The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - OTA Coaching Compromises; Post-Rookie Holdout Era; Tebow PR Stunt; Brady/Arians; Mailbag

Episode Date: May 22, 2021

In this episode, John discusses the compromises coaches have to make in the new world of OTA's as the players and the league continue to battle it out, why the new era of slotted rookie deals has been good for the overall NFL product, why the Tebow signing has been a home run as a publicity stunt, and how Bruce Arians and Brady have prolonged each other's careers. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on Twitter and SUBSCRIBE now to get all the latest content!! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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2022 ES versus 2021-2020-2 competitors. Information for manufacturers' websites as a 5-3-2020. What is up, everybody? A little three-and-out weekend podcast. A couple of things came up Thursday, so we just push it back. The great part is about podcasts,

do whatever you want. This is not a big change or anything. It just happened to play out this week. But we'll see. Some days will be Friday, some days will be Saturday. It'll never stop coming though. That'll be a fact. I got a lot to dive in.

A lot going on right now in the National Football League. Got the PJ Championship on in the background. Sunny day. Good to be breathing. So excited for life. And talk a little football. Talk a little Tibo. And the Middilkoff mailbag, of course, at John Middlecoff is the Instagram handle.

Also, you guys know the drill. guys could subscribe to the three and out podcast leave a review uh if you could five stars talk some shit do whatever you it's up to you a lot of positive reviews on there appreciate it just keep them coming helps out with everything we got going okay one theme that has come out so far the last couple weeks but especially this week has been how the head coaches and the and the general managers and teams and their players have found compromise. And one thing I think I talked about a week or two ago was how the union who wanted to lead a boycott

of the off-season activities really was just representing the elite, the high-end players, and their desires, right? Because, you know, Julio Jones, Aaron Rogers, you just go around the league. The high-end players, I don't know, Julio is just top of mind, But you could use any veteran guy on a big boy contract whose job is secure.

I wouldn't want offseason either. Train on my own, especially if I don't live in the city. But those people in the league were a small percentage of guys. The majority of the league, just like the majority of society, are working class people. And below are fighting for their jobs every day. They're basically the equivalent of what most of us are in the real world at-will employees. their career can end at any moment. Whether you were drafted in the fifth, sixth,

and seventh round, you're not guaranteed a snap. Whether you're a couple-year player into your career on a veteran minimum contract, you can be cut at any moment. So the off-season is very, very big. For one, to get FaceTime around your bosses, to learn new offenses if you're coming from a new team. It's just, it's important.

Now, I think the word that, like I said, is compromised. I saw a bunch of different head coaches have talked about it in their press conference over the last week or two that they worked with their general manager to meet with the players and figure out a way so the off-season wasn't going overboard. And in fairness to the players, like some real issues,

there shouldn't be 11 on 11. And if I've been lucky enough to go to these off-season activities and mandatory mini-camps for a decade, they do get probably too physical at the line of scrimmage. The offensive and defensive line, they're not wearing pads, yet they're still rushing full go. Now they can't sack the quarterback or whatever. but it's probably a little outrageous.

And ultimately the head coaches talked to all their players and they found a compromise that they were going to rein it back a little bit. But that's not abnormal. Isn't that what happens in most businesses? Think about right now that's what's happening in society. Most businesses can't get people to come back to work.

They're making more to stay home. So what have a lot of the big boys done? McDonald's. That's not Bank of America. Raise their wages. Raise the minimum wage. Bank of America came out, I think this week, said, you know, within four years, we'll be at $25 an hour.

You got to compete. You got to compromise. That's the way business works. You should always be compromising, thinking of ways to get better. And I was anti the union on this because I thought a boycott didn't serve any purpose. Now, if that statement was ultimately to threaten the quote unquote establishment to get change, I'll give them credit because it worked. They have created change.

But we all compromise every day. If you're married, you compromise with your wife all the time. If you have children, you compromise with them once they get of age. You're constantly making some sort of deals from where should we eat, whether you get a present, you know, I want a new video game system to compromises you have in your own profession, whatever you do. Like, hey, you know, we want this contract. We're willing to pay $500,000.

Well, it's going to take $600,000. Maybe we meet in the middle. It's $550,000 and we get the deal done. That happens in every single industry. So I give the coaches, and I think they benefit from having a lot of younger progressive coaches. I don't know if you're following the story, but Tony LaRusa, who I thought the media overreacted when he was hired. They're like, I can't believe the White Sox hired Tony LaRosa.

You can't? He's one of the greatest managers of all time. He's probably forgotten more baseball than 90% of the managers inside baseball have ever known or will ever know. His resume speaks for itself. He's probably, you know, top, hell, he might be top three manager of all time. Now, his comments on the unwritten rules of baseball, a star player swinging, you know, on a 3-0 pitch and a blowout game, feels a little out of touch. Tony LaRoucas aren't really into compromises.

Neither are Bill Parcells types. But for the most part in the NFL, they don't exist anymore. They've kind of been weeded out. So you have to be open-minded. Because we all benefit if I'm a coach, if I'm a player, if I'm a GM, if I'm an owner, for having off-season. whether that is, I think the Miami Dolphins, their only practice will consist of you are allowed to wear sandals to ensure that we're not going to be doing anything crazy.

I saw Frank Reich of the Colts said that we've dialed it back a lot. Some teams have said we'll do no 11 on 11. I got the email from the 49ers, their schedule looks like full go, but maybe Kyle's just good with them and they respect him and they know that he's not going to push him too hard. I don't know. Every team is a little bit different.

But it's not abnormal. it's not like you should always be trying to grow and adapt and what makes you know to figure out what's most successful think how many people over Corona have realized I know in my own business how to be more efficient at their job but I got better I would imagine most people in whatever industry you're in you're like yeah we learned a bunch of different stuff now we'll see how times change and where we go from here

but I bet you adapt it sometimes you're forced to adapt and that's good too and so listen I'm someone who will always probably I'm typically going to lean with the coaches and GMs. That's my background. But on this, I will give the players credit if ultimately they wanted just to create some change. And their end game truly wasn't a boycott. Because a boycott didn't happen.

They never sniffed a boycott. But depending on what team you're on, OTAs are no longer as outrageous as they have been. Because there should not be a defensive end over an offensive tackle without pads going full go. What are we doing here? You can't risk. Like maybe we could do this in 2005,

but now that pass rusher, if he's Joey Bosa or Miles Garrett, makes $23 million a year. My offensive tackle, depending on who it is, if it's Trent Williams, might make $22 million a year. That guy's too valuable of an asset

to put in that position. But we do need to practice. We do need to get better. Iron sharpens iron. So we have to find a way to practice and improve. Right? And I think during the season is a good example.

if you just took inventory of every head coach in 1995, I would bet 100% of the NFL wore pads basically 16 weeks a season, right, on their practices, Wednesday and Thursday. I bet if we pulled coaches now the rules inside the CBA you can't. But even if you were allowed to, I bet a lot of them would ramp it back. There aren't a lot of teams late in the season

don't wear pads anymore. One, like I said, there are rules against it, but I think coaches have realized I don't need to once I get, because part of like becoming and establishing toughness is with pads in training camp. But to be a tough team, you need tough guys. You can create, I don't know if you can create toughness. You can improve on toughness, especially if you're around other tough players.

I do think they can elevate guys who are probably somewhere in the middle. But it's hard to take a non-tuff guy and make them a tough guy, right? The reason the Patriots and some of these teams over the years have the Steelers consistently won, is they know who they're looking for in the scouting process. But part of that is developing them in the offseason. And for a split second, it looked like, are we just not going to have off seasons moving forward? And that didn't happen. And we're all going to benefit because part of football, unlike basketball where you can

play five-on-five year-round, there are legendary games that go on in Los Angeles, full of pros. They can just play full-on-five-and-five. Is it the same as like an NBA game? Probably not. but can you get legit reps if you're just going the guy you're checking is an NBA All-Star and you're a backup in the NBA?

How does that not improve you? Right? Where when you're with your teammates and you're going up against, you know, your Pro Bowl cornerback, if you're a third wide receiver, you get better that way. Even if it is just 50%.

Work on your technique, work on the mental aspect of stuff. That's, you know, just a reality of what you're dealing with here. It's hard to duplicate that at some random training facility. in Florida or Texas when none of your teammates are around. So I give the NFL credit, the players union credit, the coach's credit for doing what we all do.

Compromise. If you're not willing to compromise in life, you're going to have a short shelf life in whatever you're doing. Like I said, if you're not compromising with your wife or your girlfriend, that relationship's not going to go along. If you don't compromise in the business world, you're probably not locking down too many deals. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 the time. 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 a 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 was 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 Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this. series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court. and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're not willing to compromise in 2021 when it comes to pro sports, the world's changed. The Tony Larusa's like him button heads over this 3-0 home run feels a little outdated. Like Tony, let it go, buddy. He hit it far.

It's one of your best players. Embrace it. Even if you're not going to embrace it, stop freaking talking about it. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox SportsRadio.com. And within the IHard Radio app, search FSR to listen live. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this Valentine's with 1800flowers.com.

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We've all felt left out. And for some, that feeling lasts more than a moment. We can change that. Learn how it belongs. Belonging Begins With Us.org. Brought to you by the ad council. I saw another headline this week that caught my attention and just got me thinking.

Because I don't know how I hear someone say this name. Michael Crabtree's name somehow came up. And I started thinking like, I remember when he held out. I think he missed several games his rookie year. And think about not that long ago, rookies. And I'm not just talking the number one overall pick, but first round players would hold out

because they were negotiating for enormous contracts. And remember in the 2000s, Belichick would never, ever, like I say a couple times, he would always try to trade back. Now, granted, they were always winning, but he never wanted to have one of those powerful rookie contracts because he was bringing in a guy into his locker room if he traded up to get someone at like 12

who was making more money than the majority of their team. And the headline I saw this week, maybe on my Twitter timeline or pro football talk, that over half the rookies, I mean, we're not even to June 1st, have already signed. And that's the entire draft class. But as we know, it's an outlier situation now when a first round pick is not there for day one at training camp,

let alone misses any time. That is unheard of under the new CBA agreement that started in 2011 and has moved forward because it slotted all the guys. And I was just thinking like, what a great move. And think how crazy it was once upon a time. And clearly the players' union fought for this is to have these players, remember Sam Bradford and Matt Stafford and Adomacan Sue and Matt Ryan

and some of these contracts that the top five guys would get, and some of them lived up to them. A lot of them didn't. And they would sign these 30, 40, 50 million dollars back when that was a lot of money before the slotting happened and guys would fight for a ton of cash. Remember Jamarcus Russell held out forever. Al Davis didn't even have the cash to pay them.

But think how nuts it was that you had to pay this guy like top of the market money. Think how much healthier the league is now. Even when you have a bust in the first round, or even a guy that, let's even say a non-bust, but just a guy that never lived up to the contract but is an NFL player. Like a Solomon Thomas, a Mitch Trubisky.

Back in the day, Mr. Trubisky was, I wouldn't say a disaster. He started a bunch of games for the Bears. Disaster in the sense that when you draft a guy number two overall, you do not want to be Mitch Trubisky. But to me, a bust is a guy that can't play dead into Western. That was not him. He was just a very, very flawed player.

You know, he's probably a good backup, $5, $6 million player. Maybe he can resurrect his career. We'll see. But 15 years ago, instead of Mitch being on a contract that pays him $5, $6 million a year, whatever the equivalent is now is probably making like $15, $20 million. Think of the one of the greatest assets you can have right now, and we talk about it all the time.

Josh Allen, Mahomes, Baker Mayfield right now, all the dudes that were just drafted in this class, right? Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Tray Lance, Justin Fields, and Mack Jones. If three of five of those guys are good, the number one thing we'll say about them all beside them being good players is how great their contract is and how you can cook the books on your team

because instead of having a $30, $40 million quarterback, you got a guy making 5, 6, 7, 4, 3, however much depending on where you were drafted, you're making. It's an incredible contract relative to the salary cap. And it got me thinking like, how stupid was that? We all lived through it.

I mean, back, I was like in college when these holdouts used to happen, we all smelled, what the hell is going on? I understand where the team was like, I don't want to pay this guy $70 my $5 million. I don't want to give him the biggest signing bonus in the history of my franchise.

At least when you sign a free agent, and they don't all work, you're at least paying a guy who has a resume in the National Football League. Now, ideally, good contracts, you're paying a guy for what he's going to do moving forward, not what he did in the past. Think about like the angels will pull.

Wals, one of the worst contracts of all time, because they paid him on what he did in the past, then he couldn't live up to it, right? But when you buy a guy like Bryce Harper or Mike Trout, like if they keep producing, even on their max contract, you feel pretty good about it. But the reason they get Mike Trout got like $400 million or Mookie Betts or the dude Lindor or some of these guys, right, Aaron Rogers, these guys that signed big contracts, Russell Wilson in the NFL, it's based on what they've done in the league. Now, whether they maintain and sustain living up to that money,

Only time will tell you that. But you at least sleep better, like when you've, quote, even paying Dak Prescott, who I do not love paying Dak Prescott $40 million a year. But I know for a fact that I can win games with Dak Prescott. And then he can play at a pretty damn high level in the league. Now, is it $40 million? We can nitpick the money. But I know I'm getting a high-end, you know, top 12 starting quarterback in the league.

Ideally, you want to pay the Mahomes, the Russell's, Aaron Rogers. don't even lose a minute of sleep. Because you go, I'm winning big with this guy. I want this guy and never want him to leave. Can you imagine that some of the contracts that used to get handed out to rookies? And basketball used to be like this too. I remember growing up,

but football was really, really bad up until 2011. And remember part of, I mean, I lived it, even though I was the lowest guy in the totem pole, didn't quite know what was going on, but it was not a strike. It was a lockout. It was terrible for business. And it has benefited everyone, right?

It was not a benefit to the players because most of the players in the league at a given time are not going to be top 15 picks. Like we always talk about, the reason for the compromise because most of the league is going to be second, third, fourth round picks, contracts would not that much guaranteed money. Yet these guys, they're immediately better than majority of them, right?

And a lot of them, 50% of first round picks don't even become good players, getting an astronomical amount of money. think how much that limited teams. So it is crazy, and it's just the league, the players deserve credit too because they had to sign off on. Everyone just got more efficient

because we should never be at a point where a rookie is not just immediately slotted, he doesn't immediately show up. Think about most of your jobs, right? When you graduate college, like there's not that much negotiation. Even for a guy that's draft, Trevor Lawrence, who's number one overall elite talent,

there shouldn't be that much negotiation. Here's your contract, here's the number, Here's the slot. Sign it. Let's rock and roll. What's your leverage? Right? Well, I made seven pro.

No, never played a snap. You know, you didn't. We're offering you an astronomical amount of money based on what previous guys have made in the last three or four years. At this slot, it goes up a certain amount of percentages every year. Let's rock and roll.

We don't get any holdouts. Besides like Roquan Smith, remember something about, remember the penalties with leading with your helmet, if you missed a game, a game check. It was something really, really like in the nitty-gritty of a contract, which turned out to be stupid. It hasn't been an issue at all.

But to me, he's the only guy I can remember of recent memory that there's been any issue in training camp. Most guys, day one of training cap, rookies all there. Like I said, fans benefit, teams benefit, players benefit, the whole league benefits. They got this one right. It feels like the news of the day, the news of the, you know, Thursday, Friday, heading on to the weekend. In a weird way, it's felt like a 14th.

gone conclusion, even though nothing officially happened, Tebow finally officially signed. And we've been talking about this now for a couple weeks. I've obviously said my opinion on just how I don't think it's that relevant. I think people overreacting to bringing him to camp. 90 guys go to training camp. If you ever have the opportunity to go to training camp, beside the starting unit, you probably aren't going to know most of the backups, let alone the third stringers. To me, my overall opinion on the signing is kind of what. whatever. Now, I do understand Urban Meyer, is he doing his guy a favor? Whatever. But overall, I think it has no impact, especially on a losing team. If a good team, the Steelers, Seattle,

you know, a team that has a long history of winning Baltimore, I'd be like, yeah, it's kind of weird. Why the hell are they doing that? Hint, they wouldn't. But the Jags, I think it makes some sense. I've kind of come to this conclusion. I think there's a chance. Now, I'm not going to claim that Urban isn't the driving force and wasn't open-minded and okay with having them on the team. But I would imagine that Urban sat down with the owner and the owner might have not obviously facilitated because he has to sign off on anything that any player you sign,

but was behind it 100% and might have pushed this over the finish line. The Jacksonville Jags, I was going to say the most irrelevant team in sports, but that's impossible because the NFL is infinitely more popular right now than the other two sports. So who is the most irrelevant team, let's say, in like the NBA or baseball? The Jags are a bigger deal.

But in terms of football, and in terms of the country club that Shod is in, with the other 32, and there's really more than that because they're minority owners, but with all the other billionaires associated with the NFL, his property is the most irrelevant, right? They have been consistently the shittiest. their market is, I don't know if it's technically, it's not smaller in Green Bay or whatever, but obviously the Packers are, you know, on their worst day, the Jaguars would sign up for that. So when you factor in smaller market, you factor in, they never win. I mean, they always, look how many times they've drafted in, not in the top 10, but the top 5 over the last decade.

So they had the one-off season where they made the championship game. But other than that, like, they're where players go to eventually demand to get traded or leave. It's a long history. And you want some positive buzz. Hell, you just want some buzz. And Trevor Lawrence is not some polarizing figure or even some guy who's going to get in front of a mic and just kind of move the needle.

I don't ever remember really hearing Trevor Lawrence talk. Urban is, but what can he really say until they start playing games? I think Tebow, and I saw Schefter Instagram, a visual of Tebow who's wearing 85, because he's playing tight end. And his jersey was like the number one selling jersey the last 24 hours. I can't believe someone would pay $120 for a T-Boh jersey.

But I think a lot of people in Florida would say, hell yeah, I would. He's my favorite player ever. Because of the University of Florida's, I don't really geographically, I don't have a great feel for Florida beside Miami. It's at the south tip. But clearly there are going to be a lot of Florida fans in that state.

And probably in the Jacksonville region. Isn't the largest cocktail party in the world happen? Jacksonville, Florida versus Georgia? That's the game. And he's one of the most popular players in the history of college sports, let alone that little region where college football reigns supreme. If I was in Shod Khan's seat and Urban Myers, like, what do you think? Like, you know, I'm not expecting much out of this.

Do I want the hoop law and all that comes? he really wants to be on the team. We don't have anything to lose. If I was Sean, I would say, Urban. I don't not only think that's a good idea. I think we should do that. It gets our name and the headline more. Love it or hate it.

You got people talking about the Jags. I've talked more about the Jags in the last four months than I have for five years. Easily. Even the year they won is like, whatever. Blake Bortles, right? They had some sweet defensive players. I like Malik Jackson.

Obviously, Jalen Ramsey was sweet. Yannick and Dockway. They had really good players, but they're not on a national show. Definitely, I'm someone that lives on the West Coast. Like, I lean some of the bigger brands. I'm never talking about that franchise. I talked about them on my podcast earlier this week when Urban moved Travis E.N. Obviously, Urban is just a guy that's going to be, people are going to have an opinion on.

But Tebow definitely is going to be that player. And it doesn't, good or bad, who cares what they're saying as long as they're talking about you. 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, Clivert 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 the time. TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little 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 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.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this. series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to fly.

He run up the court licking his fingers while he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Oh, yeah. Get your ass up and down the court. and you're going to get the balls. So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's the famous line?

There's no such thing as bad publicity. There's just publicity? I think it kind of rings true. Like, what is publicity? What does that even mean anymore? Like, the segmented nature of the way we talk about stuff, people on Twitter, people on Facebook, people on social media, you just want people talking about you.

You know, the franchise, back to the original point, couldn't be any more irrelevant. Now, to me, you would have like a strong opinion if they had given them $5 million or something outrageous. They didn't guarantee a penny. They could cut them tomorrow. To me, it's one of the most overhyped, just people acting super fired up.

Because how could you be that fired up? How could you care that much? It really does not matter. Now, if some of the players on the team had a strong opinion about it and voice it, some of the coaches, which they wouldn't because Urban would fire them, but if it gets out anonymous players, anonymous coaches, then we'll have a thing.

I know there was a story that some anonymous coaches on the staff were anti-doing it. Like, would you have the balls? Year 1 of Urban Meyer telling reporters, like you're not on board, especially when you know which way it's trending. I doubt it. I don't think that's possible.

You'd have to be an idiot to risk that. Now, you could argue some of the assistants now make so much money and they're already so rich, who cares? Your opinion's getting out no matter what. But that's not you. usually the way the NFL works. So I think there's a little bit of an overreaction. My gut says that while Urban, you know, Tebow are clear,

their relationship is well documented, it wouldn't shock me at all if the owner of this franchise, who is a great businessman and has been a terrible, terrible NFL owner, terrible sports owner. I mean, he's right now easily one of the worst sports owners in all of baseball, basketball, football, people have DM me before his European soccer teams are a joke. He's bad.

Great businessman, awful owner. That just wants to get something positive or just people talking about his franchise and clearly at work. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this valentines with 1-800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more. Surprise your Valentine with 1-800flowers.com. Right now, get the 18-stem enchanted rose medley for 3,000.

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Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too. Because when we disconnect from this and connect with this, We reconnect with each other The forest is closer than you think Find a forest near you and start exploring

At Discovertheforest.org Brought to you by the United States Forest Service And the Ad Council I saw Bruce Ariens Say that he is in no rush to retire That he's loving what he's doing And everything's going really well And I thought about this

We have seen so many instances The last several years of teams hiring the wrong coach or just a team hiring a coach who's not good and that team regardless what players are on it immediately fail. We know now

it's not that you don't even need an opinion on this, it's a fact. You cannot win in the NFL without a good coach. Consistently. It's impossible. And Bruce Ariens like is he a top two or three coach? I don't know but he's clearly on the upper

echelon of coaches. It took him a long time to get hired, right? He didn't get hired to the Arizona Cardinals' job until he, I think, you know, early 60s. Right now, mid to late 60s. So he did not get his shot, despite coaching forever. He was a head coach in the 80s at Temple, and then he just had to be an assistant coach for a long time in the NFL.

And had a lot of success. But even the Steelers, where he was the offensive coordinator, the Roonies were so old school, they hated how often he passed. And they essentially fired him. right but it's been proven when Bruce Ariens is your head coach your team is going to be good and if you get the right quarterback or like Carson Palmer you stay healthy you're going to be a factor in the playoffs you're going to have a chance to win a Super Bowl and last year the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a Super Bowl but if Tom Brady would have ended up on a team with an average

hedge coach because remember his options were somewhat limited when he left new England once he decided like bill Robert Kraft I am not going to be the quarterback of the Patriots and Thinking back, if I would have told Patriot fans, you know, should you have just kept him two years, $50 million? And listen, we've gone over this a million times, whether he would have stayed, whether Belichick even wanted him back, whether it was just time, he'd given him 20 plus years, they had won six Super Bowls, he'd give them a ton of a discount. Sometimes in life it's time to just go your separate ways.

That's a healthy thing to do. Like sometimes, I think divorce has this negative connotation. every single person I know that have been divorced, they're always happy. They're always so dramatically happier than they were pre-divorce. Every fucking single one of them. And now in my mid-30s,

I know several people that are my age who are divorced and they're happy. I said, thank God I'm not married to her anymore. And I'm sure I don't know, not friends with that many women who I'm sure they could say the same things, right? I'm glad I kicked him to the curb. It goes both ways.

Now, is Belichick super happy? We'll find out if Mac Jones is good. But last year, Cam Newton, like, sure as hell wasn't Tom Brady. but Tom Brady benefited because the Niners last year said no and it was like, where are his options? And I remember, I'll give Florio some credit on this one.

He's like, I don't see the options for Tom Brady. Who was taking Tom Brady? And there was like, would the Raiders take him? And Gruden was like, you know, Derek's cheaper. Even if the Raiders had taken them, which it kind of felt like was an option, would that have been a good fit for Tom? Like, are we even sure John's good?

Like, what, part of Tom winning? Like one thing's had now, all those years in New England and the one year in Tampa, good coach. At this point in time, Tom could probably overcome an average coach. But he would not have won big without a big time coach. Like they won the Super Bowl. Part of what Ariens brings to the table is Todd Bowles. Todd Bowles is Aryan's dude. Why?

Because he coached him at Temple. They've known each other for 35 years. Their relationship is longstanding. Right? he brought Todd to Arizona. Boom, Todd gets fired from the Jets. He brings him to Tampa. And we all know a big reason Tampa

kicked the crap out of the Chiefs was the defense. Their defense is elite. Todd Bowles' top two or three defensive coordinator in the league. So sometimes we talk about a relationship. Clearly the bucks needed an upgraded quarterback. But Tom just couldn't go to

some random team with some random coach and just expect to win. That would not have happened. Hell of Tom. Tom would have gone to San Francisco last year, even though I think Kyle's really good. They had so many injuries. He ain't going to win the Super Bowl.

They would not have won the Super Bowl with Tom Brady. Because Tampa just has much better players. Once you factor in all the guys that got hurt. So it just sometimes relationships like are mutually beneficial. We always act. I'll never forget we had Prague Marate, who is the contract negotiator on for the 49ers on my other podcast. Haberman Middlecuff, check it out.

You can find it on YouTube as well. and he told us and listen sometimes you know GMs and personnel will say things because it sounds good but I do believe him and I do think a lot of people in the NFL say this and I would imagine a lot of fans

are like yeah he's lying he said you never want to do a deal where you don't feel like it's a win win you don't want it like sometimes and listen I'm guilty of this but fans and people in my shoes will be like oh they fleece them it happens a lot in like baseball

and basketball. It happens occasionally in football, but for the most part, like, in basketball whenever you trade for a James Hardin, it's like, oh, we fleece the rockets, you know, we fleece the hornets to get Anthony Davis, right? Billy Bean and his crew have been fleecing other GMs for decades, right? But I would even imagine if you ask Billy Bean,

like, we're not trying to screw over anyone. We're trying to do a legitimate deal. What you think is fair and what I think is fair, because ultimately you have to get people to say, yes, all do the deal. And Billy, you know, my first year doing a host in a radio show, Billy traded Josh Donaldson. Next year, the dude won the MVP for the Blue Jays.

That was an L for Billy. So it's not like anyone's perfect, but I think, ideally, and I think about this often, you know, when I'm looking in the real estate market for Arizona, going back and forth, like, am I too obsessed with finding the right deal? Is it okay to overpay for a little bit? Obviously, there are a lot of factors like, could the economy crash or did the economy get a boom?

Who knows? but you got to think about this like are you always trying to win a deal? Think about this when I invest in stocks like if it doesn't go up 50% within a couple months it's okay if you lose for a little while

it's okay take a deep breath you have to be patient you have to be okay you're going to win some you're going to lose some just try to do deals that you think are going to work right

and Tom got a little lucky because his options were a little limited that the Bucks had a really good coaching staff because you could argue just the roster alone was worth, obviously, Tom, to go to two years, 50 million. But he benefited a lot that Ariens capitulated

and they got on the same page as the season went on. But really, the defense was fantastic. And a big reason the defense was fantastic was because Ariens bowls his Ariens. Like, that's a package deal. You know, and Tom's going to benefit it again this year because, you know, just because I think it's so fresh, taught out of New York,

he probably get another head coaching job, but they bring back the whole coaching staff. They not only bring back the whole team, they bring back the whole coaching staff, which we know is big time. Like Lefwich and Todd Bowles, Leftwich will be a head coach in the league, and Todd Bowles, more than likely,

is going to get another shot in the NFL. I feel really confident about that. I think New York is really bad fit. And listen, I don't know. I like Todd. He was always cool to me. I don't know if he's actually a head coach, but, you know, his resume is going to be so good as a coordinator,

especially if they win like back-to-back Super Bowl, he's just going to get another shot. And his personality, he's just a little quieter. He's not Mr. Media, which I think sometimes we make too much of that. But as a head coach, you do, like, one of Bruce Ariens' positive attributes is he can hold down a press conference.

You know, he's very comfortable in that. And, like, he'd be a great podcaster. Why he likes to talk? You know, he's a talker. Sometimes when you're not a talker, we don't give you the benefit of the doubt. We don't give you a, if you don't have equity, Belichick doesn't talk.

No one cares. He wins. Has all these rings. But before I was, you know, when I was a kid, that was like people, talked a bunch of shit about Belichick that he couldn't handle a press conference in Cleveland because his personality is terrible. But no one cares about your personality once you start winning. But when you have nothing to base it off of, we kind of judge you higher. That's why Aryans, I think,

got the benefit of the doubt originally. It's put in front of press conference and kicks ass. When guys are bad at press conferences and you haven't done anything or you're not winning, we immediately sell you down the river. We think you stink. So I don't blame Ariens. I wouldn't go anywhere either with that team. But I think it's been one of the more under, we don't talk about it a lot because Belichick and Brady. Well, I think Belichick Ariens, or excuse me, Aryans, Brady and even you can throw in bowls, has been a pretty damn healthy relationship and has been pretty, you know, mutually beneficial for just some high level guys, obviously Tom the highest given his resume, but the other two guys are pretty big time too. The other two guys know what they're doing.

And that's why they, I think it's fair to say, are the favorites, definitely in the NFC. We'll see how the chief's offensive line comes together. I think they're very bullish on it. But, you know, the two teams that are in the Super Bowl are the clear favorites

to be in the Super Bowl again, as they should be. Okay, let's go. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middilcoff is the Instagram handle. The direct messages are wide open,

unlike the fairways at Kiowa. So you just got a lot of lane. Fire on in those DMs and get your questions answered here on the show. Jack, why did the Niners cut Marquise Lee? I don't know if we talked about this last week, but one thing that happened during rookie minicamps

is you were limited on the amount of people you could bring in in terms of undrafted free agents. So what some teams did, the Niners are an example of this, the Giants I know are an example of this, they brought in veteran players on a tryout basis. The Giants, I think, brought in, I wanted to say Devin Funchis, but I think that's the wrong guy. Kelvin Benjamin.

I get Devin Funches and Kelvin Benjamin mixed up. They brought in Kelvin Benjamin. The Niners brought in Marquis Lee. You basically give them a workout. And to sign them, you know, they clearly must have had a solid workout. But Markees Lee, it's not like they signed them to make the team. And I saw today that they signed Benny Fowler. So, yeah, I mean, you just, when you sign these contracts as an older veteran

player with no guaranteed money, your position to any moment could be taken away. It really is what makes, you know, the NFL so unique is most of these contracts. You just, it's not set in stone. Appreciate the Pod. As a longtime Pat's fan, I wonder if a trade package around Gilmore and draft picks for Julio Jones would put us back in contention in the AFC East. It makes sense from Atlanta's point of view, as they need. need cornerback help, and the Patriots would give Mac Jones the ultimate weapons.

Good running back room, solid O line, three weapons, tight ends, and the paths would have recently only really drafted cornerbacks well, so I find finding a replacement. Yeah, I don't think that's crazy. I mean, I would definitely think about doing that if I was the Falcons. I would imagine the Patriots are very, very interested in Julio Jones. The problem with Julio is a little bit you know, the money is complicated for some of these teams because technically I think if he gets traded after June 1 is at $15 million, which isn't that much money in free agency, this is what I never understand. When you're going to trade a player, trade him when his value in free agency, when teams have a bunch of cap space. They 100 million could have got like a second round pick for Julio Jones in free agency. when teams had unlimited cap space.

There were a ton of teams with a lot of space. Instead, they wait. Clearly, these rumors have been going on for a while. Why didn't they pull the trigger in the middle of March? Especially when you know you're the fourth overall pick and you're probably going to get Kyle Pitts. Worst case scenario, you just drafts Jamar Chase there. I don't get it.

Some of these teams, instead of being proactive, they're reactive. Now, if they end up getting a second round pick, but maybe you could have got more like a second and a fourth. I don't know. I think you would have had a bidding war. I just stumbled across your profile and saw that you were a scout for the Eagles. I'm actually a huge Eagles fan and I'm wanting to go into sports management in the future. If you don't mind, I was just wondering how you got into the field, the best way to gain experience.

I'm double majoring, so this is clearly not a Instagram question. I'll answer that guy manually. Most of you guys listening have probably heard the story. Don't need to rehash Middlecoff's ascension in college football to the pros, to radio, to fire it in multiple places to now podcaster. Hey John, any thoughts on the whole Kwame Brown situation? Typically, I hate stories like this. You know, I would never have followed it,

but I've clicked on Kwame Brown a couple times. I don't know if I'd be messing with Kwame Brown. So I'm on team Kwame. You know, just, I got no problem. If people are going to talk shit about you, talk shit back. You know, if a bunch of guys are going to keep ripping you, this is, there's a million different platforms. go on Instagram, go on YouTube.

And I do think Kwame Brown is talked about like Jamarcus Russell, where when you Google you're like, damn, he had a 12-year NBA career. He made $65 million. If you would have asked me before this whole thing broke out with him going after basically everyone who's ever said a word about him, how many years did Kwame Brown play in the NBA? I would have said five. He played 12. I don't think he's as bad as the perception is about him.

and clearly he's not happy. And I don't blame him. I saw someone on the internet said that, like, he's got kind of a crazy family, so I would be careful messing with him. I've got a mate from Australia on the International Player Pathway Program with the Eagles.

Four selected teams are allowed an extra roster spot for an international pathway player. We talked about this last, I think, either Tuesday or last week with international players. I didn't know much about this pathway, but it clearly is a thing.

guaranteed two-year contract on the practice squad can be elevated at any time to playing on the roster, guaranteed two-year's contract. That's a pretty good deal. I did not know about these guys. I know the Eagles, I guess I knew they had that guy from Australia

that was a rugby player and they taught to play offensive line. I didn't know he went through the pathway. I thought they just found him like on rugby film. But yeah, I mean, I... When I, my first couple years, I was a pro scout and I used to watch like... I forget what the league was called.

called the UFL. Remember the Sacramento had a team. Nebraska had a team. I think there was a team in Texas. There was a team, I think, in Florida. Whatever leagues are going, you watch. I also, my second year was pretty involved in looking at college basketball

and a different undersized power forwards that might project either defensive end or tied end. Guys that had a football background, I used some of my NBA contacts. I remember back then, I had a buddy who was an NBA scout, and he would mark down guys that he thought were like not going to be NBA or even international players. There were like six four power forwards, you know, at random Division I schools that he's like,

I think this guy could be, you know, an NFL player. That was actually something I met through, I met a scout through Guy Haberman, who I did the other podcast with, who was college basketball games, who still does for years in college. You just get to meet scouts, and then I got to meet them. and you just kind of create this other, you know, kind of web of knowledge that kind of helped me out. And I was able to do, we didn't end up signing any of them, but we definitely looked at them. The CFL was, I had the CFL one year. I actually flew to BC, Vancouver.

That place is badass. I went to Whistler one time in college to go skiing. I think it's the last time I've skied in my life. That was probably 15 years ago. I think I got a torn MCL, so I probably my knee would go. but when we went skiing in Whistler, it was like early on in December, so there wasn't any snow. It was actually pretty shitty.

It wasn't very good. But when I went back for the scouting tr, Whistler was sweet. I mean, the parties, the nightlife, it was badass. But when I went back to Vancouver to go to the BC Lions game and scout this defensive lineman, who he tried to sign, who ended up staying back, they gave a big raise, I remember thinking Vancouver is badass. That city is sweet.

I've had buddies that have gone to Toronto. I've always heard good things about Toronto. I've never been. But the one time I went to Vancouver, if you're ever thinking about it, Pacific Northwest, you're in that area. I want to go to Vancouver. I would recommend Whistler too if you're into snow

and skiing and stuff. Same with the summer. It's probably sweet too. Whistler, Vancouver, badass. Been to both once. Thought both were sweet. That'll do it. Have a great weekend.

Yeah, have a good weekend. Adios. If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts? I'm here to tell you that 1800flowers.com is your ultimate birthday gifting destination. 1,800 flowers has thoughtful and artfully created options that are guaranteed to deliver the best birthday surprise.

Shop thousands of unique gifts at 1,800flowers.com for exclusive offers and great values. To order today, visit 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. That's 1,800flowers.com slash tune in. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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.

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 AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.