The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Pats Run Over Bills MNF Reaction, Steelers Culture, Minshew Moment, Joe Brady Crash, Mario 2 The U, Mailbag

Episode Date: December 7, 2021

John reacts to the Patriots grinding out a road win over the Bills while throwing only three passes, and gives some bright spots for Buffalo in the loss. He also recaps week 13 action, including the Steelers last second win over the Ravens, the return of Minshew mania in Philly and his viral moment with his pops, gives his take on offensive coaching prodigy Joe Brady getting fired in Carolina, and his take on Mario Cristobal leaving Oregon to return to The U as HC. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag.Make sure to follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Becoming a magician takes thousands of hours, right, Ashley? Oh, I'm not a magician. I'm a design specialist at the container store. But you transform closets and pantries. Well, I turn your most frustrating spaces into ones you love. With a magic wand? With Alpha. Our customizable, adjustable, and affordable shelving and drawer system.

The amazing Ashley, making daily frustration disappear. Just doing my job. Hurry, you only have until February 13th to save 20% when you purchase $500 in Alpha. Get started with your free design at the container store today. What is going on? How we doing? Three and Out podcast. It's not quite as cold as it just was in Buffalo, Monday Night Football, Patriots.

Manhandle the bill. We'll dive into that game. And yeah, I have several thoughts immediately. I came right into the office, fired up the podcast equipment, and said, time to roll. Because that was a throwback game. We'll dive into it in one second. Some thoughts on Gardner Minchu, some thoughts on the Steelers, some thoughts on Joe Brady getting fired from the Carolina Panthers. Mario Cristobal goes to Miami.

Venables goes to Oklahoma. We'll cover it all. and then of course the Middlecoff mailbag. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram. At John Middlecoff. Slide up into the DMs and get your questions answered here on the Middle Coff mailbag. Also, subscribe to the podcast, share the podcast with your friends. If you have it, leave a review.

Would greatly appreciate it. Let's dive into what we just witnessed the Patriots and the Bills. Patriots win the game 14 to 10. The first thing that comes to my mind was an Al Davis line. Just win baby. And I think sometimes football, and I think it parallels a lot of things in life. Whoever the best is at their business, at their industry, typically has like a go-to move. And in football, most coaches that are really successful have a specific scheme,

have a specific thing they do. And it's hard for them to scrap that thing in specific big games to do other things. right, to be like a chameleon and just do whatever it takes to win that individual game. It's not even them being stubborn or hardheaded. Just when you're anyone at the highest level, you know what works for you and you stick with it. And sometimes it fails. And I think the greatest attribute to the greatest coach in the history of football. And I think you could argue in arguably the history of all of sports in Bill Belichick is that he has no scheme.

that he truly does not care. There is no ego when it comes to his game plan. He will do and tell his coaches and dictate a game plan and just a philosophy on every individual opponent, whatever that opponent needs to win that game and whatever the weather dictates for his team. All he cares about is at the end of 60 minutes, he has more points.

And that sounds very, I don't, trivial might be the wrong word, but very rudimentary, very basic. But I don't think I can overstate how coaches want to do what they want to do. Bill has no scheme. You heard Peyton talk about it tonight when you face their defense and he's a defensive guy. They have no tendencies. He will do whatever it takes.

Offensively, over the years. When they got Randy Moss, they'll throw deep. When they got Cory Dillon, they'll run the ball. When they got Grunk or Welker, they're dink and dunk. They will do whatever it takes. He just won a game in a crazy weather with his first. first round quarterback. He spent all this money on tight ends.

He spent all the, he bought some wide receivers. He threw the ball three times. And on Max's first pass attempt, Josh McDaniels screamed at him. He clearly checked into a pass. They did not want to do that. That was a game plan that was purely dictated on the weather. And then it kept working because the Buffalo Bills, and I tweeted this during the game,

like why don't they get into a goal line situation? Now, I understand you get into a goal line situation. If they have a couple wide receivers on the field, you can't cover them. But by about the second quarter, the man on the moon, my mother in Davis, California, all of us listening to this podcast and myself sitting on the couch knew that the Patriots were not going to throw the ball. They had zero intention to throw the ball. They didn't call any pass plays.

They were only going to run the football. It was a coaching clinic by Bill and Josh of just being simple. I'm like, we're not overthinking this one. We're going to run it up the middle and we're going to run it on the edges all fucking night long. And until you stop it, which the bills never did, 44 carries and 229 yards in a touchdown and just dominating on the ground, just bullying their defense. We're not going to change. We do not need to throw.

We're not doing this for style points. We don't need style points. All we care about is wins, division championships, and Super Bowls. We don't care how you judge us, what you say about us. We do not care. And we also are going to play to our strength.

We're running the ball. It's being effective. And our quarterback doesn't have a strong arm. And in a situation where there's 30, 40 mile an hour wins, it's not conducive to have Mack throw. Mack's out there in a scuba suit because I saw someone on Twitter posted. That's what Brady used to do in the cold.

That's smart. Mac Jones is not used to that type of weather. I don't blame them. Most people aren't. Right? Josh Allen is, because he's played in Buffalo in Wyoming. And he has a big arm. But to me, that was a clinic by Bill Belichick

of just coaching 101. And I think a lot of times we give a lot of credit to coaches for, you know, being geniuses and being, having crazy plays and doing things we've never thought of. But that game looked like something you would see in high school football in 1992. That looked like NFL football in 1976.

And he's just, he does not care. he will do whatever it takes to win. And that was an enormous win. They have had good wins this season. They're eight and four coming into the game. That was easily, I don't even think there's a close second, the most impressive post-Bradie win for Belichick. I don't think it's close.

I really don't. To go into Buffalo, what was on the line in this game, clearly it was a huge night for Buffalo, the fan, and to win like that with three pass attempts, let me repeat, three pass attempts, tip my hat. It's just, he's the best coach ever, and he runs the best operation we've ever seen.

No, it's not coincidence that the two arguably the best NFL coach and the best college coach, both underdogs, both, oh, they shouldn't win either game, both of them won. And let's, I know this, the score of the NFL game was much closer than Bama, Georgia, but they dominated. They dominated the game. That was, as just a fan of football,

that was enjoyable to watch. Now, let me go to the flip side. I said this was the biggest game, Sean McDermott and Josh Allen in the regular season have ever played. And I think Sean McDermott, listen, I like the guy. I worked with him for a year in Philly. He is a very, very impressive individual. He's a good football coach. Tonight wasn't his night because he's a defensive guy.

He's a tough guy. And his team got bullied. His team got shoved around. And really, there wasn't anything you could do. Right? Because after like the 10th play, it was so clear they were going. going to run the ball. That's all they were going to do.

They didn't even contemplate passing. It wasn't, they weren't even options to check into. It was just Mac, call the play, hand it to our running back, and we're going to shove it down their throat. The bills knew it. Everyone in the stadium knew it. Sean McDermott knew it. And they couldn't do anything to stop it.

And sometimes it's just, that's pretty basic, but I don't think we need to overthink this one. The Patriots shove them around. The Patriots, the underdog, it's weird to say, but they're, This isn't the Brady era anymore. Shove the bills around. Who I think for most of us, like a month ago, we're a Super Bowl-type favorite.

I can't look at them like that. They can't beat the Patriots at home when their quarterback attempts three passes. Now, on the bright side of the game for the bills, is there's a reason that I like big-arm quarterbacks because I think they matter in the northeast and in the middle of the country, in the AFC and NFC North in December and January.

in places like Kansas City, in places like Pittsburgh, in places like New York, in places like New England, in places like Buffalo. It matters. And if you saw it at night, the bills cannot run the ball like the Patriots. They don't have that capability. They don't have the talent on their offensive line,

and definitely their running backs aren't as good as the Patriots running backs. I don't blame them for that. Their quarterback, though, has a hose. And you saw it a night into the wind, it didn't look any different than him throwing with the wind. You could not tell. I thought Josh Allen, I know he's 15 to 30.

His box score does not reflect. I thought he was excellent tonight. I thought he was really good given the circumstances. I thought Dawson Knox was terrible. Drop several passes. Diggs on the one and I get, it's probably moving in the wind. He hit him in the hands.

I thought Josh Allen, like, listen, if I was a Bill's fan, I would definitely be down. I bet a lot of money on the bills tonight. That sucked. But as a fan of Josh Allen, the football player, I left impressed. I left that's a guy you can win big time playoffs games with.

Their defense has to be better because you saw Mac Jones didn't have to do shit. I've been saying this for a while and I like Mac Jones. You saw what Peyton said tonight. He reached out to Mac Jones. Mac Jones says he wasn't allowed to talk. The Patriots tonight. Mack's an impressive guy. He is infinitely more mature than probably 99% including myself.

People listening to this podcast were at his age. He's very impressive. I can't imagine how difficult it is being. his position as like the savior since Brady. He has been awesome this season, given what they've asked. He just won a game on the road against a playoff team throwing the ball three times. That to be sums up the New England Patriots. And there's nothing wrong with that. Jimmy Garoplo once won an NFC championship game throwing it eight times. You do whatever it takes to win. But that's the team he's on. Josh Allen had to throw it 30 times. And you could argue they

should have thrown it more. If they would have thrown it more, they would have success. He was undetored by the weather. Right? The weather doesn't impact his ball. Why? Because he's throwing like 120 mile an hour BBs. He's throwing darts.

And, you know, I thought his receivers let him down because a couple of times he ran for first downs. He dove. He's tough as shit. I was impressed. Like, I mean, let's face it.

Now, I'm not, I can't compare Mack, a guy halfway through his first season and a guy in his fifth year on a $150 million contract. But they're not on the same level. right, which one day Mac, but Maxen doesn't, is never going to have those physical attributes. He's going to have to play a lot different.

But it's going to be difficult. Like Bill's just going to have to build his team to avoid back to throw in these situations. But he did that tonight and it worked. That was a, that was a incredible win by the Patriots, incredible coaching job by Bill Belichick. And, you know, sometimes the great part about football, listen, we all love offense. We love fantasy football.

Sometimes it's fun to watch something like that. See the wind going, you know, 50 miles an hour, snow coming down, everyone freezing their ass off. Like, that's the National Football League in December. That's for playoff seating. That's Bill Belichick and the Buffalo Bills. That felt right tonight. That was, as someone that hates the cold and likes to play golf 80 degrees in December and January, that was awesome. I didn't move.

And usually even Monday Night Football game, you know, kind of get up and, you know, have it on the background and lock in the second half. I didn't leave the couch for three hours. That was fun. Incredible win by the Patriots. They are, they're a force to be reckoned with right now. Okay, dokey, let's roll. Let's start with the Steelers and Ravens game. And I didn't see this thing live on Sunday, watched it Monday morning.

Just a fantastic old school football game. And to me, the number one thing that jumped out, watching those two teams, play, and it really always does over the last two decades since both those guys have been coaches. I saw Albert Breer wrote, they face each other 30 times. Tomlin has, you know, the edge. He's 1-16 and Harbaugh's 114. But the Ravens have a star young quarterback. I know he's been up and down this season, and they've had a bunch of injuries, but every single human alive would take Lamar Jackson over Ben Rothesberger. The Steelers shouldn't be able to win this game with Ben Rathesberger.

But their culture, in that place, whatever it is, is absolutely incredible. And we talk about culture a lot in football. And it's one of those things that you just can't quantify. What does that mean? Like, I know in my experience, people are like, what was it like to work for Andy Reed? It was like, our culture is pretty simple. You worked your ass off and you treat people well. You know, he hires good people, lets them work.

Everyone's pretty high character. And things work out. You know, it's not like that complicated. You know, I can't speak to the Pittsburgh Steelers culture. But for whatever reason, whatever goes on in that building, with Tomlin leading the charge, with the Rooney's owning that team, they just adapt and overcome. Because they've had a quarterback now for four years.

I looked at this morning, four years. Rathusberger's the year before he got hurt, he wasn't that great. You could tell he was slipping. The year he tore his arm last year and this year. It's like, I don't know how he's doing it. and they're 35, 23, and 2 over that period of time. I have a front row seat over here with the 49ers, and they struggle to just win games.

And they have this young coach, and it's like, the two teams that I'm the most locked and loaded with out here on the West Coast were the Niners and the Raiders. And the Niners have had much more success, mainly just because of three years of Jim Harbaugh and then won two years ago with Kyle. But other than that, they lose all the time. And the Raiders, I saw it firsthand before they went to Vegas,

and even now they're in Vegas. It's not like they're winning either. They just always lose. I don't know why, but for whatever reason, winners win, right? The Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry, they got Joe Laker, they get Steve Kerr, they just have a winning atmosphere in there.

And I think the Steelers, it's remarkable what they're able to pull off. Because that game, one, they did nothing offensively for three quarters. They were down seven to three going into the fourth quarter. You know, when you look up and you see the final score, you're like, how did they score all these points? Ruffisberger made enough place.

Their defense just, that trade for Mink of Fitzpatrick, that's one of the things. If I could take back one take I've had over the last several years, I mean, I'd take back a lot. I mean, I miss a lot. That Mink of Fitzpatrick trade, I thought, was moronic when they gave a first round pick for that guy. He's fantastic.

An absolute playmaker who picks the ball off all the time. You know why? Because they can isolate guys. They know who fits. And the Ravens do the same thing. I mean, the Ravens right now are 8 and 4. I love them going for two at the end of the game. You play to win the game.

You go for the kill shot. When there's blood in the water, that's when the Great White Sharks circled eat. I hate this. Like, oh, we should have kicked for overtime. But just go for the, you're at the two-yard line. You got the best player on the field in Lamar Jackson. You know, in theory, on any given play, should be able to make a play. And they hit it.

The guy was open. Lamar just missed him. He dropped the ball. But that's, I love that mentality. I love that mindset. And they've been doing it now for years. They always go forward on fourth down. They always go in the two-point conversion.

and I give the Steelers a ton of credit. I give Mike Tomlin. I mean, it's crazy what he's pulling off. He has no business winning these games. His quarterback is ancient. You know, their defense actually played a lot better yesterday. But there are wide receivers. You know, Antonio Brown ain't walking through that door.

I mean, you know, Claypool's solid. 18's a good player. Naji Harrier, they don't have, their offensive lines pretty questionable. They can't really block for him, but he's a good player. T.J. Y. is fantastic. It's just remarkable. You know, we talk so much over a two-decade span

because they won so many Super Bowls and everyone wrote all these books and wrote all these in-depth journalistic pieces on the Patriots. I don't think we do that enough with the Steelers. And I know it's not quite as sexy because they've, you know, I guess only won one champion. I guess they've won two championships in the last 20 years. But their consistency of winning

and going to the playoffs every year and winning these games is as just a fan of football and a fan of successful organizations, I tip my hat to it. Because we know the Ravens. I mean, since they've got Lamar, they go to the playoffs every year. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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, filtered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose,

and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot.

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 J.

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

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Steelers, I mean, they got a quarterback who's 40 years old who starts telling everyone the last couple weeks he's going to retire, who looks like a shell of himself.

And that's no shot at Big Ben. He was a remarkable player in the peak of his powers. He could move. He had a huge arm. He was athletic. he was so strong. He can't do that anymore. To me, even his arm doesn't look quite as strong, which is understandable. He ripped his elbow a couple years ago.

So it's just, I have to tip my hat to the culture of that entire building because it truly is remarkable. Becoming a magician takes thousands of hours, right, Ashley? Oh, I'm not a magician. I'm a design specialist at the container store. But you transform closets and pantries. Well, I turn your most frustrating spaces into ones you love. With a magic wand? With Alpha. Are customizable, a... adjustable and affordable shelving and drawer system.

The amazing Ashley. Making daily frustration disappear. Just doing my job. Hurry, you only have until February 13th to save 20% when you purchase $500 in Alpha. Get started with your free design at the container store today. Look through your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook world for them.

You look and see a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched to the sky. They see treasure and pebble. They see a windy path that could lead to adventure, and they see you. Their fearless guide through this fascinating world. Find a forest near you and start exploring at Discovertheforest.org. Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the Ad Council. Adoption of teens from foster care is a topic not enough people know about and we're here to change that.

I'm April Dinwiddie host of the new podcast, Navigating Adoption, presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Another thing I game I watched this morning was the Eagles and the Gardner-Mintu show. And I talk about this a lot during free agency and definitely during. the draft. Value, value, value, value. The price and the profit you make in something is not when you sell it. It's what you buy it for. And nothing is more true to that than the draft. It's why we give

people so much credit when they get star players in the fourth, the fifth, the sixth round. Because when you get a player in that round, it becomes a pro bowl or earn all pro, for the first three years of his career, you pay him $700,000. And even once you pay him big money, you know, over a six, six, seven-year span when you break it all down, it's an incredible value. When you draft someone number one overall, you're expecting a lot of that guy. When the Niners drafted Nick Bosa number two overall, anything less than a pro-ball player is a whiff. Period, point, blank end of story.

It's why we're so hard on Tua, even though Tua is having a good little stretch here, but it's like, Tua was drafted fifth overall. If Tua was a third round pick, we'd be like, God, it's a hell of the value. What a pick by the dolphins. But he was drafted fifth, and he was drafted before Herbert. We do this a lot, right? You know, in the business world. Anytime someone acquire, like, you look back on Google acquiring YouTube, you're like,

how much they pay for it? God, that worked out pretty well. Or when Facebook acquired Instagram for a billion dollars, like pretty good purchase, right? It worked pretty well. If you've bought a house in the last two years since Corona hit, like, you've paid a premium. You know, you just have. Now, if you like the house, no big deal. But if you're like, God, you know, you paid a 30, 40, 50% premium.

you look at the price of cars right now you want to go buy a used car what's fine but you're paying a 25 30% markup better be a sweet car because you're paying a premium when you get a deal you don't complain as much you're like got to see what i what i want to pay for these jeans 50 bucks love these things right you pay 300 400 dollars for a pair of jeans you look at them a little differently and listen i spent multiple years my desk was right next to you know how he was in a big office I just had a little cubicle. First year I was kind of exposed. Second year I had an actual office.

And I've said this all the time when anyone asks. His ability to understand the marketplace and value is incredible. His relationship with agents and ability to do deals with other teams is second to none. The guy is a wheeler and a dealer. And obviously they've been making trades for a decade plus. He can make trades with the best of them. And when they traded for Gardner Minshu, a guy that makes this year 850 grand and next year makes 9,000,

$770,000. He's a quarterback. Right? So if you get that position at cheap, he gave up a six-round pick. And if Gardner was just truly their backup quarterback, which, you know, even for the majority of the season, they still had Flack of Gardner was the third quarterback. But let's face it, they knew what they were doing when they traded for him. Because we've seen him play for a joke franchise. I actually just saw a tweet from Field Jates that of the 11, of the last, of the Jaguars, their last 11 seasons, they have.

lost 10 games in 10 of them. The one season, they went 10 and 6, and they went to the AFC championship game. So when you look at the sample side of the Jags, sample sides of the Jags, that one year where they went to the AFC championship game, and hell, they could have beat New England Patriots in that game. Remember, they kicked the Steelers' ass,

even though the Steelers kind of came back at the end. That's an outlier. That franchise is where losers go to loose. That franchise is a joke. There's no way around it. The cons might be good people. Their ownership is, is an embarrassment. It really is.

When it comes to their football team, and they're going to losing more now, they're headed to nowhere fast. But they get Gardner Minchu. If you watch them play for the Jacks, the dude made some place. And I understood even why the Jags are getting rid of them, right? His confidence and his cockiness,

which makes an undersized kind of playmaker, like to me, he's got some Jeff Garcia qualities to him. And remember Jeff Garcia in the late 90s, early 2000s, you looked at him, like he shouldn't be that good. But he just had some shit to him. And Gardner does too. But when they acquired them for a six-round pick, one, they were doing a couple things.

One, it's just incredible value. You could get a guy who can start for you, who's thrown a bunch of touchdowns, who's won games in this league for a six-round pick, a quarterback, who doesn't make anything? You do that all day long. Look how much these teams with younger quarterbacks pay for their backup, right?

Three, four, five, eight million dollars. Hell, Andy Dalton made 10. Now, Ryan Pace is one of the worst general managers we've seen in recent memory. But the going rate for a good backup is somewhere between that five to $10 million range. If Minchu was not a third-year player, right? Or I guess he's a third-year player,

then he'll go in next year, it will be his fourth year. If he was like a six-year player and he's going to be a free agent, someone would probably give him $5 million to be the backup. Hell, someone might give him like nine and let him compete to be the bridge quarterback. But Howie deserves a lot of credit

for not only making this trade, but you get him in the building. And because of the way Jalen Hurts plays, He gets injured. And then they get the opportunity to see him play. And I go, well, he throws it better than Jalen. Now, Jalen is a fantastic runner. He's really tough.

And knowing a lot of people there, they love his personality, the way he carries himself. He's an impressive guy. It's why Sabin and Lincoln Riley, everyone that was around him in both those programs still speak very highly of Jalen. So it's not like he's some slap, right? But he has some flaws as a quarterback. His throwing is very, very hit or miss. where Minchu is nowhere near the runner, obviously, of Jaylen,

but he can throw. This guy can throw touchdowns. And I'm watching him yesterday. He's playing the Jets. So I'm not trying to anoint this guy as the next starting quarterback. Even if he's a lifetime backup. This is the easiest move. Where were all these other teams trading for a guy like this?

It's a no-brainer. It's one thing if you had to give up a third rounder for him. I get teams, value that position, or excuse me, value that pick, the value if you get a starter in the third round, how cheap they are. I get it. A six-round pick, who gives a shit? Like, listen, even when I worked in the NFL, like, you get bored like starting in the fifth round. Like, you're kind of throwing, you know, blindfolded darts at a wall. Hopefully you hit something. You know, for every George Kittle and Richard Sherman and all these, you know, Tom Brady,

most guys don't turn out to be much. They turn out to be role players. But if I can get a quarterback for a six-round pick who can win me football games, if you haven't had the opportunity, there was about as pure of a moment as you'll see of I think John Clark who covers the Eagles got this video of Minchu and his dad after the game and he was so excited and I say it all the time as someone whose dad isn't around like whenever I see moments like that it makes me you know it's a powerful thing and your family you know as as the older you get and I'm sure anyone who's younger you'll experience this as life goes on you realize like how much they mean to you.

And no matter how many professional avenues you travel down or financial gains you may have or any of the materialistic BS, there's something powerful about people that have been in your life since you were nothing, since literally. I mean, you were zero years old and who have been in the foxhole with you from day one. And you get to celebrate that stuff with,

I thought that was probably one of, if not the coolest moments from Sunday is that video going viral of Minchu and his dad. And again, I'm saying this over and I get they beat the Jets. And the Jets are a clown show right now. Robert Sala, I mean, I know Zach Wilson quote unquote had the best game of his career. They got a long way to go. But the way Minchu played, like I think they have to start asking themselves, look at the NFC East.

The football team, they're coming. They've been playing really, really good football. Ronn-Virro is a good coach. He might not be the sexiest coach Because he doesn't call offensive plays He's an old school dude Who went to the University of Cal Former linebacker, tough guy

Drop some F bombs His team's tough And they are not going away Well they play the Eagles twice Over the next You know, four, five weeks They play the Cowboys twice The Eagles play

Obviously the football team twice The Cowboys and the Giants All this stuff's gonna play out And if I'm Siriani If I'm Howie If I'm Jeffrey Lurie I think I'm meeting like Monday morning you know, let's just give them into another game.

Let's see if this works. Because they have a lot of firepower outside. And ultimately, if you watch the football team, like Heineke, he's got some flaws, but he can run around and he can make some plays. And obviously Prescott, if he can get some of the mojo back, they have a ton of weapons. Once Amari gets back into the mix, C.D. Lamb, Gallops back, Paulard. I mean, you've got to be able to score.

And we saw Jalen Hertz, you know, what was it feels like two months ago, that Monday Night game against Dallas. It was an embarrassment. Now, that was the worst game of the season, but to win big games, you have to throw. You have to throw. It's why when Lamar, it's why when we've been critical of Lamar

over the couple years, for them to make huge strides in January, Lamar, he's going to always beat you with his legs. He has to beat you with his arm. And to me, I think you have to ask yourself, does Minchu just give us a better chance to win some of these games? I don't think he's going anywhere.

That's an incredible, incredible value, rate. The other thing that happened Sunday that was a little out of left field was the former shooting star, Joe Brady, who wasn't the offensive coordinator of LSU. He was the co-coordinator passing game guy for the 2019 team, which is probably statistically going to go down and it's going to age well as one of the greatest teams we've ever seen. But looking back, you go, well, you know, it makes some sense, right? They had Joe Burrow. They had Justice Jefferson. and they had Jamar Chase. And how their running back is the starter for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Like just their offensive alone was remarkable. And really, Clyde is more of a past catching running back. Jamar Chase and Jefferson are already elite players. And we know how good Joe Burrow is. So, like, most good coaches get made on good players. But the difference here was, before we had ever heard Joe Burroughs name, he was just, you know, kind of a quality control guy.

And a lot of people asked me, like, what does a quality control or graduate assistant mean? It basically just means you're like a secretary version for an offensive coordinator. Usually is what it means. You do all the grunt work, all the tough stuff. Now, you still get to coach. You spend all this time. If you're a quality control guy for the Saints,

you're working hand in hand with Sean Payton. It's an incredible starting point, right? All those guys that were GAs for Nick Saban over the years. All those guys started quality control guys over the years for Belichick. You know, same thing with Andy Reid. that you become head coaches that way. But it's the lowest level on the totem pole for like a full-time staff member. And that's what he was until Ed Ogeron hired him and they won the national championship.

And he became a star. And the hype train in, I would say, with coaches now, because of, look at the money that's getting thrown around. Like, it hit me today and we'll get into some of the college stuff here in a second. You start paying guys 10 years, 80 million, 10 years, 95 million, 8 years, 110 million, whatever. what do you think these NFL coaches are thinking? We just talked about, what do you think John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin are thinking? What do you think Andy Reid's thinking?

I mean, are you kidding me? What, Sean McVeigh? These guys, wait, you're going to pay Mario Cristobal $80 million? What the fuck am I worth? Because that's what I'd be thinking. Now, football coaches are football guys. They're not obsessed with money, but their agents are. And their agents are constantly, you know,

they understand how much money is getting thrown around and especially how much money the NFL is making. But Joe Brady wrote a hype train. This happens a lot during the draft. And it happens. And I was thinking about it. I remember the first time that I experienced it on the media side, because we used to always make fun of when I was working with the team,

how the media would hype up players and how it would just create a life of its own. And then all of a sudden you start questioning yourself inside the building. You're like, I've been watching this guy for eight months. He sucks. But now everyone, you know, you got Peter King and Albert Breer and coward and all these people are saying these, you know, people are coming on their show saying he's a first round pick. You're like, I got this guy in the fourth, and things can take on a life of their own. Nothing's more evident than several years ago with Tua.

Right, he's like, Tua, can't miss, tank for Tua. Turns out he's easily the third best quarterback in his draft, and it's really not even that close, and he's even playing well. But I vividly remember it with Marcus Marriota. And when Marcus Marriota was coming out, and I went that year to the Pack 12 championship, I'd seen him play live a couple times. I like Marcus Marriota. And I knew people for the Oregon staff at the time.

His character was impeccable. high-level guy. And if you meet him, Marcus is always taller than I think most people would think he is. Like, he's like 6-4. He's a big dude.

But he didn't throw the ball that well. And if you really watch him in Oregon, he was kind of inaccurate. Yet all these guys, and listen, I like Joel Klatte and I like Rick Neuheisel. At the time I had a radio show,

we had them both on. And they both compared them to Steve Young. And I think sometimes college analysts, they have now, college football is the second biggest sport in America.

So their platform is massive. So when Joel Clat talks, or Rick Neuheisel, who does the SEC stuff, they get traction. And I think sometimes, and I didn't know this until I worked in the NFL, until you immerse yourself with studying pro football, it's hard to make some of these comparisons. Because most of these college guys are living and dying with college football. They're not watching NFL football all Sunday and all Monday and really then studying it Monday through Saturday. They're doing college football stuff. So when you throw a comparison like that out, sounds good, people eat it up.

People are like, damn, Marriota's Steve Young. He wasn't even close to Steve Young. And as his careers played out, he's a backup. Good backup. I'd want him as my backup quarterback, especially if I can get him like the Raiders this year for two or three million dollars. But if he starts, like, you're not going to make the playoffs.

He's just incapable of doing that now. But the hype on him was just so strong. Right? It was incredible. And it happens every single year. It'll happen with several players this year. because the hype train, there's no stopping it. It happened with Joe Brady.

It's like, Joe Brady is the next, he wears Jordans, he's got this necklace, he's 30 years old, he's like the next Sean McVeigh. Actually, he lasted a league a year and a half and got fired. And from what I've heard, I asked a lot of people, because I just wondered, like, I wonder if Joe tried to jump off the sinking ship. And from what I heard, and Albert Breer wrote about this,

their offense was going the wrong way fast. And listen, it's not all Joe Brady's fault, right? They've had several different quarterbacks, The Sam Donald decisions are disaster. He's not the general manager, but he couldn't figure out how to score points. Their offense is atrocious. And it might be just simple.

He was a little over his head. And he shouldn't have been in that position. Now, I don't blame him for taking that job. He just became a multimillionaire. But as Albert Breer wrote today in the MMQB, he actually interviewed last year for head coaching jobs and executives were impressed when he interviewed. I'm sure he's an impressive guy.

And a lot of guys, like academia. Everyone has these theories that should work. Get the trenches of society. Right? You can talk to me about supply and demand all you want. Actually run the business.

See how it actually works. It's always easy to go in the classroom and be told like, this is how you got to do it. This is how you got to do it. It's like, okay, come follow me on 10 sales calls for the next month. See how it really works.

You got to pay some guys under the table to do something, depending on your industry, right? That's the way the real, there's a big difference between the real world and the classroom. Just no different. There's a difference between the interview and actually getting the job.

and actually doing it. Because I can interview and be really impressive, be well-spoken, be articulate, look the part, drop John Payton and Joe Burrell and some of these names, have some incredible references. And then I get the job.

And then, you know, and Matt Ruhl, listen, he bought into the hype because he didn't know this guy. And then he hires him kind of out of nowhere just because that was a sexy guy to hire. And then you get in there, well, eventually you got to start scheming things up.

You're no longer just the passing game coordinator. The entire offense falls on you. Because your head coach is just a CEO, guy. It's all on you, buddy. So when shit's not working, can you fix it? Do you have any other pitches? Do you have any other schemes? Or can you just reiterate everything Sean Payton said to you? And I'm not trying to talk shit about this guy, but it happens all the time. And then we're shocked when something like he gets fired, you know, halfway through the second year, which again, he is not the general manager. But I would be shocked if he didn't be like, yeah, I want to, you know,

I'll coach Sam Donald. Hell yeah, let's go trade for him. Matt Rule's like, okay, let's do it. And then it doesn't work. And listen, I, I would be like, I. I had been on record of saying I would have made that trade. The difference is I get paid to talk for a living. I'm an entertainer. Those guys, I say it all the time. Like, it doesn't matter what I say or what coward says or what anyone says. It doesn't matter.

That is not our job. The Miami Dolphins job was not to figure out what hype was it. It was to pick the right player. And they drafted the wrong quarterback. Period point blanket of story. It's not even arguable at this point. They would rather have Justin Herbert than Tua. Now that doesn't mean that Tua can't be serviceable like he's become.

Somehow Jalen Wattle is 86 catches. Pretty remarkable. But like, it's not their job to worry about what the people on the outside say is kind of irrelevant. It's your job to figure it out. Just like it was Matt Ruhl's job to hire the right offensive coordinator. He just went with a sexy big name. Right. And it's utterly failed them.

And they're five and seven. They're trending in the wrong direction. They have no, they really don't have that many options to get quarterbacks moving forward because they're on the hook for Sam Donald. So maybe this guy will get a job as some big offensive coordinator, you know, with Mario Cristobal or something, but he's been on record saying he doesn't like to recruit. So if you don't like to recruit,

how are these big time programs going to hire you? Because you've already proven like, well, when you actually had to call the entire offense, you didn't do as well. And things changed very, very fast. And let's talk about Mario a little bit, who officially told the players at Oregon, he's gone. And he accepted the University of Miami job.

and I have had this philosophy for a long time, and I said it the other day, I guess on Monday's pod. I'm going to hammer it at home again today with even more. I'm going to really try to describe it because I am a big believer where you're from matters in college football. And now Oregon has lost its last two coaches, and really three of its last four coaches, two other jobs. Now, granted, Chip left to the Eagles.

I don't think that's that crazy, but Chip Kelly was not a West Coast guy, even though he's still at UCLA just because that was, it was either UCLA or Florida, and he picked a, you know, less pressure job. Let's just, let's be frank about it. But Chip left, Helfridge got fired. They hire Willie Taggart.

He went back to Florida State. And then Mario, he went back to the South. And where you're from really matters in college football. And I think where you're from really matters in life. The difference is Andy reads a California guy. He's worked now in Philly and Kansas City. In pro football, just do you have a star quarterback? Can you win there?

They'll pay you a premium and you're good. in college football because you have to recruit, there is, you have to understand, especially like on the West Coast, your most frugal recruiting ground is going to be California. So when you look at Oregon, when they had their longest 10-year coach

before Chip Kelly, it was Mike Bellotti, who went to school at UC Davis, who was from Sacramento, and he was there from 1995 until 2008. And I think about it all the time. I've been, I've lived in Philadelphia. I lived for six months in Kansas City,

but the majority of my life, I've lived in California. It's why I say when these programs in the PAC 12 are going to hire, hire someone from the West Coast. I worked for a guy, Pat Hill, from L.A. worked at Fresno State for like 15 years. Pete Carroll, most successful college coach out here the last 20 years. Where's he from?

California. Where did he coach? USC. Chris Peterson. Where did he crush it at? Boise State. University of Washington. Who should Oregon probably hire?

Chris Peterson. Jeff Tedford, California guy. I would feel comfortable. if you put me in a situation, you could put me in the hood or you could put me at the country club in L.A., in the Bay Area, in the valley, in Sacramento, and I think I'd have a fighting chance to spark a conversation with someone. Now, it doesn't mean if you put me in the wrong hood, I might get shot or at the wrong country club, I might get thrown out. But if those places were in California, I'd feel pretty good about myself. Now, I talk for a living, so maybe I could pull it off.

You did the same thing in Texas or Florida, but I would be way less comfortable. And when I was at Fresno State, Coach Hill used to, we used to recruit a lot of guys from Southern California. And I remember vividly, this guy played in the NFL for a while. We were recruiting this one guy who was a star player in South Central L.A. It was like Compton Watts kind of area, kind of right by USC. And, you know, it's kind of like the movie Training Day when Denzel's just walking down the street at night, a little like that. But he's, he walks down the street and they're supposed to send out a guy to walk him like three blocks because it's not safe. Well, Coach Hill, doesn't wait for him. He breaks stride and just walks right down the, right down the street and goes right, knocks on the guy's door and goes to shows up for dinner. They're like, damn, we were supposed to send someone for you. This guy ended up going to a much bigger school and played in the league, actually still in the league. But the point is he was very comfortable. He could go to South Central L.A., just like he could go to Monterey at the country club and recruit a player.

Pete Carroll was the same way. They're very comfortable in California. There's an ethos to our people out here. No different than Mario when when Miami came calling, he felt very, very comfortable going home because those are his people. He is most comfortable around those people. You just understand them. It doesn't mean you can't leave home. You don't ever come back. But whenever you do, you do relate to those people.

That does not leave you. And in college football, when you were sitting in people's homes, especially in a place like Florida or in the PAC 12 where you're going to recruit a ton in California, being comfortable, in this environment matters. So I don't blame him at all for leaving. And I think the biggest mistake Oregon has been making is hiring these people outside. The last two guys, they hired from the South.

So you got a guy that wanted Florida State was like his dream job, and the other guy's dream job was Miami. So are they using you as a stepping stone or are they just going home? If you hire a Jeff Tedford, a Chris Peterson, a Pete Carroll type, the only people they're going to leave you for

if they're from the West Coast is the NFL. And the reality is with Oregon, they have Phil Knight, who has, unlimited amount of money. There is no amount of money they can't spend. If they want to sign a guy to 10-year contract, $150 million, they can do it. But if you sign that guy from Alabama's program or LSU's program or Oklahoma's program, he might leave you. Why? Because they just, listen, I don't agree with everyone in the state of California, but I relate to the people. I just do. No different

like I said, listen to all those guys. So if you get a guy who's from this region, he's more likely to stay, i.e. Mike Bellotti, i.e. Mario, is probably going to be in Miami for a long freaking time if he has success. And they'll keep him there. It'll be his dream job. He will not need to leave because he'll be compensated. He just got $80 million. And he'll feel very comfortable in the area.

And I think when I look at Brett Venables, who Oklahoma just hired, he's from Kansas. He's from that region. This is a guy that has been at Clemson now for a decade, making huge, money. He was the highest paid defensive coordinator in college football. And I think even if you factored in the NFL, he'd be one of the highest paid coordinators in

the entire sport. But he kept turning down these jobs. He kept turning down these jobs. And he finally accepted this one. Now granted, he'd work there. 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 the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes

of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 Bole your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 a 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 just so you're just so you. 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. So, oh. Thank you finishing that sentence. And yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. He's lived a pretty charmed football life. He's worked for two people in 20 years. He worked for Bob Stoops, starting in 99 until about 2012.

And then do you sooner fans listening? I think he got fired, forced out, went to Clemson, and he's been with Davo ever since. And he came home to go to Oklahoma, right, to become the head coach, because I think he's very comfortable with that. It's his ethos. These are his people. He feels very at home in this program. Also, he's already worked there, just like Mario. He's already worked there. And I think that really, really matters in college football. Where in the pros, like, where's Joe Judge from? I have no clue. It doesn't matter. If he wins with the Giants, he would never leave the New York Giants. Right. Belichick has happened to work in the Northeast, the majority of his career, right?

Work for the Giants, work for the Patriots and work for the Jets for a minute. And it feels very normal. He just kind of just happens to be there. But like I said, like Pete Carroll, he worked for the Jets and the Patriots. It didn't matter. If he would have had success and not got fired, he would have stayed. Sean Payton, where's he from? I don't know.

Bruce Ariens. I don't know. He went to Virginia Tech. coached Temple. Who cares? Pro football is a completely different animal. The difference now, though, is there's so much money on the line in college football. The amount of money that's getting thrown out is pretty outrageous.

And if you're a coach, it's a good thing. You can make a ton of... Billy Napier just signed a five-year or like a $50 million deal. He's, I think a seven-year contract. Making $7 million a year to live in Gainesville, Florida. Do you know how much money $7 million is to be a head football coach in Florida? I mean, no state income tax. These guys are printing cash.

I've been saying for a while, football coaching is the new Wall Street. You see these contracts getting thrown around? Is J.P. Morgan paying like just random people $10 million a year? Their CEO makes a lot and a couple executives. But they've got many football coaches now making six, seven, eight, and then all the NFL guys, people are making a ton of money. Scouting community, it's not quite as lucrative.

So I would push all my scouts that are listening. Maybe you should transition to coaching because there's a lot more cash into it. Did you know Amazon provides ways of working that fit your lifestyle? They know you value your time outside of work, juggling families, school, friends, or other activities. That's why they offer a variety of shifts that work for you. There are full-time, part-time, and even temporary opportunities that can work with your schedule, with great starting pay and sign-on bonuses. If you want a career that fits and adapts to your lifestyle, head to Amazon.com slash apply.

Amazon is a proud, equal opportunity employer. What grows in the forest? Trees? Sure. Know what else grows in the forest? Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and our family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect from this and connect with this,

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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. Okay, let's get to the middle coffee mail back. At John Middlecoff is the Instagram account. At John Middlecough. Fire in those DMs. Get your question answered here on the show.

Been listed to pod for a while. Despite being a loyal listener, I am a Cardinals fan and have had to listen to you pretty much bash them for a few years, all while worshipping the Niners and the Rams. But you said recently you fundamentally disagree with the air raid offense, and that is why you can't get behind the cards. I know, I said the cards. I gave them their flowers a couple weeks ago.

I think you need to go back to your fundamentals because that is not what they run. Evidence can be as simple as one stat, rushing yards. Why don't you look at your Niners, apparently God's gift to all of us? I don't know if you've listened to my other podcast. I talk a lot of shit about the Niners, homie.

Why don't you? Like Colin says, it's better to get it right than be right. I will accept your apology on your next mailbag. Honestly, though, man, your podcast's awesome. Listen, they run a spread offense. It's not debatable. Now, they've had success this year running the ball. The reason they've been really good, obviously, is their quarterback.

And Cliffs done a good job. Again, I gave them their flowers a couple weeks ago. They've had a fantastic season. Their defense has been awesome. Their defense has been fantastic. It really has. They are a throwing team who can gash in the run. When you can spread them out and you have Hopkins, I know he's been hurt,

and A.J. Green, and they get Ertz after Maxwell, Williams goes down, you have enormous lanes, especially when the quarterback can run to gash him in the gun runs. They run a collegiate offense. And it's worked because they've had fantastic players, but their defense has been awesome. They beat them. I mean, the bears were a joke and they killed them as they should. They're really good. I will not take anything away from the 2021 Cardinals. Like I said, I fundamentally disagree with just the softness. Like if your running game is completely out of gun runs. It's just not really my thing. It's just not. I am a traditionalist who likes my quarterback to be under center in the run game. Now, we can have runs out of the gun. I have

no problem with that, but I like to be able to do both. When Kingsbury last year was on a podcast with McVeigh and Schrager and said, you know, Sean, some of the stuff you do, I love it. That's just not what we do. I just can't get behind that line of thinking. It's not what we do. I like my coach to be like, we can fucking do anything. Right? Kyler can get under center. He's got to tell him to do it. To take the snap and then you could do it. Now, it's clearly

working, but to be sustained winning, to do it for a long period of time, you got to be able to do everything. Belichick's greatest attribute. There's not a play that the Patriots over two decades couldn't do. Peyton Manning could run out of the shotgun or under center. Hell, he was

doing the pistol stuff in Denver. That's my point. So it's like, I'm not going to change and be like, you know, I love the spread offense. The thing I appreciate most about Lincoln Riley was his physical run game. Like, I don't look at the Cardinals and think they have a physical run game. I think because of their success throwing the ball with all their outside weapons, they're able to gash people out of gun runs. It works.

You know? It's just that's simple. They've had a great season. I'm not taking anything away from them. Am I going to pick them in the playoffs? No. And I'm not in the right or wrong business, as Cowher says, forever. I'm going to entertain the business. I'm going to be wrong. It doesn't matter.

I'm not paid to get it right or wrong. Just giving you my opinion. And I, listen, I know some people around Cliff. I've always said the thing with Kingsbury, Marine Sun, people, the scouting community, people I know that it went through Texas Tech, loved him. I like the guy. And, you know, he's doing a good job. But I just, I don't, that's not really my offense. It's not going to change, right? Hell, you know, BMW might be a nice car. I ain't going to drive it. It's not the type of car I like, right? It's just, it's fine.

Watching the Red Zone channel, as they were showing the Lions game, it occurred to me. Do you think the Lions would have won more games with somebody like Colt McCoy, Minchu, or Nick Foles? I know Goff had a winning drive at the end, but it seems like he's not a very good quarterback. Yeah, I do. He can't move. He cannot move. And I heard Coward comparing to Matt Ryan. I think Matt Ryan's a lot better player than Jared ever was.

You know, Jared is very unathletic. Again, relative to NFL players. And I like Jared too, just because I naturally root for, he's from California. I'm a Cal Berkeley Bears fan. But he just has some major physical flaws. Now, I think his arm strength, very similar to Matt Ryan. But I even think Matt Ryan, especially younger, was a better athlete than Jared ever was. so their offensive line, like he can't really move.

I would rather have Gardner Minchu than Jared Gough, 100%. Now, but here's the other thing. Lions don't care about winning. So it doesn't matter. They're trying to get the number one overall pick, as they should. Took my boys of the Pac-12 championship game in Vegas. Incredible experience. Couldn't believe how big the game felt.

Wanted to know how it looked on television beside the whipping Oregon's ass. Also, do you think the the game changes the narrative around the Pact 12 or does Utah still need to win the Rose Bowl to validate the conference? I thought the game looked fantastic. Absolute huge win for the conference to get the Vegas stadium

because people are just more likely to go to Vegas than come to Silicon Valley. What are you going to do? Like, I'm going to go to San Jose. It sucks. You go to Vegas for like three days. Now, perfect storm. Utah, right up the road,

I mean, it's three or four hours away, maybe four and a half hours. I made that drive a bunch of times. I haven't done it in a decade. Maybe less than that. You can make the drive straight from Vegas to Salt Lake City. So it's an easy thing for their fans. And Oregon travels well.

But it felt like a Utah home game. Which makes sense. It's not very far away. Just like if USC's in that game, it will be a USC home game. Those and obviously Oregon. It's just you got to have the certain right teams and that place will be awesome. So yeah. I think if Utah were to upset Ohio State,

Now, let's face it. Is Ohio State going to try that hard to Rose Bowl? I don't know. They were trying to make the playoffs. In Michigan was their Super Bowl. And they lost. So I could see Utah winning that game. It doesn't mean Utah's a better program than Ohio State,

but it would be a sweet win. Just like when Utah beat Alabama. Didn't Alabama that year get knocked out in the SEC championship game? Like, bowl games, not everyone has the same level of, you know, skin in the game, right? Unless you're looking at the playoffs. When you look at the bowl games, when you're going to gamble on the ball games, When you're going to gamble on the bowl games, try to figure out what team wants to be there

and what team does not want to be there. That's a huge key. That's a huge factor in success. Like, I wouldn't mess with the University of Oregon in the bowl game. I could see Oklahoma being much more fired up in the bowl game. I would bet on Oklahoma in that game over Oregon. Now, it's harder depending on some of the smaller schools, but yeah, it looked awesome on TV.

Kyle Whittingham kicked their ass. I know you haven't addressed that the league doesn't care, or I know you have addressed the league doesn't care about how bad referees are, is there anything that players can do to fix the problem? I know players get fine if they talk or complain about the refs, but it has gotten to the point of insanity. Fire the refs? Yeah, I mean, I'm just saying, it's not going to change, man. We just got to get used to it. They're terrible. They're bad. Now, there's a human element. It's hard. Would I struggle at it? I'm sure I would. It's a very, very difficult job. But the people they have doing it are not very good.

but it's clearly not going to change. You talked about the potential teams that would trade for Russ and mention Giants, Eagles, dolphins. Wouldn't Pittsburgh or the Saints make more sense in terms of his chances of winning? Better coaches, better ownership, better defense, more weapons. I get they might have cap issues, but the bucks and the Rams have shown their ways to get around it.

The only upper hand New York, Philly, and Miami have is draft capital, but I can't see Russ waive as no trade clause for any of them. But didn't he say he wanted to go to some of the bigger markets? Like, I think it's going to be very difficult. Because under no circumstances, am I John Snyder? Even if Russell says I want to get traded, am I just trading him to the Steelers for pick 24?

Like, what the fuck does that do for me? That doesn't make any sense. The best player in the history of the franchise by a mile, and I'm going to trade him for a pick in the 20s, I saw what happened when the Raiders do that with Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. It failed. It's a disaster. It would definitely fail when you're talking about a quarterback.

So, yeah, I get he's got a no trade clause, but it's like, well, hey, Russell, I don't have to trade you. So it's like, hey, you want to meet in the middle? We got to work together. We'll find you a destination, but it's got to be a win-win. Because this ain't the NBA. I know you think you're like an NBA player and your brand matters, which is fine,

but you ain't dictating the terms here. We're going to work together if you want to get traded and you're forcing your way out. From Southern Illinois, big fan of the show. It's time for Jerry to swallow his pride and giving Zeke the bag and feature Paula the rest of the year. He clearly made it public that Zeke will be the feature back in recent

press conferences trying to save face. Owners need to own and hire GMs to make decisions on the pot. I agree. There's nothing wrong with admitting a mistake in football. It happens all the time. Hell, mistakes happen all the time in life.

I mean, it's just, if you don't make mistakes on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis, you're not living life. If you're not making professional mistakes, and when I say mistakes, just like it didn't work. Just move on, just pivot.

Now, obviously, in the sport of football, when you give someone 50, 60, 70 million dollars, you're very financially obligated is the wrong word, but I think sometimes you do feel financially obligated to see it out. When this is Belichick's best quality, like he can draft a guy in the second round and two years later, he's like, get this guy out of here. It doesn't matter.

He's very unemotional. Where I would say the one knock on Jerry is he gets very, very emotional with his players and coaches. Because for a guy that's worth billions of dollars, does kind of run it like a mom and pop shop. His family is there, right? They run it all. It's pretty clear.

Pollard's a much better player. Now, Zieg does have value. He's a great blocker. He still can catch the football. But to give him carries nonstop over a guy like Pollard, yeah, is a mistake. Pollard is just much faster. Zeke's just lost speed, which happens. Is the Cowboys defense good enough to carry Dax mediocre and best quarterback play in and through the playoffs?

Watching him against the Saints right now and it just seems off. I can't put my finger on it, but he's very inconsistent. consistent. I agree. Watching him, it's not like it's easy to pinpoint why he's struggling, but you can just watch him play the last month. You're just like, God, he doesn't look as good as he did the first two months. And I've been saying for a while, it might just be as simple as he had the calf injury. He battled the injuries in training camp. Maybe he's just not feeling 100%. Now, he still should be able to complete some basic passes because sometimes he'll just have like a layup throw and he'll miss it. And one thing you think when Zach is on is he's a reliable,

consistent, accurate pastor. But when he's off, it just feels like, God, we're missing something here. Something isn't right. Right? It's like I talked about the quarterback value. When you pay a guy, part of what makes Minchu such a great deal is you're paying him $700,000.

Part of what makes cousins so maddening, even though his stats look good, when you watch him, you go, yeah, I just, I don't think this guy's worth $35 million. And the Vikings gave the guy $150 million. Right. They gave him $85 million on his first contract, and they gave him an extension to like $65 million. They gave him a ton of money. And you watch him for a $150 million quarterback, you go, I just think there should be more to this, right? We've seen what Russell looks like. We've seen Mahomes. We've seen Rogers. Like, that's what $35 million looks like. Brady, what's up with this? It ain't cousins.

And I think sometimes with Dak, he has moments where he looks better than cousins, but he also has moments where the same thing. Yeah, this is not a $40 million quarterback. That's why my gut instinct when they signed the contract, it's like, God, it just feels like a lot. And I'm not, I don't count other people's pockets. And I don't care how much any person makes. Honestly, I root for everyone listening to make money. I am pro everyone making cash.

I'm not one of those miserable media fucks who root for everyone to fail and all businesses go under. I'm the opposite. I want everyone to crush. But when we do talk about football, there is a salary cap. If there was a salary cap, I wouldn't care. But it's like, you know, to me,

Dak's probably like $28 million guy. Who's getting 40? Cousin's probably like a $22 million guy. Who's getting 35. And that's a big deal when you're paying a guy a lot of money because of how you build your team. I mean, it's honestly the biggest, you know, most underrated part about Brady.

This guy never makes that much money. Ever. It's crazy. I'm a logger here in the Pacific Northwest. 30 minutes from Coward went to high school. Love the show. I'm watching the Cowboys versus Saints and think it's insane that Kellyn Moore didn't get the nod for the head coach

sit in tonight. I'm a Seattle fan and think it's time to move on from Pete, John and Russ. It was a good run, but it's over. Is there a chance that Seattle could get Kellan Moore next year as their head coach? He's from Eastern Washington and it just makes sense.

Yeah, I would imagine if Russ is going to stay and if John Schneider stays, he one million percent interviews Kellynmore. I would also think he would try to interview Chris Peterson, assuming Chris Peterson doesn't take the Oregon job. And I know Chris Peterson said he's over coaching football, but he's too good of a coach to not have the interest of football guys.

Because ultimately a GM or a star quarterback, you want the best coach humanly possible. And, like, I mean, Kellyn Moore is pretty risky, right? It would be a sexy hire. He's young. He's from the state of Washington, like you said. I think his dad's a long time high school coach there. I don't know if he's still coaching,

was when Kellyn was in college. I think he was Kellan's coach, actually. Kellan's brother Kirby is on the Fresno State staff. Everyone tells me he's a fantastic wide receiver coach. I mean, Fresnel State's wide receivers were awesome. But yeah, I mean, I just, it is risky.

Anytime you hire a guy in his mid-30s, you know, who's only been coaching now a couple years, it's just, you just never know. But yeah, I mean, I would, I say it all the time. He's one of the best players, any level, any sport I've ever seen live. Now, granted, it was him at Boise State, right? I'm not comparing him to pro guys. I'm just saying when he was at Boise State,

he was incredible. The guy was a football genius as a player. He played for Pete. His dad's a high school coach. I think he's a really good coach. So, yeah, I mean, I think that they would interview him for sure. Appreciate everyone listening. Have a great week. And I'll see you Friday.

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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 guide, not quite. On Humor 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 head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal,

but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you'll say. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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 I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.