The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Vinatieri Appreciation; Julio Trade Watch; Kyler Murray Red Flags; Mailbag

Episode Date: June 1, 2021

In this episode, John reflects on the Hall of Fame career of Adam Vinatieri following his retirement announcement, why the conventional wisdom that OTA's and group workouts are a waste of time is wrong, looks at the latest with the Julio Jones trade watch and why he has Kyler Murray red flagged. He also answers listener questions in the Middlekauff Mailbag. Follow John on Twitter and SUBSCRIBE now to get all the latest content!! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHard 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. 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 put on 10. I was having trouble

stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman 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 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. 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.

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I know I did. Got a nice little tan. I'm on about hour 10 of my Monday detox. It's been a long three-day stretch in the incredible state, and really cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale. You leave Arizona, and the number one thing I think is like, if I could do it all over again, I probably would have gone to Arizona State.

You know, I had a good time of Cal Poly, but I think Arizona State, and I remember thinking this when I scouted and went through it, when I would go there for spring training back when I had a radio, show. I have never, ever met a human being that attended ASU, whether they played sports there, whether they just went there as a student who don't all say the same thing, time of their life. Not a good time, too. And I'm sure many people listening, wherever you go to school, it's hard to not have a good time in college, unless you're like an electrical engineer or something and life's

really hard. I didn't really go to class. You can probably tell by listening to this podcast. But I definitely would not have gone to class there. What an incredible university. What a great place. I just had a lot of fun. Not going to lie. We've had a good time. Now I've got to talk about football and the National Football League. And luckily, I got a couple things to talk about.

Venetary retires. Really the last couple weeks stretch before we go into summer break. And the, you know, before training camp, I'm blowing up over here. And training camp starts. Saw something with the Arizona quarterback, actually, Kyler Murray, that kind of stuck out to me. Julio Jones, as of recording this, hasn't been. been traded. Of course, Middlecoff mailbag at John Middlecoff is the Instagram, firing those DMs. And yeah, and I'll answer your questions right here on the show, three now podcast.

Tell your friends. Okay, let's rock and roll. I wanted to start with Adam Vinatari. And think how good and famous you have to be as a kicker to get talked about on a show like this. This is not a Patriot show. There's not a cult show. Now those teams get talked about, it's usually because of their coach, their GM, or their quarterback. That's what, you know, three and out, what I'm doing, I play the hits. I ain't breaking down guards. Someone DM me last week, like, that was the worst segment you ever did talking about golf. My comment was like, if you think I'm fucking breaking down offensive line play in late May,

you're on the wrong show, buddy. I, it's putting me to, I'd rather watch paint dry than talk about, I wonder who's going to be the fourth wide receiver for the Jags. Wrong place. I talk about stars. I'm trying to play to as many fans as possible. And I don't talk about kickers. But Adam Vintyri, he's famous enough and important enough to be discussed.

Hell, lead the show. Granted, slow time. But I've always been fascinated by out of Vintyri. And I actually had the opportunity when I had a radio show in the bay. The Super Bowl came to San Francisco. that was the Cam Newton game against the Denver Broncos. I might have sprinkled a little on the Broncos. No big deal.

One of the nice little four-figure bet. Lucky enough, my cousin in the beer business had some tickets. Super Bowl Week's sweet. Anyone listening, if you've ever been to the parties, to the Radio Row, it's cool. I mean, you just walk around, you see just, oh, there's Joe Montana. Oh, there's Archie Manning. Oh, there's Dan Marino. And we were on Radio Row, and we've all listened to it over the years.

I think that's something that's going to slowly die as radio dies. But, you know, they do the car wash of all the guys. And listen, if you're a big star like coward, Dan Patrick, right, you're getting the best interviews. At the time, I was 31 years old. I got the guests, right? We got Dan Marino, Marshall Falk, all the headliners. They just don't treat, they don't know who I am. So, and I don't even blame him, I remember Marino, he's kind of a dick.

And I was like, if I put myself in Dan Marino shoes, am I going to be nice of this? baldheaded no name? Probably not. But I'll never forget. Adam Venetary sat down and he was the most high level guy that came through. He conducted himself and acted like I was Belichick. Like I was coward. Like the level of respect, he was such a high level guy and his stories were awesome. It's like I've never forgotten that. And I was thinking about this.

If you're going to be an all-time kicker, right, you're a role player. And let's face it. And I think this works in life too. Most of us are role players. You know the percentage of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk and Tom Brady's and Aaron Rogers and LeBron's? They're tiny. They are the outliers in society. Most of us are playing a role in any industry, in any business, on any team, in any company, under that guy.

And I think the two most important things to have as a role player, whether you're a kicker, whether you're a closer in baseball, or whether you're the fifth, six, guy in a company. These two things. Number one, you got to be reliable. And number two, this is somewhat out of your control in sports. For those of us in society, I always hear this a lot, like, I hate my job, but I just can't quit. I need the paycheck.

No, you can. You make some sacrifices, make a change, do something different. You may have to take a step back to take two steps forward, but that's welcome to life, right? Well, as athletes, when you're drafted somewhere, it's a little out of their control who they surround themselves with. But surrounding yourself with the right people, and this is where I give Venetary credit, when he left the Patriots, right,

he went to Peyton Manning and the Colts. So he no dummy. He understood, you know, your bread's buttered around greatness when you're a role player. And let's start with reliability. I saw Brad Sealy, who coached for the Patriots, the first three Super Bowls.

And I used to go to, when I first got out of scouting slash contract not renewed, and made a little transition, had a radio show, Harbaugh was still here, and I would go to Harbaugh practices. It was cool.

I mean, they were one of the best teams in the league. Harbaugh was a rock star, and the team was unreal, right? Teams loaded with stars. The coaching staff was loaded. Fangio's his defensive coordinator, Greg Romans is offensive coordinator. Brad Sealy's his special team's coach.

I used to watch, Brad Sealy's a really high-level guy, and he coached at him, and he gave this, he gave two really good quotes that stood out to me to Albert Breer. He's the best I've, had in the sense where you always hear someone say, this guy is the ultimate gamer. That's what Adam actually was. I've had guys with better legs, guys that were more accurate, guys that had an overall

skill set that was better than Adams. But with Adam, you just counted on the guy. He was going to make the kicks. Another quote. I really have to say, and this might sound bad, but he wasn't a great practice player. I've been around a lot of really good kickers. Janikowski, Phil Dawson, John Casey, a zillion guys. He was probably really average compared to them as a practice player. Most of those guys, they don't miss him practice. This guy, he'd miss. But once we got to the game, you always felt great about him getting it between the posts. And I've said this as a long time as a scout, and listen, coaches will disagree. I know the two coaches, as I work with, Andy Reed, Pat Hill, they love practice.

And I'm not disputing. It is important. But you don't get paid to practice. Now, Ray Lewis would claim you pay me to practice. The games are free. But you know what? Like, you're paid to perform on Sundays, right? Or Mondays or Thursdays, whenever the game is.

And being reliable in the game is truly all that matters. That's how you get judged in the league. As a coach, as a player. and being reliable when you're a role player is massive because you don't know when anything's going to be called on you that works that way in life when your boss reaches out to you hey I need this done ASAP can you get it done or are you just going to make an excuse

I don't know uh it was off that day no one gives a shit because the true the star the head coach the Tom Brady the Aaron Rogers they don't get that margin for error if they're off your team loses So they're relying on you when that guy typically is on and they need you to come through. And the one thing you'd say about Janikovsky, and I'll say this about Janikowski, I was once Harba got fired, then I started going to a lot of Raider Praxes, the radio station that I worked for had the Raiders. So we would go to training camp, incredible training camp spot in Napa, California, and watch Raider Praxis. And Janikowski, he was cool, man.

I was a big Seabas guy. Who wasn't? I mean, he just has some issues and I mean, we all can relate. He had a massive leg. If you watch Seabass in practice, one, by the time I was around Seabass, he was pretty jacked. Like he was not like the fat kicker. He was actually a big lifter. You'd always see him walking by, kind of jacked, cut off shirt, huge chew in his mouth. In practice, I swear to God, he would just 50 yards, split the uprights, looked like he'd be good from 70. It's probably what it looks like watching like Bryce and Deschambeau on the range hit drives.

You're just like, Jesus, this power is stupid. I went to a lot of Raider games from like 14, 15, and 60. I never, ever felt confident that Seabast was going to make kicks in games. And honestly, he missed a lot of kicks. Luckily, in a lot of the teams he was on, his teams weren't that good. So no one really noticed.

He was actually the most famous player on the team, probably for like a decade. where Vinatari could never have missed that many kicks and became what he became because he was always really reliable now he had a huge moment to kind of start early on in his career when he hit the kick

you know the one iron whatever in the snow but then he parlayed that he's kept banging out kicks and when he was called upon in the biggest spots you always knew he was going to get it done and people that are reliable the best people want you around there's a reason why if you asked Tom Brady if you ask Peyton Manning, if you ask Belichick,

these guys are going to sing his praises. They love the guy. There's a reason why Ballard and Frank Reich, even when he started in his mid-early 40s, started showing signs of life. They kind of had his back. Because you don't just throw reliable people, you know, over the side of the boat.

You go down swinging with them. Obviously, sports is a little bit different than like in business because age, father time, like, you're not going to be able to kick forever. But the other thing is, being around talented people. And I thought about two athletes that really stand out.

Mariano Rivera would not have become Mariana Rivera with the fucking twins, right? A huge part of Mariana Rivera is he was on elite teams. Now, obviously, he was one of the, you know, arguably the greatest closer of all time. But a huge part of that, he did not control innings one through eight. He needed Jeter, he needed Posada, he needed Giambi, he needed A-Rod, he needed all their sweet.

players over Alt-petit, Roger Clemens, all these guys to dominate to get him in a position. And then when he was called him on, he was really reliable. But if he wasn't around, like I said, if he was on a bad organization, if you put him on, you know, the Seattle Mariners, right, if you put him on the Texas Rangers, he does not become what he becomes. Just like if Adam Vinuteri had played his whole career for the Jags, he ain't Adam Vinatari. I saw it with Andre Aguadala. Andre Aguadala was a fringe all-star his entire career.

He got around Stefan Clay, he became the finals MVP. Who you surround yourself with changes your life, even if you have the talent and the ability in what you do. I think about it with myself. Do you know how lucky I am that my shot, when I got hired in the NFL, I didn't get hired by Freddie Kitchens, or Pat Schumer, or just some random retread. I got to work for Andy,

Andy Reed's team. I can text Andy Reid right now and he'll text me back in five minutes. Working for him gave me the credibility for me to become friends with Colin Coward. Now, I didn't really control where I went to work. I would have gone to work for whoever would have hired me coming out of Fresno State. And even back to that, I got lucky to get hired by Pat Freaking Hill. I didn't work at a Power Fight program. I worked at a mid-major, but I worked for a coach who had worked for Belichick and knew the entire NFL. And the NFL coaches and general managers loved them. I remember telling people like, I'm going to work in the NFL.

I'm going to work in the NFL when I worked at Fresn State. And a lot of people are like, I don't think you're going to do it. And I'm like, I'm telling you, man. I'd go pick up lunch. I remember one time being in Pat Hill's call, car, going to pick up a recruit or something. And Ozzy Newsom calls him. It's like, this guy knows people and they love him. And I knew it.

I was like, I'm pretty lucky to be here. Just like I bet Mariana Rivera would tell you. Or Adam, Venetary, I'm just comparing my own situation. I bet anyone listening can relate. You've been lucky to be around the. right people. Some of it's, again, out of our control. And even at the time we accept, we don't quite know what we're getting into. But if you ever sign up for something, right, you go work for someone who's an idiot, who's going nowhere, you have no shot to be successful. None. Absolutely

zero. And Adam Venetieri would be the first to tell you, obviously I determined my success. Like when I got called upon to do my job, I'd made kicks. That's the, that's my, that was my job. But those kicks would not have been available if I wasn't around Belichick, Brady, and Peyton Manning. It's just that simple. And I think Mariana Rivera is a great example. And listen, it doesn't take away from Venetari or Rivera's greatness,

but they didn't control the game, right? Even Iguodala, who's probably more in control of the game, but he was on teams that never got out of the first round when he was a player. Then he got around, you know, the two greatest shooting backcours of all time, and he's shutting down LeBron holding up a trophy.

So some of Vinatari stats, he's been a part of the most wins. He's tied with Tom Brady. He obviously has the most points. He has the most playoff point. I mean, it's stupid. You just go through the list. It's like most field goals, most field goals attempts, most consecutive seasons, which is easier to do at kicker than, let's say, guard.

But the two things that stood out to me with him that every single human, we all should aspire to have, is reliability and aspire to be around the best people. because if you can be reliable and then if you can get around the best people you have a chance of success. Now, you might not become a Hall of Famer or, you know, the richest guy in the world, but you're going to be successful.

And it just shows you. And I swear to God, I don't remember, I have sometimes just like, I always think it's crazy that like, I've listened to a lot of music from my childhood over just the last 15 months during Corona. I don't know, it just makes me happier.

Like I listen to a lot of grunge, Nirvana, Pearl, jam, just kind of that whole scene in the early 90s. A lot of country music from the 90s and a lot of rap from the 90s. That's what I grew up on. That's what I grew up listening. I listen to it and I love it. And it's crazy. Like I can't remember sometimes, like last year.

Obviously Corona's probably an outlier, but your memory as you get older, you're like, it's weird what you can remember and you can't. But I can, you throw on a song from my, you know, from 1991 to 1997, I know every word. It's like it's weird how the memory works. And I vividly remember sitting down with Adam Vintanour. 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

podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where

you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Kourke. Clifford and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about cracking the AIDS. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now.

He and him walking away. And me and Guy, the podcast I have now on the other one, we just looked at ourselves like, God, that guy was blown away by how impressive that guy was. And there's a reason I don't think you've ever heard a bad word about Adam than Terry. First ballot Hall of Famer,

absolute legend. And as Brad Sealy said, the ultimate gamer. Fox Sports Radio has the best Sports Talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox SportsRadio.com. And within the IHeard Radio app, search FSR to listen live. Get right to the romance and find the way to wow this Valentine's with 1,800flowers.com. From classic roses and bouquets to decadent chocolate-covered berries, gourmet treats, and more.

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Find a forest near you and start exploring at discovertheforest.org brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. We're coming down the home stretch, which I know all my buddies, if you're a scout, if you're an assistant coach, if you're a player,

you're about two and a half weeks away from summer vacation. And for a coach, you know, it's four or five months or four or five weeks, you get to chill, you get to hang out. As a player, you still got to work out. right over the off season, but you don't have to go to the facility. You don't have to go to practice.

You get to kind of chill. You get to take your wife, take your friends, do whatever, go on vacation, do whatever you want. You got money. It's a good time. Summer vacation in the NFL is fantastic. It's a little bit like being in an elementary school. You get to just go away and you just do whatever the hell you want until you're told to come back.

And these last couple weeks, and because this year has been a little weird, right? There was going to be a boycott. then there wasn't, and most of these teams have, you know, got together. I think the Niners had 85 of 90 players. I think the Colts have incredible turnout. I've read the Raiders have like 75 guys. Seattle only has like 30 players.

So not every team is the same, but I think the Patriots have had good turnouts. I don't know, if you're listening and you follow your team closely, obviously every team's a little bit different. But just from my vantage point, a lot of the teams that I follow really closely feels like they've had good turnouts.

and you know the thing with football is this time of the year matters it really does and it's why I always push back on the boycott it's like guys what are you fighting for

because you think you get pushed too hard I understand if you're one point is we should not be bull rushing in practice with no pads on agreement here but if like we just shouldn't have OTAs you shouldn't like you shouldn't run

routes on air, you shouldn't go over scheme stuff with the entire defense there. This is not basketball. You can't just play pickup basketball in L.A. or Texas in the offseason, right, and work on your skills. In football, even if you're working with other guys throughout the league, if they're not on your team and they run different schemes, it's hard to go through what you need to prepare for for the season. Here's the other thing. Being friends with your teammates isn't the end all being. y'all, but having a relationship in a physical sport with guys you're going to play with matters.

I think pretty consistently over the history of time in high school, in college, and in the pros, to win you need good players. No one will argue that. But I'd say that most teams that win at all three levels

have pretty good chemistry. They tend to like each other. And people may laugh at this, but when you look up and you see a viral video of 10 guys at an NHL playoff game, 10 guys at a basketball playoff game, slamming beers all hanging out in a box, that is not nothing.

Because ultimately those guys, you're going to go through the dog days of training camp with, you're going to go through a two-game losing streak in October with. So developing relationships in a sport that has a ton of turnover. unlike basketball and baseball, well, if you have a really good team and your team financially has a lot of cash, you're not going to have that much turnover.

In football, we know for a fact, you're getting seven to ten drafted players every year, another five to eight undrafted free agents, I think on average two of those guys make the team, free agency, and then guys who just younger players on your, team that become starters because older veterans leave in free agency. Go to other teams.

So chemistry on a football team, because you only truly practice the sport with pads on, and you can only do that in the fall, does matter this time of year, especially when you're just kind of doing walkthroughs. Like, that matters. Just talking ball, being around your coaches, getting on the same page. The other thing in football, probably more than any other sport, is coaching, turnover is insane. You're always losing assistant coaches. Assistant coaches leave to be coordinators in college and the pros. Assistance coaches also get fired a lot. So the turnover with assistant

coaches and players, every single team in college and in the pros is high. In college, though, there is no boycotting the offseason. You have spring ball, 15 practices. That's mandatory. In pros, it's not. But I think a lot of the good teams and a lot of the smart coaches, and we talked about this, that compromised, they got on the same page as their players,

were able to figure out a way to all get together because the only way to improve in football is being around each other, talking about what you ultimately want to do, going through the scheme. Even with Tom Brady, I'll give him credit,

and he's earned the right, doesn't show up in OTAs. What does he do? He pays for his guys to come where he, is, the skill guys. So he can get on the same page. We know he always knows the playbook so they can work together.

They can work on their chemistry. Tom Brady's 44 years old and still doing that to this day. But I do think for younger teams, I think there was a viral video of the Jets. Let's face it, the Jets are not going to be very good this year. But when I see the video of the offensive linemen, Zach Wilson, like 10 other guys

at the Islanders game, slamming some beers, that not even pay off this year, but maybe in two or three years, those guys become very, very close and have really good relationships. And when they maybe are in 2023, ready to compete for a wildcard spot, that chemistry that they built up becoming friends, how many of you have a job right now? If you like the people you work with, I don't know, it's weird right now, a lot of us are working from home, but if your job dictates that you come into work, and most of us, you know, in our life have done that, right?

going to work. It's a great part about high school and college. You get to be around your friends. You get to go to school around your friends. Then you get out of that and you realize, God, it's not how life works. You got to go work with people

that you might not like. But people that get to work around other people that they like, I think the Colts do a good job. That when you go, when they, and again, I get they get to control the message, but it seems like in their draft videos, and I've watched all their YouTube shows

the last couple years, their scouting staff really likes each other. I have friends that are on scouting staffs that aren't always on the same page. It's not as fun. I don't talk into the guys with the chiefs. Now, it helps winning. They really like working with each other.

Working for Veech, working around the other guys. Like, they enjoy going to work. Now, in sports, you know, you want to be, it's easier to go to work part of your winning culture. I know a lot of people that work for the Patriots. Over the last like 12 years, they've all left. I'm not talking coach, I'm talking,

they don't, it's not an enjoyable place to work. Now, listen, he's made a lot of people, a lot of money. I'm not trying to act like, I just,

Belichick's not exactly, you know, a lot of fun. Where you hear some of these stories about, I know people that work for John Schneider, love him.

People that work for like Mickey Loomis and the Saints, they love it. And I'm just speaking from a scouting perspective. Obviously, coaching's a little different. But my point is,

it's no different as a player. If you enjoy going, going into work, being around your head coach, being around your assistant coaches, in the off season when you're just doing walkthroughs, it's very, very beneficial, especially to head into training camp. Because you have to be on the same page. Because ultimately, football is the most tactical of all the games, right? There is a brand new play call on offense and defense every single play of the game.

Every single one. There is someone dictating a play and someone reacting to the play. Both people trying to guess what the other team is going to do, you know, not be prepared for or not be ready for or be out of position. And you build that up the fundamentals of the sport, the fundamentals of the scheme on your individual team, the fundamentals of your teammates, you know, if I'm the right guard, my right tackle on this play tends to do this,

so I know to overcompensate here. If I'm the slot wide receiver and my, you know, the outside wide receiver tends to be, break this route off a little bit farther. So I know when I, on the certain play, to break it off inside, I should cheat at a yard to give the proper spacing. That type of shit matters in football. There's a reason the Patriots kicked everyone's ass for 20 years. Their team chemistry was always fantastic.

I say it all the time. The chemistry they had of their second, you know, the teams that like 14, 16, 18, whatever the dates are, was really good. McCordy's, Hightower's, Gronks, Edelman, Tom, the offensive lineman, Lewis, the running back, it matters. It just does. And this time of year, while it's not, you know, it's pretty easy for NFL standards. And obviously, it's never been easier given that what's going around the NFL, that this type of stuff that we won't notice. but the guys on the team and the coaches,

if your team's good in the fall, they'll go, you know, we really develop pretty good chemistry in the off season. I really ended up liking a lot of the guys on my team. Helps you work harder. When you like people, you're more likely to, you know, exert a little more effort,

to give a little more, maybe come in an hour earlier, study a little more film when that person to the left of you, you know, likes you. Most people are not Larry Fitzgerald. They give you a plus effort whether the team wins 14 games or three games.

That's not the majority of the NFL. That's not the majority of human beings. Most people want to be around people they like. And, you know, obviously, the more success you have are going to be more likely to work harder. And that's where teams, I think, separate themselves for this time of year. Okay, I wanted to just go a little rapid fire.

A couple quick stories that are just one I saw, and obviously one is one of the bigger stories in the NFL. As I'm recording this, Julio Jones has not been traded. and this story's pretty weird. The more I think about it, the more, I wonder if Atlanta and the new general manager is a little over his head on this one. Because he inherited the financial problem.

That was Thomas Demetrov. That was the previous administration. That is not his doing. To have all these bad contracts, to being hindered by the cap. I cannot put that. They have no responsibility for that situation. And I don't even blame Demetra for paying Maddie Ice and paying Julio Jones, the premium in which he paid him.

They were trying to win, trying to keep getting back to the playoffs. I get it. So he inherited this problem. And when you're a first time general manager, I say it all the time that no one prepares you for these situations. There's not GM school. You just kind of go through the experiences. Obviously, he was Mickey Loomis's right-hand guy. You get to experience stuff.

But there's a big difference. And I say it all the time, making suggestions, making decisions. making decisions, right? It's a lot easier. And most of us, we make suggestions our whole life. When you have to make decisions, it's hard.

It's difficult. It's not easy to do. But the Julio situation is clearly a buyer's market. Because I would not, and listen, I don't have all the information just from what I've read.

If I could talk to this guy, I'd ask him this, why did you not tell teams, we ain't trading them? Because it's not like you traded them back when teams had cap space. You were going to wait till June 1 anyway. To me, the way to play it would have been,

we ain't traded them, we're going to try to win this year and be a lead on offense. Julio, Pitts, Ridley, Maddie Ice, it's on. And then come tomorrow, if you're listening to this on Tuesday, June 1, change course. Actually, we've decided to go a different course.

We're open for business. Then you could have got, and we're going to give you 24 hours bidding process. Instead, they've let it. it's simmer out there for weeks on end. Julio had felt like it had enough, orchestrates this thing with Shannon Sharp, call it on TV, makes a mockery of the whole situation. I don't think he's played this very well. Because these teams know, like, they're kind of in a pinch. They need to trade them for the books. They're desperate to get a number, but we all know that like no one's

going to trade a first. More than likely. And if they do, then this whole, everything I just said is moronic. But I would say this. If I had $1,000 right now, And you said, do they get a first or do they not sniff a first? I'd say, they ain't sniffing a first. I think there is no chance they get a first round pick for Julio Jones. Most guys that get traded for first round picks are in their mid-20s. Who goes 32? That ain't the way the league works.

But trying to do this like play different teams off each other, it ain't working. Because to me, they've let it, you can't let a situation like this just linger forever and expect to capitalize on your return. To meet with a guy like Julio, oh, is he available? Say no, say no, say no, say no, say no, say no. And then all of a sudden, June 1, hey guys, anyone want them, 24 hours, take it or leave it.

If not, we're prepared to play, even if that's a lie. But just letting it be out there forever, like I don't understand the tactic behind that. and I know there was a rap sheet tweet a while back that said that Julio had requested to trade my spidey senses would say the Falcons would want that out there because they don't want to look like idiots

like why are you really trading Julio Jones he's one of your best players well he wants that that fells very whenever you see and listen I love Schefter he came on pot with me and guy I've known him for a long time he's cool I don't really know rap sheet but I've met him a couple times like Super Bowls he's been cool to me

those guys, there's an agenda behind every leak, unless there's just a trade, right, or signing. Any leak of this, this, there's always an angle there. There's always a reason. It's someone's prerogative to get that out. To dictate the narrative, mainly with the fans, because no one wants to be called an idiot. So that, this situation is,

I don't know if the Falcons have played this perfectly. And like I said, I don't expect them to. It's first time general manager. It's hard. You don't get prepared for this. John Snyder, Mickey Loomis, Rick Spielman, like Rick Spielman, boom, digs gone.

They get picked 22. Wham, bam, boom. Pretty easy, right? John Snyder, boom, Jamal Adams on the team. You just do a move. You don't keep, like, either piss or get off the pot.

Like, let's figure something out here. Like, what are we doing? Here's another thing that stood out to me. Albert Breer wrote, and I didn't know this, Because I'm not taking role. We actually had a good conversation in Arizona. Like, I remember some of my classes at Cal Poly took a role.

And I had a buddy that played baseball. We actually, another one of his buddies met us in Arizona. Professional athletes, this guy played the bigs for a little bit, wasn't in the minor leagues for like, you know, almost a decade. Played in Japan for a year against Otani. He was a power hit. And his first hit, big league hit, home run off Bumgarner. everywhere we went in Arizona, biggest human being.

Sometimes you're around a professional athlete, and you're just like, God, am I the same species as this guy? It's just, why didn't I get these genetics? Like, mom, dad, what are we doing here? You know, it's just, it sucks. They're just bigger than every human. No wonder they're better at sports.

You know, if I swing a bat and he swings a bat, that ball's going to go longer off his bat than my bat. But I saw Kyler Murray, Albert Beer wrote, has not been at OTAs. Kyler. If Aaron Rogers wants to win the MVP and get Matt of Gutikins and not show up,

if Tom Brady does not want to show up to OTAs, I get it. Bro, you've played two seasons. You kind of sniffed the playoffs last year, but not really. Let's face it, you weren't that good the second half of the season. Like, I'm sorry.

And listen, I've been pretty critical of the Arizona administration You know, Kimes had his moments, right? Good picks, bad picks. I mean, he took Rose in one year, then Boom had to pivot. He had a one-and-done coach. Like, he's had some weird things happen, right? Cliff, I think,'s a little over his head. But I was always told this by guys that went through Texas Tech.

They love Cliff Kingsbury. And I'll never forget watching ESPN special on him. He's a Marines kid. He's at work at the crack of dawn. I think you see him and you're like, God, this good-looking guy. he's just dating babes. I bet he's partying all the time. I've heard that is not Kingsbury's deal.

He's a grinder. And Com's been scouting in the league for 20 years. Kyler Murray is not at OTAs. Like, that's pretty embarrassing. Like, bro, this ain't the big leagues. This is the NFL. You haven't proven anything. You're not there?

Like quarterbacks? I bet if we went around quarterbacks under 30 years old. Patrick Mahomes not showing up? Of course not. He's there. Josh Allen? No, of course.

she's taking snaps. Kyler Murray, you're not an OTAs? Like, listen. Larry Fitzgerald, I think at Pebble Beach last year, someone asked him, like, what's Kyler Murray's deal? And he said a comment, it wasn't good. And within 24 hours, that video was taken down. But I've never forgotten that.

And I've heard some things. It's not, I don't have it, you know, in certain, so I'm not going to say it here. You guys know, I don't give a shit. I'm not, I don't care about offending anybody. But to me, this is validating some of the things I've heard. Not at OTAs? You ain't in year seven and have eight playoff victories on your pelts on the wall.

You know what? If I'm Kyle Shanahan, if I'm Pete Carroll, and if I'm Sean McVeigh, like, I don't know. I'm not going to say I'm out on this guy because if you've been listening to you before a while, Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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iHeartRadio app search Learn the hard way and listen now I've never disputed his talent I think his talent is immense especially given his size freak show but this is not what I want on my quarterback not showing up but OTAs

bro your fucking team plays in Scottsdale I was just there at the place of paradise I get you from Dallas you're rich take a private jet go back and forth I mean what are we doing that's bad sign bad sign I got that guy

red fly flagged. Like last year, the year that you should have been a lock to go to the playoffs. And I gave Cliff a lot of heat last year. One of the issues, though, is I think the Thursday night game against Seattle, Kyler, because the one knock on him is his size. He's tiny for NFL standards. He's easily the smallest starting quarterback in the NFL. Got tossed to the ground. I think of Seattle defensive linemen fell on him. It was never the same the rest of the season. You're not going to work on your craft with your teammates? you're not this isn't an individual sport you're the leader of the team you're the quarterback

that's your job Tom doesn't have to show up to OTAs I don't know because he's Tom freaking Brady Aaron Rogers wants Goudicans fired that's why he's not showing up you ain't those guys and guess what I don't think you're ever going to be and if this is your attitude if this is your mindset and you could be like middle cough the game's changing Yeah, no, Moans is there. So I just, like, if whatever industry you're in, whoever is better than you, you should just do what that guy's doing.

Right? You shouldn't, like, I'm an outlier. I'm not taking, I'm doing it my way. Well, your way ain't working, champ. So you might want to, see that guy, Mones? I'd follow his lead. That'd be the guy that Lamar Jackson at practice. Is Lamar Jackson in practice?

Is Mahom's in practice? Is Mahomes at practice? We don't even count the old guys. Let's just stick with the young crew. Because if those guys are a practice and you're not, you got problems. Are you wasting two perfectly good Saturdays each year? Most people waste two Saturdays getting rid of junk that we could make magically disappear.

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Each episode brings you compelling real-life adoption stories told by the families that live them with commentary from experts. Visit Adoptuskids.org slash podcast or subscribe to navigating adoption presented by Adopt U.S. Kids. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Ad Council. Check out the Middlecoff mailbag, uh, Jacob. At John Middlecoff, Instagram, DM's wide open. Get you here on the show. What's up, John? Been listening to you for over a year now. After the first week of OTAs, what's your opinion, of Adrian Clem and the disparities

throughout the Steelers' offensive line. Do you see Zach Banner actually being an active contributor to the O-line, or do you think Kendrick Green will grow into a leader among this O-line in his rookie year? Like I said, I'd be lying if I can break down offensive line play. I will say this for Clem. I remember when Jim Mora got hired at UCLA,

he brought Clem. I think he was at SMU at the time. and this guy was a big part of his staff. Like, Jim Mora failed at UCLA because he couldn't coach. They recruited and he identified talent and Clem was his number one recruiter. This guy could identify talent. And when I saw, what's funny about you bringing up his name is I saw on something, on one of my social medias, something about this guy.

And I was like, I didn't know he was the offensive line coach. I kind of wondered because I followed him on for Twitter, forever when he was with Moore at UCLA and then I was like he just kind of fell off to face the earth now he got in trouble with recruiting I don't know something shady happened so he had to go to the pros because I think something weird happened

people listening probably know more about it than me I just remember he wasn't coaching college anymore and then I googled him weird like a month ago and he had been the assistant offensive line coach for the Steelers until last year and they elevated him once they fired their offensive line coach I think this guy's pretty good Now, I don't know enough about your unit.

Obviously moving away from Villanueva. Banner had a major injury last year. I think the unit's been pretty good the last couple years, right? You had Najee Harris, who's going to make your offensive line look better? I know there are people that are down on Najee Harris. I think Najee is going to be a stud. I think Najee is going to be, if I was an NFL team, I would Najee be the start for me any day of the week.

When you factor in the wide receivers, if they just, Ben just got to get, Ben has to play like Tom Brady did with the people. Patriots. Get rid of the ball fast. Like, Ben, that's how you have to play. You're no longer keeping these plays alive with your legs. You can't move like that.

Hand the ball off to Naji and throw it to your wide receivers. So I think Clem, I always had a lot of respect from the outside. I thought he was good. Question for the pod, long-time listener. As a diehard Titans fan, it's been hard to ignore AJ Brown and the rest of the team social media courting of Julio Jones. while that wide receiver duo and Derek Henry would be near unstoppable from a front office perspective,

I'd like to hear your thoughts on a team has to weigh in order to pull the trigger. After all, he's expensive 32-year-old. If I'm going to get Julio Jones, I view myself as a player away, given that I probably have to give a good second-round pick, right? Or maybe even like a second and a fourth. I don't think the Titans are a player away.

Now, I don't think in life, as in being a GM, you can ever go wrong being aggressive, right? Because no matter what decision you're going to make, whether it's trading for a player, whether it's something in business, you're not always going to be right. And, you know, a decent amount of your decisions are not going to work out. But in my opinion, if you lean on the side of pedal to the metal, taking big swings, more often than not, you're going to come out on top. because I think it's very, very easy, and I say it all the time,

you can talk yourself out of Julio Jones. He's 32, he makes $15 million. Well, $15 million. Amari Cooper makes 20. I'll take Julio over Amari every day of the week and 10 times on Sunday, and I like Amari. But he ain't a Julio, even at 32. Now, the thing is, do I like trading premium picks

for guys in their 30s? Probably not. That's where I have my apprehension. If I was the Colts or I was the Packers, I would have no hesitation. If I was the Rams to get them for a second round pick, no hesitation, I'm all in. Seattle, same thing.

If I'm the Titans, like, am I win the Super Bowl with Julio Jones? That's, am I a player away? Or am I, do I want to think like that? I don't know. It's tough. Now, I also think, like you said, I get Julio with AJ.

We're rolling in. We look like we got LeBron and Anthony Davis. Like, who's shutting down those two guys? with the most productive running back in the league. Because my quarterback is not Peyton Manning, right? He's not Aaron Rogers. So he can't overcome, like, he's a better version of Alex Smith. And the key with Alex is surrounding him with really good talent.

The other thing is you have a first year coordinator. I guess he was a coordinator for a year with the Raiders, but last time he was a coordinator was terrible. Todd Downing was a disaster. So I think it's the age. I think it's just the mindset on your team. team, like, if we get Julio, are we going to go to the AFC championship game?

If I feel pretty confident about that, and I like because our defense hasn't been very good. Can we just be a great offense and be a middle of the road defense? Also, I have a defensive head coach. So, it's complicated. Hey, John, big fan of the show. What I like, uh,

I like to follow ownership battles and feuds behind the scenes. Point is, how can Cronkey fork over six billion of his own cash and the franchise only be worth four billion. How does that fly with him or is there another feud where he'll be asking more of owners for additional revenue sharing? Plus, Spanos got off with the leasing of the stadium pretty easily if you ask me and they're struggling to sell PSLs. Also pays a dollar in rent. Talk a little bit about it since you're in California area. What are you hearing seeing? I'll be listening.

here's the thing one he had no I don't think you realize it was going to cost that much right I think even if you if you factor in California

the costs are always higher out here the labor issues that just always fighting the city for bullshit right in L.A. and San Francisco that you know you're going to whatever they give you right if they give you a $3 million

bill you probably know it's going to be four so six is probably a lot. Here's where he's going to win, though, is he owns the stadium. Well, SoFi Stadium in L.A., every, and I've seen it with Jed, and he's going to get way more of them, every single act that matters is going to come through. Every single concert that matters. If you start a concert, you're going to Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. One million percent. He owns that. I remember Don Smolenski, who was the president of the Eagles. At the time, I think he was like the number two guy, but he used to tell me, because

he used to work out in the morning. And I would not work out in the morning. I would just, I would sleep in as late as possible during the season. You just get so tired. And I would just wake up because, you know, I usually start to work between like 630 and 7. Long days. You get home at 10, you're back at 630 or 7. I would wake up in just my basketball shorts and T-shirt, drive right to the facility, and just shower and change there. And Smolenski, who was just a grinder, now he got to leave work a little earlier than me, would be in there finishing his workout. So we'd be showering and changing at the same time. I remember picking his brain, because one cool thing there is I got to go to concerts. I saw Kenny Chesney when I was there. Might have saw you two. I definitely saw three or four concerts there.

And I was picking his brain. I think Taylor Swift had just played there. I didn't go to see that. Though I'm not anti-Taylor Swift. I would go see her. And I ask him, like, what are these type things for for the for the eagles like how much is lorry pulling and he's like you know and he told me the number of the check he's like yeah we just handed her last night you know a check for three and a half or four million dollars well if you're handing someone a check for three or four million dollars what do you think you're keeping so geoffrey lury became really rich i think he obviously he was rich before you own the team but when they built that new stadium in philly and i think a lot of obviously all these team you know teams that have new arenas or new stadiums they make so much

money from concerts. And here's the other thing where Cronky's going to have. He's building like commercial, like, they're going to be shops. It's going to be a destination. The other thing is the NFL network

is moving there. Well, how does business work? You know who the NFL is going to pay for that rent? Cronky. Like right now, I remember when I got out of the NFL and I was trying to get in the media,

I remember going to see DJ at Daniel Jeremiah at NFL Network Studios. And they just had the studios in like Studio City or wherever it is down in LA. I don't, not that understand the geographical setup of LA, but it was in Studio City. Well, the NFL is paying rent for that building.

The NFL doesn't own it. So they'll gladly just move to Cronkies. Everything centralized. They're going to pay him rent. He's going to make a lot of money from that. Now, did he ideally would have paid less? For sure. But I don't think he's losing too much sleep

over the amount of cash he's going to pull the next three or four years. because like I said, the concerts are absolute cash cows. How do you see the NFL North unfolding if Aaron Rogers does in fact leave for another team? Thoughts on the Viking chances and their team? Well, the Vikings offense is elite, right? Last year, Cousin's best season, Dalvin Cook's dominant. Thielen is just one of the better just kind of number two's in the league. And Justin's just good.

Like, is he a top five quarterback? No. Is he better than 20 quarterbacks in the league? Maybe not 20, but 15? Yes. So if you put him around good talent, he's anywhere between like 8 to 12. Their defense was the problem. They couldn't cover a soul. They didn't have a pass rush. They got Yonick, then that didn't work.

Daniel Hunter got hurt. So if their defense is better, they have a defensive head coach. If Rogers is not there, to me, the only way the Vikings wouldn't win the division is if Justin Fields is the offensive rookie the year. So I would say if Rogers leaves, I wouldn't say the Packers are done because they still have a ton of talent and then if they got Jordan Love

and I guess they trade them to the Raiders and got Carr, I think the Packers would be solid. The Bears' talent is just, or I mean season is just how good is Justin Fields. If Justin Fields can play like Justin Herbert last year, then they should be able to compete because their defense and just their team's better than what we just saw with Anthony Lynn.

but yeah i'd say your vikings i'm pretty bullish on the vikings because i'd be shocked that their defense stays bad under zimmer this is baby you think that you think that grumpy old man is going to let their defense give up that many points year in year out i can't see it i saw that jalen smith is now going to be wearing number nine for the cowboys i'm not necessarily saying that tony romo's numbers should be retired but how do teams decide what numbers they retire and which ones they don't when teams decide what numbers to let players wear, how much respect of past players factors in the decisions? Well, if you're retired, unless you're like a legend, like if Tom Brady had signed with the team where 12 is retired, that guy might have let Tom Brady walk 12, right? If Tom Brady had signed with

the Cowboys, listen, I'm dating myself. I don't know if Roger Stalbach wore number 12, but if Roger Stalbac or Troy Eagman had worn number 12, I think they would have. allowed Tom to wear number 12, right? But if me or you, just like a fifth round pick, or just a random free agent, and the number is retired, we can't wear it.

Typically, in my experience, it's like a Hall of Fame type player or an all-time type player for a franchise, right? Like the Niners, they're going to have some guys that get retired that weren't Hall of Famers. Like, I think Joe Staley,

who won't be a Hall of Famer, will have his number retired for the Niners. How impactful you were for the franchise. But to me, Tony Romo, he just not getting his number retired. To me, I'm just Cowboys, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, right? Roger Stalbach, guys like that. It should be kind of no-brainers. Get your number retired.

I hear what you're saying. It's like this was the Chiefs and Veech's issue, why they wanted guys to be able to wear single digits. We don't have an unlimited amount of numbers. If you keep expanding the rosters, you only have so many numbers. especially, I know the chiefs have a decent amount of guys' numbers retired. So if you have a decent amount of defensive numbers retired, it's harder to fit those numbers in.

Think about the Steelers. I bet they have a ton of numbers retired. So you'd have to ask, I guess it's the owner's call, right? At the end of the day, if the owner wants to retire, it's not the GM's call, it's not the coach's call, it's not the marketing officer's call, it's the owner. The owner wants, and it's a smart move. If you have an all-time great player who plays for you,

keep them part of the program, keep them part of the team, keep them a part of the city. It's important. Okay, that's, we'll end up there. Yeah, talk to you guys a little later this week. Adios! If you love to be remembered as the person who gives the best birthday gifts,

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Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's

unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

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that was a big moment for me. Eighty-4 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay And I'm Alex English Each episode We pick a year unpack what went down And try to make sense

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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

Thank you.