The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Tua Retirement Talk, Trade Lance, Chiefs Culture, Boring Brady, Draft Buzz

Episode Date: April 21, 2023

John reacts to the recent news that Tua Tagovailoa has considered retirement due to suffering numerous concussions, why the Niners need to move Trey Lance before the Draft, what makes the Chiefs’ culture the best in the NFL, and why Tom Brady could be a bust as a broadcaster. He also discusses the latest Draft buzz, including the debate over C.J. Stroud’s character, how the NIL money can shed light potential prospects, and if the NFL should commit to having natural grass at every stadium. Subscribe NOW and follow Middlekauff and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content. It's always FanDuel for the best wagering action! #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The volume. What is going on, everybody, John Middlecock, three and out podcasts. Good to be heard on whatever day you're listening to this. And hopefully you guys are getting ready for the weekend. It might be the weekend. Having a good time. Appreciate everyone listening. We are live every day.

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A lot going on today. Football talk. Football talk and more football talk. Some draft buzz. Tua. Trey Lance. Tom Brady. We will dive into it all as well as artificial turf

versus grass. Seems to be a controversial topic in the NFL streets. And yeah, so we, big football show, a lot of thoughts as we head into the weekend. As well as, we're in the middle of designing some three and out merch, but we do have go-low. I have a suite, some go-low trucker hats as well as some go-low polos. Just go to the volumes YouTube, or excuse me, the volumes website, just thevolume.com. and you can search the different shows. Go low.

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So do I. Where do I want to start? There's some Trey Lance. a couple of thoughts on the chiefs, but I think I'm going to start with Tua, Tua Tua Tunga by Loa. And the cool part about this time of year is a lot of these teams, you know, start that phase one of the off-season program,

and players show up. And then players give press conferences. And especially the teams that miss the playoffs, we haven't heard from a lot of these guys. And Tua season last year was, polarizing might be the wrong word, but was definitely one of the biggest, I would say,

talked about individual. because of the concussion situation. And I wanted to start there. And Tua made headlines by saying that he contemplated retirement. And I think anyone, anyone listening to this has seen a parent, has seen a grandparent, has had themselves, a child, hopefully not, but family, friends, whatever, have seen people deal with health issues. And whether they're self-inflicted or not, a lot of times, like, you can, you.

got to draw a line in the sand, right? You got to change your diet. You got to add exercise. There are things that you need to change. And it's like, it's up to you, especially the older you are, like 50, 60s. As our parents or grandparents get older, my dad had, you know, type 2 diabetes and he just refused to change. And that's his own fault. So if I ever get it, like, I have a choice to make. Am I going to change my diet or am I not? Right. And I would say anytime you go through, you know, tough things physically that a doctor tells you, hey, you need to do this moving forward. That's a time for introspection.

And that's a time for making a hard decision. And really, they shouldn't be. But when you have children, when you have family, when you have people that care about you, you got to make tough decisions. And we all have these at certain times in our life. Hopefully you don't. But a lot of them are kind of unavoidable. And I think Tua, you know, when you play football, it's a violent game.

No matter how much they have regulated the violence out of it, you saw with Tua getting slammed on the ground. There's nothing you can do. Tua can't run away from these players, right? He's not that fast. So when he gets slammed on the ground over and over, if I just asked the average NFL fan, how many concussions you think Tua had? I would imagine most people said five or six, just last season. I think it's documented that he had three.

Obviously, by the end of the season, he was quote unquote clear, didn't play. So it was a bizarre situation. So not bizarre in the sense that like, where's this going? Where's this headed? Then they pick up the fifth year option. But I understand him saying that of course he talked to his family. Like, should I continue doing this? Is this the right move?

Because unlike people that hurt their ankle or their elbow or their shoulder and whether you can rehab it or whether you can get surgery to fix it, This is not something you can quantify. This isn't some like, hey, you got type 2 diabetes. You need to cut X, Y, and Z out of your diet. This is like, yeah, I hope that, you know, some defensive tackle or linebacker doesn't blindside you and slam me to the ground and end your season, right? And you now, based on previous concussions, are more inclined to get another one.

And there's no way to avoid that. I mean, you can be smarter, I guess. I don't know. I mean, it's not like he's trying to get hit. And I think any time, any human being professionally or health-wise goes through something that you spend some time looking in the mirror. I bet there are a lot of people listening to this right now who have either changed jobs, who have been laid off maybe in their career, who have tried a business and had it failed.

And usually, like, through adversity, you kind of look in the mirror and you ask yourself some questions. Like, is this what I want to do? Can I make this work? Is this something that I want to continue to dedicate time with? Is this something that I'm passionate about? Do I actually really like doing this? Is this worth it? You just ask yourself some questions.

And definitely health-wise, I mean, that's the easiest thing to do. Like, what am I doing? What do I need to change? And I think that's what makes it so complicated. There's not a right or wrong answer. Of course, like, I'm not shocked at all. And I remember last year, the media was like, I can't play anymore.

Well, that's not your choice. You don't get to decide for other people. I know everyone thought they got to do that in 2020 and 2021, but those days are over. You don't get to dictate what other people do with their own health when it comes to playing football. So I would say the media universally was like, he can't play ever again. It is not safe. And as Tua said, like, yeah, we talked about it and I'm not going to stop. Now, listen, that's his choice.

That's his prerogative. Do I feel like when I watch him play that he is more inclined than other players to get injured, I would say this. He's not very quick, so it's hard for him to avoid, like he can't run away from people, right? He's a pocket quarterback who also happens to be small. And for whatever reason,

now he kind of has a history of got hurt in college, been slammed to the ground multiple times in the pros. And it hurt in college, like major injury. Remember him? I think it was against Mississippi State lying on the ground with, was it a dislocated hip? Like he got really, really injured.

in that game in college. And then obviously last year in the pros just slam. Now, you can come back. Well, Drew Breeze was small and he couldn't really move. Yeah, well, clearly he was pretty good at whether it was getting rid of the ball fast. The other thing is one thing Tua hangs his hat on is the deep ball. Like, he does throw a pretty good deep ball. It's one of his most powerful weapons as a player, kind of that little lollipop go route or post route.

Usually that takes a little time. Like Drew Breeze did most of his work. in the short and intermediate game in his career. So I wonder if the way he plays is not the most conducive to, you know, avoiding hits and not shocked at all to hear a guy say, yeah. I know people have talked about it. I've obviously talked about it, but I'm not stopping. And then he also mentioned that he's using taekwondo.

Your boy, you know, might have gone to Rodden his karate in the mid-90s. He just, you know, I was probably the worst student there. this guy had trained in Davis, California, like, with one of the graces. I mean, this guy was a certified badass. And there were some people that he taught that were like, I would not, they were my buddies or whatever. They were really good. I was, I lasted like six months. Took a lot of discipline.

Like, I got a lot of respect for martial arts. That is very, very difficult. And there clearly are things that translate to especially other athletics, right? I'm going to push back on this one, though, like learning how to fall. I remember when I was with the Eagles, Michael Vick couldn't slide. And he got hurt a lot. And part of it was because he took hits down the field, right? He was a running quarterback who would take off.

But then when he found himself in the open field and there were guys surrounding him, like you watch Kyler Murray, and it makes sense he's a baseball player. It's pretty natural. He can hit the ground, right? Russell Wilson, also a baseball player. Pretty natural, slider. You watch Lamar Jackson. He's actually not the most nimble slider.

But he's kind of good at doing this little. full thing, right? He just kind of hits the ground. You watch, you know, Michael Vic, it was always like, God, he's getting destroyed. Now, Tua is not a running quarterback. So part of, like, if Fletcher Cox or, you know, Aaron Donald or whoever, whoever, Bika Parsons, Nick Bosa, Joey Bosa, Miles Garrett, they get their hands on you, especially if you're someone of Tua stature, they are dramatically bigger and stronger than you. You are no, longer in control, right? It's just kind of out of it. Now, I'm sure you can do things like if a guy's coming to hit the ground, but part of when I've watched Tua been injured, it's had to do with

them getting, you know, onto his body and slamming him to the ground. And I don't care of Horacey's teaching you or I'm teaching. I don't know if there's that much you can do in those situations. Maybe I'm wrong. I find myself rooting for Tua. You listen to him talk. You're like, God, this is an impressive guy. He's a high character person. Clearly, football means a lot to him. But, you know, some things at the highest level, you know, you're either good enough or you're

not or your body can either hold up or it can't. And we kind of have a long history of guys' bodies that just struggle to hold up. And I think the hard part about, you know, the head stuff is we just don't know what we don't know in the sense of like, how do you protect it? I know they've changed the helmet. That was a story pretty recently. the quarterbacks are going to wear different helmets moving forward or they're trying to implement them.

But I do think there's only so much you can do. And let's face it, we're all kind of going to hold our breath when to a play is moving forward. Trey Lance, that was a story that came out in Rapaport, rap sheet, tweeted out basically, you know, the Niners are not expressing the interest to trade them. They're not calling around. They are not shopping them. but they have received calls, and they're opening to listen because they would kind of listen to anyone. It's like, yeah, you know, I trade LeBron James, but you got to give me a ton.

Now, obviously, Tray Lance is LeBron James, but back on draft night when the 49ers, and really it happened a couple of months before when they made the big trade for a quarterback, I got behind it because it was like, you know, I am pro swinging for the fences. But I do think several years later, we can say part of swinging for the fence, you know, part of swinging for the fences is like taking a calculated risk and probably mitigating the potential for disaster. And like the Carolina Panthers this year traded a lot, right? Several first round picks, a stud wide receiver. Like they gave them a lot of assets. But they moved up to number one. So in a draft that doesn't have Trevor Lawrence or Andrew Luck or John Elway or Peyton Manning,

most drafts were a crapshoot, right? No one knew that Patrick Holmes was going to be. be this good. Most people thought Josh Allen, including myself, stunk. Jalen Hertz, I thought he was a running back. This is an inexact science. But at least when you make a big trade to get to number one, you control the draft. You dictate the terms on draft night. And you look back at the 49ers, separate from Trey Lance, they traded up to pick three. Like, that's pretty nuts. It's one thing to do it on draft night. They did it like two months before. And I've said over and over, get the 49ers and some 49er fans, for whatever reason, have this weird loyalty to Trey Lance, which I don't ever have loyalty to anybody when it comes

to sports or as a fan, right, unless they've earned it. Like I get, if you're a Warriors fan and you have loyalty to Draymond, Stefan Clay. But they've earned that equity. But like, Trey Lance was just in your mind, you hoped to get the star quarterback and it hasn't materialized. Who cares? Just pivot and move on, right? Like, once a guy establishes himself and becomes a really good.

player. I understand if I'm a Titans fan being mad that we traded AJ Brown. But ultimately, if Trey Lance doesn't work out and the teams has success, who cares? This loyalty of like Trey Lance got screwed. Did he? You know, I don't think so. I thought he was going to be much better than it looked like he was going to be. But that's my point. I've always said, like, my opinion on this is kind of irrelevant. I was going to these practices. You know who didn't believe in them? The head coach who's also the coordinator and the players. One of the big stories last year during training camp was like, the veteran players, a ton of them are pro bowlers, were like, yeah, this ain't working dog. We need something else. A big reason why they signed Jimmy Garoppolo back. Because internally,

the star players who planned on winning and the head coach who also planned on winning weren't seeing it. So like, I tried to be optimistic. I remember going to practices, but it was like, He's got some inaccuracy issues. And then part of it, and this is what Jalen Hertz earlier in his career before he became a much better passer, same with Josh Allen, they could really run. So when you got like, if all you have is a 99 mile on a fast fall, eventually Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge and Shohei Otani and Mike Trout, like they can time that up. But if you got a 99 mile hour fastball and you also got either a sweet changeup or a slider, they kind of never know what's coming. So when you are a running quarterback who is learning to throw, you always have the pitch of like, screw it, I'm going to take off.

And Jalen, hell, Jalen still has that. But early on in his career, he was such a great runner because he is. He's a natural player in space. Josh Allen, same thing. Obviously, Lamar, a lot of good dual threat quarterbacks are dual threat for a reason. Justin Fields will see if he can ever become the passer. But as a runner, it's elite. Kyler Murray, faster than everybody on the field.

Ray Lance is slow. He plays slow. So he's like an inaccurate quarterback who struggled to run. Now, he has a small sample size. But the thing in the NFL, like, you don't get much time. This is not like in baseball. I can keep you in the minors. We can give you years to figure it out, then bring you up if it doesn't work, whatever.

Football moves at rapid speed. It's why so often a guy gets hired three years later, he's fired. It's like we see first rounders and second rounders all the time. A couple years in, it's like, yeah, they're not started anymore. This guy's a backup rotation guy. They get cut. The NFL does not wait on anybody. And ultimately, Trey Lansel, when I see this report, they're thinking about trading

him, one is they're looking at it like this. Let's use a stock analogy. If you took $100,000 and bet and put it on one individual stock, if two years later, it was at $67,000, you would obviously not be happy, right? you would have lost, you know, 33% or whatever of your initial investment. And if I told you, hey, would you sell this right now? Ideally, you would say, no, I'd want to get it at minimum. Can I get my money back?

Will the stock go back to $100,000? And I'd say, well, there's a small, small percent chance of that ever happening. But there's a bigger percent chance of that $67,000 in a year being worth $20,000. So ultimately when you sell, you're going to lose $80,000 instead of $33. You would sell immediately. And I think the 49ers know that, you know, more likely than not, Tray Lance can't beat out Sam Darnold. So when the season starts, and let's assume Brock Purdy is healthy and can come back,

Trey Lance will then be the third string quarterback. So if right now, and I don't think he's got much value, he hasn't played, he's been injured, clearly the 49ers who invested all this already questioned the pick. Could they get a conditional third round pick for them? Could they get like a couple forced? You know, could they just get something that's worth just be like, we should move? If you're Trey Lance, you're not starting for the 49ers.

Like, that's not happening. John Lynch and the head coach already said, Brock Purdy's the starting quarterback. The team already rallied behind the guy. And Sam Darnold, like, they've been pretty open. They started about trading for him two years. ago. And then what he did last year, those last six games, dramatically better than anything I've seen out of Trey Lance. And it's not like Sam Donald's 33 years old. He's 25. So I think

Tray Lance's tenure with the 49ers is in major jeopardy. They're telling you that they're cool with making the trade. And I think they know from a value standpoint, like there's a decent chance. His value beyond plummets when week one comes around because he's not even, the second string quarterback. So do we take whatever we can get right now? And I understand it from another team standpoint. If you think that you can get a distressed asset and not have to pay that much money, it's more than worth it.

Because if you're a team that doesn't have a quarterback and ends up not drafting a quarterback, the Colts, the Tampa Bay, you just look around the league. Houston Texans, if they don't draft a quarterback. Fourth round pick, basically get a year. to see the guy. And if it works out, great. Pick up his fifth year option and move forward. If it doesn't, whatever, wasn't really your problem.

You paid the guy $9 million for one season to see if he could function. To see if you could find, I don't want to say a diamond in the rough because the guy was drafted, you know, third overall. But to see if you could just get him going. And if teams like the Texans that draft, that don't draft a quarterback are not interested, would tell you everything you need to know. Because I think clearly, trade's a good guy. He's definitely not like a malcontent.

He's not demanding a trade. It just hasn't worked out. And I think if you go back to the process of you never should make these crazy early draft trades for the third overall pick. That's just not good business. If you're trading in May or, excuse me, March or February for the number one overall pick, I can see that. But trading for the third overall pick when two other quarterbacks. are going to go one, two. I think that's just bad business.

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

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 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, untrower. 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. 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 a podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what you? went down and tried 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, so. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. One thing that's going on right now with the Chiefs that just shows you what a high-level operation they have is like Tua and the Giants and all these teams, all these players that have reported for all these franchises all over the NFL. The Chiefs do not make their players report.

They do some Zoom meetings throughout the week because they work out in Texas with Patrick Mahomes. And the Chiefs Instagram yesterday, just pictures from the Texas workouts. And there were players everywhere. And I was just thinking like, they've won two Super Bowls in the last four years. They have, you know, now with Belichick losing Brady,

the best coach in the NFL. They clearly have the best quarterback in the NFL. But they got the best culture in the NFL. Like, people always say this in business. It's not about the walls or the building. It's about the people inside. And that's usually true, right? You know, the best companies usually have some of the best people running it.

And when it comes to sports, they always say the best teams are those that get coaches on the field. Get players that take responsibility. They get players that want to be coached. They get players that just. just never stopped working, even after they had success. Because it's easy if I pay you $100 million or if you win a Super Bowl to take your foot off the pedal. That's human nature. We all are guilty at times of, you know, I could have worked a little bit harder.

I could have been a little more mature and disciplined in that situation. The Chiefs just don't have that problem. I mean, where they can give their guys more time off in the sense of you don't need to be in Kansas City. but you guys are going to be working. And you're all with Patrick Mahomes, who is your best player leading the operation? Wasn't that the Patriots greatest advantage over the years? Other players always said it is

if Belichick can get on Tom. And Tom's standards on the practice field and in the meeting room are as high as bills. And any coach, I better, you know, stay locked and loaded. I better bring it on a daily basis. One of the Patriots' biggest advantages, you could argue the biggest, was the culture set not by Bill, but by Tom, who followed that lead. Because when your best players don't follow that lead, it's when you get problems.

And clearly the Chiefs, I just think that as long as this is their wiring and their mindset, they're just going to be the pick every single year. I mean, they really are. And if I'm a Kansas City fan, my car chances moving forward. And it's hard. You can't fake this shit. You can't just create it out of thin air. You either got it.

And let's face it, they got it at the highest of high levels. With guys, I mean, you're talking about a guy that's going to go down. He's still got a long ways to go, but he already is, one of the greatest quarterbacks we've ever seen. And Travis, Kelsey's there too. he's going to go down more and likely as the most productive tight end of all time. Those guys are leading the charge in early April, in Texas. Pretty impressive, man. I mean, it's just what a high level operation they have.

And never forget, man, people make this thing go around. You can't set a culture without your top people living by it. Mahomes and Kelsey live by it clearly. One story, this is never going to die. And it will not officially die until he, misses the entire season is Tom. And people is like, is he actually retired? Will we come back to the Dolphins?

Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom. I got no clue. You got no clue. Until he actually misses the fall, we will know whether he's retired or not. But until the football season, talking about Tom Brady as potentially coming back is going to be something that happens.

So I don't know. My guess is he stays retired, but if he told me he comes back, I'd believe you. But I watched this clip and it kind of went viral of like, oh, Tom is not actually saying he's retired. I just watched him talk. And I started thinking about this is a guy that potentially, I mean, some people don't think he'll ever call games. I would imagine, you know, for $25 million a year, his ego is pretty big.

It'll help him sell his other businesses that he will at least try out, you know, the Fox booth and be their lead analyst in a year. but I watched him talk at this seminar, and it was basically just the clip of him talking about the dolphins, but it was just so corporate. And I think one thing that made Tom just whenever I would talk to people, and when I was at Fresno State, we have a bunch of guys that either played there or worked on the staff, you know, as an assistant coach,

as a strength coach, and you would hear these stories, and God, Tom's a bad ad. Tom is just cool, man. Tom just, Tom's just one of the dudes. And the reason he's considered, I think, one of the greatest teammates of all time and arguably the greatest teammate of all time, because he was great at it. It was natural to him being one of the guys resonating with people. It clearly probably became hard the last couple of years when he's 44, 45 years old. But it was 100% unequivocally one of the things Tom Brady always hung his hat on, not on Sunday, was what he did Monday through Saturday with his teammates, resonating with them, getting along with them, going to

above and beyond for them. He was natural at it. And the only way you could do that is kind of be an authentic good guy. And you just, that's relatable. And one thing when you watch Peyton and Eli on television, they just seem

very comfortable in their own skin. They honestly feel pretty natural. I actually think Peyton's become a little less corporate in that, in the Manning cast. And it's just like, this is a great watch. I feel like I'm watching this megacast or

Manning cast or whatever they call it, with two guys who are clearly, you know, obviously Payton's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Eli had two of the great playoff runs of all time. He'll probably eventually be in the Hall of Fame. That's up for debate. But regardless, Eli, another great guy. It just feels like I can just hang with these two guys, man.

I could just drink some beers, play nine holes with him, talk some bowl. Like, they just seem relatable. Tom clearly has that. Yet whenever I watch him talk, whether it's in an interview, whether it's, I remember when we came on with Colin, whether it's at this thing, he feels very corporate.

He feels kind of like he's been caught up in the machine, which is understandable. I don't think he can be good as a broadcaster if that's what he comes off as. Not the guy that related with all of his teammates and got along with everyone for 20 plus years, but this corporate creation and this corporate machine that has spit out all this money. Like Tiger Woods is a good example. For a long period of time, Tiger was kind of fake, right? Everything that you saw in these commercials was turned out to be kind of inauthentic. And one thing, I think Tiger in his latter years, the last four or five years, he's had some, you know, battle through injuries.

He's become much more of a relatable person. He can just, when he talks, whether it's to the media, around the guys, it's like, God, Tiger just seems more normal. And I do wonder if Tom Brady, he's the most famous NFL player in the history of the league. You know, beside like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, it's a short list. He's one of the most famous athletes of my entire life. It's hard to be normal. And somehow Peyton and Eli can still kind of balance that pretty well, especially when the camera's on. I do wonder if Tom's going to be able to do that.

because I think the number one thing we look for as consumers in 2023, like part of the reason newspapers die and a lot of radio shows are dying, it just all feel very fake. It's very inauthentic. It's why podcasts are crushing. It's why certain people in the business of talking are crushing and others are not. It's like, can you just act normal? Can you be yourself? Because you can do that now and make a lot of money and have an enormous audience. That's what people want. want. I don't know. I would probably bet against it. I think it'll be very, very difficult for Tom because when you watched them on Tom versus time, or not Tom versus time, but whatever the ESPN Plus show was on all their Super Bowls, it was like a six-part documentary and he could

swear. It was like, God, this is the Tom that I want to get to know. I always find it funny sometimes and I try to work on it because I know Pete, some of you guys listen, like with your kids in the car and listen, you got a five or six year old, you know, you don't want me dropping F bomb after F bomb. You know, if it's a 15 year old, like, I'm sorry, that kid's cussing when you're not around. But I try to be cognizant. But sometimes, like, people are like,

someone sent me a DM recently that was like middle cough. My dad always said, when you swear, you sound dumber. It's like, and he wasn't talking about me, just in general. And I've heard that saying before, too. And I think that's a very old school saying, like, I just talk like I talk.

You know, I didn't go to Harvard. my vocabulary is not something of some Cal UCLA grad. I just speak as I speak. And I don't think, I'm sorry, you know, I don't try. I'm more conscious now, conscious, conscientious of swearing consistently. But I also like, I swear in real life. So do many of you. Like, I'm not trying to be overkill, but sometimes the words are going to come out.

And if you see your seven-year-old son, like, this is, the show's not really for seven-year-olds, right? Now, I want you to listen, and if the only time you can listen is in your car when you're picking up your kids, I get it, but this is not a little kid show.

It's a grown-up show. We talk about grown-up stuff. Invol also the NFL. But, like, I find that real. Just be yourself. I'm just being myself. Sometimes I swear. Right?

Tom swears. And it's very, I found it like the best Tom Brady was that ESPN Plus show when he just let it rip. The buzz around the draft. There was a story, I think I saw it on Wednesday of Brady Quinn. God, I'm talking about a good looking dude.

I mean, as someone that doesn't have hair, I was like, Brady just got good hair, good jawline. He looks the part, man. He said something on a podcast yesterday about C.J. Stroud. And it was basically that C.J. Stroud had committed to go to the Manning Academy, the camp, right? where the college quarterbacks go and work as counselors for Peyton and Eli. And just like a lot of quarterbacks do. Remember famously Johnny Mansell went there and got really drunk and Archie kicked him out. And it was a big story.

And he committed. And then he didn't show up, but he ghosted him and said that that was one of the reasons because supposedly CJ's fallen in the draft. Like he's one of those guys that's slipping. And then, Ryan Clark, you know, snap back about like, you're bemoaning a guy's character. Who made the Mannings, the, the bard, you got to listen to them. And it's just, it's your classic this

time of year when it comes to the NFL draft about whether it's former players or, you know, your Big J. Journalist, just screaming at each other over a report about a player and then people thinking it's unfair. And what I often found funny when I was in the NFL and definitely now, is that whether this stuff's true or not, it does not affect the teams at all. They all know. Like there are some things that are objectively facts, right? Jalen Carter was in another car racing the car where two people died. Now, that happened.

Now, whether it's his fault or not, obviously all that stuff is subjective and up for a debate. Stetson Bennett was arrested. We all saw the video. That is objective. It cannot be argued. That happened. Then there are stories like, you know,

is C.J. Stroud, is he, can you depend on him? Is he consistently, how would you put? Is he punctual? Right? If he says it's going to be somewhere,

is he going to be there? And I remember that I learned in the NFL that academics, like no one cared what a wide receiver's grades were, or a defensive lineman's grades were or a right tackles grades were because ultimately doesn't matter. Especially if you told me,

listen, this guy barely passed his classes, but he's very smart football player. He learns football well. That's all that matters. The NFL's in the football business. We're not building the bridge. We're not trying to negotiate

an acquisition of a bank. Can the guy run a route over the middle and on a hot route, does he know where to go and can he catch the football? and is he tough after the catch and is he fast? Like, can the guy bend the edge? Can the guy hold the point?

Can the guy run the zone running scheme? But when it comes to quarterbacks, one thing that I was always taught, and I think most scouts kind of abide by this rule is like, everything matters. So their GPA, like they don't need to be a 4.0 student, but do they take school seriously? Because usually they take everything seriously, right?

They take school seriously. They take weight room seriously. If they, if they, play golf. They take golf very seriously. Their football, they take very seriously. Everything they do in their life is held to a high standard. They don't cut corners.

Now, I don't know anything about CJ Stroud. I'm not saying this is true or not. And ultimately, what I would tell you is, in the big picture, it's kind of irrelevant. Whether Ryan, Clark, and Brady Quinn are arguing back and forth over this. Because the teams already know. They already have this information. You don't slide in the draft unless like the Laramie-Tunzel thing comes out on draft night, but based on these media reports, right? That's, that's their own narratives

that they get to create. The teams have their boards, which are obviously not public. Now, I'm not saying where they put these guys is right or wrong, but they have this information. They have more information than literally everybody on the outside. And they've gotten that information from people in the program, people around the program, their teammates, guys on their given team about, that played with those guys, people that know them, they're high. high school coach, their college counselor. They accumulate all that information and they figure it out from there. Now, I think C.J. Stroud is going to be a fascinating guy.

Because when the Panthers originally traded up, everyone thought C.J. Stroud was going to be the number one overall pick. He became in the betting markets the guy that everyone thought was going to take him. And now it feels like, that's over. Bryce Young's going number one. And people are like, is C.J. Stroud even going to be the second quarterback? And let's just, let's just do a hypothetical. C.J. Stroud goes 10th.

I'm just, I'll just pick a number. Obviously, the Eagles are picking there, but you know what I mean? Like they make a trip, whatever, he just goes 10th. A lot of people will say that C.J. Stroud slid in the draft. And my counter would be, did he? Or did the media overvalue him? Hell, based on the Georgia game, I thought he's worthy of a top 10 pick. But I'm just telling you, like doesn't mean teams in the NFL think that.

And the information they have, we all have information when a guy gets arrested. we all have information when remember when James Winston got suspended there are certain stuff that's just public information the majority of stuff in a character write-up and I did it full time for a year when I did the West Coast is not public information

because it's stuff that a position coach director of football operations a head coach a counselor tells you I wouldn't say in secret but it's just not something that they would just say in an interview. Because not everything is flattering.

And some guys are high character stuff and still have some red flags in their background. So this notion about these players and these people arguing and it's, I get where if you're in first take, you need to scream about this. It doesn't ultimately matter. It doesn't actually influence anything. Now, when a story comes out like Jalen Carter at the Combine that he was involved in the in the carch race or whatever, that is information that we all learn in real time. The teams didn't know about it.

You and I didn't know about it. But a lot of this information, like if that manning story does have validity behind it, I'm sure that's been a rumor about C.J. Stroud, I don't know, since last summer in NFL circles. And ultimately, it's on you to decide as the general manager if it's a big deal or if it's not. Because if he's a good enough player and you think he can, and, you know, be a top 10 quarterback in the league. It doesn't matter. Doesn't matter at all.

Right? And I think that is this time of year, like these stories that are happening left and right, I don't think are having any influence on, you know, on NFL draft boards. One thing that I did find fascinating, I saw Pete Carroll gave a quote. You know, when I was in the NFL, you always ask the question, how do you think this guy will handle money? How do you think this guy will handle success? And Pete was like, you know, the one thing crazy now is some of these guys are making a million bucks, right?

Some of these guys are making 700 grand. So relative, if you're like a top 15 pick, you're going to make more than that. But I do get to see you like, can you imagine as a scout going into a school and talking to a coach and them going, well, this guy was one of our hardest workers and one of our best players. and I thought this guy was going to be a top five pick. And then NIL started and he got 750 grand and his work ethic diminished. That would be incredible information to have as a scout because I would tell my general manager, tell my head coach, this is something that's pretty concerning. Because if this guy's work ethic dipped with 750 grand, what's going to happen when we give them $5 million? Right?

And vice versa. when you go into a school and you go, what was it like when he signed his big NIL deal? It's like, you know, he was still the first guy into every single workout. He was still the last guy on the practice field. We didn't see one issue. And we also heard that of that million dollar contract,

he gave $150,000 of it to charity. Like, shit, I'm all over this cat. So it's going to be, I would imagine the NIL money with some of these guys. is a pretty big talking point in some of these draft meetings. Because forever, it was like, how's this guy going to handle money? Well, beside the brown bags of 40K that he got, you know, under his dorm bed, and I promise you, that stuff was never really talked about.

Now that NIL's public, like, you're, you would ask that question. What was it like, right? He's got, he's got a Mercedes contract and he's got a deal with Nike. You know, he's making $1.3 million. Right? you're going to know Drake May and Caleb Williams like they're wiring. They've been making huge cash now for a couple of years. That's an incredible advantage to have in understanding. It's going to work against guys. It's going to work for guys. I'm really, really fascinated by

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the 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. I'm also fascinated by the quarterbacks. Some people think Will Levis might be the second quarterback off the board. You know, could the Indianapolis Colts take Anthony Richardson with the fourth pick and just try to hit a home run kind of like Shane did with Jalen Hertz a couple years ago and knowing how to use a running quarterback who needs some refinement? That's always, because let's face it, this draft in terms of star power, in terms of star power, kind of lacks it. And part of star power is the quarterbacks. you know, that Tua, Joe Burrow draft was just poof, that popped.

The Trey Lance, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Justin Fields. Like, felt like those guys were bigger names in this group, but the quarterbacks are always going to carry any draft because we do lack a little firepower with the other positions, but are all four quarterbacks going to go in the top 10? is one of these quarterbacks going to be there in the teens? I can't pretend to know or have a great feel for it. Besides, obviously a couple of quarterbacks for sure going to go in the top 10,

but are all four? Because at one point in time, I was like, could four quarterbacks go one, two, three, four? That's never happened in the history of the league. And I saw Adam Schaefter say the other day, that is definitely not happening here. So, yeah, the draft is always a fun time when it comes to the quarterback. And last but not least,

the NFL PA came out this basically report that majority of injuries happen on field turf. And as someone that plays a lot of golf and gets to know wherever I'm playing, you know, usually the superintendent, who's the guy that kind of is in charge of making sure the grass and the greens and just the courses in really good shape. And where I went to school at Cal Poly, there was a major for that. there was a major where guys basically went on to run golf courses. Big Ag school, and it's a tough job. It pays a lot. I mean, these guys are making, you know, 150, 200, 250, depending on the course you're at.

You make Buku bucks. Now, it's hard work. They're early. They're late, especially if you're at a course that's either famous or host big events. But the point is that grass is complicated. And since coming to Arizona, like, for example, a golf course because of the climates, they have two separate grasses for six months basically. When the heat comes, they have a different grass than they have during the winter.

And clearly around the NFL, some teams play in better climates than others. But it's always been argued that artificial turf, well, one, is cheaper once you install it, right? Doesn't need sun, doesn't need to be trimmed, it doesn't need maintenance. So on just, from an economic standpoint, it is anyone that's put artificial, official turf in their backyard, in the front yard, in a side yard, wherever. At an office, you just leave it. It's great. But from a football standpoint, it clearly impacts, I don't know, the most important people

in the business, the players. And any time that you lose star players, because you're just as likely to lose Nick Bosa or Odell Beckham Jr. or Tom Brady as you are some random special team player. Now, the NFL is a partnership between the players and then, you know, the teams, the league. And in the CBA, I've always argued that the players argue about stuff that just doesn't really matter. Like, they were obsessed with getting days off in training camp, no more double days. And I'm not saying that they should not fight against like Junction Boy style training camp, but you should be much more consumed with guaranteed money,

you know, practice field requirements, game field requirements. But they were obsessed with things the owners didn't give a shit about. Oh, you want a second day off during training camp? Take it. You want two days off during the week during the season? You're cool because they don't actually care. The only thing they care about is dollars and cents. This would have been a good example of something.

The players should have fought for. every single stadium that we play in, we mandate that you have grass. They didn't do it. And that's why in New York, they have shitty turf, right? Obviously, the Super Bowl was terrible turf. People slipping all over the place.

Maybe it is grass and they painted it, whatever. But I think, and I don't even think it's that controversial, I'm a sucker for grass. Like, I like grass fields. But I also saw when the 49ers moved in the Santa Clara Levi Stadium, it was hard for them to figure out the grass. It didn't hold at first. It's complicated.

It's not like you just put in grass and it's great. Like some grass is better than others, depending on whether you're in New York or whether you're in Texas. It's not easy and it obviously costs the teams way more. But this is a good example of something that D Smith and the players union and their reps should have been fighting for years ago. This is obviously a hot topic for a long time. It's not like it just came up.

But they're always obsessed with. the wrong things. Like, can we get a second day off during the buy week or whatever? You got a mandatory six days off during the bi week. Who cares? Six days off or three days off. Fight for more money. Fight for the things that are tangible, right? Because I got news for you. Most teams, especially the good ones, they're giving you days off no matter what. You know, this would have been something that, you know, a good union representative would have fought for the last CBA a couple years ago, but they didn't. And now this is an argument that goes back and forth. This is collectively bargained. And this is something that could have been collectively bargained. And this is something

that you're going to have to keep bitching and moan with for a while. Because for whatever reason, I don't quite understand it because it's not that much money relative to the grand scheme of things, why I would risk having turf in if I'm an owner? Why would I be that cheap? Why would I want to risk losing my star players on a bad field. But the answer is, and they've shown you consistently, they don't actually care. They just don't. They would rather save a little money than lose a star player. Some of these teams, obviously, not all of them.

And some of them have, obviously, majority of them have grasped. But, yeah, I mean, that's something that easily could have been collectively bargained a while ago, but just was not. Okay, that'll do it. and you know what I never do is thank my guy Holst and James, my audio and video producers. I'm a bad teammate. You know, it's not Tom Brady of me, but those guys crush it on a daily basis.

Do a lot of things behind the scenes that make this bad boy go. And shout out to you guys for, yeah, for coming, hanging, listening. And hopefully everyone has a good. weekend and talk to you soon. See you guys Sunday. Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff, firing those DMs. And we'll have some content. A lot of content next week for the draft. So let's rock and roll, baby.

The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 Acapella 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.