The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out -  Saquon/Giants Standoff, Dak/Cousins ‘Quarterback’ Takeaways, Mailbag

Episode Date: July 18, 2023

John reacts to the franchise tag deadline passing before the Giants and Saquon Barkley could reach a long-term extension, and explains why it’s good business for the Giants. He also dives into some other notable tags, what Quarterback has shown him about Dak and Kirk Cousins, and answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John onTwitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Herd #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What is going on, everybody, John Middlecock, Three and Out podcast. How are my people doing? Beautiful Tuesday. Hopefully everyone had a good Monday, having a good week. Staying away and out of the heat, preferably depending on where you live. I know where I'm at. It's very, very hot.

Staying inside. Because it is outrageously warm. Talking like 118. But the franchise tag deadline came and went. We will dive into on what happened there with Sequin and Josh Jacobs, who surely are not happy. Obviously Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys. I don't want to call him a star running back.

Really, really good player. We'll gladly sign his tag and play on the $10 million. We will dive into some thoughts on watch a little bit more of the quarterback dokey series. Dak Prescott had a comment. I just think Cousins and Dak are two of the more. fascinating players in the league. Definitely two of the more polarizing, so we'll dive into them.

And of course, we'll do a mailbag. At John Middilkoff is the mailbag. Fire in those DMs and get your questions answered here on the show. Very, very easy to get a hold of me. It's just my name, fire in the DMs and get your question answered anything. Obviously football, but life, you name it. Fire in those DMs and give us a question and you will get your question answered on the pod. Here's the plan for this week.

Football podcast today. The British Open is this week, the last major of the year. So Wednesday, I'll give a little preview. We will talk to Sobel. We'll make some bets. And it might be the last go-low podcast for a little while just because football's starting. And golf kind of ends. I know the playoffs are kind of right around the corner, but that's not that important.

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promo code John, J.O.H.N. $3.000. $20 off. Appreciate you, everyone that has used it. Let's start with the news of the day. The franchise tag deadline has officially came and went. And I think it played out the way those of us with common sense thought it would. Tony Pollard, there wasn't much question. He wasn't going to get a long-term extension with the Cowboys. They had just gone down that road with Ezekiel Elliott,

which I saw a headline today. He will not be back on the team. That ship has sailed. But Pollard is the only one of the three running backs who were still, you know, fighting for a long-term contract, who is going to sign this tent, going to sign the franchise tag, and will play for a little over $10 million, fully guaranteed in 2023. And then you have Sequin, Barclay and Josh Jacobs, two former first round picks who are, you know, think they are worthy of a long-term contract extension and their franchises thought otherwise. Let's start with the New York Giants. I think this shows you and puts in the light why it is so important as a new GM and a new head coach to have early success.

Because the amount of money these coaches make, I don't care who you are, Jonathan Gannon, just by a $10 million home. So when I sign a new coach with zero resume as a head coach, he's still making $7, $8 million a year. Well, that's just a going rate for a coach. But to have actual juice inside my building, you have to have success on the field. Well, the Giants had become a laughing stock. They were a joke. I mean, they had gone through one of the most embarrassing four-year stretches in recent memory in the franchise, capped off by the last, I would say, you know, 18 months of Joe Judge. It was really bad. So when these guys come in, in immediately get them to over 500, not just in the playoffs, but winning a playoff game.

It gives them equity and honestly pull with John Mara, who I wouldn't call an historic meddler, but they have been very, very loyal to quote unquote, their guys. And it's hard to talk them off when they want to do something. Well, Joe Shane, who came from Buffalo, who was clearly having a lot of success. and Brian Dayball, who's been around Sabin and Belichick, kind of knows something about value. You can't convince me, clearly they like Saquan Barkley. He is probably, if not the most talented, top two or three most talented player on the team. You want him on your squad.

But there's an economic value to this. You're not going to give him $40 or $50 million. That's just crazy business, especially when you factor in all the injuries. Well, I would say a year ago, let's say a guy like Joe Judge had been. the head coach. Let's say a guy like Pat Schumer had been a head coach. Sequin Barclay would have a long-term contract extension right now. But when you have early success, you saw it with Sean McVeigh. He won immediately, got him to the playoffs. Moving forward, like anything he wanted to do, they did. Look at Mike Vrable. A lot of early success.

Anything Mike Vrable wants, he's going to get. Kyle Shanahan, it took him a couple years, but once he got to the Super Bowl, got extended, anything he wants he gets. Once the owner has faith that he has a good coach and good management in place. That's why he's paying you to make these decisions. Usually when you get the metal type owners, Jerry's unique because he's also the GM. It's when they don't totally trust the GM or the coach. Think about anyone in any profession. When your boss doesn't trust you, he's probably more likely to micromanage. Once you prove yourself in any position, great sales guy, great coder, great, you name it. You are much more likely to have more pull and honestly

be given, you know, the leeway in the room to make decisions on your own because you prove that you can benefit said organization, said company. And that's what I think Brian Dayball and Joe Shane did immediately with the Giants. They just know what they're doing. They're competent professionals. Now, Brian Daibol wins coach of the year immediately. It's not like he won 14 games, but given how crappy they had been, to me it was a no-brainer. Because I still don't feel they have that much talent. And we can argue till we're blue in the face about the quarterback and whether they handled this whole situation wrong.

What I would have done personally is I would have let them both hit the free agent market. Who's paying Sequin Barclay a lot of money? Newsflash, nobody. Who would have paid Daniel Jones that much money? I don't think anyone. I do understand why it's not worth the risk for them to play that game. Now, did they ultimately have to give them as much as they did? I would say probably not, but they did.

But the quarterback position we all know is number one on the hierarchy of importance. And I understand I saw Chester just Instagram something about Derek Henry, who's kind of pissed off. He's like, what's the point of our value? Do we just, we mean nothing? And I get from his point of view, from a lot of these guys that are very productive, Austin Echler has been very outspoken, why I'm paid like a third wide receiver on a lot of these teams, it sucks. But it is the reality of the business you are in. It really is. And,

you know, there's not necessarily a solution. But from a team's perspective, this is good business. This is the healthy way to operate. From the player, I understand if they were an offensive tackle or they were a defensive tackle, clearly a quarterback or wide receiver, they would get broken off. Hella tight end. He's easy to pay. Now, part of that is he doesn't cost much money. but I think this shows that John Mara in a short period of time, right? We're talking 18 months, has a lot of confidence and faith in two people he hired. Because there's just no way. I've been around football people now for 15 years.

I know the way they think. And most, besides Jerry Jones, don't feel like, yeah, let's give this guy $60, 70 million and guarantee 45 of it at that position. I don't care how famous you are, how, big your name is, how big of a prospect you were. Going into year six, it just doesn't pencil. Now, Josh Jacobs, like Sequin, a first

round pick. The difference is Seekwan was a second pick. Got a ton of money. We've talked at Nazium about once this contract, if he plays on this tag, he will have averaged through his first six years in the NFL, $8 million, which he's probably had moments when he was a little

underpaid, and he's definitely had moments when he was very overpaid when he was MIA. Jacobs, also a first round pick, later though, I think he was picked 24. When Ziegler and Josh McDaniels got the job last year, they made a decision in the offseason. They were not going to exercise the fifth year option on Josh Jacobs. And I think at the time it was a risky move, though not crazy, but not necessarily a no-brainer. It's fair to say that was the wrong decision.

Because like Seekuan Barclay last season, if he was on the fifth, your option, there would be no arguing over this. And the number would basically be because it changes depending on your success. He's now a multiple time pro bowler. The number would be very similar. It'd be slightly over $10 million, fully guaranteed. But you wouldn't be hassling over this. Are you signing the contract or not? He would just be under contract. Now, I'm not saying, hindsight's 2020. It's easy to sit here on July 17th, 2003, saying what they should have done, in March or April of 2022. They didn't do it.

But if they got a redo, they clearly would redo that. Now, speaking of the owner and the juice that you get by having instance of success, it's probably a little bit of the opposite with Mark Davis. You're not quite as confident in the two guys that you hired because of what just took place last year with the Raiders.

It was really, really ugly. And now as you sit here on July 17th, you go, well, are we 100% sure Jimmy Garoppolo is going to be healthy when we take the field here in a week and a half? And you're not because he wasn't ready in OTAs. He has a, you know, a long history of being injured. And there are major question marks.

I think there are also major question marks. Is this team going to be any good? Are we going to compete? And there are potentially a lot of changes. If it doesn't go well, we talked about the coaches on the hot seat. I'm just talking about the roster. And the potential, like, what if we suck hard enough to get one of these top quarterbacks? We don't want to be in a position where financially we're tied to a position that is somewhat easy to replace.

Even though I would say Josh Jacobs is a better player when fully healthy because he's a more complete player than Sequin Barclay. If you gave me 17 games of each and I knew for a fact, I'm taking Jacobs. I think Jacobs is a awesome player. but at 25 years old on a team that barely won six games last year, locking myself up, my two best players right now on the team are under contract, Devante Adams and Max Crosby. I can live with playing this thing out with Jacobs. And if we do torpedo to the bottom of the ocean and we're drafting the top five,

I want as much wiggle room as I can possibly have to attempt to get Caleb, to have salary cap space, to just do some stuff, right? And if we're good, we got this guy in a short-term deal, and it's just good business. But I think both these guys fall under the same thing. It is the smart thing to do. Every single one of you, if you had the opportunity

to either give your star running back a long-term contract or go year-to-year, I don't think you'd hesitate in what to do. You would go year-to-year. But I also, like I said previously, I get why Derek Henry and Sequin Barclay, guys in Austin Echler are up in arms. But to quote Sequin, it is what it is. So that'll kind of end this whole thing until training camp starts and we'll see if these guys show up or not. They're not

eligible to be fined like let's say T.J. Watt last year who had to hold in because technically if they don't sign, they are not under contract. So they can miss time in training camp without getting, which is now a mandatory fine, which if you hold out and you are under contract, with years ago that you were able to as an organization, if a guy was holding out and he was under contract but he wanted a contract extension or he wanted more guaranteed money or whatever, you could basically rescind the fines once he showed up and you figured out a contract. That's not the case anymore. It's mandatory. That's a little sneaky thing the owners did in that CBA a couple years ago. Meanwhile, the players were fighting for days off so they could

hang out with their kids. Okay, I wanted to dive into something. a little segment brought to you by quarterback, the new docu series by Netflix, which I've had an opportunity to watch a couple episodes. I think it's excellent. And I've been a staunch hater of hard knocks because it doesn't do anything for me anymore. I think it's very, it's just so team controlled that it's just propaganda from the coach and the GM, where it used to be very raw and real. We've lost that years ago.

That being said, I'm going to watch it this year because of Aaron Roger. and quarterbacks move the needle. And this docus series with, we know how awesome Mahomes is. Listen, Marriota, really good guy. I think it's been fascinating to watch Kirk Cousins, who is easily one of the most polarizing guys in the league. But once you watch the docu series, it's impossible to not have a lot of respect for him.

Two things really jump out to me. One, I guess we knew this really good guy. Just a high-level guy. You never have to worry about anything in terms of getting in trouble, not doing everything humanly possible to just put football first, to put the team first. And clearly he tries with every ounce of his body to overachieve and maximize all the talent that God has given him to play the sport. And I saw headline the day from Dak Prescott, who said, I think he told one of the local

newspapers in Dallas, I will not throw double digit. He said, I will not throw 10 interceptions last year because last year he led the league in interceptions, obviously you have the two to end the season for the Cowboys when they played San Francisco. And I think both these guys, and I've talked about them so much, because I think they're pretty interesting, right? What else are you going to say about the homes? What else are you going to say about Joe Burrow? They're awesome ass kickers. I know guys like Burrow and Josh Allen haven't won a Super Bowl yet, but I think we all would have to agree, not only would you take them on your team, they feel destined if they have decent coaching and decent health around them,

that they can win not just a Super Bowl, but two Bulls in this league. And Mahomes is already one of the greatest players we've ever seen. To me, I find it the most fascinating with guys like Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins because it's like, are they good enough? Well, we know for a fact, and you see it with Cousins, if you get good enough pieces around them,

good enough coaching, and your defense's just okay, he can lead you to the playoffs. Same thing with Dak Prescott. Your team is just solid. You're going to win double-digit games and be there. And that's worth something. because when the dust settles, when both their career ends, Cousins is a lot older in Dack,

both guys, cousin's going to make $200 plus million. Dak Prescott going to make $300 plus million. Financially, they are printing money. They are making so much money. Dak, so many endorsements as the leader of the Cowboys, and represent the franchise very, very well. There, guys, if you're in that building, you would clearly love a borough, a Josh Allen, or a Mahomes,

but you know that it's very hard to get those guys, a lot of luck's involved, and you feel pretty good that you're not in the situation of probably 12 to 15 other teams that would die to have your guy. So you feel good about it. But ultimately the goal of this sport is not to win week one or week eight or even to win 12 games. So win Super Bowl and win playoff games. So the whole point really of pro sports is to win. And when we say win, like win when it matters.

Now, it matters to win in the regular season because that puts you in position to win in the playoffs. Right? So, like, I make fun of James Harden a lot, but for a large portion of his career, he put you in a position to make a run. Then he just always let you down in the playoffs. And I think you see this with Dak and Kirk Cousins,

like they put you in a position. Last year, the Minnesota Vikings had a home playoff game. And Kirk Cousin's statistics were fantastic. He throws a bunch of touchdowns. You watch that docu series. Toughness, you don't question it at all. He's getting peasant. Heaps back up, and it's what you want.

But then you get to the playoffs. Same thing with Dak. Just not quite good enough. And Cousins' problem, they have kind of difference. They're in different sides of the spectrum here. Dak Prescott's a really good athlete. He can make plays out of nothing because of his athleticism, his feet, and just ability to kind of ad lib on the fly.

His main problem is doesn't have the greatest arm, and it's just pretty turnover prone. And the reason I think a lot of guys are turnover prone is because when you don't have a powerful arm, it's a very catchable ball. The reason a guy plays DB is he can't catch. Most DBs, like Richard Sherman is somewhat of an outlier, former wide receiver, has really good hands. I would say the overwhelming majority of even good DBs have averaged to below hands. So when you throw Josh Allen or Mahomes, I used to see it with Kaepernick when I was going to the 49. When you're throwing a hundred mile out of fastballs and you're a little off,

whatever, no one's catching it. But when you're throwing 91 miles an hour, these guys are pros, they can catch the ball. And that happens to Dak Prescott. So when your timing is slightly off, pick six or pick, right? Cousins to me, whose arm has gotten better over the years, I feel better about putting in the right spot. But unlike Dak, his downfall,

and you saw this at the end of the season on that last play. Now, we can argue the semantics of, well, he's going through his reads, he's doing it right, whatever, it's fourth and seven. He can't really add lib. If the play is not dialed up perfectly, he can't make plays because relative to NFL players, he's a below average athlete.

Definitely a foot athlete. He is not very, you know, polite on his feet, to say the least. So if it's not there, he can't really make anything happen. And that gets to my overall point is these guys can get you, they've taken their teams as far as they can take them.

They can win a bunch of games in the regular season. can put up really good stats. You're going to be forced to pay them a lot of money, but you're never going to win the Super Bowl. And you could be in a lot worse spots in the league. Like you're never going to suck around them. Even a couple years ago, the Minnesota Vikings who had a defense that was historically poor, the year Mike Zimmer, Cousins was awesome. Cousins was not the reason they suck. But you just not win a Super Bowl with these guys. And it's not because of their character. Their character is A plus. It's not because of their want to or their drive. It's clearly A plus. It's just because the margins at the highest level,

the difference between the top five quarterbacks and them, is not as wide as some of us that blow V8 and talk about sports. I think it comes off sometimes. It's probably a lot smaller than we realize, but that gap is usually the difference between winning and losing big games in January and ultimately a ring. As Netflix's first ever partnership with the NFL, quarterback is a new docket series brought to you through the lens of NFL quarterbacks.

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See Kirk Cousins, Marcus Marietta, and Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes balance all the pressures that come with the toughest job in sports. Quarterback is more about the mental science. From game day to home life, see these quarterbacks like you've never seen them before. They put it all together for four quarters. Quarterback, only on Netflix. Watch now.

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 IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, let's dive into a little thing we call the mailbag. At John Middlecalf is the Instagram, DMs wide open, fire in them. Get your question answered here on the show. John from Nick, regardless how us Giants fans feel about Barclay, I'm a fan of this. Shouldn't us Giants fans be celebrating the fact that our new up-and-coming GM

held his ground showing he knows what he's doing, unlike prior regimes. Regardless of the running back market, playing to his benefit, Shane still had a lot of pressure on him. This one was Sequin being Giants fan, number one player. Also, this would historically have been where the Maras chimed in last minute, 100%. I was texting with someone today who was going to come on the show. This man might have worked in the NFL for a while. And he was like, I'm stunned the Giants didn't fold.

I think most of us were. I think a lot like Daniel Jones, I just expected four years, $60,000, $43 million guaranteed. You know, something like that. He won a 16, they want a 13. We'll meet you average 15 and we'll guarantee two and a half years of it or something. That's kind of what I expected. And that's not the way it played out. And that's not the way, there's not a general manager in the league.

There's not any fan who was running a team. People often say like, middle coffee, you're always talking. taking the side of the team. No, I just take the side of good business. And I look at it from the side of a team. Like, it's good business to pay Michael Parsons, to pay D.K. I'm not against fan players. I'm not into paying McGlinson, $50 million. I'm not in to extend the running backs, $50, $45 million. I mean, is a good business or bad business? Joe Burrow, how much you want, buddy, right? Just give me the player and I'll give you my take. That's how organizations operate. Now, we can disagree on certain players, Daniel Jones would be one, me and the Giants management.

But I can, I try to understand it. The running backs, I just won't. I just will not. But I also understand where they're coming from. I'm so happy the Giants seem to have stood their ground against Berkeley. I don't think they're as trapped, as Colin would say. Their win total seven and a half, I fully expect them to win 10 in the weaker NFC. they're actually a team that I think could come back to Earth a little bit.

They're not the most talented bunch. They're just not, right? They just traded for Darren Waller this offseason, who makes like $17 million a year. Google Darren Waller's game logs these last couple of years. Kind of been MIA. He was really good when he burst on the scene with Gruden and Carr and the Raiders, you know, whatever that was four years ago.

Hasn't been the same. Injuries. hasn't been exactly rushing back to the field. It felt like, so he's a little bit of a wild card. Another kind of curveball is, and I've seen it with, I remember Khalil Mack, his first year, you could tell like this guy's going to be really good, but statistically, if you just look at a staff sheet,

it wasn't that great. But if you watched him play, you're like, God, I bet on this cat. And by a second year, he started to become just a true ass kicker. And to me, it's cave on statistically, right? not great. I had one game, I think, where he had multiple sacks. Memory could be a little off there. But I think even Giants fans would have to admit, like, you know, it was fine.

Showed some signs of promise, obviously physically. Showed like toughness and love of football and stuff, a lot of good things. But now it's time to like, can he be a 10 sack guy? Can he like, they're really, really in need of him to like take a step. If they can, he can become like a pro bowl level guy, then I'm much more bullish. on that. Like, I don't know. I wouldn't bet a large amount of money. It wouldn't be shocked, but I think there are, depending on who you talk to, and I'm lucky enough to know a lot of these people to evaluate these players, he was a polarizing guy. People thought he was a little

stiff, not a true, you know, bend the edge guy, but he does play hard. I think he's kind of, him and Waller are fascinating. If both those guys are really good pro bowl level guys, Giants 10 win team. If Darren Waller play seven games, because he's, often injured in Kvon's, you know, single five sacks, don't like you as much. What you're feeling on teams, like, say, the Falcons trading for Kyler Murray. They have a young team on offense so they could theoretically take on the contract. Personally, I wouldn't touch him as he seems like a toxic present in the locker room, toxic presence in the locker room.

Cardinals could easily be the number one pick, and with a theoretical first team from the team who traded and their other picks, they could be. build around another young quarterback. I do think you would have a trade market. When you look at the Washington commanders, when you look at your team, the Falcons, I think this year is about earning some credibility back as a human being.

I think most people look at them kind of like a slap, kind of kind of douchebag. I mean, people do not like him around the league. I know Colin hit on it on his podcast a while back. People do not think highly of the guy. And some early returns, I saw Larry Fitzgerald say some things at the golf tournament about he heard he's making strides is just being a better person.

And as you watch the quarterback documentary, the bar is high. Like wide receivers and linebackers, a lot of questionable characters in the league about not being perfect character, right? But at quarterback standards are really, really high. So when I question work ethic, when I question how good you are as a teammate, and we're not even talking about the play because he does have a lot of talent in that little body of his. But people question the guy. And anytime you question the guy and you're not like an elite player, most people are out. So I think they got to do a good job of building that back,

getting the reputation around the league of like, you know, he feels like a changed guy. He feels like a humbled individual. If they can kind of get that, I would say sentiment around the league, that would go a long way to improving. How do you say it? His status. as a trade chip. Because right now when you factor in the character question marks, the work ethic question marks, and then the enormous contract, one thing we've learned in sports is no one's ever untradable, whether you're Russell Westbrook or whether you're Carson Wentz. I can trade any contract at any moment. We can figure it out. Happens all the time.

Right. I would say that one would be pretty tough, especially if he doesn't really play this year, it doesn't look great. It would be, it could be a detriment to their ability to move on from it. Now, they could give him away if they eat some of the money, but I would say that's probably not

their ideal tactic, especially when you factor in, they kind of got a cheap owner. Love the pod. Heard you interview with, your interview with Colin, and was curious about Caleb Williams. Can players refuse to go play

for the team who drafts them? If so, what happens to them next? Also, excluding any teams with elite quarterbacks, what team do you think Caleb would like to play for in why? Love the pot. Well, I think the key is once I'm drafted, I have the choice of either I don't play that year and I go back into the draft and they just kind of lose the pick is essentially what happened in baseball with the A's, right? Kyler got drafted, played football, and then just said, I'm never coming. And they just lose the pick. and that they just get nothing out of it.

The key is, and Eli did this and Elway did this, telling the team under no circumstances I'm playing for you. Do not draft me. Eli did this with the Chargers. I'm never playing for you. Happens all the time in the NBA. Is you set the tone before the draft. Do not pick me.

Trade the fucking pick. Trade me. I don't care what you have to do. This ain't ever happen. Because once they pick me, they got me by the balls. What am I going to do? Sit out for the year? Not ideal. And it's why it's, in my lifetime, I don't remember Elway pulling that off. But I do remember the Eli thing, which I can't even imagine how big a story that would be now.

But I do think if you were them, you would just do everything humanly possible as the GM, Monty Ostenfort, as the head coach. I almost said Rich Gannon, Jonathan Gannon, to talk him into it, to work with his agents to kind of whine and dine him. Assuming he would do that and there's a chance he might not. Like I don't think my advice was that's what I would do if I was him. I would expect him like the overwhelming percentage of players was just, you're going to draft me number one, let's roll. Trevor Lawrence went to Urban Meyer.

Andrew Luck went to the Colts with Grickson and Pagano. Most of these players just take it and figure it out, right? Just the number one pick and you go. That would be my, if I had to take an end. educated guests. I don't know. I've never met Caleb Williams. I know a lot of people around him. I would just assume whoever gets the number one overall pick, he'll play for one. I do not expect him to do that. And you could even argue the cards have proven just over the last 15 years. I mean, with Arians, they made the playoffs a bunch. Two years ago, they made the playoffs. They are not,

I wouldn't compare them to clippers of like my youth. Right. Hell, they were more embarrassing as a franchise when I was younger. They used to be way, way. worse. They actually are better relative to what they've used to be. I've said it forever. I think the NFL would give anything to have powerful owners in Arizona and in Vegas. Markets have too much upward trajectory. The franchises are so valuable to the league. And they just have, like, Mark Davis does care. He just doesn't have the liquid cash, but he will do, he will attempt to do everything to win. I've always respected about Mark. Like the Gruden, I don't think Gruden's very good, but he did and he gave him $100 million.

Right. And listen, the Josh and Ziegler thing, not working out great so far. And they got a major question mark a quarterback, but I can't hate on him for hiring Josh McDaniels. A lot of people would have hired Josh McDaniels over the years. So my question with, with, uh, bidwell is like this, you know, I don't know. I'd rather Mark Davis is my owner than Michael Bidwell. I'll tell you that much.

Question for the bod. Belichick and Andy are first and second all times in playoff wins. Bill has 31 and Andy as 22. If you had to make a bet on who reaches 32 first, who would you pick? I would say, let's just say Andy has, let's just say he coaches five more years. Let's pick a number. I would say it would be, you would take the over. on five more years, he would need to average two a year to get to 32.

Well, even if he just wins, let's just say he wins two more Super Bowls in that five year span. That's three and three. That's six. So if he can just those other three years get a total of four wins, it's hard. It is. I would bet on Andy, but I would also preface it by saying, it's difficult. Like he's going to, Belichick had years.

remember back with Rex Ryan, you might just lose in your first playoff game. Eventually, Mahomes, they're not always just going to be in the AFC championship game or the Super Bowl. There's going to be a game at Arrowhead in the second round. They might be the one seed or who knows. Maybe they're the two seat.

And now with the seven seats, you got to play in the first round. You fucking just get upset. Think about last year, rolls his ankle, right? And you're like, oh, my, or knee. Is this his knee? I haven't got that far in the docky series,

kind of forget. Yeah, I think it was his knee. When he got kind of rolled up on, and everyone's like, oh my God, weird things happen in the playoffs. Right? They just do. So he could win two more Super Bowls in the next five years and still not get to 32. I would say I'd be hard-pressed see Belichick win another playoff game,

given as currently constructed with Mack Jones as quarterback and the AFC. Andy Reid's winning more playoff games, several. I think he's going to win minimum another Super Bowl. If I put the over under, I'd put it at one and a half. I'd probably take the over. But 10 playoff games are a lot. Now, if you tell me that Andy coaches eight more years, yeah, he's getting the 30s.

If you tell me, coaches four, just do the math. It's very, very difficult. And like I said, there just could be a year where you're just losing the first round. My first year in the NFL was the year Aaron Rogers won the Super Bowl. We won the NFC East, hosted the Packers. They had to beat us on the road in Philly. And they did in the first round.

We lost. MVP type season from Vic home playoff game, you lose. Now, clearly Mahomes and the chiefs are better than that team. But my point is, like, you get the first round, you might just get like Joe Burrow. Maybe they get a wild card or maybe just get a Steeler team that just plays unreal defense. I don't know. It's very, very difficult. So a long-winded way of saying, I don't view Belichick ever winning another playoff game with given his current setup.

and yeah, I think Andy's got a very good chance if he coaches for a while. Obviously, big news in the league is Hopkins signing with the Titans. It could just be my bias as a Titans fan, but I feel like this one is going to be a lot different than Julio. Hopkins is very similar to the offense that Tim Kelly is going to run, considering he was the OC in Houston when he was there. I also think the type of team that the Titans currently have is very similar to early on in Hopkins career when the team,

team had holes on offense and an inconsistent quarterback room. I really think he's going to be a solid addition to the defense or to the offense and propel them to a winning record. I think he instantly makes us a playoff contender. How do you feel he will do as a Titan? Well, I saw some people in my mentions firing out because I don't totally agree with it because I think the Titan should take a step back. But I do understand people saying that what are the Jags proven?

We got a big time coach. Tanny Hill has proven that he can have a lot of success. AJ Brown, I saw the Madden rankings, and, you know, I think Justin Jefferson was a 99. Hopkins had a higher rating than AJ Brown. That's ludicrous. A.J. Brown, to me, there's a wide gap. If you gave 32 teams the option, A.J. Brown, Hopkins, regardless of money, you're taking A.J. Brown. So there is an explosive element that Hopkins doesn't really bring you that AJ did.

I watched a couple years ago on Thursday night football. AJ Brown just beat the Niners by himself. So to me, the offensive line is major question marks. They are very, very dependent on just Derek Henry playing in an elite level. In defense, they do have some pieces. Simmons is a beast. Safety's a baller. But I don't know.

I just feel that the Jags, maybe I'm crazy, but with Doug and Trevor feel like a lock to win 10 games. And maybe just with your grittiness, with the head coach, you can get to like eight. I have a hard time seeing the Titans get to nine. It's not a negative. Like, are the Titans better having DeAndre Hopkins than not having DeAndre Hopkins? Of course.

100%. No one would argue that. But I just, I think it's going to be a little bit of a letdown. I'm with you. It's not Julio. Like, the Julio situation was, he was a shell of himself. So it was never going to work. old guy, broken down, always injured.

Fellow Cal Poly alum as well. I have a life question and a sports question. First, finishing law school in December and want to get into the sports agent game or work in law with a team. I understand the tangible requirements, but I'm still trying to figure out how, where I should try to break in. The way you got into the league as scouting is inspiring, wondering if you have any advice for me. second, do you think the league deliberately abolished the Eagles third and short push play? Offense is able to sustain drive and score more points might be a good thing. But does the ultra high success rate take the fun out of those third and short situations?

Yeah, I think it just maybe the league that it was a little boring. I don't know. I don't have a great answer for you. I think the Eagles clearly are a little bitter. And I don't blame them. It's like fucking stop the play. just is a legal play. I do have a little bit of a problem with the pushing.

It gets back to, I remember my dad was sick back in what would have been 05. He was in the hospital for some reason. I see something with his lungs. He was like filling up. It turned out to be okay. But we were in the hospital the day of the Notre Dame USC game and the famous quote unquote Bush push.

And that play is much different than what the Eagles are doing. But there is an element of like, there's a difference between rugby and football and the pushing element. You know, in rugby, when you're all on the scrum, I had a bunch of college roommates that played rugby. So I went to a lot of games. And I have a lot of respect for the sport. I mean, they don't have pads.

You have some crazy asses. Football is a little different than that. And that to me, and listen, Siriani or any of their offensive coaches could push back. That to me was an element of the play that I didn't love. The pushing. It felt like a rugby scrum, not a football play. I don't know, maybe I'm a sucker for just ram it up with the running back.

You either get it or not. Mono e mana. My offensive lineman versus the defensive linemen and linebackers versus the oncoming fullback or whoever I put in that position in the running back against the linebacker. Can I get a yard? Can I get a half yard or not? That's kind of what football is to me, not the kind of the origin of the sport. Of what I think we're getting away from ultimately what it is.

That would be my take, even though technically they weren't breaking the rules as of last year. I would say from a law perspective, I would reach out, I don't know that much about the agent business in terms of breaking in. I would find 10 of the most powerful agents and I would reach out to them in every form or fashion, whether that's Instagram DMs, whether that's on LinkedIn. And probably the easier way than like asking for a job would just ask. them for advice. Because sometimes when you ask for a job, I try to do this if I'm asking someone for something, like you want to bring something to table or try to act like you want something out of their knowledge. All you're trying to gain is not necessarily, you know, hey, can I sit down and get, you know, an interview for your corporation or for your agency? But like,

what do you think I should do? How did you put it in kind of stroke their ego, right? Scratch their back a little bit. How did you get to where you're at? What was your biggest thing you did as a first step. Drew Rosenhouse has an Instagram, sliding those DMs, Tom Condon, whoever. You name the agent, fire in some DMs and just ask for advice. Same thing with LinkedIn, you know, connect and then fire through the email that way. And you can always do the same thing with the contract negotiators with the team. It's a little more difficult to find, like their email is not going to be up on the team website.

Find them on LinkedIn. Those guys are much close to us, normal people in society than the coaches, easier to get a hold of that way. Like I said, advice. As for advice more than like, hey, do you have any job openings? I'd love to get a spot. Because a lot of them just won't even respond. Imagine an Olympics where

doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within

probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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 what 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. Kansas State alum here.

Do you think the Big 12 can settle into a solid third conference behind the Big Ten in the SEC? Do you see expansion by the Big 12? Who? I enjoy the pod. Go caps. A lot of respect for K-State. They have a lot of similarities to the football school that I first got my start in Fresno State have no business being as successful as they've been.

No business. They are nowhere near the biggest program in their state. There's just a toughness, a grittiness. There's an ethos to the program that is just fucking awesome. And I've always, back to Bill Snyder to what they're doing now, a lot of respect. I would say this the way college football is going. And I think you've seen this in like just society. Think about like Walmart and Target.

When you get a Walmart and a target in a certain area, they kind of just wipe everything around them. And I have a lot of respect for mom and pop shops. I really do. I knew a lot of people growing up that own mom and pop shops, that that's how they fed their family. But it gets ever more difficult to maintain a level of life when you have something like Target has

and they put in a Target down the street from you because they just destroy you. And I feel a little bit Walmart and Target are kind of like the SEC and the Big Ten. They got the biggest brands. They keep consolidating everything. Obviously, the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA

and them adding Texas and Oklahoma. You know, several years ago, remember the Pac-12 was trying to add Texas and Oklahoma. And looking back, that would have not just saved the conference, it would have made them a major power player. Now, who knows if within the failures, maybe those programs would eventually left to the SEC regardless.

But I have a hard time seeing the Big 12. You're going to have these two bohemists, which is Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Wisconsin, Bama, LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida. They just feel like on a complete, like, I do believe that eventually, Clemson. And I understand contractually that the ACC is in bed for a long time, but I don't know, man. Florida State, North Carolina, SEC gets them. Maybe the Big Ten still gets Oregon, Washington.

It just consolidates. I mean, that's what happens in every other industry, whether it's tech, whether it's retail. It just gets consolidated. Everyone drinking a truly or a high noon cellster. Like, look who actually owns all the drinks that we are having at the pool or the beach. They're not like little mom and pop shops. They're all owned by two or three of the big conglomerates. It's usually how it works because eventually they just grow and grow and grow and they get bigger and bigger and bigger. And that's what I feel like is going to happen with the SEC and the Big Ten. So I would say that the ACC as long as they have Clemson, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, they're going to be bigger than the Big 12.

And I've always loved the Big 12. I like that brand of sports. I like the football programs. I like the basketball programs. But same thing with the Pact 12. You lose those two stalwarts. I think I saw, was it Greg Sanky? Was on, T. Bob tweeted it out a couple weeks ago.

And he was interviewing the AD at LSU. And the AD at LSU obviously is responsible for hiring Brian Kelly, signing Kim Wulke away for Baylor, hiring the baseball coach. we just won a national champion. Like he's a really, really successful AD. SEC guys know his name. I forget it off the top of my head.

And he's like, one thing I never forget is even in this program where we're winning championships at all these sports, we have a lot of high standards. We're trying to win in everything. It's football 75% of our revenue. Like football pays the bills. Now,

there are certain schools like probably a Duke or a Kansas, where basketball is disproportionate relative to the rest of the power five. But for the most part, school for school, football is going to have such a disproportionate ratio of revenue that it's why the Big East crumbled, right? I grew up being in California watching those programs play hoops, but football rules the day.

And it's because of money. So I guess it's a long-winded way of saying that I don't know if there really is going to be a quote-unquote third conference. I think the two big boys are just going to keep eating everyone alive. And if there's anyone in their way, they'll just buy them. And I think we're inevitably, if I had to take an educated guess, the inevitability of where this all ends is like AFC, NFC. And that's what the Big 12 and SEC turn into. And that will be the 12th team playoff, just like was the NFL, 14 team playoff.

That's where we're headed. I'm not a Vikings fan. This is a alluding to. last week's mailbag, which was... It might have been half of Minnesota. I'm actually a Cowboys fan, but I was thinking, we continue to talk about how the Vikings

won all these games that they weren't supposed to and that the differential on their points for points against just doesn't jive. But we agree that the Vikings' defense is shit. Instead of putting all these close games is almost an asterisk on Cousin's name, why aren't we putting them as

they would have never won these games without them? I know watching the quarterback has put him on everyone's mind, but the dude takes so much crap that he deserves. Why can't we just give him the last season? I agree. Cousins was really good last season. Cousins was. I say the same thing about him and Dak.

Those guys are good regular season players. There's something flawed about both of them that once the playoff comes, like they're really impressive. What they're able to, the success they're able to have. Toughness, make the throws, touchdowns. Dak throws a few more interceptions, at least last season. But yeah, because it's a good player.

In a weird way, given if you just, I don't know how you quantify this, all the shit being talking like social media, he's probably undervalue. But relative to the high-end guys, there's a gap. And that gap, whether small or big, is a very, very important gap. Because that's really the difference. The other thing is part of the reason you get a lot of shit when you're a quarterback like him is because of the money you make. right like everyone kind of thought

Derek Carr's cute little story then he starts making premium dollars over the last four or five years he just gets treated differently same thing with Dak and same thing with cousins. Okay last question hey John I need a boots on the ground take is Scottsdale a good place for a bachelor

party if you don't like golf my understanding of the place is it's great if you love golf but if you don't is there enough things to cater a whole trip there. What are you going to do at a bachelor party would be my question? You're going to drink if you're not going to golf, right?

Like I went to Nashville on a bachelor party. We ran an Airbnb with a sweet pool and we went to dinners and booze during the day and kicked it. So we didn't play any golf. It was fun. Went to the bars. I'll promise you this, depending on the time of year right now, it's tad bit hot. It's about 115 outside. If you're coming in the fall, there is more than enough to do from if you clubs, not really my thing, but there are more than enough.

There are sweet bars everywhere. cool hotels you can go hang out at and booze. There are day pools you can go kick it at. So yes, I would recommend if you're not golfing, number one bachelor spot would probably be like Vegas, New Orleans. I'd put Nashville and Scottsdale, you know, not far behind. I don't know exactly know where you live, depending on where you're at.

If you're on the West Coast, I don't think you can go wrong in either Vegas or Scottsdale, golf or not. You 100% do not need to golf in areas. played golf in a month. I've been having a good time. Girlfriend's starting to get a little edgy because it's been a little hot. It's like, yeah, it's Arizona. You've lived here eight years. It's hot every summer. That's why they, God made AC. Okay, guys, talk to everyone later. Peace.

The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and Headwere writer Street or Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced

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

This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.