given a little bit of a pass on the Urban Meyer situation. Like, I mean, that was an embarrassment of all embarrassments. That one, Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck might have been eaten alive.

I mean, that no one could overcome Fraud Meyer last year. Fraud Meyer had absolutely zero business ever coaching a day in the NFL. I said it over and over, just because you're a good college coach, and you go to these programs where you can be, just control absolutely everything, and at the time give huge bags of money when other people didn't have the finances and stack up your team, it ain't the pros. And the pros ate him up and spit him out.

Completely exposed him. But while it was exposing Fraudmire, Trevor Lawrence was caught up in the tornado of the embarrassment. And there was nothing he could do. In fairness to Trevor Lawrence, small town guy, comes from a program that was very, very stable. So you get caught in an environment like that.

I don't even know what you're supposed to do. Their team sucks. their coaching staff sucked. I think we can properly judge them moving forward. Now, I'm with you like, I like my quarterbacks to be win a Super Bowl at all cost, win at all costs. Why do we pay you all this fucking money?

Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, they make $45, $50 million to win at all costs. That's the business they're in. The media always gets so uncomfortable, like, there's more to life. Well, not when I'm paying you, $40, 50 million. When you're the CEO of Wells Fargo and you're getting $75 million,

you better have an unbalanced amount of time toward Wells Fargo. It's kind of the way the world works. If I pay you 50 grand, yeah, you can leave work early. That's, I can't blame you. I pay you $40 million. Like, another thing. You get drafted number one overall and are called the next thing since Andrew Luck. Now, in fairness to him, he hasn't got a generational contract yet.

And they told everyone before, like, football might not be everything to me. You know what it is of Tom Brady? It's everything. You know what it was to Peyton Manning? It was his life. Like, I mean, they can't, on these coaches, do you know what football is to Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVey and Andy Reed?

You think it's just like not win at all costs? They don't sleep at night in the middle of May thinking about winning. Your best player should be like that. So I, yeah, I mean, I don't like comments like that at all. Now, he might be so talented and overcome it, but I'd say the history of the Jacksonville Jags, even Doug Peterson who won a Super Bowl,

it's going to be tough. So that's a comment that I don't love. I'm not going to pretend that it's whatever, overlook it, but we'll see if he's just physically good enough. Their team might not be good enough. I mean, no franchise has just been more screwed up

that has consistently drafted as high as them. Like even the Lions, with Stafford made the playoffs like three times and eight years. We made fun of the Bengals for a while before Joe Burrow. they were making the playoffs all the time with Andy Dolman. I mean, the Jags were, beside the one year when they made the AFC championship game, Google there like last 10 years.

I mean, it's pretty, pretty bad. They said the back-to-back number one overall picks. That's pretty hard to do. I do think there's some pressure on the guy. Now, he didn't say that he was the best prospect. That's a media-driven hype train. And now, I talked to people in the NFL that said that too. So it's not, I think it's everyone.

was saying that. Whether you've got a microphone in front of you or whether you're a scouting director. I know countless people that went through Clemson that swore by the guy as a talent. Now, I said, I didn't love him in New York City. Wouldn't have loved him for the 49ers. He might be able to fly under the radar for the Jacksonville Jax in a weird way for being such a hype prospect. Usually Vegas is right, but having the Saints at seven and a half wins, this seems like a joke, no. The media, use James as a quirky and funny, but I believe he is super talented and matured a lot. With the season additions of Michael Thomas coming back, how does his team not make the playoffs?

Well, Saints fans have been getting mad at me because I'm not as bullish on them. And simply because, listen, James was 5 and 2 with Sean Payton as their head coach. Sean Peyton, and I know if you're listening to this, you're not a Saints fan, a lot of people think he's overrated. Every coach I know in the NFL thinks he's elite. He's damn good. They went 9 and 8 last year with like seven different quarterbacks. Dennis Allen, now granted, his one shot was with a debacle of a Raider franchise at the time. But it's like, how do we know he knows what he's doing at all?

He was a good defensive coordinator. He was a good defensive coordinator when the Raiders hired him. We've seen time and time and time again, being a head coach is a different deal. Does the guy know how to be a head coach? And until he proves it, I'm going to bet against them. Because if you bet against most coaches, you're going to be right. Because most coaches are not going to be Sean Peyton and Andy Reid. Most coaches are going to be Joe Judge and Pat Schumer.

That's just a reality. Like look at all the coaches, like the day balls, all the guys that got hired last year, like, who knows? Some of them are going to fail. Not because they don't know football, but because being a head coach, only a small percent are consistently good. Just a reality of the profession. I know you like to shit on Brandon Staley,

but as a Chargers fan, I think your opinion of them will change this year from negative to positive. He's got the guys on defense. I agree. Mack, Jackson, Day. Listen,

don't get this twisted at all. I think the Chargers have the best roster on paper in the NFL. In the National Football League, the Chargers. I expect them to make the playoffs. If they didn't make the playoffs, every single human should be fired non-player. Because that would be,

it would be borderless, obviously if Herbert got hurt, I'll change my tune, but I saw Herbert today. He weighs 245 pounds. He is like Rafflesberger, but fast and even a bigger arm. He's elite.

Your defense, you're right. You added a bunch of sweet players. So even Brandon Staley, my issue with Brandon Staley was simply, I thought he acts very fraudulent in front of the media because he knows how to play them.

And I can tell when someone knows how to play the media. And the media is an easy mark. And he was doing it last year. And then I watched him coach. And consistently, he went for it on the 18-yard line in a winner-get-in game to the playoffs. Honestly, I mean, seriously. How am I supposed to take that seriously?

On his own 18-yard line. Are we serious? That really happened. He had 82 yards to go in a must-win game against the Raiders on the road. How can I ever look at you? the same. You could give me 8 million spreadsheets on his 18 yard line. 18. So that's my take. Does that mean if he stops doing it, just let Justin Herbert cook, they'll be fine. If their defense is just

solid, they're going to be an 11-12 win team. They have the best roster in the best division in football. Now, to me, there's a ton of pressure on the coach. Hey man, Austin, Texas, love the show, refreshing takes on sports and business. If you ever happen to be a in town for some barbecue and booze. Now you're talking. Happy to cover the fees. Listen, I got a credit card. I can pay.

I know you're a football guy, but more so than basketball. But LeBron often gets mixed with MJ, but I still take Kobe over him along many ex-NBA players, and I'm not even a Laker fan. LeBron versus Kobe, who you got and why. I like Kobe Bryant more, especially the Kobe Bryant that retired before he got in his tragic accident. Kobe resonated with me. I just really, really enjoyed, like, from 38 to his dying days,

Kobe Bryant, the way he talked about life, the whole thing. Just how comfortable he was in his own skin. But LeBron's a better player. I think LeBron, there's a wide gap between LeBron and Kobe. And they're both, you know, Kobe's one of the greatest players of all time. But LeBron's in a different universe. My take, and listen, Laker fans are going to get mad. Kobe's not even the best player.

player of his own generation. That's Tim Duncan. Because Kobe, again, I love the older version. Young version wasn't the easiest to play with. Tim Duncan, like a Tom Brady or Steph Curry, is one of the greatest teammates of all time, on top of being one of the greatest players of all time. And ultimately, you play a team sport. Kobe came into his own at the end. Because again, I'm not hating on Kobe, but he was the second best player on three of his championships. LeBron has never been the second best player on any of his championships. And I think people are getting mad when I say LeBron has three and a half championships,

which I'm doing somewhat tongue and cheek because he actually has four. But I just don't value the bubble. And I say Steph's about to have four. I'm not saying Steph is a better player than LeBron. I just think it's wild that Steph might get four championships and LeBron's got three and a half. That doesn't mean Steph Curry is better than LeBron. I'm just counting championships.

But I would take LeBron over Kobe if I had to take them both at 18. But I like, I just, I like Kobe more. A Seahawks fan here from London. Nervous about the future without Russ, but thanks for giving us such great insight of the NFL. You mentioned Belichick's son, Stephen Belichick, the other day, and I know that Pete Carroll and Andy Reid's sons have both been on their staffs. But how common is it that assistance if their dad wasn't a head coach?

all the best. Well, I mean, my dad was a farmer and I worked in the NFL. If you like football, you love football, you're going to gravitate toward football. Well, if your dad is like your hero and is a great football coach and he teaches you football and you then like football, you're going to coach football, you know? I think a lot of us, you know, do something or aspire, you know, if you look up to your dad when you're young, to do things that they like. And maybe, listen, I've never gone to therapy,

but I would imagine there's some sort of, you know, searching for validation in your life, right? I would guess that's what some therapists say. I've seen enough television shows to know that's usually the route they go. But if you're Steve Belichick or Kyle Shanahan and you idolize your father and then you love playing football

and then your football career ends, you might want to coach football. Now, do you have an easier route? Yeah. but does that mean like was it easier for Kyle Shanahan to get a job in the NFL because his last name was Mike Shanahan? 100%.

Does Kyle Shanahan run circles around the majority of 45 and under coaches in the NFL without question? He knows more. He's been taught at a level that those guys can't replicate. Right?

Just because you do it the right way doesn't mean you're any good. Just because you coach in the NFL as an assistant coach doesn't mean you're worth a shit. yet. I would say half the assistant coaches in the league are not any good, are average at best. And I think, I know players listen to this podcast, they would agree. Like in any industry, there are assistant coaches that are dramatically better than other

assistant coaches. Like there are head coaches that are dramatically better than other head coaches. Just like there are players that are dramatically better than other players. So just because you're someone's son, you might be terrible. But you also might be Kyle Shanahan. Now, I know we've seen Kyle Shanahan. The difference with Kyle and Belichick, I've seen Kyle work for other people. Kyle went to work for Kubiak.

Then he went to work for Dan Quinn in Atlanta. So we saw it like, ultimately, I think Steve Belichick's good. I would imagine Steve Belichick is really smart. But when he's always under his dad's umbrella, we don't truly know. Now, the players on the team know, Devin McCordy could tell you, right?

Richard Heightower, not Richard Heightower, that's special team's coach. Dante Heightower, could tell you, right? The players could tell you. J.C. Jackson could tell you what he thinks of him. But until he goes and becomes the defensive coordinator for someone else and we can kind of see see him stand alone, it's hard to truly know. But the way I would say is if your dad does something at a really, really high level and you spend time around your dad, you're going to have an advantage in life. If you like that. But I also believe like it's hard to be really, really good at

something if you don't truly like it. There are obviously outliers and certain people even listening to this, you're probably good at things that you don't care about that much. But to me, it's hard to maintain being good at whatever you're doing, whether it's a stock trader, whether it's a tennis player, whether it's a carpenter without truly liking to do it. Because the more you like to do it, the more you're going to do and the more you do, the better you get at it. You don't just get better at something without doing it. So I think the kids have a huge advantage if they love football. And here's what I know about being around some football coaches in my day.

You got to love it. You have to love it like you love your wife, your kids. It is part of your life. It's deep in your soul. I didn't have that. I never, I don't think I could have been a GM. Because deep down, deep, deep down in my crevice, in my soul. I don't love it quite enough.

Like, do you know how much, like, John Lynch or Lesneed or Howie Roseman, whoever, just go around. Even GMs that aren't that good, love football. They think about it 24-7, 365. That's where you got to be, man. Getting sweaty here. Turn up my AC. Two questions.

I know you already mentioned it before, but what podcast apps websites do you use for investing stocks and which one specifically for your marijuana investments. I have a brokerage account with Wells Fargo that I use and I have an e-trade account that just has one stock in it. What's it called? Skills. My video game stock is down about 8 million percent. So I do majority of my investing in a Wells Fargo brokerage account and I bank through Wells Fargo. So when I sign into my checking account, it connects to my brokerage account and my savings account. an IRA account. So I buy weed stocks through there.

Also, we've been talking a lot about displacing terrible owners, but why not Spanos? Historically cheap is in legal battle over families' trust and just seems like a miserable human. You know, he must be a pretty good company man. He doesn't piss anyone off, kind of stays in his lane, you know, pays a dollar rent to stand cronkey, kind of realized just lay low. You know, Dan Snyder pisses people off. Dean Spanos, when you say he's cheap because you're wearing a Padre jersey,

he pisses fans off, but the other owners don't care. Like, ultimately, the other owners don't care that Dan Snyder pisses off his own fans. They care that he's creating problems for the league. Right? Like, they got, when Jimmy Haslam does the deal with Deshaun Watson, they got mad because that's a problem for them.

So, Dean Spanos is pissing off San Diego, being a cheap owner, only paying coaches, low minimum wages for coaching salaries. Owners don't care about that at all. Okay, one more. God, I'm kind of exhausted. I want a shout out, brother. I'm from Winters, California. It's like 10-minute drive from Davis. Bro, I know where Winners, California is.

Home of the Buckhorn? Fantastic steak. Steakhouse. We'll go one more. I just listened to your latest pod and something you said about administration made me want to comment and ask my first question. First off, I 100% agree with your take about admin. I come from a wealthy school district.

Jim teachers make six figures, and that has an endless amount of administrators making $180,000 plus. It's such bullshit because they do fuck all. Just wanted to rant a little bit about my disgust for the administration. I like that. My question is about the current state of the NFL. I'm the biggest bear's fan ever. I cry after losses in meaningful games.

Luckily, you guys haven't had that many meaningful games. That was mean. You did have the doy game a couple years ago. And I'm looking for a little optimism, but not necessarily for this season. The NFL is going offensive coaches to become head coaches, and defensive coaches and head coaches are frowned upon. The Bears obviously hired Iberflus, a defensive guy, but isn't it good for them to zag while the NFL is zigging?

I believe the same thing, power, running football. Shouldn't team try to break the mold and not follow the chiefs or build? because most teams don't have Mahomes or Allen. Well, the Bill's head coach is a defensive guy, Sean McDermott. Love listening to you because of your authenticity, even when I don't agree, which much of the things you say. God, it seems like being genuine has lost its value in today's society. See, I don't believe it has. I believe on Twitter it has, but that's not normal society.

I think when you just act normal in society, when you go out to the gym to eat, most people are happy and most people treat each other well. I think you turn on television the news, you open the internet, everyone's really angry. And then you close the internet, you turn off the TV, and you go to a burger joint, you know, you go to the Little League game. And again, this is just my experience. It feels like most people, not that you can't argue and get mad about what you start talking, but everyone's not just strutting around super angry, like the world is ending, even though it might be. The Bears.

I think you guys are just going to be really bad. ultimately, listen, I said I'd always lean an offensive coach, but I'm biased. I work for Pat Hill, offensive line guy, valued offense. Work for Andy Reed, offensive guy. I've had a front row seat now, the two best coaches I've seen just going to practice, Harbaugh, Kyle Shanahan. Now, both Kyle Shanahan and Harbaugh believe in defense and running game. Obviously, Andy's more than the throwing game, but he's a huge believer in the defensive

line. So, listen, if you're a good head coach, you're a good head coach. you know, Mike Tomlin is not an offensive guy and his team always wins. Belichick is a defensive coordinator at his heart and a special team's guy. It's just, it's about being a good coach. If Iber flus or Uber Flus, sorry if I screw up that name,

it's just good, you'll be fine. You'll be fine. The one question I would have, though, you just traded a lot to get a really, really good prospect in Justin Fields. And your franchise these next couple years, let's just say the next three years, is going to go as far

is Justin Fields' development. Like, he's your franchise. Obviously, he needs a good team around him, but if he becomes just the 11th best quarterback in the NFL, he doesn't even need to become a superstar. If he's just the 11th best, he's like a more physically gifted like Dak Prescott. You guys are in good shape.

But how can Uber Fluse, or Eber Fluse, how can he help him out? Besides, like giving him pep talks about life. I just, to me, ultimately, teaching them the game of football, that would be my number one priority, or would have been.

But they went a different route. Now, they're a defensive franchise. They're obsessed with it. And listen, I was one years old when the 85 bears happened. I'm 37. Like, world's changed a little bit. Like, we're never going to see a defense like that again. It's not really, like, you can have really good defenses,

and they're still not great defenses relative to the NFL. It's an offensive league. Not because, like, trending that way. Literally the rules. The rules are the, there to score touchdowns and not mess with offensive players. So I would lean into that. If an industry tells you to do something, like, if you're not, whenever someone asked me, like, what should I do with my business? You know, if they ask a question, I'd be like,

well, get on Instagram, get on YouTube, get exposure. It's like free marketing. You know, that's just, that's the cards we're dealt right now. The cards world dealt in the NFL is like, you can't head hunt. Can't hit anyone. It's hard to play corner. You know, it's easy to get wide open a wide receiver. So I'd want my quarterback to be really good. It's always been you needed a good quarterback, but the rules are on his side now. Just a reality. Appreciate everyone firing in those DMs.

I'll answer a lot. I'm going to put one out this weekend. We'll just keep on swinging. And talk to everyone soon. Peace. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast.

Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars. related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.